Raging flames covered the boundless grasslands, and terrifying molten lava surged up from the void-like core of the earth through the shattered ground, rushing toward the sky.
Firelight twisted around the giant beast in midair. The crimson flames floating in the sky seemed to have fallen into a frenzied vortex, spinning wildly beneath the red clouds.
The sky was split into several layers. At the very top, it was no longer simply crimson, it was clearly rage turned into fire, burning violently.
Guldon's entire body was covered in molten lava. Its sharp, icy-white fangs were illuminated by endless firelight, bursting with a brilliant red glow.
Horrific flames were reflected deep in its eyes. Two streams of scorching breath continuously rippled through space, causing the jade-green surroundings to grow dim.
Every time Guldon's foot came down, the earth trembled endlessly from the massive impact.
Cracks split open beneath the giant beast's feet. Flames turned into twisting serpents that plunged into the earth's core, blasting up destructive lava tens of meters high.
Inside the Divine Tree, its interior was scorched by the terrifying heat, gradually shrinking, until flames appeared out of thin air on those wooden bodies, red rage swaying endlessly.
Feeling such horrifying temperatures, the Divine Tree's heart began to pound violently.
The surrounding guardians seemed to receive an order. They spun the blades in their hands at high speed and charged straight at Guldon.
Yet the giant beast still did not turn around. Sensing only a trace of unfamiliar natural energy, it snorted a deep, muffled sound through its nostrils.
A massive heat wave erupted violently from its back along with flames. The surrounding space became extremely distorted under the searing heat.
This disturbance easily restrained the guardians, freezing them completely in place.
They could only watch helplessly as the oncoming flames and shockwaves completely incinerated them.
[Heat Wave Incineration]
After a white shockwave gradually dissipated, the guardians who had originally been protected by green leaf armor even saw the green energy armor on their bodies begin to tremble.
The raging fire completely engulfed their bodies, igniting them in blistering flames.
As if impossible to extinguish, those savage flames burned away their final despair.
In the end, they turned into piles of ash that fell onto the ground. The moment those jade-green armors touched the earth, they shattered completely.
Flames lingered among the ashes, then gradually died down.
Gray-black embers, carried by the swirling shockwaves, flew into the sky and slowly blended completely with the red specks floating in midair.
Rolling lava flowed across the ground, covering the entire space's terrain.
From the cracks in the earth, chunks of lava were occasionally blasted high into the air, corroding the green branches that protected the heart.
The Divine Tree's heart continued to beat, the rhythm growing faster and faster, even reaching a terrifying, convulsive intensity.
Batch after batch of green-vine guardians were continuously produced from the walls. They likewise spun their blades and attacked Guldon.
But their fate was exactly the same as at the beginning.
They didn't even need Guldon to act. Under the horrifying high temperatures alone, they began to burn on their own.
In Viktor's eyes, the Divine Tree was completely incapable of summoning any guardians that could contend with Guldon.
Before long, the heart's beating gradually calmed, and the rate at which guardians were created slowed as well.
The speed at which the Divine Tree summoned those guards couldn't even keep up with the speed at which the flames destroyed them and burned them to ash.
Viktor stood to the side with his hands in his pockets, calmly watching the Yard Divine Tree's heart gradually stabilize.
As if mocking it, he spoke, "Have you used up all your trump cards?"
"The natural energy passed down generation after generation, surely it's more than just this much, right?"
The massive heart of the Divine Tree heard Viktor's words and fell silent for a moment.
Its beating gradually slowed.
Only when it sensed Guldon drawing closer did its heart finally begin to move again.
Green natural energy suddenly surged out all at once, as if it were being fully released from every blood vessel connected to the heart.
Endless green energy was squeezed out bit by bit from the heart, as though under immense pressure.
The energy turned into rivers, passing through the churning lava and flickering flames as they flowed toward the earth's core.
They followed the terrain, spreading through the ground of the entire space and flooding into the countless channels within the Divine Tree.
The instant the green natural energy was completely squeezed out, the sky that had been burning crimson also took on a faint green tint.
