Mandora Hunting (2)
This is easy.
The Mandoras didn't move. The only thing to watch out for was their bud. As long as Ren took care of that, killing them was nothing. Seriously.
He grinned, his chest light with happiness. This was fun.
Kuro leaned against a tree, watching. He wasn't helping. Didn't need to. But Ren knew if anything went wrong, Kuro would step in immediately.
The dagger Kuro lent him was surprisingly good. It felt just right in his grip, like it was made for him. As the system said it was made from spider demon bones. Even though it was Kuro's first weapon, it was Level C. That's crazy.
Ren couldn't help but be amazed.
Kuro is amazing.
A system notification popped up. Another Mandora down. Annoying. But Ren ignored it. He must have killed at least a hundred by now.
Too easy. Almost unreal.
It was like Kuro felt the same thing.
He gave Ren a quick signal. Stop and Come back.
Ren frowned but listened. He stepped back, watching Kuro scan the area. His calm expression didn't change, but something was wrong.
Then,
SKEEEEEE!!!
A scream.
A horrible, piercing scream.
Ren snapped his head toward the sound.
A Mandora. But he killed that one. He was sure of it. The bud was gone. He had slashed it.
So why?
No time to think.
The ground swelled and then exploded.
Mandoras shot up from the dirt, their roots twisting like centipedes' legs. Some of their buds split open like tiny mouths, revealing sharp teeth.
god, damn it!
Vines lashed out. One wrapped around Ren's ankle tightly. Another snapped toward his arm. He barely jerked away in time.
what the heck!
The vines didn't just grab. They slithered, twisting around his limbs, pulling. Some slithered around his thighs making it impossible for him to move.
One Mandora jumped. Not lunging. Jumping.
It latched onto his shoulder. Its teeth sank into his coat as more others followed it. The air filled with rustling sounds as dozens crawled toward him, fast.
The situation seems to be bad. Not only him but Kuro is also under attack.
"SYSTEM! Stat points!" Ren screamed as he tore the vine from his ankle with his bare hand.
[SP (Stat points): 6
Strength: 1 / Agility: 2
Endurance: 0 / Intelligence: 0]
[Would you like to distribute your stat points to the attributes?']
He transferred all remaining stat points he gained from Mandora killing into the strength. It was a foolish decision, even he knew that. But, in this situation, there is no other way.
[Points added!]
[Strength: 7/ Agility: 2
Endurance: 0 / Intelligence: 0]
Ren gritted his teeth, his breath growing heavy as the pink mist wrapped around him like a curse. His muscles felt sluggish, his grip on the dagger weakening. Damn it! even though he uses all his stat points on strength!
"Damn it..." He stumbled back, trying to shake off the dizziness, but the Mandoras weren't giving him a chance.
Thick, thorny vines lashed out from the darkness, snapping toward him like whips. Ren barely managed to dodge one, but another coiled around his arm, its thorns digging into his flesh. A sharp pain shot through him, and warm blood dripped down his sleeve.
[You have taken damage!]
Then came the worst part.
A Mandora with a wide, bud-like mouth lunged at him from the side. Its jagged teeth gleamed in the eerie mist, ready to tear into his skin. Ren twisted his body to avoid a fatal bite, but the creature's teeth sank deep into his shoulder. A searing pain exploded through him.
[You have taken damage!]
"Agh!" His vision blurred as the Mandora clamped down harder, its leafy body trembling with excitement.
With all the strength he had left, Ren jammed his dagger into the creature's side. It screeched, releasing him, but the damage was done. His shoulder throbbed, and blood soaked his clothes. He staggered back, his legs barely holding him up.
More Mandoras slithered closer, their vines rustling like whispers of death. The mist thickened, tightening around his lungs. His strength was fading fast. If he didn't find a way out soon… he wouldn't make it.
Where the hell was Kuro?
Ren clenched his jaw. He couldn't afford to wait. Even if his body felt like it was sinking, he had to fight. He had to survive.
Then, the ground beneath him trembled.
Something was coming.
Something bigger.
The ground trembled beneath Ren's feet. A deep, guttural groan echoed through the mist as something massive emerged from the darkness.
His breath hitched.
