Chapter 483 - From despair, hope is born [64]

I wasn't the only one who felt the tremors. In fact, it would've been pretty hard not to notice, considering the entire area had started shaking as if some kind of chain reaction were taking place beneath our feet. Victor, Rupert, and Arthur naturally stopped firing the moment they realized their accuracy was starting to plummet.

Keeping their aim steady was already difficult. Staying on their feet was becoming an even bigger challenge. The three of them almost simultaneously looked down at the ground, as if expecting to find some explanation for the sudden shaking. Then they began scanning their surroundings, alert for any sign of danger.

“What the hell...?” Rupert muttered, his voice carrying a discomfort he didn't even bother trying to hide. After a few seconds, he added, as if trying to come up with a rational explanation for what was happening: “Why did an earthquake suddenly start?”

I wasn't sure if that was really what Rupert believed, or simply what he wanted to believe. Still, all it took was one look at his expression to realize that even he couldn't convince himself.

Amid the chaos caused by the tremors, Arthur was the first to speak. Even with the ground shifting beneath our feet, his attention remained focused on the fibrous tentacles advancing through my golden domain: “Tremors? I seriously doubt it's that simple”

The words had barely left his mouth when he fired again, moving forward as he confronted one of the tentacles approaching dangerously close. His bullet tore through the air and struck the tentacle before it could get close enough to the barrier of my domain.

Arthur didn't stop there: “If those disgusting things infesting the air are nothing more than low-ranking minions...” he continued, aiming his weapon at another tentacle before firing a perfectly placed shot: “then whatever's causing these tremors is definitely the main force”

Rupert turned toward Arthur, clearly about to complain. However, after taking a few seconds to look at the scene around us, any protest he might have made died before it even reached his lips. The ground was still shaking. The tentacles were multiplying. And in the distance, the gigantic mushroom seemed to be becoming more threatening by the second.

Rupert remained silent for a moment, staring at the sight with an incredulous expression: “You've gotta be kidding me...” he muttered, almost as if he expected someone to tell him this was all some kind of joke. No one answered. He let out a heavy sigh and rubbed a hand over his face, clearly trying to process the situation: “Like things weren't already bad enough...” he grumbled: “It had to get even worse?”

His gaze slowly returned to the gigantic mushroom. For a few seconds, Rupert simply stared at it before clicking his tongue in obvious annoyance: “Seriously...” he muttered through clenched teeth: “They don't pay me enough to deal with this shit”

There wasn't much I could say that would actually comfort Rupert. To be honest, I even felt a little guilty. Even if it hadn't been intentional, I was technically responsible for the situation. I couldn't exactly say I had any direct involvement, though. After all, I didn't even remember ever encountering an anomaly in the form of a gigantic mushroom capable of releasing mind-controlling spores.

Still, considering that the humans controlled by the mushroom seemed to know me, at least on the surface, it was difficult to ignore the possibility that we might have some kind of history together. Regardless, there wasn't much I could do about it right now. I figured I could at least show some support.

I reached out toward Victor, intending to place a hand on his shoulder, but before I could even move, the tremor intensified. Actually, calling it a tremor wasn't quite accurate anymore. The ground beneath our feet suddenly began to sink, collapsing downward as if the earth itself had lost its solidity and turned into some kind of quicksand.

For a moment, I felt my balance slip as small rocks and chunks of dirt slid into the hole forming beneath us: “What the hell...?” Rupert's voice came out almost as a whisper.

The ground continued to give way. Victor, Rupert, Arthur, and I watched in complete silence as the earth began receding, flowing away to the sides as though something enormous were moving beneath the surface. Then, suddenly, something resembling a mushroom began to emerge. Then another. And another.

Before any of us had time to comment on what was happening, a gigantic humanoid mushroom suddenly burst from the ground. Its body was disproportionately massive, supported by two thick legs, while equally enormous arms extended from either side of its torso. For several seconds, there wasn't a single sound.

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Victor, Rupert, and Arthur looked more surprised than anything else. All three had their eyes noticeably widened, staring at the creature as if their brains were still trying to process what they were seeing. I couldn't blame them.

After all, it wasn't exactly every day that a gigantic humanoid mushroom simply sprouted out of the ground. Come to think of it... Selyra was still doing her own thing, completely oblivious to everything happening around us.

