I had no idea what to do.

On the one hand, I felt utterly helpless in this situation. I was already exhausted by the events of the day, wounded from my unexpected freefall and being held captive by a raptor that had no interest in dealing with a plant kaiju other than simply escaping the encounter. At this point, I relied entirely on adrenaline to keep me going, and I knew the second I laid my head down on something soft, I would pass out.

On the other hand, I couldn't just abandon Kii and let her rampage on, only for someone else to find her. What if some other humans, by chance, came across her and, like many people, didn't possess a liminal to help them get away? For all I knew, the "experimental nutrients," or whatever they were called, gradually poisoned Kii the more they stayed in her system.

Running away from her would make me feel like an asshole. But what could I do to help her?

Come on, man, think!

Preya commanded me firmly, "We're leaving right now!" Her tone made it clear that there was no room for debate.

I was about to say something, but before I could open my mouth, a vast wooden claw swung toward us, causing Preya to duck quickly to avoid it. Sadly, this caused us to be closer to the ground, where thrashing vines whipped up to strike us. Gritting her teeth, Preya zigzagged back and forth, barely dodging every attack. I might have been impressed by her skill, especially considering she was carrying some extra weight, but...

Don't hurl, don't hurl, don't hurl, don't hurl!

My thoughts were a bit busy with another pressing matter.

Preya pumped her wings with strength, thrusting us powerfully up and out of the reach of the grasping vines. She flew with purpose, quickly pushing us away from the menacing dryad. "Let's get out of here," Preya urged, sounding strained. Her flight was remarkable, especially considering she was far from her peak condition and still carrying me. But her endurance had limits, and the time to flee was running out...

I glanced back at the colossal creature that was still in pursuit of us. It was challenging to accept that the impossible was now a reality, and the giant Ent-like creature that Kii had summoned was a testament to that. I had witnessed Mandroot's ability to manipulate nature, but this was a whole new level entirely. It left me pondering the true extent of a liminal's power and how they had avoided the public's knowledge for a long time.

I shook my head, banishing those thoughts from my mind. I knew there was more to this world than I had ever seen, but there was no time to ponder its mysteries. A dryad needed saving, and I had to stay focused.

Unfortunately, there was little that an exhausted human and a heavily burdened raptor could do to stand up to an angry dryad.

Except, maybe, call in some backup.

"I'm sorry, Kii," I said, my voice barely audible over the howling wind around us, "I promise I'll be back soon."

"What was that?!" Preya asked from above me.

I exclaimed, waving my phone for emphasis, "I need you to drop me off somewhere I can get a signal so I can call this in!"

Preya snapped, "So you can get those fools at the Exchange to ruin something else?!"

"I'm calling people I trust, of course! Could you please help me out with this? You don't need to stay here, and honestly, I'm sure you're getting tired of always having to carry my weight."

Preya growled in frustration, quickly taking a peek at the dryad that was still chasing us. Despite being behind, it still kept up its relentless pursuit. She finally exhaled in defeat and looked ahead again. "Go ahead then," she said with a hint of resignation. "Good luck with that, hero."

I may not have seen the heroism in running away and calling someone else to handle the situation, but I had to do what I thought was best to resolve it.

"Thank you," I said, and promptly glanced at my phone, hoping for the signal to come in. Nothing had arrived yet. Perhaps if we got on a road or even closer to town, it would come in. I knew there was a risk of bringing Kii so close to other humans, but maybe she would prefer to avoid civilization and return to her forest home. I couldn't imagine that such an artificial place as a city would be a pleasant experience for her, no matter her current state of mind.

My phone buzzed angrily in my hand, causing me to yelp and almost drop it from surprise. Preya looked down to see what had happened but kept going. A flurry of messages popped up on the screen. Hoo boy... three texts and a call from Manako, a call from Smith, and... holy shit, way too many of everything from Zombina; oh, I had a feeling I was going to get an ear full.

With a deep breath, I called Zombina back.

The response came before the first ring was even finished, and her voice was shrill with rage. "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!" she screamed into my ear.

I winced at the volume and quickly spoke. "I'm in the forest on the east side of town, but there's an even bigger issue right now."

"On our way," Zombina said, shouting something to the people with her, "So what's the bigger issue, huh? And why does it sound noisy as hell?"

"A giant plant monster is chasing us!" I yelled, my voice trembling with fear as I glanced back to see that Kii was rapidly gaining on us. "Come on, Preya; please hurry!"

"Stop badgering me, or I'll leave you!" the raptor shouted in reply, and I could see the tension in her brown wings. "I'm not feeling my best right now!"

"Hold on, what?!" Zombina hollered on the other end. "The hell are you talking about?!"

"Look, somehow we ran into a druid out there, and somehow it created this huge construct out of wood, and it's now chasing us for some reason," I explained hurriedly, "So could you please send some backup? We can't let this thing stick around out here!"

"Damn... you're right," Zombina exclaimed, "Fortunately, we were already headed in that direction as we had received a report of a human being abducted by a harpy in that direction. We may not have the equipment for a giant plant, but we will make it work. Please do your best to keep it away from people, okay?"

Just then, Preya flew over a road that meandered along the edges of the forest. It was the same one where Papi had initially stumbled upon Kii. My heart sank as I noticed that it was much more crowded than I had anticipated.

"Uh... right," I muttered, desperately thinking of what to do. Kii was hot on her heels, and if she saw these people... it could be a disaster. I had to act fast. "You need to hurry up to avoid a catastrophe," I said.

