The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

"Welcome…to my…home, Outsider." The strange Grovekeeper spoke in rushed, hoarse words barely strung together in a coherent sentence. Contrary to its slow speech, the Grovekeeper moved with steady steps, approaching Oscar.

Oscar and Gol-4 were still stunned by the sudden appearance of a talking Grovekeeper. His mind blanked out as he stared at the enclosing Grovekeeper, trying to grasp the reality of what was happening. A loud footstep from the Grovekeeper pulled Oscar from his sinking thoughts, and he lifted his copper shield as Erden brandished its antlers forward.

"Who…what are you?" Oscar asked. During his eleven years, he had never met a Grovekeeper capable of human speech. It made sense since they were made from former humans, but they only ever spoke in their strange, garbled tongue.

"Strange…isn't it?" The Grovekeeper extended his arms out, showing himself fully. "At last…we…can speak. I will…answer…if you answer mine."

Both parties fell silent. Only the faint beating of the Forest Heart could be heard. Nervous, Oscar felt drops of sweat run down the sides of his face. Wiping them off, Oscar never cut eye contact with the Grovekeeper, who remained still with his green, glowing eyes.

"Since the lad is not yet used to the situation, I'll ask in his place. Who are you? How can you talk?" Gol-4 cut the silence short.

"One…at a time. I am the last and the will…of my people…You use…names. Call me…Lucus." Lucus, the strange talking Grovekeeper, patted his chest with his broad wooden hands, covered in a dark bark. He pointed at Oscar with the other hand. "Now…my turn. Why do you…hunt us?"

"Survival," Oscar said, not a single hint of hesitation or moment of silence from the end of the question to his answer. "I fight to survive."

"Hmm…." Lucus rubbed his chin in thought. After a short nod, he gestured to Oscar. "Your turn…ask."

"How can you talk? I've never met any who could. What makes you so special?" Oscar asked this time instead of Gol-4.

"I…was born with…the ability. Why…does killing us…and destroying our sacred…hearts…help you survive?" Lucus stomped forward with his right foot, and a dangerous Ein seeped from his body.

Feeling the rising Ein from Lucus, Oscar released his own to combat the pressure and was shocked to the core. Lucus's power and Ein were beyond what he expected. The initial strength he felt from Lucus was only a small portion of the true terror.

"Answer…me." Lucus seemed to growl with each word.

"There was no other choice. The Forest Hearts must be taken down, and your people never stopped fighting and hunting me and others of my kind." Oscar stepped forward with rising Ein.

"Hunt…or be hunted…" Lucus gripped his hands. "I understand…it is…what it…is. But…the anger…remains."

"I know how your kind is created and how you sacrifice for your survival. I understand it's the only way for you to carry and live on, but I also can't let it be." Oscar sighed and glanced around the room full of Grovekeeper corpses. "So what makes you so special? What happened here? There's so many dead."

"All…are related…When…you attacked…everyone here sacrificed themselves…pouring their life…and essence into one. I…am the result…I am…the last will…anger…hatred…vengeance of my kind. My purpose…is not to protect…the heart or others…It is…to kill you."

Dark branches protruded from Lucus's back, extending out like wings, withered and thin. His dark bark skin enlarged and hardened to form armor from neck to toe. More branches and vines collected and squirmed above him before they formed a helmet and placed themselves on his head. Lucus became a warrior, clad in an armor of dark bark with brambled wings.

"No…more questions…The time…has finally come…for retribution!" Lucus roared from behind his helmet as his wings flapped.

Oscar raised his Ein onto his copper shield and knocked up Reis from the floor. Branches and brambles wrapped around Lucus's outstretched fist, similar to Orden's Stone Fist, becoming larger and far more threatening. Taking on the brunt of the blow, Oscar tried to deflect and redirect.

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'This!' Oscar couldn't move away. The branches and vines from Lucus's enlarged fist held strongly onto Oscar's copper shield. Misjudging the true nature of Lucus's attack and losing the timing, Oscar was flung back and crashed halfway up the large wall of vines.

"Lad!" Gol-4 shouted.

Oscar focused on his body, having no severe injuries thanks to his Edureisclad. He also saw Erden get blown away after failing to injure Lucus's thick armor with its antlers. Falling back onto the floor, Oscar didn't have a moment to rest, seeing Lucus close in with devastating speed.

His Prinstyct matched up against Lucus's beast eidolon, unraveling its veiled movements while the eidolon continued to fill back into obscurity. Oscar foresaw a dangerous movement from above and rolled over to the side. Lucus's wings had stretched out and impaled the ground, missing Oscar, who had escaped.

