The mist of the Forest of Azure thickened as Ryusei Ryugu stood upon the tree branch, holding the frightened boy close to him.
Below him, the Corrupted Treants groaned as dark energy pulsed through their wooden bodies. Their twisted limbs scraped against the ground as they slowly surrounded the tree Ryusei stood on.
Their hollow eyes glowed with an unnatural violet light.
Ryusei narrowed his eyes.
"This many…?"
The boy trembled in his arms.
"A-Are we going to die…?" the child whispered.
Ryusei looked down at him and forced a calm smile.
"No," he said firmly.
"I won't let that happen."
But inside, Ryusei knew the truth.
His heart pounded violently in his chest.
I can't use advanced elemental arts yet…
I can't summon large spells…
The only thing I can do…
Ryusei slowly extended his right hand.
Light began to gather in his palm.
Small sparks formed first.
Then the sparks grew brighter.
The air around him shimmered as particles of radiant energy began swirling together.
Below him, the Treants suddenly screeched, sensing the energy gathering above.
Branches snapped as they began climbing the tree.
"Looks like they noticed…" Ryusei muttered.
The boy clutched his sleeve tighter.
Ryusei took a slow breath.
"I may not be strong yet…"
"But I won't run away."
The light in his hand exploded outward.
A blade of pure radiant energy formed, shining like a falling star.
Ryusei gripped the weapon tightly.
"Meteor Dragon: Photon Blade."
The sword hummed with celestial light.
Golden particles drifted through the air like stardust.
For a moment, even the corrupted forest seemed to recoil from the brilliance.
The Treants screeched violently.
One of them lunged upward, its massive wooden arm slamming toward Ryusei.
CRASH!
Ryusei leapt from the branch just as the tree exploded beneath him.
He landed on the ground, placing the boy gently behind him.
"Stay back," he said.
The boy nodded, hiding behind a fallen trunk.
Four Treants surrounded Ryusei.
Their wooden bodies creaked as dark energy surged through them.
The ground trembled.
Then they attacked.
Branches shot forward like spears.
Ryusei dashed forward.
His blade flashed.
SLASH!
The Photon Blade cut clean through one of the branches, slicing it apart with radiant light.
But the Treant did not fall.
Instead, the cut wood began writhing as dark energy repaired it.
Ryusei's eyes widened.
"They can regenerate…?"
Another Treant swung its massive arm downward.
Ryusei jumped back, barely avoiding the crushing strike as the ground shattered beneath him.
Dust and leaves scattered everywhere.
He gritted his teeth.
"If I keep fighting like this, I'll lose…"
The Photon Blade flickered slightly in his hand.
His energy was already draining.
He wasn't an experienced Elementalist.
This was his first real battle.
Suddenly—
The black ring on his finger pulsed faintly.
A strange warmth spread through his hand.
Ryusei paused.
"The ring…?"
For a brief moment, something flashed across his mind.
A memory that wasn't his.
A battlefield.
A warrior cloaked in radiant light.
A voice echoed faintly in his mind.
"A blade of light must strike the core."
Ryusei's eyes widened.
"The core…!"
He looked back at the Treants.
Dark energy pulsed from the center of their trunks.
"That's it!"
The Treants charged again.
Ryusei dashed forward instead of retreating.
The Photon Blade blazed brighter.
"Alright…" he whispered.
"If that's the core…"
He leapt high into the air.
The Treants swung upward, trying to crush him.
But Ryusei twisted mid-air, spinning like a falling comet.
Light gathered along the blade.
"METEOR DRAGON—PHOTON BLADE!"
The sword struck the center of the nearest Treant.
FLASH!
Radiant energy exploded outward.
For a moment the entire forest lit up like daylight.
The Treant froze.
Cracks of light spread across its wooden body.
Then—
BOOM!
It shattered into glowing fragments.
The remaining Treants screeched in rage.
But Ryusei was already moving.
He dashed between them, his blade flashing again and again.
SLASH!
SLASH!
SLASH!
Three bursts of radiant light erupted through the mist.
Moments later—
Silence returned to the forest.
The corrupted Treants collapsed into lifeless wood.
Ryusei stood in the clearing, breathing heavily.
The Photon Blade flickered…
…and vanished.
His knees nearly gave out from exhaustion.
Behind him, the boy slowly stepped out from hiding.
"W-we won…?"
Ryusei wiped sweat from his forehead and smiled weakly.
"Yeah…"
"But this forest still isn't safe."
His eyes slowly turned deeper into the mist of the Forest of Azure.
Somewhere within those woods…
The Necromancer was waiting.
And Ryusei could feel something else as well.
