Dread filled Artie's rapidly expanding lungs, and his quivering bones suspended.

Mayumi was at his side, hollering at him but found it vain. Instead, she shouted toward the halted Wana.

The dark-skinned woman hesitated but turned away from where Laria was assaulted. Wana held her sword forward like a spear, ran, then stabbed it directly into the fictional creature. With a loud holler, she exploded, and her entire body became engulfed in crimson flames. Fire fanned like paper over a candle, spreading up the monster's wooden body and torching it.

Within a minute, the creature was utterly charred and immobile.

From the flames, Wana reemerged. The leather armor she'd worn was entirely burnt, and her naked form was revealed. Black scales replaced parts of her skin, and her eyes burned brighter than anyone had ever seen. Fire encircled her body even after her devastating attack, cloaking her arms and privates.

The fight appeared to be over, and humans had defeated their first God-type. However, no one was relieved.

It was Mayumi's destructive grip that woke Artie from his stupor. Upon his glance, he spotted Rachel hunched over Laria and strangers he'd never met bomb-rushing them.

Even burning, Wana rushed toward the southern border but stopped when she realized her hazardous condition.

From the corner of his eye, Artie noticed Skull running toward him with his gigantic sword.

"You brought Rachel here?!"

His fury wasn't as superficial as when he invaded Artie's guild house. He carried his weapon with the intent to kill. Mayumi, already fatigued, stepped in to intercept the seething man.

"Get the fuck out of my way, Mayumi!" The gray-hair man yelled, threatening to strike.

She refused and raised her own weapon, though needlessly. Before Skull arrived, Artie broke into a sprint toward his downed companions.

"I carried them here," he muttered shakily, tripping and blundering on the way there.

He was close, only yards away from reaching and sincerely apologizing to his friends. But.

The land below his bare feet rattled. Moments later, he heard the raving roar of the black wolf echo in caution. Artie didn't question how he understood it, but the horned beast was nearby, cautioning him.

It wasn't over. The tree God-type wasn't dead. It made itself known once again when the earth burst in several locations, and monumental vines as long and wide as freight trains were summoned.

Their fight was far from done. For the sin of murdering its children, the creature would not die alone. Artie felt that its blustering fury was far too real, far too human for a mindless monster.

Wana and anyone else available immediately moved to stave off the arisen threat. Be that as it may, they quickly became overwhelmed. Like whips, the humongous vines slapped hunters away, killing practically everyone they collided with.

Soon after the sporadic barrage began, Artie reached his injured companion. He arrived but had no time to see the state she was in. Without delay, one of the heavy whips was directed toward him and a small group that tended to Laria.

Its enormous form shadowed their entire perimeter before smashing down with tremendous force. Artie straightened and absorbed the attack first. Three of his fingers were broken on impact, and he rasped in pain while trying to interrupt its advance. The hunters behind him were dazed initially but quickly stood and joined him in the struggle of contesting the grueling plant.

"Dammit!" Artie exclaimed, feeling the weight intensify with each passing second.

"A-Artie, I'm sorry," trembled Rachel, on her hands and knees a few inches back.

"The attack was coming toward me; I didn't see, Laria, she-"

With a harrowing crack, Artie's right wrist ruptured. Between the sight of his limp hand and the adrenaline of the excruciating pain, he lost his reason.

"Get up!" he roared. It was unclear who he spoke to. It was either a command for himself to overcome their crisis or a plea to Laria, the woman who saved Rachel from the indomitable monster.

Either way, his friends were all that lingered on his frantic mind; nothing else.

Artie emitted severe flares of electricity from his horns that were misdirected as usual. Parts of the plant were hit by lightning, becoming scorched and somewhat weakened. However, the damage was trifling compared to the entire figure.

As a consequence of his eruption, the hunters behind him were also whiplashed with electricity. They groaned and clamored upon being shocked, then collapsed where they stood.

With no hunters to assist, the total weight returned to Artie. Unable to manage it alone, he strained and sunk in the soil. He could faintly hear Rachel's conscious panic and Sebastian's shouting as he endeavored to reach them.

