Kazuya froze.
Instead of lunging toward Kalthor's massive frame, he took a cautious step back, his eyes tracking the monster's next move. Ling Wu, Nergal, and Euris stood in tense silence, braced for an immediate counterattack.
Kalthor remained motionless for a long beat. Then, inhaling deeply, he grinned. The thick blood coating his face made the expression look hideous and entirely demonic.
He crossed his wrists tightly over his chest, curling his fingers into white-knuckled fists as a low chant slipped past his lips.
"The lands weep eternally, only blood of the dead can make 'Them' smile."
The moment the words left his mouth, a violent shockwave erupted from his body, forcing the trio to instinctively shield their eyes.
"We can't let him finish the incantation!" Nergal roared, his red eyes narrowing. "Kill him now!"
The three lunged forward in unison.
Ling Wu vanished, flashing across the distance to reappear directly in front of Kalthor. She unleashed a blinding, rapid-fire barrage.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Her strikes were instantaneous and brutal, shattering Kalthor's face and leaving it drenched in blood. Yet he remained conscious, his pupils darting frantically before locking onto her.
Euris slammed his palms against Kalthor's earthen frame, sending a jagged trail of ice blocks racing toward him. At the same time, Nergal clasped his hands and charged, his decaying aura instantly corroding the structure.
The vines under Kalthor's control had grown clumsy and sluggish, barely mounting a defense. Euris easily froze the incoming tendrils, Nergal crumbled any roots that dared to draw near, and Ling Wu utilized her superior speed against Kalthor's fading strength, evading his desperate flails while continuing to rain down heavy blows.
Undoubtedly, Kalthor was on the brink of defeat. Yet...
Kazuya could not shake the cold sensation that something was deeply wrong.
Right then, Kalthor's grin split wider, his broken teeth and blood-slicked face looking utterly monstrous. With his wrists still crossed over his chest, he suddenly snapped his fists open. He straightened his fingers, save for his index fingers and thumbs, which he curled together to form tight circles.
He chanted a second time, his voice echoing with an unnatural resonance:
"Becoming one with nature, 'They' offer their tainted self to make one a deity."
The final syllable triggered a second blast of energy, far more devastating than the first, that violently hurled the trio off the massive structure. Ling Wu hit the ground hard right next to Kazuya, who kept his gaze locked onto the threat.
The immense mass of dirt, grass, and writhing vines began to contract violently, wrapping tightly around Kalthor's humanoid form until it became a rapidly spinning, condensed sphere of soil and roots hovering in mid-air like a miniature moon.
Ling Wu grit her teeth, her voice tight with dread. "We missed our opening."
Nergal immediately calculated a retreat. Initially, he and Euris had planned to bypass the conflict entirely. They had only intervened when Kalthor seemed weak, hoping to easily reap the benefits of the kill. Now, the target was undergoing a radical transformation.
Could this guy actually be the Class 4 threat? Nergal analyzed. Even if he is, between me, Euris, the red-haired woman, and that mysterious black-haired kid, we stand a real chance at taking him down, provided we strike before he adapts to his new power.
He gestured sharply to his partner. Euris scoffed, "You don't have to tell me twice."
Euris pressed his palms together and drew them apart, conjuring a crude and jagged blade of solid ice. Gripping it tightly, he drew his arm back and hurled it with immense force directly at the floating sphere.
But before the ice blade could strike, the rotating vines shifted with terrifying speed and intercepted it.
Euris's eyes widened in surprise, while Nergal's expression darkened. Ling Wu and Kazuya watched the exchange in silence.
Suddenly, the rotating sphere of soil and roots accelerated, instantly bursting into flames. The sphere spun in a vortex of fire, churning out thick plumes of choking smoke and ash. Ready for any incoming attack, the four combatants retreated several paces.
At the peak of its rotation, the fiery sphere ruptured like a boiling shell. Burning roots, charred vines, and blazing soil exploded in all directions, scattering across the ruined street and worsening the chaos. Within moments, the debris sent flying through the air began to slowly dissipate, vanishing like a fading illusion.
