Chapter 330: The God Beneath the Branches

The five connections shattered at almost the exact same moment.

Across the Everglades Secret Realm, the five Mirrors released a tremendous wave of energy, and the corrupted roots that had been feeding the World Tree’s network began to collapse.

Fire, Water, Earth, Darkness, and Light all flashed at once, their powers converging toward the center of the realm as the enormous network beneath the land finally began to break apart.

For a brief moment, everything became silent.

The purple Miasma that had covered the World Tree flickered and faded, revealing patches of its original golden bark beneath the corruption. The enormous branches stopped twisting, and the roots that had been spreading across the Secret Realm slowly withdrew into the earth.

Mithra lowered Dawn Sovereign as she stared upward, her chest rising and falling from exhaustion. Beside her, Melo’s five tails swayed uneasily while the Dream Guardian Fox narrowed her eyes at the tree. "It’s working," Melo murmured, though there was little relief in her voice. "The corruption is being pushed back."

Across the Water region, Sun leaned heavily against Long while Kong stood beside him, both staring toward the distant World Tree. "So that’s it?" Sun asked, breathing hard. "We cut five giant magical chains and save the Secret Realm?"

Kong shook his head immediately, his crimson-gold eyes fixed on the tree. "No. Something’s wrong."

Sun followed his gaze, and the smile disappeared from his face.

The same realization spread across the other battlefields.

Athena and Athy stopped beside the ancient Earth Mirror, while the professors in the Light region looked toward the center of the Everglades. Leon stood beside Mephistopheles, his expression unusually serious, and even Mephistopheles had stopped making his usual comments.

The World Tree was still moving.

But it wasn’t moving like before.

The enormous trunk began to tremble, and deep cracks appeared along its golden surface.

Roland’s expression changed immediately. "Everyone, get ready."

The crack spread.

A deep rumbling sound rolled across the Secret Realm as the World Tree’s trunk slowly split apart, revealing darkness within its enormous body. Purple light leaked through the opening, followed by strands of black roots that writhed like living veins.

Athena tightened her grip on Heavenpiercer. "That doesn’t look like the corruption leaving."

"No," Roland replied, his eyes fixed on the opening. "It’s something coming out."

The ground beneath everyone shook violently.

Then a figure stepped through the broken trunk.

Ronin emerged from the World Tree.

His body had changed dramatically since the last time they had seen him. Thick roots wrapped around his arms, shoulders, chest, and legs like living armor, while thin purple veins of Miasma ran across his skin and disappeared beneath the roots.

His hair floated in the pressure surrounding him, and his eyes had become a deep violet that seemed to contain the same darkness spreading through the tree.

Behind him, countless roots moved with his every breath.

Yet the most frightening change was the aura.

The pressure pouring from Ronin was completely different from before.

Roland’s face became pale as he sensed it. "That’s..."

Athena stepped forward, her eyes narrowing as she examined the enormous power surrounding Ronin. "He’s fused with the World Tree."

Her words traveled through the gathered groups, and several of the professors immediately understood what that meant.

Ronin had no longer needed the corrupted network.

He had become part of the heart that the network had been connected to.

Ronin slowly looked around at the people gathered below him, and a faint smile appeared on his face. "You broke my chains."

His hand rested against the enormous trunk behind him, and the roots around his body shifted in response.

"So I removed the need for them."

A wave of pressure exploded outward.

The ground cracked beneath everyone’s feet as the aura of a Gold-level Beast Tamer descended upon the battlefield. Several students who had remained farther away immediately fell to their knees, unable to withstand the pressure, while even the professors were forced to reinforce their bodies with mana.

Leon raised his sword and narrowed his eyes. "Gold level..."

Mephistopheles glanced toward him. "Temporarily."

Leon looked at him.

Mephistopheles pointed toward Ronin’s body. "Look at the roots."

Leon followed his gaze and noticed something strange.

The roots covering Ronin’s body were moving.

Not with him.

Against him.

Ronin’s expression suddenly tightened as a golden light flashed beneath his feet. The World Tree’s roots violently pulled away from his body, and for a brief instant the enormous aura around him became unstable.

