Multiple screams echoed throughout the forest.
At first it came from ahead as she chased after it, her blade held in hand as she swiped stray shrubbery to warm up for a potential brawl. Her blade knocked against bark at the beat of her own heart.
Soon, screams arrived from her right.
What’s happening all of a sudden!?
Then, from the left. The closer she approached the source the more screams emerged. An unholy cacophony of inhuman cries replaced the chirps of the birds. Birds migrated from the forest overhead as she kept her head down and her senses sharpened.
//////// < CAUTION > ////////
< Unknown >
“Unknown!? Agate this isn’t the time to be ambiguous with me!” Red scorned as she scoured the forest.
Eventually, she came across boxes of spilled fruits. Apples, berries, and colorful fruits she had never seen before littered the path. She rushed to investigate, sifting through soil but to her shock –
“Where… did the people go!? They couldn’t have run. I’m not seeing any tracks at all!”
– All hints of human interaction were scrubbed away. No, she realized that they probably didn’t have a chance to escape. Pondering on this, she felt a dangerous chill run down her spine the moment she approached one of the boxes.
Suddenly, and without warning, she threw herself to the side just before a thorny branch struck.
“That’s –! What is that!?” She grunted. If she was just a second slower then she would have been impaled from the head down. A thick root fell from the canopy like the arm of a praying mantis. “No one said anything about living plants!”
She took advantage of its attack and slashed it while it was sticking, claiming chunks of it. A vile, black fluid escaped from its wounds as she leaped away before another tentacle root attempted to impale her again.
“Tsk…” Red lifted her gaze to the canopy to check its status.
At that same moment, droplets of red dripped from above. It was different from the black sludge found inside of the roots. The red came from dangling feet angled like an array of stalagmites.
The people here didn’t disappear. They were impaled, strangled, and crushed by the roots hiding within the canopy.
“Another… Corrupted…?”
Her instincts knew what it was. But there were certainly creatures and plants that preyed on the living. Just not here. Another reason why she wasn’t certain was because she hadn’t received a ‘Warning’ yet, like when she fought the Still Unloving.
Envious Brambles
LEVEL : 20
ATTRIBUTE : Obsession
ORIGIN : Folklore HP : 5,200
ATT : 300
MAG ATT : 300 AGI : 10
They were weak. Incredibly weak compared to Red. In fact, they’d barely be able to damage her at all. But that was only if they struck her apparel. She didn’t forget that her DEF stats were virtually nonexistent without her hooded clothes.
It was too late to save them. Blood trained from their feet as more roots collapsed onto Red. She slashed them indiscriminately, latching her blade into one as she clambered above to find the source of the brambles.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“Of course… I wasn’t the only damned Corrupted on board! But why did you have to show your face here!? What are you!?”
Red cleaved away the branches, clearing the way as she found the tip of a tree that was missing its canopy. In place of it were severed limbs that were arranged like the petal of a flower.
“Are you like me!? Trying to be human too!?” She roared, leaping from her branch and onto its withering trunk.
Her blade ran down its length, bleeding it of its rotting blood that held glimmers of red. Splinters exploded. Its bark had hardened significantly to make it resistant to attacks. But inside she noticed its flesh-like consistency, and she couldn’t help but fear that this monster was the reason or the screams.
Suddenly, its lacerated length flapped as it let loose of an unholy scream.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
That scream, as she only just realized, was the result of stole vocal cords that lined the interior of the Envious Brambles. Few figures barely resembling a human trembled within.
Tiny roots drained the blood of its prey, taking it for its own. They were already dead, but the roots puppeted them as though to take what it lacked, stuffing itself with life as an abomination of humanity.
Envious Brambles | HP: 2,300
“AGAAAAATE!” Red screamed and resumed her assault.
Her scream melded with the one of the tree-like entity, as well as countless that came from around the forest.
“IS THE VILLAGE OK!?”
//////// < ALERT > ////////
< Please return to Hearth Village >
Red knew Agate could not have possibly known about the state of the Village. It was a warning of things to come. A promise if Red was not there to help them.
Her eyes flashed with a faint glow as her emotions bubbled violently in her chest. [Huntress’ Slash] allowed her to finish the creature off as she followed the red trail. All of its brambles were considered one entity, so she could not see the red mist.
It did not change the outcome, however.
The withering mass deflated as its HP dropped to 0. Its blood escaped into the forest. The bodies were still hung by its rotting vines.
“How could you do that to good humans?” Red questioned through gritted teeth before she dashed into the direction of Hearth Village.
The skies began to darken unnaturally. There should have been enough daylight to ward off the shadows of the forest. Her speed increased, and she held her breath as a purple hue replaced the rays of the sun.
“Is this magic?” She was unfamiliar with the capabilities of magic.
But deep down she knew that this phenomenon was eerily similar to the way the Still Unloving was able to alter the interior of the caverns, replacing stone with flesh. The trees became darker as their leaves bared red, for they had stolen it from the blood of humans.
“Are the Envious Brambles… born from something like the Still Unloving?”
No response was given, aside from the screams and orange glow of flames in the distance. She finally reached the final stretch to Heart Village, hearing hysterical screams fill the air.
“EVERYONE! RUN!” Red cried, but it seemed that the Village was already a step ahead of her.
The Huntsman rounded everyone onto horse-drawn carriages. They took aboard the bare minimum to survive as he and several men set their homes alight to buy them time. He had experience against plant-based monsters.
Fire was one of the greatest repellants.
A flaming stick was thrown to Red the moment she showed her face.
“RED! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!? Tch… Don’t answer! Hurry and help Snow with the preparations –!”
Movement in the forest from where Red came from interrupted him. Red turned her back to the Huntsman, her blade held close to her face.
“Wouldn’t it be better if I held them back and you do that!?”
“Can we… even leave it to a girl like her to –!”
“Leave it to Red if you value your life.” The Huntsman shut down the protest of one of the villagers.
If they had seen the way Red hunted, then they’d understand why he trusted Red with their backs. He drew both crossbows. Normally, one would only be able to wield one at a time. Yet he carried them effortlessly as they hooked themselves to his forearms, freeing his hands.
“Young girl… I do not know what happened, but it seems that there is an infection passed through the plants. Do not let them touch you. As great of a Healer Snow is, there is no person in this world that can turn back the clock.”
“Leave it to me! Rockie!” The Steel Bug stomped its legs as it joined her, ready to take on whatever came their way.
Pandemonium continued despite Red’s promise to save them. Her presence could not stave away the terror that devoured their minds. Their homes were going to disappear. Plant-based monsters were notoriously impossible to remove from homes, often reappearing years, or decades later to feast on an unsuspecting family.
This was why they needed to be burned. No chances could be taken. This was the way of life outside of the cave. As men loaded and prepared the caravans to take off, she noticed Snow amongst the many faces, desperately healing the injured from both her village and others.
Red vowed to protect them no matter the cost.
That was what it meant to be human, right?
Suddenly, something emerged from the forest.
It was neither a branch nor a root. It was not even a plant either.
What appeared was a human corpse puppeted by purple, thorny brambles.
//////// < WARNING > ////////
< TRICKLE >
< THE ARBITER’S TRUMPET BECKONS >
Bitter Thorn
LEVEL : 25
ATTRIBUTE : Obsession
ORIGIN : Trauma HP : 500
ATT : 550
MAG ATT : 0 AGI : 15
Not one, nor two or five emerged.
There were dozens.
It was not a brawl that awaited her.
It was a bloodbath.