Absolute silence.
That's what hit everyone the moment Nero and Aurelia disappeared into the Verdant Tyrant's massive maw.
One second there was chaos, screaming, and the sound of impending doom.
And the next second?
There's the creature's ominous chanting and everyone was staring at where two people had just committed the most spectacular suicide in human history.
"Did... did they just..."
Yuki's voice was barely a whisper, her usual magical girl energy completely drained by witnessing what could only be described as voluntary monster digestion.
"Tch. They're inside that thing."
Mina stated the obvious like she was trying to convince herself it was real.
"Holy shit, they actually did it…"
"This is madness!"
Genya's chains were still wrapped around the creature's base, but his voice carried the kind of disbelief that came from watching people do impossible things.
"Complete and utter madness!"
"Ara ara... what a troublesome situation."
Haori's gentle voice somehow managed to sound calm despite the fact that two of their strongest fighters had just been swallowed whole.
"Nero and Ms. Angel are now... inside."
*ROAAARRRRR!!!*
The Verdant Tyrant continued thrashing around, but something was different about its movements.
It's less coordinated and more desperate.
Probably because it's dealing with internal problems rather than external threats.
"We need to get out of here!"
Ren was barely staying upright on his ice platform, mana exhaustion making every movement an effort.
"If that plan doesn't work, we're all dead when that thing refocuses on us!"
"But we can't just leave them!"
Jin's voice cracked with emotion, her injuries making her lean heavily against a fallen tree.
"They're in there because of us! Because of this whole fucked up situation!"
*WOOOMMM...*
The expanding death field continued its relentless advance, forcing everyone to keep moving backward.
But then...
Something changed.
*WUUUMMM...*
The shimmering effect that had been draining life from everything it touched suddenly stuttered.
It flickered.
And then completely stopped.
"... What the hell?"
The death field wasn't just slowing down.
It was disappearing entirely, the shimmering effect fading like someone had just turned off a cosmic light switch.
*ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!*
But the sound that followed made everyone's spine shiver.
It's not your usual coordinated roar of a predator in control.
It sounds more like a roar of pure agony.
The kind of pain that cuts through the air like a knife made of suffering and rage.
"Something's happening!"
Juno was frantically checking his readings, his enhanced brain processing the magical energy signatures at superhuman speed.
"The creature's internal energy patterns are becoming chaotic by 108.2%! Massive disruption throughout its entire system!"
"English!"
"Whatever they're doing in there, it's working!"
*CRASH! BOOM! THRASH!*
The Verdant Tyrant began moving like a creature that had lost all rationality and common sense.
Instead of the usually instinctual movements of an apex predator, it was flailing around like someone had set its internal organs on fire.
Which, considering what Nero and Aurelia were probably doing, might not be that far from the truth.
"The plan is actually working..."
Yuki's voice carried amazement mixed with the kind of relief that came from realizing you might not die horribly after all.
"They found a weakness!"
But then the creature's flower head did something that made everyone realize the situation was actually much, much worse than what they thought.
*GLUB! GLUB! GLUB!*
Green liquid started frothing from its triple maws, bubbling up like the world's most disgusting fountain.
The stuff was dark green and moved with the consistency of radioactive honey.
"That doesn't look good!"
Whatever the liquid was, it was having an immediate effect on every monster in the area.
*ROAR! SNARL! SCREECH! HOWL!*
The direwolves, giant blood bats, and bear-bulldozer thing that had been coordinating their attacks suddenly turned on each other.
Pack tactics went out the window as territorial instincts kicked into overdrive.
"They're going berserk!"
A direwolf that had been flanking their position suddenly spun around and launched itself at one of the blood bats.
Claws met wing membrane in a spray of crimson that painted the nearby trees.
The bear-bulldozer creature charged straight into a cluster of its own allies, trampling smaller monsters under massive paws.
"The mind control is breaking down!"
Juno's voice announced as he processed what was happening.
"The creature can no longer maintain coordination over its summoned forces!"
*SLASH! BITE! CLAW! SCREECH!*
What had been an organized monster army was rapidly becoming a free-for-all death match.
Creatures that had been working together 30 seconds ago were now trying to tear each other's throats out.
And judging from the distant chaotic sounds, it seems that the other monsters that were about to arrive were also affected.
