Somewhere far away, the footsteps of a middle aged man became increasingly frantic. His boots pounded against roots and loose soil with less strength than the last.
His short black hair whipped wildly behind him as he forced himself through the undergrowth. Sweat poured from his tired face, mixing with dried blood until crimson streaks ran down his neck. His squinted eyes darted desperately between trees, rocks and hanging tubers trying to find the safest route before his exhausted legs gave out.
His uniform of Ranger Division 14 was now little more than shredded cloth. His ash grey jacket’s sleeves had been torn away completely. Deep claw marks ran across his back where blood had seeped through the torn fabric before drying into dark patches.
Cuts littered his forearms and legs, one eye had swollen half shut and breathing had become painful.
Like his uniform, Mountain Gorilla Taru was barely holding it together. He looked less than a human and more like a corpse running from a collector.
What chased after him was a legion of thick dark green vines, spreading through the forest floor like veins beneath skin. They surged through the area like a tidal wave with jagged thorns protruded from every vine, each glistening with a translucent green liquid that smelled strangely sweet.
Several bulb-like flowers opened and closed along the larger vines. Instead of pollen, they released clouds of glowing spores that drifted through the air before settling onto nearby vegetation.
Moments after, entire trees and bushes twisted unnaturally toward the legion as though being assimilated.
Somewhere within a wild plant rested a hidden core buried somewhere beneath countless layers of roots. Destroying it was the only way to kill the organism.
Finding it was another matter entirely. Fortunately, Taru had found it with ease, however... he could not destroy it.
He had made several attempts, every time he forced his way closer, the vines formed an impenetrable wall around the core before launching him backward. It did not matter how much damage he had dealt because every broken vine was simply replaced with another.
Eventually, he had sustained enough wounds to turn tail and retreat. In his current condition, there was no winning this battle.
Ever since escaping the Wrath, Taru hadn’t had a moment of rest. There had been no time to eat or even manage a proper drink of water.
Every hour had become another struggle against something trying to kill him. He ran into a swarm of giant hornets, carnivorous mushrooms, a nest of oversized centipedes and much more.
The closest one to killing him was a mantis. The thing stood nearly seven meters tall. Its camouflage had been flawless. Taru was made aware of its presence when a blade-like forelimb had carved a deep gash.
If his instincts had not twisted his body at the final seconds, his spine would have been split clean in two.
He had done his best to close it, but it was impossible with the ordeal he was faced with. Every stride reopened it, making it bleed anew.
Despite everything he had faced, he survived. Over and over again he survived against them all. But now, his body had finally reached its limit.
The trees ahead finally began thinning. His tired eyes widened with a glint of hope. Because beyond them, he could almost see the Elderwood Biome.
The outer patrol boundary was just a little farther. Just a little more. Taru clenched his teeth and forced his legs to keep moving. However, his foot struck an exposed root.
His exhausted body failed to react and he slammed face first into the ground.
"Gh...!"
Using whatever strength he could muster, he tried to stand, but the best he could do was turn his body to face the oncoming onslaught.
The vines were already upon him. Dozens erupted from beneath the soil simultaneously and coiled through the air like thick serpents.
They rushed toward him with terrifying speed while he watched helplessly.
"No! This can’t....This can’t be it! Not like this!"
Frustration flashed across Taru’s face. If only...If only some members of his Ranger Division had survived. They would have bought him time just like before.
They would have thrown themselves into certain death so their Keeper could live to fight on another day.
That was their duty.
But they were not here now and he was going to die. His jaw tightened as his impending doom approached.
’You all died for nothing. You were all useless!’
When the vines lunged, a sudden pitched voice cut across the forest.
"Beast Totem Art: Tail Scythe!"
A brilliant streak of emerald light flashed across Taru’s fading vision. It streaked between the trees and dozens of charging vines were severed instantly.
Chunks of them spun through the air before crashing across the ground, spraying dark green sap everywhere. Their cut ends writhed in agony, slowly starting to grow back.
Taru’s eyes widened, before he understood what had happened, another green streak darted through the writhing mass.
Claws flashed repeatedly, every strike severing another cluster of vines before they could regenerate.
He struggled to keep up with that speed, but once she stopped for a moment, Taru was immediately able to recognize her. It was a woman.
"Leopard Cat?!"
The creature reacted instantly to its new opposition. Hundreds of vines burst upward from beneath the ground and lunged toward the lone attacker from every direction.
Against such an assault, he expected her to retreat, but she welcomed it instead. Her body moved with frightening speed and agility, leaping from vine to vine and spinning through the air as her tail whipped behind her.
Every rotation sliced and diced every vine that came close to her.
Taru watched in astonishment as she landed atop a fallen vine, her sights still focused on the colony.
"Any time now Rhos! I won’t hold them forever!"
A second figure burst from the trees and suddenly hauled him onto their shoulder. His exhausted mind struggled to process what was happening right now.
The young man carrying him looked painfully familiar though. He could never mistake that deep red hair and freckles littered across the bridge of his nose.
"Red Deer?"
Without wasting much time, he adjusted Taru’s weight with one arm and flooded his legs with explosive power as he bounded over rocks and roots without losing momentum.
"How are you...why are you...?"
His voice came out hoarse. Rhos talked over him before he could say any more.
"Don’t get the wrong idea. I was against this"