Something Immortal

59: Out of the Pan, Into the Fire

[TW: This part contains content that some might find disturbing, reader's discretion is advised]

Four people were huddled together waiting for the enemy to make the first move. However, the enemy was seemingly waiting for them too. And the enemy happened to be these oversized, weird, carnivorous plants hovering above them with their tendrils and vines.

Among the four, only one could fight using physical combat, and that was the strigoi Mica. Som was good in defense and nature runes; Ilarion has very little to zero knowledge about it; at least Malee could fight using arcane magic.

Speaking of, Ilarion leaned towards Som's side and whispered to his ear, "What happened between you and the pool?"

Som returned his question with a deep scowl on his face. "You should've been there with me..."

"Moi?"

"Yes, you. You were there. From the very beginning..."

Ilarion looked at Som and said, "Now, that got my attention..."

The biggest of all the plants and the one who tried to swallow Som had finally recovered and started moving its vines and tendrils like an octopus at a dance recital. Som turned to Mica, "You didn't kill it?"

"What do you think?" the strigoi snapped back. "I tried to stab it where it hurts but you were inside of it, remember?"

Ah yes, of course. Som's nose wrinkled as they were all being dried up with the secretion of the said monster, who opened its pod wide one more time giving them a glimpse of its ferocious teeth inside.

One vine pulls up, and the other follows, rising up a bit now, towering over the seated group like a genie, stretching its stems like limbs and out from its mouth, an awful vibrating sound.

As if unison, the four covered their ears, and even the other floras backed away.

...and as the sound faded, the attack commenced.

The four of them rolled to the ground in different directions. Even Ilarion had to fend for himself this time, avoiding the other smaller adversaries, wondering where the hell that pool goddess went. "Shouldn't she be saving us this time?" he yelled at Som on the side who was busy creating shield after shield to support Mica who went straight to the boss.

"Who?"

Ilarion was still using his crossbow and struck one of the plants with a boggling mass of leaves, vines, tendrils, and roots, but he was almost out of ammunition. He watched as Mica struggled, perspiring heavily and running and attacking at the same time. The plant did not only prove to be hard to defeat but also quite a formidable enemy. Whenever Mica attacks it, it fires back twice the normal strength.

Reaching out with one of its vines that suddenly turned solid, it struck straight between Malee and Som and they both moved aside avoiding the implications. However, they weren't fast enough and they were both thrown with more force than they were expecting.

The plant laughed---a deep, frightening one that reverberated and suddenly turned to a scream when Mica, finally being able to find his motion, brought the dagger down to its head and an awful sound as it plunged deep.

"Mica!" Som yelped, his back hitting a rock but surprisingly he didn't feel very hurt---either that or he was ignoring the pain.

Scurrying to get to his friend, a series of symbolic runes appeared around his wrists, going round and round, faster and faster. A third spear appeared on his body, like the cogs of time in a clockwork made of flames. Som's eyes blazed as though this power had always been part of him. Now, he understands why he always knew what to do. Behind him, a dark liquid crawled into the ground rising above and forming several figures---the sentient trees appeared growling menacingly, eyes burning the same way as Som does.