Chapter 570: World Tree: The Cardinal’s End

The moment Sophie lowered her hand....

FWOOOOOOOSH!!!

Thousands of devouring vines erupted simultaneously from every corner of the tomb like awakened monsters finally revealing their fangs. The ground split apart violently as massive thorn covered roots burst upward beneath the Church formation while glowing crimson mouths opened everywhere across the battlefield. The walls trembled, the ceiling cracked further, and even the remaining holy light lingering in the chamber began getting swallowed into the expanding sea of vines.

Church knights screamed immediately. Several were dragged underground before they could even react.

CRUNCH!!!

"AAGHHHHHH!"

Entire sections of holy barriers shattered apart as the vines devoured both mana and flesh alike. Priests desperately tried casting purification spells, but the moment the holy energy touched the vines, the attacks were consumed instantly before strengthening the monstrous plants further. The glowing crimson mouths spread wider afterward, releasing horrifying screeching noises throughout the tomb.

Cassie froze briefly while staring at the battlefield in disbelief.

"She turned the entire chamber into a feeding ground..."

Even Ragnarok99’s grin faded, genuinely shocked that she could still fight like this.

Meanwhile, Alfonso stood perfectly still at the center of the chaos as the devouring vines closed in around him from every direction. The Cardinal’s robes fluttered violently under the overwhelming pressure while dozens of gigantic vines lunged toward him simultaneously like starving dragons.

Yet Alfonso suddenly closed his eyes.

The overwhelming holy aura around him vanished completely afterward.

Sophie’s eyes narrowed instantly.

Something was wrong.

Right then, a soft holy ringing sound echoed throughout the battlefield.

CLIIIIIIIING!!!

The air froze.

Every devouring vine suddenly stopped moving for a split second as dozens of ancient golden symbols appeared around Alfonso’s body. The Cardinal slowly opened his eyes again, but this time the pupils themselves glowed entirely gold.

"Sacred Domain..."

BOOOOOOOOM!!!

An enormous explosion of holy energy erupted outward from Alfonso’s body in all directions like a miniature sun detonating inside the tomb. Several nearby vines disintegrated instantly while countless glowing scriptures spread across the battlefield walls, floor, and ceiling.

"Domain of Divine Silence."

The entire chamber suddenly became eerily quiet.

Then Sophie’s expression changed.

Her vines had stopped regenerating.

The devouring mouths began twitching violently as golden scripture marks spread across their surfaces like a disease. The holy domain was not trying to overpower the vines directly.

It was suppressing the mana feeding them.

Alfonso had realized something during the battle.

The vines could devour attacks, which seemed to strengthen and evolve them.

But they still required Sophie’s mana as their core source.

So instead of attacking the vines, he targeted the connection itself.

Sophie immediately coughed up blood.

"KH—!"

Dark green mana around her body flickered violently as the domain continued expanding across the battlefield. The glowing golden scripture marks spread beneath her feet while the pressure inside the chamber multiplied several times over.

The Cardinal slowly began walking forward again through the collapsing battlefield while the divine domain erased vines around him step by step. Every footstep released another pulse of holy energy powerful enough to disintegrate nearby roots instantly.

"You rely too heavily on absorption abilities," Alfonso said coldly. "Against ordinary enemies, that power is overwhelming. But against absolute purification..."

BOOOOOOM!!!

A massive wave of golden light exploded outward from his body again.

"...there is nothing left to devour."

Entire fields of vines evaporated instantly.

Sophie’s body trembled slightly as her mana exhaustion worsened rapidly. Blood continued dripping beneath her veil while several transformed golden vines around her arms began crumbling apart one after another.

Yet despite everything, she still smiled faintly.

Alfonso noticed immediately, and his instincts screamed.

Without hesitation, the Cardinal suddenly leaped backward.

BOOOOOOM!!!

The ground beneath him exploded apart a split second later as countless hidden vines erupted upward from underneath the holy scriptures themselves. Unlike the previous ones, these vines were no longer dark green.

They were gold.

Radiant golden veins pulsed across their surfaces while holy scripture marks flowed through them like blood vessels.

The battlefield froze.

Even Alfonso’s expression changed slightly.

The transformed vines had adapted to the domain itself.

Sophie slowly raised her head while struggling to remain standing.

"Did you really think..." she said weakly between breaths, "...I would keep feeding my vines holy power without a reason?"

CRAAAAACK!!!

The golden vines suddenly tore through the sacred domain barriers violently. Several scripture marks shattered apart while the holy suppression field destabilized throughout the chamber.

Alfonso’s eyes narrowed sharply.

The devouring vines had evolved again.

Not only could they consume holy mana—

they had now partially assimilated divine properties themselves.

The Cardinal immediately raised one hand.

"Sacred Execution."

SHIIIIING!!!

Thousands of miniature golden crosses materialized around the battlefield before firing downward like divine judgment. Entire sections of the tomb exploded apart instantly while waves of holy destruction swallowed both Sophie and the surrounding vines completely.

BOOOOOOOM!!!

The impact shook the entire underground tomb hard enough for massive chunks of the ceiling to collapse.

Dust and rubble swallowed everything.

Silence followed briefly.

But then something moved inside the smoke.

CRUNCH.

CRUNCH.

CRUNCH.

The sound echoed slowly throughout the battlefield.

Alfonso’s eyes flashed in surprise.

The holy attacks were being eaten!

Suddenly dozens of glowing crimson eyes opened within the dust cloud itself.

Then hundreds.

Then thousands.

Ragnarok99 slowly took a step backward.

"...What the hell did she create?"

FWOOOOOOOSH!!!

An enormous mass of fused golden green vines burst out from the dust cloud like a living calamity. The creature no longer resembled ordinary plant magic. Holy scripture symbols glowed across its surface while gigantic devouring mouths covered its body entirely.

At the center of the monstrous vine mass stood Sophie.

Blood covered her body completely now.

Her breathing had become unstable.

But the mana radiating from her had grown even more terrifying than before while the fused devouring vines spread across the battlefield like the roots of a world ending tree.

When the High Cardinal saw this, things started to make sense and he could not help but give a bitter laugh as if he had made a huge mistake.

"A few years ago, there were rumors circulating that the second princess of the Vermilion Kingdom was possessed by the World Tree... but we never believed it." He spoke in a tone that no longer contained arrogance or anger, shocking the remaining Broken Dawn members and the few Church members still alive.

"I should have known... it is only the World Tree that is capable of devouring things and evolving. That is why all the kingdoms stay clear of it."

"What is this old man spitting about? Has he gone mad?" Ragnarok99 frowned upon hearing this, but Cassie kept her lips shut, already knowing where this was going.

"Second Princess... you were the last person I wished to encounter here." The Cardinal dropped the bombshell, causing everyone’s eyes to widen. "It is such a shame that this place will be my end and the Church will never learn about the monstrosity the royal family is harboring—"

Sophie did not wait for the man to finish speaking and weakly pointed toward Alfonso.

"Eat him."

All the vines surged forward with their jaws wide open.

The High Cardinal did not resist.

He simply closed his eyes, letting the vines devour him like hungry beasts.

Some time later, nothing was left.

All the vines slowly retracted back into the ground, and Sophie collapsed onto the floor immediately afterward.

Cassie quickly rushed over and placed a hand on her temple.

"She’s unconscious. She’s still alive. Where are the healers?!"

However, no one moved from their spot.

Instead, SniperBowLegend, who was heavily injured and had stayed in the background this whole time, was the one who finally broke the silence.

"Is she really a princess? Is she really possessed by the World Tree?"