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Although the mutated tree momentarily halted its movements after Duke’s Lightning Strike, it seemed to only grow angrier from the attack.

The very air around them seemed to tremble with its fury as it retaliated with relentless force.

All of its available roots and twisting vines launched an unholy barrage of attacks, lashing out from every direction.

The once eerie quiet was replaced by a deafening storm of strikes, each one more murderous and precise than the last, forcing them to dodge and deflect with every ounce of their strength.

"Shit!" Vulture cursed as he narrowly deflected another attack, but two more roots shot toward him.

Without hesitation, he raised his massive hammer like a shield, using its weight to block the incoming strikes. With a powerful swipe, he knocked the roots aside as if swatting away a pesky fly.

Kisha, on the other hand, was facing a much more overwhelming onslaught—at least four mutated roots were coming at her from all angles.

Fortunately, her previous training in splitting her focus was paying off. She used her telekinesis as if it were a set of invisible hands, managing to swat the roots away or redirect their paths without wasting precious spiritual energy.

By carefully guiding the attacks off course, she avoided a drawn-out struggle with the tree’s powerful tendrils, giving herself the advantage of conserving strength for the ongoing battle.

Duke seized the opportunity, unleashing a devastating ’Fire Meteor’ as soon as Vulture and Kisha cleared the mutated tree’s attacks.

As the meteor rained down, he couldn’t help but notice the shift in his awakened abilities.

Earlier, his ’Lightning Strike’ had been as massive and fierce as a serpent descending from the sky, and thought that its power was amplified by his anger.

But now, watching the ’Fire Meteors’ fall from the sky, each one as large as an adult’s face, he realized something had changed.

As the fiery meteors crashed into the mutated tree’s branches and leaves, the flames quickly began to consume its twisted form.

The fire’s essence tore through the tree’s body, burning away at its very core. Meanwhile, those meteors that missed their target ignited the surrounding area, quickly setting the forest alight with spreading fire.

Duke’s gaze snapped to Kisha, confusion etched across his face as he tried to understand why his awakened ability had experienced such a surge in power.

But Kisha only smiled at him, her expression filled with pride. "It’s because of the Scarlet Honey and the Spiritual Fruit," she explained, her eyes glinting with understanding.

As soon as Kisha mentioned it, Duke remembered what she had told him about the Spiritual Fruit.

He had consumed so many Spiritual Fruits and other crops, but he hadn’t felt any noticeable change in his body.

Kisha had explained that the fruit would refine the quality of his spiritual energy, purifying it over time.

’So, is this the result of the purification?’ he wondered, watching the mutated tree lash its roots and vines frantically, struggling to contain the spreading fire.

It seemed to be in agony, the long, continuous creaking sounds reverberating through the air.

But Duke didn’t hesitate. He summoned another ’Fire Meteor,’ his determination unwavering.

Even though this was his third AOE attack, he didn’t feel the familiar weight of exhaustion.

’Is it because my spiritual energy was purified by the Spiritual Fruits?’ he thought, briefly glancing at his palms, surprised at how easily the power flowed.

As the ’Fire Meteor’ descended and struck the mutated tree, thick plumes of smoke billowed from the surrounding area and the tree itself.

However, to their surprise, the damage was only superficial.

The bark of the mutated tree peeled away under the fiery assault, but beneath the scorched exterior, the inner core remained untouched.

The leaves were completely consumed by the flames, turning to ash, but once the foliage was gone, the tree looked even more menacing—a charred, lifeless husk.

Its branches were blackened, yet the vines continued to lash out with a furious intensity, as if the tree itself had grown angrier, its movements more erratic and desperate.

Kisha, Duke, and Vulture’s expressions hardened, the weight of the situation settling in.

Vulture swallowed hard, the lump in his throat a testament to the growing tension surrounding them.

Though Duke didn’t feel fatigued from his earlier attacks, seeing that his efforts had only caused superficial damage to the tree dampened his confidence.

But rather than faltering, he adjusted his strategy, his determination solidifying.

Kisha, too, sharpened her focus, intensifying her dodging and deflecting as the mutated tree’s rage boiled over.

Its attacks grew unnervingly faster and more brutal, its vines whipping through the air with deadly precision.

Meanwhile, the surrounding fire raged on, adding an oppressive heat to the already volatile battle.

The mutated tree launched a full-force assault, determined to trap Kisha, Duke, and Vulture with no escape.

Every available root and vine lashed out in unison, cornering them in midair.

Despite Kisha’s telekinetic abilities, she could only manage to form a temporary barrier around them, using her invisible like hands to create a fragile shield.

But the weight of the tree’s relentless attack made it increasingly difficult to hold.

The pressure of the vines and roots pressing against their protective sphere intensified and started to coil around the barrier, as though the mutated tree was trying to crush them within the barrier.

Kisha struggled to maintain the barrier’s integrity, her focus slipping as the oppressive force grew stronger.

Inside the barrier, darkness enveloped them, their hands and feet invisible in the thick blackness.

They could feel the roots and vines coiling around them, squeezing tighter with each passing moment.

Though Kisha was doing her best to keep them safe she was still having a hard time pushing off the mutated tree’s roots and vine, Duke’s resolve hardened.

With a fierce, angry glint in his eyes, he summoned an ’Ice Storm’. Slowly but surely, the roots and vines around them began to freeze, the thick ice encasing them in a crystalline grip.

Though this was a new skill that should have posed a challenge for Duke to master, his overwhelming protectiveness of Kisha drove his instincts into overdrive.

His ’Talent’ and fierce determination unlocked the power within him, allowing him to conjure the ’Ice Storm’ with surprising ease.

As the storm raged on, the freezing ice quickly enveloped the mutated tree’s roots and vines, slowing their relentless advance.

Parts of the tree were encased in thick layers of ice, but it kept crawling forward, desperate to break the mutated tree’s momentum.

The mutated tree thrashed, shaking violently to dislodge the frost from its limbs. However, it couldn’t move its roots or vines—especially those still coiled tightly around Kisha’s barrier.

Despite its efforts, the mutated tree found itself trapped, immobilized by the freezing grip of the storm.

Without hesitation, Duke summoned another powerful ’Lightning Strike,’ sending it crashing down just above their position.

Thanks to Kisha’s protection, the three of them remained unharmed, but the effect of the strike was devastating.

The ice that had already coated the mutated tree’s roots and vines amplified the force of the lightning, causing the frozen tendrils to shatter into sharp, jagged shards.

As the lightning coursed through the tree, the once sturdy roots and vines became brittle and dry, weakened by the ice, making them more vulnerable to the strike.

Duke’s eyes gleamed with a sinister satisfaction as he watched the mutated tree’s defenses crumble under the combined onslaught.