Faith Amongst the Flowers

Prediction: Alyssa will threaten to kill me, then take action to harm us.

-Prediction difficulty: medium

Manipulation: Wanting us to die a slow death, she avoids using her vines and she has the infested bodies fight us instead.

-Manipulation mana cost: high

-Prediction Successful. Manipulation cast.

-

From our sides, shapes of men appeared, lit by the spreading flames of the broken lamp.

Vines spilled from the seams of a warrior's armor as he hefted a great axe. The other slayers were less equipped but their occupation was obvious. A few unequipped civilians also were part of the formation.

Victor opened his books and balls of fire shot out towards them.

One of the slayers raised up a shield and blocked the firebolt. He trampled the flowers as he ran towards me.

“Get behind me!” I yelled to Poppy, as I stepped forward and caught the blow with my short sword.

I drew upon the curse and sent the man staggering back, his entire body struggling to stay upright.

The plant controlled men reminded me of the rainbow slime manipulating the bear skeleton, except these were much weaker and lacked full control of their bodies.

With a curse imbued strike, I severed the decaying body in half.

-

Kegan had watched on as the slayers got to work. Victor had already lit three plant men alight and Caleb severed a man in half.

How was this possible? Despite that dead slayer being decayed, it couldn’t have been more than a few weeks old.

When the boy looked back at them, his eyes glowed. At first he thought it was a trick of the fire’s light, but the vertical rift of darkness reminded him of a reptile’s eyes.

“Kegan look out!”

Victor then shot a bolt of fire past him, causing a plant man to explode.

“Are you trying to hurt Kegan and Poppy too?!” Enderan screamed.

“It’s because they are in my way of killing you!” Alyssa bellowed. “So do them a favor and die!”

Her voice made Kegan’s blood run cold. This wasn’t the same woman he had loved. He should have known, the second she dragged other people into it.

For the first time in a long while, Kegan drew his god’s star from his pocket. He closed his eyes and prayed. Despite the battle around him, he focused.

I know it’s been a while. But please help me defend these people. Even when you failed to help me save the one I cherished most. Redeem yourself and don’t let these people die!

“So help me out, you bastard!” Kegan shouted.

-

Victor turned around, thinking Kegan needed help. He had noticed him just in time, to see the god’s star in his hand, light up with brilliant yellow light.

The four points of the star became a blade, cross guard, and handle.

You just keep getting more interesting! Victor grinned.

Kegan rushed forwards and his blade simply phased across the plant men.

They hadn’t been cut but simply stopped, their momentum carrying them to the ground, where they lay lifeless.

A loud collision of blades drew Victor’s attention towards Enderan, who was now contending with Wulfric, the dead wyvern-ranked slayer.

“Enderan!”

Just then, Kegan rushed past me and drew his blade up in a diagonal slice. The undead plant man fell motionless to the ground.

Kegan glanced back at them, the radiant sword illuminating his determined expression.

“Darling! You dare raise your hand against me!” The banshee shriek echoed around them.

Then the roots that surrounded them began to move.

From his book, Victor drew out the inky blade and ran forward.

Enderan saw that vines were coming towards Poppy and him. He lunged forward cutting away the plants.

Then, Victor readied his dagger as multiple thick vines shot towards him.

“Victor!” Enderan yelled.

Victor activated a stored skill within the dagger.

Baylor’s skill was Boar Cleaver. When he fought the divine boar, he almost split it open down the middle. While cleaving an average boar in half is an astonishing feat, the one Baylor had cut was the size of an elephant.

Boar Cleaver!

A powerful gust of wind shook the entire world around them, as a unseen edge slashed out from the dagger. It cleaved apart the oncoming roots, and the tree ahead of him.

“No!” Alyssa cried out.

She surrounded herself with every root she could summon forth and attacked Victor.

Boar Cleaver!

Enderan couldn’t believe his eyes. Victor wasn’t known for his strength, and he was a fowl rank. Of course he didn’t know that Victor was borrowing the strength of a well renowned knight. Baylor wasn’t a Slayer, but had he been one in his prime, his rank would have easily been, wyvern.

With one last charge, fueled by Baylor’s fighting spirit, Victor bellowed a battle cry.

Boar Cleaver!

With a diagonal slash, from the hip to the upper torso, the witch was eviscerated, and the tree fell, shaking the ground.

The last of the flames went out, and the four of them gathered together.

“Are you two okay?” Victor looked to them.

“We’re unharmed.” Enderan looked at Poppy. “Are you okay?”

She was looking at fallen tree, then at them. She nodded. “I’m… fine.”

Earlier, Victor had told them both that he would try and reason with her. However, if Alyssa made no room to let them leave early or to help her resolve the job that would prevent bloodshed, then Victor might need to kill her.

“I apologize for putting you in danger.”

“It’s fine. You protected us and the town. All of you did.” She smiled at Enderan then turned to Kegan. “You too.”

Kegan’s sword of light went away, and the god’s star remained in his hand. He looked wistfully at the wreckage of the tree.

“I’m so sorry for your loss.” Enderan spoke.

“No, it’s fine.” He looked to Victor. “You were right. She would have only been satisfied by his death and nothing more.”

“I truly hope so. Anyways, let’s report this to the mayor.”

As they walked back, Victor approached Kegan. “That holy blade.” He whispered. “It only appears before the god’s most faithful. How did you receive his blessing?”

“It was easy. He’s not very busy, and the old fool thinks too highly of himself anyway.”

Victor laughed. Then felt his tome calling to him. He opened it.

Bravo~

He took out his pen and replied.

Were you that entertained?

I was! Jolly good show!~

It had been a while since Victor’s work had been praised. So he allowed himself to feel content with Babel’s reaction and closed the book.