As hysterical laughter echoed a dozen steps away from Yarnha, confusion overtook the Spirit.
They were feeling the same pain.
How could he laugh like that then?
How come he wasn't screaming like she was?
It was obvious, more than ever.
He was a Monster.
But beyond this,
'What is... Happening?'
Yarnha's extended and half-clenched hand twitched.
'What's up with this...' She curled up her fingers a bit further. 'Lack of resistance?'
The Spirit was absolutely bewildered.
Previously, a certain amount of pressure and pushback could be felt.
But now, nothing.
It almost felt like she could clench, and therefore crush the Monster, with ease.
It was so strange that the Nature Spirit started doubting its senses.
'Did he run away somehow? No... I can hear his laughter. I can still feel my roots in contact with his body. But then... How come...?'
Yarnha clenched her hand a bit further, and the roots around the Monster's body tightened a bit further.
'Why am I not feeling any pain?'
It was as if the Monster had disappeared.
No, as if its muscles had lost all their strength.
As if they had turned into some kind of stretchy and slimy substance that offered no resistance against pressure.
"Now that I think about it..."
The voice immediately sent shivers down the Spirit's spine.
"The way you feed on the dead..."
Yarnha's body froze. A voice this cold, she had never heard.
"We're the same, wouldn't you agree?"
Immediately, the Spirit's face that was covered by tears and sweat twisted.
"WE'RE NOTHING ALIKE, MONSTER!" Yarnha shouted, taking great offense.
"Of course we are. Nature, huh? The oldest-"
"SHUT UP!"
Yarnha clenched her hand further, and there was no resistance.
"You don't get it, do you? We're both..."
The wounds on Mark's body started changing. It wasn't clear whether this was the effect of the dark aura oozing out of them or not.
The muscles, in which the roots seemed to sink, started changing too.
Crack- Crack- Crack-
On his arms, legs, sides, shoulders, hands, and neck,
Crack- Crack- Crack-
Fangs were formed.
"Devourers, aren't we?"
All over the Monster's body, the wounds and areas in which the roots had sunk turned into mouths full of fangs.
And between many of those fangs, rested the Spirit's roots.
Yarnha clenched her teeth.
"You're no more than a Beast feeding itself on others." The Spirit declared. "Don't compare yourself to the Forest."
Squeeze-
But the instant the roots were about to tighten,
Crunch- Crunch Crunch-
All the jaws on Mark's body closed at once.
'What is-'
Crunch- Crunch- Crunch-
It only took a couple of seconds for the Devourer's Fangs to tear the restraints around the Devourer's body.
Thump-
"Ha... Hahahaha!"
Yarnha's body trembled for a second, as more than a dozen creatures laughed.
Or rather, more than a dozen mouths.
"Just a Beast, you say? I'm no Beast, Yarnha."
The Monster, freed of the constraints, lay on the ground.
"I am..."
Advanced Body Reconstruction-
Only the crushed bones were healed by the Magic Skill.
"The Devourer."
"DIE!" Yarnha shouted suddenly.
And as Mark stumbled while trying to stand, four roots moved towards him.
Like whips, they descended on his back.
No bones were crushed.
And yet, Yarnha cried harder than she ever had.
The stumbling Monster, on the other hand, hit the ground silently.
"Stay down..." Yarnha whispered as she tried her best to hold her tears in. "Please stay down."
One-
Two-
Three-
The Monster didn't stand up.
But on the wound left on its back, a large mouth appeared.
Kekekekek-
"Why won't you just-"
"Man, falling like this..." The Monster slowly pushed itself off the ground. The jaw on its face remained shut. "Used to be such a big deal."
"Will you-"
"Thank you, Yarnha."
"Huh?"
The Monster scratched the back of its head.
Its dark eyes glanced at the sky above a second later.
Only then did the mouth on its face move.
"Part of the fog has lifted again."
"Fog?"
"Mm." Mark nodded. "Don't worry about it. I just felt that I had to thank you..."
He took a deep breath in.
The moonlight was pleasant.
The air felt refreshing.
"Before killing you."
"Killing me? A Beast thinks it can-"
Yarnha's words were interrupted by the piercing and repetitive sound of fangs clashing.
"Forest... Devourer... Forest... Beast..." Mark muttered. "The individual versus the collective, huh?"
The Spirit's eyebrow rose.
