The Unrestrained Death Tree had two main abilities.
The toxins it spread into the water around it could affect the emotions of those who passed through them, driving them mad with bloodlust. This ability would naturally cause a scene like the current one, a scene that was relatively common in an ocean ecosystem.
Its second ability simply allowed it to absorb blood to grow.
When these two were combined, the Unrestrained Death Tree could easily create slaughterfests where blood would form seas within the sea. And because of its unassuming appearance, no beast would target it while it casually absorbed blood from a distance.
However, if it was bothered…
'We need to go before…!'
Skree!
Damien's thoughts cut off as a screech resounded through the water. In that moment, the school of beasts that'd been chasing him burst through the Unrestrained Death Tree's bubble.
Damien's face paled.
"Grab onto me! Now!" He yelled. Zara immediately followed his instruction. With the quickest speed he could possibly output his mana, Damien covered the two in a cocoon of Void Mana before using Dimensional Cage to separate them from the Real Plane.
At the same time, the Unrestrained Death Tree began to shudder.
La~ la~ la~ la~
A soothing melody was emitted from its branches as its leaves brushed against each other and produced sound. The melody sounded like the angelic voice of a heavenly beauty, a pure woman who could cleanse any sin from one's soul.
It was bewitching.
The beasts that chased Damien, a species that looked like bipedal frogs, began to swoon. Their minds, still chaotic and not fully developed, were easily bewitched by this tune.
The Unrestrained Death Tree's roots slowly crawled out from beneath and latched onto these beasts. As Damien and Zara watched, all of their life essence was sucked away by the tree, leaving them as dried husks.
But the terror didn't end. These dead husks stood straight, their eyes alit with blue flame. Mindless like machines, they became the tree's slaves for eternity.
Damien shuddered and slowly backed away. The tree currently couldn't sense him and Zara due to the multi-layer protection he set up, but he didn't want to rely too much on this.
After all, the soothing melody that the tree emitted moments prior was powerful; powerful enough to even bewitch him if he had his guard down.
Becoming the tree's eternal slave wasn't his ideal death at all.
'If I teleport, it might sense the spatial fluctuations…no, it surely will. But…'
Damien stopped hesitating. He spread his awareness as far as it could reach and teleported several hundred kilometers away.
Through the sea's blackness, it was hard to see if the tree was following them. But Damien didn't worry. He was certain that it wouldn't.
The Unrestrained Death Tree was heavily territorial. Anyone or anything that entered its air pocket would become its slave or nutrients. However, in the current situation, the tree had to choose between two slaves and a whole buffet that it had set up beforehand.
Damien and Zara were still weak, this was their luck. If someone in the higher ranges of 4th class was in the same situation, it was unknown how the tree would react.
Standing far enough away to avoid the danger, Damien collected his breath. They'd only been in the Emperor Bone Sea for a few hours yet they'd already run into such a scenario. It was terrifying to think about what was present further and deeper.
Still, Damien and Zara both needed the contribution points this mission would give. At the very least, they needed 1,000 points.
That translated to 10,000 kilometers of explored sea.
"Are you okay to continue?" Damien asked Zara, but more than anything, he was asking himself.
The 1,000-kilometer distance was enough to challenge someone around his level. By his estimate, at most they'd be able to travel 4,000 kilometers before being forced to stop and Warp away.
It wasn't just about the mission, though. Damien had a goal when he decided to come to the Emperor Bone Sea.
'I want to find civilization.'
He wanted to see how those who grew past the level of these savage beasts, those whose spiritual intelligence matched humans and other species, he wanted to know how these beings lived and interacted.
'I want to find the Emperor Beast.'
This goal was mainly for Zara. Emperor Bone Sea's environment was much better for her growth than his own. If there was a chance to rapidly improve her strength, he obviously wanted to find it.
And finally…
'I want to know why this sea feels so hollow.'
He'd been feeling it since he first entered its waters. Despite its reputation and even the environment that he'd experienced so far, the Emperor Bone Sea felt…empty.
Something was missing, and he wanted to know what. It was a nagging feeling that he couldn't get rid of.
Zara clearly saw these emotions flash through his eyes. She smiled and grabbed his hand.
"Let's go. With our combined power, there should be nothing that can stop us from fleeing. As long as you can activate Warp, we will be safe, right?"
Damien looked over at her. Really, it wasn't just her appearance that changed. He didn't know when, but the little wolf he knew had grown into a woman who could even comfort him with her words. It saddened him a bit that he wasn't present to witness this development.
Nevertheless, Zara's words managed to calm his heart a bit. As long as he could use Warp…
His eyes firmed. Without another word, he and Zara continued on, heading deeper and deeper into the Emperor Bone Sea.
Roughly 5 minutes later, in the place they once stood, a group of 20 appeared, their bodies covered in a thick bloody aura.
"Even after witnessing that scene, the boy decided to continue. I at least have to praise his courage." A man spoke.
"Ha, that's not courage, it's idiocy. If he wasn't this insane, he never would've challenged the young master." Another responded.
"Mm, it's a shame that such a genius has to die early, but what can you do? He chose this fate for himself." The man nodded in agreement.
"You two, enough. We will wait a little longer before striking. The young master has declared that any treasures that man finds will belong to us as long as we kill him."
The eyes of those present lit up. In truth, they'd been stalking Damien for a while and had already caught up to him when he escaped the Unrestrained Death Tree. The only reason Damien still lived was because their leader stopped them.
Now that they knew the reason for this, how could their eyes not light up? Their job was akin to stealing candy from a baby!
The group moved with haste and stealth, soon leaving to follow Damien's footsteps.
In their wake was a clear ocean. The previous chaos was gone, all the blood in the water was gone. Only the wilted husks of beasts that once lived remained.
Along with a single tree. A tree whose hard-earned sustenance had just been ruthlessly stolen.
