The jungle was alive with the sounds of night.
A chorus of insects echoed through the darkness beyond the ridge while unseen creatures called to one another somewhere far below the endless emerald canopy of Sector H-09.
The small camp sat quietly atop the rocky overlook.
Four canvas tents surrounded the fire pit in a rough circle.
Orange flames crackled softly, sending sparks drifting into the evening sky.
For the first time all day...
Gamma Squad wasn't moving.
Weapons rested beside their owners.
Backpacks leaned against the tents.
The constant vigilance that had followed them through the valley had finally begun to fade.
June stared into the fire.
"I still can't believe it was a plant."
Lucian let out a quiet laugh.
"It barely looked alive until it fed."
"It looked beautiful," Nyra said softly.
"That's what bothered me."
Everyone looked at her.
"It wasn't trying to scare anything away."
"It wanted creatures to come closer."
Silence settled over the fire again.
David couldn't argue with that.
Everything about the Verdant Maneater had been designed to lure prey.
The brilliant crimson blossoms.
The peaceful clearing.
The stillness.
Nothing about it warned of danger.
Until it was too late.
Castiel rested his forearms across his knees, his Shadow Blade lying beside him.
"It doesn't waste energy."
David looked over.
"What do you mean?"
"It waits."
Castiel poked at one of the burning logs with a stick.
"It doesn't hunt."
"It doesn't patrol."
"It doesn't chase."
"It lets everything else make the mistake."
Lucian nodded slowly.
"And once something enters the clearing..."
"The fight's already over," Mira finished.
The fire crackled.
David replayed everything they had witnessed that afternoon.
The vines.
The roots.
The flexible trunk.
The flowers.
Every movement had been deliberate.
Nothing had been wasted.
"It fights like an ambush predator," David said.
Everyone looked toward him.
"The clearing is its territory."
"The vines control the battlefield."
"The trunk only moves when it has to."
"And the flowers..."
He paused.
"They're for feeding."
June rubbed the back of his neck.
"So..."
"How exactly are we supposed to kill something that can grab us from anywhere?"
No one answered.
Because no one knew.
David picked up a small stick and cleared a patch of dirt beside the fire.
Using the tip, he began drawing.
A large circle.
"The clearing."
Then another circle in the center.
"The Maneater."
From the center he drew dozens of lines radiating outward.
"The vines."
Everyone leaned closer.
David looked at Mira.
"How far do you think they reached?"
She thought for a moment.
"We never saw the end of them."
"No."
"But we saw where they were thickest."
She pointed toward the center of his drawing.
"Most of the larger vines stayed within about fifty yards of the trunk."
Lucian nodded.
"The farther out they went..."
"The thinner they became," Nyra finished.
David added another ring around the center.
"I noticed the same thing."
"The closer you get..."
"The stronger the vines."
June frowned.
"That doesn't exactly help."
"It does," Castiel said.
Everyone turned toward him.
"If the vines get weaker farther away..."
"They're easier to cut."
David nodded.
"And if we can keep the fight near the outer edge of the clearing..."
"We avoid the thickest part of its territory," Mira said.
Lucian studied the drawing.
"What about the roots?"
David drew several broken circles beneath the lines.
"They only surfaced when something entered the clearing."
"They reacted."
"They didn't stay above ground."
Nyra crossed her arms.
"So they detect movement."
"Probably vibrations," David replied.
"Or pressure."
June sighed dramatically.
"So basically..."
"We're walking into a giant mouth surrounded by angry vines."
A faint smile tugged at Lucian's lips.
"When you put it like that..."
"It sounds even worse."
That earned a few quiet chuckles.
The tension around the fire eased, if only for a moment.
David looked around at his squad.
Tomorrow would be unlike anything they had faced at the Academy.
Not a simulation.
Not an arena match.
Not a controlled exercise.
One mistake...
And there would be no instructors to end the fight.
No barriers
.
No medical drones.
Only the six of them.
Against an Epic Beast.
David erased part of the drawing with his hand.
"We're not fighting it in the middle."
Everyone immediately understood.
"If we chase it into its own territory..."
"We lose," Castiel said.
David nodded.
"We make it come to us."
Mira tilted her head.
"It can't uproot itself."
