Parent Tree

Parent Tree (親樹) is a plant monster from the New World that appears in Mass for the Dead.

Appearance
A great tree with boroughs full of scarlet leaves and seed cones. It possess a gaping maw that glows eerily and a trunk composed of sharp points. Dangling from its branches are long purple vines.

Personality
The tree appears to be sentient as it understood Demiurge. It also appears to value its life, doing whatever to ensure its survival even groveling.

Background
A legendary plant, hailed as "The Legendary Tree," by the New World inhabitants, it was said to be found in the Great Forest of Tob. According to legend, it was located in a place where none can step into, where it possesses beautiful flowers blooming unlike any other in the world. There were supposed to be many medicinal herbs near the tree, and the bark and leaves were said to have magical power. If one could sell them one would make a huge fortune. Many adventurers sought this tree, but the depths of the woods were full of danger and the tree itself had such terrible power that those who searched for it were lost.

Mass for the Dead Arc
Demiurge after conducting experiments using the sample of the Supreme Odor Flower, he managed to develop a breed of Enhanced Treants that were totally loyal. The idea was to use the treants to create a security net around the Great Tomb of Nazarick. However the treants could only connect in group of three making it limited. To create a more effective centralized network, a command tower was needed. The only plant that could do so was the Supreme Tree. Given that the sample they acquired, it was learned from Demiurge's experiments that the Supreme Odor Flower was not the Supreme Tree as it was only a few decades old. Whereas the stories of tree persisted for centuries indicating that the former was actually the Supreme Tree's offspring.

Demiurge selected the aid of Aura Bella Fiora, Hamsuke, Slimeko, and the protagonist in the search as they were vital in finding the Supreme Odor Flower. Hamsuke who was ruling a goblin/ogre settlement organized her minions to search the area around the former Forest of Death. However no clues were found, and so they headed north using knowledge Demiurge acquired from his studies of the Enhanced Treants. They eventually came across the Parent Tree's security net which was composed of Zombie Treants. Knowing that the needed to separate the Parent Treant from it's guards, Cocytus was later retrieved from Nazarick to deal with its thralls. The group then proceeded to lay siege on the Parent Tree's territory, freezing its treants and entrapping in a wall of fire. Once the tree was exhausted from the onslaught, Demiurge injected with a powerful anesthetic as they needed it alive to become a part of Nazarick's new defense layer.

Brought back from the forest it was inserted in a cavern dug out by Mare Bello Fiore where it roots would connect to those of the Enhanced Treants. However before that could happen Demiurge believed it was necessary to make the tree submit to Nazarick. He administered an antidote to the tree. When it awoke to find itself in unknown surroundings, it used its power to summon various Forest Worms. Despite using its power to enhance the monsters, they still fell before its captors. After only one worm remained, it realized that its captors were stronger than it. So it followed Demiurge orders to kill it to show its obedience. It was ordered to prostate itself before them, and did so, bending its trunk before the Floor Guardians. Though the Floor Guardian was unsatisfied and announced out loud that the tree would have its roots frozen. Faced with the threat of being starved it slammed its head into the ground to prove its submission.

Later it's body was the centerpiece for a Yozakura, hosted by Demiurge in the underground cavern in honor of Momonga and his NPCs.

Abilities and Powers
During Demiurge's study on the tree, the plant had the same abilities as it's offspring. However it had several abilities that exceeded it due to its age. For one it was able to connect with countless treants and command them creating a defensive net around itself. Any one of its treants detects an enemy it immediately knows. Its even capable of anti-aerial assault by shooting its seeds at a target. This is also how it spreads it seeds and allows other living beings to act as a carrier and contains neurotoxins. The seeds also have wings that allow them to fly on the wind. However the seeds have low environmental adaptability, and if they are carried outside the Great Forest of Tob, they are unlikely to germinate. The plant is able to attract and charm monsters from a fairly wide area. It does so by blooming which produces pollen which can empower and buff these charmed monsters.

Trivia

 * A piece of it was later carved up to make a decorative table by Demiurge.