Chapter 1402: Now I’m Mad!

Auri woke up just then.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up in the green chair, gazing ahead with sleepy eyes.

The colossal tree’s trunk slowly split open.

A hollow appeared in its center, exactly as tall as Auri and barely wide enough for her to pass through alone.

"Is this the way out?"

Auri hopped down from the chair and walked over to compare herself with the opening.

"Why does it feel a little small?"

The opening paused, then widened to either side.

The passage soon became much roomier.

A few crooked branches still jutted from the edges, blocking part of the way. Auri pushed them aside and frowned.

"There are too many weeds!"

She looked up at the giant tree.

"Can you make me another one?"

The tree froze.

After a moment, the obstructing branches slowly withdrew into the trunk. The entrance became neat and clear, though a trickle of green liquid seeped from the spots where the branches had retracted and ran down the bark.

Auri still didn’t go in.

Hidden beside her, Ethan was speechless.

She was still playing around at a time like this?

Couldn’t she tell the tree was trying to lure her inside and eat her?

Of course Auri could tell.

She had been sensing the energy around her ever since she passed through the plant wall. The trees here contained immense life force, but the energy inside them was a chaotic mixture.

It was nothing like Auri’s pure Fairy energy.

With her hands clasped behind her back, Auri gave the hollow a playful look.

Fairy power lit up in her palm, taking the shape of a branch once more.

"Then you—"

Before she could finish, an angry voice erupted from inside the giant tree.

"Are you playing with me?"

The voice shook the entire wooded space.

All the surrounding branches rose at once. Their tips locked onto Auri before shooting toward her from every direction.

Auri was ready.

Green Fairy power instantly covered her body, forming a close-fitting barrier. The branch in her hand changed shape as well, bending into a long green bow.

An energy arrow formed against the string.

Auri drew the bow, aimed into the hollow, and released.

Whoosh!

The green arrow shot through the incoming branches and flew straight into the depths of the tree.

"Did you really think I’d be that easy to fool?"

Auri gripped the bow and placed her fingers on the string again.

Green light gathered between them, slowly forming a second arrow.

"You hurt my hand when you dragged me!"

She aimed at the hollow, puffing out her cheeks.

"Now I’m mad!"

The colossal tree dropped its disguise.

The hollow contracted inward like a mouth snapping shut, swallowing Auri’s first arrow whole.

Then the entire ground began to shake.

Soil and rock churned upward as thick branches burst from underground. The giant trunk shifted violently, and the massive body buried beneath the earth slowly rose to its feet.

"Little girl."

A deep voice pressed down from above.

"I am Thornroot, guardian of the Golden Grove."

An enormous face formed near the top of the trunk, shaped from bark and deep furrows. Dark green light glowed in its eyes.

Thornroot looked down at Auri.

"Did you ever consider the consequences of making a fool of me?"

More branches and leaves broke through the surrounding earth.

Smaller Treants pulled their roots from the ground and rose throughout the forest, their bodies thick with foliage. They advanced on Auri, gradually sealing off every direction around her.

Ethan didn’t intervene.

Still dispersed into black particles, he stood quietly beside Auri and watched the approaching Treants.

Auri wasn’t weak.

She rarely had to face enemies alone only because there was always someone around to protect her. But when she truly needed to fight, her control over Fairy power was anything but clumsy.

Even with Treants closing in from every side, Auri showed no panic.

She released the bow. It dissolved back into emerald energy and fell into the grass beside her. Then she stretched both hands forward, and the Fairy power in her palms turned violent.

Pure green light rose from beneath her feet and spread outward around her body.

An emerald shield rapidly closed around her.

The surrounding branches were already upon her. Their tips struck the barrier from different directions, but each impact produced nothing more than a small green ripple across its surface.

No matter how fiercely the branches lashed at it, the shield didn’t crack.

Even purer Fairy energy seeped out through the barrier and condensed into a layer of green mist around it. The first Treants to enter the mist had their branches and leaves blown backward, and their bodies were forced to a halt.

The ground began to shake.

Thick arms burst from the earth. Five wooden fingers braced against the soil as the buried bodies pulled themselves free.

Treants created by Auri rose one after another.

They looked just like the army Thornroot had summoned, but brighter green energy covered their trunks and branches. They pulled their roots from the soil, spread their foliage, and quickly formed a defensive line outside Auri’s shield.

Auri looked at the towering tree in the distance and giggled.

She gave a casual wave.

Her Treant army charged.

The two armies crashed together. Thick branches tangled, roots tore through the soil, and wooden fists pounded into solid trunks. Shattered bark and torn leaves flew across the battlefield as heavy impacts rang out from every direction.

Auri didn’t remain idle inside her shield.

She studied Thornroot, curiosity entering her eyes.

"The Golden Grove?"

Auri tilted her head.

"Is there any gold around here?"

Still hidden beside her, Ethan wasn’t sure whether he should reveal himself.

Judging by the situation, Auri probably wouldn’t have been in any real danger even if he hadn’t followed her.

Beyond the plant wall, the others weren’t having nearly as easy a time.

The green rain of light continued falling outside their shield.

It showed no sign of weakening, but time around them had begun behaving strangely. The tree trunks and grass would grow wet under the rain, only for the moisture to vanish moments later, leaving them dry again. Then the same raindrops would fall once more, soaking the grass all over again.

The cycle repeated endlessly.

Even the green lights striking the shield were caught in a loop of vanishing and reappearing.

Gray light filled Seraphine’s eyes.

She stopped observing the forest as a whole and focused on a single blade of grass beside the wall. The rain bent it down, then the shift in time restored it to its original position. The same sequence played out over and over.

Primordial Death Energy poured from Seraphine’s palm.

The gray power passed through the shield and gathered into an energy sphere outside. Instead of traveling in a straight line, the sphere veered from side to side under her control, avoiding the falling green rain.

"Death or rebirth."

Seraphine kept her eyes fixed on the blade of grass.

"This will decide it."