Anomaly

I cast one last glance at the enormous stalk of the giant mushroom before finally ignoring it and turning my attention back to my group. Naturally, I was referring to Victor, Rupert, and Arthur. Charlotte would be responsible for most of the work. The three of us would mainly be tasked with protecting her from any attacks or unforeseen problems that might arise while she did what needed to be done.

I wasn't entirely sure how troublesome this could become. But considering all the situations I'd already found myself in, it would have been naive to expect things to go smoothly. Somehow, no matter how simple a situation seemed at first, it always ended up becoming irritatingly complicated the moment we actually put the plan into action.

I let out a quiet sigh before getting the three men's attention: "You guys ready?" My question reached Victor, Rupert, and Arthur, who were currently checking their equipment. More specifically, the weapons they would be using.

Victor carried some kind of subtly futuristic-looking machine gun, while Rupert and Arthur were armed with pistols of the same style. It was the first time I'd ever seen weapons like these, so when I asked Victor about them, he explained that they were capable of firing ammunition loaded with plasma.

Whatever the hell that was supposed to mean. I ended up skipping most of the technical explanation, which quickly devolved into a string of terms I had absolutely no interest in understanding, and focused on what actually mattered. In short, these weapons packed quite a punch.

According to Victor, their firepower should be more than enough to contain anything the mushroom could throw at us. At least, that's what he said. Anyway, when they heard my question, Rupert was the first to answer: "Honestly? Not even a little..."

His response came with a heavy sigh. He ran a hand over his face, looking genuinely exhausted before the situation had even started: "But what can I say?" he continued with a shrug: "Sometimes, life just pushes you down unexpected paths"

He paused briefly, glancing at the weapon in his hands before finishing in a resigned tone: "And apparently, some of those paths are unpleasantly deadly"

I decided not to respond to Rupert's final mutterings. In a strange way, I was starting to feel somewhat guilty, even though, technically speaking, none of this was actually my fault. Anyway, Victor and Arthur didn't seem to have anything else to add. They already had their weapons firmly in hand, their attention focused on every movement around us.

Rupert had also adopted a more cautious stance, and it was easy to tell that all three of them were tense. Not that I could blame them. With attacks potentially coming from practically any direction, it would be difficult to expect them to keep track of everything at once. All it would take was a single attack from a blind spot for someone to get caught off guard.

Fortunately, it wasn't as though I didn't have a countermeasure for that: "You three really need to look that nervous?" My question immediately drew all three of their attention.

Victor was the first to look in my direction, followed by Rupert and Arthur. Each of them wore a different expression, although they all seemed to share essentially the same thought: How are you this calm in a situation like this?

I crossed my arms and maintained a completely impassive expression before continuing: "I have everything under control. So just stay close to me, and you're going to witness something pretty impressive" A few seconds of silence followed. Maybe my impassive expression wasn't helping as much as I'd imagined.

Rupert, as always, was the first to respond to my apparently failed attempt at projecting confidence: "For some reason, whenever you say that, we're always the ones who end up getting the worst of it"

Rupert's gaze was openly suspicious. He narrowed his eyes as he examined the enormous mushroom in front of us, as though he expected it to suddenly leap at us at any moment. This guy really never changed.

"A giant mushroom, a completely enclosed environment..." he continued, discreetly gesturing around us: "Doesn't that tell you anything?" I had absolutely no idea what Rupert was getting at. As far as I was concerned, he was probably just exaggerating as usual.

So I simply shrugged. Rupert let out a frustrated sigh and shook his head: "Of course... Why do I even bother?" I ignored the comment. At this point, arguing with Rupert would probably be more exhausting than dealing with the mushroom itself.

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Before I could say anything, Victor approached me. His weapon was already held firmly in his hands, and his serious expression made it clear that he didn't share my calmness in the slightest: "I hope you know what you're doing" he said, casting a quick glance around our surroundings: "We don't have any reinforcements, and we certainly don't have enough room to fight in here"

I immediately nodded: "I know" My voice sounded more confident than I actually felt. The truth was, I was fairly convinced my plan would work... Probably.

Anyway, with everything ready, it was time to begin. I turned toward Charlotte, who remained focused on the enormous mushroom in front of us. It practically radiated a murderous pressure, making the air around us feel heavier with every passing second. Even so, Charlotte didn't retreat. She simply took a deep breath, keeping her focus on what she needed to do.

