Chapter 89: Heavenly Bloodwood

How could this be? How could anyone in this place possess that?

Azazel von Arceus, the supreme Blood Mage who had ascended the highest Ma Tower in a dimension ravaged by the bone-chilling winds of all four seasons, muttered to himself.

That’s impossible. This land should still be untouched by them, a wild and untamed place.

When he first discovered this dimension, Azazel had been filled with elation, like an explorer beholding a golden utopia. This was a primal land brimming with opportunities, the perfect sanctuary for a fugitive who had broken forbidden laws and sought a chance to reclaim his status.

His outdated Status Window—a simple, featureless blue hologram with no functionality whatsoever—confirmed that this dimension remained beyond their gaze.

This meant the dimension was practically abandoned. Therefore, as long as he remained hidden at a level befitting this savage land, even they would never find him.

To that end, Azazel deliberately bound the Book of Fate in a style befitting a barbarian. He then lured a human, driven by a desperate thirst for power, and managed to dissolve himself within him.

The plan was perfect.

Lee Taejun.

Until he was deceived by a human bearing the trappings of civilization in this barbaric land.

It was incomprehensible.

Could it be that this dimension was undergoing a partial “bloom” without his knowledge?

No, that couldn’t be.

If they were active here, he would have sensed their movements immediately.

He hadn’t let his guard down.

It was simply an unprecedented situation unfolding, one that defied all expectations.

What in the world is that thing? What is that bastard?!

Azazel roared into the darkness.

His grand scheme, so close to fruition, had shattered into pieces. The broken contract had ejected his soul from Taejun’s body, leaving him unable to re-enter the Book of Fate. Now, his aimless consciousness would wander this barbaric land, eventually dissipating into nothingness once he consumed the last of the human “soul” provided by Go Geonho.

Then I’d rather…

I’ll pour every last ounce of my remaining power into this very spot.

I’ll take root in this land.

Azazel began shaping his final corporeal form with the Vitality and Mana left in his body.

I’ll take root in this land, and be reborn, nourished by the blood and flesh of the savages who sought to drag this body to ruin.

Kugugugugung!

A deafening roar tore through the air, threatening to shatter our eardrums.

The entire mansion trembled violently, making it nearly impossible to stand.

No, it wasn’t just Go Geonho’s mansion.

The entire island of Daehwa was shaking as if screaming in agony.

Simultaneously, from somewhere far away…

Kuaaaaaaaaah!

A cry filled with pain and rage echoed across the land.

Go Geonho and I locked eyes at the same moment.

The scream was distorted, like a voice garbled by static, but we both knew exactly who it belonged to.

“Let’s go up,” Go Geonho murmured.

With his words as our cue, we immediately left the Secret Vault.

Moments later…

“What is that…?”

“What on earth is that thing?”

As soon as Go Geonho and Yoo Se-rin emerged from the Secret Vault and passed through the mansion’s main gate, they murmured the same words simultaneously.

I followed their stunned gaze to the eastern side of Daehwa Island.

Even through the Demonic Mist, so thick it blotted out the moonlight, something distinct flickered.

At first glance, it resembled a colossal spire.

But the jagged, drooping apex revealed its true nature.

“Isn’t that… a tree?”

It was a gigantic tree, so immense that it was clearly visible even from here, at least several kilometers away.

Its height must have exceeded a hundred meters.

Suddenly,

Crack!

A sharp cracking sound like splintering wood shattered the silence.

A massive, single eye bulged from the heart of the colossal tree.

Even through the mist, the tree’s bloodshot eye darting wildly resembled a monster straight out of a nightmare.

“It doesn’t seem like we can afford to just stand by and observe any longer,” Go Geonho muttered, enveloping his hands in pitch-black Mana.

Yoo Se-rin, equally bewildered by the situation, paled and shrouded her hands in frost-tinged Mana.

Of course, I wasn’t idle either.

From Go Geonho and Yoo Se-rin’s perspective, it might have looked like I was just standing around with my hands in my pockets, doing nothing.

Multiple Status Windows materialized before my eyes, diligently fulfilling their purpose.

Soon, MonMonWiki began listing information about that horrifyingly grotesque giant tree:

Just as I suspected.

There were no human sacrifices here.

In other words, that revolting giant tree, its branches reaching toward the sky, was Azazel himself.

