[DANRYU'S POV]
I should've known.
The second he tilted his head and went, "Ohhh look at the cute doggies," I should've launched him into a tree.
And yet—there I was. Letting him do exactly what Katxu does best.
Touch things he absolutely should not touch.
He reached forward.
The wolf-puppy-thing blinked, tilted its head—
And spun.
They both did.
My eyes widened. "No. Don't you—"
BOOM.
The smoke exploded.
Thick. Fast. Blinding.
"This idiot—!" was all I managed before the mist swallowed everything.
Sound died.
Color, too.
And with it—Katxu.
I slammed my palms to the ground. "Verdant Pulse!"
Nothing.
Just my own roots circling back.
A trap.
Tch.
This wasn't smoke.
It was mist. Controlled. Directed.
I stood slowly, eyes sharp, shifting my weight.
That's when I heard it.
Not footsteps.
Not growling.
Breathing.
Wet. Heavy. Wrong.
I spun—and saw it.
A creature stepped through the shadows. Slow. Confident.
Wolf-shaped. But not real.
Its scales shimmered like oil over stone, every plate lined with jagged edges, like knives pretending to be skin. But its face… its face was too clean. Too symmetrical. Almost elegant.
Fake.
And worst of all—its band was gone.
No glow on the leg. No pulse of target color. Just polished scales that shimmered from head to toe.
"…Great."
This one was smarter. I could feel it.
It didn't pounce.
It stalked.
It knew it was invisible.
I kept still.
Tried to ping it again—Verdant Pulse.
Still nothing.
I needed to expose it.
And I needed to survive long enough to figure out how.
It lunged.
I barely dodged—used a Vine Jolt to push myself back and flip over a fallen log.
The wolf turned midair, landing silently, completely balanced.
"Of course you're an acrobat."
It lunged again—twice. Faster now.
I summoned Whip Vines and lashed forward—one hit, two—direct hits to its sides.
But the scales didn't flinch.
They shimmered again—changing texture, light reflection, even sound.
It was like it was wearing an illusion made of armor.
The Glance Shield.
I had to break it.
"Fine," I muttered, then reached into my pouch.
I pulled a seed—bit down.
"Lifeburst Root."
A green glow spread through my arms as my body tensed. Mana rose sharply—fast and hot.
I shot two vines straight up—hooked onto a tree branch—and launched myself over the wolf's back.
Midair, I threw three Needle Thorns, aimed not for damage—but for consistency. Impact. Pressure.
All three landed. Two bounced.
One stuck—barely.
The shield flickered.
"There you are."
The wolf twisted, growling now. Angry.
Panicking.
I dropped back to the ground, dodging low, and summoned Strangling Roots.
They burst from the ground and tangled around its legs, just long enough to hold it.
One second.
One shot.
I aimed a focused needle straight for the flicker point.
Let it fly.
THNK—
Direct hit.
The illusion shattered.
The scales shifted, and the band underneath flickered once—visible.
The wolf let out a distorted howl and lunged for me with a last, desperate twist.
I didn't move.
Two vines shot out from behind me, grabbed both its hind legs—and slammed it into a tree.
Hard.
Then again.
The third time, it didn't move.
The mist thinned.
The forest grew still again.
I wiped sweat from my brow and walked forward.
Its body had already begun dissolving into Arc particles—but something solid remained in the dirt.
A glowing card.
Glance Shield – Hides your wristband from view.
I picked it up, breathing steady now.
"…Good."
Then I narrowed my eyes toward the forest.
Now I had to find Katxu.
Before he pet something else.
The mist was thinner now.
Not gone. Just... spread.
But I could feel it shifting—recoiling. Something big was moving it.
I followed the distortion in the air like a thread. Vines shifted beneath my feet, still responding to my pulse. Burned bark. Ash. A trail of crushed leaves and scattered claw marks.
Then I found the belt.
Katxu's.
His talisman belt—snapped at the buckle, lying half-buried in the dirt, still warm.
I picked it up.
"…Idiot."
That meant he had nothing now. No fire. No wind. No earth.
Just himself.
And that meant—
CRACK—!!
A massive shockwave pulsed through the trees.
I sprinted toward the sound.
Branches split.
And then I saw it.
Katxu.
Fighting.
No, brawling—with something he had no business touching.
A massive wolf stood across from him. Same species as the one I fought—but this one was different. Bigger. Broader. Its muscles rippled like rolling waves beneath its glistening scale-armor. Every step made the forest shiver. A growl rolled from its throat like thunder.
Its scales weren't just armor—they moved, shifting over its body in defense rhythms.
The Alpha.
Its eyes glowed blood-orange.
Katxu's shirt was nearly gone—clawed to shreds. Blood ran from his shoulder and temple, and his knuckles were raw.
He dodged another lunge, sliding under the beast's jaw and slamming both fists into its ribs.
It barely flinched.
"Stop trying to box the dragon turtle, idiot!" I yelled, rushing in.
Katxu whipped his head toward me. "Oh look, it's the team's emotional support plant!"
