The attack came too suddenly, from every direction.
No time to think. No time to retreat. No time for anything, Except to swing her sword.
The steel blade tore through the mist, slashing a vine right in front of her. A piercing screech echoed out, like metal grinding against metal. But Yuna had no time to stop or check if the thing had felt pain.
Because the other vines were still coming. From all sides. From above, from both flanks, from behind, like they were trying to swallow her whole.
One lashed straight into her side.
She gritted her teeth, twisted her sword, and sliced along its length.
Another swept for her ankle.
She jumped, spinning mid-air, dodging the strike by a hair's breadth.
But the moment her feet touched the ground.
Another vine slithered out from behind.
Faster. Quieter.
And this time, she couldn't react in time.
The blow landed squarely on her back.
It wasn't the sharp pain of torn skin and blood, but the sheer force of the impact.
Air was crushed out of her lungs instantly. Her body was flung away, spinning in the air like a stone hurled into a storm. Her eyes widened, vision flipping wildly as she realized she was flying straight toward a massive tree trunk.
No time to dodge. No time to brace for impact. No way to soften the blow.
The shock rippled through her body the instant her back slammed into the tree.
Pain exploded like a violent wave, radiating from her spine into every limb.
She slid down to the ground, her knees slamming against the gnarled root-covered floor. Her arms trembled as she propped herself up, breath ragged as she fought to steady herself.
But every muscle in her back was still numb, Like hundreds of tiny needles were stabbing into her skin.
"Damn it…", She clenched her teeth, forcing herself not to collapse.
But just as she lifted her head...
The shadows moved.
Not vines. Not just one.
The entire massive tree was moving.
The rough bark trembled, moss-covered surfaces shedding like dead skin, revealing a massive, flower-shaped maw slowly unfurling.
Petals as hard and sharp as blades layered inward, narrowing like a monstrous throat ready to grind down anything that fell in.
A heavy, wet breath spilled from the gaping mouth.
It was coming closer.
Root-tentacles crept along the ground, gripping the soil, dragging the whole trunk forward like a living beast.
Yuna tightened her grip on her sword, a cold chill crawling down her spine.
This wasn't just any monster.
A Mini Boss.
And more than that.
It could regenerate.
She glanced toward the vines she had slashed earlier. The wounds were closing up.
This was bad.
Normal strikes wouldn't take it down.
There had to be a way.
There had to be a weakness.
She had to find it, before she was crushed.
But just as that thought flickered.
A powerful gust swept through, carrying the stench of rot.
Darkness loomed overhead.
The flower-maw gaped wider and dove down.
No time to think.
Yuna pushed off the ground, channeling every ounce of strength into her legs, launching herself backward just as the massive maw crashed down.
Like the deathtrap of a predator that had been waiting for this moment.
The spot where she'd stood shattered, debris exploding upward as if stomped by a giant.
Root-tentacles lashed into the empty space, curling tightly around it as if desperate to drag down anything that remained. One second slower, and her body would have been there.
But her jump wasn't perfect.
Yuna slammed into the cold ground, pain surging up her spine.
Her breath caught for a moment....
But she forced herself up, eyes locked on the monster ahead.
The massive trunk was still moving.
It had never just been a tree.
Cracks stretched across its bark, and from within, smaller tentacles spilled out, Like grotesque extra limbs from a creature that didn't know its own limits.
It wasn't merely carnivorous.
It was something that should not exist.
And she had to take it down.
Yuna gripped her sword tighter, mind racing. If it could regenerate, if ordinary strikes weren't enough.
That meant...
There had to be a weak point.A core.A heart.
Something that could kill it before it healed.
She scanned the towering form quickly.
The bark trembled. Tentacles twisted and swayed, forming a living barricade of death. But behind the jagged petals that kept opening and closing, there was something strange.
A glow.
Deep inside, flickering like a faint flame in the night.
Not a reflection.Not a trick of the eye.
A single point of light within the chaos of that monstrous body.
That was the target.
But how to reach it?
There was no time to think.
No time to doubt.
Yuna clenched her teeth, forcing herself not to let fear take over.
I can't lose here.
I have to survive.
The monster roared, its voice echoing like the forest itself was crying.
The root-like tendrils slithered toward her again.
Yuna lowered her stance, both hands tightening around the hilt of her sword, eyes blazing within the thick mist.
If I can't dodge...
Then there's only one choice.
Charge straight in.
But she had underestimated it.
