Chapter 42: Comfort
With eleven days passing since they had entered the Corridor, Vahn found himself at the entrance of the Tenth Floor's Boss chamber, sitting before it and meditating to alleviate his mental fatigue and focus his mind.
Aiding Vahn in his efforts, allowing him to feel much calmer, Koneko held him from behind, her arms linked over his shoulders as she groomed his hairline with her rough tongue. Rias had deduced he suffered from a form of separation anxiety, so when everyone met up in preparation for moving to the next Floor, groups were reassigned to have Koneko accompany him everywhere he went.
"Okay, I'm good to go..." said Vahn, opening his eyes and waiting for Koneko to release him before rising to his feet. Once he had, he made sure to caress her head and face, the two of them sharing a kiss before making their way into the spacious enclosure occupied by what looked like a giant flower. It had a thick, green stem, five meters across at the base but tapering as it extended nearly seven into a set of giant maroon petals, presently open and facing Vahn and Keneko with a glowing, lime-green crystal serving as the creature's head and eye, circled by five horn-like leaves, dark green in hue with maroon-veins flowing through them. An additional four leaves grew from it like giant leafy tendrils, luminous green with pulsating red veins, and eight thorn-covered vines poised like snakes prepared to strike, their tips reminiscent of spears.
"Koneko," said Vahn, brandishing his Legendary Spear in its Fire Elemental form.
"Nn..." responded Koneko, unhesitantly charging toward the much larger creature, nearly ten meters tall if counted from its base to the tips of its petals. It immediately attempted to skew her with its thorny vines, but since she was in her Nekoshou form, she was able to weave and twist her body nimbly to evade them, slipping straight through its defenses to land a heavy-sounding blow against its trunk-like stem.
Though it wasn't pushed back in the slightest, the monster was clearly angered by Koneko's attack, its leaves and petals bristling before it swept its upper half as if trying to slap her away with its uncoiled petals.
Before the massive plant could complete its counterattack, Vahn's spear impacted the crystal he presumed to be its weak point, producing a fiery explosion that made the creature hiss and release an exceptionally high-pitched cry. The Legendary Spear was sent flying after rebounding off of it, but Vahn was able to recall it to his hand mid-air as he descended upon the monstrous plant, stabbing it in the thinnest section of its stem, behind its crystalline head.
Accompanied by the sound of a slightly muffled explosion, the plant-like Boss shuddered violently, the luminance of its crystal dimming as its vines and petals drooped. It was still alive, but it would need time to recover to a fighting condition, time it wouldn't be allotted.
Leaping up to the monster's crystalline head, Koneko braced her feet against the horns framing it before pulling at the crystal with all her might. Her incredible grip strength caused the crystal to crack where her fingers made contact, and though it took her a few seconds, she was eventually able to pull the head free, causing its form to explode into an incalculable number of green and reddish motes of light.
With the monster abruptly disappearing, Koneko lost her balance and fell backward. She could have very easily righted herself to land on her feet, but since she could sense Vahn below her, she trusted he would catch her and wasn't disappointed.
"Hey, there..." said Vahn, catching Koneko in a bridal carry and supplying his best smile.