As soon as Ronan and Riana woke up, we continued on the way. I devoured several trees to regain my endurance.
It took five hours to get out of the forest, which shows how large it was.
We were now in a wide plain stretching as far as the eye could see. Its soil was full of soot and ash — it had burned fiercely one day.
"Be careful now, we don't have natural cover."
I warned the others as we entered the plain.
We walked for a quarter of an hour before we faced the first enemy.
It was the vessel of the cursed flower — a giant mantis the size of a truck. We hadn't noticed it because it was gray and hidden in the ground.
"Watch its scythes!"
I shouted as I drew my sword from its sheath and prepared to fight. Everyone took their positions. Elena and I were in front; Ronan and Riana fell back to provide support.
The mantis bent forward and then launched itself at incredible speed.
'It's fast,' I thought as I looked at its scythe, now very close.
I raised my sword and parried the blow, but the force threw me backward. I hit the ground several times before regaining my balance.
"Be careful — its strength is great. Maybe it's an eighth-level monster."
I warned the others before rushing back to my position.
Riana summoned her power: a sunflower burst from the ground, its petals opening, then it turned toward the mantis and fired its seeds like bullets.
'What a ridiculous ability — are we in a cartoon or what?' I thought sarcastically as I watched the mantis being shot at by Riana.
"?!!"
Everyone was shocked when the mantis didn't defend against the attack — its body simply absorbed the bullets with ease.
"Leave it to me."
Elena said, covering her sword with light. She moved forward and thrust her sword toward the mantis's waist.
But the mantis was faster; it crossed its scythes into an X and blocked Elena's thrust.
Ronan took advantage of the opening and attacked from behind. He reached toward the mantis's back and released a sphere of compressed air, but a cluster of vines erupted from its back, deflecting the sphere and attacking Ronan.
Ronan tried to dodge, but the vines left a wound on his left arm.
"Argh."
The vines tried to pursue Ronan and finish the attack, but I intervened and summoned a wall of darkness in their path.
"Elena, fall back and cover Ronan while Riana and I stop the mantis."
I ordered everyone and began my plan.
I ran toward the mantis and slashed downward.
Clang!
The mantis blocked my sword with its scythe — exactly what I wanted. I summoned chains of darkness from my back that pierced the mantis's scythe.
I spun the chains quickly, which tore through the scythe and cut it.
The mantis trembled in anger and tried to cut me with its other scythe, but a group of vines grabbed that scythe.
I tried to take advantage and cut the mantis from the front, but the vines attacked me and forced me to retreat.
Elena finished treating Ronan and joined us.
"What's happening to it?"
Elena said in disbelief as she looked at the mantis.
Its body trembled violently, then its head spun around. The vines thrashed wildly, then wrapped around the mantis, becoming a shield. Vines grew from its severed hand, grabbed the broken scythe, and reattached it.
The gray mantis was now covered by a shield of rotten green vines.
"Since when could that flower do this?"
I said, feeling the mantis's aura swell. It emitted a strong killing intent as if we were the insects here.
Before any of us could react, the mantis vanished from in front of us and appeared behind Riana.
Slash!
We heard the sound of cutting, and before we understood what had happened, Riana's head fell to the ground.
"!!!!"
The speed of the mantis and Riana's sudden death left us speechless.
"Gather together, all of you!"
Elena shouted fearfully as she fired a beam of light at the mantis, which deflected it easily.
"Elena, can't you blast it?"
I shouted at Elena, asking her to do something.
"That's impossible with its speed — it will escape."
"Then we'll pin it down for you. Prepare to attack."
I said, signaling Ronan to help me.
Dozens of chains rose from the ground trying to seize the mantis, but its scythes moved at such speed they destroyed all the chains before they could catch it.
Ronan threw five spheres of compressed air at the ground trying to destroy it; if the mantis lost the ground it couldn't run fast.
But the mantis anticipated that and leaped high into the air.
"Attack it in the air!"
I shouted to Ronan as I threw twenty spears at the mantis. Ronan heard me and sent ten huge wind blades toward it.
The mantis lifted its scythes up and struck down with all its might. The impact sent a shockwave through the air and destroyed our attacks.
"Damn — it's one level higher. Why is it so strong?"
I cursed as I watched it land, causing a tremor in the ground.
"I finished the attack — just hold it for one moment."
Elena shouted from behind, holding a large sun in her hand.
"Elena, I order you to attack. Release your attack without hesitation. Is that clear?"
I looked at her seriously and didn't take my eyes off her until I saw her nod in agreement.
"Ronan, summon a large cyclone — it will surely swallow the mantis. I'll hurl the mantis into it."
I ordered and lunged at the mantis. I tried a feint but it blocked the attack. I took advantage of that and formed a massive hand of darkness that carried a hammer; I struck the mantis from the side, throwing it toward the cyclone.
I chased the mantis and jumped into the cyclone. I knew it would know if no one secured it.
I summoned six chains and wrapped them around it while holding my scythes in my darkness-enhanced hand.
"Elena, attack now. Don't worry about me."
I ordered, gripping the mantis with all my strength. It was hard to hold on.
Elena hesitated a little but decided to trust me.
She threw the sun into the cyclone; the cyclone swallowed the sun, then it ignited and turned a bright white. The cyclone shot the energy skyward and pierced the clouds.
"Damn — that hurts so much. Who would have expected Elena would ever roast me like this?"
I cursed, but my voice, my scream, didn't come out because my envy had already melted. I kept regenerating, then melting again. I endured this torment until the explosion ended. I summoned a sphere of darkness that enveloped me — I can say I survived because of my darkness.
The cyclone shattered and the sphere fell downward. I waited a little for my armor to reform from the darkness of the sphere, then I canceled its summoning.
"Are you okay?"
Elena approached me, looking at me with concern.
"As you see, I'm fine. The sphere protected me from the explosion. The important thing is that the damn mantis is dead."
I said with a bitter smile, trying to hide the pain that numbed my mind.
I stood, then Elena and I moved toward Ronan, who was by Riana's body. He had brought her head to her body and sat there as if praying over her.
"We were together for only one day, but losing her is painful." Elena said, folding her hands and praying quietly.
I didn't care much — it's not like I would grieve for someone I barely know. Losing someone may be bothersome and will make survival harder, but there's no use crying over spilled milk.
I went near her body, bowed slightly, then formed a small needle of darkness and pierced her chest, then removed her shard.
The shard hadn't been destroyed because it couldn't destroy itself before she died, and she also had no reason to destroy it.
I heard the status voice in my ear:
[ A shard of the Plant type has been identified ]
'Two shards of the same type in two days — how ironic.'
"What are you doing?"
Ronan protested my action, which he considered disrespectful to the dead.
"Don't act emotionally, please. Leaving a shard behind would be a loss. Haven't we tried to collect the shards of the dead? She also has a family; all we must do is return her to them — that would be an honor for her."
I answered calmly, which silenced Ronan who couldn't reply.
"Nox, shall we bury her?"
Elena asked sadly, but I shook my head in refusal.
"It's too dangerous to bury her now after we saw the flower connecting the severed parts. What if the corpse is raised and used against us? I'll consume her with my darkness. As for her armor and Bow, I'll keep them and deliver them to her family along with the shard. Any objections?"
No one objected, so I devoured her body and head.
[ Armor recognized ... ]
[ Bow recognized ... ]
The status announced my acquisition of items, though they were of little use to me.
"Let's continue, and watch our surroundings. Facing an enemy of this power will be troublesome."