Team Hazard wasn’t known for their wise decision-making, and angering a hulking nature elemental that could probably reshape the terrain with a flick of its leafy wrist? Yeah, that was up there in the "bad ideas" hall of fame.

The forest itself seemed to shudder in anticipation. This wasn’t some quaint woodland with babbling brooks and chirping birds—it was a living, breathing death trap. Towering obsidian-barked trees loomed overhead, their branches curling like skeletal fingers. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and something... ancient. Pulsing veins of bioluminescent moss slithered up the trunks, casting an eerie green glow over the tangled roots. Shadows moved in the underbrush, though whether they were creatures or the forest itself shifting was up for debate.

And somewhere amidst all this terrifying beauty, a very angry nature elemental had just been provoked.

"RUN!" Dan bellowed, peering back at his team to ensure everyone was okay, leading the charge like a true captain—right into a low-hanging tree branch that took him clean off his feet.

The branch, coiling with luminescent vines, seemed to chuckle as it snapped back into place.

Ash, sprinting for his life, took a single glance back at the rampaging mass of animated vines, roots, and sheer botanical fury. "Every man for himself!" he yelled, immediately abandoning all pretences of teamwork and bolting in a completely different direction—right into a cluster of fanged lilies that snapped at his ankles.

Jake, ever the visionary, skidded to a dramatic stop, whipping out his bow with the practiced flair of a seasoned warrior. His movements were crisp, precise—like a hero stepping into the pages of legend.

“Stand back! This will take but a single shot!”

Ben, who had just bent down to haul Dan off the ground, froze mid-motion. He eyed Jake warily. "…You mean, like, an actual attack this time?"

Jake flashed a confident grin, the kind that belonged on posters rather than real life. "Elemental beast! I grant you a single opportunity to flee before my unmatched power!"

The forest groaned as if physically pained by his arrogance.

The rampaging creature did not flee.

In fact, it did not even hesitate. It simply barrelled forward with the relentless, earth-shaking force of an unstoppable landslide, sending ancient leaves spiraling through the air. The entire forest responded, trees twisting in agitation, vines hissing like agitated snakes.

Jake exhaled, nodding solemnly. “Heh. Very well.” He drew back the bowstring, his eyes gleaming with righteous determination. The air around him crackled—well, in his mind it crackled—as he locked onto his target.

“Hyper Velocity Piercing Shot!” he bellowed, loosing the arrow with all the grandeur of a divine smite from the gods themselves.

The projectile soared through the air…

…and thunked harmlessly into the elemental’s bark-covered shin with all the impact of a particularly enthusiastic pebble.

Silence.

The monster did not slow.

Jake’s confident smirk wavered. “…Uh.”

Silence.

"...That was just a regular shot, wasn’t it?" Ben deadpanned.

Jake swallowed hard. "I’m in over my head!!"

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The ground trembled as the elemental surged forward, roots tearing through the earth, closing the distance at an alarming speed.

Dan staggered back to his feet, rubbing his head. "New plan: we have to fight!"

"WE?!" Ash shrieked, his retreat screeching to a halt as thick vines erupted from the ground, coiling around his legs. He flailed, his confident smirk evaporating. "Help, team! We are in this together!"

The vines yanked him upward like a disgruntled gardener finally weeding out a nuisance.

"HELP!"

Dan, ever the hero, stepped forward with resolve. "Alright! I'll hold it back! Everyone, get behind me!"

Before he could even finish the sentence, a root the size of a battering ram smacked him sideways, sending him rolling like a discarded log.

Jake nocked another arrow, voice shaking. "Okay, okay, one more try!"

"You better actually do something useful," Ben muttered, stepping between him and the monster.

Jake inhaled deeply. "Alright. Focusing. I am the chosen one! I am the shadow that even darkness fears!"

He loosed the arrow.

The elemental blinked as the projectile bounced off its shoulder like a mildly annoying bug.

Jake paled. "Oh, come on!"

Ben sighed, then charged forward with the reckless enthusiasm of a man who had already accepted his impending funeral. To everyone’s shock—perhaps even his own—he actually held his own. He ducked beneath a sweeping vine, sidestepped a crushing root, and drove his fists into the elemental’s core with surprising force. The monster reeled, its bark-covered limbs shuddering from the impact.

For a moment, it almost looked like Ben had this.

The elemental loomed over him, a few feet taller, but not enough to make victory impossible. If anything, Ben’s sheer bulk made him the better contender in a slugfest. But that small glimmer of hope—that foolish, fleeting belief that this fight was winnable—would be short-lived.

The forest groaned in agreement as the elemental, seemingly fed up with this nonsense, slammed a massive root into the ground. The resulting shockwave sent Ben soaring backward in a graceful, unintended arc. He landed on top of Jake, crushing him with a wheeze.

"Hurmph," Jake muttered weakly.

Meanwhile, Ash, still dangling upside down in the vines, stared at them in pure horror. "This is the team I’m depending on? I’m a dead man."

Dan forced himself upright, wincing as he clutched his ribs. "Alright, okay—we’re still in this—!"

A boulder-sized chunk of dirt shot past his head, missing by mere inches. He blinked at it. "...We can do this?" His voice cracked slightly, and even he didn’t believe it.

Still crushed under Ben’s weight, Jake gasped out, "My legend doesn’t end here!"

Ash, deadpan, flicked dirt off his shoulder. "This is the worst pep talk I’ve ever heard."

The elemental let out a deep, guttural roar, its entire form swelling with renewed aggression. Its eyes—if you could call the glowing green slits that—flashed ominously.

There was no winning this. Running had failed. Fighting had failed. Being extraordinarily pitiful had also failed.

"Alright, think!" Dan barked, gripping his head. "What do we do?!"

Ben groaned from the ground. "I think I broke my… everything."

Dan wheezed. "New plan: We—"

The elemental roared again, raising its colossal root-like arm for a final, crushing blow.

Ash, twisting in the vines, stared at the descending attack with absolute resignation. "...If I somehow survive this, I am quitting this team."

The team braced themselves for impact.

Then—

A thunderous boom shook the air, followed by the crackling roar of flames.

The forest—the forest itself—seemed to recoil.

Dan’s eyes widened. "Wait… what is that?!"

Jake gulped. "That... doesn’t sound good."

The elemental turned, its hollow, bark-like chest tightening with rage.

A second roar rang out, this one distinctly pissed off.

And then, through the smoke, a figure burst into view—sprinting for dear life, a flaming beast the size of a carriage hot on his heels.

"Oh get fucked!" the stranger bellowed mid-sprint.

Dan stared, horrified. "Who the hell is that?!"

The stranger didn’t stop running, but his wild, unhinged grin was impossible to miss as his gaze fell on the members of Team Hazard.

Dan swallowed hard. "...Guys? I think we just got upgraded from dead to extra dead."