‹Master! Forgive me for asking for forgiveness instead of permission, but I think it’s time to move to phase three!› Treant shouted. It leapt from my back.
Treant’s small body swelled in size, spawning numerous treelike roots from its entire body to completely cover my left side. This was Treant’s Barkskin Armor skill.
‹No, that’s a great idea, Treant!› I yelled back. ‹Talk about perfect timing!›
Phase three of our plan to defeat the Origin Matter involved attacking the Origin Matter with all we had while Treant used its Barkskin Armor to defend us. That was why I’d had Treant conserve its MP until now.
I thrust my left side forward, using Treant in its Barkskin Armor form as a shield as I shot toward the Origin Matter. The final stage of the operation to take down the Origin Matter was to suicide charge it with Treant acting as my shield. In its Barkskin Armor form, Treant could withstand at least a single Dark Ray strike.
But Treant still had one more skill to use.
‹Now, Treant! Let’s take this thing down!›
‹Yes, Master! Get ready for…Eternal Regrowth!›
Glowing, blue-green moss began to sprout all across Treant’s Barkskin Armor.
Normal Skill “Eternal Regrowth.” Greatly increases the user’s life force. When activated, a glowing blue-green moss grows over the user’s body, forcing them to regenerate HP until their MP is reduced to less than 1 percent of its total. While using this skill, the user’s defense is greatly increased, but its other stats are halved.
This was why we had to wait until the very last phase to use Treant’s Barkskin Armor. Eternal Regrowth boosted Treant’s recovery and defenses, but cut its other stats in half in exchange. On top of that, this skill would be active until Treant ran out of MP. This window we had until Eternal Regrowth ended was the best chance for me to launch my attack against the Origin Matter.
We needed to settle this fight as fast as we could.
With enough time between hits, Treant could withstand two Dark Rays or more. Treant’s role wasn’t strictly limited to defense either.
I charged toward the Origin Matter and unleashed a Dimension Claw at it, then a second. ‹I’m ending this here and now!›
Claw marks appeared on the Origin Matter’s smooth black surface, only to heal over a few moments later. However, when I checked its status, I saw that healing from my attack had made a significant dent in its MP.
A Dark Ray shot down directly in front of me. I thrust my left shoulder forward and blocked it with my Treant armor. ‹Sorry, I can’t avoid this one!›
‹Don’t worry, Master! I can take it!› At Lv: 91/130, Treant boasted an impressive HP: 4408 and Defense: 2011. Those stats rivaled even my own as a Legendary Oneiros. To top it off, Treant’s defense was boosted with Eternal Regrowth, meaning its defense likely far surpassed mine right now.
‹Guh!› Splintered tree roots flew through the air and toward the ground, along with a handful of glowing moss particles, as the Dark Ray struck my Treant armor, carving a neat hole through Treant’s frame.
‹Y-you okay, Treant?›
‹I-I’ll be fine. As long as I don’t take too many hits in a row…› Treant’s voice betrayed a hint of anxiety. But this was where its true abilities came into play.
‹All right, Treant! Show ’em what you’ve got!›
Treant’s armorlike body began to glow brightly. From the thickest part of Treant’s body—what you’d call its core—a black beam of light shot into the air.
‹Allow me to return the favor!› Treant shouted. The black beam curved in midair to strike the Origin Matter with a perfect bullseye. The Origin Matter’s body shuddered violently with the force of the impact.
Special Skill: “Fairy Curse.” When hit directly with a magical attack, forest fairies will come to the rescue, counterattacking by casting the same spell back at its user. Their magic will be as powerful as the original attack, regardless of the skill owner’s magic power. The fairies’ magic will only affect the attacker.
Yes! Treant did it! Thanks to the reflective effects of Treant’s Fairy Curse, the Origin Matter took a powerful Dark Ray with its own 4,999 magic stat. That one had to hurt. It did more damage than I could have even if I channeled all my MP into a single skill.
‹Well? How’s it feel, Origin Matter? I see your Dark Ray bullet hell is getting thinner!›
I unleashed two Dimension Claws, one right after the other. The Origin Matter’s previously unmoving frame now trembled with each attack. Our onslaught was beginning to take its toll; the Origin Matter’s automatic recovery skills were struggling to keep up.
