The moment Nautilus's blade sliced into the monster's body, the red sphere atop its head cracked.
Crack!
A faint sound echoed, like an eggshell shattering, fragile, yet brimming with danger.
In the next instant, a cloud of red-orange spores erupted from the fissure, spilling out like a miniature flood, scattering through the air like burning embers.
The tiny spores floated weightlessly, drifting amidst the dense fog, shimmering with an eerie glow. They didn't merely float; they twisted and spiraled as if moving with intent, coiling through the air like a deadly invitation.
Then came the scent.
An invisible gust carried the spores, dispersing them into the thick mist.
A pungent, cloyingly sweet stench filled the air, an overwhelming mixture of rotting grass and fermented sap, sharp and suffocating like the putrid decay of corpses festering beneath damp foliage.
It seeped through the gaps between the leaves, slithered between the twisted trunks, clinging stubbornly to the air, spreading like an invisible wave across the battlefield.
Ren felt a tingling numbness crawl across his scalp, his instincts screaming warnings inside his mind.
"Damn it…" He gritted his teeth, breath turning ragged. "Nautilus, fall back now!"
But it was too late.
Rustle.
Swish.
The air grew unnervingly heavy.
From within the hazy mist, shadows began to stir.
At first, just minor shifts, the rustling of leaves, the faint swaying of grass, the subtle trembling of tree canopies as if stirred by an unseen wind.
But soon, those ripples spread, amplifying into waves that disturbed the entire forest.
Slimy tendrils slithered forward, crawling across the ground in jerky, unnatural movements, leaving behind a grotesque squelching sound.
From the undergrowth, from the darkened tree trunks, from the seemingly safe open spaces, more Little Nepenthes emerged.
Not just one, but many.
One after another, they slithered out from the mist, their writhing tendrils twitching, their grotesque, knotted bodies pulsing with breath.
Their hollow, glassy eyes shimmered with an unnatural light, all turning toward the two figures standing in the battlefield.
And then...
The HP bars appeared. Deep within the mist.
First, one.
Then two.
Three.
Five.
Ten.
Twelve.
Crimson HP bars emerged from the thick fog, each thin strip of health hanging eerily in midair, as though cut out from the void by an invisible hand. They wavered, then gradually became clearer, multiplying until they filled the entire field of vision.
Ren inhaled sharply, his breath icy cold.
As the HP bars stacked, flickering between the creeping shadows, the entire forest seemed to sink into an unspoken dread.
A faint hiss rang out.
Then, all at once.
The forest erupted into movement.
They lunged.
—
Yuna clenched her teeth, legs carrying her forward in a desperate sprint, though her fingers trembled against the hilt of her sword, slick with sweat.
Shaking off the three creatures trailing behind was only a matter of time; they were sluggish and clumsy compared to her. But the real problem wasn't speed.
It was the noise.
Every slithering motion produced a sickening, wet squelch, as though someone was kneading a mass of thick, viscous sludge.
Their tendrils scraped against the ground, leaving behind slick, slimy trails, punctuated by screeching noises like metal grinding against itself.
But the sound that sent chills down Yuna's spine wasn't any of that.
It was their cries.
Each time she pulled ahead, the creatures behind let out a shrill, piercing wail, high-pitched, grating, like an alarm trumpet blaring through the forest.
And just as she feared.
Rustle.
From the dense foliage ahead, two more shapes slithered out, blocking her escape.
Two more Little Nepenthes.
They coiled within the mist, their long tendrils writhing across the ground, leaving behind slimy, putrid trails.
Their taut, glossy skin pulsed faintly, reacting to the air around them. Thick, viscous sap dripped from the fissures in their bodies, pooling into gelatinous puddles on the damp forest floor.
They had no noses. No eyes.
They didn't need to see to know exactly where she was.
Yuna froze, breath caught in her throat.
She whipped her head back.
The three Little Nepenthes behind her were still advancing, closing in steadily.
The sound of slithering, the rustling of shifting foliage, the squelching of their slimy bodies, it all melded into an eerie symphony, the sound of hunters tightening their snare around their prey.
A trap.
She had walked straight into a trap.
Cold sweat trickled down her forehead, clinging to the strands of hair that framed her face.
Yuna tightened her grip on her sword, her fingers turning numb.
