Adam took one step after another, his gait strangely forced. It was as if he were a marionette.

As for the one pulling the strings? It was the six-winged serpent, of course.

The crown of floating eyes continued to orbit the serpent's strangely humanoid face. Its body, coiled around the trunk, loosened as it saw Adam approaching.

'Come, human.' Its voice once again echoed in Adam's head.

'Become nourishment for the great tree. I had already sensed your intentions. You wished to harvest the fruit for your own benefit, but the moment you displayed your greed, your fate was sealed. No matter how powerful your mind, you were bound to cave in before my might.

'Although your body is frail and lacks vitality, you will still serve your purpose. You will be reborn, just like the others. You will be consumed by the great one from the Beyond. You struggled, and then you failed. All who came before you did the same. In the end, they were fed to the roots.'

Adam finally arrived at the base of the unholy tree.

The ground around it was dead and brittle, cracked like dried bone. No grass grew around it. Not even moss. Only ash-colored soil packed hard by something that had drained it of all vitality.

Thick, black roots burst from the earth in all directions, twisting and overlapping like massive veins. Some were split open, leaking a dark, viscous sap that steamed faintly as it touched the ground.

Above him, massive branches formed an expansive umbrella. From them, hung over a dozen fruits. They were bloated, red, and pulpy, each one swaying gently despite the lack of wind.

Adam stood motionless at the base of the tree. The giant serpent lowered its body, inching closer and closer, until its large, humanoid face was merely inches away from him. Its eyes shifted to the Staff of Calamity, watching it with avarice.

'Perhaps…' it began. 'If I can refine this spine and accommodate it into my frame, I can—'

Its thoughts came to an abrupt halt.

Adam's free hand shot forward and violently grabbed the serpent's crown of floating eyes. He then raised his head and coldly said:

"The moment you displayed your greed, your fate was sealed, filthy snake!"

The serpent was thunderstruck. It was certain that its magic had worked on Adam, as it had on countless other creatures who had found themselves stumbling inside its domain.

Yet, why was Adam suddenly able to control his body?

Realizing that it had been tricked by the human, the serpent grew livid. Its six wings shot toward him the next instant, the razor-sharp bones aiming to skewer him. It no longer cared about turning him into nourishment for the tree.

For the sin of deceit, the serpent was going to kill the human!

Suddenly…

"Shrink." Adam spat in snaketongue, and the Staff of Calamity shrank to the size of a toothpick.

He then thrust it inside the serpent's revolving crown. The bone spikes were mere moments away from impaling him, but he remained steadfast.

Without hesitation, he spat out another word, his voice colder than the deepest pits of hell.

"Expand."

BOOOM!

The Staff of Calamity turned into a giant pillar bigger than the unholy tree. At the same time, it completely obliterated the serpent's crown and pinned its colossal body, severely restricting its movements.

However, the beast wasn't yet dead. Just in a lot of pain.

But so was Adam.

In the final moments, just after Adam commanded the staff to increase in size, he quickly retreated in order to evade the serpent's attack.

However, he was still too late.

A few bone spikes had managed to stab his shoulder, resulting in ghastly injuries. But he had no time to waste. He had achieved his objective by restraining the serpent's movements, and now, there was only one thing left to do…

Gritting his teeth, he vaulted towards the nearest branch of the unholy tree. Then, without hesitation, he yanked the pulpy, red fruit.

HISSSSS!!!

His action elicited an enraged response from the guardian of the tree, but there was hardly anything it could do at the moment.

Adam sneered and continued to harvest the fruit one after another. Just as he stole the tenth fruit, the Staff of Calamity shuddered violently.

The serpent was only moments away from freeing itself!

Adam looked towards the next fruit. There were only a handful of them remaining now. However, if he let his greed take hold of him, he was surely going to face the full wrath of the six-winged serpent.

He gritted his teeth and cast the Flight spell, and before the serpent could free itself, he had already soared towards the black skies.

Only after reaching a safe distance did he command the Staff of Calamity to shrink and return to his spirit sea. He could still hear the snake's furious hisses. However, it did not chase after him.

It became clear that the guardian of the unholy tree was bound to it.

Realizing this, Adam heaved a sigh of relief. It wasn't that he wouldn't be able to deal with the serpent. He could. But it would take a lot of planning on his behalf. Moreover, he still wasn't fully aware of all of the serpent's abilities.

So he chose to trick the guardian, lower its guard, and then steal the fruits.

But it came at a great cost…

There were four gaping holes torn through his Stealth Cloak in his shoulder region. The damage beneath was far worse.

Blood continued to pour from the wounds, refusing to clot, while the flesh around them slowly darkened. The veins in the surrounding flesh turned black and seeped deeper into his body.

Even without a diagnosis, Adam was certain that his wounds were fatal. This was precisely why he avoided close combat with the creatures of the Dark Valley.

Besides, no matter how holy and awe-inspiring the six-winged serpent appeared, Adam knew that its attacks were anything but divine. Its strikes carried decay, not judgment.

And now, there was no longer any doubt.

He had been corrupted.

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