"This is our chance!"
Mina was already moving, her enhanced speed carrying her away from the battlefield chaos.
"We need to get distance while they're busy murdering each other!"
"Everyone move! NOW!"
Haori's vines created a path through the monster mayhem, the plant matter forming bridges over the worst of the fighting.
"Gilbert! Bring the other survivors! We're relocating!"
"... R-Right!"
*CRASH! BOOM! SLASH!*
Running through a battlefield where everything was trying to kill everything else was like playing the world's deadliest game of dodge ball.
Monster blood was flying in every direction.
Chunks of creature were being flung around like confetti made of death and violence.
And in the center of it all, the Verdant Tyrant was thrashing around like it was having the worst stomach ache in the history of digestive problems.
"How far do we need to go?!"
Gilbert and the others who can still move were helping the injured survivors keep pace, his face pale with exhaustion but determined.
"Far enough that we don't get caught in whatever happens next!"
*ROAAARRRRR!!!*
The creature's agonized roars were getting louder and more frequent.
Whatever Nero and Aurelia were doing inside that thing, it was causing serious internal damage.
After five minutes of desperate running, they finally reached what Juno calculated as a safe distance.
Maybe 200 meters from the chaos, behind a natural ridge that would provide cover if things went sideways.
"Gilbert!"
Juno was breathing hard but his brain was still working at full capacity.
"We need healing! Use your Assisted Living Operation skill!"
"Right! What do you need?"
Gilbert's hands were already glowing with the soft light of his active skill.
The ability that let him imbue healing properties into medicinal materials.
"Haori! Medicinal herbs according to my specifications!"
"Already on it!"
The gentle plant mage's hands moved through complex gestures, her vine magic responding with precision.
*SPROUT! GROW! BLOOM!*
Plants began emerging from the ground around them.
Not just any plants, but specific medicinal herbs that Juno's enhanced knowledge identified as optimal for their current injuries.
Healing moss for surface wounds.
Energy-restoring berries for mana exhaustion.
Pain-relief leaves for internal injuries.
"This is incredible..."
One of the injured survivors was staring in amazement as Gilbert's skill transformed the herbs into something that actually worked.
The healing moss was literally closing cuts as it was applied.
The berries were restoring color to exhausted faces.
Even Jin's serious injuries were responding to the enhanced treatment.
"How many people do we have?"
Juno was doing a head count while his brain processed tactical information.
"12 fighters total, not including Lord Nero and Lady Aurelia."
"Think they're still alive in there?"
The question came from one of the frontline survivors, his voice carrying the kind of worry that came from watching friends disappear into monster mouths.
Everyone turned to look at the distant battlefield where the Verdant Tyrant was still thrashing around.
*CRASH! BOOM! THRASH!*
The creature's movements were becoming more erratic by the minute.
Its flower head was spewing more of that green liquid, and the monster free-for-all was intensifying.
"Based on current observable evidence..."
Juno's analytical voice carried notes of cautious optimism.
"Whatever they're doing is causing systemic damage to the creature's internal structure."
"That's nerd speaking for 'they're fucking it up from the inside,' right?"
"Correct."
"Then they're probably still alive."
But even as he said it, everyone could see the worry in Juno's eyes.
Being inside an SR-tier monster while it was dying had to be one of the most dangerous places in the world.
***
*SLICE! SLASH! STAB!*
Inside the Verdant Tyrant, Nero and Aurelia were discovering that "wreaking havoc" was easier said than done when your target kept trying to heal itself.
"Holy fucking hell!"
Nero's shortsword carved through what looked like a major organ, only to watch the tissue start regenerating before his eyes.
"This thing heals faster than we can damage it!"
*SLICE! SLICE! SLICE!*
Aurelia's divine broadsword was moving in perfect combat forms, each strike calculated to maximize damage.
But even with her deadly precision and masterful swordsmanship wasn't enough to overcome the creature's internal regeneration rate.
"The healing rate is too high, Lord Nero."
Her voice was strained from the constant energy drain, but she kept fighting with grim determination.
"We need to target something more vital."
The inside of the creature was like being trapped in a living nightmare.
Pulsing walls of organic matter surrounded them, dripping with fluids that probably violated several health codes.
