The scene was absolutely disturbing. He saw a scythe, the size of a building—300 feet, to be exact—suspended in the air. That woman was about to completely obliterate anything in its path. But she didn't care; all of her victims were deep underground.
"Don't think that the size of it means it won't be fast."
Then the scythe came down, moving at least five times the speed the woman was capable of, which was impressive, considering she was already faster than the eye could track, her movements turning into a blur.
She swung her entire arm downward, sending the massive scythe slicing through the air. The sheer force of the wind from the scythe's descent pushed down on Cyrus with such intensity that it felt like a storm crashing against him.
Can I even block something like that? he thought. The scythe was so enormous that it could wipe out most of the amusement park, if not all of it. But then, in a split second, his resolve solidified. No, there's no time for doubt. I have to block it.
With steely determination, he positioned his wooden sword, bracing himself against the overwhelming force. The wind howled around him, its power increasing with each passing second, like a hurricane rushing to claim everything in its path.
His body screamed in agony as the overwhelming force of the attack pressed down on him. The ground beneath his feet cracked and splintered, unable to withstand the force. For the first time, he doubted whether his wooden sword—the one he had always relied on as unbreakable—could survive this strike.
Around him, the amusement park was being torn apart. Roller coasters twisted and buckled, food stands collapsed, and buildings crumbled under the sheer weight of the scythe's force. The devastation was horrifying. If he didn't block this attack, there would be no park left—and far more damage to the environment than he could bear.
The earth around him shattered, sending debris flying in every direction. Power lines snapped like brittle twigs, and sparks erupted from the broken infrastructure. The chaos was beyond anything he had imagined, a scene straight from a nightmare.
"This will probably be my last attack. I'm putting everything into it! Make sure to survive, so I can devour you, little bug!"
The pressure on his wooden sword intensified, the scythe bearing down on him with terrifying force.
"Dammit!" Cyrus gritted his teeth as the blade drew closer, a split second from crashing into him. Then, just as it seemed inevitable, a voice echoed across the chaos.
"Don't go around dying like a fool before I get to kill you, brat!"
Umeboshi had somehow pulled himself free from the rubble of the ferris wheel, and with a burst of strength, he shoved Cyrus out of the way. The impact sent Cyrus flying several feet.
"If he can't block it, what makes you think you can, second-zone spirit?" The woman laughed as she continued to swing her scythe downward with unstoppable force.
"Who said I was going to block it?" Umeboshi's voice was steady as he phased through the ground in a blur, appearing next to Cyrus just before the scythe could hit him.
The scythe struck the ground with earth-shattering force, ripping through the park, leaving a path of complete destruction in its wake. The amusement park, once filled with life, now lay in ruins, if not entirely wiped out.
"What?" The woman snarled in disbelief as her scythe turned to dust, the power fading from it. She could no longer maintain the enormous weapon. Her hand was empty.
Before she could summon another, her face was struck by two wooden weapons: a wooden sword and a wooden staff.
"How stupid of you to exhaust yourself on such a reckless, oversized attack," Umeboshi sneered, his staff connecting with her shoulder. At the same time, Cyrus's wooden sword landed a sharp blow to her right side.
The assault was relentless. Both combatants struck from every angle, not allowing her a moment to think or react. Every hit was perfectly coordinated, a brutal combination of strikes that left her no room to breathe.
Finally, they both hit her square in the stomach, sending her hurtling across the battlefield. The impact left her airborne, flying through the air with devastating force.
She lay convulsing on the ground a few feet away, her body covered in bruises and blood.
"You… damn you… all of you!" she snarled, her voice weak but filled with venom. From her shattered form, feeble roots began to creep toward them, but as they approached, they crumbled into dust. She had exhausted every ounce of her energy on the oversized scythe.
Just as they were about to finish her off, she touched the ground and hissed, "You wretched fools better not move, or the girl is dead."
From the earth, an egg-shaped root emerged beside her, making both combatants halt in their tracks. It slowly opened, revealing a small hole. Inside, they could see Viora, her body drenched in yellowish liquid as the roots began to close in around her.
Umeboshi screamed in rage, "You psycho! Let her go!"
Cyrus cursed under his breath, his grip tightening around his sword. "You better let her go, and everyone else you trapped underground."
The woman, covered in blood and breathing heavily, smirked despite her weakened state. "It was a mistake to expend all my energy on that attack, I'll admit… but I still have this little backup plan, in case things went wrong."
She paused, catching her breath, her cold eyes glaring at them. "Now, how about this, little bugs… You can crawl into this egg of mine…" She grinned, the twisted gleam in her eyes growing darker. "Or the girl dies right here, right now."
"I promise you, once you two are inside, you'll curse the day you weren't crushed under the weight of my scythe," the woman hissed, her voice dripping with malicious delight.
Umeboshi cursed under his breath. "This is obviously a trap, Miravine. Once we're inside, we'll be powerless!"
Cyrus stood still, his expression unreadable as he stared at the ground. His mind raced. "I don't know what to do... but we have no choice." He clenched his fist tightly, frustration and resignation mingling in his voice.
The spirit laughed, the sound eerie and unsettling. "Oh... it seems there's no room for you two inside. Well, how about this?"
With a flick of her hand, roots began to weave and coil around them, tightening with unnatural speed. The roots shifted and reformed into egg-shaped structures, closing in on them. In the blink of an eye, the viscous liquid poured over their bodies, sealing them within.
The last thing they heard before everything went dark was a chilling voice, echoing inside their minds:
"How will your soul withstand the unrelenting hell of your own forgotten torment?"
chapter nineteen end