Devil Plant
Alex who was still in that Skyscraper sighed.
He had heard whole conversation through a sound receiver up there.
It seemed things had gone awry.
With another snap he threw down another batch of debris at the zombie that had climbed halfway and was looking very happy.
Alex didn't know anything about Cyanger not being Sheldon's woman.
Rather, even Ember didn't know shit and was as surprised as he was when she found out the truth.
" H-How can that be... I-I myself have seen her being embraced by Sheldon... " Ember mutterd.
" What kind of ability does she have? " Alex asked calmly.
" Illusion... Shit. That was all illusion created by her? " Ember cursed in shock.
" Fufu. That's true. It was my illusion ability, " Ember was almost shocked when she suddenly saw Cynthia flying besides her.
While Ember was stunned, Alex with red face looked at Cynthia up and down.
Then he made a pitiful expression and looked at her with cute eyes.
" Big sister, Big sister, it must be cold... Here I have some clothes for you. But, I don't know if big sister might like them...since they are not as beautiful and pretty as her, " Alex said with big innocent eyes, as he took out a long conservative robe from his inventory.
" Fufu, you sure know how to please women with that face, " Cynthia smiled as she took the robe and wore it, her eyes filled with killing intent from start to end.
She didn't know how Alex saw through her illusion though and found him a little interesting and... He was cute... He was her type as well.
But, that didnt matter... After all he was a Player. He needed to be killed.
But, this kid really knew how to please women. Even the robe he gave her was quite beautiful.
' Okay. I'll not kill him for now. Congrats on living few more minutes.'
" If you had this why is Ember here still going around like a pervert, " Cynthia smiled and curisouly asked.
" I actually gave it to her. But, she said she liked going commando or something... I don't know what it even means... " Alex innocently but promptly said.
" Ouch... Y-Yes. I told him that I liked this... Yes. That's it... " Ember who had her ass pinched quickly said.
" Oh. Fufu, I never knew our Ember was a perverted woman like this, " Cynthia mocked.
" Yes. I'm also disgusted. Can I climb onto you big siste-"
" No. "
" It's also not that uncomfortable here. "
Roarrrr!
The Quasi Stage 4 zombie who had become too damn irritated, jumped up again.
It ran up like a gorilla completely abandoning its previous caution.
" Eager to face death. Fufu, " Cynthia now ignored Alex, and swiped her arm in the zombie's direction.
The zombie feeling the dreadful energy against it, stopped.
It seemed like it wanted to escape, but then after some deliberation it just stood there and got slashed into two with mana swipe.
Cynthia proudly smirked, as she looked at Alex and Ember.
Sure enough Ember's mouth was gaping wide in shock. Like she was questioning her whole life.
But, Alex looked worried.
" What's wrong with you? " Cynthia was irritated.
" Do you think this is the end? " Alex asked.
Cynthia frowned seeing that Alex stopped acting cute.
" Speak clearly, " She orderd.
Alex sighed. His acting had given him small window to survive. He wasn't going to loose these few extra seconds he had.
" There is no free lunch. That tree up there is suspicious. May be it has left a mark to control you or something? I just noticed that even that zombie you killed just now wanted to escape but didn't. That's not normal, " Alex explained.
Actually he had found this a long time ago.
In Teresa's memories this exact Plant had controlled Hiesta city and area surrounding it for years.
It even had a nickname for Devil's Plant for being cunning, ruthless and dangerous.
Until finally some very strong humans came and killed it.
But, later it was found that the Plant still wasn't dead and recovered to its peak around the time when Teresa died....
Cynthia also was a smart woman, she quickly realised the catch.
" There are two solutions now. "
" Those two deals up there were also set by you right? You look good at making two deals, " Cynthia snorted.
She wasn't in good mood now and wanted to kill Alex right away.
" Just a young man trying to survive... " Alex shrugged on Ember's back.
He then continued, " First, kill that Plant which I think will not be easy. Especially if it already has some amount of control over you. "
Cynthia looked at Alex for a second, as she looked like she was thinking deeply and the she couldn't help but frown.
" I recall second plan's are better. Spit it out, " Cynthia glared.
" Become my woman. Any control mark it had on you will be removed as soon as you become mine, " Alex calmly said.
