Dian summoned a blade of ice and slashed at the dead branches.

Nothing happened.

Not even a mark.

His heart tightened with panic. Why... why wouldn’t it cut? Was he too weak?

He glanced at Yanai, who was still trapped in the illusion beside him, and immediately moved to wake him.

Yanai’s eyes snapped open. The moment he saw Nina bound to the tree, his expression changed.

"Nina!"

He reacted instantly, summoning vines to strike at the branches.

But just like Dian, his attack did nothing.

"What’s going on? Why can’t we hit it?" Anxiety and confusion surged through him.

"Wait... there’s something wrong with this damned tree," Dian muttered, frowning.

A rough, delighted laugh echoed from the withered trunk.

"Hahaha... a merfolk? And a royal one at that. No wonder you broke through the illusion so quickly."

Its branches trembled with excitement.

"I like your power too. If I absorb you as well... my illusion will become unstoppable."

"Let Nina go," Yanai growled, his voice laced with fury. "Or I’ll blow you apart."

If only he had fire abilities... 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Hahaha! Go ahead, try," the tree sneered. "If you destroy me, this little female dies with me."

Its tone turned mocking.

"You’d better hurry. Otherwise, she’ll be drained dry."

Fools.

They didn’t even realize they couldn’t touch it.

Yanai attacked again, but the result was the same.

Useless.

His fists clenched tightly, veins standing out as he forced down his anger.

Think. He had to think. What was this thing’s weakness?

Beside him, Dian suddenly pulled out one of the grenades Nina had given him and hurled it at the branches.

A deafening explosion rang out.

Smoke cleared.

The branches remained completely intact.

Dian’s expression shifted instantly.

"I understand now," he said, turning to Yanai. "This is still an illusion, but a higher-level one than before. That tree’s real body isn’t here at all. That’s why we can’t hit it."

"Then how do we break it?" Yanai demanded urgently.

Every second, Nina was being drained.

His chest tightened at the sight.

"I need to figure out what type of illusion this is..." Dian murmured, brows drawn together.

"Hurry. Nina doesn’t have time."

"I know."

He did. More than anything.

But rushing blindly would only make things worse.

"You think you can break my illusion with your strength?" the tree mocked coldly. "Keep dreaming. Soon enough, you’ll both stay here forever."

Dian ignored it.

He dug his nails into his palm, forcing himself to stay calm as he carefully observed their surroundings.

Then, a faint sound reached his ears. So subtle it was almost imperceptible.

His pupils contracted.

It was a song. A merfolk’s song.

So this illusion... belonged to the merfolk.

But this tree wasn’t one of them.

Which meant... It must have absorbed the power of a powerful merfolk and inherited their illusion.

Dian inhaled slowly and began to sing again, his voice weaving through the space, testing the illusion’s structure.

But this time—nothing. The illusion barely trembled. It was far too strong. Far beyond what he could break.

His fingers tightened, mind racing. He thought through every possibility. Every method he knew.

Until, finally, only one option remained.

Dian looked toward Nina. For her... he would do anything.

He stepped closer to Yanai. "I’m going to break the illusion. When I do, you must find Nina immediately and get her out."

Yanai nodded without hesitation. "I will."

Dian cast one last lingering glance at Nina, then took out his merfolk pearl.

He began channeling its power.

Yanai stood silently beside him, waiting.

At that moment, Nina’s consciousness began to return. Her eyes snapped open.

She was bound tightly to the withered tree, its dead branches coiling around her as it continued to drain her strength.

She couldn’t summon her vines.

Gritting her teeth, she drew upon the power of her spirit pearl, spirit stones, and her own body, struggling against the restraints.

"You woke up so quickly," the tree rasped, tightening its grip. "Don’t waste your strength. You cannot escape."

At the same time, it sensed something shifting.

The illusion... was destabilizing.

That damned merfolk was trying to break it.

This illusion was something it had obtained after countless years, stolen from a severely wounded merfolk male.

With it, it had trapped stronger and stronger prey.

It could not afford to lose it.

No.

It had to finish absorbing this female first.

Once her power was fully drained, killing the other two would be effortless.

The tree intensified its siphoning.

Nina fought back with everything she had.

Dian pushed the merfolk pearl to its limit.

His face turned paler and paler, cold sweat forming on his brow.

Then, the illusion shattered.

Yanai reacted instantly, locking onto Nina’s position and launching an attack at the tree.

Dian turned at the sound and saw her, still bound.

Relief and panic surged together as he tried to move, but his legs gave out.

He dropped to one knee, unable to stand. His body had been pushed past its limits.

The tree hastily summoned more branches to block Yanai’s attack.

Distracted, it could no longer focus entirely on suppressing Nina.

That was enough.

Nina gathered her strength once more and broke free.

Crack.

The dead vines snapped.

She surged forward, summoning massive vines that lashed toward the tree.

"Yanai, I’ll hold it back. Blow up its roots."

The tree had drained a significant amount of her power. Killing it outright would take too long.

But its weakness... had to be its roots.

Destroy those, and it would fall faster.

Yanai didn’t hesitate.

He pulled out powerful grenades and hurled them at the tree’s base.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Explosions thundered one after another.

The tree let out agonized screams.

"You wretched beasts! How dare you damage my roots? I will kill you all!"

It lashed out wildly, attacking with frenzied desperation.

Nina pushed harder, her vines locking the tree in place. Then, with a final surge of strength, she ripped it from the ground.

A piercing scream split the air. The tree shattered into fragments, crumbling into dust that scattered across the earth, feeding the soil.

Silence returned to the forest.

Nina withdrew her vines.

Yanai rushed to her side. "Nina, are you alright?"

"I’m fine. It just drained some of my strength," she replied. "What about you? Are you hurt?"

He shook his head. "No."

Behind them, Dian struggled to his feet, his steps unsteady as he moved toward her.

"Nina... are you hurt?" His voice was weak, barely steady.

Seeing how pale he was, worry filled Nina’s eyes.

"I’m fine. Dian, what’s wrong? Are you injured? Let me heal you."

Dian took her hand and gave a faint smile. "I’m fine, Nina, I—"

Before he could finish, his strength gave out.

He collapsed forward, straight into her arms.