Chapter 310: Miasma

The World Tree pulsed again.

THUM.

The sound rolled through the entire Secret Realm, and Arthur felt it in his chest. Then the roots moved. A gigantic root tore through the ancient city, splitting a temple in half as it surged across the ground, and purple-black Miasma poured out of the cracks.

At first it looked like smoke, but Arthur quickly realized it wasn’t behaving like smoke at all. The Miasma crawled across the ground in thick streams, climbing over ruins, wrapping around trees, and flowing up the ancient roots before spilling down their other side. It wasn’t drifting with the wind.

It was searching.

Arthur’s expression hardened. "Everyone, move!"

The group started to retreat, and they hadn’t gone more than a few dozen meters when the Miasma changed direction. It split around a ruined building, one stream going left and another right, and then both curved around the building and kept coming toward them.

Mithra’s eyes narrowed. "It’s following us."

"No," Arthur said, watching it carefully. "It’s following something else."

Athena looked at him. "What?"

Arthur pointed at a glowing crystal embedded in the ruins. The Miasma had ignored all the dead stone around it and was flowing straight toward the crystal. The purple mist wrapped around it, and the light inside immediately began to fade.

Arthur’s expression changed. "Mana."

Athena understood. "It’s following mana concentrations."

Another stream of Miasma shifted direction, this time toward the river, where the water had begun to glow with the World Tree’s energy. The Miasma poured into it, and the river darkened.

Luna went pale. "That’s not possible."

Athena shook her head. "Apparently it is."

Arthur looked across the land. Everywhere the World Tree’s mana had gathered, the Miasma was moving toward it, into the crystals, the rivers, the forests, the Beasts, and even the mana-rich ruins, and all of it was being consumed.

Athena’s expression turned grim. "It’s feeding on the Secret Realm."

Arthur looked up. The World Tree’s golden branches were still visible beneath the spreading purple clouds, and its roots kept pulsing.

THUM.

A wave of mana flowed through the land, and the Miasma followed it at once.

Arthur’s eyes narrowed. "The tree is drawing mana from everything."

"Not the tree," Athena said, looking at the black veins covering its trunk. "Whatever is inside it."

No one answered.

Then a roar came from the forest, and everyone turned as a Beast burst through the trees. Purple-black veins covered its body and its eyes glowed violet, and although it was already badly injured, it wasn’t running away. It was charging.

Arthur raised Dusk. "Incoming!"

The Beast slammed into the ground.

BOOM!

Arthur leaped over its claws as Mithra flashed past its side.

[Dawn Sovereign: Golden Severance]

Her sword cut across its shoulder, and the Beast barely flinched.

Mithra’s eyes went wide. "It’s tougher."

Vedas stepped forward and drove King Maker into the Beast’s chest, blasting it backward through several trees. He looked at Arthur. "That wasn’t a normal Beast."

"It was corrupted," Arthur said.

The Beast got back up as purple energy surged through its body, and its wounds began closing.

Arthur’s eyes narrowed. "It can regenerate."

Mithra clicked her tongue. "That’s annoying."

The Beast roared, and the forest answered. One roar, then another, then dozens. Arthur slowly looked around as purple eyes began appearing between the trees.

Sun tightened his grip. "How many?"

Athena looked around. "Too many."

The forest exploded as corrupted Beasts charged from every direction. Some were small, and others were enormous. A massive serpent tore through the trees, and a flock of winged Beasts dove from above, while creatures that had been peaceful only minutes earlier attacked everything in sight.

"Stay together!" Arthur shouted, raising Dusk.

Vedas moved to his side, Mithra and Melo took the left, and Sun and Kong held the right. Athy rose into the air, Eden stayed close to Luna, and Star bounced anxiously near Arthur’s feet.

The first wave hit, and Arthur thrust Dusk forward.

[King’s Mark: Piercing Light]

Golden light tore through the front line and blasted several corrupted Beasts backward. Mithra vanished, and a moment later, golden flashes cut through the left flank as Melo’s dream mist rolled through the trees, throwing several Beasts off balance before they could strike.

Sun swung his weapon into a charging Beast.

"Good job!" Sun said, and Kong grinned. Then Sun stared at him. "Wait. You aren’t even supposed to be over there."

Kong pointed at another Beast. "Sunnnnnnnn!"

Sun sighed. "Fine. Go."

Above them, Athy fired downward, sending golden attacks into the ground in rapid succession. "Eden! Three behind Luna!"

Eden turned. "Duck under them!"

Luna ducked, and three sets of claws passed over her head. Eden countered immediately, sending a pulse of energy into the nearest Beast and knocking it off its feet.

Star bounced forward and flattened itself against the ground.

[Starfall Impact]

The Starborn Slime launched itself upward and slammed into the corrupted Beast, driving it into the earth.

Arthur glanced over. "Nice!"

Star bounced happily.

Then something enormous stepped through the trees, and the forest went silent.

Arthur turned as a massive Beast emerged, covered in thick black scales, with two enormous horns curving back from its skull and purple veins spreading across its chest. Its aura was far stronger than any of the others.

