Five spike vines came out of nowhere and launched one by one onto Yuichi's position, hitting only the ground as he instinctively dodged away, backflipping twice, and was about to land on his feet.
But soon after, a large vine whipped in the air swiftly into Yuichi's chest. Yuichi couldn't react fast as he was still in motion where he was about to land on the ground. 'So fast!'
The vine whipped Yuichi into the air, hurling him to the crystal stones and hitting his back with an unsettling thud. Debris of the crystal stone falls and clatters on the ground as Yuichi winces in pain, though there's no single blood slipped in his mouth.
Yuichi sees a dramatic change in Lumiella as he looks at her; this change extends beyond her appearance to include her personality and her newly discovered ability to summon.
He remembered Lumiella as a curious, naive young girl who constantly followed Yuichi. Her eyes and hair were all a soft, pale blue color, topped off by a mushroom cap with pale blue skin. But the Lumiella now is very different from the Lumiella then; her eyes are slightly pink, and her face is hauntingly expressionless.
Her strange realization is hinted at by the unsettling pink gaze she fixes on Yuichi—she treats him as though he's a total stranger and no longer remembers him.
'What is she doing? This isn't her!'
Suspicion was buzzing through Yuichi's mind, a pall of worry like a shadow over him. The sudden shift in Lumiella's attitude increased his discomfort and made him think. He couldn't shake the feeling that something unexpected had happened while she was gone, adding to the mystery surrounding her changed behavior.
Yuichi got up from the ground and used the back of his hand to carefully wipe the saliva that had adhered to his face. His back ached from the blow to the tough crystal stone, which his fingers continued to graze. He had an expression of confusion on his face, his mind racing with doubt as he wondered what to do next.
Fearing that his increased strength would cause her to suffer a fatal wound, Yuichi was reluctant to strike back.
Suddenly, a blue fungus vine shot out in Yuichi's direction and wrapped itself tightly around his hand. His feet slid across the floor as the force behind it wrenched him violently out of his stance. Yuichi tried desperately to escape, but the vine's overwhelming strength pulled him from his spot, sending him hurtling through the air in its ferocious embrace.
The blue vine pulls him and holds him firmly in his hand as he crashes into the crystal stone once more. Yuichi was lying on the ground when a massive vine emerged from the ground and struck him, propelling him skyward.
The blue vine in his hand then pulled him back down, causing him to land roughly on the crystal stone. In essence, Lumiella is hurling Yuichi around as though she were a cruel and persistent bully.
Despite facing many hurdles, Yuichi remains rigid in his commitment to not causing harm or retaliating, even when tossed into the air and handled like a piece of cloth. His stance is based on his belief that Lumiella, despite her apparent aggressive behavior, is simply a child who is unaware of the consequences of her actions.
However, the question remains: is Lumiella as innocent as Yuichi believes she is?
'This is getting out of hand. I'm being tossed around like I'm just a nobody.' Yuichi thought and was about to stand up when he was suddenly yanked from the ground by the blue vine that had gripped his hand.
He managed to reach a crystal stone and hold as he was pulled out by the vines, resisting its forceful pull. But the strength between the vine and his grip on the crystal stone was too different, and Yuichi struggled to resist.
'So heavy!' The crystal stone Yuichi held on crack and broke apart from the ground, causing him to get pulled by the vine immediately and he rolled on the ground by the forceful pull.
Yuichi is getting tossed again by the vine to the air, bashing him into the stone wall and through the crystal stone, clattering its debris to the ground. Yuichi couldn't do anything but suffer and get hurt time after time.
The blue vine suddenly unwrapped from Yuichi's hand, causing Yuichi's momentum from the air to fall quickly into the ground as he rolled harshly.
Abruptly, two sharp vines lunged at Yuichi while he was lying on the ground. Yuichi had instinctively noticed the upcoming threat and rolled around before the vines quickly stabbed the ground.
A few vines were summoned right after and tried to sweep Yuichi on its chest. Yuichi channeled his hand with wind magic to counterattack and punched the vines to deflect it and also to protect himself. However, his wind attributes and brute strength were not enough to destroy the vines.
Yuichi kept deflecting the vines for a while as he slowly struggled to keep up with the pace. Suddenly, another vine swiftly approaches in a sweeping motion toward Yuichi's right position. He noticed it and ducked under the vine which caused it to instead destroy and obliterate the nearby crystal stone in one sweep.
Rubble after debris fell onto the ground clattering. Yuichi was dumbstruck while looking at the destroyed crystal stone with his half-witted eyes.
'Huh? Aren't crystal stones strong against physical damage? It got sliced in half by that vine! Just how strong is she exactly?!'
Suddenly, a sound of crumble resonates and vibrates on Yuichi's below. And then, without a moment to react, the ground cracked and the huge vine came out from the earth.
'Not again!' Yuichi couldn't react fast and before he knew it, he got sent into the air hurling mercilessly.
Right after he got sent into the air, a fast-moving vine launched into Yuichi's abdomen and sent him propelling fast into the stone wall his back mercilessly hit the wall and followed up with a bad position to fall as his head was first to land the ground before his entire body laying on the ground in pain.
A curving vine appeared from above and it descended quickly toward Yuichi who was lying prone on the ground. With lightning-fast reflexes, his passive ability kicks in, allowing Yuichi to roll over and jump away just in the nick of time. The vine, having missed its target, slammed into the earth with a loud crack behind it.