But Kazuya's focus was elsewhere. His eyes were locked on the figure now hovering above the street, held aloft by a network of thick vines.
Kalthor's transformation was staggering. The massive earthen frame he previously possessed was gone. Most of his body was now a mottled brownish-green, constructed of packed soil and writhing, squirming root systems. Only his left shoulder, left arm, and a portion of his chest remained human, though they were charred pitch-black, oozing drifts of hot ash. His eyes had shifted to a dark gold, burning with a volatile mixture of madness and insanity.
Whatever Kalthor had just done, it was far more than a simple power upgrade.
Scanning the battlefield from above, Kalthor opened his mouth, but instead of words, a violent cough forced dark blood and chunks of rotting flesh into his palm. He spared the matter an indifferent glance, tossed it aside, and focused his golden gaze entirely on Ling Wu.
He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. He seemed to realize that words were useless now. There was only one thing left to do: fight until everyone lay dead, starting with Ling Wu.
Kalthor moved. He shot forward, anchoring his vines into the surrounding structures to traverse the ruined street like a massive spider. Fueled by a manic thirst for vengeance, Kalthor grit his teeth. With a single thought, several of his vines ignited into raging flames and shot toward the group like lances.
Ling Wu dodged the incoming strikes with fluid grace, while Euris and Nergal managed to hold their ground, fighting back as they retreated. Kazuya, however, was pushed to his absolute limit.
He used his small dagger to deflect whatever he could reach, but the flames were significantly hotter now, and the burning vines were far sturdier than before. Inevitably, Kazuya's body began to accumulate damage. Searing burns, jagged scratches, and shallow slices began to pile up.
Dammit. My secret will be blown the second they realize how quickly I heal. But it doesn't matter anymore, survival is my only priority. I don't know if I can revive after dying, and I'm not risking my life to find out.
Kazuya continued to struggle. Just as a cluster of flaming vines lunged to impale him, a thick wall of ice surged upward, blocking the strike.
Looking over, he saw Euris watching him with a complex expression before turning back to the fray.
Euris hadn't saved him out of kindness, it was a matter of practical target saturation. The more active opponents Kalthor had to divide his focus between, the lighter the offensive pressure on each individual. If Kazuya, clearly the weakest link, fell, Kalthor's full fury would shift to the remaining three.
Kazuya understood the calculation immediately. But he also knew he was running on empty. Fatigue aside, he was rapidly colliding with the hard limits of his current capabilities. No matter how much he struggled, no matter how ironclad his willpower, his body simply could not output more than its physical limits allowed.
Suddenly, a flash of vibrant red crossed Kazuya's vision, and he felt himself swept off his feet.
Ling Wu had scooped him into her arms, seamlessly evading a barrage of Kalthor's attacks.
Kazuya gave her a brief nod. "What's the plan? He's too strong now. The window we had to beat him is completely gone."
Ling Wu offered a strained smile. "The plan is simple: we run."
It was the only logical answer, and Kazuya knew it. Ling Wu had desperately wanted to bring Kalthor down to save the city and prove her worth, but the power gap was now an insurmountable chasm. Dying here achieved nothing. To fight another day, they had to survive today.
Holding Kazuya, Ling Wu flashed and leaped across the debris, while Nergal and Euris covered their rear, desperately trying to slow Kalthor's advance as they retreated.
Kalthor watched his prey slip away. Despite his overwhelming power, he couldn't land a decisive blow. He should have been furious, frustrated, or anxious.
Instead, Kazuya saw him smile, a wide, demonic grin.
Realizing the monster was setting a trap, Kazuya shouted, "Ling Wu—!"
Before he could finish the warning, the entire street erupted. Cobblestones shattered, dirt exploded, and debris rained down.
When the dust settled, massive vines had burst from the earth, shooting high into the sky. They hadn't impaled the group, but they had completely sealed the area. The four found themselves trapped in a dense forest of solid roots.
