Chapter 147: The Giant Vine Guardian
The vines writhed violently. Hundreds of crimson flowers opened at once, releasing a thick cloud of pollen while dozens of Vine Guardians— larger, more armored versions of the previous monsters with thorn-covered bodies and multiple toothed mouths rose from the ground to defend the core.
"Here they come!" Andrey shouted. "Protect Lisa! She needs to focus on the core!"
Sein charged in first, flames exploding around her.
"Inferno Armor!"
She became a blazing streak, smashing through the front line of Vine Guardians with powerful Crimson Impacts. However, these guardians were much tougher. Their armored bark resisted her flames better than before.
Sarah floated upward and began bombarding them with Pink Rain, trying to thin out the numbers. "There’s too many of them!"
Lisa focused her energy on the core. "I’ll try to weaken the core’s connection to the plants! Buy me time!"
Andrey stayed in the front, using Damage Absorb to tank the heaviest hits. Vines lashed at him from every direction, and several toothed mouths tried to bite him. He absorbed the damage while slashing back with his Ki Blade.
The flora guardians fought fiercely. Some vines sprayed corrosive sap, while others tried to entangle their legs. The pollen in the air grew thicker again, slowly draining their strength.
Sein roared and activated Relentless Flame, stacking her attacks on one guardian after another. Sarah switched to more focused attacks, while Lisa cast Starlight Nova to disrupt the connection between the plants and the core.
But the guardians were relentless. One particularly large Vine Guardian broke through and swung a massive thorned arm at Lisa.
Andrey used Phantom Step to appear in front of her just in time, taking the heavy blow on his back. He grunted in pain as his Damage Absorb filled up rapidly.
"Lisa, focus on the core!" he shouted. "We’ll hold them off!"
Sein burned through two guardians but was starting to breathe heavily. Sarah’s mana was dropping fast from constant AoE attacks. Even Andrey’s regeneration was struggling to keep up with the continuous damage.
"This is getting really bad..." Sarah muttered, wiping sweat from her brow.
Andrey’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the pulsing core.
"We need to break through. If we don’t destroy that core soon, the entire gate might evolve into something much worse."
The flora guardians screeched and attacked with renewed aggression, as if sensing the team’s growing fatigue. Their movements became faster, their thorns sharper, and the purple pollen in the air grew so thick it was becoming difficult to breathe.
Sein was breathing heavily, her flames flickering unsteadily. "These bastards... they just keep coming!"
Sarah’s face was pale. "My mana is almost gone... I can’t keep spamming AoE like this!"
Andrey’s Damage Absorb was nearly full again, but his body was covered in cuts and bruises. The corrosive sap from the vines was slowing down his regeneration.
Then came the worst moment.
A massive Vine Guardian easily twice the size of the others broke through their formation and charged straight at Lisa, who was focusing all her power on weakening the core.
"Lisa!!" Andrey shouted.
He used Phantom Step to intercept it, but he was a split second too late.
The giant guardian’s thorned claw slashed across Lisa’s side, sending her flying backward. She crashed hard into a pile of rubble, blood spilling from a deep gash.
"Lisa!!" Sarah screamed.
Sein’s eyes widened in rage. "You piece of shit!!"
Lisa coughed up blood but still tried to stand, her hands glowing as she desperately tried to maintain her support skills.
"I-I’m... still okay..." she said weakly, though her voice was shaking.
Andrey’s expression turned ice-cold. His Damage Absorb had finally reached maximum capacity.
"Everyone, fall back a little!" he ordered.
He stepped forward, standing directly in front of the giant Vine Guardian and the core. Energy crackled violently around his body as he released everything at once.
"Ki Burst — Full Release!!"
A devastating blue explosion erupted from Andrey, blasting the giant guardian and several other monsters backward. The shockwave was so powerful that it created a temporary clearing around them.
Sein didn’t waste the chance. She roared and charged forward with everything she had left.
"Crimson Cataclysm!!"
Her strongest area attack exploded in the middle of the enemy formation, burning dozens of guardians and vines into ash.
Sarah, despite her low mana, poured everything into one final attack.
"Heartstorm Apocalypse!"
A massive pink pillar of energy slammed down, further devastating the battlefield.
But even with their combined efforts, the giant guardian and the core were still standing. The core pulsed even brighter, feeding more power into the remaining monsters.
Lisa, still bleeding, forced herself to stand and cast Guardian Angel once more, sacrificing even more of her HP to heal the team’s worst injuries.
The situation was extremely critical. Everyone was exhausted, injured, and low on mana. The gate was clearly trying to overwhelm them before they could reach the core.
Andrey wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, his breathing ragged.
"This is it..." he said quietly. "One more push. We destroy that core now... or we’re in real trouble."
The giant Vine Guardian roared and rose again, even more enraged than before, while the core continued to throb with dark, ominous energy.
Andrey, covered in blood and sweat, roared as he charged forward. "All or nothing! Give it everything!"
Sein burned like a living inferno, her Inferno Armor blazing at maximum output. She smashed through the remaining Vine Guardians with raw fury, clearing a path toward the core.
Sarah poured the last of her mana into one final Heartstorm Apocalypse, a colossal pink pillar of energy crashing down from above. The explosion lit up the entire ruined square.
Lisa, despite her bleeding wound, stood firm and unleashed Starlight Nova at full power, weakening the core’s connection to the plants and giving her teammates an opening.
Andrey used the last of his stored Damage Absorb and released it in a devastating point-blank Ki Burst directly at the core.
BOOOOM—!!
The combined assault was overwhelming. The giant Vine Guardian protecting the core was blown apart. The core itself cracked violently, dark mana leaking out like blood as it trembled on the verge of destruction.
"We’ve almost got it!" Sein shouted, charging toward the cracked core with her strongest flaming punch ready.
But just as they were about to deliver the finishing blow —
The core suddenly pulsed with a terrifyingly bright purple light.
A massive surge of dark mana exploded outward. The remaining vines across the entire area writhed wildly and converged toward the core at terrifying speed, forming a thick, protective cocoon around it. The ground shook violently as something massive began to emerge from within the glowing shell.
Andrey’s eyes widened.
"Everyone, fall back!!"
A deafening roar echoed through the gate. The cocoon of vines burst open, revealing a colossal, nightmarish figure, a giant humanoid plant monster with multiple glowing crimson flowers for eyes and hundreds of thorn-covered tentacles. Its presence alone made the air feel heavier.
The true boss of the mutated gate had finally awakened.
Sein stopped in her tracks, staring at the towering monster in disbelief.
"...You’ve got to be fucking kidding me."
Sarah’s face turned pale. "That’s... not a B-rank anymore..."
Lisa gripped her staff tightly, her voice shaking. "The dark mana... it’s off the charts..."
Andrey stood at the front, breathing heavily, blood still dripping from his wounds as he stared up at the monstrous figure that now blocked their path to the core.
The final battle had just entered a whole new level of danger.
