And then, before the Bitter Thorn could even lift a leg to attack –

“No… Rockie wouldn’t lose to the likes of you!”

– She expertly slashed a leg off. Her momentum allowed her to then take out another which destabilized the Rock Bug.

Surprisingly, the brambles of this Bitter Thorn were weaker compared to the ones that shielded the humans. She half expected her blade to bounce off.

The beast limped as it turned its body around, attempting to whip Red with its tendrils.

However, Red was far too close to be struck. She didn’t play by the rules of common sense. A normal person would have struck and then left immediately. This was called hit and run tactics.

But Red was the type of huntress who immersed herself in the thick of the hunt. If one had to describe her combat style, then it was like a frenzied shark. Black blood profusely gushed from the stumps of the Rock Bug. Despite her attacks, she had only dealt 100 damage to the Bitter Thorn, meaning its DEF stat was at least 535.

This was where the second effect of [Huntress’ Slash II] kicked in.

An additional 50 HP dropped in the following second. She had inflicted the Bleeding Condition to the Bitter Thorn.

“I think I’m getting the hang of this now!’

She swooped in for another attack, but quickly jumped to the side as she watched the Bitter Thorn slam its body downwards. Wet dust kicked into the air, creating a smokescreen that hid the beast.

“You can’t crush me! Just who do you think you’re up against!?”

However, a pair of crimson eyes and a blade shone through the smoke. Red burst through a split second later, slashing off another two of its legs. Environmental distractions did not prevent her from utilizing the bloody trail.

Only three legs remained. They were not enough to hold their body up. Its legs bent at a hideously warped angle in an attempt to swat her away, only for Red to cleave each of the tendrils apart.

She gained an additional level in [Huntress’ Slash II] as a result.

< Huntress’ Slash II [7/10] >

“Envious Brambles this and that. Don’t you learn from experience!?” Red despised how irrational these creatures were.

The overwhelming difference in their strength did not dissuade it from trying to kill her. She stood over the creature with scorn in her crimson eyes.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

“Damned bug!”

The large, 2-meter Rock Bug was reduced to a hilariously oversized pebble. It shivered, still trying to muster enough strength to attack.

Bitter Thorn | HP: 600

It had over half of its HP remaining, but it was effectively dead as far as Red was concerned. She planted a boot over its shell and grinded her heel against its rocky exterior.

“Nothing like Rockie’s smooth shell. Tch… You killed a lot of humans. What did they ever do to you?”

It angered her that her beloved humans were being hunted. She crouched down and planted her blade into the crack of the Rock Bug. Then, she kicked it deep, cracking its shell open.

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“Rock Bugs aren’t evil like you. But then again, was it really a ‘rock bug’ who did this? I hate these thorns.”

She reached into its body with her knife and swung away, cutting its innards down until her entire right arm was sticky with black blood. Her stomach churned. She was hungry this creature promised to make for a good meal considering it had high DEF stats.

But before she could dig in, she remembered Mr. Huntsman and Snow.

“Ah! That’s right! They should be around here somewhere. I passed a cave, didn’t I? I should bring this back so we can all share~ I bet Snow will praise me. Heh. She’ll say, ‘Good job, Red~’ and pat my head.”

Red finished the creature off and began dragging its husk away. Held in her hand alongside her blade was a dark, purple crystal belonging to the creature.

It was the Specific Nex of the Bitter Thorn.

< Specific Nex Received >

< Do you wish to hear the blurbs of its Origins? >

< Yes | No >

She bit down into it and agreed to hear the blurbs of the Bitter Thorn. At the same time, she walked past the bodies of countless beautiful women. A part of her was pained by their deaths, but another didn’t feel much either.

They were faces that she didn’t know in the first place.

Did she have to be concerned about people she didn’t know?

Red wondered if it was normal to feel like this towards other people.

But more than that, Red was concerned about another concept related to death.

“Agate. What happens when people die? Do they go somewhere?”

It was a curious, childish question.

A type of question that was asked for the sake of it.

< Unknown >

The answer was to be expected. Not even the voice in her head knew. Red looked back at the corpses of the women, and then at the Rock Bug with a solemn expression.

“… at least my friends won’t have to die. So when your HP reaches zero it’s all over, huh. A way to read the condition of your body is unbeatable. Hey, um, Agate. Do you have a HP pool too? I’m asking because I don’t think I’d want you to die either.”

Red didn’t know why, but she became oddly contemplative. That same emotion that sparked when she thought she saw a dead Rockie came back. It was a sensation that wracked her heart with pain.

“Death… is weird. I hope everyone else managed to escape. Snow and Mr. Huntsman should be in the cave ahead. Rockie should be ok too.”

But what about Three Paw?

Why was she so concerned about whether that dumb mutt was alive or not? A wolf was a wolf no matter what.

But even so, a small voice in the back of her head hoped that the little wolf who came to save her was also doing fine.

* * *

Bitter Thorn

< Its sweetness is no different from the nectar of the golden apple. Envious thorns burrow into its flesh, turning what was once sweet into purulent puss >

ORIGIN : Trauma

ATTRIBUTE : Obsession

Bitter Thorn

< Observation Level 2 >

< Bitter Thorns are born from the hosts of the impure. The brambles of envy remain bitter for having claimed a host that lacks the beauty, completion and utter sweetness of the perfect self they envision >

< 2 >

Is it ever the fault of the apple when it falls far away from the tree? Or when fruits become infested by larva?

They were born in a way that was already perfect. Humans had everything that they didn’t. The brambles grew envious. No matter how much viscera they filled their trunks with they could never become like them.

“Why were we born to be rooted in place, whilst they are allowed to walk? The canopies of my brethren block the view of the skies. When it rains, why is it that we cannot move to sate our thirst?”

Then it realized as a woman came to water its dying roots.

“If we can’t fill ourselves with viscera to become complete, then we shall take their bodies. No longer will we be trapped. No longer will we bleed sap and dark entrails of rotting flesh.”

The envious brambles infected the woman who had come to water it every day. It did not matter that her efforts allowed it to live despite its predisposition. To the brambles, nothing was worth living for if they could not be free like them.

“We must become complete. We will be free… But our hosts won’t stop screaming…”