Chapter 45
The masked man gave no response to Lilith's question. He merely looked her over slowly with cold, calculating eyes, as if to examine an inanimate object.
Does he remember? Or is he pretending not to?
Or perhaps Lilith truly didn't exist in any of his memories at all.
She couldn't tell if he lacked social skills or if he just lived life by his own rules.
While Lilith could easily join a group if she stayed at the checkpoint for another day or two, right now this masked man was her only breakthrough.
"It's fine if you don't remember. I saw you fighting before at Rigbed."
If nothing else, he seemed to be listening to her words. That was enough.
"You're planning to go alone without finding companions, right?"
"..."
"Just like me. I don't particularly want to find companions either."
It felt strange talking to what seemed like a statue.
Is he even listening?
He had at least nodded his head when Cecil spoke, but he wouldn't even do that much for Lilith.
Though it felt like a nail being driven into her pride, Lilith endured.
"So I want to follow the path you've cleared. That's okay, right?"
There was no need to feel any sense of camaraderie. He had rejected even Cecil's proposal, so there was nothing to expect.
The man didn’t react to her query. He simply turned his head away from Lilith.
As if to say it wasn't something he needed to give permission for.
Lilith gave up trying to converse further. It didn't seem like he would listen anyway.
She too closed off her heart, planning to just extract what she needed and part ways at an appropriate time.
Lilith sat quietly some distance from the man, hugging her knees.
Deep in the mountains, the air grew cold at night. Having barely eaten, her stomach felt like it was sticking to her back.
Being coldly treated by others was also unfamiliar to her.
It felt like being a fallen noble forced to live on the streets.
She spent the night curled up tightly like a squirrel preparing for winter.
***
Trisha shook Cecil awake early in the morning.
"Sis, sis!"
"Mmmmm, ughh."
"Wake up quickly!"
Cecil rubbed her eyes and struggled to sit up.
"...Mm? What is it?"
"Sis, isn't that masked person your friend?"
Cecil said while yawning, "Haaam, yeah... he's a friend."
"But he's heading to the ravine right now. Shouldn't we stop him?"
"...What?"
Cecil's mind instantly cleared.
Going to the ravine? Has he found companions? Does he have some plan for the gatekeeper?
"Where is he now?"
Trisha pointed to a spot.
"Sis, there, he's entering right now."
The masked man had advanced deep toward the ravine direction, appearing as just a dot in the distance. The woman from last night was following behind him.
As Cecil had expected, those two were traveling together.
However, there were no other companions visible besides those two.
Cecil puffed her cheeks slightly with a disapproving look.
"Haa, whatever."
Cecil lay back down and pulled the blanket over herself.
"Sis?"
"There's a reason I tried to recruit him. He's incredibly strong. If we leave him alone, he'll manage somehow."
"Sis... but still."
Trisha still seemed uneasy despite Cecil's words.
"Whaaaat now?"
"Even the Varianne group and Luna's group gave up on that route and switched to the detour, is this really okay?"
"What's the difference between the detour and the ravine?"
"Well, since the front ravine route is the fastest, the Plantera guarding the ravine is much bigger and stronger than the ones on the detour..."
"What? Why are you only telling me this now?"
"Well, we weren't going that way... No one has gone that way until now... what should we do?"
When Cecil looked back at the man, he had already gone far away.
It was too late to chase after and stop him.
"...He made his own decision, so we should just watch for now."
Maybe he went in knowing everything.
"Will they really be okay?"
"I don't know..."
Since even Gale's group and Luna's group had failed, taking down the gatekeeper with just those two seemed impossible.
...But if it's Candy...
Still, she had a feeling he would manage something.
***
"Are you... sure it's okay to go this way?"
Lilith quickly closed her mouth with a cough, realizing she wasn't actually his companion.
She opened her map to check the route. The ravine section was certainly the shortest path. However, during her time at the checkpoint, not a single candidate had ventured into this ravine.