A cold presence watching from afar.
The black ring pulsed again faintly.
Almost as if it sensed a coming storm.
Ryusei clenched his fist.
"This is just the beginning…"
Far away in the darkness of the world…
Something ancient stirred.
A voice whispered from the shadows.
"The Fourth Grand Elementalist has appeared…"
The Fallen God had begun to awaken.
Silence settled over the clearing.
The broken remains of the Corrupted Treants lay scattered across the forest floor like fallen statues. Small fragments of dark energy faded slowly into the mist.
Ryusei Ryugu stood in the center of the clearing, breathing heavily.
His chest rose and fell as exhaustion crept into his body. The Photon Blade had vanished, leaving only faint particles of light drifting away like fading stars.
"That took more out of me than I thought…"
Behind him, the small boy stepped forward cautiously.
"W-we won… right?"
Ryusei looked back and smiled softly.
"Yeah. It's over now."
But the moment the words left his mouth—
The air changed.
A sudden chill ran through the forest.
Ryusei's instincts screamed.
Something's wrong.
Before he could react—
CRACK.
The ground beneath his feet erupted.
Massive vines burst out of the soil like living serpents.
Ryusei's eyes widened.
"What—?!"
The vines wrapped around his arms, legs, and torso in an instant, tightening with terrifying strength.
"Ugh—!"
He struggled, but the vines only constricted further, pinning his body tightly.
Then he realized something.
The vines… weren't coming from the ground.
They were coming from behind him.
Slowly… Ryusei turned his head.
The child he had just saved was standing there.
But his expression had completely changed.
The fear in his eyes was gone.
Instead, he was smiling.
A cold.
Cruel.
Smile.
Ryusei's heart dropped.
"...You…"
The boy's body suddenly twisted and stretched.
His skin cracked like bark.
His small frame dissolved into a mass of writhing vines and dark energy.
Within seconds, the "child" had transformed into a monstrous plant-like creature connected to the vines that bound Ryusei.
A trap.
Ryusei clenched his teeth.
"Dammit… I walked straight into it!"
Then—
CLAP. CLAP. CLAP.
Slow, mocking applause echoed through the mist.
A tall figure stepped out from between the trees.
He wore a long black cloak covered in crimson markings. Dark smoke-like energy leaked from his body, twisting the air around him.
His eyes glowed a sickening shade of red.
The Necromancer.
He stopped a few meters away from Ryusei, looking completely unimpressed.
"So you're the Elementalist they sent?" the Necromancer said with a disappointed sigh.
He tilted his head slightly.
"I expected something more… entertaining."
Ryusei struggled against the vines.
"Let the kid go!" he shouted.
The Necromancer chuckled.
"There was never a child."
He gestured lazily toward the vine creature.
"My little puppet did its job perfectly."
The vines tightened further around Ryusei's body.
Pain shot through his arms and ribs.
The Necromancer slowly raised his hand.
Dark energy gathered in his palm, swirling violently.
The air began to tremble.
A burning aura spread across the clearing.
Then the Necromancer spoke calmly.
"Demon Art: Hellfire Blast."
A massive sphere of black fire erupted from his hand.
It roared forward like a raging meteor.
Ryusei's eyes widened.
"I can't move—!"
The flames slammed into him directly.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The explosion shook the forest.
A pillar of dark fire erupted upward, devouring everything in its path.
Trees cracked.
Leaves were incinerated instantly.
Black flames engulfed Ryusei's entire body.
For several seconds, the inferno continued to burn violently.
Then slowly…
The flames began to settle.
The Necromancer casually walked forward through the smoke, hands behind his back.
His boots stepped over burning branches as he approached the center of the blast.
Through the thick smoke, Ryusei's silhouette could be seen lying motionless on the ground, still covered in flickering black flames.
The Necromancer stopped a few feet away.
Then he laughed.
A low, mocking laugh.
"That was hardly a challenge."
He shook his head in disappointment.
"I was told an Elementalist was causing trouble… but this?"
He scoffed.
"Pathetic."
The vines slowly loosened as the puppet creature retreated back into the shadows.
The Necromancer turned slightly, already losing interest.
But then—
The black ring on Ryusei's finger suddenly pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
A faint glow appeared beneath the dying flames.
The Necromancer stopped walking.
He frowned slightly.
"...Hm?"
The flames flickered.
Something beneath them was moving.
The glow grew brighter.
The mist of the forest began to swirl around the clearing.
The Necromancer slowly turned back.
His eyes narrowed.
"Well now…"
The ring pulsed again.
And the flames around Ryusei suddenly exploded outward in a burst of light.