Banished from the herd, I was actually a member of a very rare species. ~With the unique skills that only I can use, I can grow and evolve quickly. I will become an unrivaled monster~ - Episode 107: Chaos Beast 2

Episode 107: Chaos Beast 2

The ‘Chaos Beast’ Treant was being felled. The Treant struggled, launching light projectiles, branches, and roots. But I leaped away two, three times using [Jump] to get out of range. I figured it would die if left alone, but…

“(No way… Is it going to recover from this?)”

When I looked again, the Treant had stopped tilting. Even though it was leaning at a sharp angle, it showed no signs of falling further. In fact, the wounds were gradually healing, and its body was beginning to recover. I noticed that the withering range was spreading from the branches and roots embedded in the ground at an unprecedented speed. Is it forcefully healing its body with that?

“(In that case, I just have to break it down again. [Heavy Shoot]!)”

I swiftly fired an arrow. The explosive arrow passed through a small gap between the branches and roots and reached the trunk, exploding as if gouging the closing wound.

“Gigigigi!”

This time, the Treant’s body was split in two. The branches, which were tougher than steel, didn’t break even when caught in the falling tree. It caused the Treant’s body to fall at a slight angle. Thinking it was over, I almost let my guard down but then felt something off. The sensation of <Leveling Up> didn’t come.

Did I not gain enough <Soul Fragments>? No, that can’t be. Since becoming a Sovereign Beast, the amount of <Soul Fragments> needed for <Leveling Up> has been almost constant. Recently, it hasn’t been increasing drastically even after defeating Sovereign Beasts, but not having even a single change is strange.

This means—

“(It’s not dead yet!)”

In a split second, I aimed my bow at the fallen tree. But immediately afterward, |Mana| sensing revealed that the enemy wasn’t there. The eerie |Mana| typical of the Chaos Beast was emanating from the stump. Looking closely at the cut surface of the fallen tree and the stump, there was a hollow in the center of the growth ringsIt was like insect damage, with the Chaos Beast roots passing through it.

This brought to mind the fact that during the felling process, at some point, the black root attacks stopped suddenly.

“(Damn it! The mouth was a bluff! [Compact Shot]!)”

All the roots crawling over the Treant’s body were protruding from the mouth. I assumed that the seed itself was in there, but that might have been premature. The explosive arrow I quickly fired reached the stump before impact. It pulled out its white roots and leaped like it had legs. It seems that even as just a stump, the Treant can move its body.

“(Is that even possible? [Thunder Strike]!)”

I fired five consecutive lightning bolts, but the stump used its entire body—from the cut surface to the tips of the white roots—to dance in midair, shifting its center of gravity to dodge all the attacks.

“(Is that even possible…?)”

Astonished, I prepared the next attack. It seems it can shift its stance slightly, but it can’t move through the air. In that case, a ranged attack should hit for sure.

“[Replicant Form]”

The stump is small. There’s a chance I could miss with [Thousand Blades Genesis]. I’ll mimic the second poison bow. Then, I’ll create two more stone-spitting cannons as follow-up attacks. I aimed at the predicted landing spot, ready to fire. What I saw was the Treant’s white roots extending and piercing the fallen tree.

“(Is it going to bounce off the roots?)”

I fired the explosive arrow and stone-spitting bullets simultaneously. I aimed the arrow at the spot where the roots had pierced, and the stone-spitting bullets at the stump itself. But they were all blocked by the suddenly moving fallen tree.

“(What!?)”

When I said “Moving”, I meant literally. Like a freshly caught fish, it bent its trunk and blocked the projectiles.

“(Does that mean it can move a severed body if reconnected?)”

In the case of Slimes, cells necrotize when separated, but perhaps Treants are different.

“(No… but it’s not trying to reconnect the cut surfaces.)”

Currently, the Treant is using the treetop of the fallen tree as feet. The main body, which appears to be the stump, was attached midway along the fallen tree—right beside what would be the Treant’s mouth. This upside-down state doesn’t seem to involve merging the severed parts.

“[Intensified Warfare]”

I tried analyzing it for a moment. This [Skill], which repels living beings, passed through the fallen tree without issue.

“(Confirmed, the fallen tree is completely dead—it’s using a [Skill] to manipulate corpses.)”

The Treant initially set the dead beasts against me. At that time, it had pierced them with the white root tips, so it matches up. It doesn’t seem like it’s trying to control them remotely this time; the stump has remained attached the whole time.

“(It would be tough to completely destroy the corpse this time… I’ll aim for the stump if I find an opening.)”

As I was thinking that, the Treant started running—in the opposite direction from me.

“(Trying to escape… no, its target is—)”

To prevent Fisu from being caught up if it escaped, I had tried to position myself as high on the mountain as possible.

Even now, it’s the same. Behind me is the mountain summit, and behind the Treant is a plaza. Which means the corpses of the Sovereign Beasts I defeated are there. The corpse of the Shadow Beast vanished as soon as it was defeated, but the rest were left behind due to lack of time for recovery.

If those corpses are controlled by [Skills]…

“(This isn’t a joke! [Frenzied Charge]!)”

I chased at full speed. Of course, that wasn’t all; I had prepared some interference methods too.

“([Replicant Form], [Thunder Strike]!)”

I launched a thunderbolt, fired a stone-spitting cannon, shot explosive arrows, and swept with heat rays. I unleashed a barrage of long-range attacks. However, the Treant dodged most of the attacks with side-to-side movements and even managed to handle the heat rays with jumps. It was as if it had eyes on its back.

In reality, the Treant might have a 360-degree field of vision.

“(Well, jumping with *that* is a bad move though, but here goes–[Conduction]!)”

With [Unique Skill], I enhanced the recently drawn explosive arrows. Instead of throwing them, I broke them behind me. In an instant, I was pushed forward by the blast and accelerated rapidly.

“([Jump]!)”

Then, I leaped into the air. If I went straight ahead, I would reach the corpses first. But I didn’t have time to store both as weapons in [Weapon Storage].

So, I needed to buy some time with a big bang here.

The Treant’s weakness is its limited mobility in the air. It tried to intercept me with roots and branches, but with two [Aerial Jumps], I avoided them and wrapped the red whip and forest chain around the fallen tree.

“([Powerful Throw]!)”

And then, a full-powered throw. Thanks to [Aerial Jump] and [On the Edge of the Ring], I could brace myself even in midair. The fallen tree flew sideways at a speed disproportionate to its size.

“(…So, it chose the fallen tree.)”

Of course, I kept my attention on the stump during this time. If it had abandoned the fallen tree to jump onto the corpse, I planned to focus my attacks and finish it off quickly. But it seems it wasn’t so impulsive.

“(Huff, huff, [Weapon Creation])”

Afterward, I caught my breath from the second [Powerful Throw] of the day and roughly processed the Dragon and Skeleton. I wrapped them up and stored them.

Then, I turned to face the approaching Treant.

“(Alright, it’s the final round.)”