The ground didn't stop moving.
It spread.
Dark, liquid veins crawled beneath their feet, branching, twisting, enclosing everything. The cracks from earlier weren't cracks anymore—they were patterns. Controlled. Alive.
Kaito stepped back slightly. "…It's still spreading."
Arai shook her head. "…No."
Shizuma's eyes moved across the terrain, calculating distance, pattern, flow.
"…We're already inside it."
Silence.
Corjaudo blinked. "…Inside what?"
Shizuma didn't look at him. "…Her range."
A pause.
"…This entire area is controlled."
Naosu stood at the center, unmoving, her arm pulsing slowly. The venom beneath them responded to her like a heartbeat.
"…My garden," she said softly.
Corjaudo stared at the ground. "…That is NOT a garden."
Jenres smirked faintly. "Depends on what you're growing."
"DEATH. SHE'S GROWING DEATH."
Daigo stepped forward, jaw tight. "…Then we break it."
"Don't—" Shizuma said.
Too late.
Daigo charged.
Fast. Direct. Clean.
He closed the gap instantly, fist pulled back, timing perfect—
Naosu didn't dodge.
Didn't step back.
She simply raised her hand.
And touched him.
Lightly.
ssssss—
Time froze.
Then—
Daigo's expression shattered.
"…What—"
His skin began to dissolve. Not burn. Not tear.
Melt.
Corjaudo screamed. "OH MY GOD—"
Daigo ripped himself back, stumbling, gripping his wrist as the venom crawled over his hand. ssssss—
Arai moved instantly, slicing away the sleeve and part of the outer contact before it spread further.
"Don't touch it!" Kaito snapped.
Daigo clenched his teeth, breathing heavy but controlled. "…It's eating through…"
Jenres' smirk faded. "…Okay. That's new."
Corjaudo backed up immediately. "…Nope. Nope. I'm done. I retire. I resign."
Naosu lowered her hand slowly, watching Daigo.
Her voice was quiet.
"…Don't rush."
A pause.
"…It hurts more."
Silence dropped.
Because now they understood.
One touch—
was enough.
Shizuma stepped forward slightly, eyes sharp, voice calm.
"No one charges."
No argument.
Kaito nodded. "…Yeah. That's confirmed."
Jenres exhaled. "Took one attempt."
Corjaudo was already scanning around wildly. "…Is there a safe spot? A corner? A rock? I feel like hiding is a valid strategy."
"There is nowhere to hide," Arai said.
Corjaudo pointed at a half-broken wall. "There. That looks emotionally supportive."
"That won't protect you."
"…Emotionally, it might."
"Focus," Shizuma said.
Everything stilled.
Naosu watched them.
Not aggressively.
Not eagerly.
Just… observing.
"…You learn fast," she said softly.
Kaito frowned. "…We prefer not melting."
She tilted her head slightly.
"…It wasn't supposed to melt."
Silence.
"…It was supposed to fix," she added quietly.
Jenres clicked her tongue. "You keep saying that."
Naosu's eyes dropped to her own hand.
The venom pulsed.
"…I was close this time."
A faint tremor in her voice.
"…I almost stabilized it."
Kaito muttered, "…You say that like a scientist."
"…I am," she replied.
That shut him up for a second.
Shizuma stepped slightly to the side, observing the ground again.
"…The pattern is consistent."
Arai glanced down. "…It's reacting to her."
"Yes."
Kaito followed the flow. "…So this 'garden' isn't random."
"No," Shizuma said. "…It's controlled space."
Corjaudo whispered, "…Like a trap."
"…Exactly."
A villager twitched nearby.
Still alive.
Barely.
The venom inside him pulsed in sync with Naosu's hand.
Corjaudo noticed.
"…Wait."
He looked at another.
Same reaction.
"…Wait."
He backed up slowly, eyes moving between Naosu and the villagers.
"…WAIT."
"Not now," Kaito said.
"No, LISTEN—"
"Later."
"NO—THIS IS IMPORTANT—"
"Then say it fast!"
Corjaudo pointed. "They're reacting to her!"
"…Obviously," Jenres said.
"No, not like that—like they're… synced."
A pause.
Shizuma glanced at him.
"…Explain."
Corjaudo swallowed. "…When she moves—there's a delay. A tiny one."
Silence.
Kaito blinked. "…You noticed that?"
"I notice things when I'm about to die!"
Naosu's gaze shifted slightly.
Toward Corjaudo.
"…You see it?"
