Tree of Penance (4)
“…Your Highness!”
Sir Massain’s sudden cry echoed through the forest, and the knights who had been wrestling with the tree branches all turned in unison toward the source of the sound.
“…?!”
What they saw was beyond anything they could have imagined.
Prince Mores was sprinting atop the Demonic Tree.
He was cutting and dodging branches as they swung at him. Occasionally, when a branch at just the right height came his way, he would leap up, vaulting across it in a stunning display of agility.
The scene was surreal—like watching a squirrel dart up and down the tree with impossible grace and speed.
But that wasn’t the only shocking thing. The prince was recklessly navigating through the thick black fog of demonic energy that clung to the tree, as if it didn’t bother him at all.
“That crazy…!”
Carmen, who had his mouth agape, involuntarily muttered a profanity, but this time, no one thought to scold him.
After all, there was no disputing that what the prince was doing was truly insane.
“What in the world is he—!”
Sir Ilma, her face drained of color, attempted to chase after the prince.
But she barely managed to switch between a few branches. Even with aura control on par with a Dekaron Knight, which allowed her to leap to much greater heights than the prince, she struggled.
The same went for Sir Massain, who had dashed over to the base of the trunk.
Not only was it hard to find stable footing on the violently shaking tree, but branches at the right height for the next step didn’t always appear on time.
On top of that, they had to dodge branches swinging from all directions while avoiding prolonged exposure to the demonic energy surrounding them.
In the end, both knights had to abandon their attempts to climb higher, watching the prince—already halfway up the tree—with mounting concern.
Sir Ilma murmured to herself.
“How is he even moving like that? Should I… should I be impressed?”
She didn’t dare attempt a powerful aura burst attack in case he lost his footing and fell from the impact. Massain was slicing through the branches cleanly with his Misra blade but kept glancing anxiously at the prince, who had now climbed far beyond reach.
“Your Highness….”
Meanwhile, in Sungjin’s mind, the Demon Lord was practically shouting in panic.
Demon Lord: “Hey, Lee Sungjin! Are you insane, doing something like this without warning?!”
‘Then what was I supposed to do? I can’t do anything from down there, can I?’
With a grumpy expression, Sungjin retorted as he leaped onto a conveniently approaching branch.
Thump.
The branch bucked under him, trying to shake him off like a wave.
His footing wobbled violently, but Sungjin steadied himself by slashing downward with his nutcracker sword, slicing along the length of the branch and sliding downward. Before he lost his balance completely, he pushed off and launched himself to the next branch.
Thwack!
Just as he landed, he instinctively ducked, sensing something dangerous.
Swish!
A branch hurtled past, narrowly missing his head at a terrifying speed. It wasn’t just the branches attacking him from above—those retracting back toward the tree’s main trunk seemed to aim for him as well.
“…Phew.”
Sungjin exhaled, releasing the breath he’d been holding.
This was a situation where he couldn’t let his guard down for even a second.
Cold sweat ran down his back, and while adrenaline and dopamine surged through his body, it wasn’t exactly enjoyable, yet a slight grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
But still—
‘…I can handle this.’
Branches were flying at him from all directions, but each one moved like an instinct-driven creature.
The tree lacked the intelligence to fake him out or anticipate his moves—it simply struck with raw physical power, aiming blindly at its target.
This wasn’t like dealing with monsters that used complex chemical or sonic attacks, where he would have to constantly calculate timings and damage zones.
As long as he only had to navigate around physical strikes, the movements he needed to predict became far simpler. Dealing with the demonic energy it emitted was another story, but for now, he managed.
Crack!
The Demonic Tree’s movements became faster and more aggressive. But Sungjin’s vision and perception were gradually sharpening, reawakening the reflexes he’d nearly forgotten.
Branches whipped past him like blades, pounded down like hammers, and lashed out like whips.
As these strikes crossed and wove together, he slipped through the narrow gaps in their patterns and continued climbing higher, higher, and higher.
However, as he reached midway up the tree, his steady ascent came to an abrupt halt.
Unlike the more chaotic lower branches that moved freely, the upper branches hung down, blocking his path. They left him no easy opening to climb further.
This slowed him down, exposing him to attacks more frequently.