"No."
"But its trunk can reach."
Lucian's eyes narrowed.
"So we force it to overextend."
"Exactly."
The fire popped loudly.
David drew a line through the outer edge of the circle.
"We split its attention."
Nyra leaned closer to the rough map.
"How?"
"Three directions."
David marked positions around the clearing.
"Not far enough apart that we can't support each other, but enough that the Maneater can't concentrate every vine on one target."
Lucian studied the marks.
"Pairs?"
"At first."
David pointed toward the left side.
"Lucian and Mira."
Then the right.
"Nyra and June."
Castiel looked at the remaining position.
"Which leaves us."
David nodded.
"You and me in the center."
June stared at the drawing for several seconds.
"So the four of us keep the vines occupied while you two go after the plant?"
"No."
David shook his head.
"We all go after the plant."
June raised an eyebrow.
"That's somehow less reassuring."
David ignored him.
"If we treat the vines as separate enemies, we'll exhaust ourselves before we ever reach the Maneater."
He tapped the center of the drawing.
"This is the target."
"The vines are obstacles."
"The roots are obstacles."
"The flowers are obstacles."
"But none of those matter if we destroy the main body."
Mira's eyes remained on the diagram.
"Then we need to know where to hit it."
"The trunk," Lucian said.
Nyra shook her head.
"Maybe."
Everyone looked toward her.
She pulled the terrain scanner from her forearm and activated it.
A pale blue hologram appeared above the dirt.
The image wasn't perfect.
They had remained too far from the Maneater to perform a detailed biological scan, but the recording from earlier was clear enough to show its general structure.
Nyra rotated the projection.
The Maneater appeared in miniature.
Thick roots.
A broad central trunk.
Multiple branching stems supporting the enormous crimson blossoms.
Dozens of vines extended outward from its base.
Nyra enlarged the lower portion.
"The trunk bends too much."
David understood immediately.
"It's flexible."
"Extremely."
Nyra nodded.
"If we attack here..."
She indicated the middle of the trunk.
"...it might absorb more of the impact than we're expecting."
Castiel studied the projection.
"So don't attack where it bends."
Mira pointed toward the base.
"Attack where it can't."
Everyone looked at her.
She enlarged the image further.
The bottom of the Maneater's trunk widened dramatically before disappearing into the soil.
"The trunk has to connect to the root system somewhere."
Lucian leaned closer.
"And if the roots are controlling the clearing..."
"Then that's probably where everything connects," Mira finished.
David stared at the image.
That made sense.
The roots detected prey.
The vines restrained it.
The trunk positioned the flowers.
But all of it had to connect somewhere.
One organism.
One central structure.
"That's our target," David said.
June pointed at the base.
"The part surrounded by every giant vine it has."
"Yes."
"Wonderful."
Lucian laughed.
"You asked."
"I was hoping the answer would be something easier."
Castiel glanced at him.
"The flowers?"
June stared at him.
"The flowers have teeth."
"Then not the flowers."
June shook his head.
"You're getting way too comfortable making jokes."
A faint smile appeared on Castiel's face.
David let them have the moment.
They needed it.
Tomorrow would be different.
Tonight, they could still laugh.
Nyra collapsed the hologram.
"There's another problem."
David looked at her.
"The roots."
She gestured toward the dirt map.
"We watched them react almost immediately when that animal entered the clearing. If all six of us charge at once, we'll tell the Maneater exactly where everyone is."
"Then we don't charge," Mira said.
Nyra nodded.
"We make it choose."
David's eyes shifted between them.
"Explain."
Mira picked up the stick.
She drew a line toward the left side of the clearing.
"One group enters first."
Another line appeared on the right.
"Second group waits."
Then a third through the center.
"The first group draws the roots and vines."
"The second enters while its attention is divided."
"And the third?" Lucian asked.
Mira looked at David and Castiel.
"Waits until we create the opening."
June leaned backward on his hands.
"So we are bait."
"Technically," Mira replied.
June stared at her.
"You're enjoying this."
"A little."
Nyra laughed softly.
David smiled before returning his attention to the map.
The idea had merit.
But something still bothered him.
"The Maneater isn't stupid."
The others quieted.
