171 [Bonus chapter] Desperate Struggle
Mira screamed as she got snatched, staring at the blue sky moving away.
“ARAD!” Aella screamed. There is no way they can escape the fall, and this tree is pulling them.
FLAP! Mira blinked, seeing the sky turn dark. A large reptilian monster blotted the sun as he jumped after them. He spread his wings, roaring..
The tree stopped caring about Lydia and Jack, it even let go of Aella and Mira. Arad is the danger. Thousands of veins emerged on the walls of the ravine. They rushed to stab him.
Arad opened his jaw [Gravity Magic] and he pulled Aella and Mira toward his mouth, hiding them inside.
Mira freaked out for a moment seeing the dragon bite them but Aella calmed her. “It’s Arad, bear with it for a moment.”
Arad glared at the tree, taking those two to the surface was fir priority, ripping the tree apart come after that.
BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump! BA-dump!
Aella and Mira heard Arad’s heart accelerating like an engine. His breathing sounded more like a jet of air rather than exhale and inhale.
Dragonfly, a bug with incredible wing speed and maneuverability. That name came from how similar it was to the dragons flying.
FLAP! FLAP! Arad’s wings flapped so fast they almost became invisible. A loud rumbling covered the forest as he blasted to the sky.
The countless veins rushed at Arad, aiming at his wings to drop him. THWACK! As the veins approached the wings, they got torn apart by the sheer force.
Arad burst through the veins and landed outside before Lydia and Jack with a thud. His wings stopped moving as opened his jaw and dropped Aella and Mira.
Thud! At that moment, the tree sent her veins to tie him by the wings and started pulling him in. Arad glared back, growling. He couldn’t start flapping his wings.
CLENSH! The tree started pulling Arad and he held to the ground with his claws.
The veins stopped pulling, and they lifted Arad instead. CRACK! Arad’s claws tore a chunk of the dirt as he got lifted.
^Huh?^ Arad gasped, staring down. The tree is strong enough to lift its weight. Thwack! He got pulled into the ravine with a single pull.
“ARAD!” Aella rushed to the edge, firing her arrows at the veins but doing nothing.
Arad opened his jaw. Aella and Mira aren’t there anymore. ROAR! He unleashed the strongest void breath he could muster at the tree. He isn’t caring about the mission anymore.
New veins emerged around the tree, forming a large wall that took the hit and got ripped to shreds.
[Flame Cloak] Arad’s body burst into flames, trying to burn the veins tieing him. CRACKLE! [Lightning Cloak]
The veins tieing Arad started burning and falling as charred coal, but more kept coming. Keeping him tightly tied.
Arad glared at the tree, thinking of a way to tear it apart. It was then that he noticed something. Magic moved from the tree through her roots deep underground.
^Mom, could it be?^
[The tree isn’t the real body. It’s using it as a decoy, I bet we would find the core underground.]
Arad stopped his flames and lightning, pretending to stop from exhaustion. The moment he felt the veins on his boy get a bit weaker. He blasted down, following the magic-rich veins into the abyss.
The roots kept attacking him as he jumped from one side of the ravine to the other. “Your heart is down there isn’t it? I will rip it apart!”
***
At the surface, “Was that Arad?” Lydia rushed at Aella and Mira.
“Yeah,” Aella replied, panting as she looked back. “We have to save him.”
Mira glared back at the tree, “Let’s hit it. Any distraction could help him escape.”
Lydia stared at them, scratching her head, “I expect some explanation later. Let’s get to work now.”
They could feel the ground beneath them shaking, Arad is still fighting. Lydia looked at the tree, pulling two potions from her pocket. “I will give a good whack,” She downed them.
Aella pulled her bow, “We’re the only heavy hitters beside Arad. Let’s hit it together.” Aella growled, veins bulging on her neck as her eyes glow green.
Lydia smiled, “Jack, Mira. You two try to guard Aella, I’m charging in.”
Veins bulged on Lydia’s face. She clenched her fist so hard that her blade turned bright red when the divine flames rushed forth. BAM! She ran forward as fast as she could, keeping her eyes on the tree.
Aella Stood at the back, pulling her bow back as the wind got violent around her.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Lydia rushed toward the tree. Several veins burst from the ground to stop her but she ignored them, going straight for the tree.
More veins attacked Aella. Jack swung his dagger cutting two as Mira flailed the wood axe. “Please hurry! You know I can’t fight!” She cried, even though each of her swings tore a vein in half.
Lydia reached the tree. CRACK! Her foot dug into the ground as she swung her sword. BAM! A massive golden flame exploded from her blade mid-swing. [Divine Cleaver]
CLAP! She hit the tree with all she got, tearing several meters of wood.
“Aella!”
Aella took a deep breath, concentrating all her magic on the arrow. [Lance of Zephyr] BAM! She released her arrow in a burst of air.
The moment the arrow tip touched the tree, it exploded in a massive shockwave. The tree cracked where Lydia hit it, and it started falling back.
“They dropped it!” Jack gasped.
Swosh! Veins rushed from the tree base and tied the tip. It sewed itself together before it could touch the ground.
BAM! Veins rushed from the ground. They grabbed everyone by their legs and pulled them toward the ravine.
“Not after Arad has pulled us out!” Aella screamed as everyone dropped into the abyss.