Chapter 359

359 – Battle with Eve (side Treant)

…My master commands the unreasonable. As master-dono takes his eyes off me, I separate my two crossed branches and scratch my bark.

So that I’m not left behind by master-dono’s favourite, Aro-dono, and the impertinent newcomer spider, I responded to master-dono with a show of confidence, but in my eyes, it’s clear that that the one-eyed monster is too much for us to handle. Aro-dono’s fluster is entirely understandable. In the first place, forcing that speedy one-eyed to stay in one place is beyond our capabilities. What should we do? I told master-dono that I would try my best, so, for now, I’ll try shooting gravity waves when the timing looks right.

Neither Aro-dono nor the masked spider are very fast. As I am a tree, catching up to it is even more unthinkable for me.

I twist my trunk, thinking I’ll chase after it with my roots even if it’s just for show, but then Aro-dono rests a hand on me.

“Probably… It’ll come here. Just a bit longer.”

Hmm, what do you mean? I think strongly towards her, and she silently looks at master-dono.

Master-dono steps back and receives an attack from a human-shaped with his shoulder. Oh? Wouldn’t master-dono normally have been able to avoid that?

“Dragon-god-sama received it on purpose.”

As though to prove Aro-dono’s words, master-dono swiftly bites into the human-shaped and slams it into the floor. The human-shaped forcefully pries apart master-dono’s teeth and escapes. But half of its body is covered in blood. The human-shaped glances this way, and the one-eyed dashes towards us.

I finally understand Aro-dono’s meaning when she said it would come here. It seems master-dono made good use of the wall and his body in his fight against the two human-shapeds to limit the route by which they can withdraw.

In order for the human-shaped to quickly retreat and receive treatment from the one-eyed, it must pass through our position. The other routes expose it to master-dono. As long as the one-eyed can’t carelessly get close to master-dono, it also can’t easily approach the injured human-shaped.

The one-eyed glares at us. Turning my consciousness towards it, I sense the thought 『Please step back』.

I can sense the thoughts of others, and conversely can send them my own thoughts. It’s what master-dono calls [Telepathy]. When I obtained it, master-dono was visibly regretful. It would likely anger Aro-dono, however when the mighty master-dono was envious of my power, I felt a tiny bit pleased. But if I were to become hated, I would lose everything, so I have avoided using it in front of master-dono. If master-dono were to see me practising, he may become even more regretful. A capable treant hides the [Telepathy].

The one-eyed hops towards us, its dishevelled hair swinging wildly. Kill. That is the thought I strongly sense. It probably intends to kill us all in an instant. That speed is proof of it being in a different class to us.

…I can’t run away right at the beginning. I have my dignity to consider. I’ll run after the masked spider flees. Besides, the masked spider has a good understanding of when to quit. There won’t be any mistake if I follow after it. Aro-dono, who lives by the principle of master-dono first, will probably be the last to leave, but if I tell her 『master-dono will be sad,』 she’ll probably give up quickly. We are likely inconsequential to that one-eyed. Once we leave, it shouldn’t chase us.

Aro-dono leans forward and touches the ground where the floor is chipped away to reveal soil. I think for moment that she’s about to use the same [Clay] that I can use, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.

The earth swells up, forming two small mounds. The mounds take on human shapes, soon becoming identical to Aro-dono.

Both of the Aro-donos made of earth have one of their arms enlarged. They are in Aro-dono’s battle-ready form.

The earthen Aro-donos are become shrouded in radiant magic power, and suddenly gaining colour. As a result, two copies of Aro-dono have appeared in front of her.

“…[Clay Doll].”

Her scale and precision are both far greater than the time she created rabbits. This must be the strength she gained with evolution. If she receives an attack poorly, it would directly lead to her death. I suppose the clay dolls will stand at the front while we all attack together from the rear.

“Treant-san…”

Hmm, what is it, Aro-dono?

“Somehow hit that monster with attack-reducing magic…”

…Hmm, [Antipower] is it? But I don’t get the feeling that would land, so I was planning on making a show of shooting out [Gravity], but… Well, I’ll do the best I can.

She smiles at me. Aro-dono. I apologise, but whether or not it hits is another matter.

Her expression tightens, and she raises a hand into the air. All of a sudden, the surroundings are engulfed in a thick fog, reducing the visibility. Aro-dono’s versatility is enviable.

I don’t know what it is she’s planning, but… She must have something in mind. Fortunately, the sound of that one-eyed’s footsteps stand out. Even without seeing it, narrowing down its position is no difficult task.

I wander around aimlessly for a short while, but then hear strange footsteps and approach them with slight trepidation.

I see four silhouettes. Two are facing each other, and two more are in between them as though to block the way. Probably, they are Aro-dono, her two copies, and the one-eyed.

