His vision was dyed green.
A canopy of trees bloomed instantly, and the previously barren neighborhood was now filled with a lush forest.
It was quiet and the swaying of leaves was inviting. Urging him to take a break and lie within its wide reach but Yuuto dismissed these thoughts in an instant.
"Trying to influence my thoughts with this? You have to do better than that." He scoffed, feeling this urge fade away.
While it wasn't difficult to overcome this feeling of having someone whisper in your ear by using the inherent protection the [Memory of the World] has.
He knew that this wasn't all that this forest could bring out.
Little but faintly, Yuuto sensed the vibrations transferring to the ground towards his feet. In an instant, a root the thickness of a barrel shot towards his throat.
His body reacted and swung towards the root, splitting the root cleanly in half. But what came after was another rush of roots trying to cave his head in.
"My fire is useful for disrupting the regenerations these things have but at this rate…"
No matter how much he managed to match the speed at which these roots shot at him, there was only so much until he was overwhelmed, considering he was deep into Mauve Moon's territory.
Letting his fire simmer down, Yuuto felt a sudden shift in the air that was eerily different from the roots he was constantly breaking down earlier.
He trusted his senses and moved positions but what he saw next made him click his tongue in irritation. A tree stood tall but the bountiful leaves it originally had were now gone and instead gathered in a spiral.
Leaves as green as the ones surrounding his sight were shifting endlessly. Frail on its own but combined, formed a vicious flurry of leaf-like blades.
Completely uprooting his original position, he could only imagine what would have happened if he had been careless.
Watching the spiral of leaves carefully, Yuuto thought about his chances.
Personally he didn't find it difficult to fight against this kind of attack as he had a few ways to manage it.
But the tricky component was this, combined with roots that wouldn't hesitate to strike him if he was a bit hesitant.
There was also that indication that this could go on endlessly, considering the nature of what the Arbor brought.
An assault that replenishes forever? He didn't even want to think about it.
"There's also Dan Shu right behind me."
He glanced at the woman who was now unconscious and waved his hand to burn the roots aimed at her.
After shifting his position and placing a barrier from [Mother's Embrace] to alleviate the burden of protecting someone. He decided that he should change his tactics for a moment.
"Let's find a balance between the two…"
Yuuto clenched the handle of his greatsword and released a fierce swipe that caused a wave of fire to burn everything in front of him.
For a brief moment, the leaves and roots that were eagerly trying to rip him apart. All of them were burnt away until a field of ash was the only thing he saw.
This granted him a few seconds of time.
He acted quickly. Before the pile of ash could fade and be replaced, Yuuto raised his hand forward.
His Stellaron burned and with each breath a surge of flames condensed around him. Golden lines appeared and crept along the side of his arm and neck.
"[Burn]."
The lush forest was engulfed in light and what was left was a scorched earth.
"If only I had something like this back in Belobog."
Yuuto let out a cloud of steam from his mouth, recounting that moment where he had to fight that wave of monsters while Stelle was injured and exhausted.
Seeing the destruction around him, he leveled his greatsword horizontally and swiped his finger from the tip of the blade to the hilt.
The rowdy flames died down and a stream of cold wind appeared. The sword shrank and turned a pure white, which carried a piercing cold opposite of what it was before.
"[Illumine: New Moon]."
Yuuto mumbled and weaved his sword around to form stings of moonlight. The act was simple but seeing the scenery riddled with ash and unnatural, severed pieces of material.
He was finally able to witness just how absurd his moonlight became after his [Core Esse] bloomed its first sprout.
"I wasn't expecting a big effect of using memories with my moonlight but this is a pretty large gap…"
Sure, it didn't match in pure devastation compared to his Golden Flames but it carried its own specialty of being a quick and steady source of damage.
Rather than overwhelming, it was more concentrated on aiming at weak points.
The trees that weren't burned down were now covered in a thick layer of ice while holding onto what remained of their severed bases.
–CLING!
"You finally decided to appear after all your precious trees are gone." Yuuto said while blocking the sneak attack aimed at his back.
"Impressive! Originally, I wasn't expecting much but I forgot that you belonged to the group that the General personally invited." Mauve Moon replied with a relaxed look on his face.
Yuuto pushed him back and Mauve Moon spun his spear to control the momentum.
"Me on the other hand, I'm pretty disappointed. Is this what a 'Saint' can do after all that bragging? If you want to grow trees and throw leaves at me then just become a farmer at this point."
