It was like the air grew thinner, causing Peter to step forward with caution.
"Reith?" He called, gripping his sword tightly, despite the sweat forming around his palm.
"Just look up."
Reith didn't move as his eyes remained fixated to the scene above him.
Peter nodded and raised his head up and it was then he saw it.
"That's sickening." He gritted his teeth.
Staring right at them were a couple of teenagers entangled in a web of vines. The teenagers weren't moving and the vines kept tightening around their limbs and Reith noticed something strange.
Breathing in this place was hard, and it looked like the faces of those teenagers were turning rather pale.
"It's draining them." Reith spoke up, it took straining of his eyes to truly see what was going on.
"Isn't that Derek?" Peter was the one who recognised the first teenager, causing Reith to look closer at the face of each of the captured teenagers and he took a sharp breath.
Unknown to them, beneath their feet, vines were slowly crawling along the floor, inching toward their legs.
"It's the four of them!" Reith squinted his gaze, activating his Hana sight, and he saw a blend made of different colours within those vines.
But these blended colours moved unlike what he had previously seen. They were jagged, erratic, moving in some sort of zigzag pattern.
"They are alive." Reith whispered.
Peter looked at him with his eyes widened, "What was that?" But before he could focus more on Reith's answer, he felt something and the sword in his hand moved.
He sliced a vine that had wrapped around one of his foot. "Reith, we have got company." Peter gasped, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword.
Reith didn't answer instantly, and his eyes darted looking at the movement of those jagged colours. "Peter. These aren't just vines." He said as his gaze trazed the movement of the color blend to somewhere behind a large thicket.
"Say something I can understand, Reith." Peter grumbled, shifting his stance.
"They are draining them. These vines are feeding on the Hana in their body."
Just as Reith finished speaking, the ground erupted and countless vines shot up violently from the hole, attempting to lash out the boys.
But Reith had seen it coming.
He grabbed Peter by his shirt, pulling him immediately as he leapt away from the surrounding.
"This is insane." Peter said, watching the wriggling mass of thick green vines as they climbed higher, covering the image of Derek and his minions.
Reith frowned. He didn't think they were strong enough to defeat such a strong organism especially one that was fighting for its survival.
"Ruach, I think this time. I might need a weapon." Reith said to himself, taking out his path and suddenly a sharp, double-edged appeared.
Peter merely gaped at Reith's new stance. "You want to fight those things? I always knew you weren't normal but this is something entirely different." He said but his own gaze had also sharpened.
He had previously splitted one of those things into two so there was really no difference to him now.
"From their Hana flow, there are gaps between the hana flow in those vines. Slash at them and you'd easily cut them in half." Reith stated, and he moved forward.
Peter hissed, "I can't see the Hana flow like you, Reith. How do I find the gap?"
Reith kept quiet, thinking.
If they didn't hurry up, Derek and his friends could die from hanavolemic shock, and it would only paint the survivors in a bad way.
No one would believe them if they said they were attacked, especially since the instructors had said the whole place was inspected.
Did they leave this for us to deal with ourselves? Reith's frown deepened.
"Follow me, there's a rhythm." Reith knew he couldn't do his things alone right now, so he had to guide Peter.
By the side, Peter gave a nod, and he watched Reith attack.
There was a movement, and in perfect sync, they both slashed at the writhing vines in their various directions.
"You think we can beat this thing?" Peter asked through the heat that radiated in his body, as his limbs felt heavier.
Reith slashed forward, "No."
Hearing it, Peter rolled his eyes, and sighed.
"We just want to get to Derek and release them." Reith stated the plan and Peter nodded with new resolve.
In a minute, they slashed their way into the middle of the cluster of vein and they arrived at the middle area and looking upward, they saw that the boys were still there.
The bodies were starting to grow pale.
"We have to hurry!" Reith yelled, and they moved.
Slashing with precision, they reached the end and Reith hacked at the vines, his sword coated in green liquid.
"Get them Peter." He called out and after hearing his name, Peter moved and grabbed the severed vines holding Derek and the other boys, before they could hit the floor.
Once Peter caught the vines, he moved back and Reith slashed at more vines before backing away.
Through his hana sight, he was able to see the exit of the whole place.
Derek coughed as the color returned to his face. Reith stared at him, if they had delayed for a minute, Derek's meridian would have collapsed.
Two of Derek's minions wheezed heavily as the air returned to their lungs.
"Are you guys alright?" Reith stepped forward and they nodded their head although their visions were blurry.
"We were lured here." One of them gasped out as he tried to catch his breath. "It was Wesley that saw the treasure first and we followed him here." He continued.
Derek wiped the saliva from his lips. His head was throbbing but he was more concerned about something else.
"Where's the fool! He was the one who lured us to our death. All our supplies are gone." Derek growled harshly.
Hearing his question, Reith looked around and he saw Peter kneeling besides someone.
"Peter..." Reith ran towards him and his eyes stopped at the unmoving body he was kneeling by and he froze.
The boy's body...
The vines that held him didn't just suck from him, they had twisted his limbs to the opposite angle.
There were thorn-like holes in his neck, spreading to his limbs. His face had a bluish... Almost translucent color and his lips hung open as greenish fluid dripped from it.
Peter slammed his fist on the floor. "We were late! If only–"
While Reith dropped to his knees immediately and pressed his fingers to the boy's neck, praying to sense a slight Hana flow, maybe even a miracle.
There was nothing.
"They drained him dry." Reith whispered, and he raised his hand to close the dead boy's eyes.
Besides him, Peter had risen to his feet. "We need to leave here. Those things are going to come for us."
Reith delayed for a minute, his hands clasped over the boy's body, he could only pray peace for the boy's soul.
At the corner, Derek scoffed, his eyes moving to his empty bags by the corner. He was going to get his supplies.
The vines lashed wildly and a screech echoes in the forest, causing the birds to move to the sky.
"We have to leave now!" Reith slashed forward at a lone bush and the image merely vanished.
"An illusion?" One of Derek's friend whispered and he turned to the body, "We can't leave Wesley's body here."
Just as he spoke, a number of vines wrapped around the body and dragged it into the dense thicket.
Reith grabbed Derek by the arm, and he moved. "We are sorry." He muttered, thinking of the dragged body, "But we have to leave."