More players turned and ran.
Ethan saw it.
And felt something rise from his stomach to his throat.
"IF YOU TURN YOUR BACK, IT'LL HUNT YOU!" he shouted. "STAY!"
Not everyone listened.
And those who ran… were swallowed by the dark forest.
Elenya trembled.
She drew an arrow.
Fired.
Hit a miniarboret mid-leap, piercing its blue eye.
The creature exploded into splinters.
For a second, hope.
Then guilt.
I'm killing insects… while the core is laughing at us.
Sienna slowly swept her gaze across the battlefield.
Pure chaos.
Falling tanks. Exhausted mages. Overlapping screams. Mini-arborets spawning in waves, leaping onto worn-down players, driving branches into flesh, collapsing entire lines.
For a moment… no one seemed to notice she was still there.
"I'LL HANDLE THEM!" Sienna shouted, voice firm but urgent. "JUST GIVE ME TIME TO FINISH THE SUMMON!"
Jay turned instantly.
"TANKS! PROTECT HER! NOW!"
Three players rushed to Sienna and formed an improvised wall, shields raised.
The miniarborets hit immediately.
The impact was brutal.
Living wood against metal. Branches scraping shields. Splinters flying. The dry sound of blows echoed through the clearing. One tank was shoved back, nearly fell… but held the line with a hoarse shout.
Sienna closed her eyes.
The noise faded.
The screams grew distant.
She felt mana surge through her arms—heavy, hot, difficult to control. Her hands trembled. Not from fear.
From frustration.
My wolves did nothing.
My summons are being crushed.
For a second, doubt tried to seep in.
Then she inhaled.
And decided.
A flaming circle formed in the air before her, expanding slowly. Golden runes spun opposite crimson ones, like magical gears forced to coexist. Heat spiked violently, warping the air.
"Let's see…" Sienna murmured, raising her grimoire. "…if you like real heat."
The circle exploded into light.
Three silhouettes tore free from the fire, wings of incandescent flame ripping the air.
Phoenixes.
Spirits of living fire.
They spiraled upward, slicing through the clearing sky, leaving trails of embers. For one suspended second, everything froze.
Then they dove.
The impact was devastating.
The phoenixes collided with the swarm of miniarborets and detonated in violent flames. Fire spread like a living storm, devouring wood, burning branches, making the creatures scream as they were consumed.
The entire forest lit up in orange, gold, and red.
The miniarborets burned, writhed… and turned to ash.
Sienna opened her eyes.
Flames danced in their reflection.
She smiled.
Not arrogance.
Relief. Confirmation.
"So…" she murmured. "Now the fun starts. Dance, my birds. Burn everything."
The phoenixes continued circling the field, striking any creature that dared move.
Ethan looked over his shoulder, a chill running down his spine at the fire dominating the rear.
"Keep it up!" he shouted. "Don't let them advance!"
Sienna laughed, face streaked with soot, sweat pouring down.
"Don't worry, boss," she replied, lifting the grimoire again. "Now I'm really in the fight."
The Warden, seeing its minions destroyed, expanded.
Its branches rearranged violently and fused, forming a massive whip, thick as a young trunk. The strike came suddenly.
The safety zone Darren had calculated… vanished.
"DOWN!" Darren shouted, throwing himself over two frozen novices.
The air screamed.
VUUUUUP!
The wooden whip passed just above shields.
Anyone standing on the front line who wasn't a tank… was cut down.
Three players were hurled aside, armor torn like paper. Blood sprayed through the air.
Jay took the hit directly on his shield.
CLANG!
The sound rang like a cracked cathedral bell. He didn't fall, but was driven backward, boots carving trenches as golden light sparked against gray wood.
"JAY!" Ethan screamed.
"I'M GOOD!" Jay roared back, voice raw, eyes bloodshot. "AS LONG AS I HAVE A SHIELD, I'M ALIVE! KEEP HITTING!"
Marcus rushed forward—but the Warden was faster.
A miniarboret leapt from the boss's back and latched onto a nearby tank's shield, opening a gap. Marcus split it cleanly, but the motion left him exposed.
A side branch struck.
CRACK.
It smashed into his ribs. The air left his lungs. Marcus was hurled into a tree with the force of a truck, the trunk cracking on impact.
He collapsed awkwardly, gasping for breath that wouldn't come.
"MARCUS!" Sienna's scream tore out sharp and raw.
"I'm… fine…" Marcus wheezed, forcing himself up on pure will. "Don't stop… KEEP GOING!"
"HEALERS! ON HIM! NOW!" Jay ordered.
The battlefield was collapsing.
Fire, screams, splintering wood blended into a symphony of impending defeat. Sienna's mana was nearly gone. The mages were exhausted. And still, the monster's bark regenerated faster than they could damage it.