There must have been some talk circulating among the advance party. She couldn't shake off an ominous feeling.
The man strode forward through the dark ravine without any hesitation.
Steep cliff walls stretched long on both sides.
The width itself was broad enough for four or five carriages to pass through, so it wasn't claustrophobic.
However, the winding path and darkness filled her with anxiety that something might jump out at any moment.
She even considered abandoning the man and retreating.
The two advanced silently like this for about an hour.
Though morning had broken, the ravine remained in shadow.
Suddenly, a strange sound echoed through the ravine.
Boom! Crack, crack.
"Kyaa!"
Lilith jumped and immediately covered her ears with her palms.
"What is it? What's happening?"
Even with covered ears, the sound resonated through her entire body again.
Crack, crack, boom! Crack, boom!
The ground shook. It was completely different from anything they'd encountered before. The entire ravine seemed to tremble in fear of this massive presence.
There was definitely something ahead.
And that sound was getting closer to them.
The man stopped quietly and drew his wooden sword.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The massive entity drew closer.
The first thing they saw was an enormous hand gripping one side of the cliff.
It was massive enough to crush a bull with one hand.
Soon after, a house-sized Plantera revealed itself beyond the winding path.
Crack, crack
Its wooden joints created chilling sounds as they rubbed against each other.
Its long legs and feet blocked the ravine.
"...!"
Lilith was too overwhelmed by its enormous presence to make a sound.
Even the man seemed unprepared for a Plantera this massive, standing with drooped arms and staring blankly upward.
The Plantera immediately showed hostility upon seeing the man.
"Why are you standing there dazed? Run away!" Lilith shouted at his back.
The long arm immediately swept horizontally toward where the man stood.
Whoosh!
He quickly ducked low to avoid the Plantera's palm.
The passing hand created strong winds like a giant fan.
Lilith's instincts screamed danger signals.
This wasn't made to be fought.
She slowly backed away.
"You idiot! Just run away!"
To Lilith, the man seemed out of his mind. He didn't retreat a single step but rather waited for the attacks to come.
Why are you fighting that thing? Are you that confident in your own power?
He threw himself to dodge another of the Plantera's fists.
While evading, he swiftly swung his sword at its hand but only managed to make slight scratches without dealing any significant damage.
It's futile. A waste of effort.
His fighting style seemed too reckless. This was a hopeless battle.
Did I misjudge him?
He seemed almost foolish to her now.
Suddenly, the wooden sword in his hand began to writhe and transformed into a sapling with abundant stems and leaves.
Lilith was shocked at the sight.
"W-what is that?"
Even a sword would barely be enough, what could he possibly do with that?
The Plantera's palm swung upward as if to overturn the earth itself. It barely grazed past the man's side.
As the palm passed, the sapling stuck to it like a spider web.
The man grabbed the sapling and rose into the air along the palm like a monkey climbing vines.
The sapling transformed back into a wooden sword, and he kicked off the palm to jump onto the Plantera's shoulder.
Every movement flowed smoothly like water.
"What..."
Lilith watched from a distance with wide eyes.
He stood on the Plantera's shoulder joint and thrust his wooden sword hard into the arm joint.
It seemed he was trying to sever the joint, the Plantera's weak point.
However, due to its massive size, the joint showed no signs of damage. The sword might as well have been a toothpick to the Plantera.
He repeatedly struck the shoulder joint with his sword several times. It seemed like a pointless endeavor.
"Why is he fighting so recklessly?"
Then the Plantera's fist struck the man's entire body directly.
WHAM!
It was a powerful hit that would have left any normal person on the brink of death.
"Kyaaah!"
Lilith covered her mouth with both hands in shock, as if she had been hit herself.
He flew far behind the Plantera and fell helplessly into the depths of the ravine.
The battle ended absurdly quickly.
Having dealt with the man, the Plantera fixed its gaze on Lilith.