His words didn't seem to incite a reaction from Mauve Moon but judging by how tightly he was holding his spear. It was enough to annoy him.
"You have a rather foul mouth on you. I worry for the future if the rest of your friends are the same."
Yuuto had nothing to say or more so chose to say nothing as it was a waste of time at this point.
Mercilessly aiming his sword towards Mauve Moon, the two collided.
"Haha! That's more like it!!"
Mauve Moon grinned facing Yuuto's relentless charge. He moved and a blade followed. He dodged yet it still managed to reach him.
However, that didn't shatter his confidence in the slightest.
A vertical cut to his ankle.
A thrust aimed at his joints.
Mauve Moon took all these attacks without fear until his entire arm from the shoulder down was sliced into cubes. Letting pieces of flesh drop towards the ground.
"I remember seeing this fire from before but it truly is troublesome."
Seeing the golden fire burn the end of the severed arm to prevent him from regenerating, Mauve Moon swiped his hand down and chopped his entire shoulder off.
With the fire now gone, the flesh in the area wriggled before a pale and new arm regenerated like nothing had happened.
"Hmm… The Arbor gives rather interesting blessings…"
Mauve Moon had a fascinated look as he clenched his fist with his brand new arm and felt his injuries stitch up. His grin turned more twisted.
"How about that! Got any more tricks up your sleeve?"
Yuuto was silent while he watched Mauve Moon drop his hand and his spear grew from the ashes that he burnt.
In the distance, the trees that survived his initial attack lost their leaves and gathered around Mauve Moon.
"It's going to be really satisfying beating the living flames out of Phantylia after this…"
It was then that the grudges Yuuto had for Phantylia grew even more than what it originally was.
Feeling like Mauve Moon was finally going to bare all his teeth at him, Yuuto's Stellaron started beating faster as it prepared for what's to come.
"[Arbor's Blessing: Flow]"
Right there, a wave of leaf blades surged onto Yuuto. As it flowed, it ripped the ground apart and destroyed anything in its way.
His vision was dyed green one more time but the sword in Yuuto's hand trembled as it felt Yuuto's intentions.
"[Illumine: Sever]"
Within the wave of leaves, threads of moonlight gathered before an explosion of prismatic lines severed all the leaves within a 5-meter radius of him.
Mauve Moon felt like this strike was similar to the one Yuuto did before but something inherent about it made the hair on his skin rise.
But this thought was met with contempt. Not at Yuuto but at himself. "I have the Arbor's Blessing, so it's pathetic to think like this. I'm not the same as before."
Feeling his disdain grow and his emotions rise along with it, he attacked more fiercely.
Yuuto's arm and face showed signs of bleeding as despite cutting apart all the leaves rapidly trying to drown him, a few have managed to reach him.
"I should get closer so I can…"
Feeling another leaf cut his thigh, Yuuto stomped his foot and summoned his mist to create three spears. Finding the right time to move, he kicked them forward.
Being in position, they finally let out the energy stored within them. Gusts of cold wind pushed the leaves for a second but unfortunately it wasn't enough to do any substantial damage.
After its attempts, it was quickly drowned by the leaves.
"What the heck was he even attempting with that?"
Mauve Moon saw the pathetic attack he attempted and wondered if Yuuto was finally feeling desperate.
Of course, he didn't expect such a tiny attempt to change the tide, considering that the damage Yuuto did before was finally fading away.
Just a few more seconds and the trees that would supply his leaves would grow to an all-time high. That will be the occasion where Mauve Moon can truly consider it a checkmate.
Seeing the leaves grow, the signs of it being destroyed were almost absent. Signifying that the target had finally managed to drown within the wave.
"That was fast? I felt like it would have taken more time but it seems like he was just burning all his options."
Mauve Moon felt a hint of disappointment but he bounced back after remembering the original reason as to why he was here in the first place.
"Dan Shu. Dan Shu… Now that her knight in shining armor is gone, I wonder if I can finally let my grievances out—--!!!"
Recalling the past they had with the absence of another figure, Mauve Moon tried to remember where she was but at that moment, he felt the air heat up.
Quickly, he looked around before glancing upwards and what he saw was a person dripping with red blood that had hints of gold shining within it.
His hand was empty but the sight of ten and even hundreds of golden rings appearing behind him was something seared within his mind.
"THIS MOTHERF—!!"