Curiosity and slight interest.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
The Monster's multiple mouths chuckled at the question.
"What is a Forest, Yarnha?" The Spirit's hand twitched. "An ecosystem? A group? A collective, isn't it?"
"A Forest is much more than that."
Mark raised his arms to the sides.
"A Forest is nothing more than a collection of trees, Yarnha."
Immediately, a chilling pressure could be felt by Mark. A pressure that was coming from all around him.
A portion of the wave of trees that separated him from her parted, leaving a hole through which they could see one another.
"Continue." Yarnha said with incredibly cold eyes.
The kind of eyes a Spirit of Nature very rarely could show.
"Do I need to? Trees are weak. They're nothing, just like grass. Which is why they need to stick together. They stick together, and somehow turn into a Forest. Funny, isn't it?"
"How so?" The Spirit's eyebrow twitched with repressed anger.
"Mmmm... How to explain this?" The Monster whispered as it brought a finger to its chin.
'Is he still high?'
The Monster snapped its fingers and pointed at the Spirit.
With a wide smile,
"You're basically a swarm of insects. Actually, I'm more scared of Insects than trees. The number is what gives you this... Status thing, or Authority? Number... And location. Yeah. Absolutely nothing special about you-"
The Monster suddenly jumped to the side.
"You're dying, lowly Beast. You dare compare yourself to-"
"No, no, no, no. I'm not comparing anything. Come on now..." The Monster raised its hands and showed its palms. "No need to get violent here."
"You won't comply. It took some time, but I understand that now." Yarnha said as she started to extend a hand forward.
"Is that how weak your Pride is? Afraid of listening to a Beast's words?"
"It's not a lack of Pride." Yarnha extended her hand fully, uncaring. "It's Sloth."
"Well then," Mark said, ignoring the sharp tree root's tip approaching him from behind. "Let's settle this..."
The root seemed to pierce his body, but no blood was shed.
'What is...?'
The instant the root had come into contact with Mark's scales and pushed against his muscles,
Crunch-
Jaws appeared and cut the root before it could injure him.
"As Devourers!"
Mark launched himself forward.
"Foolishness." Yarnha uttered, and the wave of trees separating the two closed the hole in its midst.
You're basically a swarm of insects-
'You little shit. I'll show you what...' Yarnha cursed internally.
Bang-
Bang-
"No matter how much you hit, you won't be able to-"
Yarnha felt as if her heart had been grabbed by fangs, as a portion of the wall came down and a dark eye stared.
"You don't get it yet, do you, Yarnha?"
The Spirit pushed itself off the ground and quickly stood up.
"You have no idea who I am. Or what I am. And you're going to be sorry for not killing me earlier."
"What the hell are you-"
"You're nothing in front of me, swarm of trees. You still DON'T GET IT!" The Monster suddenly shouted, startling the Spirit.
It took a step back, before looking around.
An elated expression on its face.
"I just need to kill you, Yarnha. I just need to kill you."
The Spirit stared silently. It wanted to step back, but it didn't.
"This whole place. This whole Forest. All... That makes you you. I just need to kill it and then..." Mark brought his hands together. The distance between his hands was about twenty centimeters. "I can turn all of you, into a sphere that can fit in my hand."
"Nonsense."
The Monster smiled widely.
"This whole Forest. I'll make all of it..." A mad smile. "Fit in the palm of my hand."
"There's no way such a thing would-"
"Don't worry about it. It doesn't matter." Mark said.
"Kekekeke!" The rest of the mouths on the Monster's body snickered.
"This isn't a fight for survival anymore. This is..."
Crack- Crack- Crack-
The Devourer's Fangs shouted.
"A Battle Between Devourers."
"A... What?"
He snapped his fingers and pointed at her.
"Loser gets Devoured. Winner takes all. Mmm." Mark nodded. "I've always had a knack and passion for gambling, you know that?"
A slightly confused Spirit stared.
"I'll keep you right where I want you."
Dozens of green pods suddenly appeared on the wall separating the two.
Puff- Puff- Puff-
Mark breathed the Green Mist until his chest was puffed up high.
"Humans are the destroyers of Nature, aren't they? Then-"
A bundle of curled-up roots suddenly hit his chin, launching him away stumbling.
With a hand, Mark held his disconnected lower jaw.
Advanced Body Reconstruction-
"Mm. You're right." He nodded. "I'm no Human."
