Nox could barely feel the impact as he crashed onto the ground, still trying to process the information his ability just transmitted. Back at the White Palace, she had clearly been human, yet-
[Keen Intuition has been activated. A dangerous presence is nearby.]
[Keen Intuition has been activated. A dangerous presence is nearby.]
Rolling to his feet, Nox rushed to the others and hastily formed a blood shield around them just as a blinding white light blurred the scene.
Another blast of energy shook out, this one stronger than the last.
"Uwah-" Startled cries rag into the air, taken off-guard by the shockwave.
Roscoe jumped on Liam's shoulder in fright, round black eyes going wide in alarm.
The world shook.
Literally.
The teacups hanging in the sky shattered as a loud scream came from the White Queen. She looked at the peaks of her crumbling White Palace in distress, the tallest tower suddenly vanishing.
The Red Queen stood rigidly, staring at Zera in disbelief.
The creature that used to be Zera had transformed into a colossal monster woven from earth, branches forming armor around its shape until it resembled a bare tree with long limbs dangling close to the ground. Two white glowing eyes shone from behind the woven branches, staring down at them.
Nox heard a quiet gasp from Liam beside him.
"The Seed of Catastrophe swore to never step foot!" The White Queen screamed in fury, her ghost-like hair floating around her.
The expression in her eyes made a collective shiver go up everyone's spines.
"What clock chimes but doesn't tell the time?!"
"A broken one," Li Zemin muttered underneath his breath.
Bak Soomin pressed her lips into a thin line.
The monster made a low grumble, conveying its fading voice telepathically. 'All contracts are dust, including a Serpent's word.' It sounded nothing like its original owner- it was distorted and scraped harshly against everyone's eardrums, causing Nox and Liam to cringe respectively.
Its voice faded away like a dying person on their last breath, and it didn't speak again.
It walked forward with its roots mimicking feet, causing a small shudder to go through the ground with every step. The white knight and the remaining card soldiers immediately charged at the monster, waving their weapons. Against the monster's giant figure, the weapons looked like tiny scraps of metal.
The knight struck the limb of the monster with a loud clang, only for his sword to bend from the force. A root shot out from the ground, wrapping up the knight tightly. It squeezed harshly and the empty armor clanked onto the ground.
Many of the participants scattered aimlessly, running away like headless chickens.
Nox spotted the human sized mushroom frantically bouncing out of sight, trailing mycelium behind it as it escaped into the withering forest.
The trees, once vibrant with color, seemed to be drained of life. A low branch wiggled slightly before drooping down dejectedly. In fact, it seemed as if the entire forest was losing its vibrancy- its life.
The horse man shouted, "A great evil has befallen!" while shooting arrows that uselessly bounced off the thick wooden armor. A single glowing eye turning in his direction had him fleeing quickly.
Out of the forest, eight white pawn pieces came hopping out, followed by another white knight. The two meter pawns immediately rushed forward, trying to stop the monster with no success.
It easily crushed two pawns underfoot, letting its branch limbs toss the rest away with a casual flick.
Nox winced as his shield suffered from a stray branch cracking through the air in a frenzied whip.
"Shit- Nox, what are you doing?"
"I'm trying," Nox hissed at a frantic Li Zemin, drawing more blood from his arm to reform the barrier.
Bak Soomin observed the scene with a serious expression. "What did the White Queen call it again?"
"The Seed of Catastrophe," Nox frowned. The name itself implied a lot, but it still didn't make sense when he tried to piece it together. "Seed- could it be a parasite?"
Bak Soomin shook her head. "It could be that Zera was just that monster in a human form, not as a host."
Li Zemin looked behind them uneasily, "Can we analyze whatever that thing is later? Why aren't we running away like everyone else?!"
Liam tugged on Li Zemin's sleeve.
"What is it, kid?"
Liam stared at Li Zemin blankly, then turned to Nox. "Mister, should Roscoe go steal some items while no one is looking?"
Nox blinked in surprise. "That would be useful." Items could be used for future advantages as well. Something like a teleporting stone, or an invisibility cloak maybe? "But just have Roscoe stick close to you," he added hastily, seeing the thinly veiled disapproval on Bak Soomin's face. "We don't want him accidentally getting lost."
Liam accepted his answer with a quiet nod, but Nox had a feeling that the fat raccoon would disappear from sight when none of them were looking.
The queens faced the monster with dark faces, launching attacks with relentless energy.
Thunderous clouds gathered in the sky, rumbling unpleasantly.
The Red Queen lunged at the monster with pure force, using her punches and kicks to deal heavy blows.
The White Queen had summoned a long staff, hitting the monster with a strange white light. The attack made a large hole in the bark of the monster, the edges still sizzling from the spell.
Seconds later, it was healed without a trace of injury as the monster's strong regeneration ability constantly helped it to defend against the powerful blows of the two queens.
Valiant card soldiers rushed forward again, the majority unaffected by the brunt impact of the branches. They were swatted aside like flies buzzing around the monster's feet.
The ten of hearts had jabbed its spear into a crevice between two branches on a limb and was now hanging on tightly as the monster tried to wave it off.
"I-it's a terrible thing, oh my." A familiar trembling voice sounded besides Nox.