" Hell No! I'll rather die! " Cynthia laughed, as her eyes now filled with deep killing intent.
She now planned to kill Alex.
" Wait. Wait! There's a Plan C! Plan C! " Alex shrinked behind Ember pitifully, as he yelled out loudly.
" Speak. "
" I have an ability... I can use it to lower its control over you... "
" What ability? "
" You need to drink my body fluid... Wait. Wait. Blood is fine... It will temporarily lower any control over you... During that time you can kill the plant... "
As soon as Alex spoke, the green tendrils slowly started creeping towards them from all over.
Cynthia was the first to notice.
She raised her hand to destroy few that were nearby.
She frowned again, understanding the situation wasn't good.
" Okay. Come with me, " She said and pulled Alex towards her.
Ember was reluctant, but Alex reassured her with a smile, " Be obedient. I already ordered everyone to escape. You also leave. I'll be back soon. "
Even before Ember could say something, she saw Cynthia carrying Alex away.
* * * *
It had come to life as a seed...
' Food... '
Everything was dark and it was hungry...
[ Destroy everything ]
It weakly looked around and slowly peeked out of its shell.
' So bright... '
For the first time it saw sun...
It didn't know what it was, but it fed it. So it thanked it.
[ Kill everyone ]
It looked at its tall and big neigbour, who was also eating...
It tried to call out...
But, its neigbour didn't respond...
' Rude... '
Pouting it rested.
Days passed...
It would wake up and say Hi to the Mr Sun.
Then it would eat and sleep.
It had grown a little taller.
But, its neigbour was still taller...
Later it found out that neigbour wasn't rude. It was introverted and never spoke.
[ Everyone is an Enemy ]
Accompanied by neigbour it grew slowly while being fed by Mr Sun.
How it knew Mr Sun?
Few days ago, while it was resting it overheard some animals speaking.
They called it Sun and this place was their Playground.
It would always be afraid of these animals, since they were scary and big and liked to harass others like it.
But, luckily they didn't find it. Since it was small and covered by introverted neighbor.
But, it was sad since, its neigbour had to always suffer while protecting it...
[ This World is the Enemy ]
Time passed...
It grew half as tall as the introverted neigbour.
More time passed...
It became as tall as its neigbour and wanted to protect it...
But...
Those animals returned.
This time they were bigger.
They killed its neigbour...
That time it cried and begged, but no one heard it.
It heard them calling it the Devil Plant...
' What is Devil? '
[ Devil is the one who kills humans ]
' Humans? '
[ They're your enemies. They killed your neigbour ]
' Why? '
[ Because they're bad. This World is bad. You need to kill ]
' I don't want to kill. '
[ If you don't they will kill you ]
It thought for a long time...
The Humans took it away to a what was a lab.
It didn't know how long it was after that.
It was now always silent...
But, one day it finally replied.
' I don't want to die. '
[ Then be ready. Soon, you'll be free ]
Time passed...
And that day finally came.
It escaped from the cage it was in.
The humans who always experimented on it.
It killed them.
It killed everyone it came across.
The harmful animals with what they called guns...
The big rats... The plants like itself... The sharp clawed bugs...
It killed everything in the lab.
The voice in its head became stronger and stronger.
It escaped from where it was.
The outside had changed.
Everything was destroyed.
Buildings were burning.
Humans were crying and running.
Weird humans were biting each other...
But looking at them, it didn't feel sympathy rather it was happy.
[ Kill everyone ]
This time it obeyed the voice in its head.
And did exactly that...
* * * *
Back in current time, Cynthia rapidly flew while dodging the massive mana coated tendrils shot at her.
The green tendrils as thick as concrete pillars destroyed everything in their wake, as the Skyscaper itself shuddered at the impacts.
" Shit! " She cursed while cutting down thousand more of them.
But, progress was slow.
Alex made another cut on his palm and fed his blood to Cynthia.
She recovered a good amount of Mana from that.
But...
" It's not that far from here. How about I help you? " Alex asked as he frowned.
Compared to this Plant who was at Peak of Stage 4, Cynthia was too weak.
It won't be long before she died and he as well with her.
" How the hell are you going to help me except for not being burden? " Cynthia fussed.
