Chapter 331: The Battle Beneath the Tree

The silence after Arthur’s declaration lasted only for a heartbeat.

Then Ronin moved.

He didn’t raise his weapon or make some grand gesture. He simply stepped forward, and the roots surrounding his body responded immediately, bursting from the ground like enormous serpents and tearing through the battlefield toward the gathered group.

Roland reacted first. "Everyone, move!"

The professors scattered as the roots crashed into the ground where they had been standing, sending chunks of earth and stone flying through the air. Leon drew his sword and cut through one of the roots approaching from his side, while Athena drove Heavenpiercer into another and shattered it with a burst of golden energy.

Arthur barely had time to react before a massive root came directly toward him.

Vedas stepped in front of him and punched it.

The impact shook the surrounding ground, and the root bent around Vedas’s fist before snapping backward. Vedas slid several meters across the earth, his boots digging trenches into the ground, but he quickly regained his balance.

Arthur looked at him. "You okay?"

Vedas glanced at his hand, then grinned. "Ask the tree."

Arthur laughed. "Fair enough."

Another wave of roots erupted from beneath them.

Mithra moved like a golden flash, Dawn Sovereign sweeping through three of them in rapid succession while Melo’s dream mist spread across the battlefield, obscuring the movements of several corrupted roots. Sun swung Long in a wide arc, sending a shockwave through the ground that knocked another cluster away, while Kong charged directly into the opening and smashed one apart with his enormous fists.

The battlefield immediately became chaotic.

Ronin stood above them, watching.

The expression on his face remained calm as the World Tree continued moving around him, its branches shifting overhead and its roots surging through the earth. It was as if the entire battlefield had become an extension of his body.

"You’re wasting your strength," Ronin said, his voice carrying over the noise. "The World Tree is endless. Every root you destroy will be replaced."

He lifted one hand.

The ground beneath Arthur suddenly split open.

Arthur jumped backward just before a massive root erupted from below, but another came from the side. He twisted through the air, narrowly avoiding it, and landed beside Luna.

She immediately raised her weapon. "That was close."

Arthur looked toward the root that had nearly caught him. "He’s not lying."

Luna frowned. "About the roots?"

"About the supply of power."

Arthur watched as the broken roots around Vedas slowly began to move again. Purple light flowed through them, and the severed pieces began reconnecting, pulling themselves together before sinking back into the ground.

His expression became thoughtful.

"We’re damaging him."

Luna glanced toward Ronin. "He doesn’t look damaged."

"Exactly."

Arthur pointed upward.

Ronin’s body had already recovered from the injuries he had suffered moments earlier. The roots wrapped around his body had pulled more energy from the World Tree, and the purple veins beneath his skin had brightened.

"Every time we hurt him," Arthur said, "the Tree gives him more power."

Luna’s eyes narrowed.

"But that means..."

Arthur nodded. "We’re fighting the wrong battle."

Before Luna could respond, an enormous golden branch suddenly swung downward.

Ronin raised his arm to stop it.

For the first time, his calm expression disappeared.

The branch struck him with tremendous force.

BOOM!

Ronin’s body was driven into the ground, and a shockwave spread across the battlefield. Several people staggered from the impact, while Arthur stared at the enormous branch that had attacked Ronin.

The World Tree had attacked him.

Ronin slowly pushed himself out of the crater.

Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

His eyes turned toward the branch above him.

"You..."

The roots around his body suddenly tightened as Ronin forced more power through them. Purple Miasma surged outward, and the branch recoiled as if burned.

Ronin raised his hand and seized the branch.

"Obey me."

The branch trembled.

For a moment, it seemed as though Ronin had succeeded.

Then the entire World Tree shook.

The branch violently twisted in his grip and slammed him into the ground again.

Another explosion followed.

Everyone froze.

Even Ronin seemed surprised.

Athena slowly lowered Heavenpiercer. "The Tree..."

"It’s resisting him," Arthur said.

Roland looked toward him. "What?"

Arthur didn’t take his eyes off Ronin.

"He’s not controlling the World Tree."

Another branch moved overhead, and Ronin was forced to release the one he had been holding.

Arthur’s expression sharpened.

"He’s fighting it."

The realization spread through the group.

Leon looked upward at the enormous golden branches. "Then the Tree itself is resisting the corruption."

"Or resisting Ronin," Cassian added.

Arthur shook his head slightly. "Probably both."

Ronin heard them.

His eyes slowly turned toward Arthur.

"You think you’ve understood something."

