Forsaken By The Gods, I Made A Contract With the Demon King

I crashed onto the soft ground as I came out of the portal, leaves scattering around me. After catching my breath, I quickly turned to watch the portal opening. There was still room for one more person to enter the sanctum, which meant someone who wanted to kill me might follow soon.

I had to be ready to surprise them when they came through. If it turned out to be that mysterious man, I probably wouldn't survive - but I still held onto hope as I stood watching and waiting.

A minute passed, but nothing happened.

That's when I started noticing my surroundings. The smell of fresh, green life filled my nose - so different from the chaos I'd left behind. Huge trees reached up toward a thick canopy that turned the sunlight into scattered green beams.

I realized something - there was no sign of Lyssandra or anyone else around.

"Does the sanctum have different starting points for different people?" I wondered aloud. This thought made me feel a bit better - different entry points meant we'd all start in different places. At least I wouldn't have to fight the other members right away.

My demon form was still active, but keeping it going was getting harder. The red patterns across my skin were pulsing slower now, like a tired heartbeat.

"I can't keep this up for much longer," I muttered to myself.

That's when I heard it - a weird sound, like someone dragging wet leather across stone.

Something appeared in front of me.

When I saw the creature coming through the ancient trees, I started to regret entering the portal at all. It moved in a strange, flowing way that didn't seem natural. Its body was a horrible mix of plant and flesh. Vines as thick as my arm writhed from its middle like tentacles, and each one ended with what looked like a human hand. The main part of its body looked like a massive flower bud, but instead of petals, it had layers of see-through flesh that glowed from within.

Above the monster's head was its name:

[Little Corrupted Treant]

I knew about Corrupted Treants - they were infamous monsters that lived in old forests. They were known for absorbing the essence and body parts from their victims, using the best parts to keep changing and growing.

"Perfect," I said, watching more hand-tipped vines come out of its body. "Just perfect."

The creature attacked immediately. Three vines whipped toward me incredibly fast, their hands reaching out eagerly. I jumped to the side, feeling the air move as they missed me by inches.
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Where the vines hit the ground, all the plants instantly died. It was using absorption essence - it would try to drain all my energy before adding my parts to its collection.

I had been saving one special ability, hoping not to show too many of my powers to the people chasing me. But now, stuck in this strange place with this monster...

"Guess there's no point holding back anymore."

I reached for the power I'd been keeping secret - Lunacy. The effect hit hard and fast. The red patterns of my demon form blazed bright white, and I felt my mind start to split apart, like light breaking through a crystal.

The treant stopped attacking for a moment, probably sensing the change in my energy. Its flower-bud head opened slightly, showing rings of eyes that all stared at me like a hungry predator.

From its movements alone, I could tell this monster was far beyond ordinary - definitely in the late stages of the Vile rank. The way it controlled its vine-like appendages with such precision spoke of years of evolution and countless absorbed victims.

But I wasn't exactly normal myself anymore. Lunacy had transformed my already demonic state into something even more inhuman. My movements became erratic and unpredictable, even to my own mind. As the next wave of vines came at me, my body moved in ways that defied natural law, twisting and flowing like smoke in the wind. I was both the dancer and the madman, my movements a chaotic ballet that somehow made perfect sense in my fractured state of mind.

"Too slow," I heard myself say, my voice resonating with multiple tones as if several versions of me were speaking at once. "Far too slow."

Before it could retract its failed attack, I closed the distance. My claws, now blazing with the same white energy that covered my skin, tore through its defenses as if they were made of paper. The creature's flesh split open with surprising ease, but it had one last trick - a cloud of deadly spores burst forth, a defense mechanism that would have meant certain death for any normal being.

But I had prepared for this. In that split second, my enhanced perception - courtesy of Lunacy - allowed me to see the danger for what it was. Without hesitation, I activated Second Skin, one of the abilities granted by my Eternal Vigil skill. I held my breath, my body automatically responding in instinct.

The spores hit me, but they found no purchase. Second Skin created an impenetrable barrier, preventing even the smallest particle from entering my body. I didn't waste the opportunity this defense provided.

The creature launched into a desperate counterattack, its vines coming at me from every possible angle. But it was futile - the demonic transformation hadn't just enhanced my strength, it had elevated my perception to an entirely different level. My eyes, boosted by Lunacy abilityl, could track every movement, see every pattern, predict every strike before it even began. Each swing, each thrust, each desperate grab - I saw them all with perfect clarity.

"You know," I said casually as I severed another vine with surgical precision, "I really should thank you. I've been wanting to let loose for a while now."

It had been ages since I'd used Demonic Transformation and Lunacy together. The combination was powerful but risky. Even though I was technically still at the Follower rank with just two cores, this combination let me fight toe-to-toe with late-stage Vile rank monsters. If I really pushed myself, I could even hold my own against an initial Fallen rank being - though I'd rather avoid that if possible.

I clearly had the upper hand, but I couldn't afford to drag this out. Essence drain was a real concern - these skills consumed energy at an alarming rate. I needed to end this quickly.

The Treant seemed to sense its disadvantage. It tried to retreat, but Lunacy had pushed me beyond concepts like mercy. I pursued it relentlessly, my enhanced vision letting me spot the cluster of vital organs hidden beneath its bud-like head. My claws found their mark with deadly accuracy.

The monster let out an otherworldly shriek - a sound that would haunt lesser beings' nightmares - before it collapsed. Its death was spectacular: its body erupted into a cloud of luminescent spores, its vegetation withering and decaying in seconds. The hand-tipped vines thrashed in their death throes before dissolving into puddles of organic matter.

[You have killed an inept-vile monster - Little Corrupted Treant]

The sweet voice of providence, one I hadn't heard in what felt like an eternity, rang in my mind. After quickly scanning the area to ensure no immediate threats remained, I deactivated both skills. The strain hit me immediately - the white glow of Lunacy faded first, followed by my demonic transformation receding. Fatigue crashed over me like a wave.

"Well," I said to the dissolving corpse, "that was certainly an interesting welcome."

My eyes fixed on the two cores that remained among the creature's remains. After all this time, I finally had the chance to absorb some essence and increase my power. These cores, still pulsing with energy, represented my first real opportunity for growth in longer than I cared to remember.

The cores gleamed with a sickly yet enticing light - the condensed power of a Vile rank being. Despite my exhaustion, I couldn't help but smile. Sometimes the best opportunities come disguised as deadly challenges.

But as my scattered mind came back together, I had a worrying thought. If this was the kind of creature that lived in these forests and had a title of 'Little' attached to it, what else might be waiting in the darker parts of this sanctum? What would be the evolutions of this monster?

Even though that thought was frightening, I decided to ignore it. For now, I needed to find somewhere safe to absorb the essence crystal and rest. Also I had plan on what to do next. Both the transformation and Lunacy had worn me out, and I couldn't risk being caught weak in this place.

The Treant's remains kept melting behind me as I walked deeper into the green twilight, staying alert for whatever the sanctum might throw at me next.

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