"Ha… has the little lamb broken its leg already?"
Cashew looked down at Omelet lying on the ground, her voice dripping with mockery.
She wasn't in a hurry. Each slow step brought her closer, as if she were merely strolling around a toy that had just been broken.
"You're quite brave. No wonder Lord Almond let you slip away back then."
Omelet pressed his hands against the ground, trying to crawl up. His head spun, his vision swaying like water violently stirred. When he glanced back, beyond Cashew's tall figure approaching him, he saw the mushroom stalks that had just been severed.
In the air, tiny purple spores floated densely. They drifted slowly, catching the faint light like a violet curtain veiling the surroundings.
His vision cleared slightly.
"…Poison? Those mushrooms…"
In the distance, Cashew slowly raised one wing. The air above Omelet trembled.
"Dancing String. First Death!"
A strand as thin as a hair manifested above Omelet—then shot straight down.
Thud!
It pierced through Omelet's left leg, tearing a scream from his throat. Dark red blood splattered across the damp yellow ground. The pain ripped through his nerves, stealing his breath.
The thread did not vanish. It lodged deep in his flesh—then began to twist.
The wound widened. It drilled deeper, pinning his leg to the ground.
Gritting his teeth, Omelet grabbed the thread, trying to pull it out—but the moment he clenched it, his palm was sliced open. Blood dripped onto his thigh.
"Stay still."
Cashew was already standing before him, nearly twice his height. The black claw at the tip of her wing descended like a hand gripping his throat, lifting him off the ground as easily as a small animal.
"I didn't expect killing you would take this long… but I'm actually enjoying it."
Omelet struggled, kicking wildly. The string embedded in his leg was slowly dragged out, slicing deeper as it withdrew. Blood followed the filament, the agony nearly unbearable.
"Well? Show me your Essence, little lamb. Hurry up, use it to defeat me!"
Her claw tightened around his throat. Air was crushed from his lungs. His vision dimmed.
"Look, little lamb… your friends have already lost. You're the only one left. So why don't you—"
Crunch!
Omelet suddenly bit down hard on the claw gripping his neck.
The unexpected pain made Cashew loosen her hold. Omelet fell, rolling violently across the ground.
Despite his pierced leg, he gritted his teeth and dragged himself forward, forcing himself upright.
"You fucking piece of trash!"
Cashew's voice rang out, now truly furious. Her long wings flared wide.
"Dancing String. Thausand Death!"
The space around her seemed to explode.
Thousands of razor-sharp string rained down within a three-meter radius, then expanded outward in a widening circle of death.
The ground was shredded into countless intersecting gashes.
Omelet stood at the outer edge of the slaughter zone. He limped forward, each step dragging a red trail behind him. The threads struck closer and closer. The circle tightened.
"No… I'm scared… I…"
His body trembled. The shriek of threads slicing through air sounded like whips cracking. Each impact against the earth echoed like his own racing heartbeat.
"No. You have nothing to be afraid of."
Amid the destruction, a warm voice rose.
Reality blurred—overlapping with a golden evening by a riverside cliff. A tall father sat beside a small boy named Omelet.
"But… I'm scared they'll beat me…"
Large hands gently ruffled his hair.
"It's alright. When you're bullied, you must stand up and fight back. The more cowardly you are, the more they'll push you."
The voice was deep and steady, like a fortress wall.
"Above all… my son is not a coward."
Not a coward...
Not a...
Not...
"I'M NOT A COWARD!"
Omelet screamed, as if slapping the fear out of his own heart.
"I was a coward once before!"
The wings behind his back began to glow faintly. He beat them hard.
"But I won't be afraid anymore!"
Wind surged.
His body shot upward, rising beyond the rain of steel string stabbing into the ground.
Cashew paused, looking up at him, lips curling.
"Oh? Not afraid of me anymore?"
The land around her had been torn to pieces.
Omelet did not answer. Gathering every ounce of strength left, he flew straight toward a large cluster of mushrooms ahead. The stalks were tall and dense, with only narrow gaps between them.
" Oh my little lamb? Trying to escape me?"
Cashew laughed coldly. Her massive wings spread wide, claws retracting. Her shadow stretched long across the ground like a hunting owl.
Omelet plunged into the mushroom thicket. The thick stalks were just wide enough for his smaller body to slip through.
Cashew followed close behind—but her larger frame could not fully pass through. Without hesitation, she flew while unleashing string, slicing through the obstructing mushroom stalks.
The giant mushrooms toppled.
Purple spores erupted thicker than before, swirling into dense clouds.
Within the hazy violet mist, Omelet flew deeper inside, eyes barely open. Countless string shot toward him, piercing through mushroom stalks and carving clear tears through the floating sea of spores.
"Why are you running? You'll end up as minced meat before me anyway!"
Cashew pursued him, cutting down mushroom after mushroom.
Omelet held his breath, eyes slightly open just enough to see the path.
"Just a little more… Let her cut down as many mushrooms as possible…"