A towering silver-colored tree loomed before him, its bark twisted like writhing veins. Its thorned vines slithered like living snakes, and some of them had mouths lined with jagged teeth. The air around it pulsed with an eerie energy, making the pink mist swirl violently.
[System Alert: Warning- Threat Detected.]
[Mandora Demon Identified: Rank C]
Ren's heart pounded. C Rank?! That didn't make sense. Isn't Kuro said that Mandora demons were only D Rank? But this… this thing was on a completely different level. What the heck was going on?
Forgot about handling a C Rank, he can't even handle a D Rank boss at his level!
The Great Mandora Demon let out a low, guttural howl. Its vines snapped toward him with lethal speed.
Ren barely had time to react. He ducked, rolling to the side, but a thick vine lashed against his back, sending him crashing into the dirt.
[You have taken damage!]
"Shit!" He pushed himself up, but another vine wrapped around his ankle, thorns digging into his flesh. Pain shot through his leg as it yanked him upward.
The world spun. He gritted his teeth, twisting his body midair, and slashed at the vine with his dagger. A spray of dark green liquid burst out as it loosened its grip, and Ren crashed onto the ground. His body screamed in pain, but he forced himself to move.
[You have taken damage!]
The Mandora Demon wasn't done.
A vine with a gaping, bud-like mouth lunged at his face. He barely managed to block it with his arm, only for its fanged maw to bite down hard.
"Agh!"
Blood splattered. Pain flared as its teeth tore into his flesh. He drove his dagger into its mouth, twisting it deep. The vine shrieked and recoiled, flailing violently before retreating.
Panting, Ren staggered to his feet. His vision blurred for a moment, but he clenched his jaw, willing himself to stay upright. His wounds burned, his limbs felt heavier by the second, but he couldn't stop.
His eyes darted to the demon's massive trunk. Something felt off.
The system marked it as a C Rank… but why? Mandoras weren't supposed to be this strong. Unless,
There.
A strange, dark hollow was carved into the tree's bark, just barely visible beneath its twisting vines. Something moved inside.
Ren's instincts screamed at him. That's the core. The real danger isn't just the tree, it's whatever is hiding inside.
But before he could act, the demon roared.
A massive branch tore through the air like a battering ram. Ren barely had time to brace before it slammed into his ribs.
CRACK!
[You have taken damage!]
[Your HP is low!]
The world tilted as he was sent flying, smashing through the underbrush. He hit the ground hard, choking on the taste of blood. His ribs… they were definitely cracked. Maybe even broken.
Pain clawed at his lungs, but he gripped his dagger tighter.
The Mandora Demon wasn't just strong. It was intelligent. It was protecting whatever was inside its trunk.
Which meant only one thing.
If he wanted to survive, he had to cut straight to the heart of the beast.
But Something is off!
Ren stumbled back, barely managing to avoid another vicious swipe from the Mandora demon's thick vine. His body ached, his wounds stinging with every movement, but his eyes were locked onto the twisted trunk. The aura around it felt... wrong, but not in the way he expected.
It wasn't dark or demonic. It wasn't the malevolent presence he'd grown used to. Instead, it was calm. It was almost… kind.
Ren shook his head. No. That couldn't be right. Not in this place. Not with something that was trying to kill him.
His breath came in ragged gasps as he darted around the demon's vines, weaving in and out of the attack, but his eyes never left the trunk.
And then, through the slits in the bark, he saw it.
A pair of eyes, clear, bright, and full of pain, staring back at him. They weren't the eyes of a monster. No, they looked like a person.
Ren's heart skipped a beat.
What the hell?
The eyes weren't unholy. They weren't evil. They weren't even angry. They looked like someone who was asking for help.
For a split second, the world around Ren seemed to freeze. His entire body screamed at him to keep moving, to keep fighting. But those eyes… those eyes were pulling at something inside him. Something he couldn't shake.
What if that person wasn't hiding in the trunk… but was forced to be there?
The thought struck him like a hammer. His chest tightened, and he clenched his fists, the pain from his wounds flaring again.
Damn it! His teeth ground together as his body struggled to stay upright.
Why was he thinking like this? Why was he feeling this?
I'm a killer.
