That's a Monarch not exp?
Summer and Raven stood frozen, eyes wide and hearts racing, unable to comprehend what had just happened. One moment, the monstrous beast stood tall, defiant. The next—it had simply exploded, reduced to nothing but burning vines and scattered gore. There had been no visible trigger, no movement. Just death, delivered in an instant.
They didn't understand how. But they knew exactly who was responsible.
Amber and Lumi.
Still trembling on the ground, Summer reached out with both hands and gently grabbed the back of their clothes, as if to anchor herself in reality—afraid that if she let go, they might disappear again.
The sisters turned at the touch, and their gazes met hers.
For a moment, time seemed to stop.
"Are you… I'm sorry—" Summer choked on her words, her voice a whisper tangled in tears. The sentence came out broken, nonsensical, a mixture of fear, disbelief, and guilt. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know how to express the storm in her heart.
But she didn't need to.
Lumi dropped her weapon. Amber let go of the energy still radiating from her hand. Both of them fell to their knees, wrapping their arms tightly around their mother.
Warm tears fell freely from their eyes.
They said nothing—because they didn't need words either.
They were together again.
And that was enough.
Raven stood nearby, her sword lowered, watching the reunion in silence. A flicker of emotion crossed her face—relief, joy… and something sharp and buried. Pain. Pain that twisted deep in her chest, seeing a sight so beautiful and tender, yet so distant from her.
She turned her gaze away.
But the moment of peace didn't last.
A thunderous tremor rippled through the ground.
Then another.
And another.
The earth groaned beneath them as the very atmosphere thickened with dread.
Behind them, rising like a mountain of malice, came the colossal vine giant—its twisted form stretching high into the sky, each step sending shockwaves through the ruined battlefield. Massive limbs of bark, thorn, and pulsing green energy crushed the land beneath its weight, and with every movement, vines slithered across the ground like veins reaching for prey.
The sweet warmth of love was shattered by the arrival of s
omething that reeked of godhood and wrath.
Amber and Lumi slowly rose from their mother's embrace, standing tall in front of her. Their eyes glimmered with warmth and unshaken resolve. Summer, still sitting on the ground, clutched their clothes with trembling hands, afraid—afraid that if she let go, they might vanish into the chaos again.
"Don't worry, Mom," Lumi said gently, her voice like a breeze in a storm. She smiled, calm and sure. "We can handle this."
Summer's lips quivered. She looked into their eyes—those same eyes she once held as babies, now filled with power, purpose, and strength that terrified her as much as it made her proud. Slowly, her fingers loosened. She let go.
Amber and Lumi both gave her a nod.
Then they turned.
Ahead of them loomed the colossal vine entity—an abomination towering into the heavens, its body a writhing mass of bark, thorns, and pulsing green veins. Its limbs creaked with unnatural power, each step shaking the broken world beneath it. Its face was a twisting network of roots and eyes, glowing with ancient malice.
Lumi knelt down and picked up her P90. With a fluid motion, it shimmered and morphed—becoming an AK-74 with a slick, matte-black finish, enhanced with glowing elemental coils and smart-targeting attachments. She locked in the magazine with a click and rolled her shoulders, eyes narrowing.
Amber closed her eyes, and her armor began to shift. The heavy black plating separated, folding inward like shifting plates. From within emerged a sleeker, more refined form—lightweight, agile, but glowing with divine circuits and reinforced mechanical limbs. Her armor—Machine God form—was optimized for speed, precision, and overwhelming energy output.
The two sisters stood side by side, bathed in the looming shadow of the giant.
Then they moved.
Lumi shot forward first, her form blurring as thunder cracked beneath her feet. She vanished from the human eye, a sonic boom echoing behind her like a shockwave of war. Amber followed instantly, launching into the air with the force of a jet engine, thrusters flaring from her back as she soared beside her sister.
Together, they charged the god of vines and wrath—one a storm of bullets and light, the other a divine machine of retribution.
And the battlefield trembled in anticipation.
