When Eva and Jarius came in the middle of the forest where grassy planes were present with minimal trees, Eva saw a silhouette of a human riding a horse, a couple of distances ahead from them. The sun's reflection made them hard to identify the person so, Eva waived her right arm in hopes of catching that person's attention as it moved towards them.
"Hello! We are here!" Eva shouted, and Jarius can see the smile she has on her face.
When Jarius looked towards the person in front of them, his eyes became smaller. For about a few seconds later, Jarius's expression went different. He was slightly startled when he saw the reaction of that person's face. He leaned backward and held Eva's arms instantly for her to stop making an enthusiastic approach.
Eva blinked her eyes twice at Jarius. When Eva saw him looking in front, she followed where his eyes locked. As soon as Eva noticed that the person she was waving at a while ago cast his cables on the air towards them, her eyes widened as she paused for a while. She was lucky that the horse continued moving without her supervision.
The man stood at his horse as he balanced himself. His face went raged as he flew towards them. Eva and Jarius knew that he was preparing for an attack. These two just did not know what that man was doing. They mean, why such?
From the man's perspective, he saw the branches became gigantic as they continued to approach Eva and Jarius. A monster tree appeared at their back. And by the moment that the tree's reflection covered them, Eva and Jarius slowly turned their heads at their back. The tree raised one of its branches above them, and they knew that this creature was going to crush their bodies alive!
"Look behind you!"
Eva and Jarius moved away in their opposite directions before the branch could make a fall into them. Eva used her bow and arrow to support her weight in jumping high away from the creature.
When she got the arrow at her back, she immediately pointed it below hers so that she could throw herself above. Her horses ran away from her. The same goes with Jarius's.
On the other hand, Jarius used his arrow chain to fly all over above the monster trees. He made a land above the creature's highest branch that stayed still in the middle of the air.
Another branch was coming on his way from his back to get him, but his reflexes and senses were fast. He dodged the tree's attack. His back bent back, which made him flew like a wheel that dived in the sky.
Jarius used the arrow chain again by throwing it all over the other branch to support him from falling and aid him to land on the ground. Branches were hoping to hit him, but he gracefully avoided all the attacks until he managed to get out from the Anito's embraced. Its roots were crawling way too fast towards Jarius, but he always dodged above it. It made the tree lost its attack on him.
Eva landed her feet on the ground without heavy breaths. Her head turned quickly towards the squadmate that saved their lives; that was Ethan Ani. She breathed in-depth as she realized their weakness in being mindful of their surroundings. Her eyes rolled once as she bit her lower lips. She could not believe how insensitive they were! How come they didn't feel this Anito's appearance?
While looking close to her two squadmates fighting with the tree, Eva dragged an arrow from her back once again, placed it on the rocking point, stretched the string, and positioned the weapon below her hips facing downwards. She wandered her eyes around the scenario, hoping to find the perfect timing to hit the tree's bearing.
Her eyes could not take off from its bearing, which bore in the middle of the Anito's main branches above, connecting to the trunk. She needs to make a perfect shot even though tiny woods were covering the bearing. She kept moving around, making sure that the tree would not spot her presence.
The bearing's color of red in a similar shape of a heart was way vibrant that even though how far it was from Eva's location, she could see it swaying according to the tree's movement. When the sunrays slipped in the hole between the bearing and the branches, Eva's eyes stunned. Her eyes were shaking as the rays flickered with the bearing's color. She gasped in silence, and her mouth opened in slight, making her body stiff.
Ethan, their squad member who holds the position of an assassin, used his cable lines to draw over the Anito's raging branches that kept on moving towards them. His body was like a fluid that kept inserting around every corner while swinging the two swords he held on his hands to cut off the branches. When part of the branches detached from the source, it slowly disappeared like it goes down to the land when it touched the soil. Ethan was screaming while doing these things. His eyes say every desire he had to take down this monster tree.
"Take this! Damn monster!" He shouted as he stretched his body, approaching the final slice he'll give to the Anito. He made the largest branch into halves, and now he is facing the tree's trunk. He landed over the other living branch and pressed his breathing.
Ethan was about to make another attack as he leaned forward to continue, but the sunlight's direction made him see Eva's stagnant reaction. He stopped and shouted over her.
"Eva! Hit the bearing now!" He demanded as he noticed that it was the right timing for her to shoot aside from putting herself in the accurate position.
And because Ethan's attention was interrupted, he was unably foreseeing the next move that the Anito will make. A branch came towards him, approaching his side. The tree monster caught him. It wrapped his body with its tight woods while moving closer towards the trunk.
No way! The Anito was planning to kill him!
"Ah! Get away from me!" Ethan shrieked while shaking his body.
"Ethan!" It was Jarius, who happened to be struggling from breaking the tree's woods. Jarius swang her body around the tree using his cable chains. The sharp arrow at the tip of his weapon made it sturdy against detachments.
Tiny branches came outside the trunk when Ethan was about a few distances away from it! Ethan leaned his head back, and his neck was stretching to avoid those moving branches! Some of them were even successful to stuck their woods on his legs! And it was pulling him more towards it!
"N-No!"
Jarius jumped from time to time and used his hammer to break the branches' woods, especially that single branch that captured Ethan. When Jarius broke the wood, he immediately moved away from the tree since he knew that the tree would not stop attacking unless one of them will be eaten! Also, the tiny debris of the branches fell towards him. Jarius also knew that despite his immediate escape without assuring Ethan's safety, Ethan already knew what to do.
Ethan quickly cast his cables and flew away from the tree. He spotted his horse running towards him, so he made sure to land on his horse's back. His legs felt no sign of making his whole body lost its balance while his horse kept moving away. He nonchalantly sat down as he was escaping from the chase of the tree.
Jarius glanced at his horse, but when he remembered Eva's situation, he went straight to her.
"Eva, let's go!"
He stretched his arm and was about to grab her wrist, but Eva surprisingly postured herself. She raised her arms while holding the bow and arrow. She placed her right foot behind her back to support her weight in firing the arrow. Her eyes looked straight to the red bearing, neglecting the sharp vivid translucent effect of the sun rays. She did this while she placed her head closer to the edge of the arrow and the bow's serving point.
There were no other sounds that she could hear except nature. She did not even notice Jarius's presence approaching her left side.
Eva fired the arrow towards the bearing. As she expected, the arrow slid at the middle of it that made its red color pale. The monster tree stopped chasing Ethan, and it gradually faded away with the wind. The bearing slowly settled down on the land, and in the blink of an eye, it went back to the soil.
As soon as the tree disappeared, Eva could feel more of nature's temperature as she stood straight, looking at nowhere. She felt cold, but she chose to not react.
When Jarius saw Eva's unusual facade, he made her brought back to her sense by placing his hand over her shoulder. Eva startled as she quickly faced him. Her eyes widened, and she couldn't make any word.
"Eva, is everything's alright?" Ethan asked. His forehead wrinkled, and his eyes were looking back and forth towards hers.
But instead of answering him, Eva chose to asked within herself, whispering those words in her mind. And all of the sudden, she can only feel the nature around her. The cold air touched his bare face. The wind kept swinging her hair.
"Does the sun rays giving me sight or making me blind?"