More of Artie's body gave in, but he didn't yield. In a way, he regarded the pain as a means of seeking forgiveness for allowing Laria to be hurt in the first place. He wished with every fiber of his being for her and Rachel to be okay.

Snap-

The feeling and structure of his right shoulder blade eroded, and he bit down on his bottom lip in agony.

"Help!" Artie screamed, hoping the nearby beast would come to his rescue.

Every one of his beseeches went unanswered. He believed it was long overdue. He presumed the creature was fed up with saving him, or perhaps it was tough love. "Fight your own battles," as they say.

"Domain!" Artie cried desperately.

"Unable to comply, there are nearby hostile entities," replied the Ai, speaking with a flat and mechanical tone.

"Then just save those two, you piece of shit!" He fumed, all but past his limits.

"Unable to comply; that is beyond my designated role," rejected the Ai.

Once more, Artie's body gave out, and he slammed flat against the ground. With most of his body failing, he was pinned on his back with only his left arm to stop the brutal plant from crushing everyone.

Rachel stopped communicating, likely knocked unconscious when the vine came crashing down. It was only Artie.

Dry on options, he prayed for someone, anyone, to help. Tears waterfalled from his bloodshot eyes. And as if on cue, rain befell the land, and thunder rumbled overhead.

"I don't wanna die yet," he sobbed.

It wasn't for any selfish reasons; he just felt unfulfilled. Neither of his parents was properly laid to rest, his friends would soon be crushed with him, and his revenge was unsettled.

To die without making a single accomplishment would be truly tragic.

Their immediate area darkened. Harder and harder, water plunged onto the battlefield. To Artie's misfortune, the large vine gradually soaked in the liquid and grew more robust. The downward pressure increased, and he suspected his arm would shatter at any moment.

He roared in anguish, and a massive boom followed as a lightning strike blasted from the dark overhead clouds and into a nearby tree.

"May your pain grant you unfathomable strength."

A familiar yet soundless transmission resonated in his thoughts. After a moment, he recognized it as the golden entity that took root in his chest when he was entitled to his unusual role.

"May your pain grant you unfathomable strength," it repeated.

Despite its sudden appearance, Artie began to fade. To perish. It was a sensation he'd felt once before. As if he was turning into a weightless light. Empty, just as when he was transported to the new world.

"May your pain gr-"

"Please, just shut up..."

Every passing second drained the last of his vitality. The feeling in his arm had long since vanished, but it was affixed upright like a fickle pillar.

 

"Arr- Weh-" Unidentifiable sounds extended to Artie, but none reached.

Moments after, the weight on his arm was slightly alleviated. More and more, the vine was lifted until Artie could see the dark environment and the legs of a male.

"Come on man, wake up!" Sebastian shouted, drenched from head to toe.

Despite his keen hearing, Artie couldn't recognize just how much it stormed. It was virtually night due to the somber clouds, and an inch of water had accumulated underneath his head.

"Listen to me Artie!" Sebastian yelled.

"No one else is coming; you need to move!"

Words were being emitted, but Artie couldn't decipher them. His narrow eyes blinked incredibly slow, and his left arm was petrified vertically, unable to act on the man's command.

"I can't hold this thing much lon-" started Sebastian, but pausing.

The heavy vine he held suddenly lifted of its own violation. It escaped Sebastian's grip and swung outward like a hinged door. Then, before he could consider its motive, the plant cut wind and blasted forward into Sebastian. A devastating smack sounded, blood scattered, and his body disappeared from sight.

He was gone. Artie couldn't keep his eyes open long enough to confirm it. But he felt the man's fond, brotherly warmth leave his presence.

Again, he heard an inner essence communicate.

"May your pain grant you unfathomable strength."

It took all his remaining strength, but Artie inclined his head on the wet soil and parted his numb lips. Then, in a shaky and melancholy tone, he breathed.

"It hurts."

 

Artie's eyes closed. It was empty inside his unconsciousness. But, an annoying, grainy ringing persisted in his muddled mind.