Marie twisted her body before Longinus shone with golden light. "Purging Lance!"

The spear's tip blazed, then a pillar of golden-white fire shot down its length, lancing through the roots with explosive force. The light did not merely burn, but it devoured whatever it touched, leading to the roots crumbling into ashes and glowing dust.

In the blazing aftershock, the gap behind them was briefly clear.

Then Joseph bent his knees, then released, and a slicing wind curved around the group, scooping them up and hurling them forward like leaves in a hurricane. For a split second, they were airborne, their limbs flailing as the ground blurred beneath them.

The wind also served to clear the air of the choking dust left by Marie's attack. But more importantly, it gave them precious meters of distance before the next wave of roots could react.

But the roots did not give up.

Instead of reassembling the barricade, this time they changed tactics. From both walls, roots slithered like snakes, this time not blocking but wishing to grab them.

They shot out in whiplash movements, aiming directly for necks and ankles, and the group had to duck, side-step, or leap to avoid being tripped or captured.

Amiya saw a shadow flicker at the edge of her vision.

Without breaking stride, she spun her scythe in a wide arc behind her, the blade erupted with dark crimson fire, and a crescent of energy swept out in a fan, incinerating all the roots in a two-meter radius.

The fire clung to the severed ends, creeping up the root and burning them down before their eyes.

The air filled with the sweet, sickening scent of burning sap.

Casseo felt the ground beneath him buckle and then split. A root as thick as his thigh burst upward directly underneath him, but he didn't bother to dodge.

Instead, he activated Black Hide, and scales coated his arms and chest. The root struck him with a sound like a tree snapping, but it failed to pierce his hide.

Casseo grabbed the stunned root in both hands and, with a contorted twist, heaved it sideways into the path of more pursuing vines.

Then he drew his sword with a roar and swept the blade horizontally. A shadowy arc extended from the sword, cleaving through all the roots in its path and turning them to fragments that rained around him.

Veryn planted her heels, spread his arms, and conjured an array of purple shields directly in the path of the oncoming roots. The roots slammed into the barriers at full speed and rebounded, momentarily tangled and confused.

But the roots continued, as the next wave rushed out and attacked from all possible angles, coming from above and below as well as straight on.

Veryn quickly repositioned the shields, overlapping them into a dome, which held just long enough for her to leap back and rejoin the others.

Before they continued, leaving behind the other roots. Then soon they saw familiar mushrooms, pale grey caps on thick stalks, scattered across their path like mines.

Reinhard recognized the exploding mushrooms, which had enough force to shatter stone.

They altered course, moving around, but one mushroom's cap twitched as they passed, as if sensing movement or vibration.

When Brunhilde's footsteps landed within fifteen paces, the mushroom shone as it inflated, and the stem below it quivered in anticipation.

Brunhilde reacted with the unhurried calm of a practiced exterminator. She raised her free hand, fingers scribing characters faster than the blink of an eye.

Golden words appeared, and shined. "Freeze."

The mushroom's inflation locked in place so abruptly that it looked as if it was put on pause.

And then ice began to appear on the mushroom, rushing over its cap and all the way down to its stem.

Then, a second later, it instantly spread over the others and froze all of them. Then all of them have cracks on them before shattering and turning into fragments of ice.

From then on, nothing in the clearing stirred as they continued to rush ahead.

Reinhard's vision was a flickering tunnel, peripheries devoured by green and shadow. He saw only parts of the others as they smashed through the area.

Some bore scars from earlier battles, others wept slow sap like open wounds.

Mutated branches reached across the path, forming fingers and claws, always snapping back just a hair too late to catch.

But the forest was not done with them, as from every direction, Phantasm Beasts rushed from all around. Some of them rushed alone while others moved in packs, all of them covered in roots.

A pair of Kabas attempted to block the path. One went high jump to crash from above, leading Brunhilde to summon her spear before hurling it upwards.

The spear rushed out, before blasting a hole through the Kabas, and tearing it apart in two.

But then the other one rushed towards them. Marie leapt over the first Kaba, using its shell as a springboard, then brought Longinus down in a vertical arc, splitting the beast cleanly in half.

Casseo chopped, hacked, and slashed apart the Kabas when he saw roots beginning to move out from their bodies.

Blood splashed out as they rushed past the falling beast.

Joseph waved his hand, calling upon an entire gale instead of stirring up the wind. The gale swept through the debris, spores floating around, and the mushrooms on the trees.

Before the gales rushed them all the way up into the air, as everyone rushed past.

Then the ground opened up before spiked roots rushed up, trying to strike Reinhard and the others.

The others swiftly reacted as they leapt over the pit, or Joseph summoned a gale to push them out of the way, leading to the pit closing instantly at every failed attempt.

Soon, they saw the forest and began looking more familiar to the ones they crossed after just leaving Naraku Town.

These trees they'd passed before, that root formation they recognized, and all of them knew they were close.

Then Naraku Town's walls appeared ahead through the trees. But then they froze when they saw countless bodies of Phantasm Beasts near the gate.

All of them formed a pillar that stretched above the gate, reaching the height of the buildings.

With blood stains covering the grass and ground around.

Such a sight made them realize Naraku had another attack.

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