Apocalypse Baby-Chapter 90: Verdant

"The forest is the Beast Lord," the teenager’s words echoed in Alex’s mind.

The chilling realization that made his skin crawl.

Alex narrowed his gaze.

It wasn’t as though he hadn’t suspected it before—he’d felt it the moment he stepped foot into this cursed place.

The oppressive aura, the unrelenting sense of danger that [Danger Sense] only amplified, all pointed to one thing:

The forest wasn’t just alive; it was the enemy.

But hearing it confirmed by the boy in front of him added a weight Alex couldn’t ignore.

The stakes were far higher than he’d realized.

Alex’s brow furrowed as he began to piece everything together.

His mind worked quickly, but a flicker of movement caught his attention—the boy’s head was drooping, his eyelids fluttering dangerously close to shutting.

"Hey, kid!" Alex barked, snapping the teenager back to attention.

The boy blinked groggily and muttered, "It’s Dorian."

Alex ignored the correction, his tone sharp and urgent.

"If the forest is the Beast Lord, then how can it be defeated? We can’t exactly fight an entire forest. And even if we manage to pass this so-called trial, the Beast Lord will still be alive, waiting to trap more players. So, what’s the way out?"

Dorian shrugged lazily, his tone laced with irritation. "Man, I don’t know. I’m not an encyclopedia."

Alex frowned, his patience wearing thin.

"Didn’t your Patreon tell you anything useful?"

Dorian rolled his eyes, slouching a little.

"Not everything. He said the answer would come during the trial."

Alex ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head in frustration.

"That’s rather vague," he muttered.

His irritation wasn’t just aimed at Dorian—it was the situation itself.

He was about to be thrust into a scenario he didn’t understand, with no information and no control.

The thought of being at the mercy of the unknown gnawed at him.

Dorian sighed, leaning against a nearby tree for support.

His exhaustion was obvious. "You know, you should be happy you’re getting any information at all. Given your beef with my Patreon. The only reason I’m spilling anything is because I’m not sure I can survive this alone," Dorian admitted, his voice dropping to a rare tone of honesty. "If I don’t pass the trial, I’m dead. Plain and simple."

Alex crossed his arms, his expression unreadable.

"Is that so? but you should know I have no reason to help you."

Dorian smirked:

"Whatever. But just so you know, as long as you’re here, you don’t get a choice. You’ll join me and the other players in the dream world whether you like it or not."

Dorian’s eyelids fluttered, his body swaying as sleep threatened to take him.

Alex ignored the statement, his mind filled with thoughts.

He crouched low, pressing his hand against the forest floor.

The cool, damp earth felt alive beneath his palm, pulsing faintly as if it had a heartbeat of its own.

He muttered to himself, his tone deliberate, "If the entire forest is the Beast Lord, then wouldn’t the correct solution be to blow up the entire forest?"

Despite his drowsiness, Dorian’s head snapped up.

His eyes widened in shock, and he stared at Alex like he’d just grown a second head. "You must be crazy... The forest won’t let you—"

Dorian’s words cut off mid-sentence as his body went limp.

He crumpled to the ground, unconscious, lost to the pull of sleep.

Alex straightened, his gaze shifting to Dorian’s prone form.

Suddenly, he noticed movement.

From the nearest tree, thick, sinewy vines began to emerge.

They slithered toward Dorian like living serpents, their green, glossy surfaces catching the faint light filtering through the canopy.

The vines coiled around Dorian’s body, wrapping him tightly.

They curled around his arms, legs, and chest, binding him to the ground.

Alex’s expression barely shifted, his face drawn and weary

His jaw tightened, his eyes narrowing slightly, but there was no trace of panic.

The forest’s oppressive atmosphere was affecting him too, its weight pressing down like an invisible force.

He bit his lip in frustration, the sharp sting grounding him for a moment.

He didn’t want to end up the kid, but what was the solution?

Flee? No.

From what Dorian said it seemed like it was too late for that.

His mind returned to the question he couldn’t shake.

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What if I blow up the entire forest?

His abilities had recently upgraded to Rank S, so if he wanted, he could lay a series of explosions across the forest and amplify them to the max.

A chain reaction combined with Gravitational Collapse would create enough force to obliterate the entire area.

It was possible. More than possible.

He stared at the dense trees around him, the forest teeming with a strange, malevolent life.

His plan could work.

But then his gaze shifted to the bodies sprawled on the ground, lifeless yet unnervingly intact. The ones the forest had already claimed, their faces pale, vines coiled around their limbs like shackles.

A thought then slipped into is mind.

If I destroy the forest, what happens to them?

What happens to them if the Beast Lord dies?

There was no one to ask. No one to explain.

The truth was a mystery, and time wasn’t on his side.

His eyes started to droop, the heaviness of sleep creeping in.

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He slapped himself—hard.

The sting jolted him awake for now, but he knew it wouldn’t last.

"Damn it," Alex groaned, shaking his head to clear the fog.

Sleep was stalking him like a predator, and if it caught him, he’d end up just like Dorian—dragged into the dream world.

He didn’t know what waited for him there, but whatever it was, it wouldn’t be good.

Time was running out. He had to act.

Dropping to one knee, Alex pressed his hand firmly to the ground, his fingers digging into the damp earth.

His plan was desperate, and risky, but it was the only one he had.

Set the explosion.

The way Alex saw it, there were only two possibilities:

One he leveled the forest, killing the Beast Lord and freeing the players trapped in its grasp.

Two he leveled the forest, killing the Beast Lord, but the players already caught in the dream world would perish with it.

The outcomes were a gamble—one potentially good, one devastatingly bad.

Alex clenched his fists, his breath shallow.

He hated gambling, hated leaving anything to chance.

But right now, doing nothing wasn’t an option.

The ground beneath his hand started to vibrate faintly as Alex began channeling his energy, preparing to set up the explosion.

He planned to place the explosives away from the players’ location, using the area as the epicenter to ensure it remained safe from the blast.

His gaze flicked once more to the unconscious players.

Doubt clawed at him, but he pushed it aside.

If this is the wrong choice, I’ll live with it. Because at this point, indecision felt like the worst choice of all.

Alex activated [Exploding Touch], channeling energy into his hands and amping it to the highest level and setting one on the ground.

He was about to set up another blast but then as if the forest had sensed his intent.

Whoosh!

From nowhere, a thick vine shot toward him like a whip, slicing through the air at breakneck speed.