Chapter 39: Chapter 38: The Diamond Guardian
Chapter 38: The Diamond Guardian
The battlefield transformed into a noisy chaos through which steel instruments collided with magical powers alongside destructive forces. The shooter remained motionless as his last bullet's smoke dissipated while he observed mushrooms' corpses disintegrating into pieces on the ground. The enemy numbers were decreasing yet the conflict remained extensive.
A sudden breeze blew past while the tamer reached into her bag and her smile appeared at the edges of her mouth.
A heavy grunting sound echoed throughout the area.
A shift occurred in the surrounding air. The creatures nearby hesitated.
Something was inside that bag.
And whatever it was.
It was hungry.
The tamer's grip on the bag's edge became firm without speaking. She performed a quick motion to turn the bag upside down.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then
RIIIIIP!
A massive clawed hand emerged from the depths of the bag to capture a group of mushroom warriors with its fingers.
The creatures lacked enough time to produce any sound before being dragged inside.
The tamer performed a single motion to pull them into the bag.
And then
CRUNCH.
A gruesome cracking noise emerged from inside the bag.
The bag burped.
The tamer smiled while patting the bag's side with a gleam in her eyes. "That's a good boy."
Several mushrooms remained frozen in terror after the bag's contents seized them.
But the bag wasn't done.
The creature produced another hand followed by a third and then a fourth.
The creature possessed multiple hands, multiple limbs and multiple mouths.
The creature inside lacked any recognizable shape or form as it appeared as a single mass of twisting limbs that continuously reached out to seize and consume.
And it was unstoppable.
The tamer examined the battlefield while she licked her lips. We need to clean up the remaining food items.
She performed a gentle movement with the bag.
And then.
It surged forward.
The creature within was no longer confined. A storm of claws and teeth erupted outward, snatching and swallowing anything in its path. The mushrooms tried to run, but the monster was faster.
One by one, they disappeared.
The ground was now littered with nothing but pools of acidic sludge the only remnants of what had once been living beings.
And just like that.
The tamer's pet had fed.
Satisfied, she flipped the bag upright once more, allowing the remaining limbs to slither back inside. Then, with a soft pat, she sealed it shut.
Her work here was done.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the battlefield.
A single mushroom had survived.
A sneezing mushroom, barely holding onto life, trembled as it watched the massacre unfold. It had seen its allies ripped apart, burned alive, shot down.
It had to warn the king.
With a desperate sneeze, it expelled a cloud of spores and bolted in the opposite direction, racing toward the heart of the mushroom army.
If it could reach the king if it could deliver the warning perhaps they still had a chance.
But.
SSSHK!
A sudden blur of silver flashed through the air.
The mushroom froze.
It didn't understand what had just happened.
Then.
Its body split in half.
A clean, effortless cut.
A katana had done this.
And standing behind the fallen mushroom, his blade now resting in its sheath.
Was the samurai.
He exhaled slowly, shaking his head. "You were too slow."
Then, without another word, he turned away, walking back toward the battlefield.
The message would never reach the king.
And the war would continue.
Near the center of the battle, the Mushroom King stood motionless, watching the chaos unfold before him.
His forces his people were being slaughtered.
His rage had reached its peak.
And yet, something inside him had shifted.
Something that went beyond anger.
He slowly lifted his gaze, scanning the battlefield for one particular face.
The face of a traitor.
His grip tightened as his eyes locked onto Yuno.
The mushroom who was once human.
The one who had been reincarnated.
The one who had brought this disaster upon them.
The king's cape fluttered violently as he took a step forward.
The earth trembled beneath his power.
Then.
He spoke.
His voice was calm.
But it carried the weight of a thousand years of vengeance.
"Kill him."
The battlefield was in complete chaos. The once-organized formations had collapsed into scattered skirmishes, with bodies littering the ground human and mushroom alike. The air was thick with the scent of blood and burning spores, and yet, amidst all the destruction, a single realization became clear: this war was far from over.
A tiny mushroom shook while buried beneath a heap of dead enemies. Yuno observed the entire scene with his eyes wide open and motionless. The tiny piglet slept peacefully next to him while the massacre unfolded right in front of them. But Yuno could not look away.
The human guild members displayed monstrous fighting abilities. The human guild members sliced through endless rows of mushroom warriors as they marched through the battlefield. Combatants at the highest levels encountered enemies who had no possibility of survival. This wasn't a battle anymore. It was a slaughter.
The blonde warrior led this destructive force while casually holding his enormous sword across his shoulder. His eyes shifted briefly toward his fellow guild members.
"It's time," he muttered. "We finish this now."
The ninja beside him nodded. He took the daggers' hilts in his hands while their edges emitted a faint energy. His muscles tightened throughout his body before launching his attack.
The shooter paused to take a deep breath before he focused his aim. The rifle of the shooter shone brightly in the battlefield's disordered illumination. He was ready.
The three warriors executed their attacks at precisely the same moment.
The blonde warrior used his sword to strike. A massive crescent-shaped shockwave exploded from his attack which split the air into two.
The ninja followed suit. His speed was so quick that his trailing images remained visible in the air. His blades produced dozens of slicing waves which combined with the shockwave to create an unstoppable deadly force.
The shooter completed his attack by pressing down on the trigger. A single bullet escaped his weapon before it expanded into thousands of burning light particles. The multiple bullets in flight swerved through the air before joining forces to strike their common destination.
The enemy faced three destructive attacks which targeted him exclusively.