Outside the Yard Divine Tree, the ground seemed to fall into a terrifying tremor under the continuous clash of the two forces.
The earth gradually shattered, and the Divine Tree's root system was torn up from the soil.
Each root seemed to possess a will of its own. Green energy flowed along them as they slammed heavily into the loosened ground.
Dense natural energy gathered once more, forming a green ocean that engulfed all the elves, pinning their bodies tightly in place.
Only their heads were left exposed, barely enough to sustain their breathing.
In the sky, the cloud fragments that had already looked shattered completely gathered together. Centered on the Divine Tree's crown, they began to spin endlessly, as if drawn by some mysterious force.
The Divine Tree was completely covered in red patterns, and molten lava began to flow along the surface of its trunk.
Beneath the pitch-black sky, red star-like lights drifted constantly across the land.
The towering crown was also swallowed by flames, and only after energy flowed out did it manage to suppress the wildly flickering fire somewhat.
The elves raised their heads, staring at the endlessly burning Divine Tree, gripped by boundless fear.
Their faces were pale, lips trembling, pupils dilated, and even under suppression, their hands shook uncontrollably.
After finally turning around and gradually accepting the reality before them, they lowered their noble heads, clasped their trembling hands together, and began to pray.
Vinia also looked at the towering Divine Tree engulfed in flames. Fear filled her eyes as she murmured, "The Divine Tree… is crying…"
At some unknown moment, Vinia seemed to hear the Divine Tree's sorrowful wailing, lingering in her ears and refusing to fade.
Drawn in by that obscure crying, she felt dazed, as if she could hear the Divine Tree confiding some kind of pain to her.
"Pain… what… pain from being burned?"
Vinia raised her head in disbelief. At that moment, she felt the Divine Tree's miserable plight.
The earth was trembling, and strange phenomena filled the sky.
Flames spread for hundreds of miles, solely to wrap around the Divine Tree and burn it to the ground.
For thousands of years, the Elven Forest had been peaceful and tranquil.
And now, the elves finally felt it.
That scene, like a natural disaster, was ravaging the hearts of all elves.
"What is actually happening inside?"
Vinia turned around and looked at Cocotte with a serious expression.
With the Divine Tree in such turmoil and such a severe catastrophe appearing in the Elven Forest, this had to be connected to Cocotte's sudden return.
And that aura of calamity…
"Why is there the aura of calamity!?"
Meeting Vinia's gaze, Cocotte helplessly spread her hands, "Well…"
"To put it simply, you can think of it as there being a calamity inside the Divine Tree, tearing the place apart."
Her calm words left Vinia completely stunned.
Leon's emerald-green eyes also lifted, fixed tightly on the Divine Tree engulfed in flames.
Countless complex thoughts flashed through her mind.
———
[Inside the Yard Divine Tree]
After pouring out vast amounts of energy, the trembling heart seemed to shed an outer shell and began to change.
The densest natural energy had been completely extracted, as if it had formed a condensed manifestation of the Divine Tree's will.
A soul-like emerald heart, accompanied by that gathered natural energy, gradually took shape and slowly appeared in midair.
Countless vines burst out into the surrounding space around the heart. Where they connected with space itself, green fluorescent light flickered continuously.
The vines were covered in irregular spikes. At the ends of the vines, enormous mouths with protruding, curved fangs drifted about in manic frenzy.
Around the heart, a glowing emerald cube enveloped it completely. Countless patterns surfaced from the vines.
Bulging eyeballs were squeezed out from the roots of the vines, floating in midair as they stared fixedly at the great Calamity of Fire.
A long health bar floated above the monster's head, clearly visible.
[LV60]
Exactly as Viktor had expected.
At this moment, the Yard Divine Tree, this most sacred object of elven faith, finally revealed its ugliest, complete form.
With his hands in his pockets and a calm expression, he continued, "Although I'd really like to fight you personally, but…"
Viktor raised his head and looked at Guldon, its eyes filled with flames, sizing up the molten lava covering its body, and let out a soft laugh, "I've got a pretty irritable guy here who's been waiting to make a big scene."
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