Showdown

Ezekiel and the rest gaped at the huge tree in shock when they saw Skyla disappear from their view.

She was just there screaming a moment ago but now, she disappeared…

It took only a few seconds for them to snap out of their shock and instantly, their faces blackened.

They let out an angry snarl as they leapt towards the tree simultaneously but it seemed Ezekiel was a tad faster than the others as he appeared instantly above the tree, hovering over the spot she disappeared and raised his hand to attack the tree.

But it was as if the tree sensed the immediate danger, it instantly shrouded its vines around its trunk, protecting it from Ezekiel's attack.

"Tsk" Ezekiel gritted his teeth in annoyance.

Before he could make the next move, his eyes widened when he saw thick vines charge out from its trunk at him.

SWOOSH

Ezekiel pursed his lips as he rotated in the air, dodging the vines by an inch before landing on the branch. But in the next second, he leapt into the sky, as thousands of thick vines charged at his landing spot, colliding against each other.

His figure shone slightly in the sky as he charged straight towards the tree and landed an attack right on its crown making the tree tremble vibrantly.

BANG

Ezekiel narrowed his eyes as he vanished from the air and instantly appeared on the ground. He looked at his hands and clenched them to and fro…

'It seemed like it did no major damage other than shaking it slightly'

Inhaling deeply, he glanced at his friends who were already occupied by their own problems. They were being attacked by the other trees in the area forcing them to back against each other.

It was as if the entire forest rejuvenated as they worked together to stop them… as if they were protecting something precious.

Instantly, weeds covered the entire ground as various types of plants grew out of nowhere and launched a joint attack upon them. Ezekiel pursed his lips as he waved his hands, instantly sending out black energy which sliced the plants into pieces.

He cracked his knuckles as his face scrunched up in annoyance. He noticed how the new trees and plants stood in his way as if it was protecting the huge tree behind.

Ezekiel sneered as he kicked off from the ground and dashed towards the huge tree, dodging all the attacks aimed at him. He squinted his eyes as he sent a slash of black energy in front of him, slicing the trees and making a path for him to the huge tree.

He raised his fist to throw a punch on its trunk but he failed when one of the vines wrapped around his ankle, halting him in his tracks. Before he could get rid of the vine around his ankle, numerous vines attacked him out of nowhere, trapping him inside a ball.

"Ezekiel"

Casper and Elena shrieked out loudly when they saw a huge green mass ball in the middle of the air. Their faces constricted in panic as they prepared to help him but were stopped by the subsequent attacks of the other trees.

Their worries were for naught because in the next second, they heard a clean swish echo in the air as the huge ball was split in half. Ezekiel opened his eyes as black sparks emitted from his body. He was hovering in the sky with a glaive in his right hand.

Vines emerged from the huge tree as it raced forth Ezekiel who gripped his glaive which had a black handle while its blade emitted a faint red light as it sliced the vines into pieces.

A huge gust of wind spread across the field as Ezekiel thrusted his glaive in mid-air. His voice floated towards Casper and Elena who had smirks on their faces.

"What are you guys waiting for? Let's get her back quickly"

They flashed a grin as they shouted together, "Yes"

Elena snickered as she took out her whip and said, "Let's make a pathway for him"

Casper chuckled as he shook his head while taking out his spikes and said, "I guess we have no other choice"

He launched his spikes against the trees and instantly the trees withered. But before they could take a breath in relief, they saw new trees growing rapidly, taking over the dead trees and launching attacks at them.

Casper dodged some of their attacks as he reached Elena and frowned, "If this continues, there won't be an end to it"

Elena attacked with her whip, swiping the area clean but soon new trees began growing in speed of light making her grit her teeth, "They are a pain"

Even Ezekiel figured out the nuisance behind these attacks that a frown made its way to his face. His eyes glanced towards the huge tree which was being protected by the surrounding trees and understood that the only way to stop all the attacks was by destroying the huge tree.

Instantly a gust of wind circled him as a wing made out of blood erupted from his back. He dashed forth towards the tree, dancing his way through the attacks with his glaive slicing his way through.

Ezekiel stopped in front of the tree, focusing all his power on his glaive intending to end this with one strike. Black energy oozed out from his blade as he raised the glaive above his head and instantly brought it down, sending a heavy blast of mists fan out across the area.

Casper and Elena's clothes fluttered by the force behind this massive attack. They shielded their eyes before glancing at Ezekiel who was panting slightly in mid-air.

Ezekiel exhaled as he landed on the ground but soon he noticed the eerie silence around him. He lifted his face and instantly surprise clouded his features when he saw the leaves rustle wildly as golden liquid leaked out of its trunk.

His eyes widened when he saw the huge tree tremble as it expanded in size, its leaves rustling as it let out a silent roar thunderously across the forest making all the birds scatter towards the sky noisily.

The eerie silence as well as its expansion made Ezekiel feel something bad was about to happen. Instantly Casper and Elena appeared beside him as they watched in horror how the tree grew in size covering half of the sky, towering over them with its vines spread out behind the tree as it prepared to launch against them.

"I guess we made it angry" Casper observed before looking at Ezekiel and Elena, "What do we do?"

"I guess we can only try this" Ezekiel said as he took a step forward as he rotated his glaive and pierced the ground with tremendous force, sending tremors down the ground. The ground trembled beneath them as the roots surrounding them were instantly crushed by his brute force.

He smirked at the huge towering tree as the smell of blood became more evident at each passing second. A huge wave of veins immediately covered the area behind them as it faced the huge tree.

"We will just have to see who is more powerful"

Two sets of attacks covered the sky - black veins on one side and the forest vines on the other side as they faced each other for the showdown.