A legendary one. Top of the food chain. He wasn't supposed to care. He wasn't supposed to feel sympathy for anyone, let alone some stranger trapped in a demon's body.
But the more he looked at those eyes, the more his heart twisted.
Damn it! Why was his mind working like this? He had a mission. He had his purpose. He was supposed to finish the job, not get caught up in some pathetic… rescue.
Ren swallowed hard. His body burned, his limbs heavy with the weight of his injuries. But his gaze remained locked on the figure behind the bark. The silent plea in those eyes was almost too much to ignore.
He couldn't abandon them. Not now.
The thought was a storm inside his mind. Torn between the bloodlust of his past and the strange pull toward something human… Ren's hands shook. The Mandora demon wasn't just a creature to fight. It was holding something, a person, against their will.
He had no choice. He couldn't walk away.
"Damn it, damn it…" He muttered through clenched teeth, his body staggering as he forced himself to his feet, despite the overwhelming pain. He wouldn't turn his back on this. Not this time.
Ren's breath hitched as the Mandora Demon's vines lashed out like serpents, their razor-sharp thorns slicing through the air. He dodged again, rolling to the side, but his body was sluggish now, his wounds were catching up with him. The pain in his ribs, his torn muscles, everything… it made him feel slow. Vulnerable.
His eyes darted back to the trunk, to those damn eyes pleading for help, but there was no time. Not yet.
He needed to finish this.
With a roar, the Mandora Demon swung its massive, gnarled arm branches like twisted claws tearing through the air. Ren barely reacted in time, but the sheer power of it knocked him off balance.
Crap! He twisted his body, trying to break free, but it was too late. The vine that had been trailing behind him wrapped around his ankle, pulling him off the ground with brutal force.
"Gah-!" He shouted, barely managing to keep hold of his dagger.
[You have taken damage!]
[Your HP is low!]
[19/100 HP]
The demon's monstrous vines coiled around him like a cage, their thorns biting deep into his skin. The stench of wet bark and decay filled his nostrils, making his stomach turn. The world around him spun as the demon lifted him higher into the air, its eyes narrowing as it loomed closer.
I need to escape.
Ren thrashed, his hand gripping his dagger tight, but his strength was slipping. The demon's grip was too strong. His vision blurred as the pain in his chest intensified.
Then, with a sickening crunch, the Mandora Demon yanked hard.
"AAAAAARGH!"
[DANGER! YOUR HP IS LOW! DANGER!]
[You have taken damage!]
Ren screamed in agony as he felt the sharpest pain he'd ever experienced. His right arm was wrenched from its socket, the tendons ripping, the skin tearing. His dagger fell from his grasp.
No.
It was happening too fast. His entire body was on fire with pain, but his right arm…
It was gone.
The demon tossed his severed limb aside like a ragdoll, and Ren felt the cold, searing rush of blood pouring from the stump. The agony was immediate, raw and unbearable.
"Damn it!" Ren gritted his teeth, his remaining arm fighting against the vines, struggling for any sign of freedom.
The Mandora Demon's mouth-like buds opened, revealing rows of sharp, jagged teeth as it hissed, its breath hot and foul. One vine shot out, wrapping around Ren's throat, squeezing tighter, tighter.
No… No…
Ren's vision darkened, the world slipping away as his lungs fought for air. The demon's grip was like iron, and the pain in his chest made it feel like the whole world was crushing him. His pulse hammered in his ears, and for a moment, he thought he might suffocate.
Ren gasped, the last of his strength flooding back as the demon hesitated for just a moment as if frozen in place. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a shard of obsidian, a blade he had kept as his final weapon. Lira's gift to him.
"Not… yet…" Ren muttered through clenched teeth, a crazed, desperate spark igniting inside him. He slammed the shard into the vine, pushing it deep. The demon shrieked, shaking violently.
But it wasn't enough. The vines tore at him again, one wrapping around his ribs, crushing him with the strength of a hundred men.
Then the worst part came, the thing that pushed Ren to the edge.
The demon opened its mouth in his biggest vine.
It was wide, unnaturally wide. The buds bloomed open like a nightmarish flower, revealing an abyss that seemed to stretch endlessly. And from the abyss, the horrific, sharp teeth of the Mandora Demon shot out like a swarm of piranhas hungry for flesh.
