Chapter 118: 118:Botanical garden.
The decision was made without another vote. There was no longer any point in searching for another road.
Every attempt to leave Detroin had ended the same way. Streets disappeared beneath roots. Alleyways became walls of tangled vines. Even when they managed to force a path open, another barrier quietly emerged farther ahead, patiently steering them away.
With the threat of death looming over them, no one wanted to be stuck in one place waiting for people they weren’t sure would come on time.
The call in the radios and intercoms had stopped. No one was requesting help or medical assistance like the start. And to top it off, the sun was starting to set.
Brian adjusted the strap of the large hammer resting against his shoulder before looking around at the remaining members of the convoy.
"Twelve of us." His voice was calm. "We’ve lost contact with the others, but we know where the center is."
He looked toward Silver.
"You still believe it’s beneath the botanical gardens?"
Silver nodded without hesitation.
"I’ve checked three times. It’s a plant so it can’t move, don’t worry too much it’s not going anywhere especially with this extensive root system."
Brian gave a single nod.
"Then that’s where we’re going."
Nobody objected. If there was a way to survive, it lay ahead. The streets became quieter the farther south they traveled. Unlike before, with the sun now setting, everything looked creepy.
The abandoned buildings seemed untouched. Storefront windows remained intact. Old bicycles leaned against walls as though their owners had only stepped away moments ago.
The grass had reclaimed the sidewalks and white flowers bloomed everywhere. There were just too many of them.
Silver noticed that no one spoke loudly anymore. Even Claire, usually the first to crack a joke whenever tension became unbearable, had fallen strangely quiet.
She eventually broke the silence herself.
"...You know..."
Everyone instinctively looked toward her.
"I always imagined my trip to Detroin would involve finding treasure, becoming rich and..."
Jonah smiled weakly.
"And instead?"
She looked around at the endless flowers.
"I found gardening."
A few quiet laughs escaped the group. Brian actually smiled.
"If we get out of this... I’ll personally buy you every flower pot in the sanctuary."
Claire snorted.
"Please don’t, I hate gardening. And I think I’ve been traumatised enough with flowers."
That earned another round of soft laughter. Even Silver found himself smiling behind his mask.
The journey itself was, unexpectedly uneventful. Silver had expected the group to be attacked but all they saw were occasionally people standing on the rooftops of balconies looking down at them.
At first, it had scared the life out of everyone but the group didn’t attack them at all even after one of the men had accidentally shot one of them.
It was as though they were statues, and that was worse than being attacked. It felt as though that flower was watching them move towards it through their eyes. Or at least... That was how it felt.
Silver activated Spatial Sense every few minutes, using it sparingly now that the Soul Restoration Elixir had cleared the worst of his mental exhaustion.
[Spatial Sense Lv2]
The familiar web of roots unfolded beneath the ground but they never surged toward the group. Instead, they quietly shifted deeper underground, remaining just beyond reach.
Silver frowned.
"It’s still bizarre that it’s letting us through."
Brian glanced sideways.
"You sound disappointed."
"I’m worried."
"Why?"
"If something intelligent stops resisting, it usually has a reason."
No one argued. As they crossed another intersection, Ravenna quietly stepped beside him.
"You’ve used your perception four times already."
"Five."
She sighed.
"That’s worse."
He smiled apologetically.
"I’ll stop."
"You said that earlier."
"I mean it this time."
She looked at him for a long moment before shaking her head with an amused smile.
"I don’t believe you."
"Clever, you shouldn’t."
The simple exchange eased both of them.
Claire noticed and smirked.
"You two really have your own little world sometimes."
Silver coughed awkwardly.
"We’re discussing tactics since we all want to survive."
"Of course you are."
Ravenna calmly answered before Silver could.
"Efficient communication improves survival."
Claire dramatically rolled her eyes.
"That’s the least romantic thing I’ve ever heard."
Jonah groaned.
