Post-Apocalyptic Dispatch Society

One after another, the lids of the Pitcher Plants closed shut, trapping the creatures within. There was silence following that, as not even a squeak resounded, with everything happening within the pitcher enclosed tight, preventing any sound from emitting.

Gradually, the scent pervading through the air dissipated as the shelled creatures stopped moving, lingering within the ground, stopping right where they had been moving until then.

Following that, they remained still, unmoving like rocks. But what happened next stupefied the duo, for tiny saplings jutted out of the ground, emerging atop the shelled creatures.

The saplings resembled bamboo, growing at least a centimetre every hour. They varied from one to another, with some even growing as much as five centimetres every hour.

What was surprising was the fact that once the sapling reached a height of half a metre, it sprouted a flower, looking no different from the Pitcher Plant's, but was closed.

The first to express any change were the saplings that grew the fastest, having reached their full height of half a metre within three to four hours. The pitcher they bore burst all of a sudden, spitting out a dozen shells that cracked upon impact with the ground, revealing a tiny shelled creature inside.

These shelled creatures rapidly inhaled the aromatic scent in the air before making their way towards the sea, entering it to disappear soon after.

Of course, a good fraction of them was eaten up by the birds still flying in the air. It was evening by the time the birds had their fill, making their retreat. Of course, plenty of saplings had yet to sprout the pitchers, for they were still growing.

These were the ones that would survive and create the shelled creatures that would enter the sea.

Yihan noticed a blade of grass in a section of the beach, situated along the path of a few shelled creatures that just hatched. Surprisingly, they treated the grass as the most precious of food, latching onto it immediately to uproot it before devouring it in full, not leaving anything behind.

'So, those cracks resembling a drought were actually paths that these shelled creatures had dug?' Yihan understood the reason there was no vegetation in this region, for the shelled creatures were omnivorous, almost like a swarm that ate everything in their path.

After hatching, they would enter the sea to grow and mature. And once matured, they would arrive on shore, lured in by the Pitcher Plant Forest to be killed in large numbers and also to become a feast for the birds.

The ones that survived would sprout into a sapling bearing a pitcher that would burst upon developing fully, spitting out dozens of shells that would hatch tiny shelled creatures, repeating the cycle.

"Just…what have they done to our world?" Yihan muttered in shock, feeling an intense headache, for things were changing at a rapid pace. "Forget the war. If we aren't careful, we'll be wiped out by nature itself."

"You're right about that." Xuna nodded, pale-faced as goosebumps appeared on her skin, "These things are evolving too fast."

It was then that she stared at the shelled creatures, looking at the birds to say, "If the population of the birds was to dwindle, the intricate balance attained here would collapse, causing the population of the shelled creatures to explode out of control. They could swarm entire kingdoms in a matter of days."

"It seems we needn't worry about that." Yihan's eyes lit up as he pointed at a Pitcher Plant excitedly. It was one emanating Nacre, its lid now open, revealing a bird inside.

The rest of the flock trapped there seemed to have become the Pitcher Plant's food, but the one that survived seemed stronger than the rest now, its muscles more developed than before, almost sporting a metallic sheen.

The bird took off to the skies, joining with its flock as it was instantly accepted as the leader. Through his senses, Yihan observed that this bird had a Nacre Core that was a quarter larger than the rest of the birds.

Overnight, it seemed to have become a better hunter, able to eat the shelled creatures with greater efficiency as Yihan said, "It seems the birds would make up for the shelled creatures in terms of quality."

But, even after witnessing the entire process, Yihan was afraid to approach the Pitcher Plant Forest, for the moment he gazed at them, the pitchers of a few plants turned around to face his way, frightening him.

"They definitely aren't mere plants." Yihan said before looking at Xuna to ask, "Can you sense anything different through your Luck?"

