Instantly, the words caught in the witch's throat, an invisible pressure bearing down on her. Her legs buckled, her own weight increasing two, five, tenfold in a second—and still growing.
The crunching of her bones reverberated through her crushed body. The agony was unbearable, but the consequences were much worse. Locked in place by the crushing, she had no way to escape. She hated it, but could only use her trump card to ensure survival.
As she channelled her mana, however, Adam's voice cut through her hopes.
"I also thought you wielded symbiotic magic. I didn't know I was literally correct. Symbiosis through infestation. That's how you control the forest, that's how you plan to escape."
He retrieved an empty parchment from his spatial ring, mana dancing on its rough surface into glowing symbols. Although he had never crafted it, he had seen and used it a few dozen times during his college days.