"It waited until that animal was well inside the clearing before attacking."
David remembered the scene clearly.
The beast had wandered forward.
Nothing.
Another step.
Still nothing.
Only when escape had become difficult did the Maneater reveal itself.
"It knows when prey is trapped."
Castiel nodded.
"So if we make the first move too obvious..."
"It won't take the bait," David said.
June looked toward the dark jungle beyond camp.
"Did we seriously just reach the point where we're trying to outsmart a flower?"
Lucian looked at him.
"An Epic flower."
"That doesn't improve the sentence."
This time everyone laughed.
Even Mira.
For several seconds, the only things that mattered were the warmth of the fire and the people sitting around it.
Then David looked back down.
"We give it something believable."
Nyra's smile faded.
"What?"
David drew a single line into the clearing.
"One person."
The mood changed immediately.
Lucian frowned.
"No."
"I haven't even said who."
"You don't need to."
Lucian pointed at him.
"Because you're thinking about doing it yourself."
David remained silent.
June groaned.
"Of course he is."
Castiel leaned back slightly.
"No."
David looked at him.
"You too?"
"Especially me."
"Cass—"
"We have six people."
Castiel's expression remained calm, but there was no humor in his voice now.
"We're not building a plan around you getting dragged into a giant mouth."
June nodded.
"See? This is why I like him talking more."
David sighed.
"I'm the fastest."
"Not anymore."
June sat forward.
Everyone looked at him.
He tapped the collapsed Kinetic Baton resting beside his leg.
"Kinetic Step."
David's expression changed.
June continued.
"You've seen what it does."
"Every step builds momentum. The longer I move, the faster I get."
Nyra immediately shook her head.
"That doesn't mean you should be bait either."
"I didn't say I should."
June pointed between himself and David.
"I said we have two people who can get out quickly."
David studied him.
June wasn't joking anymore.
"If the roots react to pressure and movement," June continued, "then speed matters."
Mira nodded slowly.
"And unpredictability."
"Exactly."
June looked back at David.
"You Shadow Step."
"I Kinetic Step."
"We enter from different sides."
"The Maneater has to decide which one of us to grab."
Lucian frowned.
"Or it grabs both."
"That's where you four come in."
Silence returned.
David looked down at the crude battlefield drawn beside the fire.
The plan was changing.
Becoming something more than a frontal assault.
David picked up the stick.
"All right."
He erased the original lines.
"We start over."
For the next hour, Gamma Squad planned.
Every possibility was challenged.
Every assumption questioned.
Nyra used the recordings from her scanner to estimate the reach of the largest vines.
Mira studied the Maneater's movements frame by frame, watching how long it took the trunk to bend and how quickly the blossoms could reach ground level.
Lucian focused on the vines.
His Crimson Threads could potentially cut several smaller ones simultaneously, which meant he could create temporary openings for the others.
Castiel said little.
But whenever he did...
Everyone listened.
"Rend."
He pointed toward the base of the Maneater.
"The first strike doesn't need to be deep."
David looked at him.
Castiel traced the same imaginary line twice.
"I only need to hit the same place again."
The meaning was obvious.
Rend became significantly more destructive when Castiel struck an existing wound.
One cut created the weakness.
The next exploited it.
David nodded.
"Then once we expose the base, that's your target."
Castiel gave a slight nod.
Nyra rotated the hologram again.
"Once Castiel opens it, Tempest Dance can widen the damage."
"And Crimson Threads can keep the vines away from him," Lucian added.
Mira looked toward David.
"Which leaves you."
David stared at the Maneater's hologram.
Shadow Step.
Predator Step.
Cosmic Spatial Severance.
Three abilities.
Three very different purposes.
Shadow Step could get him through the vines.
Predator Step could keep him moving once he reached the trunk.
But Cosmic Spatial Severance...
That could finish it.
If he got close enough.
If he had enough energy remaining.
And if the Maneater gave him the opportunity.
David looked around the fire.
"We don't use everything immediately."
Lucian nodded.
"Save the strongest attacks for the trunk."
"Exactly."
David pointed toward the outer clearing.
"We use Gifts first."
"Control the battlefield."
"Force it to expose itself."
"Weapon Abilities when we start pushing inward."
