When Theo went inside the hole, the mantis felt something and looked toward the hole.
It stopped eating and started moving toward the hole at a rather fast speed.
Theo crouched down and, for the first time in his whole two lives, was this close to a viper.
The somewhat bloodied tail of the viper kept moving, and Theo looked at it with focus before he quickly stepped on the upper part, making it stay on the ground.
At this time too, Theo found the viper's strength better than his core's - it was trying to push hard, and Theo moved ahead and placed his full body pressure on it.
The rope was now in his hand, and he elongated it. He looked at the branch once that didn't seem to be fazed and, with a deep breath, Theo went closer.
Clara's strength on the branch increased and a small 'CLICK' sound came from it. Theo looked up in panic and Clara gave him an apologetic look before controlling her strength.