Weird tendrils kept trying to wrap around their limbs.
And everything was regenerating faster than they could destroy it.
"There!"
Aurelia's enhanced vision caught something that Nero had missed.
Near what looked like a narrower section of the creature's internal cavity, there were clusters of pulsing growths.
Not normal organ tissue, but something that looked distinctly wrong.
Tumor-like masses that pulsed with their own rhythm, separate from the rest of the creature's biology.
"Those growths… They're not regenerating at the same rate."
"You mean those nasty-looking tumor things?"
"Exactly."
"Heh."
If there's something that Nero knew from all the bosses he defeated with all the kinds of games he played, it's the fact that most of them have a glaringly obvious weak spot you can take advantage…
And that's why,
"Then let's fuck them up!"
Nero's grin was pure mischief mixed with the kind of desperate energy that came from having nothing left to lose.
*SLASH! STAB! SLICE!*
Both of them launched themselves at the pulsing masses, weapons carving through tissue that actually stayed damaged.
*ROOOAAARRRRR!!!*
The creature's roar of agony was so loud it vibrated through its entire body.
"Oh! You like that sweet spot, huh."
*STAB!*
"Why don't you eat this?"
*SLICE!*
"Here, have some more!"
*SLASH! STAB!*
Nero kept stabbing and slashing with a wide grin on his face.
*ROOOOOAAAAARRRRR!!!!*
"Hehe… Here!"
Fighting with pure adrenaline and the knowledge that this was their only chance, Nero and Aurelia tore into the tumor clusters like their lives depended on it.
Each successful strike sent waves of agonizing pain that thoroughly fucked with the creature's entire system.
Its thrashing was becoming more violent, but also more uncoordinated.
"Create an opening!"
Aurelia's divine energy, what little she had left, flowed into her blade as she carved a hole directly into the center of the largest tumor mass.
"I'm going in!"
Nero sneakily dove through the opening she'd created, finding himself in what looked like the creature's central nervous system.
*SLICE! SLASH! STAB! CUT!*
"If you really want to kill something from the inside, then you REALLY have to go for the brain."
… Or in this case, whatever passed for a brain in a plant-based nightmare creature.
"Heh…"
Nero found himself grinning as he felt his heart pump hot blood into his entire body.
The adrenaline worked full-time on his whole nervous system, while his passive skill Greater Instinct guided him on what best parts to slice up first!
*SLICE! STAB! SLASH! CUT!*
*ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!*
The Verdant Tyrant's movements became increasingly desperate as the duo destroyed its internals like they were the most dangerous foreign cells.
Every nerve cluster they severed made the plant scream like a little bitch.
Every vital part they damaged weakened its hold on dear life.
*CRASH! BOOM! THRASH!*
The creature was throwing itself around like it was having seizures, but that just made it easier for them to cause more damage.
"Hahaha! It's working!"
Nero's voice was hoarse from shouting and energy drain, but filled with vicious satisfaction.
The only thing that's keeping them from losing consciousness is the fact that the death field has completely vanished after messing up the insides of the Verdant Tyrant.
*SLICE! SLASH! STAB! CUT! DESTROY!*
They carved their way through the creature's most vital systems with the systematic thoroughness of people who understood that half-measures would get them killed.
Brain matter, nerve clusters, energy conduits, circulatory systems.
Everything that kept the Verdant Tyrant alive was getting the sharp end of their weapons.
*ROAAARRR... rooaarr... roooo...*
The creature's roars were getting weaker.
Its movements were becoming sluggish.
And its internal regeneration was finally failing to keep up with the damage they were causing, especially with how vulnerable each of these parts were…
"Almost there…"
Aurelia's voice carried exhaustion but also determination as she destroyed what looked like the final major nerve cluster.
*SLASH!*
*THUMP!*
A loud thud happened while the two lost their balance.
It was immediately followed by silence.
… Not the ominous silence of something preparing to attack.
The genuine silence of something that had finally stopped moving.
"Haaaahh... did we actually do it?"
Nero's voice was barely a whisper, even daring to try out raising the red flag just in case.
But as an assurance, something familiar floated within Nero's vision to confirm what they just accomplished, allowing the man to sigh in relief.
[Congratulations. You have defeated a unique creature named "Verdant Tyrant" (SR).]
***
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