Asuren proved to be stronger than his pale complexion. He never slowed them down. He even helped Riz find a trace of the boar seal. It was faint but they could still follow it and brought them to another forest region called Lavender Woods, to its deepest corner that was also starting to wither.
"You've finally arrived," a tall male fairy wearing dark pink clothes was giving medication to a dying tree. He looked away from the blooming leaves and glanced at Asuren with his intimidating dark brown eyes.
"Why are you doing this?" Asuren cautiously asked.
"Why are you asking an enemy?" Riz summoned her flaming spear. "They already cursed and killed a lot of fairies. You cannot reason with them. They should all die."
"Asuren had taken more lives than me and my master. Are you saying that he should also die?" the tall fairy revealed with a satisfied smile.
"That…" Ayhan opened his mouth to defend his friend but Asuren had spoken louder.
"I will not make any excuses for what I did in the past," he took a step closer to the tall fairy. "I will accept my punishment after we destroy all twelve seals and lift the Eternity Curse."
"Is that what you really want? Lift the Eternity Curse?" the tall fairy looked at Asuren with doubt. "You are a puppet of the Evil Witch. How can my master entrust the boar seal to you? Will you not surrender everything to her once she possessed you?"
"Let's make a deal," Asuren seriously replied. "Once you surrender the seal, I will destroy it in front of you. If I fail to do that, I will be hit by a powerful lightning until I die."
"My master should surrender the seal to you but…" the tall fairy was suddenly hesitant and the trees around them started shaking. "If Master does that… he will die…" he shook his head and stared at Asuren with determination, "If you can destroy the seal without killing my master, I will agree to that deal."
"Your master already cursed and killed a lot of innocent fairies," Riz raised her flaming spear. "He deserves to die."
Two of the trees standing behind the tall fairy had moved. One had deflected the flaming spear while the other attacked Riz.
Thea used wind gusts and paralyzed the moving trees. Two more trees came to life and slammed branches at her.
Asuren, Ayhan, and Riz swiftly cut the branches but they had quickly regenerated.
"Master only wants to help you save the Fairy Realm," the tall fairy guard looked disappointed. "If you did not become the puppet of the Evil Witch, he would never lose hope. He would never use the power of the seal to hurt others. This is all your fault, Nightgloom Puppet!"
"Asuren, don't listen to him," Ayhan rushed at the tall fairy. He dodged and evaded the tree trunks that tried to block his path then raised his water scythe and slashed at their enemy.
Vines suddenly sprouted from the ground and tightly wrapped around the blade of his weapon until it shattered.The same vines quickly changed target and wrapped around Ayhan but was quickly freed by the whirlwind slashes of Asuren.
Riz tried to land a fatal blow but the enormous tree was doing an incredible job protecting their enemy.
"You only know how to kill," the tall fairy was not lifting his hands but the vegetations around him kept on moving to protect him and attack for him. "Unlike Master that can help Daybreak Realm endure this drought."
"You will help us endure with what? Your curses?" Riz gathered most of her energy to the tip of her spear and burned tree protecting the tall fairy. She soared closer to her target but more trees had blocked her way.
"Master, even without the power of the seal, can make a barren land abundant once more. It was his gift. The seal only makes him stronger."
"You cannot fool us," Riz burned more trees but before her blade could touch the tall fairy, it had been shattered by the vines that suddenly wrapped around it. She avoided their painful grasp, immediately summoned another flaming spear, and set those vines in flames.
Asuren, Thea, Ayhan, and Riz kept on attacking but the trees and vines kept on regenerating at an incredible speed.
"You have an extraordinary mortal working with you," the tall fairy bent his knees and, as soon as he touched the grasses in front of him, every grass in the area apart from where he was kneeling, had transformed into thorns. "My master will heal one withered tree in front of you and your mortal friend can tell if he cursed it or not."
"We will never work with you!" Riz burned more trees. Thea strengthened her flaming spear with her wind gusts.
They created an opening for Ayhan. He slashed at their enemy but his scythe had been seized by the tall fairy and had been quickly covered with thick vines.
Ayhan had quickly let go because the tall fairy was draining his strength and the vegetations around him became livelier.
The tall fairy waved his hands and more vines erupted from the ground.
Asuren and Thea sliced a few vines with their wind blades while Riz burned the others. Ayhan evaded a few thick branches and stabbed their powerful opponent in the chest. The latter raised both his arms that instantly transformed into thick branches. The scythe had been stuck in it and shattered into dusts.
"I see. You want to suffer more before you agree with me," the tall fairy flicked his fingers. More vines sprouted from the ground. Ayhan tried to slash at them but he was trapped before he could summon new weapons. The vines pulled him to a tree nearest to the tall fairy and tied him there.
"Ayhan!" Asuren bellowed while slashing at the thick branches and the vines slashing at him. Thea and Riz also wanted to get to him but were stuck with the enormous trees and vines sprouting from their branches.
"Lend your strength to these vegetations," the tall fairy commanded and the vines constricting Ayhan had released a dark pinkish glow that instantly drained his energy and rendered him unconscious.
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