Meanwhile, in the distant village.
The villagers, jolted awake by the tremors, rushed out of their homes in panic. When they looked up into the distance, they froze one after another, as though struck by lightning.
In the direction the tremors came from, the forest they had once known so well was roaring skyward at an impossible speed, rising like a green wall against the heavens.
"The... the trees... how did they suddenly grow so tall...?"
Mocha, the village chief, made his way to the village entrance with his cane. His cloudy eyes slowly widened, and his gray-white horns trembled faintly in the night.
"...Was it those people?"
"The Wizards we hired?!"
Atop the Temple's dome, the newly grown Giant Wood and vines moved like living creatures with minds of their own.
Their thick branches twisted violently, turning and reaching out with piercing whistles as they surged toward Lyon and his companions from every direction!
"Damn it! What kind of magic is this?!"
Yuka reacted swiftly. Pulling Toby beside him into a sharp turn, he lit his hands with magical radiance. "-Wave Magic: Protective Shield!"
The wave magic slammed into the foremost Giant Wood, barely managing to repel it.
But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, a second wave, then a third... countless vines and massive Giant Wood formed a cage that blotted out the sky, surging in from every direction!
"You've got to be kidding..."
"Woooof-!!"
Before Yuka and Toby could even scream, vines as thick as buckets wrapped around them in an instant, hoisting them into the air with their limbs splayed.
Terrified, Sherry tried to channel her magic to activate her dolls, but the vines were lightning-fast. They slithered from her ankles up to her shoulders, binding her tightly to a tree trunk.
"Ah...