The change in thend didn''t so much as capture a flinch from Goldheve, who held his stance before sliding both of his des together--unleashing a sharp shriek from the sh of steel as sparks flew into the stale air.


    "Eight Vasus: Agni."


    It was the first time something resembling magic left Goldheve''s lips, but it wasn''t something Ren had ever heard of. The phrase conjured ck markings across Goldheve''s body before mes coiled his drawn sabers.


    "What kind of magecraft is that?"


    Ren asked, enamored with the sight as the newly manifested fire held a different pressure and heat to that he experienced from standard heat. A streak of cobalt was present within the enigmatic mes, running through the flowing scarlet.


    "Magecraft? Don''t get it twisted, kid. What you''re looking at is real power, not the flowery bullshit you''re taught in the west. Watch for yourself."


    Raining down upon him, spears of nature crashed at the ground which he stood--vanishing with speed that made Ren nauseous just watching it. He assumed Goldheve had dashed forward to avoid the iing volley of branches, but he had instead leaped into the air to meet them halfway, rearing his ming sabers back as the heat expanded into an exciting ze.


    Bringing one de forward through the air, the wind pressure alone was enough to carve the limbs of the ent into two sections, catching them on fire in the process.


    A pained groan that more so resembled a low hiss resounded from the monstrous tree''s mouth, the rest of its limbs began to thrash about as in response to the bisection. Before the mes of azure and scarlet could spread further, the affected limbs tore off on their own, falling to the ground below before being reduced to ash from the hungering mes.


    "It''s intelligent?!"


    Ren, who still hadn''t done anything at this point, had spectated the battle. It seemed the ent noticed his slothfulness, spawning miniature creatures formed of bark and moss from its ancient roots. Compared to their parent, they had the proportions of human children, onlyposed of withered, old bark as they made their move toward Ren.


    The uncanny way they stepped forward, swaying side to side made his skin crawl but didn''t prevent him from removing his trusted de from its sheath. It took a single strike to bisect one of the approaching bark minions, much to his surprise.


    --This''ll be easy!


    Or so he thought. Cutting it in half resulted in the branches that formed its body sprouting outwards, reconnecting both halves as if it had never been separated from itself. In ce of an edge, Ren opted for magic this time, yelling out with "Dunkle: Piecer!" as he threw one of his trustynces of darkness towards the closest foe.


    It had the same result, stabbing through the body of the creature only for the damage inflicted to be reversed by it regenerating with its naturalpound.


    "Urr...Any advice?"


    Ren directed his question towards Goldheve, watching his toes as he danced around the infant ents as they attempted to grasp at his legs with their moss-covered limbs. All he got in return was the de-wielding man simply waving his ming saber in the air without turning to give him the time of day.


    "...Very helpful."


    At the very least, cutting down the spawn of the ent slowed them down.


    --Wait. mes. Is that what he''s trying to tell me? Crap, I didn''t tell him my affinity--is he just assuming it''s fire?


    Using his sword to pin one of the offspring of the tree down, he took a moment to ponder a way to put these creatures down for good. Only one thought came to his mind, and it was aplete long shot. Reaching into the leather pouch on his belt, he retrieved the crimson gem that Lucas had parted with him as a gift before tackling this trial.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Red means fire, right? Let''s hope it does--!"


    Without any knowledge on how to activate the gemstone, Ren tossed it towards the iing group of slow-moving mini-ents, watching in anticipation before it began to glow faintly.


    --Come on...Come on…!


    As the crimson gemstone shattered, his wishes came true as mes erupted from the broken jewel--consuming the lumbering offspring without any hint of mercy.


    "Victory!"


    He proimed, only to return to reality as one of the massive limbs of the true ent swiped across the floor, aiming for Goldheve but wounding up nearly hitting Ren as coteral as he narrowly rolled over the iing mass of nature.


    Watching Goldheve now, his focus sat on the fiery enchantment he used on himself, his interest garnered by the im that it wasn''t magecraft.


    The dual-de wielding warrior moved with agility unbing of his tall, bulwark build as he swiftly sprinted up the bridge-like limbs that stretched out towards him, dragging his ignited sabers along the length of the ent''s arm.


    --It isn''t just the fire. Whatever that "Agni" is, he seems to be moving even faster than before, not to mention the strength behind that first strike against the ent.


    The mes zipped forward up the ent''s elongated limb, sinking into every groove and impurity as they exuded a hostile warmth. At the speed the fire carved through the air, sprinting against the mmable surface of the living tree''s body--it waspletely helpless to the carnage of the man who dedicated his all to the way of killing steel.


    Performing a sh wasn''t necessary, as with the agile movements Goldheve enacted, the mes dragged behind him, unleashing a wave of inferno in his path. Cavities parted all around the ent in the form of pores, shooting out a hail of speeding seeds towards the sword-wielding menace who traversed its body.


    "--Not enough! It hurts, right? Right? You want the pain to stop, right? Then you''ll have to do better! Kill me if you want the mes to die out!"


    Goldheve taunted the ent withughter before he spun in the air, creating a vortex of highly pressurized mes that decimated in approaching storm of seeds. In the midst of the battle, life returned to his somber eyes, dazzling with the same fire he held in his hands.


    --I''m kind of starting to feel bad for the big ol'' tree...If I had to fight that guy, I think I''d be pissing myself. It isn''t a question of strength or magic, just that twisted personality of his.


    Circling the entirety of the ent''s body, a zing trail was left in Goldheve''s path before he found himself sitting at the peak of the creature''s body. By this point, the mes had found their way to every inch of its body, consuming its matter as it did without prejudice to all.


    Goldhevended back onto the ground, kicking up a wave of dust before the mes that wrapped around his des disappeared, along with the markings on his body.


    "Disappointing. At least I got a bit of a warmup."


    "All those monsters before weren''t a warmup?"


    "That was just pest control."


    They watched as the ent fell into nothing more than burnt bark, now resembling charcoal more than anything as life was nowhere to be seen from it.