Just then, a viscous, beastly growl filled the air, enveloping the grand mansion.

Crunch.

The sound of vegetation being crushed and snapped underfoot echoed through the garden. The nameless flowers and meticulously cultivated trees, tended by the skeletal gardeners, toppled haphazardly.

Inside the mansion’s garden, monstrous beasts the size of houses materialized, their eyes gleaming with eerie light. Go Geonho, observing the creatures encircling the mansion, muttered, “Silver Fangs?”

Silver Fangs—C-Class beasts resembling colossal wolves, native to Daehwa Island. Normally, both Go Geonho and Yoo Se-rin could easily handle them.

But…

“I’ll take care of these!” Yoo Se-rin declared, frost swirling around her hand, ready to unleash it upon the beasts.

“No, magic won’t work on them,” Go Geonho interjected.

“Huh? But Silver Fangs shouldn’t have any magic immunity…”

That was true. Silver Fangs themselves had no inherent magic immunity.

But the problem wasn’t the wolves themselves.

“Look closely at the back of the monsters’ necks,” Go Geonho instructed.

“Oh, what’s that stuck in them?” Yoo Se-rin asked, squinting.

Embedded in the back of each wolf’s neck, like an IV drip, was a pulsating red Bloodline. These hose-like extensions rhythmically injected something into the wolves.

According to MonMonWiki:

The roots of the Heavenly Bloodwood served as leashes, enslaving the monsters to its will.

Since I couldn’t explain every detail from MonMonWiki, I focused on the Silver Fangs.

“Those guys are currently buffed with Magic Absorption, and their physical strength is significantly enhanced. They’re on a completely different level from ordinary C-Class Silver Fangs.”

“If they have Magic Absorption… does that mean magic-based skills would actually backfire?” Yoo Se-rin asked, her face paling.

“Exactly.”

Magic Absorption is far more terrifying than Magic Immunity. It grants a buff that increases their stats every time they’re hit by a magic-based skill.

“H-how did Silver Fangs get such a passive ability?” Yoo Se-rin stammered, her face ashen.

Magic Absorption is a skill typically possessed only by boss monsters with a minimum threat level of S-Class or higher.

Go Geonho gazed at the shimmering Heavenly Bloodwood in the distance. “That tree seems to be empowering them,” he remarked. “From the looks of it, it has subjugated every monster on Daehwa Island.”

As expected, experience truly speaks volumes.

Despite not knowing the true nature of the Heavenly Bloodwood, Go Geonho immediately grasped the situation.

“Grrrraah!”

Suddenly, the lead Silver Fang trampled through the Great Garden and charged at us.

Slash!

But as Shinhyung flashed past, the beast, its jaws wide open in mid-charge, was sliced in half mid-air, its severed halves crashing to the ground.

“There are far more monsters on Daehwa Island than we anticipated,” Go Geonho observed. “If we keep fighting these things like this, there’s no end in sight.”

Go Geonho, now wielding a massive bone blade, flicked the blood from its edge and continued, “Hunter Taejun, do you have a plan?”

His gaze drifted toward the distant, swaying Heavenly Bloodwood. “I mean, a way to completely obliterate that thing.”

“I honestly don’t know,” I replied. “Not right now.”

MonMonWiki, the encyclopedia of collective intelligence, offered no methods for destroying the Heavenly Bloodwood. Instead, it stated:

The Heavenly Bloodwood possesses passive Magic Absorption and regenerative capabilities far beyond ordinary dimensions, making it virtually indestructible.

Even MonMonWiki acknowledged its lack of solutions.

I shared the same assessment. The Archmage’s Fireball might inflict healing reduction, but as a magical spell, it would likely backfire. Without a way to neutralize its regeneration…

Even the Fist Energy Forging Gang’s defense-negating Martial Art couldn’t possibly inflict effective damage deep within that colossal tree, as massive as Mount Tai.

But…

“I’ll find a way.”

I was certain I would find an answer.

Just as I had in Duas’ Territory, during the Void Spider wave.

No, throughout my entire life, I always had.

Rumble!

As the colossal tree roared and the subservient Silver Fangs began drooling and advancing once more…

“For now, let’s cool our heads a bit.”

Click.

I quietly replied, fastening the Dragon Spirit Iron Wire to my hand.

“Hmph.”

Go Geonho stared at the golden gauntlet, his eyes widening before a bitter smile crossed his face.