Kalthor's smile widened as he clenched his open palm into a fist. Obliging the gesture, the surrounding vines squirmed and converged, weaving together to form a colossal, spherical cage the size of a house.
Kazuya looked around. They were entirely sealed in, and with no light source penetrating the thick canopy of roots, the interior of the cage plunged into pitch darkness.
Ling Wu set Kazuya down. Even with the bandages covering her eyes, her posture was taut with anxiety. Nergal and Euris were visibly anxious too.
Nergal unleashed his decaying aura, but the rot spread incredibly slowly, the sheer density of the vines resisted his power. Euris conjured razor-sharp ice blades to hack at the walls, but the moment a vine was severed, a new one grew in its place instantly.
Kalthor was pouring every ounce of his current strength into maintaining this cage. Escaping it would not be easy.
Kazuya paced the perimeter, inspecting the interlocking vines. He fell into deep thought.
Kalthor could easily ignite these vines to burn us alive inside, but he isn't. Beyond the fact that fire would structurally weaken his own cage, he knows that blond's ice would counter the flames. He could try to crush or impale us, but, again, that blond could bolster the interior with a layer of ice, and with the masked guy's decay, they could hold out for a significant amount of time.
Because Kalthor is channeling all his power into keeping us trapped, a battle of attrition is highly disadvantageous for him. If this cage breaks and those two exhaust themselves, Ling Wu and I will still be fresh, presenting a massive threat to him.
If my deductions are correct... how does he actually plan to kill us?
As Kazuya frowned, analyzing the trap, Ling Wu's voice shattered the silence: "Watch out!"
Turning sharply, Kazuya saw a sudden movement near the center of the cage. The vines squirmed, parting to reveal a beautiful, vibrant pink flower.
Despite its harmless appearance, the four combatants immediately scrambled backward.
No sooner had the first flower opened than a second bloomed beside it, then a third, spreading rapidly until the entire inner side of the cage was carpeted in pink blossoms.
Nergal surged forward, unleashing his decay. But the moment one flower withered, two more sprouted in its place. Euris cast a wave of frost, freezing a massive cluster of them solid. Yet even beneath the thick glaze of ice, the flowers continued to pulse rhythmically, emitting faint specks of shimmering pink light.
Ling Wu cursed under her breath. "These flowers aren't normal. Whatever they're doing, we can't stop them."
A heavy, oppressive silence settled over the group. Ling Wu realized, with sinking dread, that they were completely trapped. Nergal and Euris silently cursed their own greed, realizing they had walked straight into their own graves.
They stood waiting for the flowers' effects to take hold, braced for whatever death Kalthor had prepared for them.
But Kazuya was different.
While the others spiraled into panic and regret, Kazuya remained entirely calm. Though falling into this trap was a setback, he felt no regret. Choosing to fight Kalthor had been his decision. His own actions had brought him to this point, and he accepted the consequences.
Kazuya let out a long, slow breath, letting his tense muscles relax.
His mind grew remarkably quiet. A faint smile almost touched his inner thoughts.
If this is where it ends, so be it.
Dwelling on past mistakes only paralyzes us, leaving us too afraid to take the next step.
Beyond learning from what has already happened, the only way to truly live is to act without regret.
That was the philosophy Kazuya had chosen. That was how he intended to live.
Suddenly, a jolt shot through his consciousness, snapping him back to reality. It felt exactly like the sensation of drifting off on an incredibly comfortable mattress, only to be abruptly shaken awake.
What was that? Kazuya thought, his eyes narrowing. I felt far too relaxed just now. Is it the flowers?
He crouched down, studying the blossoms as they released their ethereal, glowing pink spores into the dark air.
When he lifted his head, a chilling sight met his eyes.
At some point during his brief lapse in focus, Ling Wu, Nergal, and Euris had all collapsed. They lay motionlessly on the dirt, their eyes shut tightly and their breathing slow, pulled into a deep slumber.
In the quiet, pitch-black cage, Kazuya alone remained awake.