Ren's heart raced as the first bite sank into his leg.
The pain was excruciating, but he couldn't stop. He couldn't let it end like this.
He drove the obsidian blade deeper into the vine, his last strength fueling the strike.
The pain in Ren's leg was unbearable as the demon's jagged teeth tore into his flesh. Every inch of his body screamed in agony, and his thoughts began to blur. His blood soaked his torn clothes, and his strength was fading fast. The vine around his throat tightened, squeezing the life out of him. The world felt smaller, darker, as his vision swam in a sea of red.
[YOU ARE IN DANGER!]
Ah, shut it down. I knew that too.
He could barely breathe, the pressure on his chest suffocating him. But in the midst of it all, there was one thought that refused to leave his mind.
The person inside the demon…
The thought alone gave him the push he needed. The obsidian shard in his hand felt like a lifeline. Despite the darkness closing in, Ren managed to raise his arm, weakly driving the shard deeper into the vine constricting his throat.
The demon shrieked again, its vines thrashing wildly in pain. For a split second, the pressure around Ren's throat loosened, just enough for him to suck in a desperate breath.
The moment was fleeting, but it was enough.
The clouds.
Ren's eyes flicked up to the sky. The moon. He could see it now, barely visible through the thick cloud cover. But something had changed, there was a shift in the air, a subtle change that made the demon hesitate. The Mandora Demon's grip was weakening.
The moonlight. Ren remembered the thing Kuro said. Mandora demons were tied to the moon. When the light of the moon was blocked, their power diminished. He didn't know how, but it made sense. The moon had always been a source of power, of energy. Without it, they were weaker.
The demon growled in frustration as the clouds continued to block the moon's light, its strength flickering.
Ren's eyes narrowed. He needed to act fast. He couldn't afford to wait for the clouds to clear. His body was on the edge of collapse, but he had no choice. The core of the demon was somewhere, he could feel it, a pulsing presence hidden beneath the vines.
Focus.
The vines were starting to slow down, their movements sluggish as the demon's power waned. Ren, his breath shallow, gathered his remaining strength and focused. He needed to find the core. It was the only way.
As the moonlight completely vanished for a moment, Ren freed himself from the demon's vines.
He shifted his weight, his injured leg dragging as he crawled toward the trunk of the demon. His remaining arm was trembling, barely able to hold the obsidian shard.
The vines thrashed around him, but Ren was quicker now, his mind sharp despite the pain. He let those vines do whatever they wanted. Bite, tearing, anything. It wasn't as strong as before and Ren didn't have any more pain left to feel. His entire body is already in a huge pain. His fingers brushed against the thick vine closest to the trunk, and that's when he felt it, the pulse.
A faint, almost imperceptible thrum deep within the vine, hidden beneath layers of bark and twisted branches. It wasn't just the demon's essence, it was the core.
He had found it.
Without hesitation, Ren drove the obsidian shard into the vine, right into the pulsating heart of the demon. The vine recoiled violently, but Ren kept pushing, the shard sinking deeper.
The demon let out a deafening scream, its body convulsing violently as if the very life force was being ripped from it. Its vines loosened, faltering in their grip on Ren.
He pressed harder.
The core was close now, just a few more inches, and the demon's screams grew louder, the air vibrating with the intensity of its pain. Ren's vision was spinning, the world blurring as his own blood poured from his wounds, but he didn't stop.
Finally, with one last, desperate shove, the obsidian blade pierced the core.
The demon froze.
For a moment, the world went eerily silent.
And then, with a final, shrieking wail, the Mandora Demon exploded in a burst of light and energy, its body disintegrating into dust and fragments of vines. The vines that had held Ren captive fell lifeless to the ground alongside with remaining mandora monsters.
Ren collapsed to his knees, the shard slipping from his hand as he slumped forward. And then, as if the world was reminding him he was still alive, a familiar, mechanical voice echoed in the empty space.
[Congratulations! You had defeated the GREAT MANDORA DEMON!]