His eyes moved around the circle.
"And nobody burns through their energy trying to kill vines that can be replaced."
Nyra nodded.
"Cyclone Domain can keep the smaller ones away without forcing me to attack each one."
"Mira?"
"Prediction Field."
Her answer came immediately.
"I'll watch the roots."
David looked at her.
"If you see the ground shift..."
"I'll call it before they surface."
That could make the difference.
"Lucian?"
"Blood Weave first."
He rested a hand on the Bloodcrest Blade.
"I can use it to control the smaller vines without committing Crimson Threads until we need an opening."
David nodded.
Then he looked at June.
June smiled.
"Kinetic Step."
"No standing still."
"That's probably a good rule when the ground itself wants to eat us."
Finally...
Castiel.
"Shadow Veil," he said.
David waited.
Castiel's gray eyes shifted toward the holographic Maneater.
"I'll get close without giving it another target to track."
Then his gaze settled on the base.
"And when I get there..."
A faint smile appeared.
"Rend."
David nodded.
There it was.
Not a perfect plan.
There was no such thing.
But it was something they could execute.
Something built around all six of them.
Not six individuals fighting the same enemy.
A squad.
David erased the final map with the side of his hand.
"We move at first light."
June stretched before standing.
"Good."
He looked toward the nearest tent.
"Because if I'm going to spend tomorrow avoiding giant flowers with teeth, I'd like at least a few hours of sleep first."
Lucian stood.
"I'll take first watch."
"I'll take second," Mira said.
Castiel reached for the Shadow Blade.
"Third."
David shook his head.
"I'll take third."
Castiel looked at him.
"You led most of today."
"So?"
"So sleep."
David stared at him for a moment.
Castiel stared back.
June paused beside his tent.
"Oh, this should be good."
David sighed.
"Fine."
Castiel gave the smallest hint of satisfaction.
June pointed at him.
"He's definitely talking too much now."
Castiel didn't even look over.
"Go to sleep, June."
June grinned.
"There he is."
The fire burned lower as Gamma began settling into camp.
Beyond the ridge, darkness covered H-09.
Somewhere beneath that endless jungle canopy...
The Verdant Maneater waited.
Morning came slowly over H-09.
The first light appeared along the distant horizon, turning the sky above the jungle from black to deep violet.
Mist hung over the canopy below the ridge.
From their campsite, the jungle seemed almost peaceful.
David knew better.
He sat near the dying remains of the fire, tightening the straps around his Claw Gauntlets.
One strap.
Then the next.
He flexed his fingers.
The articulated claws moved smoothly with them.
Across the camp, Gamma Squad prepared in near silence.
Nyra inspected the edges of her Twin Wind Crest Swords before securing them.
Lucian ran a cloth along the Bloodcrest Blade, checking the weapon for damage from yesterday's fight.
Mira tested both of her Twin Blades before returning them to their sheaths.
June rolled his shoulders before taking the collapsed Kinetic Baton from beside his pack and attaching it to his belt.
Castiel stood near the edge of the ridge.
The Shadow Blade rested across his back.
His gray eyes remained fixed on the jungle below.
David stood.
"Everyone ready?"
Lucian slid the Bloodcrest Blade into place.
"Ready."
Mira nodded.
Nyra tightened the final strap on her equipment.
"Ready."
June picked up his pack.
"As ready as someone can be to intentionally walk back into a carnivorous garden."
David looked toward Castiel.
Castiel turned from the ridge.
"Ready."
David picked up his field pack.
"Then let's move."
They broke camp only enough to secure anything that couldn't be left exposed.
The four tents remained standing.
They intended to return.
That thought lingered with David longer than he expected.
He looked at the camp one final time.
Then turned toward the trail.
"Gamma."
The others gathered behind him.
"Move out."
Six figures disappeared over the ridge.
The descent into the jungle was faster this time.
They weren't exploring.
They knew where they were going.
David maintained a steady pace at the front while Nyra periodically checked their route against the terrain data recorded the previous day.
They avoided the valley floor where possible.
Avoided unnecessary wildlife.
Avoided anything that might delay them.
They had one target.
The Verdant Maneater.
Hours passed.
The sun climbed higher.
Eventually, familiar landmarks began appearing.