" Just believe me or we'll both die, " Alex said as he held Cynthia's hand and crossed fingers with her.
" What the fuck are you doing?! " Cynthia cursed warily.
" Believe me... Now let go of your Mana channels. Let me control them, " Alex calmly said.
" What? How do I do that? "
Alex explained.
Sure enough, Cynthia quickly got it.
' How does he know this... ' She was surprised.
But, she hesitated.
She knew that giving control over her Mana channels to Alex was like letting him control her life.
" Do it or we're dying! "
" Fuck you! If you betray me I will exterminate your whole family! " Cynthia said as she released the control.
" Even though I have no family. I won't let your trust down, " Alex replied seriously and got down from Cynthia back
Cynthia didn't reply as she waved her hand again, the massive tendrils once again shattered, but then the flowers on them started blooming.
Cynthia now knew that the Plant was now making some dramatic move.
" Whatever you're doing. Do it fast! " She yelled.
Closing his eyes Alex ignored Cynthia, he slowly channeled the Mana in her body and took control over it.
Cynthia stopped attacking, as she couldn't use her own Mana anymore.
" What did you do-" Just as she was going to curse again, she looked at Alex on her side.
The air around him now became visibly denser, as his silver hair flew without any wind.
With eyes closed he looked like a divine being with everything under his control.
Under her gaze, Alex slowly opened his eyes and muttered.
" Disintegrate. "
The tendrils that were attacking them suddenly stopped as they rapidly burned.
Shriekkkkkkkk!!!?!
The Devil Plant roared in pain and disbelief, as it got massive damage.
The fire clearly wasn't normal, as it could feel dense amount of Mana destroying its body!
Without wasting any time, it started cutting off its own tendrils!
The whole skyscraper started burning like a bright torch even in the day.
Cynthia who was staring at Alex in daze, was also shocked as she couldn't believe her eyes.
" Close your mouth. Also, it's not over. That Plant is still alive, " Alex said.
" Y-Yes, " She said in fluster, without wanting to accept that she was for a moment dazed by Alex's appearance.
' Come on Cynthia... Even if he is your type. He is an Enemy! '
Just as she was thinking, Alex pulled her into his arms and flew up.
" W-What!? How did you become so strong?! And how did you use that fire attack before!? " She asked in fluster.
" Basic Mana manipulation. Now's not the time to go into that though, " Alex said as he raised his free hand and a long sword quite bigger than him appeared in his right hand.
Using Cynthia's Mana, he enchanted it with fire.
The Devil Plant who was confident till now, couldn't help but feel nervousness while seeing the element that opposed it.
Shriekkkkkk!!!
Roaring, it forced all flowers on it to bloom as they now pointed at two humans in front of it.
In just a millisecond , the flowers all fired a white beam that pierced towards two humans.
But, Alex just waved his hand, as a thin layer of mana surrounded him and Cynthia.
The Devil Plant scoffed at the weak resistance.
But, even it was next moment shocked as its attack didn't harm Alex and Cynthia at all, while the residual beam went beyond them and pulverized the more than one behemoth concrete wonders behind!
Even with just the temperature, the tall building they were standing on was also melting like ice.
" Your control is so immature. Unfortunately now it's my turn, " Alex smirked while levitating high in the sky, the thin layer of Mana around him vanishing.
The Devil Plant was terrified after hearing Alex, as it next saw the flame on his sword intensifying.
It used every ounce of Mana it had to create a strongest shield possible.
Boom!
The flaming sword of Alex landed on the Plant's shield as it cracked.
Shirekkkkkk!
It did its best and reorganized the shield by force feeding it Mana from its gigantic body that spanned for a kilometre!
Meanwhile, seeing the plant budging, Alex wasn't discouraged.
Pulling onto Cynthia's hand, he attacked again.
The shield appeared again, as the Devil Plant desperately defended.
Dodging the another Mana slash of the Devil Plant Alex kept slashing at the shield.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
It wasn't long before, Cynthia's Mana started dwindling again.
" I'm feeling dizzy... "
Alex without any hesitation, cut his palm again and forced it inside Cynthia's mouth.
" Woo.... Woo... " Ignoring her glares and curses, he focused on the fight.
