Eternal Undying Chronicles

In the crater formed from their brutal clash, the treant bellowed, its massive, splintered body groaning from the fall. Its wooden limbs creaked as it attempted to rise, glaring down at Alicarde, whose black-clad figure seemed almost insignificant by comparison.

Though Alicarde had regenerated from the impact, the intense strain of wielding [Flux Field] so recklessly left his mind reeling. Still, he managed a grin, his laughter echoing as the treant shifted and reformed its monstrous frame.

As Alicarde watched, the treant began absorbing nearby trees, its hulking form swelling with even greater power. Bark and branches intertwined, transforming it into a towering nightmare of twisted wood.

"Uh-oh, that can't be good," he muttered, sensing the looming danger.

Not one to let an opponent finish their transformation, Alicarde shot forward. Yet, the treant had anticipated his move, releasing pods from its massive body that morphed into wooden soldiers in a matter of seconds. These minions, armed with crude, branch-like weapons, charged him. Each stood a daunting three meters tall, moving with an agility that belied their weight.

As the first wave closed in, Alicarde raised his hand, incanting an inferno spell, "Tinder to spark, ember to glow..."
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Columns of fire erupted, engulfing the advancing wooden soldiers in a blazing inferno. Alicarde leaped into the flames, his laughter ringing out as he wove through the blazing battlefield.

Some of the treant's minions burst into ash immediately, while others continued their assault, even as their limbs burned. An axe came flying at him; he twisted away just in time, deflecting the blow, then used his momentum to kick one of the soldiers into another.

His movements were seamless as he vaulted onto a nearby soldier's back, casting another fiery incantation that unleashed another roaring wave of flames around him.

"Burn! Burn! BURN!" he howled, eyes gleaming with dark joy.

Dropping back to the ground, Alicarde activated [Flux Field] with a brutal stomp, magnifying his gravity to unleash a shockwave.

The ground split and cracked under the immense force, causing the treant minions to topple while the earth trembled in response. Alicarde smirked as he watched his handiwork, his violet eyes glowing with a sinister satisfaction.

Despite the onslaught, the treant continued its absorption, growing ever larger, roots plunging deep into the soil to feed its relentless expansion.

"You just made yourself a bigger target," Alicarde sneered.

Encircled by the crackling flames, he raised his hand again, channeling his mana into a new spell.

"Whispered breeze, then roaring gale,

Clouds converge, winds prevail.

Lightning strikes, storms assail,

Wreak havoc—Tempest veil!"

Wind surged around him, merging with the inferno in a blazing tempest. The firestorm spun forward like a living tornado, engulfing everything in its path. Searing flames and violent winds swept toward the towering treant, which responded by raising massive roots as a makeshift shield.

Alicarde's inferno storm collided with the shield, splintering it into smoldering fragments, but before he could strike again, a root whipped out, hitting him like a thunderous lash and sending him rocketing skyward.

As he soared helplessly, the treant opened its gargantuan maw, a blinding glow gathering in its depths. With a thunderous roar, it unleashed a colossal beam of energy toward Alicarde, who barely registered the attack before the blazing light engulfed him.

The searing heat tore through his form, obliterating flesh, bone, and even the air around him. His vestments took the brunt, but still, his body was eviscerated, leaving nothing behind—no blood, no bones, only ashes scattering in the wind. His sword spiraled downward, glinting as it fell.

It should have been his end. But Alicarde's immortality would not permit it.

From the faintest violet glow in the ashes, his form began to regenerate, each atom knitting itself back together.

His body re-materialized in pristine condition, flesh, bone, and muscle renewed as though untouched. The raw destruction had only strengthened his mana reserves, a byproduct of his deathless curse.

Grinning as his reformed body crackled with newfound energy, Alicarde looked up at the treant.

"Heheh… I knew you'd give me a tough battle."

The treant roared in fury at the appalling sight of its foe, Alicarde, returning from what should have been certain death. Its massive roots twisted and writhed, lifting its wooden soldiers high into the air, each armed with jagged wooden spears crafted from sharpened branches.

The minions, with faces twisted into rough, menacing scowls, surged forward, hurling themselves at Alicarde in a relentless wave.

Alicarde scoffed, deactivating [Flux Field]. Instantly, he began plummeting down toward them. As he descended, he opened his hand, activating one of the enchantments in his Reaper Vestments, an ability that absorbed the damage he had sustained and channeled it back in a devastating shockwave.

When he reached striking distance, Alicarde unleashed the stored energy. A wave of raw destruction radiated out from him, a force charged with every injury he'd suffered.

The shockwave exploded outward, blasting into the approaching minions with devastating power. Many of them disintegrated on impact, their bodies reduced to ash, while others were hurled back by the sheer force, splintering into pieces as they flew.

With a smirk, Alicarde twisted his body midair, launching himself directly toward the towering treant. In response, the treant lashed out with its roots, filling the sky with a writhing mass of thick, gnarled tendrils. From his perspective, it seemed as though the heavens themselves were swarming with roots.

Alicarde twisted and weaved, narrowly evading each strike. He spun around some, dodged others by mere inches, slipping past the treant's relentless attacks with deadly precision.

But the treant was cunning and relentless. One massive root shot forward unexpectedly, ensnaring him before he could evade. More roots coiled around him, tightening until his bones creaked and his organs were crushed under the pressure.

Alicarde's body shuddered, his skin splitting, blood seeping out as the roots compressed him further. Then, with a sickening crack, the treant tugged, tearing Alicarde's upper and lower halves apart with brutal force, flinging the two parts in opposite directions.

The portion of Alicarde that still held his head slammed into the forest floor, yet instead of despair, a twisted grin stretched across his blood-streaked face. A dark, sinister laugh echoed from his mouth as he lay, his laughter filled with unholy glee.

Hearing his mocking voice, the treant let out another furious bellow, raising its maw and charging a blinding beam of energy. With a roar, it unleashed the blast, firing a searing, destructive beam directly at Alicarde's remains.

The heat was cataclysmic, so intense that the snow-laden branches of nearby trees melted instantly, dripping away as liquid droplets. The ground smoldered, transforming into a crater scorched black by the beam's energy. Trees turned to cinders, and the soil itself hardened to glass under the immense heat.

The treant stopped, staring down at the smoldering battlefield covered in thick smoke. For a moment, silence reigned, broken only by the crackle of flames and the soft hissing of cooling earth. It inspected the scene, certain it had obliterated its enemy.

Then, from within the swirling haze of smoke and embers, a voice echoed.

"Is that all you've got…? Hehehe… You're really going to have to want it if you're hoping to kill me