As they reached the base of the colossal creature, Lumi didn't pause. With seamless momentum, she launched herself upward, her feet striking the thick vines that wrapped around the giant's legs. She dashed, leaped, and wall-ran her way up its towering body, moving like a phantom blur across shifting terrain. Every movement was calculated, fluid, unstoppable.
Amber soared beside her, thrusters flaring with radiant blue light. Her streamlined Machine God armor hummed with power, gliding effortlessly through the air. The two moved in perfect sync—one weaving through the chaos on foot, the other slicing through the sky like a missile.
The colossal vine giant finally reacted.
Its head, a writhing nest of roots and emerald thorns, turned slowly toward the intruders. Countless glowing eyes opened across its face and torso, locking onto the sisters with rising fury. A deep, guttural groan echoed from its chest like a mountain waking from slumber.
Then the vines moved.
Thousands of living tendrils slithered across its surface, snapping and whipping toward them like serpents with razor-thorned mouths. Massive limbs twisted unnaturally, hurling vine-covered wreckage and debris in all directions. The entire creature became a storm of defense—an ecosystem of death.
But the sisters did not stop.
As Lumi continued her upward assault, vine after vine lashed toward her—whipping with terrifying speed and monstrous strength. Any one of them should have sent her plummeting, broken and bleeding.
But none of them touched her.
Amber's Authority had already activated.
The moment danger surged toward Lumi, glowing sigils flared across Amber's body. Every blow meant for her sister was redirected, siphoned into Amber's armor like heat into a furnace. The vines struck her instead, but their impact was meaningless.
Amber's defense was absolute.
Her armor shimmered with golden deflection fields and reinforced reactive plating. No matter how hard the creature struck, no matter how many vines crashed into her—none could even scratch the surface. The redirected damage simply vanished into the invincible core of her Machine God form.
Lumi, untouched, soared higher.
Amber, unyielding, shielded the skies.
Together, they reached the top of the beast—its twisted, vine-covered crown—ready to strike down the giant that threatened everything they loved.
Amber landed atop the colossal being's head with a crash of force, her armor pulsing with radiant energy as her blade ignited in her grip. Without hesitation, she drove it deep into the crown of the monster—mechanical steel slicing through the writhing vines and pulsing root tissue like it were paper.
Her voice echoed like thunder across the battlefield.
**"Hydra!"**
The word activated something ancient, violent, and divine.
In an instant, the massive upper body of the colossal being began to bulge and convulse. Glowing cracks tore open across its chest, shoulders, and spine. Then—with a brutal eruption—seven colossal hydra heads burst forth from within, their dark purple scales glistening, their armored jaws roaring as they tore their way out from the inside.
The creature shrieked in agony, vines and ichor flailing in chaos as its own body betrayed it.
From within the ruined chest, something stirred.
A figure emerged.
Draped in a flowing robe made of woven plant fibers and blooming thorns, the figure hovered for a brief moment before falling through the air. Her hair was long and vibrant green, flowing like moss down her back, and her delicate features shimmered beneath the glow of her dying god. Her expression was frantic, eyes wide with terror.
Lumi locked onto her instantly.
Her body vanished from the crown of the giant and reappeared mid-air, falling in pursuit. Her weapon shifted again mid-motion, transforming into a high-caliber rifle crackling with electric energy.
With a single, controlled breath, she pulled the trigger.
**CRACK.**
An electro-round surged through the air, striking the fleeing figure in the back.
The moment it made contact, arcs of violet lightning surged through the plant-robed woman's body, freezing her mid-flight. Her limbs spasmed violently as the energy coursed through her nerves, and within seconds, she crashed into the earth below—hard.
Lumi landed a few meters away, weapon in hand.
The woman groaned, paralyzed and broken. She raised her head weakly, eyes meeting Lumi's—eyes that shimmered with tears, lips trembling.
"P-please… I don't want to die…"
But Lumi's expression did not waver.
There was no pity. No mercy. Only the cold silence of judgment.
