CHAPTER 1465: NEW UNDEAD FRIEND

-----

As we stepped forward, we reached the Crimson Blood Forest, I was already thinking about visiting the girls, Emily, Sofia, Alma, and Martina and check if they were willing to come down here once more.

But it was still quite early in the morning, and I knew they like sleeping for longer periods of time at the weekends, so I’ll wait an hour or two more before bothering them.

The view of the Second Layer of the Hollow Core Nightmare Labyrinth was indeed surprising, everyone was left rather speechless.

Jonathan in specific seemed almost intimidated by the beauty, and yet how red everything was, as if we had landed on a world of blood itself.

I bet those Vampires from that Vampire World would love this place...

RUSTLE...

"Uh, did those vines moved?"

Suddenly, however, Jonathan noticed something, and I did as well.

"Vines?" Nyx wondered.

RUMBLE!

Indeed, they weren’t wrong.

Jus as we were walking into the forest, the gigantic, black and red colored vines where red roses sprouted from started moving.

Yes, those beautiful vines being a part of the environment itself, they ended up being a monster of some sort, I think.

Without a doubt, this thing was an enormous plant-type Nightmare Beast, which aren’t super common even in these jungles.

Perhaps because plants are naturally quite resistant to Nightmare Essence and Nightmare Miasma, but eventually, they get corrupted after being exposed for a long time.

I think it especially works when they constantly get covered on the blood of Nightmare Beasts...

"Mama, that thing’s coming!" Nyx panicked.

"I know, I can see it! Quite big, right?" I giggled.

Once it was realized we noticed it, the gigantic vines of hundreds of meters long started rushing towards us at a faster speed, as if to not waste time.

I suppose it was a pretty accomplished ambush predator if it knew how to react to these situations so quickly.

"SHAAAAHHHH!"

With a loud hissing sound unbefitting of a plant and more fitting for a snake of some sort, the ground shook and cracks spread through the forest floor while the titanic mass of red, spiky vines rushed towards us.

Through its red and black bark, several crimson eyes opened one after another, glaring at us menacingly while the giant "branches" aimed at us, trying to crush us.

Ah well, we’re starting out with battles already, huh? I wonder if I can turn this giant thing into an Undead, wouldn’t it be cool?

CRAAASH! CRAAASH! CRAAASH!

Three attacks came rushing our way, powerful enough to blow up giant buildings with ease, but...

"Well, that wasn’t that strong, huh?"

An Abyssal Barrier was more than enough to block these attacks without much of an issue.

Using my Abyssal Barrier Skill, the evolution of a previous Shadow Barrier Skill, it was easy to turn my own darkness and nether into a powerful barrier.

Its durability is based on my Nether Stat and also my Mana and Magic Power applied to it.

And I can even further strengthen it using Nightmare Power, making the barriers extra thick against the mighty Nightmares or Nightmare Beasts.

Honestly, since what happened to us with that one Nightmare Demon that turned us into kids, I always have one active, which reacts to any damage.

Of course, if the monster is strong enough, they could destroy it...

BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!

The Vine Monster didn’t give up, beginning to unleash a barrage of powerful attacks without end, attempting to break my Abyssal Barrier.

But it was futile.

"Wow, mama, your barrier’s really strong... that huge monster has no chance!" Nyx was quite proud of me. "I wonder if I could break it though?"

"I wouldn’t recommend you doing that, dear... not for now," I giggled lightly. "Let’s see, I’ll take care of this one."

I gathered my Mana into my eyes and activated an old Skill.

{Gorgon’s Five Cursed Eyes}

TRUUUM!

Suddenly, a powerful cursed energy encompassed the entire vine monster, its eyes began bleeding as it suddenly fell to the ground, twitching in agony, unable to move.

Well, it couldn’t turn into stone as I planned, but it worked!

This Skill had become more and more obsolete as I fought stronger enemies with immunity or resistance to curses.

But a neat trick I found out was that by adding Nightmare Power into my eyes, their power and effects amplify a LOT.

"Y-You took it down with just a glance?!" Lucifer asked. "Wait, it’s those eyes! I didn’t know they still worked..."

"They had become weaker over time as we faced stronger enemies resistant to curses, yeah," I nodded. "But by adding Nightmare Power I can improve their effects- Oh look! It’s already dead. Poison, Bleeding, and Paralysis with just a glance, pretty deadly, huh? I don’t think it can work as fast with Kaiju-type Nightmare Beasts though."

The vines ended dying on the spot, I could feel their gigantic, crimson and black colored soul emerging from the corpse slowly...

"It died already?!" Emeraldine was shocked. "That’s incredible...! Have you ever evolved that Skill?"

"Nope, it has been sitting around for a while now... Maybe it will evolve once I evolve," I said. "For now, this giant vine monster is pretty interesting. Let’s see... Rise."

{Creation of Death}!

I used my advanced Necromancy Skill, turning the gigantic dead vines into an Undead.

FLUOSH!

An explosion of shadows and crimson energies engulfed the entire thing, as nightmare power surged through every vine.

Its dying eyes opened again, becoming pitch black with red pupils...

Its spikes became longer and pointier, and the thing even gained long jaws around its bark now.

"Woah! A Vine Monster Undead? Looks cool!" Nyx said. "What name are you giving it, mom?"

"A name, huh?" I wondered. "Alright, let’s go for... Thorn."

FLUOSH!

As I named the Vine Monster, it suddenly gained a stronger aura, its vines became thrice as thick, its spikes even longer and pointier, and it gained even larger eyes and jaws.

Wow, it became an eldritch plant horror!

Pretty cool what Nightmare Beasts can become as Undead, they’re like Undead on steroids, even more when given names.

But I am not going to give names to every single one, only those I see some potential in them, this giant vine monster was pretty special, so I choose him... or her.

-----