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Chapter 278: Chapter 278 Lost her again?
"What kind of plants are these?" Lucas asked, his eyes wide with curiosity. He pointed to some pear-colored leaves that were growing in neat rows along the ground. They were all the same size, large like umbrellas, stretching far out. The sight was so bizarre that it caught everyone’s attention.
Kyra walked closer to examine them. "They’re... strange," she murmured. She was cautious, but something about the plants intrigued her.
Damon, however, wasn’t as curious. His expression had grown more serious as they went deeper into the forest. His instincts were screaming that something was wrong. "We should go back," Damon warned, his voice tense as his eyes scanned the area. "I don’t think this area is safe."
Kyra felt a sudden wave of anxiety wash over her. It was like her body was responding to some unseen threat. ’Damon might be right,’ she thought to herself. Inside her mind, Kaia whispered in agreement. ’Kyra, it’s not safe. We should leave now...’
Before she could act, Lucas, who had been standing near one of the large leaves, suddenly shouted in alarm. "What the—!" he cried out, his voice sharp with fear. The leaves began to change, emitting a strange smell. Then, from the center of the leaves, a large black hole appeared, and vines shot out of nowhere, wrapping themselves around Lucas’s legs tightly. The vines moved quickly, and within seconds, more of them were closing in from all directions.
"Go quickly! Inform the leader and the others! Take the supplies we’ve gathered and leave! We’ll handle this!" Damon shouted to Leo and Ash. There was no time to waste. Leo and Ash quickly nodded and took off, flying as fast as they could back to the others.
Kyra rushed over to Lucas, grabbing his hands to pull him free. His face had gone pale, and he looked like he was on the edge of losing consciousness. The vines were draining his strength. Kyra’s heart raced as she felt the vines tightening around Lucas’s legs. She could hear the sound of Ash and Leo flying off to get help, but they wouldn’t make it back in time.
Damon, who had been slashing away at the vines with his now-sharpened nails, was quickly by Kyra’s side. He knew they had to act fast. The vines were growing stronger by the second, and Lucas was weakening. Damon grabbed hold of Lucas as well, his arms straining as he tried to pull Lucas free from the vines’ grasp. But something strange happened—the large leaf with the black hole seemed to act like a magnet. A powerful force was pulling Lucas toward it, making it nearly impossible to pull him out.
Kyra wasn’t ready to give up. summoning every bit of strength she had, and pulled Lucas as hard as she could. With one final tug, Lucas was yanked free, falling backward onto the ground. Damon quickly caught him before he could hit the dirt. Relief washed over them for a brief second, but it didn’t last.
Without warning, the large leaves opened even wider. This time, they shot toward Kyra, and before she could react, the force from the leaves pulled her in. The next thing anyone knew, Kyra was sucked into the black hole at the center of the leaf.
"Ky ky!" Lucas’s voice cracked as he screamed her name, his eyes wide in disbelief.
Damon’s heart pounded in his chest as he shouted, "little thing! No!" He tried to jump in after her, but the hole disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. The vines had grown even thicker, making it impossible to reach her. Damon struggled against the vines, slashing at them with wild desperation, but they only tightened their grip on him. It was as if the forest itself was trying to hold him back.
Ash and Leo, who had returned with the leader and the others, arrived just in time to see the last of the vines wrapping around Damon and Lucas. Their eyes widened in shock, realizing they were too late to stop whatever had just happened.
"Ky ky... she’s gone!" Lucas gasped, his voice shaky and full of fear.
The leader quickly took charge. "We need to cut them free first," he ordered. "Then we’ll figure out what just happened."
The others, came with their weapons, moved swiftly, cutting through the thick vines that were threatening to suffocate Lucas and Damon. It was a struggle, but finally, after several minutes of effort, they managed to free the two of them from the vines’ grasp.
But Kyra was nowhere to be seen. The forest was eerily quiet, the strange plants having returned to their normal state. The only sign of what had happened was the faint smell that still lingered in the air.
Damon fell to his knees, his breath heavy as he stared at the spot where Kyra had disappeared. His heart was a mess of emotions—fear, anger, helplessness. He had failed to protect her, and the weight of that realization was crushing him.
Lucas was still pale, his body weak from the vines’ attack. He looked over at Damon, his voice soft but filled with determination. "We have to get her back. We have to find her."
The leader nodded, his face serious. "We will. But we need to be smart about this. That thing... whatever it was... it’s not something we’ve seen before."
Everyone nodded in agreement, but the worry in their eyes was clear. They had survived the strange forest for five days without any real danger, but now it was clear that Silver Peak Mountain held secrets far more dangerous than they had imagined. And Kyra was trapped somewhere in its depths, waiting for them to rescue her.
"No, we don’t have time!" Lucas shouted, his voice trembling with fear and frustration. His hands reached out desperately, touching the plant over and over as if somehow the black hole would appear again, allowing him to bring Kyra back. His eyes were wide with panic, his heart pounding in his chest.
Damon wasn’t much different. He, too, tried to touch the plant, frantically hoping that by some miracle it would open up again. His heart was in chaos, his mind racing, and for a moment, he felt like he was losing control of everything—his senses, his focus, his hope. The thought of Kyra being trapped somewhere inside that strange plant, or worse, was too much to bear.
