As Gelman pondered Restraint and Vow, he already had an answer in mind. It would probably take some time and practice, though, before it could fully take shape.
Meanwhile, he had wedged the Meat Saw, which he had stretched and reshaped, between the Carnivorous Flower Bud's gaping mouthparts. The stench was so vile that he could smell it with ease.
Under his control, the Meat Saw sliced through the Carnivorous Flower Bud's mouthparts, petals, and leaves like a butcher chopping pork. Thick green liquid sprayed from the cuts.
He retreated, covering several meters in the blink of an eye. The Carnivorous Flower Bud crashed to the ground and gave a few dying, twitching shudders.
That should be about enough of them.
Gelman stepped over the corpses of the Carnivorous Flower Buds, intending to rejoin Biscuit and Shizuku. But after scanning the surrounding forest, he couldn't see either of them.
The forest suddenly fell silent.
"Biscuit? Shizuku?"
Calling out his companions' names, Gelman started moving, examining their footprints and signs of battle. They were indeed nearby, but the two of them were nowhere to be seen.
The three of them had split up just now, but they had stayed close enough to call to one another.
Even if they had been ambushed by Carnivorous Flower Buds or some other monster, Gelman should have heard something.
"Until twenty seconds ago, they should both have been nearby."
"Then, in that instant, they were attacked by something and taken away from here. The attack must have carried them off in an instant, without making a sound."
"Some kind of spatial ability that can forcibly transport people?"
Gelman expanded his En and warily watched his surroundings.
He didn't have an En with a radius close to fifty meters like Kite's, but his could still reach