A growl echoed. Akane was yanked backward and slammed onto the ground.
A hissing sound—something large, with rows of teeth, lunged from above toward Akane's prone body.
"What?!" The girl gasped, startled, as she twisted around.
She saw a gorilla lying on the ground without both of its legs, its remaining arms gripping Akane tightly, trying to drag her away. It looked like something had devoured the gorilla's legs.
"Damn it—that gorilla was hidden by the fog!" She dashed toward Akane's fallen body.
And then—a spinning back kick shot out.
Bugh!
The impact of her foot smashing into the fanged tendril's head echoed loudly.
Using the momentum, she spun to Akane's side.
And—clash! clash! The blade of her kusarigama sliced through both of the gorilla's arms that were holding Akane.
The gorilla screamed in agony, fresh blood spraying from its severed limbs.
The tendril with the sharp-toothed head, struck by her kick, hissed again and lunged at the gorilla.
Its body was torn apart, its cries turning into a horrifying scream.
The girl dropped beside Akane and gently tapped her body.
"Akane, are you okay?" she whispered near her face.
Akane winced as her eyes slowly opened. She turned slightly, her heart filled with horror and disgust at the sight of the gorilla's blood splattered behind her.
"What… happened?"
"You're awake? Thank goodness. Can you move?"
"You passed out. I carried you here, and that dumb monkey tried to drag you." She pointed toward the bloodstains on the path.
"Oh… thank you."
"I… think I can move. My body feels a bit better…" Akane tried to stand. Her vision gradually cleared as she peered through the fog ahead.
"Come on, it looks like the end of the path is near. I think I see a wall up ahead."
"You're feeling better? Good. Come on, Akane—we can't die here, eaten by plants. We're supposed to eat plants—vegetables, fruits—not the other way around."
The two of them slowly moved toward the end of the path.
But—on both sides of the road towered flowering plants with fanged tendrils.
A hissing sound filled the air.
And this time, at the top of each bud was a bulging mass resembling a large, disgusting orange eye.
"Oh my God… Oh God… these ones have eyes!" The two girls froze in shock, their hearts pounding faster.
"No wonder that damn gorilla got attacked and lost both its legs."
"Akane, can you run? We have to get past these hellish plants."
Akane nodded slowly.
"I think… I can." She stretched her arms and legs, lifting each leg in turn.
"Hmm… my body feels better now. I passed out earlier."
"I'm lucky to still be alive," she thought, taking a deep breath.
"Akane, this path is about a hundred meters ahead, and on both sides are fanged tendrils. This time they have eyes—they can probably detect movement. Even if we move slowly, they'll still attack."
"Each one is spaced about ten meters apart—around thirty feet."
The girl threw a shuriken toward one of the tendrils.
Clang!
The fanged tendril hissed and turned toward the sound—but didn't attack.
"You're right, Akane. These are predator plants. They're called Venus flytraps—and these ones are huge, like monsters. They can even see."
"Venus flytrap?"
"Yeah, Venus flytrap. Normally they catch flies or insects. But these are like dragon monsters! They should be called 'Venus Dragontraps.'"
"Akane, on the count of three, we sprint to the end of the path!"
"Sprint?" Akane asked, confused.
"Yeah—run as fast as you can. Women's 100-meter dash. For our lives, we have to make it."
"Alright. I'll release a smoke bomb on three." Akane pulled out a sphere about the size of a tennis ball.
The girl nodded and crouched down, placing her hands shoulder-width apart in front of her, forming an inverted 'V'. Her back knee touched the ground, hips raised higher than her shoulders, gaze downward, weight supported by her hands—just like a sprinter at the start of a 100-meter dash.
She began chanting softly:
"Sira ratuning bayu,
langitira mandala angin,
ingsun angugah aji Nirwana."
Nirvanic Wind Sprinter!
"One… Two… Three… Go!"
And—boom!
A smoke bomb exploded, white smoke filling the path ahead.
They sprinted toward the end.
Akane ran like an antelope, her steps light as if barely touching the ground—fast and silent.
The Venus tendrils seemed confused by the smoke, hissing in place. Despite their large orange eyes, they couldn't determine where to strike. Their heads swayed like cobras.
Thirty meters passed—the smoke only covered that distance. Beyond it, visibility returned.
The tendrils began attacking as Akane ran past them, but she leapt to evade.
Bugh! Bugh!
The fanged heads slammed into the stone path.
She dodged, leaping past both tendrils.
Another thirty meters—she continued evading the predator plants with agility and speed, not struggling too much.
"Alright, forty meters left—and four more tendrils… wait—huh? That girl is ahead of me?!"
"How is that possible? I'm the fastest fox, and she's ahead of me? Who is she…?"
The girl ahead skillfully dodged the lunging tendrils.
Akane pushed herself faster—twenty meters left to the end.
And—the last pair of Venus tendrils hissed fifteen feet from the exit.
Akane leapt to avoid the one on her left. Another lunged from the right.
She prepared to jump forward again—
But—something wrapped around her leg, stopping her.
It turned out the tendril on her left had an extra appendage—like a second arm—that grabbed her leg.
The girl in white had already crossed the end of the path. The final Venus monsters were behind her now.
But when she turned back, she saw a fanged tendril about to strike the girl in red.
"Watch out! Above you!"
She shouted in alarm, then dashed forward and leapt into the air—
And—BAM!
Her flying side kick collided with the Venus Dragontrap.
As she landed, she quickly sliced the tendril binding Akane and grabbed her, ready to run.
But—something wrapped around her waist.
With all her strength, she pulled—then threw Akane toward the end of the path.
Whoosh!
Akane was flung forward, rolling across the ground.
From her prone position, she saw the girl in white's waist tightly bound by another tendril from the right side.
And—the tendril dragged her into the abyss beside the stone path.
"Noooo!" Akane screamed in horror.
Her hand reached out, though the distance was more than twenty feet.
She lowered her head to the ground.
A deep sorrow overwhelmed her—grief, guilt, helplessness, regret—all mixing into one.
It felt like something was twisting inside her chest.
"That girl was so kind… and she barely even knew me."
"She saved my life without caring about her own… and now she's dead."
Tears streamed down her face.
"That girl… in white… I never even got your name…"
"I have to find the power orb. The others are waiting for it. I won't let her sacrifice be in vain."
She pushed herself up and began walking away from the deadly path of predator plants.
And then—clang!
Something struck the stone floor behind her.
***