'There has to be something I can do. This is too similar to my fight against the Fire Spirit. My only way of winning then was using Ice Magic. What is it now?'
"Give up. You can't fight against the Forest." Yarnha said.
'You'd expect Fire Magic to work against the goddamn trees but nooo. That'd be too easy, huh? Plus... I'm not inside the Dungeon anymore. There might just not be a way for me to win this. No. There has to be something I can do. I just have to find it.' Mark thought in silence.
He jumped and spun repeatedly, dodging the spear-like tree roots approaching him again and again.
"Man, this is bullshit. Hahaha!"
"What?"
The roots stopped moving, and so did Mark.
"I can't figure out a way to-"
"That's because there is none."
"That's the problem."
"Huh?"
"I can't find a way but..." Mark took a deep breath in, and chills moved through his body. "I haven't felt this good in a while."
Yarnha's left eyebrow rose.
"Isn't that because of my Mist?"
"The Mist, yeah... Probably. Wait, the Mist? You... You drugged me?!" The Spirit stared without saying a word. "I can't believe this. I was drugged. Or maybe... Poisoned, I should say. No, definitely drugged. Hahaha. This feeling. It's a first for me."
A slight smile was drawn on Yarnha's face.
"Could get addicted to it, huh?"
"Oh, for sure. It's... Really a first." Mark closed his eyes and rook a deep breath in, focusing on the tingly feeling that was permeating throughout his body. "Even in my past, I never took any. So this is..."
"There's more where that came from."
"Mhahaha!" Mark chuckled. "It's amazing really."
The Spirit's head tilted to the side.
She seemed puzzled, but her eyes sparkled.
A 'praise me more' kind of look.
"I feel the same way I do... After winning a close fight. This feeling..."
"Must be incredible, huh?" Yarnha said, proud as could be.
"Yeah. The same way I do after bleeding, getting cut, hit, and pierced to win." Mark's body twitched as he whispered
"Right? Right? You can get more of that. As much as you want. If you come with me willingly, of course." Excitement seemed to make Yarnha's body twitch just as much.
"More...?"
"Yes, Yes! How about it? Getting cut and bleeding, that's no fun. But the victory, the feeling that comes with it. You love that feeling, don't you? Then how about-"
"I get that feeling... Without bleeding?"
"Yep!" Yarnha enthusiastically nodded.
"Without fighting?"
"Mm!" She nodded again.
"You want me to stay here... Without fighting... Without winning... Without doing anything?"
"Well that feeling-"
"DISGUSTING!" Mark shouted as he clenched his fists. "You want me to remain here, comfortably, while you take care of me? While you pump me full with that drug?"
'Mmm...' Yarnha scratched the back of her head. 'Really thought this was going somewhere.'
"Am I supposed to just lay there like the rest of those bones? Am I supposed to-"
"This was a mistake. Let's just end-"
"Lay there..." Yarnha immediately felt a chill. "Until my legs stop working?"
'What is... What is that??' She asked herself as she stared at the expressionless Monster in front of her, whose body had started emitting a Dark Aura.
"Am I supposed to just... Lay there... Until my heart-"
Puff-
Out of nowhere, a green pod had appeared behind Mark.
Following its appearance, it wasted no time and shrouded the Monster's head in a Green Mist.
'This should calm him down.'
The thick fog hit the Monster's face for a bit.
Yarnha had expected it to wave its hand or move out of the cloud of Green Mist.
But no, the Monster did not move one inch.
Instead, it remained inside the Green Mist.
Inhaling and breathing it, until it faded away.
'What the hell is up...'
A crazed expression was revealed, which made even the Spirit shudder slightly.
'With this Monster??'
"I used to get drugged actually." The Monster said suddenly.
Yarnha remained silent, confused.
"Before surgeries. Used to have a lot of those..." Mark scratched the back of his head with a claw. "Know what those are?"
The Spirit stared for a bit, before shaking its head to the side.
"Mm. Well, whatever..." Mark muttered.
He lowered his hand and stared.
