Victor Wang couldn't help frowning. He had already sensed something was wrong the moment the Tumor of the Withering absorbed those two special Consecrated Beasts—so he didn't dare use [Starfall] recklessly. But now, seeing it confirmed, he really wanted to say just one thing: disgusting.
The Tumor of the Withering's size and attack power far exceeded the consecrated beasts. Even cutting off pieces to weaken it was difficult.
But Victor Wang had no choice. Forced to endure Decay Bombs, he continuously severed the tree's branches and burned them away. It had turned into a battle of attrition. Even with his spiritual strength having broken into River-class, the elemental power he could draw was limited—while the Tumor of the Withering remained at full firepower with no signs of slowing.
After several cycles of attacking and evading, he noticed something even stranger: the rate at which the Tumor of the Withering shrank wasn't normal at all. Observing more closely, he realized it was absorbing strength from the distant forest to heal itself.
"…?"
That's cheating.
From below, Arana spoke to Victor Wang for the first time: "It must be lifted from the ground."
Surprised, he glanced at her. "You mean its ability to heal using the forest?"
"That's right. Marana can only grow while touching the earth. If it leaves the ground, it cannot take power from the other trees. But whether it can be destroyed once it's lifted… Arana does not know."
"In other words, even if we lift it up, it still keeps the regenerative abilities of those two special beasts—but it loses the forest's healing."
So, he would need to destroy it midair, once and for all.
Still not easy.
He suddenly remembered the day he and Lumine destroyed the Ruin Serpent. He missed her a little.
Fortunately, he could now do the work of two people by himself.
The Tumor of the Withering remained oblivious, swaying its grotesque head as it tracked him. Soon, four golden stone pillars erupted from the ground around it—each as massive as the tree itself.
The pillars grew with a slight inward tilt, hemming the tree in from four sides. As they rose taller and taller, the trapped Tumor of the Withering was slowly pried upward, its roots straining and cracking. It struggled wildly—Decay Bombs detonating, roots wrapping and pulling—but Jade Shield flashed as it absorbed each impact, leaving it unable to shake the pillars at all.
With a low shout, Victor Wang pushed the pillars higher. The massive trunk rose with them—until finally, the entire Tumor of the Withering was uprooted.
The sheer effort required to construct pillars that large—and lift the monstrosity—left Victor Wang drained. He shook his hourglass to recover, then flew upward and planted one Electro/Pyro-infused Erosion Bomb at its roots, one at its midsection, and one in its upper trunk. They remained dormant, suppressed for the moment.
Then he brought down a thunderous strike from above.
All three Erosion Bombs detonated simultaneously.
The monstrous trunk burst into several long, twisted pieces. A fiery red storm sphere manifested instantly, pulling every fragment inward. Blades of heated flame-wind shredded the Tumor of the Withering into even smaller tatters, igniting them. Fueled by its own remains, the storm sphere glowed like a miniature sun, lighting the entire battlefield.
Within the miniature sun, the Tumor of the Withering writhed and twisted. Though it had no mouth, everyone watching could almost hear its shrieks. It tried to dissolve into sand—yet even the sand melted inside the infernal heat. In the end, it liquefied into droplets of glass mixed with black ash, raining down lifelessly.
The Withering vanished with it.
But the matter wasn't over. This Tumor of the Withering had only been The Doctor's creation. Victor Wang and Kuiyuan both watched the mirror at the center of the battlefield with full vigilance.
A few breaths later, the mirror shattered with a crisp crack. The battle between The Doctor and the Mirrormaster had reached its conclusion.
The Doctor clutched his right arm—his entire right side moved unnaturally, his clothing shredded. The Mirrormaster's black robe, however, remained intact—making it impossible to judge his injuries.
"Heh… looks like I truly am bad at fighting. But don't think that means you've won."
The Doctor still wore a confident smile. He glanced at Kavus and Sudabeh, and at Arana—whom he could not see but could sense—eyes full of fondness for prized experimental subjects. He clearly had no intention of giving up.
The Mirrormaster pulled out a handful of small mirrors and shook out several items.
"…Mora?"
"In this place, I cannot destroy you for real. But if you value that flimsy life of yours, don't waste my money. Be smart—get lost."
For the first time, The Doctor's expression froze. Then he burst into manic laughter—looking to the sky, then the ground, clutching his face, doubling over, laughing until he was breathless.
"Heh… hehehe… you want me to leave? You want me to leave?"
"Leave. And stop meddling with the Withering. If you force my hand, I'll simply wipe out every single one of your slices in Sumeru. It's cheaper that way."
Behind his mask, The Doctor's eyes darted frantically—then suddenly widened in realization.
"Oh. Oh—! I see. You're using Mora… fascinating! Fascinating!!"
"Don't make me say it a third time."
"…Fine. You win."
He took one last look at the children of Vimara Village, then brushed past Victor Wang—limping unsteadily across the corpse of the Tumor of the Withering and the crater left by the meteor—before departing.
The Mirrormaster looked at Victor Wang as well, shook his head, and turned toward Vimara Village. His speed was slower than when he had rescued Kuiyuan earlier—clearly injured as well. The two combatants had harmed each other deeply.
Only then did Kuiyuan release the Forest Rangers, who rushed forward. They surrounded the now-clear-minded Kavus and Sudabeh, checking them from head to toe. Finding no injuries, they finally relaxed—and then hurried to thank Victor Wang.
Victor Wang waved them off. "The archer over there did most of the work. And that black-robed man—this was mainly thanks to him... From now on, there shouldn't be any more Fatui lurking near Vimara Village. No more anomalous Withering sites either."
The Mirrormaster had threatened to eliminate every one of The Doctor's Sumeru slices if he continued researching the Withering. The Doctor agreed. The connection to Mora remained unclear, but the matter was settled.
The Mirrormaster clearly had deep, hidden power. Terrifyingly strong.
Victor Wang approached the still-pale Kuiyuan. Without speaking, they exchanged a nod—conversation finished. He stepped onto his Dragontooth Sword Armor and flew toward the nearest Teleport Waypoint.
Among the crowd, a Forest Rangers officer barked, "Alphonso! Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Bound tightly, Alphonso lowered his head. "Explain? What's left to explain? There's nothing left."
"Do you feel nothing for what you've done? How do you face the people who treated you like family?!"
Rana pulled the three children close, covering their ears. "Don't say such things in front of them…"
Having witnessed everything, Iotham felt his entire world collapsing.
Arana patted his hand gently. "Don't worry. Bad things… will fade like a dream."
===BREAK===
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