Click. Click.
The Aberration, which until now had seemed confused, raised one of its six arms. It let out more dry snaps that sounded disgusting as its head jerked in uneven spasms.
A second later, more than twenty roots burst from the ground, growing wildly and cracking the pavement—filling the sky above the feline girl's head.
"Oh, no!"
She saw her end through her beautiful, radiant orange eyes. The future her Spectrum had shown her was her own death, so she closed her eyes and braced for the worst.
Wham! That future did not come to pass. Something stopped the roots with a brutal blow.
When she opened her eyes, the feline girl found herself staring at the figure of an armored woman holding her heavy shield. The ground beneath that figure's feet was broken and sunken—it could barely withstand the weight and force of the roots.
Resisting the impact, the woman in shining armor stood firm. Her shield reflected the monster's face and the morning light.
Despite stepping in to save her feline companion, her body could not withstand the full power of the roots. The flesh of her muscles tore along with her bones. Blood splattered. But the pain did not seem to matter to her.
Her arms bled, shards of bone protruding through her skin, yet she only stared seriously at the monster with her mystical green eyes, as if she felt no pain at all.
"I'm sorry," said the feline girl.
Elara shook her head and shoved the roots back with a powerful swing of her right arm against the shield. The broken bone fragments pushed even farther out through her skin because of the abrupt motion.
In that very instant, her green eyes glowed faintly. Her body was enveloped in a mysterious green aura and, as if by magic, her wounds healed instantly.
"We need more firepower," Elara said, frowning.
"You're right, but… uh…"
Her feline ears twitched. Instinctively, she glanced over her shoulder and said:
"Nova's here."
The last member of the team had arrived.
'Yikes. This is a mess.'
From atop one of the small shops in the area, Nova scratched his head, looking down at his teammates below.
'Looks like the energy detectors didn't notify us in time. That's strange…'
Strange or not, there was nothing he could do about it. A few minutes had already passed since he received the alert from the Luminaris Department of Security.
'Well, how are they holding up?'
Analyzing the situation—Elara had stepped in to protect the feline girl with her shield and her Spectrum's power. Rober, on the other hand… where is he?
Crack.
Glass crunched as the canine boy rose from the floor. The broken table and the damage to the shop were the least of his concerns, because the moment Rober saw what his outfit looked like after the hit, he exploded.
"Stupid plant! How dare you?! My clothes were expensive!"
His combat uniform was torn across the shirt and at the ends of his pants.
"Get ready! I'm gonna snap your branches in half!"
Nova sighed.
'Better get down there before Rober does something stupid.'
He leaped forward and appeared beside the two girls, skidding to a stop and nearly losing his trench coat in the process.
"I'm late."
Both girls ignored him and kept their eyes on the disaster ahead.
'Okay… I didn't say anything. You've got this…'
He followed their gaze before making a decision.
"Stop using those things to attack me, coward!" Rober shouted, jumping across the roofs of the cars. "Fight like a man!"
The tentacled tree did not seem to move from its spot. It simply kept summoning shadowy roots. It almost looked reluctant to keep fighting Rober. Maybe it was tired of dealing with that shorty.
Taking a step forward, Nova extended his hand and said:
"Alright, let's not waste any more time."
His amber eyes ignited with the golden color of his Spectrum, and a ghostly aura wrapped tightly around him.
"Elara, take point. I need you to make the Aberration burn through all its resources on you."
Elara nodded and charged toward the Aberration. Nova continued:
"Miyu, stay behind Rober and support him with your Future Vision. I'll boost you and cover your backs."
With the orders given, the team fell into formation.
Elara positioned herself at the very front. The Aberration focused on her and aimed two of its six hands in her direction. Then the roots surged like a torrent, striking her like whips. Of course, she used her shield and her Self-Healing to endure.
Miyu had work to do as well. Appearing behind Rober in the blink of an eye, she grabbed his arm and jumped, lifting him and forcing him to fall back.
"What are you doing, idiot? Let me go!"
"Same as always, idiot. Don't waste time."
They landed, their boots screeching across the pavement, and in a fraction of a second, vanished from the others' sight.
In the rear, Nova smiled calmly. His friends were following the plan without needing many explanations.
'Category 7. If we don't stop it, the entire block will be destroyed. Of course this bastard is ours. Just you wait, monster!'
A faint, amused smile formed on his face.
Energy gathered around the outside of his body, intensifying the fluctuation of his aura—golden and radiant—which traveled from his hands to his three teammates. They felt the surge of power as their auras flared brightly.
'Now!'
As if they were all following Nova's thoughts, the team moved in unison and launched their coordinated attack.
Rober grinned and unleashed the full power of his Spectrum. His body was engulfed in a crimson-red aura that coursed through every molecule of him, and his dark eyes turned scarlet.
He threw a powerful punch at one of the roots that was about to strike him, and it recoiled violently, crashing into a car and crushing it under the force of the impact.
"Now we're talking!" the canine boy cheered, raising his fist high.
Behind him, Miyu did not hold back as she fought the Aberration. She used her sharp claws to slice through everything in her path.
Two roots rose at her sides, but she smiled in satisfaction. Agile as an olympic gymnast, she flipped backward, skidded along the ground, then launched herself forward to cut the first root with her claws.
As soon as she landed, she jumped again to slice through the second root.
"Scared, little plant?!"
The feline girl looked happy—in a terrifying and adorable way.
At the front, Elara was having trouble holding back the rest of the roots. They struck with tremendous force, and her body fractured with every impact of dozens of lashes.
In that regard, she took the worst of it. But her Spectrum, which wrapped around her like a green magical mantle, healed her body again and again so she could keep resisting and distracting the monster.
That allowed Miyu and Rober to carve a path through the road and the roots. As if dancing amid the destruction, they leaped onto one of the crushed cars.
Grabbing Rober by the ankle, she smiled, clearly enjoying herself.
"I love doing this," Miyu said in a teasing tone.
Rober frowned.
"Yeah, well, I don't."
In the air, they spun in the same direction to increase the force of impact. This is the human missile, after all. Pretty painful and very impractical, to be honest.
She let go of Rober after a second, and he shot downward toward the Aberration like a missile.
He braced himself as he descended. Then, with his fists blazing with fire…
Boom!
He crashed into the monstrous tree, exploding into a sea of flames that lit up the center of the street.
Before dying, the Aberration opened its black eyes and released a couple more snaps. In the next moment, all that remained of such a mysterious monster from a Dimensional Portal was ash.
Rober was there too, lying on the ground completely unconscious. His entire body was charred—but aside from that, he was better than ever.