Chapter 242: Treant Boss

The trunk opened into a hollow chamber.

The walls were silver bark, pulsing with the same slow heartbeat. Roots hung from the ceiling like veins. The floor was soft, covered in moss that glowed faintly. At the center of the chamber stood the Treant Boss.

It was massive—three times the size of the other Treants. Its bark was dark, almost black. Its tendrils were thick as tree trunks, coiled around its body like sleeping serpents. Its blank face was cracked, and through the cracks, a pale core glowed.

The core pulsed. The heartbeat.

Nathan analyzed with Hunter’s Insight. The core was buried deep, protected by layers of bark. Fire would burn through it. Ice would slow it down. But neither would be enough alone.

"Elise, Shiro—you’re the key," Nathan said. "Fire and ice. We’ll cover you."

Elise nodded. She raised Aurora’s Heart. The staff’s aurora light pulsed in rhythm with her heartbeat. The Frost Golem stood behind her, its crystalline body gleaming in the dim light.

Shiro nodded. She rolled her shoulders. Her golden eyes were fixed on the Treant Boss.

---

The Treant Boss attacked first.

Its tendrils uncoiled and shot forward like spears. The party scattered. Garrett and Red charged the left flank. Dillon and Cloudy took the air. Smithy’s Void Eel phased through the ground. Amara’s spirits swirled around her. Ororo raised her staff, ready to heal.

Nathan fired Starfall Barrage. The arrows rained down, cracking bark but not breaking through. He fired Focus Shot. The arrow struck the same spot, driving deeper. A small crack appeared.

Elise raised Aurora’s Heart. The Frost Golem slammed its fists into the ground. Ice spread across the chamber floor, climbing the walls, freezing the roots. The Treant Boss’s movements slowed. Its tendrils became sluggish.

Shiro activated Dragonification. Golden scales spread across her skin. Wings of fire erupted from her back. She launched herself at the Treant Boss, Tyrant Dragon Fist blazing. The impact cracked its chest. The bark splintered.

"Again!" Nathan called.

---

The Treant Boss swung its tendrils.

One caught Shiro and threw her across the chamber. She hit the wall hard. Her wings flickered. She pushed herself up, shaking her head.

Another tendril wrapped around Garrett’s leg and yanked him off his feet. Red charged, horns slamming into the tendril. The tendril tightened. Garrett swung Volcan. The mace erupted, and the tendril loosened. He pulled free.

A third tendril shot toward Elise.

The Frost Golem intercepted. The tendril wrapped around its arm. The Golem froze the tendril solid and shattered it with a single flex. Ice shards scattered across the floor.

Elise raised Aurora’s Heart. [Glacial Lance] materialized at its tip. She released. The spear of frost punched into the crack Shiro had made. The bark shattered. The core was exposed.

The Treant Boss screamed. Its tendrils thrashed wildly. The chamber shook. Roots fell from the ceiling. The moss on the floor withered.

"Now!" Nathan shouted.

Shiro recovered. She launched herself at the exposed core, Tyrant Dragon Fist blazing. The fire met the frost. Steam exploded outward. The core cracked.

The Treant Boss swung its tendrils again. Shiro dodged one, then another. She struck again. The core cracked wider.

Elise raised Aurora’s Heart. She layered Mana Shield over Shiro, absorbing a tendril strike that would have crushed her. She froze another tendril. She shattered a third. The Frost Golem stood beside her, its arms crossed, its body a wall of ice.

Nathan charged Focus Shot. Sixty seconds.

Garrett and Red held the left flank. Garrett swung Volcan again and again, each strike cracking bark, each thermal pulse burning through tendrils. Red charged whenever a tendril got too close, horns scraping against the silver wood.

Dillon and Cloudy peppered the Treant Boss from above. Cloudy’s lightning arced across its bark. Dillon’s Thunder Edge carved through the smaller tendrils.

Smithy’s Void Eel phased through the ground, wrapping around the Treant Boss’s roots, disrupting its connection to the chamber. The heartbeat stuttered.

Amara’s spirits whispered to the Treant Boss. Confusion. Fear. The creature hesitated.

Ororo’s Healing Field washed over the party. Wounds closed. Stamina returned. She raised her staff again. Negate Ailment absorbed the spores the Treant Boss released.

Nathan released.

The arrow struck the exposed core. It shattered.

The Treant Boss collapsed.

---

The chamber fell silent.

The Treant Boss dissolved into motes of pale light. The heartbeat stopped. The roots withered. The moss dimmed.

Outside, the other Treants collapsed. Their bodies crumbled. Their cores went dark. The nest fell still.

The raid party gathered in the chamber. They were battered but alive.

"The nest is dead," Arthur said. He was breathing hard. His armor was cracked in three places.

"The cocoons are opening," Amara reported. She was leaning on her staff. Her spirits were dim. "The captives are free."

Nathan nodded. He looked at his party. Garrett was nursing a bruised shoulder. Red was panting. Dillon’s Storm Striders were sparking weakly. Cloudy was coiled around his shoulders, her scales dim. Smithy was studying the Treant Boss’s remains. Elise was checking the Frost Golem’s mass. Shiro was sitting on the floor, her Dragonification faded, her golden scales gone.

"We need to move," Nathan said. "There are more layers. More people trapped."

Elise looked at him. "You mean the strays."

"Yes." Nathan gestured at the cocoons. "These people aren’t from our group. They were absorbed by the Tower and scattered across the layers. There are more of them. Somewhere deeper."

"The entire stadium was pulled in," Smithy said. "Tens of thousands of people. Most of them are still trapped."

"We need to clear this Tower faster," Nathan said. "Every hour we waste, more people die."

---

The raid party exited the nest.

The captives were gathered—dozens of them, confused and frightened. They were not from the original group. They were strays. People who had been absorbed by the Tower and scattered across the layers when it formed.

The lesser teams had sent guides to bring them back to the first layer. The civilians would be safe there. For now.

Nathan watched the captives leave. They were pale, thin, trembling. Some of them were crying. Some of them were silent. One of them—a young girl—looked back at him before she disappeared into the trees.

He turned away.

"The third layer is ahead," Smithy said. "Deeper into the forest."

"The trees are changing," Kaito said. He was staring at the canopy. The silver leaves were darker now. Almost grey. "Getting darker."

"The Tower is adapting," Arthur said.

"We adapt faster," Nathan said.

He looked at his party. Garrett. Dillon. Elise. Smithy. Mirko. Kuro. Shiro. Ororo. They were battered. They were tired. But they were ready.

He looked at the other teams. Kaito. Arthur. Han Seo-jun. Long Wei. Amara. Their teams. All of them, standing together.

"Let’s move."

They walked deeper into the forest.