In the Northern Root area.

A Seeker's body convulsed as transformation overtook him. Massive reddish-black spikes erupted over his uniform while durable shells formed across his torso and shoulders, overlapping like natural armor plating. His legs reshaped, muscles bulging as sharp claws extended from where boots had been.

He roared.

A visible wave rushed out with fire trailing over it, rushing towards the roots in front of him. A cluster of roots hacked out for him, their thick tendrils blasted towards the visible waves.

Fire exploded on contact, consuming wood in brilliant bursts that left charred remnants swaying before falling.

More roots erupted from underground, bursting through the soil and rushing towards him. The transformed Seeker leaped, claws digging into a massive trunk as he climbed while another transformation began.

Black fur spread across the second Seeker's body, covering clothing in coarse midnight strands. His muscles bulged, expanding until the fabric strained.

Two spectral horns materialized above his head, crackling with electricity that arced between the curved points, and lightning danced along his arms.

A root lashed toward the climbing Seeker.

The fur-covered Seeker lunged forward with his forelimbs wrapping around the tendril. His grip tightened, fingers gripped the roots as he twisted, and the wood shattered.

Then he threw the broken root aside and leaped onto another, tearing through it with the same unrelenting aggression.

Three Chermiras charged from the tree line, the Forest Roots beasts with Werefang skulls and antler crowns. Their wooden bodies moved as they rushed towards the Seekers. But then the lightning Seeker opened his mouth, and electricity gathered in his throat, blue-white light building.

Until it burst forth in a concentrated beam. The blast struck the leading beast before it swerved to the side, cutting through the others and scattering the woods in smoking pieces.

Yellow spores drifted through the chaos, spreading on invisible currents. One Seeker stumbled as the clouds reached her, coughing violently. Another grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back as roots reached for the vulnerable target.

"I've got you!" The rescuer's hands glowed crimson before slamming into the ground. Crimson barriers erupted around them both, blocking the advancing roots and keeping the spores from penetrating further.

The spike-covered Seeker dropped from above, landing with enough force to crack stone beneath. Flames erupted from his clawed feet, scorching the ground and igniting nearby roots. He charged forward, each step leaving burning footprints as he carved through the barrier's defensive position.

…

Central Front

The Luminous Knight raised his great sword overhead. White light coalesced around the blade, forming a bubble that pulsed with barely contained energy. He brought the weapon down in a devastating arc.

The shockwave swept outward from the impact point, a visible distortion that expanded like ripples on water. It struck the root barrier with tremendous force, tearing through wood and soil.

Massive sections of the wall exploded, debris scattering in all directions.

But even as destruction spread, regeneration began. Wood knitted together, and gaps closed almost as quickly as they formed.

Behind the swordsman, another Knight's eyes blazed golden. Massive spectral orange wings that stretched fifteen feet on either side manifested on her back. Yellow and blue striped markings appeared across her face, running down her neck and disappearing beneath her armor. A spectral tail materialized behind her and swayed before she slammed her fist into the ground.

Pillars of earth erupted in a line toward the barrier, each column rising twenty feet high before crashing down onto the roots. The ground trembled, shaking violently as her power continued flowing. Cracks spread across the forest floor, opening into fissures that swallowed sections of root.

But then a Bear-Terror body with Werefang arms twisted at impossible angles. It roared, charging toward the Knights with mindless fury.

The Luminous Knight, spectral wings unfurling, lunged forward in a blur of gold and orange. The projected feathers sliced the air, trailing burning afterimages as she met the oncoming Chimera in a ferocious collision.

Her fist slammed into the creature's face with such force that the bones beneath the skin audibly shattered. The impact sent a concussive shockwave radiating outward, flattening brush and small saplings in a ten-meter radius.

The Chimera, a grotesque fusion of bear, wolf, and insect traits, was hurled backwards in a ragdoll spiral, crashing through the undergrowth until it struck a dead trunk with a splintering crunch.

It did not rise again.

But the onslaught didn't stop as soon as the Chimera fell, fresh monsters boiled from the ruined forest.

Phantasm Beasts in all their impossible configurations shrieked and charged. Veins of blue fire pulsed under their skins, limbs rippling as if made of taffy, jaws unhinging to reveal concentric rings of fangs.

A pack of serpentine horrors darted past the fallen Chimera's corpse, their bodies coiled in perpetual motion. From above, a swarm of mothlike things descended, each one the size of a fox, their wings a patchwork of eyes and teeth.

The Luminous Knight pivoted in place, wings sweeping up a cyclone of dust and frost. One of the moth-beasts latched onto her breastplate, mandibles gouging silver-blue gouges across her armor.

She seized it by the throat and crushed it with a single squeeze, hurling the remains into the path of another charging nightmare. The ten floating swords behind her moved as if extensions of her will. Two swept in to cut the legs from a bounding, wolf-faced brute, while another four blocked incoming projectiles.

To her right, the Knight with the great sword advanced, cleaving through the mass of Phantasm Beasts. The bubble of light around his blade flared, each swing sending arcs of force that vaporized everything in their path. The fallen wreckage of beasts began to pile around him in a grotesque barricade, bodies twitching as residual energy from the sword forced their nervous systems into spasms.

But then even more Phantasm Beasts appeared.

Tetans wielding wooden spears, their moss-covered bodies glowing with white eyes. They attacked in formation, spears thrusting toward vulnerable points.

The winged Knight recognized the threat immediately.

She tried to take to the air, but one of the Tetans hurled a net of living vines at her legs. It snared her, dragging her down. She sliced through it with a thought and a flick of her spectral wing, but two more Tetans were already upon her.

Their spears stabbed swiftly, piercing through the air and reaching the knight. She blocked and dodged, but a lucky strike grazed her upper arm, drawing a line of blood across her armor.

She retaliated by unfurling her wings in a blinding flash, the feathers becoming blades that shredded the Tetans in a fountain of sap and spore. But even as they fell, more rose to take their place, forcing the Luminous Knight to retreat step by step.

A third Knight stepped forward, hands weaving through the air. Blue flames materialized around his fingers, growing larger with each gesture before he thrust both palms outward. A wall of azure fire swept across the battlefield, consuming spears and forcing the Tetans to retreat.

Black Night Terrors drifted from the forest's depths. Their shadowy forms moved through rain without disturbing it, white eyes scanning for targets. One approached the fire-wielder from behind, face beginning to split.

"Behind you!"

The warning came from a Knight wielding twin daggers. She spun, throwing both blades in quick succession. They passed through the Night Terror's form, but golden light erupted from the daggers on impact, and the creature screeched as it dispersed.

The ground beneath them suddenly cracked.

Roots burst upward, trying to impale the Knights from below. The winged warrior punched the air, sending shockwaves that shattered the emerging tendrils before they could strike.

Yellow spores began drifting through their position. The fire-wielding Knight expanded his flames, creating a barrier that incinerated the clouds before they could spread. But the effort cost him, as sweat dripped down his forehead, as magic drained.

"Switch positions!" The great sword wielder charged forward, his blade still glowing. Another shockwave swept outward as he struck, giving the exhausted Knight time to recover.

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