Her instincts urged her to strike first, giving the monster no chance to react. Her foot stomped down hard, shifting all her weight forward, muscles tensing as she swung the blade in a sharp, decisive arc.
The blade tore through one of the tendrils, slicing it clean in half. The soft wooden shell split like thin fabric, strands of root falling to the ground in tatters.
She didn't stop.
Her body kept moving forward, blade spinning, ready for the next strike.
But...
There was no scream.
No burst of blood from the wound.
No sign of pain or weakness. The monster's HP bar hadn't dropped at all.
Only a sticky, squirming slime clung to her blade, pulsing faintly, as if it was watching her.
Yuna froze, pupils narrowing.
Right before her eyes, the tendril she had just severed... was moving.
Then, it began to regenerate.
The cut ends twisted, intertwining, as if no blade had ever sliced through them. Tiny roots crawled across the wound, stitching it together like a needle sewing through flesh, leaving no trace behind.
Yuna felt a chill run down her spine.
It was a trap.
She was caught.
And the way out had closed.
At the very moment she realized this, darkness surged in from both sides.
Other tendrils shot up, wrapping tightly around her wrists.
They clamped down like iron shackles, her slender arms unable to hold onto the short sword any longer.
The blade slipped from her grasp.
She blinked...
Her hand reached out in panic, trying to reclaim the weapon.
A devastating blow struck her body.
-120 HP
She was flung backward, spinning through the air before crashing hard against the uneven roots behind her. The impact rattled her spine, knocking the breath from her lungs.
Her vision blurred for a second.
No...
Yuna gritted her teeth, trying to fight through the dizziness, but before she could catch her breath, the tendrils shot forward, binding her wrists and ankles, dragging her down.
Her limbs were stretched out.
Pinned.
No sword.
No escape.
No way to fight back.
She struggled, but each movement only made the living roots tighten like chains, constricting her every motion.
The monster's massive shadow loomed over her, silent, unwavering.
Its jaws opened again.
The flower-like petals unfurled, each edge glinting with a deep red sheen, like they had been soaked in blood. Viscous black streaks clung to the fleshy insides, remnants of its past prey.
And this time...
It wouldn't miss.
"YUNA!"
A scream tore through the suffocating air.
A flash of silver light burst through the mist, sharp and cold like moonlight falling to the earth.
The blade cut through the darkness, slicing apart the roots that bound her. One by one, the tendrils fell, severed in an instant.
Light as a whispering wind, yet strong enough to shatter the beast's grip.
A figure rushed in, shielding her.
A young boy, around sixteen, with dull greenish-brown hair like decaying leaves. Not tall, small in build, yet somehow... unshakably steady.
Not a mighty warrior. Not an invincible hero.
But the one person who stood between her and danger.
Yuna's eyes widened, breath caught in her throat.
That silhouette...
No matter how many years passed, she could never forget.
Nautilus.
Her childhood friend.
"Thank goodness... I found you," he gasped, voice hoarse, breath heavy from running. Just a few words...but they were enough to pull Yuna out of her daze and bring her back to reality.
She blinked rapidly, then reached out to retrieve her fallen short sword, gripping it tightly.
Her lips curved up slightly. Tired, but firm, she answered softly:
"I'm glad too."
But there was no time to relax.
The leaves rustled violently as the severed tendrils twitched and curled like wounded snakes. In just a second, they began to regenerate, tiny roots weaving at terrifying speed, as if they had never been cut at all.
The grinding of roots echoed faintly, a harsh sound that signaled imminent danger.
Ahead, the massive Large Nepenthes shrank slightly, the flower's cup-like body quivering like a creature taking a deep breath.
The air around it grew thick, the sharp stench of sap and rot stabbing into their noses like a blend of tree resin and decaying flesh.
Nautilus tensed, his eyes sharpening as he realized.
"It's about to attack."
Just then, more tendrils shot up from the ground!
One whip-like root lashed down right where they had been standing. Both of them sprang to opposite sides, dodging by a hair's breadth. The roots beneath their feet were torn apart, debris flying into the air.
Yuna panted, feeling adrenaline surge through her veins.
"Yuna, ready?" Nautilus called, eyes never leaving the monster.
She swallowed hard, tightening her grip on the hilt until her knuckles turned white. The fear still lingered somewhere deep inside, but her fury burned brighter.
"Always ready."
No time to hesitate. No retreat.
There was only one way out.
They had to fight.