Someone Hunted by Everyone

Bloodshed

Odene POV

Blood Vine Forest, nobody dared to enter this place. Anybody who stepped one foot onto this place, was rather dead from the amount of sentient plants or by the person inhabiting this place.

"I'm just passing by, there's no need for hostility," I tried to calm the sentient forest, vines  suddenly reaching for me.

"Goddamn you," I cursed, keeping my stance.

As each vine grabbed for my body, I quickly cut it in half with a swift chop from my hand. Thorns pierced into my flesh with each block and attack, every vine I tore grew into 3 more.

I might as well surrender, but there's no way I'm letting my parents' sacrifice go to vain. I need to somehow find the center of the forest, the person controlling these vines should be mounted there.

I steadied my balance and then bursted deeper into the forest. Spider webs entangled around my face, twigs and vines threatened to trip me onto my face. I refused to falter and I kept running, hoping I was getting somewhere.

A tree collapsed in front of me, sharp branches suddenly shooting out of the fallen foliage. Thin as needles, sharp as a blade. I took one to the arm and the leg, the rest I dodged successfully. There was a slight cut near my cheeks, it stung.

I jumped over the now rotting tree and tried to listen for any more movements. I looked at the bloody vines, I think I should follow it and see where it leads me to. There has to be a mother tree here and the vines should lead me right to it. If I'm lucky, that'll also be where I find the stupid earth guy.

I ran along the vines, they didn't move at all. Has the dude given up? Why is nothing attacking me? I stopped my movements, something's off.

I held my breath, reducing the amount of sound there was around me. I put my hand to the soft dirt, there was a small vibration, then it got bigger, and bigger. I jumped from my position suddenly and a huge spike made of pure rock stabbed up from the floor.

The rock slowly crumbled, revealing a human inside of it. When the dirt eroded, bloodshot green eyes stared back at me. Blood has dried into the person's skin, forever unable to wash off.

"Dude, just let me leave in one piece. I won't do anything that'll harm your forest or the beings who live in it, you included," the last bit was a bluff, I highly doubt that I can even land a hit on him.

"You're all bark and no bite," his voice was like nails on chalkboard.

Vines stretched from the ground and homed in on me. I have to quickly think, I can't kill him with fists only. Could I possible use his own magic against him?

His fingers morphed into vines itself, I guess he thinks he'll have better luck hitting me of it's his own limbs. I think I have an idea.

I allowed the vines to chase me around the forest, my mind still focusing on where we were originally. This won't work if I forgot where he was while I'm getting chased.

I dove into bushes, climbed trees, went around trees, and then I made a quick run back to where the dude was when I realized nothing was chasing me.

I stood in front of the person, his fingers was entangled around the whole forest. He couldn't retract them either, I made sure to make the vines knot itself.