‘I should’ve learned archery or something, just for times like this.’
He briefly regretted his lack of range skills.
But, even if he knew archery, he doubted he’d be able to hit an invisible target up there anyway.
‘There’s no other choice. I’ll have to get closer and strike!’
Crunch!
A branch came whizzing at him, and Sungjin thrust his nutcracker blade into it, holding onto the sword as it lifted him upwards.
But then, with a grotesque creak, the branch twisted, and he found himself momentarily airborne as it flung him off.
“Your Highness!”
He heard someone shout in alarm from below.
Ah, sorry to worry you, Sir Massain.
But I won’t be down for long.
Slam.
Sungjin managed to embed his sword into a nearby branch swinging by, focusing all his aura into his arms to hold himself steady against the bucking wood.
Pop.
A sickening sound came from his overstrained arms.
‘…At this rate, I might snap my joints.’
Gritting his teeth, Sungjin held on just long enough until the branch tilted upward, allowing him to pull the nutcracker free and leap again.
“Guh!”
A branch hit him midair, but bracing himself for the impact, Sungjin used the force of his strike to launch himself higher. Before he could fly too far off, he lodged his sword into another branch.
And so he continued, enduring what felt like a wild rodeo. Every time the branch lurched, he had to deal with a brutal drop.
‘I can’t keep this up. I have to reach the top as quickly as possible.’
After several more risky acrobatics, he finally cleared about three-quarters of the tree and saw a tangle of branches extending toward the top.
Finding a branch just stable enough to stand on, Sungjin landed with relief. His legs, like his arms, ached from the strain, but it was easier to bear than enduring the impacts with his arms alone.
But while movement had become easier, the demonic energy billowing from the top had grown thicker. He needed to be more cautious as he leapt from branch to branch.
‘Where exactly is this growth core?’
Finally reaching what he could call the uppermost branches, Sungjin asked the Demon Lord.
Demon Lord: “It’s on the central branch. The very tip of the branch growing upward!”
The central branch.
Sungjin frowned at this new information. A complication had arisen.
‘Even if it’s the central branch, I can’t see it at all.’
The very top of the Demonic Tree was engulfed in a cloud of dense black fog, making it impossible to discern anything.
Demon Lord: “The energy is coming mainly from the growth core in the center. Try aiming for the middle of the fog.”
‘How big is this core?’
Demon Lord: “About the size of your fist.”
Staring at the cloud, which stretched over two meters wide, Sungjin’s expression soured.
The chance of hitting it blindly was low.
‘Looks like I’ll have to keep swinging randomly until I hit the core….’
The frequency of branch attacks had lessened as he approached the center, likely due to the structure favoring outward extension.
Taking advantage of this break, Sungjin approached the center carefully.
Then—
Swish!
He lunged into the cloud and unleashed Banahas Form II, Slash Type 2, covering the widest arc possible.
Whoosh.
The air pressure from his sword swing cut through the fog, briefly parting the black mist.
Demon Lord: “Almost! Just a bit lower than that!”
As he emerged from the cloud, the Demon Lord called out in disappointment.
Sungjin cut through another branch flying his way and asked.
‘How far off was I?’
Demon Lord: “You were close, but you need to aim about a head’s length lower.”
How vague.
Leaping between branches, Sungjin recalculated the core’s position.
Aiming just slightly lower than before, he lunged for the center a second time.
This time, he felt a dull impact as his blade made contact. Emerging from the cloud, he frowned.
Demon Lord: “Oh no! You grazed it, but you missed the core!”
The Demon Lord let out a groan.
And in that moment—
Wham!
A branch shot out of the cloud and slammed into Sungjin. Having just exited the mist, he hadn’t seen it coming in time to react.
Though he tried to brace with his sword, he was already being flung far away from the tree.
Demon Lord: “Lee Sungjin!”
Sungjin’s body plummeted at an incredible speed.
He quickly opened his eyes, scanning desperately for a branch to grab, but there was nothing within reach.
‘Oh, no…!’
As he hurtled through the air, he realized that the tree branches had stopped attacking him. The tree seemed to have considered him “dealt with” now that he was far enough away.
Without any attacks coming his way, there was no branch to catch or break his fall.
‘If I’m unlucky, this could kill me.’
