"You have a formidable power, the most potent of them, so why, why, why, WHY ARE YOU SO WEAK?" Rangyl shouted.
At the same time as his outburst, a suffocating aura emanated from him and struck the girls head-on, causing them to drop to their knees.
Amelia and Anna glanced at each other, confusion still clouding their eyes as to what was happening.
A few minutes earlier...
'Hmm, it's not solid ground,' Amelia remarked with a frown on her delicate face as she stepped inside the chamber.
Contrary to the previous rooms, the ground and walls in this new chamber were covered in a layer of gleaming metal, reflecting the dim light that flickered from the ceiling.
This kind of environment was challenging for a plant user, as the seeds couldn't pierce the metal or penetrate the ground. However, it wasn't a problem for Amelia.
With her Cell Master ability, she had managed to create plants that only needed mana to grow, although she would still prefer a more earthy ground.
''Another problem is that this place is too narrow; I can't use my residual blast ability,' her frown deepened.
"This place is too narrow," Anna, who had just closed the door, remarked.
"Let's hope that the end of this corridor isn't as narrow," Amelia replied and began walking.
"How long are you going to carry it with you?" Anna inquired.
"Hm?" Amelia turned to stare at her friend, "what are you- Ah, I forgot about it."
Raising her hand, Amelia stared at the little monkey slumbering in her hand. With everything that was happening, she forgot that she was still carrying the little guy with her.
"I suggest you leave it here," Anna suggested as she crouched to gaze at the little monkey, a small smile gracing her face.
"Mm," Amelia nodded and placed the monkey on the ground with its back leaning against the wall of the corridor.
"Rest well, little guy. I will come back to pick you up in a few minutes," Amelia patted the monkey with a gentle smile on her face.
Standing, she nodded at Anna, who reciprocated, and the two women began walking towards the end of the corridor, ensuring not to make too much noise.
Soon, the two of them could see the end of the corridor.
"I'm going to use my ability," Anna informed.
On the way, they had decided that Anna would activate her invisibility ability as they exited the corridor.
Since Anna had been using her invisibility ability from the instant they stepped into the forest, her mana reserves were currently very low. If she went and made the two of them invisible, it wouldn't be long before her mana was completely depleted, so it was decided that she would use her ability only on herself.
Amelia glanced back at Anna, nodded, and in an instant, the brown-haired beauty vanished from her sight.
'Well, let's go.' With a determined gaze, Amelia turned back and stepped out of the corridor, entering a vast circular chamber.
'Fortunately, it isn't narrow,' Amelia released a sigh of relief, but an instant later, her gaze became guarded when she felt someone staring at her.
Focusing her gaze on the center of the chamber, she saw three men staring at her. Two of those men were playing cards, while the third was sitting in a corner.
"Who is that? Is it a new recruit?" A bald man, Eric, spoke. "I have to say, the boss is beginning to raise his standards in terms of female members; just look at her, she is absolutely gorgeous," Eric licked his lips.
"And with such curves, she is just perfect. I need to speak with the boss; I want this one. She will be perfect for breeding," he added with lust apparent in his eyes as he scanned Amelia's body.
Hearing Eric's vulgar words, Amelia snorted in disgust and retorted, "There is only one person allowed to 'breed' me, and he's definitely not you idiot."
"Huh, you are taken? By whom? Don't tell me it's the boss!" Eric exclaimed with a sad expression.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Whether it was Amelia, Stanis, or Rangyl with whom Eric was playing cards, all of them looked at Eric like he was the dumbest man to ever exist, making the bald man cough in embarrassment.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked in a sheepish voice.
"It must be a joke, right?" Rangyl stared at Eric with a skeptical expression, causing the man to cough again.
Stanis, who was sitting in the corner, sighed. "You can be really dumb sometimes."
"Hey-"
"Forget it, just shut up; it will make you look less foolish," Stanis waved at Eric and concentrated on Amelia. "You are not a member of Night. What are you doing here?"
Amelia merely glanced at him without responding, her gaze sweeping across the room until she spotted the one she had come for lying on a table.
