While the shadow slipped away, the others were gradually beginning to suffer…
-
Deep within the mines, the old woman and the two young girls were covered in dirt and dried blood, while an endless wave of ants continued erupting from the tunnels. Although these were nothing more than the most basic small soldiers, they still posed a problem in such large numbers.
The old woman's hair had been partially undone, her once neat robes now stained black from a mixture of poison and crushed insects. Meanwhile, the two girls, initially innocent and afraid, had long since stopped acting elegant and were now frantically throwing spells while heavily panting.
"…Why are there more?!" one of the young girls screamed in frustration.
"Hehehe! They just keep coming, they just keep coming!" the second girl laughed hysterically.
-
At the same time, the beastmen party had entered an even worse situation.
The lion was currently sprinting through the canopy while carrying both cubs beneath his arms, and behind them, several of Petra's horrifying experiments chased them through the darkness.
One of the creatures resembled a massive deer whose body had split vertically down the center, exposing rows of moving human-like teeth hidden beneath a veil of translucent flesh, and another was a giant owl with dozens of mismatched wings all stitched unevenly across its body, causing it to fly in twitching, unpredictable bursts of heart-palpitating movements.
"What the hell are these monsters!" the lion roared in horror.
* * *
At some point, Petra had climbed out of the plush pile.
Currently, she stood atop the couch while leaning forward, dramatically extending her upper body as one foot sank into the cushions, while she stretched a hand toward the snack table next to her.
She retrieved a snack and pulled herself back, then began munching and mumbling.
While eating, her eyes scanned through the many scenes around the room, sometimes looking at the girls with her big black eyes, and sometimes turning her attention back to the screen, monitoring the remaining guests. As she ate, she rocked back and forth in place, lost in thought.
Non-non-nom!
Her eyes scanned the old woman, who she didn't like at first sight, then she flicked the screen to face the three fluffy friends who were running around in circles without even knowing it.
Non-non-nom!
Finally, she returned her attention to the shadow...
As it swiftly shot through the fields, she watched as it slowly made its way through a stream and towards the long lake that encircled the outer rim of the territory. Since the Tower Spider—Castle Crawler had started to grow, the 'rim of the territory' past the river had already begun to extend, however, the increase in size had been hard to notice because the majority of the space was void and had not been filled in with landmass yet. As for where they would eventually get the materials needed to extend the physical island that was the territory of the Emerald Ghost Tree, well, that would take time, because Petra wanted to find a good foundation and not normal stone or soil.
This empty area, as of right now, at least at night, was currently filled with fog, giving the shadow the impression that it was some kind of 'way out'…
Mm, anyways—
BOOM! ROOOOOOOOAR!!!
A terrifying roar suddenly erupted!
The entire lounge shook, and not just that, but every inch of the castle could feel it!
Several girls who had not been paying attention jumped in fright, and Petra immediately turned her head toward the glowing panel and checked the source of the sound.
Petra stared at it for several seconds.
"…Ho?"
She squinted her eyes, hummed, then casually looked away again.
Apparently—
Whatever it was, it wasn't that important...
Instead, she continued reaching for the snacks with a completely unreasonable level of seriousness…
* * *
BOOM!!
The lion beastmen crashed shoulder-first through a wall of dense leaves, while the two cubs desperately clung tightly to his thick fur!
Following a roar, the massive branch they had been running along 'exploded' apart behind them as one of Petra's abandoned experiments slammed into the ground hard enough to shake the surrounding canopy, sending leaves flying everywhere!
"Hold on!" the lion beastmen roared, his feet suddenly speeding up.
Wolf Cub: '~!'
Cat Cub: '~!'
Behind them, the horrifying creatures, with their varying limb counts and 'not cute enough appearances', continued pouring from the darkness and rushing towards them.
This time, one resembled a massive centipede whose whole body had fused with writhing roots, while another looked like a deer made entirely from translucent crystal, but upon closer inspection, it was closer to a mesh outline overlayed on a crystal skeleton.
