Lines

A variety of feelings could be seen on the faces of the exploration team. There was fear, despair and lack of will, however, there was also a determination to live and the courage to face something much stronger than oneself. There was no right or wrong, everyone faced the problem in their own way. Although there was intense concern in Lucas' eyes, a glint of excitement was easily seen in his face, even though his priority was trying to protect his colleagues, he unconsciously loved the feeling of being close to death, of being able to look down into the abyss. and smile at him. Even though he never expressed it in words or thought about it, his body craved adrenaline, something he's been deprived of for many years.

In the last moments before the cloud arrived, Lucas' instincts led him to make a decision:

"I'll only use my new weapon when I'm at a safe distance from my team." And just like that, with those last thoughts, the black cloud engulfed him and his team.

The vortex created by the blades in Humberto's hair managed to deflect the first thorns thrown aside. However, the cloud carried with it a hundred thorns that were big and thick, it was impossible for him to get out of this attack unscathed, and that's exactly what happened, while his hair spun restlessly to protect him, one of the blades couldn't withstand the pressure of withstanding multiple impacts and cracked.

With one blade short, Humberto got a flaw in his defense that was immediately seized. The vortex, though now imperfect, maintained its speed, but that didn't stop the stingers from passing through. A thorn passed through the gap, but as he prepared for it, managed to avoid being hit in fatal places, he crouched to the right and a cut on his left rib appeared, the thorn tore through his flesh and took much of the skin with it. your victim.

"Aaargh!!" A muffled scream came out of his mouth, after all, his flesh was torn off, leaving a tear that went around the side of his body, it was deep enough to see his bloodied ribs.

The attack was even more fatal for those 3 disoriented mutants, death came instantly along with the dark cloud. They even activated their mutations, but to no avail, their bodies were completely punctured and shattered, only the echo of their screams and their guts scattered across the floor remained. As for Lara, she was the one who acted more wisely when using her mutation, since when she saw the immense amount of thorns, she realized that they were tilted due to the launch angle of the mutant pigs, causing their attacks to be launched diagonally, eventually reaching the floor.

"Back up!" With resolute decision, she leapt back, twirling her bat in her hands pointing diagonally to the ground and maxing out her mutation to generate the strongest current of wind she could. Fortunately for her, her effort paid off, her life was saved by her wise and quick decision. She focused all her skill in a single shot, a single thrust was needed to get her out of range of the cloud.

However, the thorns were very fast and even with Lara's quick reaction, when 90% of her body had already left the range, two thorns hit her. One of them was blocked by the bat, which in turn stopped its rotation due to the impact and nearly got out of its user's control. That interruption allowed another thorn to pass through her defenses and land her left foot.

Lara was hit while still in the air, so she didn't fully feel the pain in her foot, however, everything changed when she hit the ground.

"Aargh!!" Another agonizing but at the same time delicate scream echoed across the plain, a great black spike pierced his foot, and the wound only increased with his landing on the ground, which twisted his bones and broke his ankle joints.

Meanwhile, Lucas, driven by his blood's abilities, dodged the dozens of black thorns flying towards him. His [Blood Understanding] sped up his brain, [Life Booster] made his body able to follow the nimble commands of his mind, and [Blood Intuition] gave him more information about the terrain around him. However, this was not enough to prevent all attacks, some stingers managed to tear his flesh, but he didn't even care, instead, his face showed the complete opposite that there should be in someone in his state.

In that short instant during the attack, his lips curled upward, revealing his white teeth. A smile, yes, a smile, the purest meaning of joy and satisfaction was present on his face despite all the affliction arising from serious injuries to normal beings, several cuts appeared on his ribs and sides of his legs, three thorns crossed through completely his chest even though it was reinforced by his mutation, leaving behind three fatal holes. However, Lucas was no ordinary person, his blood soon healed his wounds and returned to its peak.

"Hahaha!" He chuckled at his thoughts, it was through those feelings that he knew he was alive. Lucas was not a masochist, but he liked the new emotions and sensations that this new life offered him. Unfortunately, his joy didn't last long, it only lasted until the end of the cloud of thorns. When the attack ceased, he looked around and could see the dire situation of his companions.

"But what-" his mind shook, all his happiness drained away as if it never existed, his goal was to protect his mates, but he forgot something important. Could his team get through the cloud unharmed? His team, even not having the same regenerative capacity as him, could they survive this first attack? Apparently, all the questions are answered with a big 'no'.

Humberto was lying on the ground supporting himself with his arms, he didn't give up his life easily even though he had fatal injuries. After he lost his first blade, the difficulty of dodging the thorns increased exponentially, so much so that some managed to get past his defense and wound him, his superhuman efforts to protect themselves were in vain. The result was disheartening, there were two giant thorns indicated on each thigh, it took a miracle for him to walk again, his face expressed nothing but pain, but his eyes still glowed with a weak but steady determination.

It could be said that Lara's situation was better, as with the help of her staff, used as a support, she managed to stay upright. Her left foot was completely useless, with a large stinger going through it and her ankle twisted in an agonizing position to behold. As for the rest of his team, the other two men and one woman, Lucas didn't even see a sign of them.

Hatred and anger flooded his mind, he felt anger at his idiocy and lack of preparation, as his hatred was redirected to the mutant hedgehogs. However, these mutated animals didn't care for the situation, they just wanted to exterminate their prey and obey their flock leader. And so they prepared to launch the second attack. The same pigs that attacked first prepared to relaunch their thorns.

Lucas didn't think about anything else besides the fight to follow, the situation didn't allow him to hold back any longer. His eyes, which already had a white glow, gained a few strands of purple color, his anger and hatred for pigs took over the entirety of his senses. Thus, the [Blood Armor] was activated and a silver liquid with purple hues began to flow through his fingers evenly, taking the form of lines.