Ch8 Demise.

Seeing the puppet villagers again getting ready to attack him, this time two of them. Ash, holding the fire in his left hand and the dagger in his right, directly tried to sprint towards the tree.

One of the puppets quickly followed while the other grabbed another puppet beside him and threw it towards him.

"Huff." Ash felt out of breath as the air was warmer and smoke was spreading. Seeing the thrown puppet, he did not use 'static' to stop it; instead, he calmly took a step back and cut the roots connected to its back in one whole swoop.

Sadly, he did not get the chance to rest or even take a breather as another one was coming again; the puppet stopped soon by 'static.'. Asher did not want to waste any more time but chose to end this puppet as well.

"Three more to go." Even if he was confident in beating them now after all these fighting experiences he gained in a span of a single day.

Two problems still remain: he was running out of energy, after using 'static' So many times his origin pool has gone down by 60%. His physical condition was also not the best even though he did not sustain any grave injury till now. He was hungry, tired.

Ash's trembling limbs and sluggish mind warned him—if this fight dragged on, he wouldn't survive.

Instead of wasting any more time, he used the wooden pole covered in blazing flames to create a large combustion on roots spreading everywhere since the start.

Asher, even while fighting, was always trying to maintain some good distance from them in case of another sneak attack, but now that the roots were found to be highly flammable, he could finally use them.

As a large light illuminated from the burned roots as if exploding stunningly, Asher viewed towards the enemy and dashed towards the tree once again without stopping this time.

During his sprint he again saw the site of his grandpa and others still stuck in the prison created by the tree hanging from their branches, hovering above ground.

Ash cut through the defensive branches, reaching the tree's trunk. Its massive body would take time to burn, but that time was his chance to save William.

After saving William, Asher can plan to save others if opportunities arise; if not, he, in the worst-case scenario, will flee with William alone, leaving others behind.

'Dammit' Even such thoughts pained Asher greatly; these people present in these prisons were probably still alive, waiting to be saved. Even if no one had asked him to, he still wanted to repay the kindness they had shown him in all those years.

Ash was reaching the pole toward the tree to burn it to ashes and end this nightmare once and for all.

But suddenly, he felt a great force kick his abdomen, sending him crashing away from the tree. The burning pole flew out of his hand, and he watched in horror as it tumbled through the air.

"Guh!" he grunted, pain radiating through his body as he landed hard on the ground, the wind knocked out of him. He had been so focused on the tree and its roots that he hadn't seen the puppet that had managed to get behind him.

But how wrong he was. Seeing this new enemy, Ash's eyes widened and instantly got filled with tears. It was none other than Kit, Asher's friend.

Kit has been released from his prison; the root connected to him pulsed with light and got disconnected. Kit's eyes, hollow and empty, shone eerie blue as if possessed.

"No, no, it can't be happening." Ash denied this horrific sight, wanting to believe it as some illusion cast by the tree, yet the pain in his reminded him of this grim reality.

The tree doesn't need a connection anymore to control its puppet, but that was not all. Asher also noticed that the prisoners in the roots were turning dry, looking pale. Not only them, but also the puppets connected by the roots were getting sucked of their life force.

"Noo!!" Seeing this, Ash shouted at the tree. The face of his grandpa was getting worse and worse, his body losing all its vitality at an astounding speed.

Ash, instead of fighting, instantly tried leaping toward William in hopes of at least saving him.

With a grunt, Ash pushed himself up from the ground and stabbed the dagger into the thick bark of the tree. He used it as a foothold and began to climb. Each time he felt a branch or root try to entangle him, he'd swipe the blade, slicing through them in a fierce display of desperation. His eyes never leaving the withered face of his grandpa.

Reaching William's prison, his hands trembled with exhaustion. His palms were slick with sweat and blood, but he gripped the dagger tightly. With a deep breath, he swung it in a wide arc, cutting through the thick vines holding his grandpa. The prisoner fell to the ground with a thump, and William's limp body hit the earth.

Feeling relieved at this view, Ash let his body rest, forgetting about the danger that awaits him below and above.

But the tree was not going to let him off the hook easily; it began to shake violently as if it was aware of his intentions. The vines started to move like snakes trying to coil around him to pull him down.

With a grunt, Ash leaped from the tree, using one of its branches to swing down and get a safe landing. He had to time his jump perfectly to avoid the vines that shot out like spears, aiming to impale him. As he neared the ground, he saw Kit charging towards him with unnatural speed.

"I can't escape now." Not wanting his friend to be used this way, Asher tried to use 'static.'.

'What!' Ash couldn't hide his surprise at the amount of orgin his body lost; if previously it was taking seven orgin to stop the puppets for five seconds on his mental strain, now it took double the amount to stop Kit.