"Fighting you is tricky."
"Is that right?"
"It is. You look tiny, but in truth..." A knowing smile appeared on Yarnha's face as Mark talked. "You're massive."
"I'll try not to take offense."
"Why do you take the appearance of a Human?"
Yarnha's eyebrow twitched.
"I'm a Spirit. This is the appearance of a Spirit."
Mark scratched his cheek.
"Forest Of Yarnha. Is the Forest yours?"
The Spirit didn't answer.
"This is... Your Territory. Your Domain, right?"
Yarnha sighed.
"You could say that."
The Tyrs' Collosseum-
Mark thought back.
'Two Titles. The wording is different, but it's possible for them to convey the same thing. The Colloseum that belongs to the Tyrs, the Forest that belongs to Yarnha... But the difference in wording changes that. The Forest Of Yarnha. The Forest called Yarnha. Man... This is amazing.'
It wasn't clear whether the feeling came from the Green Mist or not.
'A whole Forest... Has been condensed. A whole Forest has taken Human appearance to face me. To stand in front of me.'
Still, Mark felt ecstatic as shivers permeated throughout his body.
Never before was it as clear as now.
The young woman whose body was slightly smaller than Elisa, wasn't all of it.
The woman's skin wasn't the limit to what she was.
Her body couldn't contain all of it.
'No... More like...'
Everything was her.
Her body was Yarnha.
The roots were Yarnha.
Just like the trees, flowers, bushes, and leaves.
'Perhaps even...'
Mark lowered his gaze.
Perhaps even the ground below.
Everything was part of Yarnha.
Everything was Yarnha.
And as an intruder, he stood inside her Domain.
Inside her Territory.
"Intriguing." Yarnha said, which startled the silent Monster. "What are you thinking about?"
Only then, did Mark realize.
That sentence, did it really come from her?
He couldn't tell exactly.
"What is it?" Yarnha asked.
With this, Mark was sure.
"So that's your cheat, huh?" He muttered nervously.
"Seems you're starting to understand the situation in which you are in a bit better."
"You're standing in front of me but... Even if I was to cut your head off, you wouldn't die." The Spirit stared silently. "You're Yarnha. You're the Forest."
"Huh? Wasn't it obvious from the start?"
Mark smiled nervously.
"I don't have much experience with Spirits."
Yarnha smiled brightly before extending a hand towards him.
"So it seems."
'Now, how would I go about doing this? About-'
A dozen tree roots flew towards Mark.
He did his best to dodge, but grazes and shallow cuts appeared on his arms and legs.
The drops of blood that stained either the roots or the ground didn't remain there for long.
'He's nervous, but...' Yarnha thought. 'Not scared. He'll make perfect food for the soil.'
In front of Mark, stood an enemy bigger than any he had ever faced.
'How would I go about...'
Bigger than a Lower Demonic Giant.
Bigger than the Leviathan he fought inside the Dungeon.
Bigger than the Olga he fought outside the Dungeon.
'Killing a Forest?'
Mark could barely contain his excitement at the thought.
From fighting Goblins to Forests.
His intoxicated mind really wanted to spend more time thinking about that.
But each time he indulged, a new cut appeared on his body.
'How do I destroy a Forest... When even Fire isn't working?'
Frustration started bubbling up inside the intoxicated mind who couldn't quickly find an answer.
'Spirits are the worst.'
A couple of minutes later, dozens of cuts had appeared on Mark's body.
Blood was leaving his veins and arteries at a worrying pace.
"Giving up? Please do. I can help with the pain, you know?"
"Oh, fuck you." He muttered.
"You'll turn into the most beautiful flower, Monster. You can trust me on that."
"Oh... Fuck... You..." Mark whispered, struggling to calm his breathing.
"Now that the ground and roots have tasted your blood, there's no way you'll-"
Yarnha's words were interrupted.
No, that's not exactly right.
She just suddenly shut her mouth.
The large smile on the Monster's face and the dark aura emanating from him forced her to do so.
