The gargantuan looping branches clench tightly around the quaking monster. The tension ruptures its steel-like scales, digs into its hide and flesh, and dark fluid seeps out under the strain.

The monster wails under the tremendous strain, thrashing helplessly as the branches constrict its body like iron chains.

Kevin realizes the massive trees surrounding them have come alive, animated by the scent of prey. Their roots slither beneath the dirt like thousands of waking snakes, hungry for blood.

Bone-shuddering shrieks erupt from all directions, surrounding them. Kevin clamps his hands over his ears, trying to block out the piercing noise.

The trees rip the monster apart, shredding it into chunks of meat. Cracks open along their branches like mouths, devouring each bloody piece.

“Those trees are alive?!” Kevin gasps, dread crawling over him as the malicious presence closes in. The trees tighten their circle around them, inching closer by the second.

Seraphina swings her massive crystallized giant light sword in one hand, deflecting each incoming branch-tentacle with precision. Despite her flawless defense, the branches are countless, lunging at them relentlessly.

Her blade cleaves one branch after another as they reach for her and Kevin behind her. Her footwork flows with her strikes, side-stepping, pivoting, never hesitating. But the space is shrinking. The air grows hot and stale. Sweat trickles down her forehead, and her movements slow down, her stamina depleting fast from fending off the swarm alone.

The towering trees cage them in a suffocating circle. Their shrieking assaults stab through their skulls like needles, rattling the brain.

Kevin stumbles under the sonic onslaught. A branch slips past Seraphina’s defense and snatches his ankle. Before he can react, the ground vanishes beneath him, and he’s upside down, suspended high above the midair.

“HELLLLP!” he screams.

Seraphina leaps into the air, her giant sword slicing clean through the branch before the others can tear Kevin apart. She catches him midair, cradling him tightly. They hit the ground a moment later, but she lands safely, shielding him from the impact.

“Stay close to me!” she yells, cleaving another branch that darts at them.

The monstrous trees unleash another mind-shattering screech, furious now. Her interference irritates them and costs them their limbs.

“Intruders! How dare you damage our vessels!” a voice booms, vibrating from the trees themselves.

The ground trembles. Roots churn beneath the soil, circling Kevin and Seraphina like predators waiting to strike.

POUNG!

Roots burst from the earth like gigantic pythons, lunging to seize their prey.

Seraphina now faces threats from both above and below. Branches strike from the canopy, while monstrous roots erupt from the ground beneath their feet. And through it all, she must protect Kevin beside her.

Her stamina finally gives out. Branches and roots coil around their body, binding them back to back in a crushing grip.

Kevin gasps as the pressure forces the air out of his lungs. His vision blurs, darkening at the edges as oxygen and blood struggle to reach his brain.

“This can’t be the end…”