Baron and Gavin immediately ran to their friend. The dark-skinned young man quickly slapped Kairav’s shoulder and asked, “What’s wrong? Failed after just one try?”

“Shut up!” Kairav grumbled.

Annoyed, he turned his head to glare at the nameless young man, who continued walking unfazed. But at that moment, Kairav’s expression changed, his gaze frozen as he noticed a girl suddenly emerging from behind one of the trees, walking slowly with a blank, empty stare.

“The psycho girl!” Gavin shouted, pointing at Trisha.

The nameless young man had already noticed her and swiftly intercepted her steps. Grabbing the jacket she wore, he roughly dragged her toward the three stunned young men who had been watching the scene unfold.

“Carry her,” he ordered, handing Trisha’s limp body to Baron as if she were an object.

Seeing Baron still frozen, he added, “Relax. She’s harmless.”

Reluctantly, the bespectacled young man started to support Trisha’s weight. “Why don’t you carry her?” he muttered in disbelief.

“I don’t want junk on my back,” the nameless young man replied expressionlessly, leaving everyone behind stunned.

“No one escapes his sharp tongue, huh,” Kairav muttered, watching as the nameless young man walked away.

Grumbling, Baron finally lifted Trisha onto his back, muttering angrily.

“You look like you’re carrying a ghost. It’s giving me chills,” Gavin remarked, noticing how Trisha remained eerily silent, her face blank.

“Should we just dump her? I’m still bitter about what she did to us in the cave yesterday,” Baron complained.

Amidst their bickering, the nameless young man’s voice suddenly called out from another direction. “Found two more pieces of trash here!”

***

Vines slowly crawled over the ground, wrapping around the bodies of five ‘undead,’ who were seated together under the dirt mound. There was no resistance from the fierce girl, Trisha, or her four lackeys, as Prince Arkana used his Creeping Snare technique to bind their empty forms together.

“I want to smack each one of them,” Baron grumbled, punching the bald Zacky on the head in frustration.

Prince Arkana cut in, “We’re leaving now. Don’t waste any more time.”

Everyone grabbed their weapons, following the order, including Kairav and his two friends, who instinctively headed toward the hole that served as the entrance and exit to the underground chamber.

However, their steps were suddenly halted as Arkana quickly blocked their path.

“You three, stay here and guard them,” the young prince commanded.

Kairav’s face immediately showed disapproval. “Why?!”

“Stay here and don’t be a burden to us, Failed Product!” Casildo snapped irritably.

The curly-haired young man almost cursed but stopped when Arkana lifted a hand, using the Timber Defense technique.

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Tree roots from the surrounding evergreens moved swiftly, sealing the hole and trapping Kairav and his friends inside the stuffy underground chamber.

“Hey! Come back! I’m coming with you guys!” Kairav shouted as he glimpsed the figures of the three outside, walking away through the gaps in the roots.

“Damn it!” he cursed, hitting the root barrier.

“Just accept our fate, buddy,” Baron remarked, making Kairav’s frustration worse.

A stark contrast in atmosphere hit them as the three young men moved closer to the towering, soul-draining Banyan tree. The lush, vibrant forest slowly faded away, replaced by the cursed, barren ground where the tree stood proudly, its presence menacing.

Human skeletons lay scattered on the cursed ground, their tattered clothing still clinging to their broken bodies.

Crows cawed loudly, flapping their black wings as they took flight from the tree, greeting the newcomers before abandoning the cursed place.

Visible water vapor hovered around the leaves of the banyan tree, but this time it remained confined to the tree, no longer spreading to form a disorienting fog that clouded vision and hearing.

The once-vicious hanging roots lay dormant, like nocturnal beasts asleep, giving the impression that the group’s mission might go smoothly.

“Alright, Bro, it’s your turn,” Casildo said to the nameless young man.

The dark-eyed youth stepped forward, his gaze sharp as he stared at the massive banyan tree before him, summoning his Phoenix animal spirit with the Radiant Soulforge Awakening technique.

His eyes slowly closed, and he raised one hand high into the air. The reddish-purple hue in the sky gradually gave way to a spectrum of colors radiating from his Luminous Remnants star.

A sea of light stretched like an ocean above, accompanying the descent of Cosmic Resonance Radiation, which wrapped around the nameless young man’s body. Red mist enveloped him just as the Phoenix Totem on his back unfurled its wings.

Screeech!!!

The majestic firebird spirit rose from his body, its wings flaring as it soared high toward the sky. Hot winds strong enough to scorch the leaves blasted from its fiery wings.

Its piercing cry echoed as its massive form hung in the air, wings spread wide like a blazing carpet of fire. The wind grew fiercer as hundreds of fiery embers rained down from its wings like a fiery downpour.

[Ember Rainfall]

The soul-draining banyan tree was bombarded with blazing embers, the fog-producing leaves burning away like paper consumed by flame. Glowing embers floated in the air, like drifting particles of dust.

Growl!!!

The tree, feeling part of itself devoured by flames, roared in fury. The once-slumbering hanging roots woke, now lashing out wildly toward the enemy. The underground roots, too, began to stir, attacking with savage force.

Prince Arkana, seeing the onslaught, calmly prepared himself. Though he remained still, his heart silently chanted a spell, summoning the roots buried around him.

[Root Bind]

The surrounding evergreen roots burst from the ground, shooting toward Arkana, intercepting the banyan tree’s attack, binding the roots, and locking them in place.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

“Casildo! It’s your turn!” Arkana shouted.

Knowing it was his moment, the burly young man slammed his fists into the ground. The ground trembled, cracks forming and spreading toward the banyan tree.

Crack! Crack!

The cracks continued to widen, reaching the soul-draining banyan tree’s base. A loud boom echoed as the ground beneath the tree split. Casildo’s Terra Tombstrike technique caused the ground to collapse, destabilizing the tree, almost toppling it.

He followed up with another attack, summoning his bull animal spirit with the Radiant Soulforge Awakening technique. Once again, the Luminous Remnants star in the bull constellation was surrounded by a spectrum of colorful light.

Cosmic Resonance Radiation poured down, flooding the Lushterra and enveloping Casildo’s body in a black mist.

The Bull Totem etched on his back came to life, its horns thrusting forward with a surge of energy. The mighty bull spirit emerged from within him with a resounding bellow.

Beloww!!

Casildo gripped his massive stone hammer tighter. He charged toward the banyan tree, his bull spirit running alongside him with powerful strides.

Facing the tree head-on, he swung his hammer with full force while his bull spirit rammed the tree’s trunk with its sharp horns, embodying the spirit of his hammer, which he had named ‘Wira,’ meaning ‘The Bold and Brave Hammer.’

Bang!

Growwlll!!

Another roar of fury echoed as Casildo’s Horned Havoc attack inflicted significant damage on the soul-draining banyan tree. Deep cracks appeared along its trunk from the combined blow of the hammer and the bull spirit’s horns.

However, it seemed that it still wasn’t enough to weaken the power of the soul-draining banyan tree in order to infuse it with pure energy.

“Casildo! Back off!”