Chapter 542: 542

I fall to the ground via [Meteor Stamp]. Being metallised by [Statue], my roots slam into the ground and dig in, sending out a huge shockwave.

『I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, Aro-dono… I, I…』

Aro-dono’s [Rope of Regret] was torn off by my heavy landing, and scatters into clouds of sand and grit. Her and Aruane are each sent flying in separate directions.

Aro-dono’s body tumbles along the ground. Both of her arms are blown off from receiving my [Meteor Stamp], and her skin has lost its normal youthful radiance, becoming dry and cracked. I think that she’s completely unable to move, but… She weakly gets to her feet.

“Tre… ant…”

Aro-dono says, straining, as she looks at me.

『I’m so sorry, Aro-dono… Destroying you together with the enemy, something like that is impossible for me…』

Aruane’s body trembles violently, and she rises with strange movements.

“That was a surprise… Honestly, Aruane was surprised. She thought, Aruane thought she might’ve died then. Really, to decide in an instant to kill Aruane in a suicide attack was unexpected. But… it seems that sprite-san over there didn’t have the resolve.”

…Sprite-san is referring to me, it seems. It’s as she says… I couldn’t go through with a method that would kill Aro-dono.

I weakened my [Gravity] enhancement to reduce my momentum as I hit the ground, and I stuck a branch between Aro-dono and Aruane, sending them flying. I couldn’t let myself deal a direct hit to Aro-dono with [Meteor Stamp].

However, I understand that it was a bad move to make. With the last of her strength, Aro-dono gave it her all to tie down Aruane… Even if I didn’t hit her directly, she would have still taken a lot of the force of the [Meteor Stamp].

She is no longer in any condition to fight. In addition… We have completely revealed our hand to Aruane.

There’s already nothing left that can bridge the gap between our stats. Now, she’ll probably kill me and Aro-dono, and then dispose of atlach-dono… So I could have at least saved atlach-dono and returned to master-dono’s side alive… I should have struck both Aro-dono and Aruane directly with [Meteor Stamp]. I understand that my actions have rendered Aro-dono’s resolve naught.

However, even so… even so, I couldn’t do it…

“That’s no good… No good at all. You can’t be greedy like that. You need to have your priorities in order. Like Saint-sama, you know? If you don’t, you’ll end up losing what you most want, too.”

Aruane speaks. Even though it’s her, she shouldn’t be uninjured. Blood dribbles from her lips, and her black dress has been dyed red with her own blood. Her legs have clear signs of being broken as well, but somehow she’s standing without any issues.

“…It’s [Blood Doll]… It looks like she’s forcibly operating her own body,”

Aro-dono observes Aruane with narrowed eyes… I see, if she’s able to freely control corpses using her blood, it wouldn’t be strange at all for her to be able to force her own body to move, ignoring any damage it’s taken.

“It should just be a little more…! With my [Gale]…!”

Aro-dono slowly raises her arm, taking aim at Aruane.

“It’s a bluff, a bluff. I’m sorry, so sorry, undead onee-san. Aruane can through lies, you see? It’s pointless to try and make threats. Don’t come closer, don’t lay a finger on my friends; Aruane can see you’re frantically thinking such things. It’s not because of these eyes though, it’s obvious even without them.”

Aruane speaks with wide-open eyes… As I thought, her eyes have the power to see through other people’s hearts. No matter how much Aro-dono persevered using logic, she wasn’t able to escape Aruane’s predictions.

“But… that’s fine, Aruane will go along with what you want. There’s nothing to be gained by playing with desperate onee-san and sprite-san here. Aruane didn’t expect to receive this much damage, either. So, Aruane will hand you her retreat.”

R-retreat…? I have no idea what her intentions are. She is heavily injured, but Aro-dono and myself now are in a state where we should be easy to kill…

『…ngh』

Looking behind Aruane, I finally realise what her aim is.