"[Barrage]"
—-BOOOOOOOOOM
That day hundreds of yellow pillars appeared which could be considered the start of the waves that would affect the Luofu.
The barrage lasted for a few seconds but the damage was undeniable since the neighborhood was flattened and the dense forest was once again gone.
Craters were abundant and one in particular was massive.
In the center was an almost indistinguishable charred figure that was akin to coal, soon it eventually moved. The figure gave out a deep hue of green before bones, muscles and finally skin appeared.
Truly regeneration that showed the need for eradication of the [Abundance].
"I will kill him!! I'm not satisfied until I feed him to the Arbor to let him rot for eternity!!"
Mauve Moon cursed as his senses returned and frowned at the damage Yuuto created.
"Now where is that man—"
"[Illumine: Sever]"
"...!!!!"
Feeling a blade reach the back of his neck, Mauve Moon rolled to the side but he was a few seconds late considering a few strikes managed to reach his upper body.
At first glance it didn't appear to have made any substantial damage on the surface but Mauve Moon felt something cut within him. Something more profound, like a connection removed.
"Damn it… It wasn't deep enough."
"You little—!"
Blood sprayed from Mauve Moon's mouth while Yuuto's eyes carried a hint of annoyance.
Mauve Moon moved fast and drove his fist at him. If it were earlier, Yuuto wouldn't have blinked an eye but after releasing that [Barrage]."
His body felt a bit heavy.
The fist connected to the sword that he had but the force behind it carried through. This caused him to fly backwards and stumble towards the edge of the crater.
With the fine bits of injuries finally healing themselves, Mauve Moon waved his hand to make a new spear to use.
Each step he took, caused a blanket of grass to grow.
Yuuto felt the atmosphere around him change and narrowed his eyes when he noticed an illusion of trees appearing behind him.
His Stellaron burned and his body tried to recover from the damage he took in an attempt to prepare for his attack.
But oddly enough, his eyes didn't seem to waver as it glowed a familiar white hue. Staring deep into Mauve Moon's core and watching the subtle shifts within him.
'The connection wasn't cut deep enough but it wasn't like there wasn't any progress as well.'
Yuuto let out a deep breath as he tried to concentrate but as soon as he was about to strike, a high-pitched sound echoed through the air.
The two frowned when they heard this cry but Mauve Moon in particular showed a disdainful and angry scowl.
"Who dares injure the Arbor!?"
His malice against Yuuto seemingly vanished and he turned around and sprinted towards the Arbor.
Yuuto was still confused considering that at one point Mauve Moon was about to attack him but he suddenly vanished.
His thoughts spiraled as he thought about what could have been the cause until it finally clicked.
"Injuring the Arbor…? There shouldn't be any direct damage being done but it could be something connected to it….!"
The Ebon Deer. A spiritual beast wrought into being by the Ambrosial Arbor to protect its roots.
A creature that had a connection to the Arbor and more importantly an enemy that his comrades were facing without him.
"If they managed to injure it, then that means that they disabled its regeneration but with Mauve Moon now joining…"
He needed to chase after him.
Wings sprouted and he scanned the area for Dan Shu whom he had protected earlier before he chased after Mauve Moon.
His figure flashed across the terrain and he used this moment to stabilize his condition.
Thoughts within him churned as he thought about various paths he could take to handle Mauve Moon after his earlier attempt.
However as he flew, a tired voice suddenly began to speak up.
"...Why don't you just give up? You can't do anything to him at this point." Dan Shu asked.
"I don't know what you mean."
Dan Shu didn't know why this man was helping her but she felt it was futile.
"He already has control over the powers passed down by an Aeon. There is only so much you can do."
"If you can speak like that then I assume you're feeling better. I need to have a conversation with you later."
Yuuto didn't seem to put Dan Shu's warnings to mind as he calmly flew while answering her with simple sentences.
On the other hand, Dan Shu felt the heat rise to her head and clenched her fist in anger that was boiling within her for a while.
"You really are ignorant or just plain stupid."
"Ouch, that hurts."
"Do you not understand what the Arbor means? An ancient artifact planted by Yaoshi, do you not understand the implications?"
"I see."
Yuuto's lukewarm responses didn't seem to affect Dan Shu as she had already given up. Her already blank eyes stared off in the distance.
"One drunk on borrowed power that is not truly theirs and another thinking they can stand a chance against the divine. How amusing is this…?"
"You have a rather bleak perspective on this." Yuuto finally responding to Dan Shu's words made her give an empty chuckle.
