Bang—
Nate raised both hands high and slammed them into the ground.
The earth split, and lava surged.
A fiery red fissure raced forward from the spot where Nate's hands had struck.
The Twisted Treants sensed danger. Seeing the fiery cracks spreading beneath them, they instinctively crowded toward the outer perimeter.
But they were already too late.
As Nate grinned savagely, beams of fiery red light shot from cracks in the ground across a hundred-meter radius.
It was as though the earth itself were shining.
Rumble—
The earth began to shake, its surface heaving with each tremor.
Then, to the Tree Spirits' horror, energy that had accumulated deep underground for who knew how long began to erupt.
Boom—
Flames shot into the sky.
Lava, rubble, and fire erupted in full force within the Inverted World.
Countless streams of lava sprayed into the air and splashed down from above, setting every Twisted Treant alight.
One after another, they became torches, burning themselves to illuminate others.
Even the Tree Spirits untouched by the splashing lava were scorched by its flames, and without their noticing—
The blood inside their bodies began to burn.
At first, they felt nothing. By the time they realized something was wrong, it was already too late.
They could only roar in defiance as their blood burned away, before the lava's intense heat reduced their bodies to ashes.
At that moment, the entire world seemed to have become lava's domain.
Lava flowed across the ground, and sulfur shrouded the sky.
Every Tree Spirit was a medal of honor in lava's conquest of the world.
Some died in the flames, while others were reborn in them.
As the Tree Spirits died, the power Nate had just expended rapidly recovered.
The lava flames covering his body blazed ever higher.
Behind Nate—