Chapter 243 – The Malevolent Plant Army
Soldier Nestor:
I found myself in the middle of utter chaos, standing at the heart of a battlefield ripped straight from a nightmare. I'd been yanked from sleep in my tent, chilled to the bone by an unnatural cold that seemed to slice through flesh. A thick fog had swallowed the camp, and everything began to unravel.
When I reached the fortress walls, I witnessed what could only be described as hell itself: an immense black cloud descended upon the fortress, smothering it in oppressive darkness. Horrifying screams echoed from within, desperate cries for mercy blending with inhuman sounds. The energy emanating from that cloud felt alive, charged with pure malice.
Now, back on the battlefield, my mind was racing, struggling to comprehend the nightmare unfolding before me.
"Focus!" the commander shouted, his voice trembling as he tried to maintain order.
"Yes, sir!" we answered in unison, but fear was etched into every face.
Our opponents weren't the enemy army we had trained to fight. They weren't regular soldiers, nor fully human anymore. They were our own men, or at least what was left of them.
One of them came at me, growling like a wild beast. His eyes were vacant, his skin marred by glowing green veins, and plants writhed from his chest and arms like serpents. He held a sword with an unnatural grip, and his movements were erratic, yet terrifyingly fast.
"Shit!" I barely dodged, slashing instinctively. My blade met resistance as he raised an arm to block, the plants strengthening his flesh. He spun, aiming a kick at me, enhanced by roots erupting from his leg to aid the motion.
"What's happening to them?" I yelled at the commander, panic thick in my voice.
Before he could respond, another soldier beside me was grabbed. A thick root burst from the ground, coiling around his leg and dragging him down as one of the transformed soldiers approached, laughing grotesquely.
"You're betraying us?" a fellow soldier screamed, struggling against a deformed enemy who had once been our comrade.
Without thinking, I rushed to help. We had to hold the line, but it was becoming impossible. They were closing in on us, slow and relentless like an unstoppable tide.
"Help me!" a soldier cried out. I turned just in time to see him being dragged away by one of those horrors. A pulsing plant extended from the deformed soldier's back, coiling around him like a snake.
"Hold the line!" I shouted desperately, hacking at the root pulling him. But it was too late. The transformed soldier drove an improvised spear through his chest, and his last words drowned in a gurgling pool of blood.
The nightmare didn't stop. Everywhere I turned, soldiers were being felled, crushed, or dragged away. The battlefield, once filled with men, was becoming a macabre garden of blood, roots, and corpses.
"Help me!" my superior screamed, as a soldier leapt on him while another grabbed his leg, dragging him away from our formation.
"Sir!" I shouted, sprinting desperately to save him. But before I could reach him, another infected soldier, twisted and grotesque with pulsating plants, pounced on him.
What I saw next froze me in my tracks, the horror seared into my mind.
The infected soldier, his body riddled with writhing tentacles and blood-soaked flowers, let out a guttural growl. From his gaping mouth, a writhing plant serpent emerged, slithering with terrifying speed.
Before my superior could react, the creature forced itself into his mouth, burrowing down his throat.
I gagged, overwhelmed by a wave of panic. My body shook as I retched on the spot, unable to contain the nausea and terror consuming me.
"Help me! It's... it's killing me! AHHHH!" he screamed, his voice laced with agony as his body began to contort unnaturally. His stomach grotesquely swelled, and then, with a sickening sound of flesh tearing, tentacles burst forth. Blood and viscera splattered across the ground as his screams continued.
He stood up, but the man I once knew was gone. His eyes were empty, staring into an abyss of nothingness. Tentacles emerged from his ears, back, and even the gaping wounds across his body. The top of his head began to collapse inward, as if something was growing inside. Then, a blood-soaked flower erupted from his skull, its crimson petals glistening with gore.
"No... no, this can't be..." I muttered, my mind struggling to process the horror before me. Desperately searching around for help, I found no solace, only more despair.
My allies, those who had fought beside me, were now opening their mouths wide. From within, the same writhing tentacles began to slither out, ready to strike.
I was surrounded now.
"What the hell is this!?" I screamed, my voice trembling, a mix of disbelief and terror.
Then, a chilling, imperious voice echoed through the chaos.
"Come on, my little ones. There's so much more to create!"
I turned toward the voice and saw something that left me utterly dumbfounded. A woman walked calmly amidst the grotesque soldiers, who parted for her like obedient subjects. Slithering at her feet were dozens of plant-snakes, twisting and writhing with a menacing elegance.
Terror overwhelmed me completely, and my legs gave out beneath me. I fell to my knees, unable to tear my eyes away from this sinister figure.
"W-what... what are you!?" I stammered, my voice barely audible as despair consumed me.