Run? There was no way out.
Fight? But...
She wasn't good at fighting.
She had managed to kill a monster before, but that was with Ren by her side, when she only had to focus on a single enemy, when she knew for certain she wasn't alone.
But now...
She was alone.
Six monsters.
Six HP bars flickered to life in the mist, floating like silent death sentences. One… two… three… They kept appearing, increasing in number.
She instinctively took a step back, only to find the ground beneath her feet slick with something thick and slimy...
And nearly lost her balance.
As she looked down, she finally realized…
The ground was slick with the slimy residue of the monsters, exuding a pungent, nauseating stench.
Not good. If she backed up any further, she would trap herself in a dead end.
The Little Nepenthes ahead had already begun to move.
They slithered forward slowly, as if savoring each moment before lunging at their prey. Their tentacles swept across the ground, dripping sap like drool in anticipation.
Her chest rose and fell, her heart pounding so hard she could hear it drumming in her ears.
Her fingers were numb, the cold seeping into every joint. She didn't want to die. But if she stayed frozen like this.
She would die.
She had to run.
The moment the first monster lunged, Yuna grit her teeth, poured all her strength into her legs, and threw herself to the side.
A tentacle slammed down where she had just stood, lifting a layer of damp earth and decayed leaves into the air. A thick, sticky droplet of liquid splattered, nearly touching her foot.
Luckily, she was faster.
But she couldn't let that liquid touch her.
A chill ran down her spine as she recalled the description in the guidebook: The fluid from a Little Nepenthes had a mild acidic, corrosive property.
Even the slightest contact… and she wouldn't be able to walk properly.
A shiver crawled up her arm, but she had no time for fear.
The monsters reacted almost instantly. Their tentacles lashed out like a storm of whips, ripping through the air with a sickening sound.
Yet Yuna kept running, her feet swift as she dodged each strike.
Leaves were shredded. Tree sap splattered, staining the dark brown earth. The tentacles coiled together as they slithered, like giant serpents silently closing in on their prey.
Sweat trickled down her back, but she didn't stop.
One, two, three…
The encirclement was closing in, yet she still hadn't found an escape.
She bit her lip, her eyes darting around frantically.
She needed an opening.
And then she saw it, one of the Little Nepenthes hesitated for just a fraction of a second, its tentacle swinging slower than the rest.
She seized the chance.
Throwing all her strength forward, she dashed through the narrow gap between the monsters.
Her fingers tightened around the hilt of her sword. The blade flashed silver as she swung with all her might.
Slash!
A jarring resistance jolted through her arm, but she had no time to check how much damage she'd dealt. It didn't matter.
She had broken through.
She ran.
A piercing screech rang out behind her, the furious cries of the monsters. The Little Nepenthes had been provoked, but she didn't look back.
She couldn't look back.
Even a second of hesitation, and they would catch her.
The wind howled past her ears. Her breaths came in ragged gasps, her chest aching from exhaustion. But she kept running.
Branches whipped by as she dashed through the forest. Gravel crunched beneath her boots. She had no idea where she was heading, only that she couldn't afford to be caught.
But then...
A sudden impact.
Her foot snagged on a raised tree root.
"A—!"
She pitched forward.
The fall wasn't painful, but the time it would take to get back up.
That could kill her.
The slithering noises behind her grew louder.
She had to get up.
Desperately, she turned her head, searching for something...anything, that could help her escape…
And then she saw it.
A small hollow in the base of a tree, just ahead.
No time to think. She dove inside, curling herself up as small as possible.
Just as she steadied her breathing, darkness swallowed her.
The monsters arrived.
Outside, their tentacles lashed across the ground, flailing wildly, sweeping against the tree trunk as if trying to find the prey that had suddenly disappeared.
Thick, sticky sap dripped down, filling the air with a sickly, acrid scent.
A tentacle scraped right past the entrance of the hollow, mere inches from her nose.
Yuna bit down on her lip, pressing her back against the wooden interior, willing herself to stay silent.
She couldn't let them find her.
Her heart pounded against her ribs, so loud she feared they might hear it.
Outside, the writhing shadows continued their search.
One of them stopped right in front of the hollow, its tentacle slowly reaching in, probing.
Yuna held her breath.
Even the slightest movement.
And she would die.