Chapter 329
Not So Easy
His stomach lurched as the world flipped. The sky and branches traded places in a dizzying blur, wind roaring past his ears as gravity claimed him without mercy. The trunk shot upward in his vision, leaves and splinters scattering as his body dropped straight down, the black flag still tucked at his waist.
From this height, he would be seriously injured if he didn't come up with a solution as quick as possible. He barely caught sight of Natsuki at the edge of his vision as he shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Caaatch me!"
There was a hint of hesitation on her pristine face as she seemed almost disturbed at the idea, her eyes not that of worry but of a very weak form of aversion.
Shit. Is she not going to catch me?
Just as IAM was about to turn on his avien—even though there was barely a second before he hit the ground, and it would take a few precious seconds before it was ready for him to fully display his abilities as an ascender—
The avien needed to cycle mana across the rest of the body so it could be reinforced to the appropriate level, and that would take some time. However, something of notice was that as long as one filled their core to its full capacity beforehand, that stored mana would be kept and could be accessed the second one activated their avien, as it was impossible to manipulate or control mana without an avien.
But it seemed he didn't need to do so. With a difficult expression, Natsuki quickly covered the distance beneath him. IAM held back from activating his avien just in time as he fell into her outstretched arms.
The force made her knees buckle slightly, but she kept her balance, and IAM found himself in a princess carry. He could very closely smell that unique scent that was always permeating from Natsuki. A strange feeling arose in his chest as their faces were pretty close—he could almost feel her breath…
Before IAM could even move, however, she suddenly dropped him without hesitation on his back with a thump. He clutched his back with a look of annoyance as he had let himself get taken by her looks once more.
As he slowly got back up, he promised himself to never let himself ever be in such a compromising position, especially NOT from her.
He gave her a dirty look. "What was that for?"
"We have company," she said simply, glancing at him while wielding her sword in her right hand. "Sorry… It's nothing personal… I… don't like being touched…" she added, something hidden in her voice as she said so.
IAM quickly straightened and surveyed his surroundings at the word company, simply nodding at her words at the end as he focused on this "company."
The tree that IAM had grabbed the black flag from had started to wiggle noticeably. It almost seemed more like flesh than bark.
IAM noticed that only fifty metres from bottom to top seemed affected, and it seemed like this wasn't the only one, as five other trees nearby had the same phenomenon.
What was happening?
"Should we run?" IAM said with a squint.
Natsuki replied firmly, her tone that of a war goddess oozing strength. "Was it not your words that we need to get rid of all the deadline creatures? I refuse to run. We will do as you said so… eradicate them all!"
!!!
Shocking words of strength and confidence spilled from her pink lips as she didn't seem to doubt her abilities for even a second.
IAM nodded and began to step back while he drew KASSARA. "Then I will cover for you too, the best I can."
Natsuki didn't seem to care, nor did she look at him like he was a coward or with the arrogance of someone superior. She simply said—
"Good."
IAM watched as the transformation of the affected areas of the trees continued, and though the sight was grotesque, he felt no surprise. He hadn't expected it to be so easy to claim a black flag, yet the spectacle only underscored their importance—each seemed guarded by a brutal test of strength and resolve.
The wriggling bark began to twist and bulge, starting from the tree IAM had taken the flag from. A dark hand pushed outward, breaking through the bark that now looked more like raw, stretched flesh than wood. Another palm followed, straining with effort, until a sickening groan and sharp rip heralded the first hand piercing fully through.
It was charcoal black, its fingers needle-thin and writhing like countless tendrils—over a thousand in total, each one twitching independently. The arm was slightly thicker but still disturbingly gaunt. Faint streams of dark sap-like liquid oozed from the splits in the bark, shimmering like thick blood as the hand worked to pry the hole wider.
A screech echoed from deep inside the tree as a second hand erupted, spreading its forest of fingers to tear the bark further. The ripping sounds were accompanied by wet, tearing noises, the kind that made the air feel heavy and sticky.
The hole widened enough for a face to emerge. Smooth as a rocky mountain yet entirely featureless, the dark surface of its head gave nothing away. But when it sensed the outside world, it tore the surrounding bark with renewed force, black sap splattering and dripping like dark rain.
…Then it stepped out.
One by one, the other trees disgorged similar horrors. Their full forms were humanoid but grotesquely distorted, limbs far too long, arms hanging past their knees, fingers still twitching like living needles. Their postures were slumped and unnatural.
Any observer would recoil in horror, yet IAM's eyes didn't even blink. He had seen worse in Dushlok...
Natsuki, graceful and composed as an empress, simply snorted, eyes glowing with fierce confidence as she surveyed the six figures radiating the energy of high novices. "Nothing but fatuous," she said, her words cutting like steel.
!!!
Shocking words escaped her mouth as fatuous meant foolishly pointless!
The creatures radiated menace, and the faint traces of black sap on the ground seemed to pulse with a macabre life of their own. Shocking enough to unsettle, but not enough to overwhelm IAM, whose mind was already calculating their next move.