If this keeps up, I’ll die!
Liyakade wanted to release Wind Field Magic once again, but she couldn’t. Releasing Wind Field Magic required a brief charging time, and during her incantation, the Withered Treant could have killed her several times over.
It should be about time, right?
Liyakade calculated the time Alice and Field had taken to escape in her mind.
She figured they had already gotten out of the forest. She saw no reason to continue fighting the Withered Treant to the death—it was time to retreat.
With that thought, Liyakade gathered wind elements around her, flashed out of the vine trap, and ran toward the edge of the forest.
“Hmph, not fighting you anymore.”
As the wielder of wind elements, Liyakade was more agile than other magic users, and the Withered Treant’s main body—the tree trunk itself—moved slowly. Although its vines could stretch far, that came at the cost of the main body’s mobility.
Therefore, it should have been difficult for the Withered Treant to stop Liyakade once she decided to make a full sprint.
That’s how it was supposed to go.
“What?”
Just as Liyakade thought she was about to escape, she suddenly felt something wrap around her ankle.
Looking down, she saw it was the Withered Treant’s roots!
The Withered Treant had anticipated her escape and, while attacking her with vines and branches, had secretly spread roots all around her.
Even if Liyakade managed to break free from the vine assault, the trap would still bind her ankles.
Panicked, Liyakade tried to summon Wind Blades to cut the roots, but the Withered Treant wasn’t about to give her such an opportunity.
Suddenly, the roots tightened, and a massive force surged through them, lifting Liyakade high into the air.
“Boom—”
Like playing baseball, the Withered Treant grabbed Liyakade’s ankle and hurled her heavily, breaking several branches on the way before she finally crashed against a sturdy tree trunk.
“…Ugh… that hurts.” Liyakade collapsed to the ground, weakly leaning against the tree trunk behind her and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
Only then did Liyakade realize what a real battle was like.
In games, they only needed to take turns releasing their skills, losing HP when hit and MP when casting spells. If things got tough, just hit the escape option and run away.
But reality was different. Even if Liyakade chose the escape option, the enemy would still set traps and chase her relentlessly until she was killed.
Crimson blood flowed from Liyakade’s abdomen. Trembling, she looked at her blood-soaked hands, feeling intense pain all over, yet it was so agonizing she couldn’t even scream.
Her leg felt broken; she couldn’t stand up.
Her vision blurred, only the writhing body of the Withered Treant remained visible not far away.
“Cough cough… is this the end?”
Watching the Withered Treant inch closer, various memories of her arrival in this world flashed through Liyakade’s mind.
To be honest, there weren’t many good memories. She was called the Curse Child in the Academy, with no one willing to talk to her, let alone be friends. Maybe Alice and Field counted, but even with them, Liyakade was always on edge. If she messed up at a critical plot point, they could become deadly liabilities.
And then there was Irina Zi, who treated her like a tool, ordering her to do things she hated and using her as a scapegoat for abuse and insults.
Not a single good day.
Now, it seemed Liyakade’s journey in this other world was about to end.
Why… why do I have to suffer like this?
The crimson in Liyakade’s eyes thickened and grew chaotic. She suddenly felt her blood heat up, a strange, indescribable impulse surging into her mind.
Might as well take the True Ending Route.
If I take the True Ending Route, I can personally kill Irina Zi, ignite conflict between the Kingdom and the Demon Race, accelerate the Demon King’s resurrection with a Blood Sacrifice, absorb the Demon King’s power when the Protagonist Party kills him, and become the new Demon King myself.
Besides, as long as I win the final battle, why must I be sealed away?
If I just kill Alice and the others in the last fight, wouldn’t that solve everything?
There’s still time. All it takes is a single thought from me.
“Liyakade!”
Suddenly, a shout interrupted her delusion, and Liyakade snapped back to reality.
A beautiful figure stood between her and the Withered Treant. Field raised her longsword, blazing with fierce flames, leaving a long crimson tail as she swung it toward the Withered Treant’s hollow face.
“Why are you back again?! You can’t beat it!”
Several vines lashed toward Field from above. For some reason, Liyakade felt no pain anymore. Her magic reserves seemed replenished, likely from an adrenaline rush. She hurriedly sent out several Wind Blades, clearing obstacles along Field’s attack path.
The Withered Treant’s face on the trunk slowly opened its mouth, seemingly ready to attack with sound, but it was too late. As soon as it opened its mouth, Field’s sword struck its face.
“Roar!!!”
The Withered Treant let out a painful howl. The face, already scarred by Liyakade, now bore a new X-shaped slash. Flames quickly spread across the trunk.
The Withered Treant writhed violently, its vines twitching almost maniacally.
“Haah!”
Liyakade shouted, whipping up a fierce gale. The wind fanned the flames, intensifying the fire that had already engulfed the trunk, spreading across the entire Withered Treant.
Field naturally wouldn’t miss such an opportunity and pressed forward, slashing with her longsword.
Although Field’s strikes dealt minimal damage, the key was that they applied a flame buff to the Withered Treant. Before it could extinguish the fire, Liyakade’s support spread the flames all over its body. At this point, the Withered Treant could no longer care about Field’s slashes—it was doomed.
Flaming branches suddenly crashed toward Field. Even in death, the Withered Treant wouldn’t let them off so easily!
“Not a chance!”
A sonic boom sounded. Liyakade stood firm in front of the Withered Treant, clutching her wind elements tightly, and with a punch, shattered the incoming branches.
Stepping forward, she delivered another punch, striking hard on the burning face.
“Crack crack—”
The Withered Treant’s face caved in. The entire tree was flung back, crashing into a nearby bush and setting it on fire. It writhed and rolled on the ground while roaring, but it was no use—the flames from Field had already completely engulfed it.
“This is a thank-you gift from earlier.”
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