Chapter 202: Demonic Flowers
Chapter 200
Within minutes, the healers had already managed to mend the injured Aspirants as best as they could.
They were also students, and because their abilities weren’t exceptionally potent, they were only capable of stopping the bleeding, closing the open wounds, and stabilizing their classmates enough to walk... or run without wheezing.
Ray remained rooted in place with his arms crossed, his gaze piercing through the ranks of Aspirants chattering in the clearing.
His eyes were searching for Berg, but he couldn’t spot the boy yet.
Though he could sense a lingering presence, the dense crowd of teenagers made it impossible to pinpoint his location.
They waited and waited for several more minutes until an Aspirant finally snapped.
— Those we are waiting for, are we even sure that they are still alive? We should be scaling the mountain by now.
— Exactly! Beasts could attack us at any moment the longer we stand around.
— There’s no use waiting. I know for certain that they are already dead.
The Aspirant who spoke that last word was instantly met with a look of pure fury from a pair of grey eyes glaring his way.
"In case you forgot, let me remind you that those fighting back there to allow us to reach here safely—some of them are my friends. So don’t you dare wish ill on them!" Ray replied, a deep, menacing growl underlining his voice.
"Yeah? If they are your friends, what are you doing here instead of fighting alongside them? And who the hell are you threatening with that look of yours?!" the Aspirant bellowed, anger coloring his tone.
Ray didn’t give a reply.
He knew there was no use in verbal sparring as it wouldn’t resolve anything.
Only one thing was going to settle this, and he was ready... to spill blood.
He took a single step forward when his hand was suddenly grabbed and yanked back.
Looking at the person who stopped him, he saw it was Van.
The boy just shook his head at the Tribrid, silently pleading for restraint.
"What’s wrong? Your boyfriend doesn’t want you to fight? What a wimp," the Aspirant from earlier snickered, emboldened by the lack of retaliation.
That was when a loud, mocking laughter erupted in Ray’s mind from a certain someone.
"Hahaha~! I’m loving this show, to be honest. Come on, Ray. They called you names—are you really gonna let this slide?" Bruce laughed in Ray’s subconscious.
Veins were beginning to protrude from the side of Ray’s head as he clenched his teeth so tight that they groaned under the pressure.
— Look! I can see some silhouettes approaching!
Turning to face where the girl was pointing, the crowd could see a blonde-haired boy staggering forward while several other people sprinted ahead of him.
Within minutes, the survivors arrived, including the blonde teen.
Kai collapsed on his knees in the meadow of flowers.
Placing his hand over his mouth, he coughed out another heavy mouthful of blood.
Ray and Van dashed toward where he knelt with deeply worried expressions.
"Are—Are you alright? What happened?" Van asked, his voice trembling with concern.
Kai was unable to respond.
He kept coughing blood repeatedly, his hands covering his mouth in a futile attempt to keep the liquid from spilling.
He looked to be in incredibly bad shape at the moment, his strength utterly depleted.
Left with no other choice, Ray’s hands began to emit an ethereal white glow.
Whether anybody noticed this or not, he didn’t care; Kai’s well-being was all that mattered.
Placing his hands on Kai’s body, Ray began moving them, bringing a soothing warmth that rushed through the handsome blonde’s frame.
The energy rejuvenated him slightly, though he still coughed.
However, he didn’t spit out blood anymore as he began to recover, his pale face finally regaining some of its natural color.
Tak. Tak.
The sound of approaching footsteps echoed.
Before anybody could react, a kick slammed into Ray’s face, lifting him off the ground and sending him tumbling across the dirt.
....
Nobody could move for a second as the act was so sudden and unexpected.
They all lifted their heads to see the Aspirant who had insulted the boy earlier standing in Ray’s former position, a smug look on his face.
Fury twisted Kai’s features as he sprang to his feet faster than the aggressor could possibly react.
His blood-stained hand shot forth and curled around the boy’s neck with a crushing grip.
A murderous intent was beginning to form around the blonde-haired teen, radiating outward in palpable waves.
"How dare you?!"
The Aspirant turned pale almost immediately as the grip on his throat became immensely tight, causing his eyes to widen in horror and pain.
Ray was now beginning to stand up with a frown on his face, only to see Kai lifting the culprit off the ground by the neck.
Kai’s nails dug into the skin, drawing blood which rolled down the boy’s neck and stained his uniform.
At that exact moment, a blast of wind suddenly crashed in their midst.
Felix and Caster had finally arrived, blood dripping from their mouths, just in time to witness the escalating scene.
"Huh? Now what’s going on here?"
The bulky instructor frowned deeply.
’It’s like these kids don’t care I’m here. They just do anything they deem fit. Enough of all this!’
"ENOUGH! PUT HIM DOWN, KAI!"
The legacy tilted his head to stare at the instructor’s furious gaze.
He held the stare for a few seconds before proceeding to fling the bleeding student away like trash.
The boy bounced across the meadow of flowers.
Due to how eerie the crimson blossoms looked, the Aspirants had unconsciously remained standing in the white patches while avoiding the red ones like a plague.
The moment Kai flung the boy, his blood splattered into the air along with his body; now, both crashed into a row of these strange plants.
The blood droplets from Kai, along with the liquid dripping from the boy’s neck, splattered onto the crimson flowers.
Rows of them, at that.
Almost immediately, a rumbling ensued, shaking the very meadow of flowers they all stood in.
As the vibration began, Berg could be seen smirking.
He wasn’t even hiding it this time around.
BOOOOM—!
The crimson flowers were now rising out of the ground at the speed of lightning.
So fast that within a second, the seemingly harmless petals had transformed into the thick trunks of trees with single crimson blooms on their heads.
Ancient tree trunks stood upright at nearly five meters tall, their thick bark dark and rugged, fresh soil still clinging to their roots as if they had only just torn themselves free from the earth’s depths.
At the very top of each trunk bloomed a single vivid flower, unsettling and resting like a strange crown or a tuft of blood-red hair.
Down the center of each trunk ran a jagged crack, splitting the bark in a crooked line that curved and bent like a twisted pair of lips.
"What the demonic hell is this?" Felix croaked out in absolute shock.
Nobody could actually move, as they were too stupefied to take a single step.
Everything was currently happening in the blink of an eye, causing their thought processes to slow down.
The opening on these trees didn’t seem natural, looking as though the wood itself had formed a silent mouth, waiting to part.
And part it did...
Within a second, long tongues shot out from the bark.
Tongues that were as thick as tree branches lashed out with lightning speed toward the Aspirants standing in their midst.
Crackle—!
Lightning arced around Ray’s feet as he blitzed forward and grabbed Van by the arm.
He was about to dash away when the branch-like tongues wrapped around the duo with an iron grip.
The appendages immediately coiled around the others who stood there: Trish, Chloe, Caster, Kai, Felix, the Aspirant Kai had flung, and those remaining in the meadow.
With the speed of light, the tongues receded toward the openings on the trees that served as mouths.
Under the stunned gazes of those standing in the clearing, and despite the futile struggle of those trapped, the Aspirants were all tossed into the dark openings of these trees, vanishing into their depths without a trace.