Arthur met his gaze.

"I have."

Ronin smiled.

"Then you’re still a fool."

The ground beneath Arthur exploded.

Vedas immediately moved in front of him, blocking the incoming root with his body. The impact sent him skidding backward, but before the root could strike again, Arthur rushed forward and swung Dusk into its side.

The root split.

Arthur didn’t stop.

He moved along its surface, using the opening to reach another root connected to it before driving Dusk through the junction.

The connection broke.

The root immediately stopped moving.

Arthur stared at it for a moment.

Then he looked toward Ronin.

"Interesting."

Ronin’s expression hardened.

Arthur’s eyes moved across the battlefield as his mind connected what he had seen.

The five Mirrors had severed the major corrupted connections.

The World Tree had begun pushing the corruption back.

Ronin had fused himself directly into the Tree.

And now every time they damaged him, the Tree supplied him with power, even while resisting his control.

That meant they couldn’t simply overwhelm him.

As long as Ronin remained connected to the Tree, the battle would continue feeding him.

"We can’t beat him here," Arthur said.

Luna looked at him. "You’re giving up?"

"No."

Arthur smiled.

"We change the objective."

Vedas walked over, still rubbing his arm after blocking the root. "What objective?"

Arthur pointed toward Ronin.

"We separate him from the Tree."

Roland heard him and immediately understood the direction of his thinking. "You think we can force him out?"

Arthur shook his head. "Not from here. We don’t know enough yet."

He looked toward the enormous trunk behind Ronin.

"But if he’s drawing power from somewhere inside the Tree, then that’s where we need to go."

Athena looked upward.

"The heart."

Arthur’s eyes narrowed.

"Maybe."

He didn’t pretend to know more than they did. They had learned that the World Tree was the heart of the Secret Realm, but they still didn’t understand exactly how Ronin had fused with it or what lay inside.

And that uncertainty made the decision more dangerous.

Ronin suddenly laughed.

"You finally understand."

Everyone looked toward him.

The roots around Ronin’s body began pulling away from the ground.

"I wondered how long it would take."

The World Tree shook again, but this time the reaction was different.

The enormous trunk behind Ronin began splitting apart.

A deep crack appeared across the golden bark.

Then another.

The opening widened, revealing darkness within the World Tree.

Purple light pulsed deep inside it.

Arthur stared.

The inside wasn’t hollow.

He could see enormous roots stretching into the darkness, ancient structures embedded between them, and distant streams of glowing mana flowing through the interior like rivers.

For the first time, Arthur’s curiosity completely overpowered his caution.

His eyes widened.

"There’s a world inside."

Luna looked at him incredulously. "That’s what you’re focusing on?"

Arthur didn’t look away.

"Have you seen it?"

Luna opened her mouth, then closed it.

"No."

"Exactly."

Despite the situation, she couldn’t help smiling.

"You’re impossible."

Arthur grinned.

Ronin stepped backward toward the opening.

The roots around his body began pulling him into the darkness.

Roland immediately raised his weapon. "He’s retreating!"

Arthur shook his head.

"He’s not retreating."

Ronin stopped at the entrance and looked back at them.

His expression had returned to that calm, confident smile.

"You want to reach me?"

His eyes settled directly on Arthur.

"Then climb."

The roots closed around him.

Ronin disappeared into the World Tree.

The enormous crack remained open.

For several seconds, nobody moved.

The battlefield had fallen strangely quiet.

Then Sun walked closer, staring into the enormous opening. "Did he seriously just tell us to climb the giant tree?"

Kong crossed his arms. "Sounds like a challenge."

Mithra approached from the side, Dawn Sovereign resting against her shoulder. "Considering Arthur is already looking excited, I think he accepted."

Melo glanced at Arthur. "He’s absolutely going to climb it."

Arthur didn’t deny it.

He was staring into the World Tree with an expression Luna had seen many times before.

Curiosity.

The kind that usually meant trouble was about to happen.

Roland noticed it too.

He looked at the enormous opening, then at Arthur, and let out a long sigh before looking back at him.

Arthur smiled at Roland.

"Well, we can’t just let him have his way, right?"

Roland sighed again and shook his head. "You bring so much trouble."

He glanced toward the World Tree, then at Arthur and the others.

"But you are right. And considering you and your friends are all Silver Rank, telling you to stay out would be foolish."

Arthur nodded.

Roland straightened and tightened his grip on his weapon.

"Alright," he said. "Let’s go up."

Arthur’s smile widened.