“My turn! Time to put the rest of my MP to work!” The three Allos fired another barrage of Dark Spheres at the Origin Matter. Despite how invincible it had seemed when we first saw it, the Origin Matter couldn’t be far from defeat.
‹We can do this… We can beat it!›
‹Master, I’ve recovered my HP! I think I can handle another Dark Ray now!› Treant shouted.
‹Got it!› I moved to guard with my armored left side, but then I saw the Origin Matter’s patterns change again and instinctively moved my right side forward instead. Moments later, a Dimension Slash sliced through my body.
‹Guh!›
‹Master! I could’ve taken that hit for you!›
‹No, no… Save your health for Dark Ray. The damage from your Fairy Curse counter is a lot higher than any of my attacks. You can’t counter Dimension Slash, so it’d be a waste to let you take the hit.›
‹I see…›
‹Four hits. You need to hit it with four Fairy Curse hits. Then we’ll pretty much be in the clear.›
‹Understood! Leave it to me, Master!›
I circled around the Origin Matter, firing Dimension Claws as I went. Having Treant to shield my left side gave me the confidence to attack more aggressively than before.
Once again, a Dark Ray shot toward me, and I blocked it with Treant. Again, Treant used Fairy Curse to shoot another Dark Ray into our spherical foe in return. The Origin Matter took the hit and staggered, then dropped lower in the sky, clearly nearing the end of its strength.
Then the patterns on its surface changed again, this time swirling into a massive vortex. Black light began to spread out from its body.
‹Here it comes…› My wings came to a halt in midair, and I slowly began moving toward the Origin Matter against my will.
Normal Skill “Black Hole.” Powerful gravity magic which draws any nearby opponents to the user.
This was the same skill the Origin Matter had used last time to pull me in, right before it used Big Bang.
“Waaah!” The three Allos clung desperately to my back.
‹End Dark Kaleidoscope and let go!› I ordered, and Allo quickly returned to her original form and released her grip on my scales. I quickly reached up and caught her in my mouth before she could get sucked toward the Origin Matter.
I strained against the pull of the Origin Matter’s Black Hole with every ounce of strength I possessed. However, slowly but surely, I was sucked in by the skill’s powerful gravity magic.
I held my breath. This was where the real trouble would start.
Treant, Allo, and I had prepared as many answers as possible for each of the Origin Matter’s attacks—that is, up until this point. But I’d failed to come up with a solution for its Black Hole and Big Bang finisher.
The amount of damage I could mitigate from Black Hole depended entirely on my own efforts to stay away, and whichever skill the Origin Matter chose to follow up with. There was no way for me to predict the outcome, but no matter which skill it used, I was pretty much guaranteed to take some major damage once Black Hole was activated—especially if it decided to follow it up with Big Bang.
There was no way to predict whether we’d survive its Big Bang, or what kind of state we’d be in afterward. All we could do was try to prepare ourselves for it as best we could. Only one thing was certain: Whatever happened, this skill was bad news for me and my friends. I needed to figure out how to get out of our predicament with as little damage as possible.
Black Hole was a powerful skill. However, the Origin Matter couldn’t use any other skills while it was activated. The moment it was interrupted, the Origin Matter would likely respond with another skill—potentially Big Bang, like last time.
Suddenly, the gravitational force pulling me toward it stopped.
‹It’s gonna attack!› I surged forward, trying to get away as fast as possible.
Behind me, I heard the sound of another Dark Ray barrage ripping through the air. Looked like it was holding off on Big Bang for now.
I veered around to face the Origin Matter, successfully dodging the thinning Dark Rays as I went. I tried to use Dimension Claws, but the Origin Matter used Black Hole again. The gravitational pull yanked me toward it, throwing off my aim. The moment I started resisting Black Hole, though, the Origin Matter released it again, sending me tumbling backward in the air.
‹Crap!›
I pulled my Treant shield over me at the last moment to deflect the incoming Dark Ray. This, in turn, activated Treant’s Fairy Curse, sending another Dark Ray back at the Origin Matter.