I established the mental connection with her and transmitted my instructions: (You can start whenever you think it's best. Just focus on what you need to do and leave the rest to me)

I tried to convey confidence through the message, as though I had complete control over the situation. The truth, however, was a little different. I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen. I mean, it's not like I'd ever fought a giant mushroom that was capable of fighting back before. Normally, when someone thinks of a mushroom, the first thing that comes to mind isn't exactly a creature capable of killing us.

Charlotte turned her attention toward me and nodded. The next moment, she took a step forward. Then another. And another. She simply walked toward the giant mushroom with all the calm in the world, as if she were approaching a perfectly ordinary tree. No explosion, no sudden movement, no attack came to greet her.

Naturally, this caught Victor, Rupert, Arthur, and me completely off guard. I mean... wasn’t this the part where the creepy mushroom started throwing things at us for no apparent reason? At least, that was how things usually went. So we remained frozen for a few moments, watching Charlotte cautiously advance until she finally reached the mushroom’s trunk.

And, much to my disbelief, absolutely nothing happened. No attack. No spores flying toward us. No strange reaction. Nothing. Not that this was a bad thing. Quite the opposite, it was probably the best-case scenario. Still... for some reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had gotten worked up over nothing.

Unfortunately, that thought didn’t even last a second. Charlotte’s words completely snapped me out of my thoughts, dragging my attention back to the situation in front of us: (Then I’ll begin, sister. I entrust my life to you) That was all Charlotte said.

The next moment, her body became enveloped in a soft, whitish light. At first, it was faint, almost gentle, but it quickly began to intensify. Her feet lifted from the ground, causing her body to float a few inches above the surface, while one of her hands remained firmly pressed against the mushroom’s trunk.

For a brief moment, nothing happened. Then... The entire environment shook. This wasn’t a simple tremor. The ground vibrated violently beneath my feet, while the structures around us groaned as though they were on the verge of collapsing. The air suddenly felt heavier, charged with a suffocating pressure that made my instincts scream in warning.

It was as if something colossal had just awakened. I wanted to believe my thoughts were wrong. I wanted to believe this was merely an unexpected reaction to Charlotte’s power. But unfortunately... I already knew that wasn’t the case. It felt as though hell itself were unfolding right in front of us.

One by one, the tentacles began emerging from the ground, tearing through the soil with slow, sinuous movements. At the same time, the fibrous tentacles protruding from the gigantic mushroom itself began reacting as well, gradually rising like snakes awakening from a long sleep.

You didn’t have to be a genius to realize that the fibrous tentacles were hostile toward all of us. Worse still, their objective was as clear as day. They were after my little sister. Charlotte remained focused on what she was doing to the mushroom, apparently unaware of the danger closing in around her. There was no scream, roar, or any other warning that an attack was coming.

The tentacles simply writhed and began snaking across the terrain, searching the area for their target. Then, they found Charlotte. In the same instant, they all lunged toward her. The movement was so sudden that the mass of fibers seemed to disappear for a brief moment, transforming into a tangled swarm of serpents rushing forward to surround her.

I saw Victor, Rupert, and Arthur’s eyes widen as all three hurried to raise their weapons. Even I had to admit that the speed of those fibrous tentacles was terrifyingly impressive. Even with my eyes capable of perceiving practically everything as though it were happening in slow motion, I still struggled to keep up with their movements.

They surged and twisted through the air at absurd speeds, each one seemingly coming from a different angle with every passing instant. I didn’t waste any more time. I activated my field. Its expansion happened in an instant. An invisible wave spread throughout the entire area, reaching the enormous mushroom and continuing far beyond it, swallowing everything around us.

The moment the mushrooms entered the range of my field, their movements simply slowed down. The tentacles that had been moving like lightning suddenly began crawling forward, almost as if someone had drastically reduced the speed of the entire world. Actually, from my perspective, that was exactly what was happening.

They were moving in slow motion. I turned my head toward Arthur, Victor, and Rupert. I didn’t need more than a glance to confirm it. Until that moment, it had only been an idea. I hadn’t even been sure it would work. But it had. The three of them stared wide-eyed, not because of the tentacles’ speed, but because of something entirely different.

They were seeing the same thing I was. They were following every slow, predictable movement of the fibrous tentacles. They could see them. All three of them were inside my golden world.

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