The river.
The massive stone outcroppings.
The ancient trees wrapped in thick vines.
Then—
The smell returned.
Sweet.
Floral.
June immediately slowed.
"Oh, I remember that."
Ahead lay the flower meadow.
Thousands of enormous blossoms swayed gently beneath the morning sunlight.
Beautiful colors stretched across the clearing.
Crimson.
Gold.
Azure.
White.
Nothing about the place looked dangerous.
That illusion no longer worked on Gamma.
"Same route as yesterday," David said.
No one needed convincing.
They stayed against the rocky perimeter.
Not one boot touched the flower-covered ground.
June kept a particularly generous distance between himself and the nearest blossom.
Lucian noticed.
"Little farther and you'll be climbing the cliff."
"I watched one eat a Thornclaw."
"Fair."
They continued around.
One of the massive flowers shifted slightly as they passed.
June immediately stopped.
The flower settled.
Castiel walked past him.
"Coming?"
June stared at the blossom.
"I hate this planet."
Nyra laughed.
"Yesterday you said it was beautiful."
"It was beautiful before the flowers started eating things."
David smiled faintly.
"Keep moving."
They left the meadow behind.
The mood changed almost immediately.
The familiar wildlife disappeared.
No gliding primates.
No river grazers.
No bright-winged birds moving through the canopy.
Only vegetation.
Thick.
Overgrown.
Dominating everything.
Then came the first skeleton.
A Blue-Tier Beast suspended between two ancient trees, its bones still tangled within dried vines.
They were close.
David raised his hand.
Gamma stopped.
"From here on..."
His voice dropped.
"No unnecessary conversation."
Everyone nodded.
Weapons came free.
Lucian drew the Bloodcrest Blade.
Mira unsheathed both Twin Blades.
Nyra drew her Wind Crest Swords.
June removed the Kinetic Baton from his belt and extended it.
Castiel quietly drew the Shadow Blade.
David flexed his hands.
The claws of his gauntlets locked into place.
They advanced.
Slowly now.
Every step deliberate.
Every vine examined before they passed it.
Every patch of disturbed soil treated as a potential threat.
The forest grew darker.
Denser.
Then David saw it.
The fallen log.
The same one they had hidden behind yesterday.
He raised a fist.
Gamma stopped.
David crouched.
The others followed.
Together, they approached the edge of the clearing.
David slowly looked over the log.
The Verdant Maneater remained exactly where they had left it.
Fifteen to twenty feet of thick emerald trunk rose from the center of the clearing.
Its enormous crimson blossoms remained closed beneath the morning sun.
Dozens of vines stretched outward from its base, disappearing beneath leaves, soil, and surrounding vegetation.
Nothing moved.
June lowered himself beside David.
"Think it's asleep?"
"Don't know."
Mira studied the ground.
"Some of the vines changed positions."
David looked at her.
"You're sure?"
She pointed.
"Yesterday that root crossed beneath the larger vine."
"Now it's above it."
Nyra carefully activated her scanner.
The faint holographic projection remained low enough that it wouldn't rise above the log.
"The outer vines shifted too."
Lucian's expression hardened.
"So it moves them when nothing's around."
"Or it moved them because something came through during the night," Castiel said.
That possibility was worse.
David watched the plant.
It looked harmless.
Again.
He remembered the animal hanging helplessly above the ground.
The trunk bending.
The flower opening.
The teeth.
He wasn't falling for appearances twice.
David looked at the others.
"Positions."
Gamma separated.
Lucian and Mira moved left, keeping behind the vegetation bordering the clearing.
Nyra and June moved right.
Castiel remained beside David.
They moved carefully until each pair reached the positions they had selected the night before.
David waited.
One green indicator appeared on his communicator.
Then another.
Lucian — Ready.
Mira — Ready.
A few seconds later—
Nyra — Ready.
June — Ready.
David looked at Castiel.
Castiel gave a small nod.
Everything was set.
David pressed the communicator.
"Remember the plan."
His voice remained barely above a whisper.
"We don't rush the center."
"We control the outside first."
Lucian answered quietly.
"Understood."
Nyra followed.
"Ready."
Mira said nothing.
Her green indicator flashed once.