“Now I understand why you were so lukewarm about the ‘inauguration gift’ I chose.”

“I apologize.”

“Don’t mention it. I don’t know what that thing is, but it’s clearly a Unique-Grade Relic or higher. With something like that in your possession, it’s no wonder ordinary weapons don’t catch your eye.”

Go Geonho nodded, then gazed at the Silver Fangs ahead with a gentle wave of his hand. “Well, it’s been a while since I’ve shown off my skills. Let’s see what I can do.”

With a low murmur of “Rise,” the ground of the Great Garden began to tremble.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Skeleton Soldiers, Zombies, Corpse Golems, and other undead creatures clawed their way out of the earth, befitting his epithet: the Nine Heavens Bone King—leader of an Undead Legion that refused to stay dead.

“Perhaps it’s because that parasite clinging to my shoulder has finally vanished,” Go Geonho mused with a wry smile as he commanded the legion. “For the first time in ages, I feel truly in peak condition.”

Crunch!

“Kyak!”

Silver Fang was hurled to the ground with a shriek, its chest pierced by my spear-like foot.

Without losing momentum, I withdrew my foot, spun backward, and unleashed a right-fisted strike.

Crackle!

The sickening sound of bone twisting and flesh tearing.

The beast charging at my back collapsed without even a whimper.

I shook the blood, fur, and shreds of hide from my Dragon Spirit Iron Wire and surveyed the surroundings.

The Great Garden, once befitting the grand mansion, had long since transformed into a brutal battlefield. Amidst the chaos of Go Geonho’s summoned Undead Legion and the monsters controlled by the Heavenly Bloodwood,

“This could go on forever.”

He muttered quietly to himself.

The Great Garden was drenched in the blood of demonic beasts, yet there were no corpses to be seen.

This was only natural.

The monsters weren’t dying.

No matter how grievous their wounds, they refused to fall.

Even with shattered bones, torn hides, and eviscerated bellies, they rose again.

The regenerative power of the Heavenly Bloodwood had somehow extended to these creatures.

Judging by its absence from MonMonWiki, this seemed to be a unique trait of the Heavenly Bloodwood after its assimilation with Azazel.

Go Geonho’s Undead Legion, similarly composed of beings that couldn’t stay dead, was barely holding its ground.

At this rate, the outcome of the battle was inevitable.

He needed to devise a solution.

A way to break this stalemate.

But he couldn’t afford to lose himself in thought.

“Grrrkkk!”

With a chilling howl, a Silver Fang suddenly lunged from a blind spot, its razor-sharp claws aimed at my side.

But before it could tear into me…

Crack!

“Krrrk?!”

The monster, previously charging with icy intent, abruptly slowed to a crawl.

“Are you alright, Oppa Taejun?!” Yoo Se-rin shouted, her hand outstretched toward me.

Her magic skills couldn’t inflict direct damage on these creatures. Instead, she focused on immobilizing them or buffing Go Geonho’s skeletons.

“Thank you,” I replied with a slight nod.

With Vampire’s Aesthetics activated, I wouldn’t have suffered a fatal injury even without her intervention.

Still, there was no need to risk unnecessary injury.

“No, it’s not like that… I’m always watching you, so don’t worry about what’s behind you!”

She really doesn’t need to be watching me all the time.

Yoo Se-rin mumbled awkwardly and quickly turned away, her face flushed.

I shifted my gaze to the Silver Fang, frozen in place, its limbs partially encased in ice.

“Hmm.”

The demonic beast glared at me with bloodshot eyes, its jaws dripping with saliva.

My gaze moved past its drooling maw and bloodshot eyes, focusing on the nape of its neck.

A crimson Bloodline was embedded in its ashen fur.

The blood of the Heavenly Bloodwood—the root supplying the buff’s catalyst.

If only there were a way to sever this thing, it would make things so much easier.

I tried.

But the roots, connected directly to the main body, were too tough and resilient to sever.

Tug!

On a whim, I grabbed the roots binding Silver Fang, hoping to tear them free.

But once again, the roots stubbornly refused to budge, deeply embedded within the monster’s flesh.

“Krrraaagghh!”

Only the demonic beast writhed in agony.

This confirmed that the Bloodline piercing its neck was indeed connected to the monster’s physical form.

“Wait a minute.”

Just then, something clicked in my mind.

”…Connected, huh?”