She stepped forward and raised her hand, red-hot pyro sigils swirling to life around her palm like embers drawn to a flame.
The woman gasped—then screamed.
The first strike landed.
Then the second.
Then the third.
With every impact, searing flames and glowing runes carved deep into her flesh, purging the corruption that clung to her very soul. The cries faded. The pleading stopped.
And
when it was over, there was only smoke.
Only ashes.
The battle was over.
The colossal monster—once towering, once terrifying—was now reduced to nothing but scorched earth and a lake of acidic sludge. Its shattered vines floated lifeless in the corrosive pool, steam rising from the aftermath of Amber's devastating hydra assault.
The figure who tried to escape—the one cloaked in roots and desperate pleas—was gone as well. Lumi had ended her swiftly, without hesitation.
It had all happened in minutes.
Lumi walked calmly toward the edge of the toxic lake, the smoke of battle still lingering in the air. Her boots crunched over broken vines and blackened bark. She stared into the acidic pool, its surface reflecting fragments of the ruined sky.
Amber deactivated the hydra, the chains of energy retracting into her palm with a whisper of light. She descended gently, landing a few meters from her sister before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around her in a warm embrace.
"Did you get it?" Amber asked with a smile, her voice soft and steady.
"Yeah," Lumi replied, resting a finger on her chin in thought. "She was weak though. I don't know if she was really a boss."
Suddenly, a system chime echoed in their minds. A glowing notification appeared in the air before them.
---
**< System >**
\[ You defeated the Monarch of Verdant Thrones ]
\[ You will receive the Authority of the Monarch of Verdant Thrones ]
---
**< Authority Gained: Verdant Genesis >**
*"From roots beneath the world to flowers that reach the stars—life bows to her command."*
An ancient Authority that governs all aspects of plant life, from growth and healing, to entrapment, decay, and symbiosis. It balances creation and destruction, embodying the cycle of life, death, and rebirth through flora.
---
**Passive Effects:**
**Photosynthetic Core**
Regenerates HP, MP, and Aura when exposed to sunlight or natural energy zones. Regeneration increases in forests or sacred places.
**Thorns of Retaliation**
Enemies that damage the user receive poison or bleed effects from aura-embedded thorns.
**Spore Sense**
Invisible spores form a passive sensory web that detects movement, heat, and hostility in a 100-meter radius.
**Cycle of Bloom**
Every third time the user falls below 25% HP, a Seed of Rebirth activates, restoring full health. Cooldown: 1 hour.
---
**Active Skill Tree:**
🌿 **Form I: Thornbind Execution**
Roots erupt and seize enemies in an area, immobilizing and poisoning them.
🌳 **Form II: Verdant Ward**
Summons a towering tree shield that blocks all damage for 3 seconds and heals allies behind it.
🌺 **Form III: Bloomfang Dance**
The user sprouts petal-bladed limbs for high-speed melee attacks and vine-based mobility.
🍄 **Form IV: Fungal Dominion**
Releases spores that induce confusion, hallucination, or necrosis over time.
🌼 **Form V: Garden of Sanctuary**
Creates a sacred floral zone that heals allies, purifies curses, and spawns blossom guardians for defense.
🌾 **Ultimate Skill – Eden Reclamation Protocol**
*"I return this battlefield to its purest form."*
Summons a massive, sentient forest that reclaims the land—devouring tech, nullifying hostile magic, altering terrain into a wild sanctuary. Flying enemies are dragged down by vines, tree guardians patrol the forest, and the user becomes near-invincible within Eden's embrace.
---
Amber and Lumi stared at the notification, both visibly stunned.
"A… Monarch?" Amber muttered.
Lumi tilted her head. "That was a Monarch? But she died so fast..."
They looked at each other, realization slowly dawning in their eyes. They didn't know what it truly meant to defeat a Monarch—but whatever it was, the system clearly treated it as something monumental.
And yet, it had only taken them minutes.
Not because the Monarch
was weak.
But because they were already far beyond what the system had expected.