Jumping in surprise, the group stared at the White Rabbit that had taken shelter with them behind the blood barrier at an unknown time. "The Seed stinks up this world with a foul smell, yes it does."
Nox demanded, "Explain."
The White Rabbit spilled information eagerly. "The seeds, the seeds increase the power of Serpents!" he said quickly.
That was a new term.
"What are Serpents?"
"How do seeds grow?"
Nox and Bak Soomin exchanged a glance before returning their attention to the rabbit.
The rabbit hopped nervously, opening and closing his pocket watch. "Serpents serve his Malevolentness! Yes, yes, he is the reason why! Seeds grow from those stinky Outlanders like you! They grow to release Chaos energy so they can be absorbed!"
Li Zemin scowled. "Hey! I'm not stinky!"
Nox felt a headache growing. Instead of getting answers, he was gaining more questions. "Why do seeds grow from Outlanders?" Outlanders should be humans. What did humans have that other creatures didn't?
The White Rabbit sniffed in disdain, rubbing a paw on his vest. "Only Outlanders can strengthen Serpents. But Outlanders can also strengthen Outlanders." Black, beady eyes stared at them. "Only Outlanders can uproot seeds sown by those damn Serpents!"
[HiDdEn taSk: dEFeaT tHe seeD Of CATaStROPHe (■■)
synopsiS: The Seed of Origin (parasitic) has evolved into the Seed of Catastrophe. Stop it from escaping into your world.
reWard: #!@*#$.
Penalty: No return.]
The group fell silent as they read the task.
"Would it kill them to use proper capitalization?" Li Zemin rubbed his eyes at the mess of words. "It looks like a computer bug."
Nox pointed out, "It emphasizes the task and consequences of failure at least." His eyes slid across the penalty again.
Dammit, this screen really knew how to play him.
He couldn't simply not fight- not when Roxanne was still waiting for him to return. But he couldn't help but feel dissatisfied at the distorted reward. There was virtually no benefit in fighting the colossal tree monster if he didn't get anything good out of it. Not to mention that the Red Queen was still displeased with him for killing her prized hart.
Li Zemin sighed, "I'm not very useful in a fight." With his current physique, he would be sent flying halfway across the forest within seconds.
Nox replied, "Then you stay here with Liam."
Roscoe chittered nervously, his round body curled in a fearful ball on Liam's shoulder. His big body tried its best to shrink in as much as it could.
It was as if Roscoe could sense the razor sharp aura being extruded by the current battle.
Nox eyed the fat raccoon thoughtfully. Could animals acquire abilities as well? Or maybe even skills.
"Bak Soomin," he addressed the sharp eyed doctor. Her lips were pressed in a thin line as she stared unseeingly in front of her. "Will you fight?"
The doctor started then rolled her eyes. "Of course. Don't think that I'll sit around being dead weight." Seeing Liam's round eyes staring at them, she amended her words. "Children don't need to involve themselves in these dangerous things. Or first timers," she added dryly at Li Zemin's kicked expression.
Her words confirmed Nox's suspicions. She had entered a trial before the Eclipse.
"You can't protect him forever." He was referring to Liam, but an image of Roxanne appeared in his mind. "Not in the way you want to."
"That's none of your business," Bak Soomin countered, raising her hand. In it, was the biggest needle Nox had ever seen. He was about to respond to her when Bak Soomin continued. "Follow my lead."
The confident statement made Nox pause as he reshaped his shield into familiar blades. "Why?"
She passed him, walking towards the battle. "You'll see." Her white coat billowed behind her, the attacks from the queens making powerful backlashes rip through the air.
Without hesitation, Bak Soomin threw the palm-sized needle at the monster.
Krekk.
"Awrehh!"
Nox stood there in a momentary daze as the monster roared in pain, the needle hitting a subtle space between the branches. It seemed like a small injury, yet the monster seemed to be the most agitated it'd ever been since the start of the fight.
Even the queens paused in surprise, before resuming their assault with a quick glance of acknowledgement towards them.
What was this ability?
"What are you waiting for?" she yelled back at him.
Snapping out of his stupor, Nox followed up by attacking the same spot, fashioning a sharp polearm made of blood. Suddenly, his blades didn't seem like they could fly that far.
The tree monster howled as the crude weapon pierced through the other side of its body. Nox gritted his teeth as the polearm forcefully broke from the regenerating branches. Feeling the connection shatter, an irksome feeling stirred inside him.
Against this opponent, the amount of power he gained was insignificant. It was annoying.
Nox followed after Bak Soomin, slicing up his forearm to let blood trickle out. He would need a lot more to get through this battle.
The Red Queen supported their attack with a series of fast punches; as she threw another punch, a branched limb caught her in the side, forcefully flinging her into the air.
A beam of light condensed in front of the monster's mouth and shot towards the airborne queen.
The White Queen hovered in the air and deflected the attack, her brow creased in concentration as she used her magic to form numerous white lights above the monster, hurling them down simultaneously with a sharp motion.
The attack managed to penetrate through the monster's armor, giving them the opening that they needed.
Bak Soomin took the opportunity to release another wave of needles, each one accurately hitting a weak point on the tree monster through its weakened defense.
Nox followed up with his own ability, their originally clumsy cooperation slowly becoming smoother as they continued to fight.