Mm, to make things worse—
The incredibly violent owl-thing was still there, 'quickly' 'catching' up!
It's dozens of mismatched wings unevenly beat through the darkness while it occasionally rotated its entire head, which was apparently connected only to a noodle-like neck, upside down and all around. It screamed and screeched, then shot forward before launching itself to the side and into a wall. BOOM! With a roar, it threw itself forward again, slowly closing the distance in a disturbing attempt to surpass its bodily functions and defy its already twisted bird-like nature.
If Petra were asked why she created this abomination, she would likely ask why you were snooping, then toss a fistful of pocket sand into your face before running away with a cute chuckle.
As this living embodiment of nightmare material continued to crash around—
The cat cub suddenly pointed ahead.
"l-look! Light, there's light-nyan!"
The lion beastmen froze, his face brightening ever so slightly. After wandering through the endless canopy for what felt like hours, they finally saw an opening in the dense foliage ahead.
Without hesitation, the three rushed forward.
Branches snapped and Leaves scattered, and soon—
Boom!
They burst out through the edge of the canopy and stumbled onto an enormous branch overlooking the outside world. Standing on the massive branch, for the first time since arriving, they could finally see beyond the sealed borders of the Emerald Ghost Tree's inner canopy.
His eyes widened as he took in the vast view.
The sight of the farmland, the countless spiritual crops swaying beneath the moonlight, the twisting and turning streams that flowed through the fields like blood vessels, and the long river that completely encircled the territory! It was a mixture of colors and smells, all carried on the wind.
Finally out, the lion beastmen almost cried tears of joy.
His gaze slowly drifted to the distance…
"…An exit!"
"Woof-woof!"
"Nya!"
But just then—
Boom!
His face froze because, as he looked ahead, he was greeted with the sight of a massive serpentine shadow slowly rising from the length of the river. The massive silhouette towered over the farmland, its body partially obscured beneath the distant fog and spiritual mist. The world vibrated, the wind and clouds turned, and the land shook. Countless long, blade-like appendages slowly unfurled from the falling water, while two glowing eyes silently opened to illuminate the night.
—!!
Suddenly, the surrounding farmland looked very tiny in comparison…
Lion: "..."
Wolf: "..."
Cat: "..."
In that instant, as if his instincts had finally caught up, the lion beastmen's fur stood on end!
"…W-what the hell is that…?"
In the same moment, a swift black blur silently slipped from behind the branches.
Thunk!
Thunk!
Thunk!
Before any of them could react, all three collapsed unconscious onto the branch.
The shadowy figure briefly paused beside them before Soryn sighed and dragged them back into the darkness, never to be seen again…
* * *
Underground—
After the awakening of the Sea Spearing Centipedes 'main body', the mine, along with the majority of the 'Verdelith Castles underground world', had completely descended into chaos.
"Run!" the old woman shrieked.
Rumbel!
BOOOOOOM!!
The surrounding tunnels violently collapsed behind them as enormous cracks spread through the ceiling and floors. The two girls screamed while sprinting through the darkness, barely avoiding the falling debris as the surrounding supports crumbled apart overhead.
Around them, as if unaffected by the tremors, the ants continued to come.
Thousands of them flooded through the tunnels like a black tide, while the mines continuously shook from the distant impacts. Dust filled the air, breathing became difficult, and what little light there was was quickly snuffed out, and soon, even the surrounding sound began to be smothered by the tremors.
Rumble!
Tock!
Ah!
One of the girls tripped!
"Grandmother!"
The old woman instantly tried to grab her arm and pull her forward, but after a sudden shake and a missed step, she grimaced, then sneered before leaving her behind without a second thought.
"Sister!"
"Shush! Keep running!"
Another deafening impact echoed from above!
RUMBEL—Crash!!!