Sungjin grimaced as he felt himself accelerating toward the ground, headfirst.
Falling from a height equivalent to an eight-story building—this wasn’t just freefall; he was plunging like a missile. He channeled aura to shield his head and neck as best as he could, scanning the ground below for any chance to slow his descent.
If he could launch an aura burst downward, he might reduce his speed a little. But even that seemed unlikely in such a short span of time.
Then, as he was about to give up, something below caught his eye. His heart skipped a beat.
Sir Massain was running toward him, not even bothering to shield himself from the demonic energy as he dashed forward.
“No, move! Sir Massain!” Sungjin shouted down.
At this rate, they’d both be crushed by the impact.
He figured he’d have a better chance trying to land on his own—even an attempted roll might be better than colliding into Massain head-on.
But the stubborn knight showed no intention of moving out of the way. Instead, he stood precisely where Sungjin was about to fall, bracing himself with his arms outstretched.
‘…Damn it!’
Out of options, Sungjin infused aura into his nutcracker sword and hurled it toward the ground, hoping the recoil would slow him down even a little.
Thud!
The aura-charged sword buried itself deep in the ground.
“Hold on!”
From the side, Commander Bruno extended a hand toward Sungjin.
Whoosh!
A small gust of wind wrapped around Sungjin, generated by Bruno’s aura. But it was nowhere near enough to stop his rapid descent.
‘Brace for impact!’
Expecting to crash into Massain with disastrous consequences, Sungjin shut his eyes.
But then, suddenly—
Whoosh!
He felt his body being lifted upward unexpectedly.
‘…What?’
The sensation lasted only a moment before he and Massain hit the ground together, tumbling across the earth in a chaotic roll.
Thud, thud, thud!
“Your Highness!”
“Sir Massain!”
Commander Bruno and the Wolf Knights rushed over, visibly shaken.
“Are you alright, Your Highness?”
“Your Highness!”
Sungjin opened his eyes and quickly got to his feet.
“Sir Massain!”
Despite feeling slightly dizzy from the fall, he realized he was somehow unharmed. Remarkably, Sir Massain had managed to catch him and absorb the impact.
Even Massain seemed unscathed, though he appeared to have hit his head, possibly suffering a mild concussion.
Sungjin was genuinely stunned by the miraculous outcome.
“Ugh…”
Rising slowly, Massain rubbed the back of his head and muttered.
“Who knew those childhood buoyancy exercises would come in handy…”
Buoyancy exercises? What in the world was that?
Before he could ask, Sungjin immediately launched into a scolding tirade.
“Were you trying to get yourself killed, Sir Massain? Getting caught in my fall is one thing, but why on earth didn’t you shield yourself from the demonic energy? Are you even thinking straight?”
Massain’s face twisted with frustration at Sungjin’s reprimand.
Sungjin, momentarily taken aback by the intensity of his expression, watched as Massain’s usual restraint slipped away, and for the first time in ages, he bellowed at Sungjin.
“Are you one to talk, Your Highness? Charging into a place flooded with demonic energy—what were you thinking?! Why would you pull a stunt like that all of a sudden?!”
“B-but I—”
“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t do anything reckless?! Didn’t you tell us that, Your Highness?!”
Caught off guard by Massain’s fury, Sungjin averted his gaze.
Only now did he realize just how angry Massain was. He hurriedly tried to explain himself.
“I’m sorry for worrying you. But Sir Massain, the growth core of the Demonic Tree is at the very top!”
“…The core?”
“Yes, it’s the source that keeps the tree growing.”
Massain, who had previously faced demonic threats alongside Sungjin, quickly understood.
“So if we destroy that core, we can kill the Demonic Tree?”
With his tone calming down slightly, Sungjin nodded eagerly.
“Exactly. I nearly managed to destroy it, but I missed by a hair. I wasn’t just being reckless! I really had a plan!”
“….”
“There was no time to discuss it before. I promise I won’t act on my own like that again! I’m really sorry!”
Seeing Sungjin apologize so earnestly, Massain closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead for a moment.
Then, with a heavy sigh, he asked in a quieter voice.
“…Alright. So, how do we destroy it, Your Highness?”
Ah, good. His anger was starting to subside.