June's voice came last.
"Try not to get eaten."
David almost smiled.
"Same to you."
He released the communicator.
Then looked toward the Maneater.
Still nothing.
The crimson flowers remained closed.
The trunk swayed gently.
The vines lay motionless.
Waiting.
David raised his hand.
Across the clearing, everyone watched.
Three fingers.
Two.
One.
David dropped his hand.
June moved first.
He stepped from cover.
"Kinetic Step."
Energy gathered around his legs.
Then he ran.
Not toward the Maneater.
Across the outer edge of the clearing.
One step.
Two.
Three.
His speed increased.
The first vine moved.
Mira saw it immediately.
"Movement!"
The ground beneath June split.
A root erupted upward.
June twisted aside without breaking stride.
Another root burst from the soil ahead.
He vaulted over it.
The Maneater remained still.
But the clearing didn't.
Vines began sliding through the vegetation.
Tracking him.
Following the vibrations of every step.
June accelerated.
"Come on..."
A vine whipped toward his legs.
He jumped.
It passed beneath him.
Another came from the side.
June twisted in midair and landed running.
The plant still hadn't committed.
David waited.
Not yet.
Across the clearing, Nyra remained hidden.
Lucian and Mira didn't move.
Castiel crouched beside David like a shadow.
June completed nearly a quarter of the clearing's outer edge.
More vines awakened.
Three.
Five.
Seven.
The Maneater's trunk shifted.
Barely.
David saw it.
"Almost..."
June kept running.
The roots began appearing faster now.
He changed direction.
The sudden turn forced several vines to overshoot.
Then—
The Maneater reacted.
Its central trunk bent.
One crimson blossom opened.
Petals slowly peeled apart.
Rows of ivory thorns appeared within.
June saw it.
"Well..."
The massive flower turned toward him.
"...that's definitely awake."
David's hand tightened.
Now.
Nyra burst from cover on the opposite side.
"Cyclone Domain."
Compressed wind erupted around her.
Leaves and loose soil spiraled upward as a rotating wall of air formed around her body.
The vines nearest June hesitated.
Then several changed direction.
Toward Nyra.
The Maneater's trunk twisted.
A second crimson flower opened.
Exactly what they wanted.
Two targets.
Two directions.
Its attention divided.
David looked toward Lucian and Mira.
"Go."
They entered the clearing.
"Blood Weave."
Crimson energy flowed along Lucian's Bloodcrest Blade.
Beside him, Mira's eyes sharpened.
"Prediction Field."
Her focus changed instantly.
Every shifting vine.
Every trembling root.
Every movement in the soil.
She watched all of it.
"Left!"
Lucian moved before the root surfaced.
The ground exploded beside him.
He pivoted around it.
A vine snapped toward Mira.
"High."
She ducked.
The vine passed inches above her head.
Lucian's blade cut across it.
Green fluid sprayed across the soil.
The severed vine recoiled violently.
The Maneater reacted.
Its trunk snapped toward them.
A third flower opened.
David's eyes narrowed.
Three directions.
Three groups.
The Maneater was committing more of itself with every second.
Castiel quietly stood beside him.
"Now?"
David watched.
Not yet.
The thickest vines remained near the base.
Coiled.
Waiting.
The Maneater still had defenses it hadn't used.
"We need it angrier."
Castiel glanced at him.
"June can probably handle that."
As if he'd heard him from across the clearing—
June slammed his baton into an incoming vine.
"Momentum Break."
Stored kinetic force erupted through the weapon.
The vine snapped backward with enough violence to tear free from the ground.
Green fluid sprayed across the clearing.
June stared at the ruined vine.
Then toward the Maneater.
"How'd you like that?"
The answer came immediately.
The Verdant Maneater's entire trunk twisted toward him.
All three open blossoms spread wider.
And from somewhere beneath the soil...
Something enormous moved.
David's expression changed.
The ground around the base began to rise.
Not one root.
Dozens.
Castiel's hand tightened around the Shadow Blade.
David slowly smiled.
"There."
The Maneater had finally exposed what it had been protecting.
Its base.
"Get ready, Cass."
Castiel's expression sharpened.
David flexed his Claw Gauntlets.
The hunt had begun.