"Maybe you'll be more talented than me… so you have to live until then…"
With a bitter smile, Timothy wrapped his arms around her, barely leaping in time and rolling across the ground.
"Uagh! B-Big bro?!"
Her eyes widened as she saw her brother shielding her with his body while dozens of sharp vines whipped mercilessly across his back.
"Aaaaahh! Nnngh…! R-Run…! Run, Alicia! RUN!"
"Big bro! Nooooo! Buaaaahhh!"
But the child refused to flee. She clung to him, trying to drag him with her.
Then another vine coiled around her legs and began pulling her toward the creature's maw.
"Wait…! WAIT!"
Timothy clenched his teeth. His back bled profusely; deep wounds covered his entire body. Yet he stood, grabbed his sister, and seized the vine holding her.
"Uuuaaahhhhh!"
With every ounce of strength left, as his hands bled and blood poured everywhere, his muscles swelled unnaturally and tore the vine apart.
"GYAAAAAHHHH!"
