Johan's heart trembled, 'This is just 4%!? He could just toy with Kirin like this? And you're saying we should let this thing be fully reborn and then kill it?'
He never felt the true horror of this creature… maybe because he was always with the plot-armored main characters.
And it was just him clicking the X button, making the rational choices.
Now wasn't the same—the soul-shattering pressure, watching his sister lying in her blood, the fatherly figure just a dry husk of flesh left at an altar.
He took a deep breath. If he hadn't reached in time and healed them, they would've all been dead.
"Well, the real body—the Dark God Tree—will keep regenerating infinitely. If you can't wipe it down to atomic levels in a single attack, you can't kill it… that human may feel immortal, but he is still a human—not the real mythical form like the tree." Melodis explained calmly.
Johan walked closer to Sebastian, who instantly adopted a grateful expression. He also wanted to live a bit longer.
"Is the seal ready?" Johan asked hastily, keeping a close eye on the now silent man on the dirt, enduring the pain.
"It will take a few more minutes… but Master, should we not just use a normal gravitational seal? Is a seal that constantly evolves and adapts to its captive really necessary?" Sebastian asked awkwardly, staring straight into Johan's eyes.
"Do it in two! I have a plan." Johan replied calmly, a frown appearing as the man on the ground grew quieter—not even a whimper escaping as his flesh and bones burned, then slowly regenerated molecule by molecule.
This process must be extremely painful.
Sebastian's eyes brightened, his gaze admiring as he clenched his fists to give the seal his all.
'Master… he is still the same, always staying… a few steps ahead. He must have deduced my location from the small space distortion I left...'
Thought Sebastian, awed at the bright flames emitting from Johan's body.
'He also grew so much stronger…'
Suddenly, his gaze shifted to worry watching as Kirin's aura grew weaker and weaker, but he trusted Johan could heal her.
If Johan heard this, he would have laughed until his stomach hurt and said, "Sure buddy," with a pat on Sebastian's shoulder.
The warehouse Echos 77 showed was the location of Sebastian. Johan didn't have any leads, so he went to check there first. There, he found Sebastian chained limb by limb to a pillar.
He broke Sebastian free. Then Sebastian sensed Kirin fighting nearby. Shortly after, they arrived at the intense fight in a gravitational bubble, which made their bodies blend with the gravity, ambushing the green-haired man.
Suddenly, a shaky voice startled them all.
"Who are you people!?" A burly white-haired man holding a shining blade in front of his face yelled—sweating, but determination making his tone sharp.
'Bad timing, Marino…' Johan sighed at the inn owner, who had fire in his eyes like he was about to stop the demon king from destroying the world.
'Marino must've woken up since the black fog disappeared. For a soldier like him, it should've been easy to shake off any weakness.' Johan thought, rubbing his chin.
Sebastian's eyes sharpened. He couldn't let anyone escape after seeing them in action.
It would expose their identities.
"Why is it already 2 a.m. when the clock is at 6:30!?" Marino asked, his sword shivering in his hands.
He didn't believe the men who could bend time would be scared of someone as insignificant as him.
Johan's and Sebastian's eyes widened at the same time, looking at each other in shock.
They looked up. The moon was already long out—it did definitely look like… midnight.
"Ah, it's nothing serious. Just that the bitch tree bends time here and there while attacking.
Space and time both have to be two parallel lines, you know. When one acts violently, the other will also distort wildly.
Bitch Tree is too overwhelming for 'space' to bear, so time also loses 'balance'."
Melodis said simply, like he just explained he made a cold coffee instead of hot.
Johan's body shuddered a bit, but he schooled his expression, adopting a colder one.
"This has nothing to do with you. Leave. Now."
"The creator of all things, the bestower of all life, the Goddess of the ever-growing beauty, I pray for thy blessing, I pray for thy mercy. Oh, Great Ymir…" Sebastian's icy voice rang, a sign that the spell was reaching its final stages.
"No, no, I won't let you steal the dark tree… no matter what!" Marino spoke from trembling lips, like he didn't believe his own words himself.
Johan's right hand was still feeling the coldness of Kirin's soft belly, breathing deeply as the flesh stitched itself together, her blood purifying slowly.
'The bastard poisoned her as well!' He stared at the green-haired man with burning eyes.
This didn't happen in any choice he played in the game.
It was clear that Leor was behind this.
'It'll take more time… the wound is more serious than I thought, and it's getting worse by the second…' thought Johan, tapping his foot against the muddy ground filled with burned grass.
His gaze grew increasingly desperate the longer he looked at her—one of her kidneys, half her liver, and several vital organs had completely vanished.
He had already detoxed the poison, but it consumed a lot of his Aether.
It was an extremely fatal injury.
'I have to at least recreate her liver with the little Aether I have. Oh Moonlight, I really need you now! If only my mana and Aether reserves weren't that small…'
He bit his lips, his eyelids heavy to not let tears escape.
"Answer me!" Marino's voice—much louder and firmer this time—hit Johan again.
It was like when you're trying your hardest to win a game, but your whole family keeps yelling loudly.
But this time, the loss wouldn't just be a game match—it would be the life of his sister.
Purple veins appeared on his forehead.
'Aura of Death.' He muttered to himself.
He didn't release it like the last time. It was likely the God Tree would recognize its master and creator's aura.
It would be similar to a dog recognizing his old caretaker by his smell.
Splashhhh!
Just for a single second, in the cold blue eyes of the black-haired tall man—something glinted.
Warm piss leaked out on his black pants. Marino fell to his knees, vomiting something yellow all over himself.
It was something way, way worse than the sacred tree he always felt a deep danger from—something completely otherworldly.
He could only stare dazedly at the black-haired man, frantically fighting to save his sister—no longer did it feel like the end of the world was spilling out from him.
"Huh!?" Suddenly Marino stared in disbelief at the black-haired man.
Tears spilled down his eyes, covering his entire face, his fingers digging deep into his palm—warm blood pooling out, covering the white skin of Kirin's waist.
"Sebastian…" His voice cracked. "She… she stopped breathing."
A sob escaped his trembling mouth.