He froze.
"…No."
"…You do," she said softly.
Her hand lifted slightly.
The ground responded instantly.
shhhhhh—
Venom rose in thin streams around them, cutting off paths, tightening space.
Corjaudo screamed. "SHE KNOWS I'M SMART NOW—THIS IS BAD!"
"Stay still!" Arai snapped.
They adjusted positions, careful, precise.
One wrong step—
contact.
Shizuma's voice stayed calm. "…We don't rush her. We don't touch the ground blindly. We observe and close distance gradually."
Jenres smirked faintly. "So… slow death instead of fast death."
"…Controlled survival," he replied.
"…Same thing."
Naosu stepped forward.
Just one step.
The entire ground pulsed.
THUMP
Everyone felt it.
Corjaudo grabbed his chest. "…Why do I feel that in my lungs?"
"…Because it's airborne too," Arai said.
"…I'm definitely dying."
Kaito moved slightly left, testing range.
The ground reacted instantly.
He pulled back.
"…She controls every inch."
Daigo exhaled, steadying himself despite the injury. "…Then we force an opening."
"How?" Corjaudo snapped. "She literally melts people!"
Naosu watched them again.
Her expression soft.
Sad.
"…You don't understand yet," she said.
Shizuma looked at her. "…Then explain."
A pause.
Her eyes trembled slightly.
"…They were suffering."
She gestured weakly at the villagers.
"…Their bodies were failing."
Venom dripped from her fingers. drip… sssss—
"…I wanted to fix them."
Kaito replied quietly. "…This isn't fixing."
She flinched.
"…It will be."
Silence.
"…It just needs time."
Jenres laughed softly. "You don't have that."
Naosu's eyes hardened slightly.
"…I'll make time."
The ground surged suddenly.
CRACK—
Venom spiked upward.
They all jumped back.
Kaito cursed. "…That's faster!"
Arai nodded. "…She's reacting to pressure."
Shizuma's eyes sharpened. "…Then we don't pressure blindly."
Corjaudo whispered, "…We're basically negotiating with acid."
"…Focus," Shizuma said.
Corjaudo moved slightly to the side.
Carefully.
Watching.
Not fighting.
Not panicking—
for once.
Observing.
His eyes tracked her hand.
Her steps.
The delay.
The reaction.
The villagers.
The ground.
Everything.
"…Wait…"
He muttered quietly.
"…Wait…"
Kaito glanced at him. "…What now?"
Corjaudo didn't answer.
His eyes widened slightly.
"…No way…"
Shizuma noticed. "…Say it."
A pause.
Corjaudo swallowed.
"…I think…"
He pointed at Naosu's arm.
"…It's not everywhere."
Silence.
"…What?"
"…The control," Corjaudo said, voice shaky but focused now. "…It's strongest when that thing pulses."
Arai's eyes narrowed. "…The fragment."
Kaito connected it instantly. "…So the field isn't independent."
Shizuma's gaze sharpened.
"…It's centralized."
Corjaudo nodded slowly, fear still there—but something else too.
Clarity.
"…Yeah…"
A pause.
"…And I think…"
He looked at her again.
At the timing.
At the delay.
"…there's a moment."
Silence.
Shizuma stepped slightly forward. "…What moment?"
Corjaudo exhaled slowly.
"…When it resets."
Everything went still.
Even the tension shifted.
Because if that was true—
then this wasn't impossible.
Naosu's gaze locked onto him.
For the first time—
fully.
"…You're looking too closely," she said softly.
Corjaudo froze.
"…I don't like that."
Her hand began to rise.
The ground trembled.
THUUUUMMMP—
Shizuma's voice cut through instantly.
"…Everyone—prepare."
Kaito smirked slightly. "…Now it gets interesting."
Jenres grinned. "Finally."
Daigo stepped forward despite the pain. "…Let's do it properly this time."
Arai adjusted her stance. "…One chance."
Corjaudo swallowed.
"…Please don't die me."
"No promises," Kaito replied.
Naosu's eyes softened again.
Sad.
"…Why won't you just let me finish?"
Shizuma stepped forward.
Calm.
Unshaken.
"…Because we see the result."
A pause.
Her hand trembled.
Then steadied.
"…Then watch closely."
Venom surged.
Faster.
Wilder.
More violent than before.
And this time—
they were ready.
Or at least—
they hoped they were.
Because Corjaudo had just found something.
Not the full answer.
But enough.
A crack.
In her perfect "garden."