"Now that I've started this," The small hole made through the wall of trees closed. "I'm not letting you go."
"Kekekek." The Monster chuckled. "I don't want you to."
The next second, four tree roots left the ground and moved with great speed towards it.
The Monster jumped to the side then, with a flap of its wings, rose into the air.
From above, he stared at the Spirit beyond the wall.
"Don't think Nature can't reach the sky." Yarnha said menacingly.
The Monster extended a palm towards the Spirit, and a volley of Great Fire Balls was shot.
Before they could touch Yarnha's body, the ground moved to form a curved wall in front of her.
"Mm." The Monster nodded. "Of course the ground is part of the Forest. That's where it all starts." It whispered. "Where the Forest starts."
With a root's swing, the smoke covering the area around the Spirit was cut in two.
"Don't think you escape by-"
"Escape?" The voice came from behind. "I told you already. This is..." Half a dozen Ice Spikes flew towards the Spirit. "A Battle Of Devourers."
Quickly asserting his position thanks to the Wind, Yarnha extended a finger, and half a dozen roots left the ground.
The spikes made of ice were pierced, and the roots continued extending further towards the flying Monster.
"Phew..." It whistled while dodging. "No range limit?"
"Think I'll answer that?"
"Don't mind me." The Monster extended its hands towards the roots that were being pulled back into the ground below. "I'm just thinking out loud."
Staggering Thunder-
'Tsk. Since it's not a Magic Skill I have anymore, it uses up way more Mana than it-'
The thunderbolts came into contact with the moving roots.
It took a couple of seconds, but the roots seemed to lose some speed.
"Wait... I can use it even though it's not a Skill I have?"
More roots exited the ground and,
Wind Blast-
The power was enough to raise the Monster even higher into the air.
"Wonder if you get me from here-"
A dozen of the trees below moved.
The branches curled up and, as if they were quills shot by an animal, detached and flew towards the Monster.
A slight smile was on its face as it deflected two of the sharp branches with a hand.
"Reminds me of that golden Centipede thing." The Monster noted cheerfully.
It slowly moved back.
The next second, a long line of trees behind it moved.
Their branches were angled towards the Monster's back.
"I'm not letting you go." Yarnha whispered.
The Monster raised its hands to the side.
And in those palms, landed...
"The branches I shot?"
A second after they were grasped, they turned into a green sphere of energy.
"See, Yarnha?" The Monster opened its mouth wide and swallowed the sphere. "This is your future."
Like an animal erecting its tail full of quills at an enemy, the branches were shot in waves towards the Monster.
Almost uncaring about the incoming organic blades, the Monster moved its center of gravity forward.
"Instead of running away, you're coming right to me?"
A smirk appeared on the Monster's face.
"Well I can't Devoure you," It spread its wings wide.
Wind Blast-
"Without getting closer!"
The sudden increase in speed made the Spirit's eyes widen.
Still, it wasn't anything it couldn't handle.
In fact, it was the perfect opportunity.
Yarnha extended a hand towards the rapidly approaching Monster.
From the ground below it, roots extended towards the sky with curvature and approached the Monster's back like a scorpion's tail.
The Monster flapped its wings once more,
Wind Blast-
And it accelerated further.
But the instant those roots were about to reach its back, the Monster extended a hand to the side.
Wind Blast-
The recoil was enough to push the Monster's body to the side, but its downward speed could not be dealt with properly.
Its feet left marks as they slid on the ground.
"You can't move the same roots for too long, huh?" The Monster asked as the roots slowly went back into the ground.
'Killing him... Would I be able to handle the kind of pain that would result from that?' Yarnha asked herself as more roots forced the Monster to dodge and dodge. 'My best bet would be slowly draining his lifeforce. But for that, I'll need him unconscious for a while...'
"Man, this feels amazing." The Monster declared out of nowhere.
The sudden declaration brought a slight smile to the Spirit's face.
"Does it?"
"Well yeah. I mean..."
Only then, did Yarnha notice it.
Many of the wounds-turned-mouths had changed.
They kept their wound-like appearance but,
"It feels like I have no blindspots."
The mouths had turned into dark eyes.
On the Monster's back, neck, and arms.
Eyes that stared in every direction.
"And you can't tell why?" Yarnha asked, puzzled.
"Mm." The Monster nodded. "I guess being high has its benefits."
"Pfff!" The Spirit chuckled. "I'm guessing they're on and off, huh? Only feel them when something is approaching."
"On-and-off? What are you talking about?"
The Spirit smiled brightly.
"Don't worry about it." It said before extending a hand towards the Monster.
Again and again, roots tried to pierce its body.
But at once point,
'They're not as fast as before. Or rather, they don't seem as aggressive...' The Monster thought it itself.
"That Elf and that cat..." The Spirit started.
A distraction.
A fraction of a second had been gained.
More than enough.
"Gotcha."
More than enough for a root to wrap itself around the Monster's ankle.
"You-"
Before anything could happen, more roots wrapped themselves around the Monster.
But they didn't constrain its movements as much as earlier.
The Monster was suddenly plunged into darkness.
"Finally. This should do it." Yarnha whispered to herself as she walked closer.
In front of the Spirit, a large spherical barrier made of roots.
"Let this flower bloom, and be painted red..."
The sphere hung in the air, thanks to the lower extremities of those roots.
"With your blood."
