F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 342: Devoured

In the dead of the cold night, a blonde young man was like the wind, sprinting across a forest that was coming alive.

Daru tried summoning his steed, but it didn’t work.

He could only run to where Elara had gone. Soon, he passed their fir tree.

’Why did she have to d–’

Before Daru could finish his thoughts, however, a shadow loomed above him. His pupils constricted into slits and he instantly turned.

But then, he froze, allowing himself to be swooped.

Weaving through the trees while being carried, he asked.

"You...dealt with that thing?"

"Why, of course. How else would this princess be back in our hollow?"

"How?"

Elara flapped her Nawkari wings, losing the Night Dive bonus but elevating them above most of the young trees thriving in the Small Forest.

Only a few mature ones towered over them still.

She then recounted what happened as she flew eastward.

As it turned out, Elara was more worried about him, as she already had a decent plan in mind the moment she drew one of the Nightreign Strigaris away.

Elara knew more about predatory trees than him. She had just confirmed her theory while barely saving herself.

Deep in the forest, while the two of them were hunting Runebarks, she saw an incredibly thick vine hiding in the shrubbery.

Daru also knew about that vine, since Elara warned him not to get close.

That was a vine of a predatory tree — one far larger than the one that trapped her in illusions or mirages...or whatever those are called, making it so that wherever she went, she would always return to its harrowing visage.

While those types of trees were extremely dangerous, their vines were slow, plus Elara already knew how not to be lost in the illusory trap.

It was as simple as placing markers.

That she did as she flew closer to the massive predatory evergreen, the male Nightreign Strigari on a persistent pursuit.

The vines also attacked the massive half-bird.

However, unlike her, it was strong enough to tear the constrictors apart with its talons or sever them with a slash of its sword legs.

Nonetheless, Elara never doubted her plan...just whether she could pull it off as she was envisioning.

She did, in the end. She reached the predatory tree, managed to fend off the vines for long enough, then phased through the final swoop with her Sword Skill, causing the Nightreign Strigari to crash onto the tree itself.

It was still fighting hard to free itself from the growing entanglement when she left.

Elara didn’t know whether the male half-owl survived. Most likely not.

Gliding in the direction where the tree hollows were facing, she glanced at the massive tree in the distance. Daru did, too, but mostly because he caught movement in that direction.

His eyes widened.

As though a huge clan of serpents, the vines thrashed wildly, knocking down the trees around them...and pulling them towards the tree’s gaping maw.

There was a raging black vacuum hidden in its mouth, devouring everything caught by its numerous limbs.

A Nawkari suddenly flew from atop one of the pines, soaring frantically to the skies, but right before their eyes, it was caught and thrown into the voracious abyss.

"What is that thing...?" Daru murmured.

Above him, Elara gulped. She actually dared go near that!

Comparing this predatory tree to the one that got her, it was clear which one was more horrifying. It wasn’t even close.

"W-Well, it’s best we get out of this place quickly."

Daru, however, raised one of his brows.

"Right...I was about to ask. Why are we leaving? Can’t we level a bit more? That thing is quite far from our hollow, and my sen–"

It was then he remembered something.

"Ah! My sentries..."

"Don’t worry, I already retrieved all of them. Really...with how long you made me wait, I thought you weren’t returning, so I was about to leave by myself. Then, you were there. To answer your question, I just don’t want to risk staying somewhere close to that powerful of a predatory tree. Who knows what abilities it has? Trust this princess. Those things might seem harmless as long as you don’t approach them, but they have ways to keep you trapped within their domain. It’s best we leave before it–"

Before Elara could finish her explanation, however, the relatively calm night on their side of the small forest was suddenly shattered by chaotic noises.

The two of them instinctively looked behind them. Their eyes widened, hearts racing faster.

They’ve always wondered why the Cardaris, the Jayaris, and the Robaris were disappearing. As it turned out, they weren’t natives of this forest at all.

They would’ve also probably been frantically flying out of their nests had they been...

The three warring avians were of the Continuum, while the Kestraris, Nawkaris, and whatever those smaller half-owls were were of the High Winds.

All of them seemed to be panicking as they flew towards where the two of them were heading.

The dense foliage beneath the flyers was also rioting. Here and there, Sciurinis, Musinis, and Volinis could be spotted.

The relationship between predator and prey had ceased to exist at that moment, and the forest had truly gone alive.

As for whether this was bound to happen regardless of whether Elara disturbed that being or not, no one knew.

They also didn’t have time to.

While humans didn’t have as sharp an instinct as those of the wilds, they have brains. One look was enough for the two of them to know that they would die if they didn’t do the same.

Fortunately, they have a fairly massive head start, though they doubted that those half-avians would even pay attention to them even if they caught up.

The Nawkaris were fast, flying high, then gliding down, utilizing the Night Dive bonus to slowly leave the others behind.

The white-feathered half-owls were slightly slower, but they were still considerably faster than the poor Kestraris.

The dawnbornes were starting to get left behind.

Beneath, it was every critter for itself.

There were even Swordspawns they hadn’t encountered before, all fleeing towards the same direction.

"Elara, fly as high as you can!" Daru barked.

The smart princess immediately understood what he was planning, complying without a word. She flew higher, and higher...and higher still, reaching for the nonexistent moon.

Then, her wings dissolved.

Daru caught her, a pair of black wings lined with an accent of white feathers growing on his back.

They dove.

The surroundings turned a blur as cold winds violently brushed against their skins. They weren’t as aerodynamic as a Nawkari, but they were going faster than the owls, at least...

The two of them were still significantly in the lead.

Soon, the unease in their hearts grew. Not because those behind them were panicking even harder, but because they, too, had begun to feel it.

They would die.

They didn’t know how, but they would undoubtedly lose their lives soon...

"Daru..."

Elara would’ve told him to go faster, but she knew this was the limit. Both of them broke out into intense cold sweat.

The looming threat of death was becoming harder and harder to endure.

Daru, gritting his teeth, flapped his wings as fast as he could, but they reached their maximum speed.

Their altitude was also decreasing, meaning they would lose their Night Dive bonus soon.

Hearts pounded, and chests tightened.

Behind them, the Nawkaris were catching up, screeching in harrowing, alarming tones as though heralds desperately relaying an urgent message from the heavens.

The cold feeling of impending death continued to grow...almost tangible now...

But then, it just disappeared. Suddenly. Without warning.

Daru suddenly felt weakness wash over him like a tidal wave as his rigid body voluntarily relaxed.

He hadn’t even noticed he was so tense.

Some distance away from them, a few pairs of Nawkaris also slowed down, though the half-avians didn’t stop, flying into the distant high trees in a more relaxed rhythm.

It was then that he noticed.

The panicking creatures behind them seemed to have gone silent. Instinctively, the two of them turned to look, and their eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets.

The forest...was gone.

There, somewhere to what they once called the Small Forest’s south stood a lone tree and its vine thralls.

Nothing else existed.