"Speed, power, annoying entanglements, and sharp wings." Oscar went over to Erden, who had several wounds around his body. In retaliation, Oscar shot several Eirin Silver Stars. Their silvery bodies landed on Lucus's armor, Yet despite their speed and penetration power, they could only embed halfway into the armor.

"And a great defense…but…." Oscar fired several more Eirin Silver Stars, not toward Lucus. They were set on a direct course toward the exposed Forest Heart. Expecting Lucus to focus on defending it, Oscar readied himself to keep Lucus contained. However, Lucus appeared right before Oscar instead of defending the Forest Heart.

"What?" Caught off-guard, Oscar hastily formed an Eirin Silver Cage around himself and wrapped himself in Eirin Silver Sheen. Lucus's onslaught stopped as the cages broke apart. Breaking himself from his armor of silver, Oscar lashed back with Eirin Silver Lances, his deer anima, and Erden's collective assault.

"You're willing to let the Forest Heart die?" Oscar asked as he deflected several impaling wings. The Forest Heart exploded into a river of green liquid as the roots and vines which formed it began to rot and wither. Despite the emanations of its destruction rippling in the air, Oscar never felt Lucus's attacks falter, only increasing in ferocity.

"I…am created…to kill you." Lucus punched with heavy wooden fists and sliced through the air with his wings.

'Omnireus Twenty Percent.'

Oscar stabbed into Lucus's shoulder, allowing his technique to flow within. Lucus's shoulder burst apart as his arm fell onto the floor. Erden and his deer anima stabbed their antlers, pushing Lucus away. Reeling from the effects of using Omnireus, Oscar gripped his heart, spitting out blood. He hoped it would be enough but Lucus remained intact everywhere else.

"Futile…" Lucus's arm and shoulder regrew from the wounds.

"What an opponent. Lad, you need to go for the core." Gol-4 whispered.

"I know," Oscar lowered his arms. His heartbeat choked out the sounds in his ears. No matter. Oscar's body became wrapped in small spheres of Eirin, burning and building into greater power as blue antlers protruded from his forehead. Oscar noted the time and mumbled, "Five minutes."

Lucus growled and grew even larger, bigger than Orden's dominating figure. Oscar didn't feel the pressure from Lucus, the pain in his heart, and the exhaustion of Eirin and Reis. In a state of serenity, Oscar crossed the distance between himself and Lucus in a single step, staring at the last Grovekeeper with his blue eyes, which shone like the moon.

"Erden, take care of my body." Oscar faced Lucus's attack, one which used all of Lucus's power. The tips of the brambled wings stretched, their sharp tips as thin as needles and deadlier than the sharpest spear. Lucus's hands grasped together and transformed into a beastly maw.

Oscar extended his fist. Spheres of Eirin flooded into his knuckles. The air fell silent and still like the calm before the storm as Oscar's fist clenched tighter than before. A single pop followed as the Eirin disappeared, but the next moment, Lucus's armor cracked all over and exploded into dust. Next, his exposed body was scattered into scraps.

Lucus's head and core fell to the ground. With the faintest and last glimmer fading from his green eyes, Lucus said, "I…can't fail…my…people…their…will…." His head collapsed, with his last cries lingering before disappearing.

"Sorry, but it's as you said. It is what it is." Oscar picked up the green core. His legs couldn't hold up, and he fell to the ground, losing all control of his body. An all-out Shattering Wave from the state of Demon Deer Eirin Mantle still exhausted him to collapse.

"Erden…stay watch." Oscar tried to resist the urge to close his eyes. However, his body refused his will. Falling asleep, Oscar smiled, thinking he had finished the first step, a step closer to the far-reaching hope of escape.

…….

After a long day of rest, Oscar woke up feeling limp and weak. The storms still raged outside as the rain started to seep in through the once-firm castle of vines and wood. Already, they were showing signs of rot and falling apart from the loss of the last Forest Heart.

"Morning or good evening?" Oscar called out to Gol-4 and Erden.

"Lad! Nicely done in the battle," Gol-4 shouted beside Oscar's ear. "We have something good for you. Erden found it."

"What?" Oscar groaned, sitting up straight with a loss of breath.

Erden stomped over and pushed a box toward Oscar. Even before opening it, Oscar could feel the Ein from the box, a grand prize was inside. Excited, Oscar ignored the shaking in his fingers and pried the box open. Inside were Nydil seeds, glowing brightly against the gloomy rain.

"Take these slowly and build yourself up. The Forest Hearts are dead, and the red root and Forest Heart Clan have no more influence over this realm. You know what comes next?"

Oscar smiled as he traced his fingers over the tiny, fragile seeds. Now, he had to focus on becoming a Knight Exalt. There was not much hope of achieving it. Oscar knew death was a more likely outcome, but a part of him believed in the possibility.

"Let's go home."

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