"Give me back my friend!" Ash's voice echoed through the forest as he tried to fight through the fog of pain and fatigue that had taken over his mind. His eyes searched for any sign of Kit's consciousness within the lifeless gaze.

Alas, no humanity could be seen in those lifeless eyes.

Ash charged at Kit, 'static' halting him for just two seconds. His heart clenched as he swept Kit's legs out, plunging the dagger into his thigh—desperate to subdue, not kill, his friend.

Kit, now the puppet of Tree, did not shy away from the injury; even if incapable of dodging, he took the stab without flinching and punched Asher in the chest, knocking the air out of him.

Ash flew back; his body slammed into a nearby bush, and the dagger clattered to the ground. He coughed and struggled to breathe, his eyes watering from the pain. "This isn't Kit," he murmured to himself. "It's just the tree controlling him."

Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself up and reached for the dagger. The tree's whispers grew louder in his head, trying to manipulate his thoughts, but he was determined. With the dagger in hand, he faced Kit once more. His heart ached as he saw his friend's lifeless eyes, but he knew what he had to do.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, sprinting towards Kit with the dagger raised high. Time seemed to slow down as he approached, every second feeling like an eternity. His movements were swift and precise, fueled by his desperation.

The static had stopped Kit in his tracks, but Ash knew that was only temporary. The tree's whispers grew faint, the world around them seeming to hold its breath. Ash's arm swung down in a powerful arc, and with a sickening thud, the dagger met its mark, slicing through the root attached to Kit's neck.

A spurt of black ooze shot out from the severed connection, and for a moment, Ash felt a wave of nausea wash over him. But he had no time to dwell on the sight. The tree's grip on Kit's body weakened, and Ash watched in horror as the color began to drain from Kit's face. His friend's eyes gained clarity for a moment; this did not miss Ash's attention as Kit's body went limp.

"I'm sorry," Ash whispered again, his voice cracking with emotion. He knew he had done what he had to do, but the pain of seeing Kit like this was unbearable. He gently laid Kit's head beside his body, trying to give him some semblance of peace in this grotesque scene.

With an empty mind, Ash looked around once again, his eyes hazy; he saw his grandpa lying down on the ground, now far from the tree. The prison has taken most of the shock of falling down.

William's complexion did not look good, but he was still alive for now. Asher then glanced at other prisoners whose bodies have dried up and lost all their vitality. Ash then took the wooden pole still caught in flames and then looked at the tree, calmly walking toward it.

The tree had gone still, no more puppets moving, no more whispers in his head. The battle was over. But the war was not won yet. Ash knew that the tree would not die so easily.

He took a step towards the tree, each movement feeling like it weighed a ton. His legs shaking with fatigue and his lungs burning for air, but he pushed on. The tree was his final enemy now, and he had to end this.

Asher, not wanting to seem weak now, took a heavy step forward. The tree as if in its final struggle launched all its branches toward Asher who has already let go of his dagger along with kit. Even if he had the dagger, it would have been impossible for Asher to cut down all these branches and save himself.

But as the branches got closer to him, a silver hue glowed from his eyes, his face remained calm yet sorrow undeniably present in them. With this final 'static,' Asher has stopped this massive tree, for mere moments drawing him of all his energy, his eyes shining bright, started to bleed out of the massive toll of keeping this massive creature whose roots have spread everywhere in Eron village.

Asher did not think much and quickly threw the blazing pole towards the tree trunk. The tree instantly caught fire; the 'static' has lasted no more than 1.5 seconds. It took all his leftover energy as well as his mind to gain those mere moments.

The fire grew rapidly, the tree trunk began to crackle, and the once terrifying branches crumbled to ash. The heat was intense, but Asher felt a strange comfort in the warmth. It was as if the fire was cleansing the very soul of the cursed land.

The tree let out a final, agonizing scream, echoing through the village, sending shivers down the spines of any creature that heard it. The light grew so bright that even the moon paled in comparison, the flames licking at the sky as if trying to reach for the stars themselves.

The branches that had reached out to Asher crumbled into ashes the moment the flaming pole hit the tree. Ash watched this, his eyes finally returning to their usual self; he felt his consciousness getting lost in front of this burning tree.

He gave a final glance behind him, looking at his grandpa, who lay on the ground a bit further from his burning abomination, and then looked toward the village currently burning from the same intensity as this tree.

Ash collapsed to his knees, relief flickering across his face—at least William was safe. His body screamed for rest, every muscle trembling as his vision blurred. He let his eyes drift closed, succumbing to exhaustion as the fiery tree roared behind him.

Seeing the tree growling in agony Ash couldn't help but laugh.

A sudden cracking sound pulled his attention back—the burning branch above gave way.

Ash's vision blurred as it fell toward him, his body refusing to respond. His last sight was of the blazing tree, and with a faint smile of relief, he closed his eyes as the branch crashed down.