Miru glanced at the fallen insect, wiped the green goo off his safety suit, and let out a relieved breath.
"Pah, pah, that reaction was quick, great fighting skills," Pariston said, clapping lightly in approval.
Standing nearby, he had witnessed Miru's every move and knew that few others could have broken free so fast.
As a seasoned mercenary, Miru had been through countless battles and had excellent combat experience. If the insects hadn't attacked so swiftly, he might not have been caught at all.
"Don't flatter me," Miru replied modestly. "This is just what I'm supposed to do."
He said he felt he could have done better but admitted he was still a bit careless.
Ging walked alongside him, lifting his chin to examine the dead insect closely. He said thoughtfully, "At first, I thought there might be no living creatures in this forest, but I was wrong.
This insect is unusual, it hides in the trees to launch surprise attacks, yet somehow it gives off a strangely peaceful vibe."
He paused, then added, "I don't know if it's just a lone insect or if there's a whole population of them in this forest. Miru, did you sense this insect just now?"
Ging looked at the bug, recalling the recent battle as he asked.
Miru shook his head firmly.
"No, I didn't sense it at all," he said.
After a moment, he hesitated, then continued, "Actually, since we entered this forest, the way nen feels has changed a lot. It's strange, nen keeps receiving the same sound wave over and over.
I thought it was because there were no living things here. But now, I'm not so sure."
Ging raised his eyebrows, beginning to piece things together.
"If you've felt this since we arrived, then it's probably not the bugs that are unusual.
It must be something that's always been here."
He looked up at the purple leaves overhead, narrowing his eyes.
"Looks like these leaves are the cause.
They seem to affect perception, but not enough to completely confuse people. After all, this is the Dark Continent."
Ging shrugged, still curious.
"I'm more interested in how the bugs and these trees are connected."
Just then, Larry approached quietly and offered his thoughts.
"I think they have a symbiotic relationship," he said.
"The bugs catch food and eat it, and what's left becomes nutrients for the purple trees.
In return, the toxins from the trees help the bugs trap other creatures. Even if you're wearing protective gear, they can still get to you."
"You can imagine how miserable other creatures must feel after being hit by toxins that cause paralysis," Ging said, his frown gradually easing as he nodded in agreement with Larry's explanation.
Larry held up two fingers and explained, "There are two reasons why bugs aren't affected by the purple light. First, most bugs live inside thick tree trunks, and the purple light can't penetrate that dense layer, so it doesn't affect them.
Second, these bugs have developed antibodies against the purple phototoxin, making them somewhat immune."
He added, "Still, this bug is worth studying, so we can collect it."
As soon as he finished speaking, a space portal opened beneath the insect's corpse, and it dropped inside.
Seeing that Miru was unharmed, Larry led the team forward again. Although the insect attack was a minor setback, it served as a clear warning: this forest holds more dangers than they initially thought, with poisonous threats and hidden perils lurking in the shadows.
They traveled during the day and rested in cyberspace at night. After two days of cautious trekking, they encountered no further dangers.
In fact, one Pokemon was conceived during this time.
---
In the purple forest, a soft rustling filled the air, the sound of the team deliberately stepping lightly. Not only were they careful with their footsteps, but everyone also kept their distance from the surrounding trees.
After witnessing what happened to Miru, they all understood the risk of bugs hiding in the trees. While Larry, Ging, and a few others weren't afraid, many on the team felt vulnerable to this fast-moving threat, doubting they could react as quickly as battle-hardened Miru.
So, for two days, they avoided the trees as much as possible. Even when they needed to get close, they chose smaller trees, believing that insects were more likely to inhabit the larger ones.
In the eerie silence of the purple forest, where you could hear a pin drop, they felt like outsiders, mismatched and out of place. The purple world surrounded them, and if they couldn't retreat to cyberspace at night, their vision might start to fail.
"Um?"
Larry suddenly stopped in his tracks, staring deep into the forest ahead.
The others quickly followed suit, halting and raising their alertness to the highest level. For the past two days, except for that bug incident and their nightly returns to cyberspace, their captain had never paused like this.
It was clear that danger was near.
"There are quite a few," Larry said calmly. "Everyone, get ready. We can't sneak past this time."
The purple glow of the forest had a strange effect. It dampened their senses, including the en ability they relied on, making Miru's nen useless for now.
The whole team had to depend on Larry alone. Some members had powers to detect nen, but even they struggled to adapt in this eerie environment.
Just moments after Larry's warning, a series of guttural sounds echoed from the forest's depths. Strange figures suddenly emerged from the tall grass in the distance.
As they came into clearer view, everyone's eyes shifted from alertness to horror. The creatures' bodies were in various stages of decay, rotting flesh hung loosely, and there was barely any healthy tissue left.
This group wasn't made up of a single species but a disturbing mix: lizard-like beings, giant insects, and python-like creatures. Though their appearances varied greatly, all shared the same rotten, necrotic condition.
As they moved, chunks of decayed flesh fell onto the grass, accompanied by drops of foul-smelling fluid. Their presence added a sickening new layer to the forest's purple hues, one no one wanted to see.
Their huge heads bore dull, lifeless eyes, clouded and dark. Their massive bodies were covered in blackened, rotting flesh tinted with a faint purple hue.
Fortunately, the team wore protective suits and kept their distance; otherwise, the stench would have been overwhelming. It was obvious the rotten flesh would continue to fall away until nothing remained.
Among these decaying monsters were several stark white figures, skeletons stripped bare of flesh, their bones thick and bleached. They resembled skeleton displays in a museum, yet here they were, moving and alive.
The sight was terrifying, a chilling reminder of the unknown forces corrupting this forest. Both the decayed corpses and these skeletal creatures were incredibly strange, after all, they shouldn't even be able to move.