Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 283: Victoria’s dilemma

Chapter 283: Victoria’s dilemma

It was unexpected, to say the least.

When Victoria emerged from Evernight to reunite with Alex, she hadn’t expected the sight before her.

It left her listless for a moment, unable to grasp the depth of what was taking place.

This was why even as the strange dome made of vines continued to grow, she could do nothing but watch as she contemplated if she’d ended up in the wrong place.

Of course, her shock soon wore off when she realized that her confusion was unfounded.

She’d had no problems grasping Twilight Steps so why would issues come up now?

So without hesitation, she knew to act before the situation grew worse.

Unfortunately, it seemed the vines had been waiting.

Numerous vines equipped with spiky ends charged at her instantly causing Victoria to immediately back away in fright.

Switching positions using Twilight Steps, she prepared to open up a Spirit gate when she sensed danger from behind her causing her to immediately teleport again.

At the same time, a spear the size of an oak tree slammed into her position causing Victoria to tremble at the thought of having such a thing cut through her.

She’d be cleaved in two without a doubt!

Her gaze shifted to the source of the attack and once again, she stilled.

A large humanoid creature that stood at more than 11 feet, possessing a rocky exterior combined with trees growing out of its back and black ink pouring out of its crevices, namely, its eyes, nose, and mouth.

"What is that?"

The answer to that question never came as Victoria was suddenly grabbed by the heel and then tossed like a ragdoll, crashing through several... sprouting trees?

Hadn’t these trees been dead just yesterday?

Her confusion increased yet again.

However, she knew that remaining still would lead to her death, what with the arrival of numerous mutants toward her location.

She rose to her feet and remarked. "Open Sesame."

The choice was between numerous Lesser spirits, quite a few High Spirits, a dozen Great Spirits, or just one Greater Spirit.

She quickly made her choice...or at least she tried to.

Alas, it would seem the Witch of Fables was taking a nap.

She was grabbed by a vine and rag-dolled some more, leaving Victoria bleeding and quite vexed.

The mutants rushed forward without mercy, their corrupted forms eliciting disgust from Victoria.

At the same time, her mental state could barely remain focused, a condition she couldn’t quite understand.

Regardless, she had to move... and so she did.

Utilizing Chains of Twilight, several black and white chains with spikes rushed forward and ensnared her foes, buying her enough time to... what is that?

Victoria frowned as she happened upon a butterfly with a smiling face.

Immediately, she felt danger again prompting her to teleport but before she had the luxury to complete that action, vines erupted from the ground and pierced her, leaving her screaming in anguish.

The vines were no ordinary vines but instead were made using garlic roots.

Whoever was responsible for the flurry of attacks knew what they were up against.

At the same time, Chains of Twilight was forced to dissipate and once again, Victoria was faced with death.

However, she wasn’t about to give up so easily.

Even as the butterfly rushed to desecrate her skin with its needle-like tail, Victoria merely responded with a pained grunt.

The next moment, the Blessings of the Moon erupted and she clenched her fist.

Instantly she disappeared from the trap carefully set for her.

Her breathing uneven, Victoria’s eyes held deep anger for the one at the helm of the attack.

If only she... the threat would have to be completed later as the mutants charged forward with the vines stalking, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Taking stock of her situation, Victoria soon realized that the vines were trying to chase her away from the campsite.

Before she could question why that was, she noticed the campsite was slowly moving toward the heart of the forest.

She couldn’t keep running away!

But what could she do?... The mutants weren’t the problem, the vines were.

It had her weakness and the element of surprise to boot.

Victoria cursed having never trained her physical prowess.

It seemed to be holding her down at this moment.

However, she couldn’t focus on the negatives right now, she needed a plan to get past the vines and reach the campsite before it was too late.

Thus she relied on her mental faculty since her physical ability was lacking.

The first plan came to mind and she quickly acted on it.

Setting her gaze on the vines, black and white flames suddenly emerged, causing the vines to come to a stop.

The corners of Victoria’s lips curled up as she thought. ’Yes!’

However, it would seem she had rejoiced too early.

The vines fell but even more took their place, rushing out from the ground and the neighboring trees with even more fervor than the last.

She tried to use Embers of Twilight again but alas, it only succeeded in dealing with a few with the vast majority still rushing at her.

’The plants had adapted!’ That thought alone was enough to cause terror in Victoria’s heart.

Plants that adapted and evolved, just what was she up against?

Instantly, the desire to run away welled up in her heart.

She had to preserve her life, there was no need to sacrifice herself.

But it didn’t take long before she realized that those were not her thoughts.

No, they were but they weren’t.

All living beings had a survival instinct and hers was triggered, but not willingly.

Victoria immediately thought of the possibility of an external factor, one that could very possibly be a gas considering all circumstances, one that was odorless, colorless, and without taste but which possessed the capabilities to mess with her senses.

Once again, she realized how dangerous her adversary was.

But she couldn’t back away.

No, not all options had been exhausted.

That was the beauty of Spiritomancy, compared to the Blood and Psionic lineages’.

Blood could be said to hold the strongest attack power while Psionics was the hardest to defend against but Spiritomancy... it was versatile and THAT was Victoria’s trump card.

Immediately, she stopped running.

"Open sesame." She spoke with such a calm tone, one would think she was not staring death in the face.

Immediately, a gate appeared before her, and out of it, the first of her summons arrived.

It was an Ice Lion, a Great Spirit from the Northern depths of the Spirit World.

Its mere presence brought with it a winter that stifled the approach of Victoria’s adversaries with its dignity resonating with the felines amongst the mutants.

A noble breed indeed.

As its silver fur danced in the wind, Victoria gave an order. "Rip them apart."... And it heeded it.

Boom

Waves of snow rushed forth, encasing the mutants and vines in solid ice before it cracked and shattered, bringing death to everything it touched and giving Victoria some reprieve from what was otherwise the start of a most nerve-wracking encounter.