World Destruction X Universe Salvation - 8 The Wisp of Hope

Thorn steps forward, and says: “I’ll explore the fields, perhaps I’ll find some clue to guess where will be the vegetable monster’s next attack.” After saying this, he begins to explore the fields by flying.

He took fifteen minutes to explore. While descending, he says to Lobup White: “I had found out its approximate location, and I think its cultivation is in the Fourth Level Intermediate Awaken.”

Lobup White is impressed by Thorn’s efficiency, so he compliments: “You’re awesome! In this short span of time you’ve found out all we need to ambush it!” He looks very excited because it seems that finally, he would be able to get rid of that vegetable monster.

Rose, however, looks worried. She is thinking: (Fourth Level Intermediate Awaken… if Thorn gets less than a kilometer from that vegetable monster, it will feel his aura. Also from a kilometer of distance Thorn’s wind blades won’t be able to hurt it because they’ll lose their ‘sharpness’ through wind effects…)

Thorn looks at such a concerned Rose. He can understand what is in her head, so he smiles: (If you comprehend the extent of my strength someday, your worries will disappear… but this time, I can use this situation to comprehend the extent of your strength…)

After thinking about this, Thorn says: “Mr. Lobup White, we will need your help to prepare the ambush. Once the ambush is ready, Rose will kill that vegetable monster!”

“Eeehh!!??” Lobup White yells.

“Eeh!?” Rose exclaims.

Their surprise is understandable. After all, it is hard to believe that a cat can kill a lion, even if the lion is blind.

“Could it be… could it be that Miss Rose can’t hide the sounds, smell and heat of other individuals?” Lobup White asks cautiously.

Actually Rose is very capable of doing that, but Lobup White’s misunderstanding is a great excuse, so thorn uses that excuse: “It is as you say, Mr. Lobup White.” He then looks at Rose and asks: “what do you think?”

Rose realizes that Thorn’s expression is way too calm. She ponders: (Are you trying to kill me? No, it is silly to do that at this point. Are you testing me? Probably. Are you training me? This may be the case…) Rose lets out a sigh.

(In general vegetable monsters have a core, I just need to destroy its core to kill it. I have confidence in my knowledge of vegetable monsters, so I’m sure that once I see what kind of vegetable monster it is, I’ll know where its core is. Just one stab, just one, is all I need to kill it. So, my dear skill, do you want to make me believe that you are the best skill in the world? Here it is your chance!) With resolve, Rose looks at Thorn and says: “I will kill it!”

Thorn’s heartbeats quickened by such a Rose. He then smiles and says strongly: “Good! Let’s begin the preparations!”

They are led by Thorn to where the vegetable monster’s approximate position is at. After arriving at that location, they gather the domesticated vegetable monsters in the same place. Afterward Thorn and Lobup White leave Rose alone on that place.

Thorn and Lobup White are standing two kilometers from Rose.

After some time, Lobup White can’t hold himself back anymore and nervously asks: “Will she be… alright?”

Without stop looking at Rose, Thorn nonchalantly answers: “Yes, she will be.” (After all, if she is in danger, I’ll rescue her. But, Rose, you must have the strength to do at least this much, otherwise, you won’t be able to help me to destroy this world!) Thorn affirms in his mind with a solemn face.

Calmly, Rose sits on the ground and waits for the vegetable monster to come. She awaits hiding her smell, her heat body and the sounds around her.

She very patiently awaits, and awaits… an hour… two hours… three hours. Until the earth under the great pile of domesticated vegetable monsters begins to shake. Feeling this vibration, she slowly stands up while toughly grasping her dagger.

At first, a red flower comes out from the ground, soon tick thorny branches also comes out. Quickly these tick thorny branches surround the domesticated vegetable monsters, and all of a sudden, their thorns enlarges to perforate the domesticated vegetable monsters. These thorns begin to devour the defenseless domesticated vegetable monsters.

“Auu… auuu…”

“Ouaa… ouaaa…”

“Yiiii… yiiiiiiii…”

The painful cries of the domesticated vegetable monsters echo in Rose’s ears. This sound wakes her up from her stupor, it happened that she had been frozen after seeing the appearance of this vegetable monster. This is because this enemy is a rose type vegetable monster! Of course, she wasn’t surprised by just its name but was by the fact that rose type vegetable monsters are one of the very few and rare vegetable monsters that have two cores! And she has just one dagger!

Thorn also know that rose type vegetable monsters have two cores, so when he saw it, he too was surprised by it. Thorn wonders: (So what will you do now, Rose?)

Suddenly, Rose drops her dagger.

A disappointed Lobup White asks: “Is she giving in?”

Thorn smiles and answers with a question: “Is that the face of someone that is giving in?”

“Mmm!?” Lobup White looks at Rose. What he witnesses is Rose slowly walking towards the main body of the rose type vegetable monster. She wears on her face a look that says ‘you are my prey!’.

Rose carefully dodges its thorns. She very soon is a meter from her prey. Its main body is where its flower and its two cores are. One of its cores is within its flower, the other one is within the branch that holds its flower. Rose must destroy its two cores at the same time, otherwise, the rose type vegetable monster will have the opportunity to counter.