"...!"
She was the next target.
Creak, BOOM!
The Plantera began moving toward Lilith.
Lilith backed away slowly before turning and running with all her might.
But with its stride being incomparable to Lilith's, the Plantera caught up to her in just a few steps.
Lilith tripped on a rock and fell.
"Kyah!"
She tried to get up, but her limbs were shaking too much to support her body.
Tears poured out as she was overcome with terror.
The overwhelming difference in power made her too afraid to even resist.
"Hic, mother..."
She turned her body to face the Plantera.
Having quickly pursued Lilith, the Plantera bent its arms and waist, preparing to strike her.
"No. Hic, no."
She pushed herself backward in fear.
At that moment, a blue light burst from the Plantera's shoulder joint.
Whiiiiing
The Plantera swung its arm with all its might.
Lilith squeezed her eyes shut.
Then came the sound of an explosion.
BANG!
After that explosion, there was no sound at all.
Only silence flowed.
Lilith, who had been curled up motionless, sensed something strange and slowly opened her eyes.
"...!"
The Plantera's palm had stopped right in front of her.
Something cold was stuck to her face. Lilith wiped her face with trembling hands.
It was pure white frost.
An unbelievable sight unfolded before her eyes.
"Huh? T-this is impossible."
The Plantera's right upper body was frozen solid white.
The Plantera was trembling, desperately trying to move its body.
Lilith traced her memories.
C-could it be the magic bombs?
The man hadn't mindlessly stabbed the shoulder—he had planted the magic bomb.
Something was visible between the frozen Plantera's fingers. The man was getting up from the depths of the ravine and approaching. As he swung his arm, a sudden dazzling light burst forth.
The light rushed forward at a fierce speed and struck the Plantera.
CRASH!
"Kyaah!"
Startled by the powerful shockwave, Lilith curled up.
The Plantera's frozen upper body shattered completely.
Fragments scattered everywhere, and cold wooden debris rained down on Lilith.
The Plantera's entire right upper body disappeared, and its remaining left arm dangled before falling off.
Then the Plantera lost its strength and collapsed sideways.
BOOM!
Lilith frantically brushed off the Plantera debris scattered on her body.
"Haah, haah, haah."
Everything had ended in the blink of an eye.
Her heart was still pounding as if it might burst.
"How, how did he..."
In the distance, the masked man was staggering toward her.
He held a mysterious sword that glowed pure white.
***
Cecil climbed up onto a rock protruding from the ridge crest, struggling.
Trisha looked up at her from below and said, "Sis, are you okay?"
Cecil dusted off the dirt on her clothes.
"Yeah, can you throw me the telescope?"
"Here, catch!"
Cecil caught the telescope Trisha threw and climbed to the highest point on the rock.
Standing there, she had a clear view of Mount Grace.
The evening sun dyed the forest red as cool winds blew.
"Whew..."
She hadn't come here just to admire the view.
Cecil pointed her telescope toward the cave detour route visible in the distance and observed the situation.
Above the dense forest, the upper body of a Plantera gatekeeper was moving violently.
What appeared to be Luna's silver wolf spirits were biting at the Plantera's shoulders and arms.
And her mage companions were frantically casting fire magic, but it didn't seem to be making much of an impact.
The battle had been going on for three hours already.
"Looks like Luna's group is still struggling."
Soon, Stitches flew to Cecil.
She took her eyes off the telescope and received the letters the Stitches brought.
They were reports from her companions who had gone scouting like Cecil.
"Hmm... Gale's side is making progress..."
She read the letter from her companion who had scouted the ravine area and briefly wore a blank expression.
It contained surprising news.
It said the ravine gatekeeper had been shattered to pieces.
That was where Candy had gone. With just one companion.
Cecil muttered to herself while staring blankly at the letter, "...Candy really is strong."
He had defeated the gatekeeper faster than any other candidate.