[Psychokinetic] Eyeball Pulling - Chapter 144 (Patreon)

“You have made it to my slumber, but this is as far as you go.” The tree said. It’s voice was old and raspy, like he had been a horrible chain smoker and was currently suffering the consequences. Each word struggled forth.

“Another guardian?” Astrid gazed straight into the tree king's eyes. However, her mind remained vigilant. If anything appeared, she would know of it.

“Why would I do that–”

Astrid interrupted the monster's words. Who the hell talked before a fight? Her Psych Warped needles pierced at the monster's eyes. Before they could reach, a hand emerged from deep within the tree's bark and swatted away the sharpened projectiles.

“It is futile.” Just as the ancient words filtered out from its throat, six arms of hardened metal emerged from the solid trunk. Claws protruded from each finger, each looking more demonic than the other. It seemed they were strengthened pieces of higher Levelled monsters. The aura of each sent a tingle down her spine, but it wasn’t enough to fill her with dread. “You have entered my domain. Each test was to lead you here. To me.”

She instinctively knew it wasn’t a fight she could win. Astrid gazed at the lack of space around her. Her biggest strength lay in her ability to fly and keep a distance with her enhanced body. Now it was cut in half. Maybe even more.

The mention of a domain pulled her lips up into a frightful grin. Using Mind Domain against a being of clearly high intelligence wasn’t her first plan of action, yet her third eye throbbed. It was as if it was urging her to do it. It was as if it was reminding her that the tree king was alone, unable to take advantage of her suspended body.

It was to be a battle of the Domains.

Is it another bonus to the Dominating Sovereigns Eye? Astrid decided to place trust in her eye as she began the connection of Mind Domain.

A thread of mana streamed toward the tree king. It seemed to be able to sense it. She didn’t know if it could sense the Skill itself, or the mana, but a pink glow shone from within its eyes.

Astrid could sense a sneer coming from the ancient being, as if what she was attempting was pointless. She thought the connection was going to be severed, just like from the cancelling abilities from all the other enemies before it. But that didn’t happen. It couldn’t. Her eyes wouldn’t allow it.

Heat emitted from her third eye. It seeped into her mind, then, the thread of mana instantly attached itself  to the tree king's mind. Her Dominating Sovereigns Eye had acted on its own. Its authority was challenged–and it had lashed out.

Although the connection was made, it didn’t mean it was any easier to delve into the monster's mind. An intense struggle threatened to smash the connection into fragments.

Astrid had to control her mana to the apex of her current capabilities in order to wrestle with the tree king. It was like fighting against the weight of a mountain. It bore down on her. The ancient being had experienced hundreds of years of life.

The countless years of experience was being contested against a young girl with golden hair. It was being overpowered. Tears of red dripped from the corner of her eyes, yet she willed her mind forward. It was a drill against rock and it had no sign of being stopped. The rock was chipped away, only to reveal a fleshy eye-ball underneath.

Her third-eye emerged from her forehead. She could feel it. It had emerged from its ethereal form to that of a real, flesh eye. It was frigid. Otherworldly. It blinked.

Astrid entered its mind through Mind Domain. Quickly creating her ideal battlefield with hundreds of pillars, she prepared her defences.

The tree king had an expression of shock within its eyes. As if it doubted what was actually happening. But it happened. The young girl had dominated its mind and sunk into a world of her own creation.

There was no use for gloating, or talking–no matter how lonely the tree king was. Astrid only wanted to kill it. It had tried its hand at the same thing, so it was only fair.

She [Crashed] the matter in front of its body and the Mind Domain enhanced attack cracked into it body. Yet it remained still. The tree king had rooted its body to the ground.

Bad roots. Astrid thought, and with a change of her mind, the land changed. The pillars remained, but now, there was no land. With no roots to attach itself to, the tree free fell through the air. Endlessly.

It couldn’t fly. Astrid chuckled at the helpless, falling tree king.

She chased after it, sending high powered [Crash] after [Crash] to its body like a missile salvo releasing its explosive ordnance. It pelted the bark as metal fragments splintered into the air.

The tree creaked, then the six arms stretched–and chased after her small body.

Astrid dodged one arm, only for another to follow closely behind. The hand transformed into a spike–and lunged at her head. The arms were annoying, so they had to be removed.

Snarling, Astrid [Crashed] her mind into the incoming spiked arm. The explosion of psychic mana obliterated the tip. Then with a crank of her mana, she repeated the [Crash] all the way up the spike, until the arm no longer remained.

