Chapter 35 - Brute force is not always necessary to defeat a boss monster.

"You underestimated me, Andromeia..."

She grabbed her thin body and pulled her out of the ground!!!

"THIS CAN'T BE!!! LET GO OF ME!!!"

"Surprised?"

"IMPOSSIBLE!!! YOU SHOULD BE UNDER MY INFLUENCE!!! YOU SHOULD BE ASLEEP BY NOW!!!"

"You know nothing about me. You don't know my dream!"

"NO!!! I CAN'T BE WRONG!!! MY CALCULATIONS ARE ABSOLUTE!!!"

"I'm... different... I wonder.... Are you edible...?"

"WHAT?!! NO! NO!! STOP!!! NOOOOOOH!!!"

She began to eat her!!! It's horrible!!! It's like a werewolf eating a ham or a man eating a pizza!!! She's biting and ripping and eating her head... Her neck... Oh I can't look!!! It's horrible!!!

"STOP!!! DON'T EAT ME!!! STOP!!! Stop..."

Silence...

The shouting stopped... Gosh... It's horrible!!!

After a few tense minutes...

"You can look now, Lionel."

"A - Are you... Okay...? Khoohk."

After what happened... I really don't know what to say.

"Never been better!"

I don't wanna ask but...

"Where... is Andromeia...? Khoohk."

"She's gone. You know, it wasn't that bad. The head tastes like lettuce, the body tastes like green onions and tomatoes, and the feet and roots tastes like radish. It's like eating a fresh salad. I wish I brought some mayonnaise."

Silence...

"Wow... You're most definitely weird... Khoohk."

And scary, and yucky... and unbelievably brave and strong and amazing at the same time!

"Are you really sure you're okay? Khoohk."

"Of course I'm definitely fine!"

Her stomach spoke.

"You think you've won, Elisa! You're wrong! You'll never stop us!! Ha! Ha! Ha..."

"(Pat!) (Pat!) There, she's absolutely gone."

This... Is truly awkward...

"Stand up Lionel. Let's get out of here."

"But the flower fields... Khoohk."

"I got that all covered. I'll tell you as we walk."

I really have a lot of questions...

"How did you do it, Elis...? Khoohk."

"?"

"How did you defeat her? Khoohk. You should be in your dream world, right? Khoohk. And she'll grow back again..."

"Not gonna happen. She said that if we cut her down, she'll grow back somewhere else right? But what if I uprooted her? With that, she'll lose her connection to the other flowers and she'll never grow back again."

"But she has the law of connection and the pollens. Khoohk. She can use that, right? Khoohk."

"Yes, she can. But, here's the flaw, the law of connection can only be used for communication, information gathering, control, and for giving commands to the pollens. She cannot escape or transfer her whole self or being using that. She can definitely transfer and store her whole self on another flower. Given time, she can grow back again, but! She can't do that if she's not rooted to the ground! Did you notice that she's not moving around? That's why I uprooted her and ate her whole! So she can't regenerate again!"

Wow... You've thought all of that?! You're incredibly smart!

"But... What about her pollens? Khoohk. She could still escape! Khoohk!"

"She doesn't release pollen."

"Huh...? How did you know...? Khoohk."

"When we're talking, I looked at her and the surroundings. I wondered why her flower head is still a bud and closed, while all the other flowers are open and releasing their pollens. I discovered the answer when she said that she's the most exposed flower in the radioactive explosion. The increased heat had severely burned her. She may have mutated but there still some side effects."

Wow... She figured that out?! She's so cool...

Silence...

"Uhmm... Are you really okay...? Khoohk."

"Yes, I'm fine, Lionel. That's the third time you've ask. What are you worrying about?"

"Well, Khoohk, you've just eaten a talking mutant plant! Khoohk. Isn't that poisonous?! Khoohk."

I don't know what mutant means but I feel it's dangerous!

"Don't worry. It's not poisonous, Lionel. It's just a plant that has an overdose of Vitamin D that's all."

Vitamin D?!!

"Besides, if you're hungry, you're gonna eat it anyway."

"You're hungry?! Khoohk! We just ate! Khoohk!"

"I used my brain a lot and that made me hungry so I need to eat."

"So you ate the talking plant? Khoohk."

"Yes..."

Silence...

"Dayng... Khoohk."

"What?"

"We came from a convenience store! Khoohk! You could've brought some snacks with you! Khoohk! Why did you have to eat the talking plant?! Khoohk!!"

"Hey! It's a win-win situation! I ate the plant, the plant can't regenerate, and I get stuffed. Problem solved! Always remember, Lionel! If an itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny part is left behind, it can grow back again! There's no other way but to eat it!"

"I should've brought that lighter and newspaper in the first place! Khoohk."

"I already told you, we can't do that!"

Silence...

"So... What are we going to do now, Elisa? Khoohk."

"Huh?"

"I mean, the flower fields... What can we possibly do about it...? Khoohk."

"Don't worry. I'll show you."

We walked the worn path of the nature preserve until we reached the entrance gate. We turned to our right and walked a little bit more. We stopped in front of a big truck...

"Uhmm... Khoohk. I don't know how to drive. Khoohk."

"No, Lionel. We're not gonna drive that truck and ram it in the flower fields. We're here for its contents!"

"Ha...?"

"Go and grab the keys, Lionel. We need to open the container box!"

"Okay. Khoohk. Wait... The oxygen tank is empty. Khohk."

"Wait here."

She ran back to the nature preserve... Wow... She's still full of energy... I wonder where she gets it...

After a few moments, she's back. She brought the bicycle with a passenger seat with her...

"Here, wear this."

"What's that? Khoohk."

"It's a gas mask. It filters the air you breathe making it clean and safe."

Silence...

"You brought a gas mask...? Khoohk."

"Yes."

"But you didn't bring any snacks? Khoohk."

"Can you please drop that topic already? I'm sleepy at that time, okay? We're in a hurry too!"

"And you brought only one gas mask? Khoohk."

"That store has only one left. But don't worry about me! I'll be fine! Now wear this gas mask. We need to hurry!"

"But..."

"No more questions! We need to move!"

"Okay..."

I put the gas mask on and started to work. I opened the truck door and looked for the keys. The driver and a passenger are still there but they're sound asleep. I searched and found the keys below the driving wheel. I pulled it out and tossed it to Elis. She then ran to the back of the container van and opened it...

"Go get the bike, Lionel!"

"Why? Khoohk."

"Oh, just go and get it. You'll find out."

"Okay. Khoohk."

I brought the bike to the back of the truck.

"What are you planning to do Elis? Khoohk."

She's opening a lot of boxes and taking out its contents...

"Tada!!"