Ronin gritted his teeth and forced the roots back into place.

"You see it too," Roland said quietly. "The World Tree isn’t obeying him completely."

"No," Cassian replied, watching the scene carefully. "He’s forcing himself into it."

Ronin heard him.

His eyes shifted toward Cassian, and the pressure around him increased again. "The tree is resisting because it has forgotten what it was created for."

He spread one hand toward the enormous branches above him. "Power was placed inside this world, yet the people who discovered it were too afraid to use it. They built barriers. They separated the Mirrors. They buried their knowledge and called it protection."

His smile widened as purple Miasma flowed through the roots covering his arm.

"I won’t make the same mistake."

The World Tree suddenly groaned.

A massive branch behind Ronin twisted violently, and the backlash traveled through his body. Ronin staggered half a step, blood appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Athena noticed immediately. "He’s paying a price every time he forces it."

Ronin wiped the blood away and laughed quietly. "It doesn’t matter."

He looked up toward the crown of the World Tree, where golden light continued to flicker beneath the corruption.

"I only need enough time."

A distant movement caught everyone’s attention.

Arthur and his group emerged from the Darkness region.

Vedas walked beside him, his massive Goblin King body covered in scratches and dried blood. Star bounced along near Arthur’s shoulder, her body wobbling with every movement, while Eden floated quietly beside them. Luna walked on Arthur’s other side, still holding her weapon as she looked toward the World Tree.

The moment Arthur saw Ronin, he stopped.

For the first time, the two finally stood in the same place.

Ronin’s eyes immediately found him.

The faint smile on his face disappeared.

"You."

Arthur looked back at him, and after everything they had gone through to reach this point, there was no fear in his expression. Instead, a small smile appeared as he answered simply, "Me."

The surrounding group fell silent.

Ronin stared at Arthur for several seconds before his expression hardened. "You’ve been interfering with everything."

Arthur glanced at the World Tree, then at the roots covering Ronin’s body. "You noticed."

Luna couldn’t help but smile slightly at the exchange, while Vedas gave a quiet snort beside Arthur. Even after everything that had happened, Arthur still had that same strange calmness that had frustrated their enemies countless times before.

Ronin’s eyes narrowed.

"Then come."

The roots beneath his feet suddenly exploded outward, and a massive wave of power swept across the battlefield.

Arthur’s coat snapped violently in the wind as Vedas stepped forward, while Eden immediately moved closer to Arthur and Star flattened herself against his shoulder to avoid being blown away.

Ronin looked down at them from the broken trunk.

"Let’s see if your little group can save this world..." His voice became colder as purple light gathered around him. "Before I become its king."

Arthur didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he looked around.

Mithra and Melo had already begun moving toward the center. Sun and Kong were making their way through the ruined Water region. Athena and Athy were coming from the Earth ruins, while Leon, Mephistopheles, Roland, Cassian, and the other professors gathered from the Light region.

Everyone was exhausted.

Everyone was wounded.

And yet nobody was leaving.

Arthur looked at Vedas first.

The Goblin King grinned and tightened his grip on his weapon.

Then Arthur looked at Star, who bounced once against his shoulder as if declaring that she was ready.

Eden smiled quietly, while Luna stood beside him with Dawn Sovereign’s golden light reflecting across her face.

Mithra caught Arthur’s gaze from a distance and gave him a familiar confident smile, while Sun raised his staff despite looking like he had barely enough strength left to stand.

Arthur couldn’t help but smile.

They had started this journey searching for a secret realm.

They had discovered an ancient civilization, five mysterious Mirrors, a corrupted World Tree, and a power that had nearly destroyed the entire ecosystem of the Everglades.

And somehow, after all of that, they were still standing.

Arthur looked back toward Ronin and took a step forward.

"We’ve climbed this far," he said, his voice carrying across the battlefield.

Vedas stepped forward beside him, and the others followed.

Arthur’s smile widened.

"We’re not stopping now."

For a moment, nothing moved.

Then the World Tree shook.

Its enormous branches spread across the sky, golden light and purple Miasma fighting beneath the bark as Ronin’s aura surged once more.

The final battle had begun.