Thud.

Another arm slammed into her shield. The impact smashed the top, outermost barrier like it was nothing before hitting against the other layer. It managed to resist for a couple seconds before the arm struck the last barrier. Cracks formed, yet it remained.

[Crashing] the arm again, Astrid had a change of thought. If the tree was accurate in chasing her with its rubber-like arms, then she just had to change the world.

Astrid created a portal underneath the tree king. It fell into the portal, then re-appeared to the side, a few metres away from where it once was. It was about to attack again, but it fell into another portal. It wasn’t able to control its own body. It’s greatest strength; stability, sturdiness, defence–was useless.

Her power of imagination was the greatest strength.

The tree king wasn’t able to stabilise its body as it kept on falling through the air. Repeatedly. Astrid used [Crash] dozens of times. The bark was splitting open like a knife cutting into flesh.

However, it seemed the tree king had some extra tricks deep within its bark. The pink shone within its eyes once more as the mana surrounding it surged forth like a tide. Its bare branches sprouted an endless amount of petals, as if it was entering a full bloom. Then, the petals fell, but instead of merely floating to the ground–they shot forward with a command.

They were like high velocity bullets. A few dozen impacted against her newly formed shield. Some managed to only pierce the first layer, while the others made it all the way into the last barrier. One had even pierced all the way through, half its body had made its way through. Like an arrow tip lodged into a shield. If it had travelled any further, Astrid would have had a hole pierced into her shoulder.

But thanks to the instability of the tree, the petals were fired in every direction. It was only by luck that they had struck her. However, Astrid didn’t want to leave anything to such a random nature.

Astrid formed walls in front of her made of voidbent metal, it didn’t exactly have the properties of it–but it merely adopted them. The petals lodged into the metal, but weren’t capable of penetrating any further within.

It seemed Astrid could create anything, but the strength of it was completely determined by her own Intelligence Stat. She took a mental note, before moving on. With the monster damaged, it was time to begin wearing down its eye.

Yanking the tree king's eyes, she could feel the intense mental strain batter her mind. But with the help of Mind Domain, she could feel that it was possible. She just needed a bit more time. Time that the tree king didn’t plan on granting her.

The ancient monster seemed to realise the trouble it was in as desperation began to sink in. Its fluorescent pink eyes flashed, and the mana crashed against the illusion like a tsunami.

Astrid’s mind turned blank as the illusion was cancelled, however, it seemed to have taken a toll on the tree king. Scarlet red dripped from its eyes.

It’s not only me, huh? Then let's see who lasts longer. Astrid cackled before she forced the tree king back into her Mind Domain.

The tree king realised it couldn’t let Astrid do as she wanted and was about to use its cancelling skill again, but Astrid was of the same mind. She couldn’t let it leave.

She targeted its eyes and [Crashed] entire swaths of matter, cracking against its eye-lids. Cracks formed and Astrid took advantage of that. It was the greatest strength of [Crash]. She was able to target weak links in the armour.

She corralled the matter to the cracks within its eye-lids, then [Crashed] it before the ancient tree could use its Skill. Entire pieces of hardened metal wood blasted off. Some had fired off like shrapnel, piercing into its eyes. While the others hit the metal wall in front of Astrid, or flew in random directions.

Attempting to use the Skill had also weakened its mind considerably. Since Astrid was within the tree’s brain, she felt every ounce of its weakness.

It was time.

Astrid connected to its eyes and a child-like excitement transferred heat throughout her blood. The weakened mind of the tree king made the eyes ripe for the picking–just like a fruit.

The ancient tree’s powerful emotions weighed down on her mind. Its need for life was shocking. She had thought that once one reached a certain age, their desire for life would lessen. But maybe that was because she was so used to the elders of her family giving away their life for one more city delve. Their need for life was always overshadowed by their desire for battle.

However, the tree was different. It clung onto life. Was that how it was meant to be?

The longer one lived, the greater their desire to continue was? She didn’t know, it wasn’t her place to care. It was survival of the fittest. Either she would die here, or the tree king would.

Astrid snarled and yanked the monster's ancient eyes from their sockets. Then, with the monster dead, she returned to the room that was now the tree kings crypt.

Its eyes floated around Astrid like an orbit.

Her hands tightened into fists as the System notifications entered her mind. Levels, Stats, Titles–but Astrid wanted to know what power the tree king held within its eyes.

She absorbed it within her third eye.