The smell of meat still lingered in the air.
Heavy, Sweet, Lusian cut another piece from the S-Omega's corpse. The blade met resistance before giving way. He brought it to his mouth without hurry.
He chewed slowly.
He had survived. Barely… but he still didn't understand what had really happened. That darkness that had enveloped him, what was it?
In the settlement, calm returned, but they still didn't know if the danger had passed.
As long as the Mother Tree kept growing, it would continue to attract all kinds of creatures, eager to take a bite, and others, just for the comfort of the mana it naturally released.
Lusian understood this clearly: the danger would only increase. The question was how to avoid it.
In a world where the law of the strongest rules, being weak becomes a sin in itself.
—The more the Mother Tree grows... the more will come.
Selvryn's voice was not loud, but it still made itself known.
Lusian barely managed to turn. He was without strength, but upon recognizing an ally, he breathed more calmly.
—Monsters feel mana —she continued—: they follow it and they need it.
When he raised his gaze, their eyes met. It was strange: he didn't know when that bond had formed, but she was no longer a stranger, and he wasn't to her either.
—The Mother Tree transforms mana, allowing living beings to consume it more gently and quickly —she said—. Soon a forest will form. Our forest. It will also serve as protection for the Mother Tree, but, while that happens, we must protect it.
She paused briefly.
—So… recover quickly.
Lusian tried to stand, but his body did not respond as he wanted; the aftermath of the battle was evident.
—Can you help me?
Selvryn nodded.
Lusian leaned on Selvryn; he felt the softness of the elf and her natural scent, and her ears, strangely, turned a reddish color.
She embraced him and together they began their return to the settlement.
As they walked, something in her expression changed.
—I don't understand… —she murmured—. You shouldn't be alive.
Lusian let out a breath, almost a humorless laugh.
—I don't fully understand it either.
And he left it at that.
Selvryn watched him for a few more seconds. She didn't seem satisfied, but she didn't insist either.
There was something. She didn't know what it was, but it was there.
—Every day will be worse —she said—. More creatures will come, and when the forest begins to grow, so will the herbivorous demi-humans, in large herds
Her fingers tensed slightly, as if she wanted to grasp something invisible.
—And if the Tree falls before it grows… all of this will have been for nothing.
Involuntarily, she squeezed Lusian, and he complained; anything caused pain to his already battered body.
—I'm sorry.
She didn't look at him when she said it.
—Be careful —said Lusian, watching her closely.
Selvryn raised her gaze.
Lusian held it without moving.
The silence settled between them.
Then the footsteps came Irregular.
Lusian was glad to see her.
Kara approached them, bandaged, holding herself up more by will than by her body. She tried to maintain her posture, but she fooled no one.
Lusian looked at her for a moment.
And smiled.
—You're still in one piece.
Kara frowned and, without stopping, gave him a sharp hit on the arm.
—Don't start.
Lusian grimaced in pain.
—Does it hurt?
—Of course it hurts.
She stopped in front of him, measuring her breathing.
—You need to be more careful, idiot.
Lusian tilted his head slightly.
He wanted to complain, did he have any other choice?
—You jumped in without measuring —he said—. That's not your style.
Kara hesitated; she didn't want to show the concern she had felt.
Then she took Lusian's other arm to help Selvryn.
She didn't look at him while doing it.
Lusian let out a low laugh.
Selvryn slowly closed her fingers.
As if she wanted to strike Lusian…
without understanding the anger she felt.