"Bleak? This is reality." Dan Shu's face contorted as she tried her best to forget the dream she saw.
"To them, we are just ants. Beings that can be casually disposed of and forgotten if they deem it fit.
Beings that despite spending our entire life believing in them. Can be put to dust in the pretense of their damned divine miracle."
Her voice was filled with malice that made Yuuto shiver and wondered just how deep this hatred ran.
But seemingly enough, Yuuto wanted to see something.
"I've heard a saying in the past. Aeons can be killed."
"..."
"...Of course, it's due to collisions with other Aeons or conflicting elements within their paths but I've been thinking about it."
Dan Shu didn't know what she was expecting to hear but she continued to listen.
"If they can be 'killed', then there is a possibility that other things can occur, right? For example… bleed as well."
"That's…." Dan Shu didn't know what to say.
Yuuto only smiled and continued.
"What, impossible? Well, that may be so considering that it hasn't happened just yet but who knows what the future brings. People you consider mortals can do the unexpected."
Dan Shu wanted to refute everything that Yuuto said. Knowing full well but she didn't have the guts to say it.
Seeing her silence, Yuuto got what he needed and focused on what was in front of him.
***
"Is this really all?"
Rubbing her fingers through her hair, March frowned and slowly approached the Ebon Deer that was riddled with wounds.
Injuries stemming from arrows, blunt impacts and even deep gashes. The deer was on its last legs and looked rather pitiful.
"No mercy to our opponents!"
"I guess so but…"
Stelle rested her bat on her shoulder and wondered just how a pretty-looking deer could cause so much damage. Even more so, the annoying regeneration!
"Running around to injure those roots and then running back to attack it a second time… Why was this so annoying to fight!? I swear if there's a third phase to this…"
"Haha… surely not."
March and Stelle mumbled in silence while Welt felt his face tighten. Knowing how these types of situations progress after uttering those words, he only hoped it wouldn't happen.
With those thoughts still lingering, there was also another thing that needed to be addressed.
"We should hurry up and finish it off, Yuuto might need our help."
"Oh yeah! Those pillars of light must be his right?"
Stelle remembered the instance where in the middle of their fight, a sudden beam of pillars rained down in a secluded area far away from them and the sight instantly reminded her of Yuuto.
Having firsthand experience during their time fighting against the Stellaron on Jarilo- IV, Yuuto was a person capable of creating that type of attack.
'But what could have forced him to use that?'
She had a bad feeling and wanted to help him right away.
March had the same thoughts and pulled her bowstring. With a snap, it released three sharp arrows that flew towards the head of the Ebon Deer.
One arrow met its mark however, as the last two were about to finish it off, a hand grabbed the two arrows.
"How dare you…"
March, Stelle and Welt felt a shiver run down their spine hearing the anger beneath his words and created some distance.
The man who suddenly appeared caressed the deer and in his hand was a green marble.
"How dare they taint a creature of the Arbor…!!"
His voice caused waves in the air, pushing them back and Stelle felt goosebumps.
"March!!"
Stelle reached her hand towards March who was suddenly faced with the man.
"You were the one."
"....!!!"
March tried to move back but her arm was grabbed and she cried in pain since it felt like her arm would break off.
Stelle and Welt were already in the act of helping her and at that moment, an additional person joined in.
"You are really persistent."
Mauve Moon cursed as he let go to block the bat and moved positions feeling the space around him shift.
Dealing with the distractions, he didn't have enough time to move freely and was met with a collision that caused him to grind across the floor.
"March are you alright!?" Stelle yelled and checked her arm.
"...It's fine! You guys saved me in time. Thank you."
March smiled softly to ease Stelle's worries and tried to direct her attention elsewhere.
"Mr. Yang, that person is…"
"Someone who might have a connection to the Arbor based on how he reacted but more importantly, we should help Yuuto immediately."
Welt moved his cane and created a hold onto Mauve Moon, seeing Yuuto suddenly appear with them but also frowned noticing the dried blood on his body.
His fingers clutched the cane a bit tighter and the hold onto Mauve Moon began to increase.
"This will make it easier…."
Yuuto continued to drag Mauve Moon by the throat and decided to move on the path he felt was the most feasible.
'Star, can you help me for a moment…'
The being who was silent the entire time didn't answer his question but the subtle heat transferred within his coat was more than enough confirmation.
Yuuto let out a breath and his eyes grew a deeper shade of white.
"[Archive]."