I threw his belt at him. He caught it mid-sprint and grinned through the blood. "Missed you too."
The Alpha roared.
Mist exploded outward like a bomb.
Everything went dark again.
I dove forward, slammed my palm to the ground. "Caged Vines!"
A burst of green energy formed a semi-sphere barrier around us—blocking the incoming claw swipe. The impact cracked the dome, but it held long enough for me to breathe.
Katxu checked his talismans. "I got four left."
"Then make them count."
The dome shattered.
And the fight resumed.
The Alpha leapt. Katxu rolled left, I moved right.
"Whip Vines!" I shouted, lashing the beast's leg and yanking it sideways. It stumbled—just enough for Katxu to leap and plant his foot on its jaw.
"Stone Spike!" he shouted, slamming a talisman into the ground mid-air. A thick earth spear shot up from below the wolf, stabbing its underbelly.
It howled—then twisted violently, flinging us both back.
I hit a root hard. Gasped.
"Needle Thorns!" I fired a volley across the clearing, aiming for the joints between scales. A few hit—but the Alpha shook them off.
Katxu got back up slower. He was limping.
"Verdant Pulse—Verdant Needle!" I called, dashing toward him.
I touched his shoulder—green light surged from my palm, stabilizing the worst of the bleeding. He flinched.
"…You alright?" I asked.
"I've had worse. Probably."
"Don't lie while I'm healing you."
"I'm charming when I'm half-dead."
"More tolerable."
The Alpha circled us now. It had stopped lunging. Watching. Calculating.
Then it stepped forward—and growled.
The ground beneath us trembled.
"No, no—move!" I yelled.
Too late.
Vines exploded upward.
"Snare Zone—!" I realized.
It was marking the area.
The vines grabbed Katxu by the leg, then me by the arm. I slashed one free, but two more wrapped my ankle.
Katxu roared, "Gale Force!" and triggered his wind talisman—
It yanked him upward, dragging the vines with it, lifting the Alpha's trap roots out of the ground with sheer force.
I used the gap to bite down on a Lifeburst Root, then forced another pulse through my veins.
"Vines Army!" I called again.
This time, I directed them to grab Katxu mid-fall—catching him—before slamming downward onto the Alpha's back.
The vines crushed down like a wave of fists.
The Alpha bucked and roared—but we were in rhythm now.
We moved.
Together.
The vines cracked under the Alpha's roar.
It threw its body sideways, slamming into trees, trying to shake us off. The forest groaned from the force. Bark exploded like splinters.
Katxu was still midair, being carried by one of my vines. He grinned like a lunatic. "Hey! Not bad, Princess!"
"Call me that again and I drop you."
"Do it. I'll land fists first."
"I'll aim for the rocks."
The Alpha turned again, scales grinding like armor shifting into attack formation.
"NOW!" I shouted.
Katxu twisted in the air. "Fire Dragon!"
He slammed the talisman into the air mid-flip. The flaming serpent spiraled downward—direct hit—straight onto the Alpha's exposed back.
It howled, but didn't drop.
This thing was tanking everything.
"Tch. We need to pierce it." I bit another seed—boosted my vines. "Get ready to line up a weak spot!"
"What do you want me to do, talk it into opening up?!"
"No. Just hit it until it gets sloppy."
He dropped.
Straight into the Alpha's line.
I sent two vines—one wrapped his wrist, the other pulled me forward.
We met in front of the wolf at the same time.
Katxu ducked under a claw. I lashed forward with a vine from below—caught its leg and bent it inward.
Katxu saw the opening.
He sprinted up the arm.
Literally ran up the beast's body.
"Katxu—!"
"Shut up I got it!"
He reached the base of the Alpha's neck, jammed a Stone Spike talisman against the top of its spine, and leapt off—
"DO IT!" he yelled midair.
I didn't hesitate.
"Needle Storm!"
A barrage of verdant thorns launched from every direction.
The Stone Spike burst upward, forcing the neck open just enough.
The storm hit.
Right between the plates.
The Alpha jerked violently.
It let out a final, distorted roar—then collapsed, vines crumbling around it like snapped threads.
Silence.
Smoke rose from the wrecked clearing.
Katxu landed on one knee, panting hard.
I dropped beside him, my arm bleeding from the snare trap.
"…We good?" I asked.
"Still breathing," he muttered.
I nodded. "Barely."
"Same."
Then we both looked at the dissolving corpse.
It flickered.
And in its place…
A single card hovered above the dirt.
We stepped forward.
Snare Card – Sets a hidden trap to bind enemies.
Katxu whistled. "That was worth the blood."
Katxu stepped forward, reaching for the Alpha's card. Dirt smudged his fingers, blood still trailing from his jaw. His hand hovered over the glowing square of light.
I let my guard down.
Just for a second.
That was all it took.
THNK—!!
A silver blade spun from the shadows and struck Katxu's hand mid-reach—piercing through the flesh between his thumb and index finger.
He gasped—stumbled back.
Blood ran fast.
"Katxu—!"