Cynthia finally stopped making weird noises, when Alex took out his hand from inside her mouth.
She wanted to curse all female family members of his again.
But seeing his serious expression as he gracefully fought she was suddenly in daze again.
The Mana around him made magnificent waves, while his fiery long sword looked daunting yet majestic.
Added with his own charm...
' Beautiful... Shit. Take control of yourself Cynthia! '
The Devil Plant as well now started loosing faith in victory, when it saw Alex stuffing Cynthia's mouth another time.
Shriekkkkkkk!!!!
It stopped attacking altogether and moved back.
" STOP IT HUMAN. WHAT DO YOU WANT!? "
" One chocolate flavored mint ice cream, " Alex promptly replied as he gracefully landed .
" HUH?! "
A flame strike hit right in the Plant's face and it shrieked again in pain.
" Now, let's see what you have to say, " Alex looked at the Devil Plant's oyster like mouth that was glaring daggers at him.
But, Alex could swear that he then saw it taking a deep breath.
" ... THIS IS THE FINAL CHANCE FOR YOU, LEAVE THAT FEMALE HERE AND I WILL LET YOU LEAVE ALIVE. "
Hearing the plant speaking so majestically, Cynthia sneered, " Fufu, now that you're going to die you're speaking bullshit. "
Cynthia wanted to continue, but Alex pulled her behind him.
" I'll not leave her here, " He said vigilantly.
Cynthia was barely touched.
" HUMAN, THERE IS NO NEED TO KILL YOURSELF HERE. I CAN KILL THAT FEMALE ANY TIME I WANT WITH THE MARK I LEFT ON HER. ONCE SHE IS DEAD, YOU WONT BE ABLE TO LEAVE ANYWAY. "
Cynthia was shocked.
" Is that true?! "
Alex slightly nodded, making her nervous.
' It really must have done something while I was inside it... ' Cynthia worriedly looked at Alex.
At this situation, if Alex left her, he would survive.
If Alex didn't leave, then none would survive.
" Y-You said you can stop the control of the Mark for some time. Right? Right? " Cynthia looked at Alex hopefully.
He had surprised her enough times.
" You must have a way, " She said again.
" BECAUSE OF THAT DAMN HUMAN I MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO CONTROL YOU. BUT, KILLING YOU ISN'T HARD FOR ME. I JUST DON'T WANT THE POWER I GAVE YOU TO BE WASTED, " Devil plant said with a smirk.
Alex could swear it just smirked.
Cynthia looked at Alex, and seeing him silent she asked.
" Is this also true? "
Alex nodded wordlessly.
Cynthia kept staring at him for a while, and then sighed deeply.
Then smiling deprecatingly she spoke, " A day before Apocalypse started I ran away from my home because they wanted me to marry off to someone I didn't even know... The whole life I spent, everything I learned and worked hard for... My career, my life that I built everything was mere facade... I was going to be a political tool for my father. "
" It made me sad... Sigh. Why am I even telling you all of this... "
" Sigh... I don't know your name... But, if I stay here. You should be able to escape. Actually you don't look as bad of a person. And... I might even have some crush on you... Well, if I said this outside they'll definitely call me pervert... Fufu... Anyway. Just leave now, no need to kill yourself as well. "
Tears dripped down Cynthia's eyes, as she spoke.
She was afraid... She was truly afraid now...
But, when she tried to take out her hand away from Alex, she suddenly felt him holding it even tighter.
" ... "
" DECIDE FAST HUMAN OR I'LL KILL THIS FEMALE. "
The Devil Plant also seemed irritated by Alex's silence, as it felt that something was going wrong.
It quickly checked the mark it left on Cynthia and it's eyes widened in shock, when it saw the mark blurring.
" WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO MY MARK!?" Roaring so, it quickly used the mark to kill Cynthia.
Cynthia was also surprised by the turn of events, but suddenly she felt sharp pain in her head.
" Arghhh! "
She fell to her knees in pain, and held her head with her free hand.
The Devil Plant was stunned to see that Cynthia didn't die.
It finally understood what Alex was doing.
" Y-YOU FUCKER, YOU'RE TRYING TO TAKE CONTROL OF M-MY MARK!!!! " It roared in anger and horror.