As if still heartbroken by Ash escaping it, the stag grunted, and charged straight towards Ash.
Vines grew all over him, the same skill the stag used to keep him in place before.
Ash lay on the ground instead of standing. The vines did their work thoroughly this time, as his whole body had been wrapped inside the vine garden in seconds.
But the most dangerous thing right now wasn't the vine. It was his body fighting over the symptoms of the tier 2 disease he had just spliced.
Even with the vines tightening around his body, his limbs kept breaking over them as the violent spasms still raged on his body.
But the vines didn't give up, they just kept latching onto him, adamant in keeping his body stuck on the ground.
Making it easy for the stag to just squish him into paste with its huge body.
It was now do or die, Ash had to choose his battle.
His choice was whether to lose to the disease or lose his life. So his decision was instant.
Relinquishing his control and embracing the disease, Ash roared into the night sky.
All the violent urges in his body were released. There was no more need for him to keep them in check.
His blood vessels were still bursting and healing every second, his limbs still twitched beyond his control, but Ash leaned into the pain.
Summoning his crimson vines to wrap around his body, the stag's vines began dying as his limbs broke free of their control.
Ash stood up. Thorny vines grew from his body as it stabbed itself into its master.
Ash blood flowed even faster, and his blood vessels ruptured even more. The healing was barely catching up with it.
Instead of a thousand needles, Ash felt a thousand knives constantly slicing his body.
But he didn't care. His power had doubled even further.
The urges want blood.
They wanted violence.
And Ash followed.
Ash's body blurred, the twitch step ability carried him right to the front of the charging stag.
With the crimson vines wrapping around his body as a weapon, Ash brought his fist forward, punching the stag's head with all the power he could muster.
The punch landed, and the charge stopped.
As if being hit by a sledgehammer, the stag recoiled backward as Ash's crimson hands crashed against it.
The symptoms kicked in again, his foot twitched sideways, breaking Ash's balance.
His head was on its way to hit the ground below.
But as was prepared.
His hand thrusted the ground, the sheer power from all the muscle enhancing ability he had pushed his body back up once more.
'If you want to move so much, then move!'
The same foot that spasmed before now flew straight to the stag's neck.
It bent the creature's neck, the crimson vines layered on top of it stabbed and injected necrotic venom to the stag's body.
The thorns also stabbed deeper into his foot, but he was already immune to the necrotic venom.
The stag staggered backward.
Its eyes wavered as it repaired the damage the necrotic venoms had done to its body.
But Ash wasn't done.
He landed on the ground and dashed forward, moving right below the stag's body.
He released the crimson vines, letting them wrap all around the stag's feet.
The thick, braided vines that made up the stag's feet visibly dried and wilted as the venom did its job.
Ash just needed to pull on the vines to topple the creature, but his spasms had another plan.
His hand twitched this time, sending Ash back out in the open with the sheer force of his enhanced body.
The crimson vines were still pulled, though.
The stag lost its balance as all four of its limbs were yanked sideways.
But now, Ash himself was also back down on his knees.
Realising that it's dead would be pronounced if it did nothing, the silver glow in the stag's eyes shone brighter.
Ash felt magic converge from them before they were released into the surroundings.
The jungle answered the stag's call.
Roots began coming to life, more gardens of vines grew all around Ash, even the weeds on the ground answered the stag's call as they wildly grew taller and sharper.
And all of them shot towards Ash.
Dozens of sharp roots and weeds now came to take his life, the vines had wrapped around his feet, making sure he couldn't move anywhere.
His body was naked, no more crimson vines protected it.
Ash's life flashed before his eyes, even his enhanced body couldn't survive if he was skewered from all possible directions known to mankind.
But Ash shook his head.
He won't die here.
He would never die until he decided it himself.
Ash summoned his steelbark skin, and it soon covered his body.
Acid bile spewed out of his mouth, melting tens of weeds and vines coming his way, and the vines constricting him.
His foot twitched sideways once more, but Ash made use of it properly this time.
He activated twitchstep, following the direction of his uncontrollable movement.
He shot past the air, getting away from all the weeds and roots trying to pierce him.
A tree stood in his way, but Ash was going too fast. Faster than his mind could even process.
The steelbark covered body crashed against the tree trunk, echoing a thunderous crash in the quiet night.
A humanoid-shaped dent appeared on the tree. Air was pushed out of Ash's lungs even with his armor.
His ribs cracked, and even more blood pooled in his mouth. Not from his symptoms, but from his internal bleeding.
He fell to the ground, his body had given up. His bones were fractured, his muscles torn, and his head spinning.
His mind turning blank, his eyes barely registering anything as it stared vacantly to the sky.
But a certain untamed disease decided, 'You are not done yet.'
Just like it healed his bursting blood vessels, it also healed his body.
His bones mended, his muscles stitched back up together, his migraine disappeared as light returned to Ash's eyes.
His arm twitched again, this time, it slammed to the ground, pushing Ash to get back up.
He had followed his urges, and now it demanded him to keep fighting.
Now, as a slave of his disease, Ash raised his hands and kicked the ground.
A roar exploded from his lips as his eyes locked onto the stag once more.
"Even if you're made of vines, I WILL make you bleed!"