"Please don’t start."
Brian chuckled quietly. The laughter didn’t last long but it reminded everyone that they were still going.
Half an hour later, the buildings began changing. Residential homes gave way to research facilities. Old laboratories stood abandoned beneath creeping ivy. Signs bearing faded botanical symbols pointed farther south. Glass-roofed structures occasionally appeared beyond rows of trees.
Silver slowed.
"We’re close."
The air felt different here. Cooler and damp, almost humid. Despite standing in the middle of an abandoned town. Large trees blocked much of the setting sunlight, leaving the roads beneath covered in shifting shadows
Roots thicker than a man’s torso pushed through broken asphalt. None of them moved, yet every contractor instinctively stepped around them.
Silver activated Spatial Sense one final time. The response was immediate. The roots beneath the gardens were unlike anything else he’d seen. Countless strands twisted together into enormous bundles before plunging deeper beneath the ground.
Their destination, lay directly ahead. He deactivated the skill almost immediately.
"We’re here."
Brian followed his gaze. Beyond the overgrown avenue, a massive greenhouse stood in eerie silence. Its iron framework remained surprisingly intact despite decades of abandonment.
Many glass panels had shattered long ago while others somehow remained whole, reflecting pale afternoon sunlight. Vines completely covered large portions of the structure.
White flowers bloomed across nearly every surface. From a distance, it looked beautiful, almost sacred even. Silver felt a chill crawl down his spine.
"The core..." He whispered.
No one rushed forward, everyone was also frozen.
Brian raised a hand.
"We should check our equipment."
The group immediately obeyed. Silver checked the edge of his sword before tightening the straps around his wrists. Ravenna quietly ignited a tiny flame in her palm, simply to reassure herself that her Element responded normally. It burned steadily with no interference.
Claire looked toward the greenhouse.
"...It’s pretty."
Jonah stared between the two, eyes slightly widened.
"Seriously?"
"I’m saying it before it tries to kill us, you know trying to butter it up. I don’t want to die just yet."
Several people laughed despite themselves. Brian shook his head.
"You really don’t know when to stop."
"If I stop talking..." Claire smiled softly. "...I’ll probably start thinking and then panicking."
That answer silenced everyone since they all understood.
Silver slowly approached the entrance. The metal doors stood slightly open as though inviting visitors inside. He extended his senses carefully, but nothing happened.
He was only met with flowers, thousands upon thousands of flowers.
He frowned.
"White is slowly becoming my least favourite color... but I like your hair though, I mean no offence," he backtracked just as fast when he noticed what he said.
Ravenna nodded, her lips curving slightly.
"I know."
The moment Silver placed one foot inside, a faint vibration spread through the floor beneath them. Enough to make tiny fragments of broken glass slide across the stone.
Everyone stopped.
Another vibration followed, slightly stronger.
Claire looked upward.
"...Did anyone else hear..."
A sharp crack echoed through the enormous greenhouse. One of the support beams high above groaned under decades of hidden strain. Another crack answered from deeper within the structure.
Silver’s instincts exploded into warning. His eyes widened.
"Move!"
Without thinking, he instinctively grabbed Ravenna’s wrist.
[Short-Step Lv1]
Space distorted around them.
The world blurred. In an instant, the two of them vanished from where they had been standing and reappeared two meters ahead.
The moment they landed, the section of roof behind them collapsed in a deafening roar. Glass exploded through the air like rain, iron beams twisted and dust swallowed the entrance.
Brian shouted orders immediately.
"Everyone out of the collapse zone!"
Contractors scattered in disciplined formations. Silver reached for Spatial Sense again, then stopped.
His heart sank.
The collapse, hadn’t been an accident. It had happened exactly where the group had gathered. The moonlight Flower had been waiting for them to enter.
And somewhere within the swirling dust, he heard Claire call someone’s name. Then, the sound disappeared beneath the groaning of collapsing steel.
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