More fungus vines materialized and propelled into Yuichi one by one as it was trying to stab him above, prompting Yuichi to dodge and run from it. Yuichi then jumped onto the flat top of a crystal stone and the vines followed him restlessly, jumping from one to another flat top of a crystal stone, debris of the crystal stone was falling from the ground.
But abruptly, a swift vine was inbound and tackled Yuichi on his chest while he was jumping to the crystal stone. The impact was so strong Yuichi got swept alongside the vine on his chest. He held on to the vine as they were going so fast in the air they could collide on the wall at any time.
Yuichi found himself hurtling along a trajectory dictated by the vine, his body colliding forcefully with the glistening crystal stones. The precarious situation forced him to maintain a tenacious grip on the vine, as the alternative of letting go threatened a dire outcome – the vine, like a lethal spear, poised to impale his heart and seal his fate.
Every time Yuichi got bashed into the crystal stone, he would feel the fragments smashing against him and his breath catching in desperation. He clung to the vine as if his life depended on it, despite the torrent of fragments and the direness of his circumstances.
Yuichi was forcefully launched into the air as the vine abruptly changed its trajectory. Another vine rapidly propelled towards him from the left, slamming him into the crystal stone. The impact was so strong that debris rained down on him as he was hurled seven meters away. Finally, he came to a stop, his collision leaving a trail of destruction.
Yuichi struggled to stand up as he was still prone on the ground, coughing and grimacing in pain as he gazed into the silhouette of a girl with pink glowing eyes staring at him.
'This is going nowhere... At this rate, I'm gonna get crushed like a sack of potato.' Yuichi thought while in pain.
Yuichi's body trembled with pain and agony as he struggled to stand up. Every inch of his being was throbbing with an intense ache, and he could feel that some of his bones were broken, including his ribs.
Despite this, he clenched his fist and summoned all the strength and resilience he had to keep standing. The consecutive attacks he had endured were overwhelming, but he refused to give up.
'What should I do? Even if I wanna fight back, my body won't let me do it.' Yuichi pondered, gazing back at her with his head slightly bleeding.
'I cannot handle her power, it's just too strong for my level 33 abilities. Although I have quick reflexes and agility, facing her is a different ball game altogether. Lumiella appears to be a petite girl, but her abilities are monstrous and overwhelming.'
'Now that I think about it, her magic aura around her is making me wince in disgust, it's too strong for me to sense it.'
Lumiella was surrounded by a dense, ominous aura tinted with a deep shade of pink. It appeared that her magical energy was growing increasingly darker and more intense by the moment.
Yuichi swiftly dodges to the left as the blue fungus vine rapidly approaches him. Despite the challenge of his movement, he remains agile and keeps evading the incoming attacks of the fungus vine.
A strange feeling spread over Yuichi as he stood there as if he had already experienced this. A slight tingling sensation ran through his feet, and he cast a confused glance down. Before he could process it, a look of frustration crossed his face and the floor gave way violently.
With unexpected force, a massive, sinuous vine arose from the ground, taking Yuichi by surprise. He gave a startled gasp as he was launched into the air, his fingers automatically reaching out to grab the rough surface of the vine in a last-ditch attempt to find stability.
The huge vine thrashed upwards, slamming Yuichi against the unyielding rock ceiling and sending waves of pain through his aching back as he got dragged on. A massive dripstone, gleaming with crystal formations, loomed nearby, its jagged edges menacingly close as the vine surged towards it, ready to impale Yuichi with its razor-sharp point.
A tingling feeling of impending danger-filled Yuichi's senses. He concentrated his magical energy quickly and wrapped the essence of wind around his closed fist. He tensed up and directed his enhanced fist directly at the menacing dripstone, using all of his strength to free himself from its impending hold.
His powerful blow to the dripstone caused a loud bang that echoed throughout the cave and launched Yuichi skyward. He landed rough and unsettlingly, his body twisting before crashing onto the merciless ground below, rattling his bones and leaving him sprawled in a heap.
He made an effort to gradually stand on his feet, but his pain was obvious as he fell to the ground, and slumped. Yuichi is exhausted.
'Damn it... I can't... feel... anything... I'm...'
With a glimpse of his energy, Yuichi tilts his head to look at Lumiella once more as he watches her gazing upon him with her pink eyes. Yuichi is starting to feel dazed and blacking out, with a blurry vision in his eyes.
"Lumiel...la..." he murmurs, gradually losing consciousness. And then, Yuichi collapsed from the agony and fell unconscious.
As Yuichi lay unconscious on the ground, a dripstone hanging just above him suddenly broke apart from the ceiling and began to rapidly descend towards him. At that moment, Lumiella's instinct kicked in and she swiftly swept a nearby vine toward the falling dripstone, obliterating it before it could harm Yuichi.
But why?
As she felt an odd sensation, her familiarity with it couldn't help her identify what it was. Despite the apparent silence, she confidently strode towards Yuichi, her face displaying signs of confusion.
As she crouches down, she firmly touches Yuichi's head. Suddenly, a flood of memories rushes into her mind, one after the other. Though perplexed, she feels relieved until a loud clattering sound of crystal interrupts the moment.