Athena’s expression changed. "A Chief Beast."

Arthur tightened his grip. It wasn’t just a Chief Beast. The corruption had made it stronger.

The creature roared, shaking the battlefield, and charged. Arthur stepped forward, and Dusk flashed as the Chief Beast swung a massive claw at him. He blocked it.

BOOOOOOM!

The impact sent him flying.

"Arthur!" Vedas was already moving, and he planted himself between Arthur and the Beast. The Chief Beast struck again, and Vedas met it head-on, King Maker slamming against its claws. The ground shattered beneath his feet, but he didn’t move.

Arthur stared. Vedas was holding back a corrupted Chief Beast on his own.

Vedas gritted his teeth. "You okay?"

Arthur blinked. "You’re asking me?"

Vedas smiled. "You’re the one who got thrown."

The Beast roared again, and Vedas pushed forward, his muscles tightening as his aura exploded outward and golden energy wrapped around King Maker. Then he swung.

BOOOOOOM!

The Chief Beast was hurled sideways and crashed through an ancient building.

Arthur’s eyes widened. Vedas had grown much stronger, and not just a little. He was fighting a Chief Beast empowered by Miasma, and he was still overpowering it.

Arthur smiled. "Vedas."

Vedas looked back. "What?"

"You’ve gotten really strong."

Vedas grinned. "Finally noticed?"

Arthur laughed. "I was busy."

"Sure."

The Chief Beast climbed out of the ruins, its body covered in cracks and Miasma pouring from its wounds. It roared, and the Miasma around it surged.

Vedas’s expression hardened. "Arthur, stay back."

The Beast attacked, and Vedas met it again.

King Maker collided with its enormous claws, and the shockwave burst outward, forcing Arthur to raise an arm to shield his face.

Vedas was pushed back, his feet carving trenches through the stone, and then the Beast’s claw caught his arm. Vedas blocked it, but purple Miasma exploded across his body.

"Vedas!" Arthur rushed forward.

Mithra struck before the Beast could attack again.

[Dawn Sovereign: Golden Flash]

Her blade cut across its face, knocking it away. "Move!"

Arthur reached Vedas. "Are you hurt?"

Vedas looked down, and purple-black energy was crawling across his arm. Arthur froze. The skin beneath the Miasma was changing as purple veins spread upward, and Vedas’s fingers twitched.

Arthur’s expression changed completely. "Vedas."

"I’m fine."

"No, you’re not."

Vedas clenched his fist, but the purple veins kept spreading, and Arthur grabbed his arm. "Get it off."

"I’m trying."

Vedas’s aura exploded as golden energy surged through his body and pushed against the corruption. For several seconds, neither side gave way.

Then Vedas roared. "GET OUT!"

Golden light erupted from his arm, driving the Miasma back until the purple veins slowly faded, and Vedas dropped to one knee. Arthur caught him. "Vedas!"

"I’m fine."

Arthur stared at him. "You just had corruption spreading through your arm."

Vedas looked at his arm. The skin was already returning to normal. Then he looked back at Arthur. "Ask me again in five minutes."

Arthur stared. "...You’re joking."

Vedas smiled weakly. "Mostly."

Arthur didn’t smile. "You’re not fighting alone anymore." He tightened his grip on Vedas’s arm. "If that happens again, you tell me right away."

Vedas was quiet for a moment, and then he nodded. "Alright."

Another roar cut them off as the Chief Beast began to rise again.

Mithra glanced back over her shoulder. "Can we finish this conversation later?"

"Definitely," Arthur said, standing.

Vedas rose beside him with King Maker resting on his shoulder. Arthur looked at the Chief Beast, then at the spreading Miasma, and then up at the World Tree, which kept pulsing.

Every pulse drew more mana out of the Secret Realm, and every pulse created more corrupted Beasts.

Arthur’s expression hardened. "This isn’t going to stop."

"No," Athena said, looking at the enormous tree. "If we stay here, we’ll eventually be overwhelmed."

Sun looked at the endless stream of corrupted Beasts. "So what’s the plan?"

Arthur stared at the World Tree. "We go inside."

Athena frowned. "Inside the World Tree?"

"Ronin went in." Arthur pointed up. "Whatever he’s doing, that’s where we’ll find him."

Mithra looked at the enormous roots. "And how exactly are we getting up there?"

Arthur smiled faintly. "I don’t know yet."

Sun stared at him. "You really need to stop saying that."

Arthur raised Dusk. "Let’s finish these first."

The corrupted Chief Beast charged again, and this time Arthur stepped up beside Vedas as Mithra joined them and Sun raised his weapon. Athy dropped down from above, and Eden and Star moved into formation until the whole group stood facing the corrupted horde together.

Arthur smiled. "Then we’ll figure out the rest afterward."

Above them, the World Tree pulsed.

THUM.

The Miasma spread farther, and another wave of corrupted Beasts poured out of the forest. The battle went on, but now they understood something they hadn’t before. The World Tree wasn’t simply waking up.

It was feeding, and the longer they waited, the stronger the corruption would become.