She’s undoubtedly taken considerable damage, even for her. Rather than foolishly taking on the near-death Aro-dono and myself directly, she’s instead choosing the safer option of healing with Ool’s magic once she’s gained some distance.

…No, if she doesn’t have the energy left to pursue us, then she might be thinking that it’s fine even if we manage to escape. Even if she were to defeat both of us and atlach-dono, she’s only able to bring one of us with her.

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…And, with that, Aruane will be able to sufficiently shave away at master-dono’s willpower. After killing off atlach-dono, she’ll bring her along by controlling her body with [Blood Doll], and all she’ll have to do is tell master-dono that she killed Aro-dono and myself. Whether or not we’re actually dead isn’t particularly important for her.

The time for master-dono to end things is probably nigh. Even if we were to head for the location of the decisive battle, being covered in wounds, we would likely only get in master-dono’s way. Even though we might survive this, we cannot afford to rush to master-dono’s side to support him.

As she declared, Aruane leaves us with frightening speed. It looks like she is forcibly maintaining her body’s abilities using [Blood Doll’s] power. The undead man Ool, too, charges off after her.

I… can only glare at her back as she goes to kill off atlach-dono. My trunk pitches downward in despair. Why… Why am I so powerless…?

“Sorry I’m… looks like… my limit…”

Aro-dono has been just barely managing to stand, but her legs give out and she collapses on the spot.

『A-Aro-dono…!』

“Run, treant, even if it’s you alone… That girl, she said she would let us escape but… Once after she’s used that Ool person to heal and thrown him away, she’ll kill off atlach-nacha to make her into a pawn…Then, she’ll come to finish us off. We’re certainly low on her list of priorities, so I don’t think she’ll put much effort into a search, but…”

『S-so let’s escape together! I’ll carry Aro-dono on my back…!』

Aro-dono looks up at the sky and shakes her head.

“…Your normal form stands out too much and will definitely be seen, even in this mist. Using [Tree Spiritisation], escape by yourself… For dragon-god-sama’s sake, too…”

『B-but, that’s… Leaving Aro-dono and atlach-dono behind and running… Something like that…!』

All of a sudden… I recall what Aruane said earlier.

『You need to have your priorities in order. Like Saint-sama, you know? If you don’t, you’ll end up losing what you most want, too.』

In those words… Finally, I come to the answer. I’m indecisive. Even when Aro-dono was restraining Aruane, I was worrying about whether or not I should aim for a direct hit with [Meteor Stamp], up until the moment of impact. Rather… It’s the worrywart attitude I’ve adopted.

The answer was there from the very beginning. After that, I apologised to Aro-dono, but I didn’t regret the choice I made at all. Something like sacrificing her is unthinkable after all.

At that moment…if I didn’t make the decision to kill Aro-dono together with Aruane, Aruane would have killed both of us. That was what should have happened. But, as a result of our vain struggle, Aro-dono and myself are still alive at the moment.

…My top priority has to be making a firm decision. That’s right, what I really want is for everyone to return alive. So then…even if it means ignoring the other paths open to me, I must decide now.

『Aro-dono… Please forgive me for leaving you here. However, I’ll return right away.』

I gently cover Aro-dono’s face with leaves from my branch, and turn my back towards her.

“Treant…?”

『I’ll definitely bring atlach-dono back with me, you’ll see! Definitely!』

I dash off in the direction that Aruane ran away in.

“Treant! Don’t! Please run away!”

Aro-dono’s voice comes resounding from my rear.

I’m too much of a coward. Even when we challenged the slime’s forces hiding in the royal capital of Alban, I was told to wait in the Great Alban Mine alone… Even though I felt shocked, at the same time, I felt some degree of relief.

Even here, I had been leaving all the decision-making to Aro-dono. She has a better grasp of the situation after all, is what I desperately told myself, but… that was simply me being afraid of hindering Aro-dono with my unnecessary actions.

However… I’m not going to be a coward any longer. No matter how grim this path will be, I’ll punch through for the sake of my real wish!

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