Finally, the ceiling above them completely gave way, and the entire tunnel disappeared beneath an avalanche of falling rock, then disappeared into the darkness…
* * *
Meanwhile—
The river surrounding the farmland was a large circular loop that marked the one-kilometre border between the 'old territory'—which contained the emerald ghost tree, the poison garden, the farmland, the mansion, tower, and the Hell Hall, Combat Hall, and Testing Hall. As for the 'new territory,' this new and growing region consisted of the rim of the island that served as the 'expansion zone' that was destined to become a forest, a field, or perhaps even a mountain range in the far future.
As for our little friend…
The strange shadow was currently sprinting for its life!
After following one of the tributaries responsible for irrigating the farmland, it tracked the flow all the way to the river, then began following it. Unfortunately, after 'some time and some things', it ended up coming face-to-face with the sleeping Sea-Spearing Centipede and mistakenly thought that its eye was a treasure. After trying to not-so-gently pluck it out, the massive eye flew open, and without a second word, the massive creature jumped up.
As water cascaded down its carapace, the colossal creature looked around in fury!
After finding the source of its plight, a terrifying chase began, and that takes us back to now…
Skreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!
The gigantic centipede-like horror tore through the riverbanks, while chasing directly behind the fleeing shadow. It scraped from side to side, zigzagging to cross the surface of the water as if it were no different from land. The creature's segmented body smashed through trees, rocks, and artificial structures while countless glowing green legs violently clawed across the terrain in pursuit.
Clearly, it was enraged!
The shadow looked absolutely panicked.
It shot across the water surface while looking back repeatedly.
As it continued forward, it quickly realized a problem! Because at some point—
A translucent green barrier had silently appeared along both sides of the river!
This strange green wall had originally only been on the outer bank, existing to keep people in, but as soon as the massive beast woke up, a second barrier appeared, instantly trapping the shadow in a long, racetrack-like loop. The barriers stretched endlessly ahead, following alongside the flowing water like two massive glowing walls, completely sealing the shadow within the 'narrow' river, but at the same time, it didn't seem to affect the Sea Spearing Centipede in the slightest.
The shadow had already tried before; that was why it was dilly-dallying around and not leaving.
…It was also why it swaggered forward and 'attacked' the big centipede in the first place…
After realizing that it was trapped, it immediately slammed into one, wanting to test it.
Bzzzt!
Boom!
It bounced back violently!
"…What?!"
For the first time, the strange creature actually spoke!
Its voice sounded distant and distorted, furious, like several overlapping voices compressed together.
The shadow stared at the barrier in both horror and rage.
"Who is playing with me?! Damn it!"
Skreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!
The giant centipede accelerated!
The shadow immediately resumed fleeing, while screaming internally.
Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Daaaaaaamn it! BOOM!
* * *
Sixth Floor, Lounge—
"It can talk!" All the girls simultaneously exploded with noise!
Petra immediately sat upright while holding the Crystal Panel with sparkling eyes.
"No way!" Noah shouted, taken aback. "That thing can speak?! Then its not a beast?" Rose looked shocked. Lira, who was already clinging to Petra, leaned in even closer with curiosity. "Go-go! Go shadow go! Go, little shadow! Good luck, little black!" Lilly cheered the little guy on! Luna and Petra, seeing this, instantly joined in as well. Meanwhile, Bell had completely abandoned her books to follow Dorthy and Albery over to take a look. Dorthy had a face full of interest, but Albery looked somewhat hesitant, which was clearly the most normal reaction when facing this kind of thing…
The entire room suddenly felt like a group of girls watching an intense match.
-
Onscreen—
Boom! The shadow barely dodged another attack as the massive centipede crashed through the river!
Petra pointed at the screen.
"Left! GO LEFT!"
- The shadow immediately turned left!
Petra froze…
"…Can it hear you?" Noah blinked in awe.
Then—
BOOM! The shadow slammed face-first into a rock!
The girls all burst into laughter!