"No, I don't." Xuna shook her head, "I cannot see anything different from the norm. Strangely, the Luck of these Pitcher Plants is no different from regular plants. As for those shelled creatures, it's the same as a random crab you can come across. The case is the same for the birds too, even the evolved bird only has a mildly reinforced Luck as compared to the rest. The difference isn't significant."

"It's strange and puzzling indeed." Yihan said as he gritted his teeth, firming himself as he said, "Let's take a closer look, shall we?"

"Alright," Xuna nodded, transforming into the Klock as she slithered to his back, plastering herself over his back while her heads peaked around his torso to stare at the front, making it seem as if he had multiple head-shaped hands.

"This way, I won't hinder you and can assist you accordingly." She spoke.

"Thank you," Yihan felt more comfortable now, his hands free as he could move without any hindrance. Moreover, Xuna would assist him timely as she was the strongest in her Klock state.

Bzzz!

His wings emitted a buzzing sound as Yihan gradually approached the Pitcher Plant Forest, alert, intending to fly the moment anything stirred up from within. After all, the closer he moved to the forest, the stronger the danger signals going off from the West Guardian Beast.

Eventually, he arrived ten metres from the closest Pitcher Plant, only now observing its leaves, noticing that they were…rather strange. The fact that they seemed strange despite the twenty-metre-tall pitchers spoke volumes.

"Oh, fuck!" Yihan cursed in response as he focused on the leaf, noticing it wriggle before zooming towards him like a lash.

The four Klock heads facing the front unleashed a thrust, sending him flying back in a hurry, causing him to barely evade the leaf that parted in the middle, along its veins, revealing a beastly mouth that clamped shut.

It barely missed him as Yihan stared at his bleeding legs, observing that a couple of his toe bones were missing, perfectly removed, as if cut by a laser. Only a couple of seconds later did the pain register in his senses as he screamed in response.

One of the Klock heads faced his legs, unleashing a healing beam that rapidly regenerated the lost body part, healing the rest in a matter of seconds, easing up the pain as Yihan gradually relaxed, now no longer having the mood to approach the forest ever again.

"Nope, I'm done! I shouldn't have acted bravely. It's beyond what I could handle." He raised his hands in surrender, his courage vanishing like a poof, for more than a hundred Pitcher Plants were now facing his way, staring right at him.

He sensed the West Guardian Beast express fear in response, understanding that death was guaranteed if he were to set foot within the forest.

"Hmph!" Xuna snorted in response as one of the Klock heads opened its mouth, facing the leaf that tried to kill him as a cluster of Nacre spiralled into a sphere in the opened mouth, elongating a little before shooting forth like a missile, slamming dead centre into the leaf to result in a loud explosion.

Boom!

The leaf was obliterated, only leaving behind a portion of a thin branch that connected the leaf to the stem of the Pitcher Plant. It seemed the Pitcher Plant was pissed in response as dozens of leaves flew out in an effort to destroy them, but as they were beyond range, they remained unharmed.

"See, they aren't invincible." Xuna stated, regaining her cool as she said, "I can camp here and shoot them down over time…"

She hadn't even finished her sentence when the damaged branch began to regrow, slowly forming another leaf. It took an hour to do so, but it was still a tremendous display of vitality, causing Xuna to shut up in response.

After all, even if she were to blast attacks on them, they would eventually regrow or even outgrow her attacks.

And, as if to mock her efforts, more saplings jutted out of the ground, the pitchers bursting to produce more hatchlings of the shelled creatures that made their way into the sea. They would eventually return and feed the Pitcher Plant Forest, fuelling its growth.

"Wait!" Xuna frowned, looking around as she made a mental count, "How come the number of Pitcher Plants with Nacre be the same as the Pitcher Plants with corruption?"

"Are you serious?" Yihan was shocked as he quickly made a count for those that were in his line of sight, realising that the number of both Pitcher Plant types was the same, "How is this possible? There's more food with Blight Cores than Nacre Cores."

"So, it just doesn't make sense."