There was a twinkle of delirious insanity in Killian’s eyes. Those twinkling eyes gazed at the land below him— bare, having nothing above but the silence of the dead.

Yet he imagined a platter of corpses, both the ones underneath and the ones that would soon be above being consumed by his tendrils.

And he would get a ding of progress back in return.

The human rabbit shook her head. The expression on his face only conveyed one thing to her.

"You are a madman."

Killian smiled, walking back towards the forest. The plans he formed in his head slowly took shape as he looked around the forest. His eyes locked on a sturdy branch of a tree.

"I’ve heard that before. Should I take it as a compliment now?"

"No," the human-rabbit sighed, walking into the forest with him. "So, what exactly do you want to do? Do you need my help to overturn the graveyard?"

Killian stopped, and turned his face to her. He bent his knees till he was at her eye level. "You know, despite how mad you think I am, you seem eager to help."

She stared blankly. "What are you getting at?"

He shrugged. "That you might be a little mad yourself."

She kept her stare on him till a small smirk tugged on her lips. "I’m almost fifty years old in rabbit years. I can afford to be a little mad. A young human like you cannot."

"Oh?" Killian pulled away and reached for the tree branch. "In human years, you’re just five. In rabbit years, I’d be a hundred and fifty. " He chuckled. "Just live freely. Let the maddest win."

Snap! The branch broke under his weight and he jumped down. He easily pulled it off and handed it to her. "Hold it. You’re going down there for a project of mine."

"That is very high," she said. "Can I say no?"

"No."

She pouted, but held onto the branch. The weight easily made her stumble but Killian still held the other end. "I’d lower you down the cliff, and communicate from here."

"Can’t we go down there together?" she asked again.

"I have to be on the lookout. Also, it will be too heavy for me."

As Killian spoke, the tendrils sprouted from his legs, some sinking down to the earth and eating ambient mana, while some wrapped around the ends of the tendrils.

The girl hugged the branch, and was turned over as the tendrils horizontally lifted the branch in the air.

Her lips quivered as she was taken down the cliff, till the base level. She let go quickly and watched the tendrils leave with the branch, slithering up the cliff walls to under Killian’s legs.

"Make a large crater down there," Killian raised his voice so she’d hear him. He held the branch, returned to him, and pointed at the middle of the graveyard. "Three feet. Then spread your vines over it."

The human-rabbit paced about, looking at the area she could cover. She shook her head. "This land is already too soft from digging. Three feet can easily turn to six if people step on it."

"That is the point," Killian shrugged. "But for your safety, stop at three feet. The ones that are being buried would take it from there."

The girl nodded, going to work since she understood the theory of his plan. It was more or less a trap, but taking advantage of the loose soil in that very area.

CRACK! CRACK! BAM!

Killian watched as each step shifted the earth, crack by crack, dividing the earth, yet there remained a hollow surface underneath.

At some point, she began designing the crater like a round bowl, and burrowed down the earth to only pop out later, covered in sand.

’It seems she is enjoying this a lot.’

He counted till the seconds the beasts would be attracted by the sounds, but it barely took a minute before he heard their heavy footsteps.

He looked back at the human-rabbit and the vines had beautifully encircled the crate, giving the impression of a grass covered flower bed.

Killian narrowed his eyes at the work. "How does she bloom flowers with her mana? Doesn’t she need something like seeds first? Or she already had that with her?"

STEP! STEP!

The loud sound behind him snapped him from his thoughts. He quickly climbed up the tree beside him, and checked to see how far. His eyes slowly widened as he spotted them.

A pack of beasts were in the distance, hanging off the large tree that marked the twin waterfalls and was still visible from the distance he was at.

They held large clubs and even if they weren’t as big as the realm’s guard, their size would always be a disadvantage to him. He climbed down the tree quickly.

"New plan. Get up here. You’re bait."

The satisfaction etched on the girl’s face vanished. "Bait?!"

The tendrils came with the lowered branch and she had to get on it, contemplating all her life decisions.

"Why am I..." she trailed off as she felt the slight vibrations on the ground. "There are a lot and that crater isn’t going to hold them all."

"I know, but it will still be helpful." Killian bent to her eye level. "I want to mark you with my tendrils. You run over there and get their attention. I’d be down here. Lead them to me."

So many words rushed through her mind. It was obviously a plan made on the spot with no real guarantee of her survival. She didn’t know what being marked meant.

Also, her short legs could only run so fast.

Yet she nodded firmly. "Alright."

<Umbral Override>

A tendril gently wrapped around her right leg, tightening just enough to make her wince, before it realised her. She saw the small dark mark on her legs, glistening slightly under the sun.

"Your shadow will grow tendrils that will protect you if they get too close. Lead them to me. I’d take some of them down with headshots. Some will fall. The rest, we’d figure it out."

Killian watched her face for any doubt. There was a chance that the beasts would’ve come at once like before, but a pack wasn’t what he expected from higher level monsters.

"You get better at fighting when you fight." The human-rabbit said to herself. Her head raised. "Alright. I go!" She sped off.

Killian hummed. ’Her speed is actually more impressive than I assumed. Theodore might not be bluffing about her being a B-Rank Monster.’

While the thoughts were still in his head, the vibrations of the earth became chaotic.

"Let’s go." He jumped down the cliff.