"Listen to me carefully!" Dio spoke firmly yet exhausted. "What has taken the form of Rika's mother is not human. It's a tree demon. It uses Rika's memories to deceive and steal human souls. Worse still, it has turned Rika into a puppet without her knowledge."
Arya, still panting and holding his sore waist, looked at Dio with doubt. "Why should I believe you?" he said quietly, though he vaguely felt a dark aura emanating from the demon that resembled Rika's mother. His confidence began to waver.
"This demon was born from human beliefs seeking shortcuts. The blood and sacrifices spilled into the roots of this tree awakened it," Dio continued bitterly. "If it's not destroyed, it will claim more victims. That's why I must destroy it."
Arya bit his lip, feeling conflicted. However, something inside him told him Dio wasn't lying. "Then... what should I do?" he asked, trying to stand straight despite his trembling, exhausted body.
Dio sighed deeply. "Let me handle this. You need to return to the human world. Take the jasmine from the core of this tree. It's the only way to weaken it. If you're not quick, you won't make it out of here."
Arya glared at Dio sharply, although his vision was starting to blur. "Fine. I hope you're not just messing around with this."
With faltering steps, Arya moved toward the tree's core, while Dio took a deep breath, preparing himself to fight once again. "Hey, little girl! Get away from there!" Dio shouted toward Rika, who sat motionless with a blank stare beneath the large tree.
But Rika did not respond. She simply stared ahead, like a doll with no battery left.
"Damn it! She's already too deep under its control," Dio muttered. There was no other choice. Dio began chanting a spell, his voice echoing across the area. A golden light appeared from his body, growing larger with each line of the incantation. The aura began to form a protective shield around him.
However, the demon that had taken the form of Rika's mother began to pierce through Dio's protective barrier. Black tendrils of the tree began to emerge from its body, long and menacing, creeping toward Rika's feet. In seconds, Rika's eyes turned blood red, and a dark aura enveloped her body.
"Hehehe... now it's my turn, filthy human," the demon's voice croaked, echoing with a terrifying laugh.
"Damn it! I need to separate her from the girl's body!" Dio hadn't finished his sentence when Rika suddenly vanished from sight. In an instant, she appeared right in front of Dio and slammed into him. Dio was thrown back, crashing into the ground, dust and dry leaves scattering.
Rika, now completely under the demon's control, smiled sadistically. "I'll make you mine," she said in a cold, lethal tone.
Dio struggled to rise, blood flowing from the corner of his mouth. But before Rika could attack again, a red figure leapt from the other side of the tree and struck Rika's body. Rika's small frame was thrown back, slamming into the tree trunk with force.
"Are you weakening, Dio?" Nagini's cold voice echoed in the air.
"Nagini?" Dio looked up, relief and surprise in his eyes. "Do you always have to show up at the last minute?"
Nagini, her red gown billowing, glared at Rika with sharp eyes. "It's still too soon for you to escape my watch, demon."
Arya, who had been walking toward the tree's core, saw Nagini's figure. His eyes widened in disbelief. "That woman..." he muttered, trying to stand.
Nagini glanced briefly at Arya. "Foolish young man," she said sarcastically. "That demon is toying with you. The little girl is just a puppet. If you want to save her, act quickly."
Despite his weakening body, Arya approached Rika, now standing under the demon's control. "Rika... it's me, Arya," he said softly. But Rika only smiled cruelly before suddenly lunging at him, choking him tightly.
"You think I'll let you go just like that?" the demon spoke through Rika's mouth.
Arya, struggling to breathe, gave a small smile. "Rika... we're friends, right?" he said weakly, gazing at Rika with sincerity.
Rika paused. For a moment, the sadistic smile disappeared from her face. But before anything could happen, Nagini leaped toward them, charging with full force.
"Hold her tight, young man!" Nagini shouted. Without thinking, Arya embraced Rika with all his strength, despite his weakened body.
"BOOM!" A powerful blow from Nagini struck Rika directly in the chest. An explosion of energy separated the three of them. Arya and Rika were thrown far, crashing through the tree trunk until they reached the core inside it.
Inside the tree's core, Arya and Rika lay facing each other. Their eyes slowly opened, and their faces were mere inches apart. Rika, now seemingly conscious again, looked at Arya with a confused and flushed face.
"A-Arya..." Rika murmured, trying to regain her senses as she slowly opened her eyes.
Arya, panicked, tried to move back while reaching for something to support himself. But accidentally, his hand pulled a white jasmine flower from the core of the tree. The moment the jasmine was plucked, a bright light enveloped them both, and in an instant, they disappeared.
Nagini, still gripping the demon tree's energy outside, began to release a golden fire aura that burned. The demon's energy screamed in pain, shrinking like ice melting under the scorching sun.
"Finally... it's over," Nagini said with a heavy breath, releasing her grip.
Dio approached, holding back the pain in his body. "Where's the girl?"
Nagini suddenly fell silent, realizing something. Her eyes widened.
"Could it be..." she said in a panicked tone.