Shido was astonished as he carefully observed the massive entity before him, noting that it was currently in a deep slumber. Just by looking at it's appearance, one could tell immediately that it was not a good thing.
The eerie, oppressive aura it emitted could suffocate ordinary people, dragging them into a sense of helplessness and despair just by being near it.
However, that only applied to ordinary people.
For Shido, even though his level wasn't that high yet, his Spirit Body granted him a powerful mental fortitude, allowing him to resist soul attacks and oppressive auras like this with ease.
"Did they have this monster in the original series? I only watched the first three seasons… damn it." Shido let out a wry smile as he stared up at the slumbering tree.
Although he watched the Overlord, he didn't read the light novel yet so he didn't have any information about the monster in front of him.
While Shido was deep in thought, the earth around him suddenly began to tremble. His eyes narrowed as he quickly scanned his surroundings, noticing that the massive roots of the evil tree were pulling themselves free from the muddy swamp. Its gigantic branches twitched, then slowly came back to life, swaying and extending as if they were searching for something.
"O-oh…" Shido muttered as he watched from a distance.
Without warning, one of the branches snapped toward his direction, rushing at him with surprising force. Fortunately, its speed was still slow enough for Shido to dodge with ease. Even so, he knew that if anyone else, even an Adamantite-ranked adventurer, were struck by that branch, they would be sent straight to heaven in an instant.
BOOOOOM!
The branch of the evil tree slammed into the muddy ground where Shido had just been standing. Mud, shattered bones, and splintered trees exploded in every direction, the impact so powerful that it left behind a crater nearly twenty meters wide.
"And it just had to wake up now? What bad luck," Shido said, definitely not expecting the thing to awaken at this moment.
After failing to catch him, the evil tree sent its massive branches lunging toward Shido again, all six of its long, thick limbs stretching out as if they were hunting for life, relentlessly chasing him across the swamp.
Despite its intimidating size, Shido didn't panic. The creature's speed was simply too slow, preventing it from becoming a real threat to him for now.
"ROOOOOAR!"
The evil tree, seemingly annoyed that Shido was dodging all of its attacks so easily, opened its gaping maw and let out a deafening roar that shook the air sky.
"Noisy." Shido was equally irritated by the constant roar.
He raised a finger, conjuring a small black light at its tip. Though tiny, the chaotic energy swirling within it was fierce, threatening to go berserk the moment it touched anything.
"Oh, shut up, you stupid piece of wood!" Shido used Cero for the first time. Unlike other Arrancar's which had color red, blue, yellow and green Cero with a mix of black. Shido's Cero was pure black that seemed to be contained by darkness.
The small black light flashed before firing off his fingertip, transforming into a black beam that streaked forward at hypersonic speed.
A deep, vibrating hum echoed as the black beam compressed into a razor-thin line, streaking through the air before slamming into the evil tree.
BOOOOOM!
"ROOOOOAR!"
A black explosion engulfed the massive tree, its deafening roar shaking the entire forest.
"Damn, what a thick defense," Shido muttered, clicking his tongue as he observed the aftermath.
His Cero had left a five-meter-wide hole in the tree's body, but considering its enormous size, it was hardly hurt at all. Its defenses were so strong that his attack had managed to do little more than leave a small dent on its monstrous body.
Shido smiled wryly, thinking that this thing truly was a monster, boasting terrifying vitality.
"ROOOOOAR!"
The evil tree roared again, this time with even greater fury. Although the damage it received wasn't much, it was enraged at being attacked, especially by someone it considered weak. Entering a frenzy, the tree thrashed its colossal branches, tearing through the swamp and smashing everything in its surroundings.
Shido continued to dodge its rampaging branches with ease, but he knew he couldn't keep this up forever if he wanted to defeat this monstrous entity. As he slipped past another heavy strike, he began to think, analyzing the best way to bring down this giant while avoiding its relentless assault.
As he was deep in thought, a massive shadow suddenly blocked out the sun, descending straight toward him from above. It was one of the evil tree's enormous branches, aiming to smash Shido into a pulp, but with Shido's speed, it wouldn't caught him in normal case.
In an instant, Shido vanished from his position, reappearing a hundred meters above the massive tree, high in the sky.
BOOOOOM!
Below, the evil tree continued its rampage through the swamp, and Shido had to admit, it truly was enormous, its branches stretching all the way up toward the skies. As he observed it from above, he noticed a patch of green moss-like growth on top of its head, though he couldn't tell what it really was from this distance.
The gaping maw of the evil tree opened wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth capable of devouring even other massive monsters with ease.
Still, Shido had to admit, if it was only a matter of size, this evil tree would lose immediately if it ever arrived in Toriko. The monsters and beasts in that world were on a level far beyond human imagination.
As he continued watching the evil tree wreak havoc across the forest, it suddenly halted, sensing that its target had disappeared from its range. As if it could detect the presence of life, the tree slowly turned, its creaking branches shifting as it locked onto Shido, who stood above it in the sky.
Even though it was a mindless creature, the evil tree seemed to become enraged once more, as if it understood that this small human was toying with it.
"ROOOOOAR!"
The evil tree shrieked into the sky, extending its tentacle-like branches upward toward where Shido hovered.
"Yare yare, looks like I'll have to use it if I want to bring this thing down." Shido let out a sigh, a wry smile briefly crossing his face before his expression turned serious.
The massive branches rushed toward him. Though their speed was slow, a single hit would be fatal. Yet Shido didn't move at all, remaining still as the branches closed in on him.
The tree's limb grew closer, the air shaking from its weight and force, but Shido showed no sign of dodging.
BOOOOOM!
The branches slammed into Shido, wrapping tightly around him as if to ensure he was crushed beyond recognition. Smoke and dust billowed out, engulfing the area where Shido had stood.
Just as the evil tree seemed certain it had finally crushed its prey, a sudden instinctual alarm flared within it, a sense of danger it couldn't comprehend.
The air trembled with unnatural vibrations, followed by a low hum that echoed through the sky. Without warning, the space around the branches crushing Shido began to distort, rippling violently before collapsing inward.
In the next instant, the giant branches were obliterated, torn apart as a small sphere, the size of a human, appeared in the air. The sphere then expanded rapidly, transforming into a dome of glowing light that consumed the sky above the tree.
The evil tree's instincts screamed danger as the sphere obliterated the tips of its branches. Though it could regenerate the destroyed parts, it would take some time to do that. It let out a helpless roar before dragging its massive body backward, attempting to flee from the encroaching danger.
Within the sphere, space cracked apart, forming glowing fissures that resembled shattered glass suspended in the air. The edges of the sphere rippled, emitting aurora-like colors that danced and shimmered with unnatural beauty and danger.
The sphere continued to expand, stretching all the way to the ground, swallowing the surrounding trees and flattening the forest beneath it. The shockwave it produced was immense, sending violent gusts of wind roaring outward and shaking the air with thunderous noise.
If the people from the world of Date A Live saw this scene, they would have immediately rushed to the nearest Shelter as they were far too familiar with the sight of this glowing dome.
It was a Spatial Quake.