“Heh…” Blake snorted. He no longer believed any of this. He could tell there was definitely something wrong with this place.

“Blake?” Mina landed on Blake’s head. She did not understand what Blake was getting at, but she trusted him more than some tree.

“Mina, Regia, I am sorry to tell you this is no tree of life. If it was a tree of life, then there would be life flourishing throughout the entire zone it was protecting. But even as we speak, our life force is slowly attempting to be sapped. This tree may be able to hide it from others, but I can feel it. You are trying to steal the life force from my body, but you can’t because it has been infused with condensed mana.” Blake’s revelation stunned both Mina and Regia. Faana could care less about any of this, but even Noa looked stunned. Lillia’s eyes were ice cold as she looked at this tree. “So this is just an ancient tree monster.”

“Basically. I now understand why a flame monster would attack the barrier instead of the city next to it that is also trying to destroy the barrier you have put up. You are not protecting this land but yourself from being destroyed. You probably sent your roots out all over the world and became very powerful after stealing the life force of the people of this planet, but when they figured out what you were doing, they began burning your roots. The metal cities are to keep you from being able to suck their life force so they can fight you at full strength. While they can save many, they can not save all, which is why there are still people living on the surface.” Blake sighed as he realized what was happening. His comprehension of all of this hit him as soon as he felt a tug on his entire being.

“So what do we do with this thing?” Noa asked. Her bow was already drawn. She was ready to attack at any time.

“What else can we do? This is not our world. This monster may be the cause of the people of this world’s strife, but it is also their responsibility. It could even be a lab experiment gone wrong. If you look at your surroundings, this forest is built on top of an old city. The trees here are nothing more than this thing’s roots.” Blake sighed. He hated the fact that he spent so much time and effort, and for what!? It was, basically, a demonic tree that somehow made others think it was a tree of life.

“Heh…. Hahahaha! To think that it took you a single glance to figure things out. But so what!? You are now in my domain!” The demonic tree roared. Its branches shook, and vines shot down toward Blake and the others.

“Stupid tree!” Faana opened her mouth and shot out a wave of her purgatory flames, causing the demonic tree to cry out in pain.

“What is this!? What are these flames!?” The demonic tree suddenly realized it had let a wolf into a sheep’s pastor. “I will not allow you to leave!”

“You can’t stop us!” Blake yelled back. “We came here, and we can leave here. But you still need more punishment! How dare you pretend to be a tree of life. You made my wives all excited for nothing! Faana, burn this forest and let the tree sit here by itself! Lillia, break the barrier in the air! Let’s see how long it can last without all of its protection.”

“Stop! I will let you out! Just let me go!” The demonic tree had started to become scared. It waved its branches about, trying to get Blake’s attention, but Blake had already risen up off the ground, which caused the feeling of his life force that the demonic tree was trying to steal from being sapped. He held Noa in his arms as the group flew through the sky. Faana only took a few seconds to spray her purgatory flames all over. The screams of the demonic tree could be heard behind them, but Blake did not care. He watched Lillia shatter the barrier as they made their way out of the now burning forest area.

“Blake, what I do not get is why were the refugees heading toward the tree?” Noa did not understand this.

“When I first came here, the mechanical cities that are roaming about had destroyed a city and were taking its resources. The mechanical cities might see it as a necessity to keep their population going, but for the people whose lives were being destroyed in the process, for all we know, the mechanical cities could be seen as the real destroyers of the land. And in a sense, this is true but at the same time, they have a reason to. Now with the barrier down, they can attack the demonic tree and hopefully kill it. Where they live or die is up to them.” Blake answered.

“Oh….” Noa sighed as she turned to see monsters and mechanical cities rushing forward. The demonic tree was still yelling while waving its branches about and sending thick vibes toward its new enemies. “To think it was able to grow to this stage and look like a tree of life, but I wonder why did Sister Mina and Regia sense the tree of life from it?”

“Because it is a tree of life….” Regia replied with a gloomy expression. “It must have been tainted. But Blake was right. That thing is now an evil tree monster. It is no longer a tree of life as it is not producing life but taking it. The forest around a real tree of life is teeming with wildlife and many other wondrous creatures. I wonder if when the seeds were spread out if the tree of life sent out its wrath toward other planets in order to consume them as a form of revenge. Not that these people had anything to do with that.”

“This is a possibility, but it is hard to say.” Mina let out a long sigh before curling up into Blake’s hair.