With strange movements and incredible speed, the one-eyed closes in on the two Aro-donos. I thought for sure they wouldn’t last five seconds, but… The Aro-dono copies bend over and the one-eyed’s movements slow.

It seems masked-spider-dono’s thread is stretched between them. Hrmm, I see. I quietly shoot the [Antipower] magic towards the one-eyed’s back… or rather, towards the back of its head.

A black light drifts out and hits its head. With this, its attack power should be reduced…

But is my magic even effective on such a monster? It might merely be for peace of mind… From its movements, I can tell that the one-eyed has turned to look at me. I tremble and move away from it with great effort.

I-I thought I was about to be killed…

Looking back, it seems it has already lost interest in me. It shakes its body to escape from the thread, and at the same time, leaps up at one of the Aro-dono clay dolls that had leapt overhead.

The clay doll Aro-dono tries to use its enlarged arm as a shield, but it’s not nearly enough. The one-eyed’s leg pierces deep through its arm and shoulder, all the way to the centre of its body. The Aro-dono clay doll is flung backwards from the force.

The body of the clay doll Aro-dono is torn to pieces, and the neck is snapped. A simple kick has that much power. As expected, is this not a battle that we can participate in…?

However I am grateful that I was not the target. As I continue to distance myself, I suddenly realise that I could hit it with some other magic from here. I quietly gather myself, and accumulate magic power in preparation for a [Clay Sphere].

But before I can release it, the other clay doll’s belly is pierced by the one-eyed’s heel.

I-it’s crushed already…? It seems the clay dolls are far more fragile than Aro-dono. It doesn’t seem that casting [Antipower] on the one-eyed made much difference… Is what I think, but then the clay doll with its abdomen pierced reaches out a hand to touch the one-eyed’s eyeball.

Hmm? It can still move? It seems to be much firmer than the other clay doll. Is the amount of magic power put into it different…? Even so, something about it seems strange.

“…G-[Gale].”

The wind magic shot from point-blank range directly hits the one-eyed’s obvious weak spot.

“AaaaaaaAaaaah!”

Raising a terrible scream, the one-eyed is flung away and tumbles across the floor. At the same time, blown by the wind, the fog clears.

Did the clay doll chant a spell? No, that’s not right. The one that’s abdomen was pierced just now was the real Aro-dono. The Aro-dono standing behind them is just a clay doll.

The enlarging of their arms was probably a trick to make their silhouettes more distinctive in the fog, fostering a preconceived notion. After showing their appearance, she switched their arm shapes under the cover of the fog. Probably because she intended to take a hit, she wanted me to lower its attack strength for peace of mind.

The only way to catch an opponent so much faster than herself is to create an opportunity for them to become negligent in close-quarters. It was a splendid strategy.

The power of Aro-dono’s magic attacks are tremendous. Regardless of it being a higher-rank, if it receives her attack from point blank range, it shouldn’t be able to stand up… Is what I think, but then the one-eyed bends its leg and deftly stands back up.

Its bright red eye glares at Aro-dono. It’s completely enraged. The one-eyed’s body shines with light, and its injury rapidly heals. It seems to be a healer type. Just like that, has Aro-dono’s desperate attack been rendered meaningless.

Aro-dono is crouching down while clutching the gaping hole in her abdomen. It seems she’s close to the limit of both her health and her magic power. The one-eyed slowly approaches her.

I pour more magic power into the [Clay Sphere] that I let subside and fire it towards the one-eyed. The sphere of hardened earth shatters right in front of it. I blink. Most likely, it shook its head to flick it away, but I couldn’t follow its movements at all.

The masked spider’s thread approaches the back of its head. But it too snaps off and disappears into the air. It’s too fast. Without the fog or decoys, it’s not an enemy we can approach.

Now that we lack Aro-dono’s large-scale diversion, we no longer have any means of resisting it… Ah, master-dono, it might be hopeless soon.

「GuuOOOOOoOOOoOhh!”」

As I stand dumbfounded, a massive roar shakes the area. Hearing it, the one-eyed turns around and opens its eye wide.

Master-dono is headed this way, bearing unusually heavy wounds. His chest has traces of being gouged out, some of the scales on his back are torn out, and blue blood is splattered here and there.

But what the one-eyed sees is probably not an opportunity.

In master-dono’s other head, the two human-shapeds are held. They are pierced by teeth. The second head lifts up to the ceiling and moves her mouth. I hear a crunch as they are crushed. Blood drips from the gaps between her teeth.

“A…Aaaaaaaah!”

Screaming, the one-eyed kicks off the ground. The next instant, I lose sight of it.

I frantically look around for it, but then follow Aro-dono’s line of sight and look up at master-dono. Master-dono swings his foreleg down with tremendous speed. A loud screech echoes out. As master-dono raises his foreleg, I see the one-eyed crushed beneath it. Seeing that, I finally sigh in relief. I panicked a bit there, master-dono.