"An angry mother," she replied, her tone as cold as death, her eyes gleaming with a calm, deadly fury. Her words snuffed out the last flicker of hope within me.
With trembling hands, I gripped the hilt of my sword. A fleeting spark of courage, or perhaps desperation, pushed me forward. I charged at her.
"Die!" I screamed, but she didn't even flinch.
Before I could reach her, I was violently shoved aside and slammed to the ground. The plant soldiers, former comrades now twisted monstrosities, surrounded me, their empty eyes staring down at me. She stood among them, serene, her demeanor exuding disdain.
"Are you an idiot?" she said, her voice dripping with icy sarcasm. "Do you really think they'd let you harm their mother?"
"You witch!" I roared, forcing myself to stand despite the pain coursing through my body. "This spell is evil!"
"Witch?" She raised an eyebrow, letting out a soft laugh that only deepened my fear. "That title belongs to my best friend. I'm just a simple gardener."
More soldiers appeared, rising from the shadows like the earth itself had spat them out. Their bodies were overrun with monstrous plants sprouting from within, twisted roots and glowing green tentacles pulsating with a macabre light. They surrounded the woman, forming a wall of flesh and vegetation, ready to defend her at any cost.
"I've only used this spell once before," she continued, her voice calm, almost motherly. "And this is the second time. I know how abominable it is." Her piercing eyes met mine, and the chill I felt was deeper than the freezing winds around us.
"But you hurt my family. You tried to kill my son. The pain these men are feeling right now doesn't even begin to compare to the pain you've caused me."
"Just kill me already! You lunatic!" I shouted, my voice breaking, the echoes of my anger mingling with the growing dread.
She laughed again, that soft yet cruel sound. "No. I already told you. These men are suffering. This spell only works on the living. They haven't died, you understand? They feel every second of the pain. They're conscious, trapped inside their own bodies while my daughters devour them from within. Roots grow from their hearts, pierce their brains. They feel every nerve being consumed, every muscle twisting. A hell you deserve."
My eyes fixed on the soldiers around me. There was something worse than the plants consuming them: their eyes. They weren't dead. Terror, pure and absolute, filled their gazes. They were aware, trapped in a torment I couldn't even begin to imagine.
I swallowed hard, my body trembling uncontrollably. Then it hit me: I realized why I was being held, why I was still alive. Panic crushed any remnants of courage I had left.
"Please! I have a family!" I begged, my voice breaking under the weight of despair.
The woman merely stared at me, her face unreadable. "I also have a family, and they're on this battlefield. Your pain will protect them, becoming part of our army."
She stepped closer, holding a large seed the size of an apple in her hand.
"NO!" I screamed, thrashing in desperation.
The soldiers, once my comrades, now under her control, held me firmly. There was no escape.
"This is a special seed," she said with chilling calmness. "Unfortunately, my snakes can't carry it due to its weight, and I've only managed to produce one."
She leaned closer. "Open your mouth. You're about to become a much stronger soldier."
"No! NO!" I howled, struggling desperately.
"Open your mouth," she ordered, her voice eerily calm. Before I could resist further, one of the soldiers forced my head back and pried my jaws open with brute strength.
"AHHH!" I screamed, but it was futile.
The seed was shoved into my mouth. It was rough, pulsating as though it were alive. The moment it touched my tongue, it unfurled like a worm, its ends writhing and crawling down my throat.
"STOP! NO!" I tried to spit it out, forcing it back up, but it was too late. The thing had already descended, burning inside me like liquid fire, choking me with the sensation of something alive moving through my innards.
"What have you done!?" I rasped, my voice raw with desperation.
She simply watched, serene, like a mother admiring a masterpiece.
And then, the pain began.
"AHHHHH!" I screamed as an indescribable torment tore through me. It felt as though something was ripping me apart from the inside out. My stomach writhed violently, muscles tearing as I felt something pierce my organs.
Roots began to burst from my skin, erupting like ravenous parasites. Vines coiled around my arms and legs, piercing my flesh and spreading thorns that shredded me from within. I felt my fingernails pop off, replaced by wooden claws.
"What's happening to me?!" I shouted, but my voice was already muffled by the agony and horror.
My body, now unrecognizable, began moving against my will. I could see everything, feel everything, but I had no control. Every step was a new wave of agony, as though my body had become a monstrous vessel, driven by something far beyond me.
I was trapped, conscious, feeling every root consume me, every thorn tear through me. Darkness enveloped me completely, but the pain never stopped.
"Welcome to the family," I heard her cold voice echo in my ears.
My body, now a controlled monstrosity, began to move. I could feel the weight of something monstrous enveloping me, and each step I took reverberated like the toll of a death knell. I was still there, trapped in the darkness, feeling the agony every moment. Now, I was a vessel, driven by her will, while my mind remained in unending torment.