"Ah, I see, you were sent by that witch," Stanis nodded in understanding, noticing Amelia's gaze fixated on the heiress of the Drazen.
"I will take care of her," he said as he stood up.
"Wait!" Rangyl suddenly exclaimed.
"What is it?" Stanis glanced at him in irritation.
"Let me take care of it, or rather, let them take care of it," Rangyl flashed Stanis a grin.
He swiftly stood up, approached one of the tables, and pressed a remote attached to its surface.
The instant he pressed the remote, the doors of the multiple cells in the vast chamber were pushed open, and from them, harrowing and grotesque creatures came out.
'What are these?' both Amelia and Anna stiffened upon witnessing the creatures.
"Kill her-"
"Wait, don't kill her, I still want her!" Eric interrupted Rangyl.
Rangyl glanced at the bald man for a moment before sighing and changing his order, "capture her."
The instant Rangyl spoke, crimson tattoos appeared on the creatures' bodies, and a split second later, every one of them lunged at Amelia.
Casting a glance over the creatures charging at her, at least thirty, Amelia took out three seeds from her spatial ring.
After imbuing the seeds with mana, she tossed them in the air.
Before they could even land on the ground, the seeds sprouted and grew rapidly into small plants, then into petite-sized trees. However, instead of stopping there, their branches continued to grow and intertwine, becoming more robust and thicker.
The thick branches extended swiftly and coiled around the lunging monsters, immobilizing them.
Following an unspoken order from Amelia, the branches acted like compressors, squeezing the bodies of the monsters in their clutches until they exploded in a rain of blood and gore.
"Witnessing this scene, Rangyl clicked his tongue, 'bunch of trash.'
Wearing a mocking smile, Stanis asked the cursing Rangyl, "Can I go now?"
"Do what you want; I don't care anyway," Rangyl grumbled and returned to sitting.
Stanis laughed for a few seconds, observing the frustrated expression on Rangyl's face, then strode towards Amelia.
However, he barely took a few steps before the branches lunged at him with their sharp tips, intending to pierce him, yet, the orange-haired noble didn't even flinch.
With a grin on his face, Stanis snapped his fingers.
The instant he made this gesture, several balls of flames appeared. These balls of flames surged from behind him and met the branches attacking him.
A blinding light erupted as the attacks collided, and in an instant, the flames began consuming the branches.
In the blink of an eye, the fire had completely devoured Amelia's trees.
'He has a fire ability, it's going to be complicated,' Amelia clicked her tongue, aware that Stanis' fire ability was the perfect counter to her plant ability.
'Well, it would have, if I were alone,' Amelia smiled coldly. Smirking arrogantly, Stanis began to speak, "Is that all you can-"
Before he could finish speaking, he felt something cold pressing against his throat.
A split second later, Stanis's throat had been sliced, blood surging out of it.
"W-What..." Stanis tried to speak, but only gurgling sounds could be heard.
Thud
His body slumped on the ground with a dull sound, and a second later, he breathed his last.
"...."
"...."
Rangyl and Eric could only stare with wide, disbelieving eyes as their comrade died without even knowing what killed him.
Stanis had been able to sense Anna staring at him when the latter went to save Anita, but at that time, he was focusing on his surroundings. Just a few seconds before, all his focus was on Amelia, causing him not to feel Anna approaching him.
"That's what you get when you are too arrogant," Rangyl shrugged his shoulders. He was never a fan of Stanis and even disliked the guy, so his death didn't trouble him, quite the contrary.
On the other hand, Eric, who was friends with Stanis, was livid.
"WHO HAS DONE THIS?"
Just as if it were the dark machinations of a higher being, the instant Eric shouted, Anna's mana reserves depleted, canceling her invisibility.
"YOU!" Eric's voice echoed, a thunderous shout as he glared at Anna, standing above Stanis' lifeless form.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!"
As he said this, crimson tattoos appeared on Eric's body, and he transformed into an ape.
With eyes filled with rage, Eric—now an ape—charged at Anna with a mad roar.