Being before her target, Rose says in her mind: (For twenty years I’ve been training hard, really hard, always pushing myself beyond my limits. The sweat and blood that I had shed, the times that I had shattered my bones, the burning pain in my head that I felt every day after squeezing my brain to bring out hundreds of ideas to make my blows faster, and stronger. All that! The solely purpose of all that! Was to get the strength to smash down every single thing that will dare to stand in my way to my dream!)

Rose raises her hands until they’re about chest high. Her eyes blazing: (I am sorry but I won’t let anything stop me, not even for a day! Nor you, puny flower, nor myself, not anymore. Do I have to think that my skill is the best skill in the world? It is a piece of cake! If I have to think that I am a pig then I’ll be a pig! Whatever the cost, I am going forward!)

In this instant, her knife hands begins her attack. She steps forward, and she circulates all the Complex Energy that her body can bear and a little more. She then star to stab with her hands towards its two cores. She uses every single muscle in her body to do so, even the impulse of her heartbeat. This martial art that she is using was created by her, and it still don’t have a name, because she had been improving and changing it bit by bit, it is a martial art that isn’t finished yet, and probably never will be, after all there is no limit to how strong a martial art will get. But even that being the case, and even though Rose is unaware of this, right now, this nameless martial art is the quickest, the strongest, the most beautiful and the most perfect martial art that this world has seen.

In just an instant, her knife hands penetrate the wood and flowers of the off-guard rose type vegetable monster, and they then break both of its two cores at exactly the same time.

Before it dies, the rose type vegetable monster didn’t have the time to make the slightest of the resistance, it just became motionless before falling apart.

“Haa… ha… haa…” Rose is grasping for breath, her entire body is trembling with pain, all her bones are on the verge of breaking, most of her muscles have been torn apart and her blood is coming out of her nose, ears, mouth, and eyes. But even so, there is a smile on her face: (I did it! I did it! I killed a Fourth Level Intermediate Awaken! Perhaps… just perhaps, my skill is really the best skill in the world–)

*Boom!*

Abruptly, an explosion sound comes from within Rose’s Complex Energy body, it is a sound that only Rose can ear. After that she stays stiff, shocked by what her own senses are telling her. Because at this moment she is feeling that inside of her there is the door to a breakthrough!

Without giving any heed to her surroundings, she closes her eyes and forms a connection with her Complex Energy body.

Her mental body appears in that dark space, and there it is, her crystal door which is releasing a gentle white light. That familiar, unique and precious door that she had missed for twenty years now. Afraid of losing this opportunity she hastily punches that door, her skin just taps the door and it shatters. She is startled by the fragileness of the door, but she doesn’t waste time thinking about it, she starts to run wildly through the passageway that has just popped up.

In less than a second, she is already in the same room as her ten year old self.

Her old self from twenty years ago. Her loli self, looking like a six years old little girl, is releasing a gentle white aura. Despite being a little girl of unbelievable beauty releasing a gentle white aura, she is still failing to look innocent because of her eyes, her cold and lonely eyes. Seeing Rose running towards her, that loli begins to prepare herself to punch.

Rose makes a quick footwork and appears behind her loli self, then, without letting the loli to react, she stabs her index finger into the back of the loli’s neck. She destroys in this way the loli’s medulla oblongata, which is the part of the brain that contains the cardiac, respiratory, vomiting and vasomotor centers and therefore deals with the autonomic functions of breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure.

Rose mumbles softly: “Don’t worry, unhappy little girl, soon you too will find a purpose in life.”

Rose’s eyes then open! Incredible as it is, they had been closed for just three seconds! More important, now her aura is in the Second Level Initial Awaken!

She feels her own aura and then just breaths deeply. At this time her body not only is trembling because of pain but also because of indescribable emotions. Her eyes get wet, and her tears blend with her blood: (At last! At last, there is a wisp of hope. The first real wisp of hope to reach my dream! I’ll be able to become stronger, and also it seems that I have an Arrogant Awakened Skill! So I’ll have the strength to keep Thorn by my side, I’ll have the strength to protect, and I’ll have the strength to fight… it finally showed up… my first wisp of hope…)

She remains standing in the same place, silently crying.

Thorn and Lobup White are flying towards Rose, feeling her Second Level Initial Awaken aura and also feeling extremely dazed. They just had been witnesses of her magnificent martial art, which she had used to kill that Fourth Level Intermediate Awaken rose type vegetable monster even though she was only in the First Level Initial Awaken, and then they had seen how she had a breakthrough in such a short period of time.

After reaching a distance of three meters from Rose, they stop moving and just keep on looking at her solitary silhouette. They are stunned by the sight of the standing and crying Rose. This is not because it is a woman crying, they have seen a woman crying before, and that won’t stun them anymore. The reason is the unbelievable contrast between her appearance and her aura. Her appearance is that of an ordinary girl while crying, too defenseless and too fragile, but her aura is so oppressive and so immense. Right now she is giving off the feeling of invincibility.