The Worst Reunion with the Monster Flower
The reunion with the Monster Flower turns out to be a total shitshow. Fuck!! What the hell is that thing?!
In the pouring snow, the Monster Flower chowing down like it's filming a mukbang is grotesquely horrifying. The chunks of flesh and pools of blood smeared across the ground tell the tale of how desperately the Devouring Fission Bodies resisted, but the size difference is just too much—the Monster Flower's massive tentacles rip them to shreds and gulp them down whole.
This bastard's eating like a champ... What a shitty situation. I'm seriously pissed.
Honestly, I thought I was the protagonist of this story. Makes sense, right? I've survived five years in this godawful apocalypse, and somehow connected to the Martial God Gallery that spans multiple dimensions. Not some niche plant gallery or power outage forum—this is the Martial God Gallery, packed with gods who could split the heavens and slice the earth like steak. Becoming their joint disciple and learning martial arts from them? Yeah, I figured I'd get a bit of that power high.
But... Emi. Hasn't it gotten even bigger? God knows what the Monster Flower's been scarfing down, but it's at least twice the size now. That spa building's holding up like a miracle.
No way! I'm not doing this, fuck! I've done everything! The deadly training that nearly killed me. Hell, I've actually died over a hundred times for real. So how the fuck are the enemies leveling up faster? What kind of bullshit boss rush map is this? It's so unfair I'm about to cry.
-KIIIAAAAAK!!
That's when the Monster Flower lets out a roar. Not random—it's chewed and swallowed the last chunk of the Devouring Fission Body and bellowed in victory.
...Fuck, it won't even let me whine. I'm getting the vibe now. My elaborate subjugation plan's already scrapped. If I don't want to follow the old plan straight to hell, I gotta bail now.
Whirrr!! The Hope sword, which was just raging to charge in and shred them, is now nagging me like, "Hurry up and pull your pants up already!" Hope, you sneaky fuck—turns out you're all bark when it's weak, but weak against the strong. What a failed parenting job—
Right as that thought hits, whoosh!! Hope moves on its own.
Not ditching its frustrated master to run—no, the opposite. It burrows deep into the ground and intercepts a tentacle surging up from below.
"Hope?!"
Bzzzzt— Hope's vibrations intensify. Piercing the tentacle, soaked in blood, it almost looks like it's grinning ear to ear.
Seeing that, it hits me. The one who wanted to run was my own weak-ass heart. Even in this mess, Hope wants to slice and dice these bastards!
Parenting fail of the century!! Now I get how parents feel sending their kid to Seoul National University.
But regardless—
"Sorry, Hope. We gotta bounce first!"
I don't know the full range of that shitty monster's senses, but that last attack clued me in—this whole area's definitely within it. So any clueless Devouring Fission Body passing by got snagged, shredded, and killed.
The thought stops there—I spin on my heel.
Full-throttle retreat.
KIIIAAAAA!! A chilling screech erupts behind me. Rumble rumble—! The ground's flipping over with a massive boom.
No need to look—I know disaster's barreling down in real time.
Fuck this shit!!
Tat tat tat!! I explode my inner energy and accelerate. Cold piled snow, roads melted then refrozen, mystery flesh chunks on top—total harmony of road hazards. I focus my mind and sprint through it.
One slip and I'm done for. So where to? Fuck if I know—just gotta get outta here!
BOOM!! Another massive roar echoes.
I don't wanna look back, but a huge shadow looms ahead—forcing me to turn.
And there it is. A colossal pillar of flesh shooting skyward like it'll pierce the heavens.
"Emi..."
So massive its shadow stretches way ahead of me. And it's crashing down right on me.
KABOOOOOM!!!
The shockwave hits like a tomahawk missile. Nearby buildings shake; the weak ones crumble outright.
I hop aside to dodge the direct hit, but of course that's not the end.
Crackkk— The flesh pillar slams down and splits in half.
Would be cool if I sliced it with a badass strike, but nah.
Next up: the vivid red flesh inside splits open, revealing even brighter crimson mutants.
And moreover...
"Grrr..."
"Kueh..."
Suddenly, swarms of mutants surround me. Their eyes glow faintly, like they're all hypnotized in sync.
"Ah..."
A ominous question pops up. Did this city's mutants evolve into the Monster Flower? Or did the Monster Flower spread mutants here?
No way to know for sure.
What I do know? One thing.
"...Yeah, fuck. Things have been too peaceful lately."
Today's gonna be a hell of a grind.
A fierce battle erupts. In the ruined city, a brutal fight unfolds.
Mutants pouring like grains of white sand against a lone man wielding a single sword.
He's slashing through the onslaught with fluid, effortless strokes.
He's fighting well. Even battle-hardened Martial Gods would tip their hats.
But that's it.
Watching through the man, the Martial Gods already know the outcome.
His exquisite qi art gives insane stamina, but even that's got limits.
The Monster Flower's mutant horde is a massive wildfire. Even if you pump water from the reservoir nonstop, if the hose is fixed size, the fire advances faster than you extinguish it—burns the hose and everything.
No matter the matchup, overwhelming size crushes you eventually. The Martial Gods are certain of the man's defeat.
Then—
One gallery user counters.
A solution? All eyes on him.
The man's master reacts first. But the proposer shakes his head.
Not even the one with the universe's most harmonious yet destructive martial art.
Only one qualifies.
The gallery's top alchemist, Pill Seller.
The Martial Gods quickly figure it out too. AlphaGo's the calc king, but they're no slouches.
And that means Pill Seller knew it already.
Why so quiet? One reason.
His method could be riskier. Even veteran Martial Gods hesitate.
But—
The ones who taught him directly show the most confidence.
And—
One of his teachers, Pill Seller, nods.