"Morbius?!"

"I thought he was dead?!"

"What does that fucker want with the tree?!"

There was a loud chorus, all the elders exclaimed at the mention of the demon’s name.

It was only to be expected as Morbius had been a recurring thorn in their flesh, and an especially slimy one at that.

Everytime they clashed with him, he always found a way to escape before they could kill or seal him.

"He has been instructed to make sure that we don’t revive the tree." Yggros’ voice spoke up, silencing all the complaining elders.

"Why does he want to prevent the revival, wouldn’t it affect them too?" Armand, who had already returned to his original form, asked.

"That’s what I thought too, but he also spoke about the Demon king having a plan to use the tree to rule the world." Yggros responded.

"How do they plan to do that?" Banqui inquired, a worried expression written all over his face.

"It is unclear to me, all I know is we have to stop him—we have to stop them, if we fail, the consequences would be extremely dire. Seeing as I’ve already transferred my soul to the tree, I’ve decided I will remain here—so my essence is always with it. Where are the rest?" Yggros said, then inquired, all the present elders had serious looks on their faces.

They all pondered on how to deal with a vengeful demonic general who was most likely already on his way.

"They are not here yet, they should be here soon." Banqui answered, turning to Rhaeny, who confirmed his response with a nod.

"Can’t we just do what we can with the number we already have?" Sylvanor questioned, raising his voice slightly to express his concern.

"Yes, I agree. That way the tree will be half saved by the time Lucien and the rest get here." Armand agreed, folding his hands to show that he had already made his decision.

"No! We all need to be present! The tree needs to consume the essence all at once. If the essence consumed by the tree is not enough, then it will be a waste. Do you all understand?" Yggros protested.

"That makes sense." Esty concurred.

There was suddenly an ominous presence which seemed to be felt by everyone, it sent chills running down the spines of those who were unexpectant of it.

Loud footsteps on the earth could be heard from behind them.

"He’s here..." Yggros said, her voice sounding rattled.

"I leave for just a few moments and you’re already talking about me." The large, grotesque looking demon spoke out in a low guttural voice, one that was unpleasant to the ears.

"Morbius!" Banqui exclaimed.

"How extremely unpleasant of you to join us!" Rhaenys said, her facial expression listless and unchanged.

"I see not all of you are here. No matter, we can start the party before the rest come over and join us." Morbius said sarcastically, he was spinning his sickle in one hand and had his other hand on his waist.

"You killed Yggros, I will never forgive you you ugly demon!" Sylvanor shouted, unable to control his emotions anymore at this point.

"Be silent dwarf, do you truly think that Yggros would have ever chosen you? Please! You’re only half a man, you wouldn’t have ever been good enough! Not like me, I made her say and feel things you never could have." Morbius said with a cunning smile, one that annoyed Sylvanor to the bones.

"You!! You fuc—!" He yelled, immediately drawing his sword but a single arm from Banqui held him back.

"Don’t let him get inside your head Syl! You’re better than that." Said Banqui who kept his eyes on Morbius.

Alaric let out a sigh and stepped forward a few paces, standing directly in front of the demon.

"What do you plan to accomplish with this tree?" Alaric asked, maintaining a calm demeanor.

"The answer is simple, Alaric, whatever my master wishes!" Morbius announced, spreading his hands in a celebratory manner.

Morbius had never been a part of the Elder Covenant, but a few centuries of history had caused him to run into the members of the Covenant more than a couple of times.

Especially since he had been bethrothed to Yggros, an uncanny union that left most people shocked at how possible it was.

But it didn’t last, the tree spirit after a few years, found that their differences and beliefs stood eons apart, and that they would never agree on matters that benefitted the world.

Morbius had always been a devout follower of the Demon King, an entity who had tried multiple times to ruin the harmony that existed in the world.

Therefore he and Yggros would eventually separate on the worst of terms, causing serious dispute between him and the Elder Covenant many a time.

Morbius would always manage to wriggle away whenever the heat got too much, but this time, it seemed as though he came prepared. Something about the way he showed up with so much confidence didn’t feel right.

"You can’t tell us? Come on, who knows, we might also share your beliefs." Alaric said sarcastically, scrawling his knuckles and then his neck.

Morbius laughed, just a short laugh that suggested he didn’t find Alaric’s statement funny in the least bit.

"Alaric, you’ve always been the sarcastic one. I appreciate your humor, but I will be the one laughing when I rip your heart from your chest and devour it right in your pretty face." Morbius retorted, licking his lips hungrily.

"Taking this tree is the last thing that you will ever do. Not while I remain in the world of the living!" Sylvanor shouted again, he had been holding himself back ever since Banqui spoke to him, but he was ready for a fight, he was ready to show this demon that he was more than just a dwarf.

"It’s funny you should mention ripping my heart out when you’ve failed to do it for the past two hundred years Morbius. So tell me, how do you even plan to defeat us all—you’re clearly outnumbered." Alaric said, slowly pulling big huge blade out of the ring on his finger.

Morbius just smiled, knowingly. "How naive of you, who told you I came alone..."