As the swordsman climbed the tree, the blonde only had to watch as his friend climbed, Arthur had difficulty and slipped a few times, but with difficulty he finally got close to the first branch.
He was able to breathe easily now that he was in a part that was a little more difficult to fall and soon he saw in front of him what the branch was holding, by the body he was an old man with wrinkled skin, but his face was completely covered by the black part of the wood while his body was grabbed by branches that trapped him.
Arthur stared feeling a little sorry, but soon he took his sword from the tree and positioned it, stabbing the branches that held the old man.
All of them were broken easily by the iron sword, while the others had even more difficulty holding the body by the weight, while at the bottom Christopher positioned himself to receive the body.
The branches shook and broke little by little, until they finally broke, letting the old man fall towards the ground, but Chris, who saw the body approaching with the little light he had, ran and managed to jump, grabbing the body and stopping the fall.
Arthur looked from above and saw Chris lift his head with his body in his hands, gently laying him on the floor making the water volume increase a little, but soon keeping him lying down.
But the man's body remained inactive even as if he was sleeping, Chris looked at Arthur with doubt and the swordsman had the same look, the blonde questioned.
"He's free…but now what?"
"Try removing the mask so we can see how he looks"
Christopher stared at the old man's body and took his hand to the wooden mask, pulling it hard and realizing that it seemed stuck in some way.
The blonde made a little more effort and realized that the mask was moving away from the body, but soon something pulled it back and it returned to its original state.
"No way, Art. If I use too much force, I might end up pulling it off, if something is stuck to it, I might end up injuring it."
"It doesn't matter now, we can't run away carrying them all, we need to figure out a way to free them from this to try and wake them up."
Arthur soon pulled his sword again and was moving to approach another branch that was holding another person, approaching little by little even with difficulty.
Christopher continued to stare at the mask and took a deep breath, facing the old man's body while lying on his chest to make weight.
After that he took his two hands on the top and bottom of the mask, gripping it with both hands while taking a deep breath ready to push, while in his mind he counted.
"Three two one..."
With the end of the count, Chris made an absurd effort to remove the mask while the weight of his body helped so that the elderly man did not leave the place, the force was such that Chris saw the veins in his arms more apparent as he saw the mask come out gradually.
He clenched his teeth, making an even greater effort as he saw that the mask was coming off his face, but it seemed to be attached to some roots that had been left on the old man's face that were trying to keep the mask close.
It was difficult, but Chris insisted, even sweating from the effort until he finally felt his body go backwards with violence, as he almost fell but managed to remain standing still on top of the old man.
Looking at his hand he saw the mask, the inside looked hollow, but there were several thin and elastic roots that seemed to be what was holding the man's face together.
Returning his gaze to the old man, he saw that there were marks of small holes where a little blood was oozing while his expression was breathless and his eyes were still closed.
Chris opened a smile when he saw that the old man was still breathing and then he turned to the tree with a smile and shouted.
"Hey Arth!"
Arthur turned around expecting good news, but soon the two saw a movement coming from the tree and its cut branches moved generating new and sharp ones that went towards the blonde at high speed.
Chris exclaimed, but realized that the branch had stopped hitting the old man's face without crossing it, just staying on his forehead while it seemed to return to inactivity.
But soon the wood moved again and from the branch small roots emerged that entered the old man's face again, while new branches intertwined in his body, little by little lifting him to take him back to the tree.
Chris stared with wide eyes but soon heard a voice scream.
"Hang on."
Immediately he recognized the voice of Arthur who was still in the tree, but who soon positioned himself to go down putting his sword stuck in the tree while he was sliding using the weapon to slow down the fall, soon after reaching the water standing up.
Chris stared doubtfully as Arthur turned his eyes to the black tree as he said.
"If we cut all these branches and she reacts like that, it will take forever."
"If you hadn't stopped me, I could have tried to take the old man away, he was alive."
"But she would try again, we can't do it with everyone, it will take too long, so we have to cut everything at once, we won't have time."
Arthur stared at the tree with a certain nervousness and then spoke.
"If this hits us, we are going to have problems. Now that we know she's alive, we have to kill her at once."
"Cutting down the tree can kill them, it's too high"
"The bodies are covered by the roots and there is water everywhere, they won't fall, don't worry, but at least they won't die, we have to try, they could come back at any moment."
Chris also noticed the nervousness, the whole place was uncomfortable and it was the first time they were in clearly enemy territory, in addition to the tree almost giving a blow that could take Christopher's life.
The two stared at each other for a while, but then the blonde spoke.
"We have to be quick then, let's free them at once, at least we know that somehow they are alive."
"Yes, the tree did not kill them as it must have done to all the local vegetation, there must be a reason behind all this, but time is pressing and I will need your help."
The phrase made Chris stare doubtfully as he watched the swordsman reach down, bringing his hand to the back of what was left of his boot.
He seemed to search for a while, but from a hiding place in his boot he managed to pull out a very short sharp knife, which looked like it had been used recently but still looked new and clean.
Chris stared with wide eyes and spoke.
"Why did you hide it?"
"I didn't hide it, it's not a weapon and it's just for collecting materials, it wouldn't be possible to kill an animal with just it because it's too short, but at least to free them, it will do."
"What do you plan?"
The blonde questioned as he looked at Arthur who approached and left the knife in Chris's hand, speaking after that.
"If this tree regenerates, we're going to have problems, let it at least free the residents from the branches, let's go at once."
The swordsman spoke and the blonde stared at the knife in his hand, by its size it was possible to see that it would hardly be used to kill an animal, serving only for precise jobs such as cutting clothes or skin, even if it was sharp it would not actually serve as a weapon.
Christopher lifted his head and saw Arthur who looked serious, then he tightened the knife in his hand and opened his eyes.
"What's the plan?"
The two walked towards the tree while Arthur spoke.
"She doesn't react to being pierced, so maybe she doesn't react to cuts, maybe she can kill easily, but as the report said she's somehow weak."
"Having a strong attack and still being weak, she must be vulnerable."
"Yes, I want to count on that, but if she attacks us, we'll be ready, a sword is not like an ax that can cut down a tree with a few blows, so we'll have to clear the way, that's why I gave you the knife."
Again the blonde stared at the gun in his hands as the two circled around the tree, it was as if they were preparing for something and then Chris spoke.
"It's not an iron sword, but for what we want it will help, it will be tiring."
He blinked and opened his eyes already in the yellow hue, making use of [Release] while the brightness of his eyes slightly illuminated the place, seeing that Arthur smiled and left his eyes in the orange hue with a smile on his face.
"Let's attack."