[You have been rewarded with 20,000 Spirit Coins]
[KP gained: 7000]
[New skill unlocked: "Mandora Vines"]
[You have found the item: "Mandora Heart-C Rank" (Use with caution, a mysterious and potent object)]
Ren's vision blurred as the weight of his body dragged him closer to the edge. The world around him felt distant, unreachable. His consciousness was slipping, and the world was slowly turning into a haze of darkened shapes. The person inside the Mandora Demon was nowhere to be found. Kuro, too, had vanished.
"Really… you're an idiot," a voice cut through the fog, sharp and clear. Ren barely managed to focus his half-lidded eyes, his body heavy with exhaustion. It wasn't Kuro's voice.
A figure knelt beside him, crouching as though to check on him. "Why go this far? You should've turned around. You should've left."
The words made no sense. Was this the person who had been hidden inside the demon? Who was this?
Ren tried to speak, but his mouth felt like sandpaper. "I… hate guys like you," the stranger continued, bitterness and anger filling the words. "You destroyed my home."
Destroyed his home? Ren barely registered it, his mind a foggy mess. What was he talking about? His vision was swimming, edges turning dark. And then,
"You… safe… good…" Ren mumbled, his voice barely audible.
The stranger sounded… surprised. "Huh?"
"Leave… it's… dangerous…" Ren could barely get the words out before the exhaustion hit him again. His body was shutting down from the blood loss, but something in the voice made him hold on just a little longer.
The person seemed to pause for a moment. Ren could feel his presence, but he couldn't see him clearly. "You don't want a pact with me?" The words were spoken with disbelief, as if it was the most absurd thing he'd ever heard.
Ren's mind was blank. He didn't have a clue what the stranger was talking about.
"Why even save me, then?" The question echoed in his fading thoughts. Ren could feel his heartbeat slowing, his body succumbing to the pain.
I'm going to die. I've lost too much blood.
"Do I…" Ren whispered, the words barely escaping his dry lips. "Need a reason?"
The stranger chuckled softly, as though he was observing something strange and incomprehensible. "Well then…" he trailed off, the laughter fading as he spoke again, his tone almost resigned. "Even if you destroyed my peace…"
Ren could barely process the words, his world folding into darkness. Before he could say anything else, before he could even think, everything went black.
The last thing Ren felt was the steady, warm grip of the stranger, holding him as his body surrendered to unconsciousness.
The stranger stared down at Ren, disbelief still thick in his gaze. The blood was pouring from Ren's body, his arm torn off, his leg nearly severed, yet this fool still didn't even know who he was and had chosen to save him? Was there someone in the world like that? Someone who would give their all for a stranger? It was almost laughable.
He sighed, his breath soft, as though he had resigned himself to something far beyond his understanding.
The stranger's eyes were kind, too kind, almost. A hazel color that shimmered in the dim light, deep yet gentle, like a calm ocean at dusk. His brown hair, a mix of orange hues, A long section of his hair is braided neatly to one side, draping over his shoulder. His bangs hung carelessly over his forehead. He wore a white, knee-length, tightly fitted coat with black trousers. The coat, now stained red with Ren's blood, hung heavily as it absorbed the crimson flow.
He kept his right palm pressed gently against Ren's chest, over his heart. A soft, cyan glow began to emanate from his hand, swirling in a delicate circle around Ren's chest. Slowly, the color spread across Ren's body, his form glowing in the same cyan light. It was like the energy itself was soothing the pain, mending the shredded flesh, repairing the severed limb.
Ren's face softened, the intense pain that had once contorted his features now washing away. His breathing steadied, and his body began to heal, piece by piece, as though time itself were being reversed. His arm regrew, the tissue knitting together, the flesh slowly returning to its original form.
But Ren's eyes never opened. His mind remained clouded, still teetering between consciousness and unconsciousness.
Once the healing was complete, the stranger slowly lowered his head, gazing at Ren one last time, a strange softness in his eyes. Then, as quietly as he had arrived, he slipped away.
Ren remained still, his body now fully healed, but his mind remained fogged, unaware of the mysterious figure's departure.
What Ren didn't see, however, was the final message that flashed before his eyes, a notification from the system that he couldn't perceive.
[You have found one of the seven Soul Guardians, the number seven, the last, Eternal Healer: Zero Seven.]