Extra's Perfect Ending-Chapter 235: Tree battle

The tree screamed out loud. Its voice sounded like a baby in pain, but brittle. Egul closed in again while the tree was suspended in the air and slammed it downward.

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The impact sent shockwaves and snow flying everywhere. The hardened bark shattered, scattering fragments across the ground.

However, the tree didn’t die just yet. Its horn was still wriggling as if it were alive. Desperate to gain any advantage, flesh shot out from its body.

Slithering across the snow-covered field, it tried desperately to attack anyone in sight. But there was no one close enough for it to reach. Egul remained unfazed by the tentacles of flesh shooting up from the tree.

He sneered as he blocked every strike, not allowing a single one to touch him. Then, he counterattacked with a punch. The bark shattered again, leaving the creature more damaged than before.

Hilda quickly followed up Egul’s attack, throwing her knife. The sharp blade pierced a part of the tree not covered by its hardened bark. Its flesh was a deep red color.

The knife dug in, and Hilda stabbed herself again, just as she had before. Screams erupted from the tree as it experienced a pain far greater than Hilda’s. This time, however, it didn’t let this slide.

It had reached a limit it never thought humans could push it to. Eyes opened along its bark, hundreds, then thousands, all at once.

"Ew…."

Theia had called back her wolf, paying only a small price. She was about to resummon it when that thing opened its eyes.

It was easy to see that each eye had a large black iris like that of a deer, and all of them stared directly at Egul.

Sensing the threat, Egul vanished from his position atop the tree. However, as far as Leon and Hilda could see, the eyes did nothing immediately.

Hilda threw her knife to test its abilities, but without Egul there, the tentacle easily deflected it into the snow.

Like a mosquito, she hadn’t thrown just one knife but three at once. The tentacle blocked another, but couldn’t block the last. However, all the eyes quickly focused on the knife, which bent out of shape mid-air.

"What...?"

The tribesman who had come with them couldn’t hide his shock. It wasn’t every day he saw a tribal champion, let alone such an unnatural monster.

In just a few exchanges, everything he had known seemed insignificant in comparison.

Egul approached them to reassess the situation.

"Those eyes aren’t normal."

"I can see that…" Leon replied quickly.

"…" Egul glanced at the young tribesman, wondering how he had acquired mystic power.

"It’s probably the thing that’s been corrupting the animals," Egul said, based on his experience. The thing felt exactly like the twisted deer he had encountered, but stronger.

Egul clutched his shoulder as a sharp pain flared in his muscle. He hadn’t been able to avoid all of the eyes’ gaze, and a small part of his muscle had twisted.

"Are you alright!?" Theia looked horrified by his injury. She almost wished Egul had been stabbed instead; his shoulder now looked twisted like a tornado seen from above. The constant pain sent signals to his brain as if his muscles were still being attacked.

"I’m fine. Just keep your distance."

Staying back seemed the best way to avoid the tree’s attacks. It watched them constantly, but the effect was minimal at this range. The massive flesh creature used its tentacles to lift itself up.

And now it was clear—the areas of exposed red flesh didn’t have any eyes.

"Let’s back off for a bit," Egul suggested, moving backward. The tree, with its mass, seemed unlikely to be mobile. The fact that it hadn’t opened its eyes initially suggested it couldn’t use this ability indefinitely.

The group trusted Egul’s judgment and increased their distance. And sure enough, when the tree lifted itself back up, its eyes closed.

Egul used his inhuman speed to close the gap, but the tree sensed him approaching and reopened its eyes.

All of its eyes locked onto Egul, trying to twist his body again. But it was futile—Egul had positioned himself in a spot with fewer eyes, far safer than before. Then he tossed something at the tree. A thud followed as it hit, then a muffled sound.

"Mughhh..."

It was the doctor, still tied up, unable to move. Snow scattered as he tried to wiggle free.

But it was too late—the eyes were already upon him.

"Mfjdjdhjdjdjkkkk!" The doctor screamed. This new kind of pain was unlike anything he’d experienced before; it was more excruciating than Hilda’s pain. While her pain felt like stabbing, this felt as if someone were pinching and twisting his skin.

He struggled briefly, his body contorting until it was unrecognizable.

"Chief… what…?" The tribesman was horrified. He hadn’t expected the chief to be so ruthless. Frankly, he feared he’d be used in the same way.

"Don’t worry, he won’t die," Leon assured him. But actions spoke louder than words, and they watched as the doctor’s twisted body slowly returned to its human form.

"...." The tribesman would never question those with mystic powers again. This was the wildest thing he had seen in his life.

"That man’s immortal," Egul noted. It was clear to all of them now why the doctor was there. He was essentially a test subject for the tree’s dangerous powers.

They now had a solid understanding of what the eyes could do. First, they twisted anything they focused on, but only within a certain range—otherwise, Hilda, still visible, would have been twisted as well.

Another discovery Egul made was that the eyes needed to focus to have an instant effect; the doctor had died more slowly than he’d expected.

After all, it had only taken a split second for his own shoulder to be injured. That mean he had to avoid it gaze.

"Echhhhh"

The tree wail again but it sounded different this time. It was louder and didn’t felt like a distress cries.

Then just a minute later, 4 deers showed up.