She was focused on corrupting the giant mushroom... Or, thinking about it again, maybe this was more like some kind of purification? Whatever she was doing, she definitely didn't seem to notice anything happening outside.

I had to admit, I was actually a little touched by how much trust she placed in me, enough to simply keep doing her job while I dealt with everything else. But, to be honest... A little help wouldn't have hurt. I certainly wouldn't have complained.

“Hey, hey... are you serious?” Rupert's voice sounded far less confident than he probably would've liked. Actually, his entire posture gave him away. His shoulders were tense, his fingers were gripping his weapon tightly, and his eyes remained locked on the gigantic mushroom in front of us, as if he expected the thing to move at any moment.

Victor didn't answer. He simply raised his weapon and aimed it directly at the monster. Even so, there was something different about him. Just moments ago, Victor had seemed completely in control of the situation, carrying himself with the confidence of someone who knew exactly what to do. Now, however, that confidence had vanished completely.

His body remained steady, but the tension in his muscles and the cautious way he kept his eyes fixed on the mushroom made him look much more like a cornered prey than a predator. Arthur, on the other hand, was clearly the most nervous of the three.

Even the smile on his face seemed forced, more like a nervous grin than genuine confidence. He raised one hand to his monocle and adjusted it with a small motion, narrowing his eyes as he studied the monstrosity.

“That thing...” Arthur paused for a moment, as if he were still trying to process what his eyes were showing him: “It has enough power to destroy the entire city if it manages to reach the surface”

His smile slowly faded: “And honestly?” He shot a quick glance at the other two before turning his attention back to the mushroom: “I don't think our current weapons are enough to contain this thing before it simply crushes us”

Well, even without Arthur's explanation, I could tell that the situation was far from good. To make matters worse, the tentacles had started behaving strangely. Ever since this thing appeared, it was as if they had simply ignored us and decided to focus all their attention on Selyra. My field could still slow them down, keeping the tentacles moving at a crawl for a while, but I knew that wouldn't last forever.

And even if I could keep holding the tentacles back... I couldn't see any way for us to defeat this new attraction without throwing practically all of our strength at it: “Shit...” I muttered, my expression twisting into clear displeasure: “I hate it when things start getting complicated”

There was no time to overthink things. If Selyra became cornered, the entire situation could spiral out of control in an instant. I looked at the three beside me: “Victor, Rupert, Arthur... please protect my sister” I pointed toward Selyra, who was still purifying the enormous mushroom: “I'll try to deal with our giant mushroom guy somehow”

The three of them fell silent for a moment. Victor shot a quick glance at Rupert, who immediately looked at Arthur. They didn't need to exchange many words. Judging by the expressions on their faces, it seemed they had all reached the same conclusion without even needing to say it out loud.

Then, almost simultaneously, all three of them rushed toward Selyra: “Don't leave her alone!” I shouted after them. Victor merely raised one hand in response, while Rupert and Arthur were already charging toward the battlefield.

I, on the other hand, remained where I was. I let out a heavy sigh: “Right...” I turned my gaze back toward the gigantic mushroom monster in front of me. The tentacles were still thrashing around inside my field, but they were a minor concern for now. My head began to throb: “Anyway...” I muttered, letting my gaze travel upward across the humanoid mushroom: “How exactly am I supposed to deal with this guy now?”

It wasn't that I had no methods for dealing with the humanoid mushroom. The real problem was that, unfortunately, all of them were quite destructive. Maybe I could control their intensity enough to avoid turning everything around me into a disaster, but... would that really be enough against this thing? It was like an entire building had suddenly grown arms and legs and decided to charge straight at you.

That comparison alone was enough to make the situation pretty damn terrifying. The creature was enormous, heavy, and seemed capable of plowing through anything in its path. I didn't feel like I would lose to this thing. Honestly, I doubted it could defeat me. The problem was something else: I simply didn't want to destroy half the place while trying to take it down.

I sighed as I watched the big guy continue advancing: “Ah, screw it. Whatever”

In the end, if I broke a few things, the organization would probably take care of everything. They had enough resources for that... and considering the situation, they would certainly understand that collateral damage was unavoidable.

“I'll just say it was necessary” It was better to worry about that later. For now, I just needed to get rid of that big guy as quickly as possible and get back to Selyra.