"On it," Zombina stated all business. "Don't die out there, ya hear? You'd make a terrible zombie."

"... Thanks? I think?"

She snorted. "I'll be there soon, Aki." Then she hung up.

Okay, time to do something a little stupid.

"Preya, I'm sorry, but I have one last request for you," I said, glancing back. I could see Kii getting dangerously close to the road, and the traffic showed no signs of letting up. I needed to act fast.

She asked in a clipped tone, "Does this involve me going back?"

"... Yes. We can't let that thing get close to people."

"And what exactly can you do to stop it?"

"Not much," I admitted, my voice trembling with anticipation. "But I can... uh, distract it." I could feel my heart pounding as I thought of the challenge ahead. Was I courageous enough to do this?

Preya shouted incredulously at me, "Do you have a death wish or something?! Why would you risk messing around anymore?! Haven't you already called those people on their way here?!"

"Yeah, but that dryad will cause serious harm if we don't act quickly! We need to hurry; can you please take me close to it? I'm confident I have a few tricks up my sleeve that can help us."

The trick I had in mind was based on the hope that Kii was as willing to converse as she had been in the original story. She hadn't immediately tried to kill Kurusu and had even revealed her true nature and her hatred of humans, so there was a chance she'd do the same with me. It would not be easy, but if I could get her to talk to me, I might be able to hold her off until MON arrived.

Beyond that, or if that failed... well, hopefully, MON could handle it.

Preya growled at me, her wings stiffening slightly. "I have no reason to believe you," she said. "Humans have done nothing to prove that they are worth saving. Why should I take such a risk when there is no assurance that you can make a difference?"

"You know there are good humans too, or else you wouldn't have gone out of your way to save me," I said.

Preya went silent. I sighed. "I'm sorry about what happened to you, Preya. I am. I'll do everything I can to make that right, so please help me make this right. After that, if you want, I'll be out of your hair forever."

"... You certainly would be if you died here," Preya eventually answered, and I smiled when she swung us around. "This goes against so much...."

"Consider this an opportunity to hunt the biggest game of your life," I reassured her as we faced the towering giant. "If you let me go, your survival chances will increase. Have faith in me."

"Hmph," was all she muttered in response, and I saw beads of sweat trickle down her forehead. She was pushing herself even harder now because I had asked her to. I wouldn't say I liked having to make such a demand of her, but there was no other way this could be done. Even if she despised me after this, that was okay as long as we both survived.

Kii was almost at the top of the road, her monstrous form glaring down at us with its six crimson eyes. I gulped, bracing myself for what I was about to do. I had never been the most fit or strong person, and I was close to my limits. I knew I wouldn't be able to make it through this on my strength or determination.

Whatever mysterious power that brought me here, I hope you will be there to support me. I believe you got me here for a purpose, and it is not to perish here.

Well, I hope that's the case, anyway.

Preya cautioned me as we drew nearer, "I'm about to move quickly. Once we reach its shoulder, I'll drop you off, and then I'm off! Are you clear on that?"

I nodded nervously, my voice trembling as I said, "Yes, exactly that's what I wanted."

The bright side is that it'd bring me up close and personal with Kii, so hopefully, I could talk to her. The downside is that it'd bring me up close and personal with Kii, which could be detrimental if things didn't go as they did in canon.

Preya vigorously flapped her wings, and the world around us blurred into a kaleidoscope of greens, blues, and browns. With bated breath, I hoped that her superior vision would help us reach our destination safely.

The pressure on my shoulders suddenly vanished, indicating that she had released me. At that exact moment, I crashed violently into something abrasive. My vision filled with a bright red hue as my instinct took over, and I desperately tried to grab onto anything for support.

Clutching the branch tightly as if my life depended on it, I mustered every ounce of energy to pull myself up. Just as my head rose, I saw Preya's figure as it faded in the distance.

"Thanks," I whispered, hoisting the rest of my body with a groan. "Hopefully, it wasn't in--"

A dozen twisting roots wrapped around me instantly, trapping me in their iron grip and squeezing down hard but thankfully not enough to kill me

"... Vain," I muttered like a curse.

The massive head of the giant, a colossal tree trunk that groaned as it shifted, swiveled to meet my gaze. Preya had managed to drop me onto its left shoulder, which, as I had predicted, was both a blessing and a curse. The tree trunk tore in two down the middle, revealing the chaos's source.

Green eyes glared at me with a look of pure hatred, and Kii's voice was filled with malice. Thorny vines seemed to writhe around her in anger. "Human... did this to me... must be punished...." Her tone was steeped in vengeance.

The roots constricted around me, making it increasingly difficult to breathe. I had no one to turn to, no Papi to calm her down, or Suu to overpower Kii. All I had was my understanding of the series and some experience dealing with violent liminals.

And my refusal to let Kii hurt anyone just because someone decided to dump their experimental waste in the middle of a goddamn forest.

Perhaps hypocritically, I was willing to be hurt by her if it meant avoiding something worse. I may have been foolish in my assurance that she wouldn't kill me or so exhausted from the day's events that I wasn't thinking straight. Most likely, it was a combination of both.

I was hoping that Zombina and the others would arrive soon. However, now it was time to get to work.

Taking a deep breath, I took an even more significant leap. "Kii..." I uttered, noting the surprise on her face as I said her name. "I'm Papi's brother," I added.

To be continued!