Living Is Important

Han Sen noticed it was a mini-me of the Death Demon Dragon; an exact, but smaller version of the creature. It was three meters long and purple in color. It was still rather large, but that was just a testament to how big the papa mantis really was.

Buzz!

The carbon-copy of the Death Demon Dragon teleported in front of Han Sen. It was too quick for Han Sen to react, register, or dodge.

Dong!

Han Sen used his Bulwark Umbrella to shield himself and deflect the incoming slice of the mantis's cutter. Unfortunately, the power was too much to bear, and he lost his grip on the umbrella. The sheer magnitude of that force was so great, it sent him flying through the air. His descent was met with a loud thud and the subsequent toppling of many trees. When he finally reached the ground, regaining his breath was a struggle, and a violent cough broke out—one that flecked the leaves in front of him with blood.

"It really is a gemstone geno core; and what's more, it's a replica of itself." Han Sen was surprised, but horror and shock hastily replaced the emotion due to what his eyes saw when they came back into focus. The miniature mantis was already on him, cutters raised, ready to bring them down and finish him off.

Han Sen's muscles trembled in the speed of his reflex reaction, but despite that, it wouldn't be in time. He had made a mistake, and the horrid mantis was ready to slay him.

"D*mn you!" Han Sen lifted the egg up and pushed it to meet with the blades.

The Death Demon Dragon's blades were—quite surprisingly to them both—stopped dead in their tracks. The force must have been deflected back into the mantis, for it ended up staggering backwards.

Han Sen thought the gemstone geno core was too much for him to deal with, in his current status. He had gotten in too deep, and the mantis's recovery was far faster than expected. It was quicker than its owner, and ready to return to Han Sen in another bid to slay him.

Han Sen started running, though. There were only two options, fight or run, and he knew for sure he couldn't fight it. The geno core came up behind him, tearing up the dirt in an attempt to shred the legs from his body.

It had taken notice of how effective Han Sen's egg was, and the mantis clearly wished to mitigate the possibility the fleeing human might use it again. As such, it aimed for his legs. Once Han Sen was rendered footless and unable to flee, there would be little he could do to assert his own survival.

But then, Han Sen jumped and threw the stolen egg back to Dragon Lady and said, "I can't keep this up. You have to return it!"

"No!" The lady chef continued to move as swiftly as her legs could carry her, and for now, the Death Demon Dragon and its geno core were back on her tail.

Lady Dragon knew she could not fight them or keep up a pace that would eventually leave them behind, so she lobbed the egg back to Han Sen.

"What? I don't have what it takes, either. You're the one who dragged me into this, but I'm not going to take the fall. Hyah!" As soon as the egg landed in his hands, the geno core was nipping at his bum. Swiftly, he threw it back again.

They were now playing a game of pass, which went on for a while. It eventually came to an end when the frenzied geno core managed to catch the egg in between their passes.

"Sweet. It has now been returned to its rightful owner. How about we run away and get to safety?" Han Sen said, following an injection of much-needed relief.

Dragon Lady knew she'd be unable to get it back now, as much as she would have liked to. So, she simply decided to follow Han Sen.

But the relief and prospect of survival were short-lived. After the egg was returned to the geno core's owner, it resumed its pursuit. It didn't seem as if it was willing to let them go.

"I already gave you what you wanted. Geez, what more do you want from us?!" Han Sen knew a lot about anger and the desire for revenge. He was surprised to see the mantis come back for them, but he knew he shouldn't have been. He wasn't one to let transgressions go, either.

Whatever the case, things had gone awry. Han Sen was in a worse condition than he had been in a long time. During his time in the Fourth God's Sanctuary, the danger coming for him had been steadily escalating. And now, the latest threat was the worst yet. He genuinely did not know if he could make it out alive.

Seeing the geno core right behind them, Han Sen summoned his Gold Dragon Lock to see if it could tie the mantis up and put an end to its pursuit.

The mantis geno core tripped and fell to the ground as soon as the rope came upon it. But it didn't last long. The entire body and carapace of the mantis began to swell and expand in size, as if it was inflating. The rope was useless to resist this, and it looked as if it was on the verge of snapping.

"Run!" Han Sen shouted, continuing the stamina-depleting chase. The mantis truly was too much of a threat, and not even his gold geno core was going to even the odds.

Dragon Lady kept up with Han Sen, and she saw too how the rope was not going to last. Previously, its cords were three-fingers-thick, but now, they were only one-finger-thick; it had been stretched too much.

Han Sen recalled the geno core, not wanting to see it break in vain like that.

But when it was free of the geno core, the mantis resumed the chase. There was only one difference now, and that was the fact that Han Sen didn't have a plan. There was no solution he could think of.

"Go. I really should... clean up my own mess." Dragon Lady stopped and did not even wait for a reply. She turned around, grabbed her utensil-weaponry, and ran towards the rampaging geno core.

Dong!

Her cutlery was shattered in an instant, and her geno core was destroyed. She was sent barreling through the canopy of the forest, as blood oozed from the mouth.

Han Sen didn't think she'd last much longer, and it pained him to see her submit to such a fate. Her geno core had been destroyed, and there was a gaping hole in her chest.

"Did you link your geno core to the shelter?" Han Sen asked.

Dragon Lady did not answer this, and she just said, "Don't let this sacrifice be fruitless. Go now, before it is too late."

Seeing the geno core advance on the chef again, Han Sen threw his lock at it once more and said, "No. You have every chance of surviving. We're in this together now, so don't give up and throw away your life so easily. It's a shame to die before one can get married."

Han Sen said a lot more things to try and convince her, but the geno core would soon to break free and recommit to slaughtering the two. And soon after, the real body of the mantis arrived before them. Its towering height put Han Sen and Dragon Lady in shadow.