Cheers echoed across the square. The crowd radiated absolute reverence for the ceremony, as if this was the most important moment of their lives.
I stood motionless, expressionless.
On the high platform, Rian stepped into the center of the ritual, where a large stone altar had been prepared. Ancient symbols etched into it glowed faintly, emitting a strange, mystical energy.
Solari raised a golden staff high into the air, his face brimming with confidence and authority.
"Oh mighty deity, I offer this brave hero unto you. Please bestow your blessing upon Arkanis!"
I didn't need to guess what would happen next.
The ground trembled. Space itself twisted, and from a massive chasm, a colossal creature slowly emerged.
It was the divine serpent.
Its massive head rose from the ground, amber eyes gazing coldly down at the humans below, as if observing mere ants. Its purple-scaled body shimmered under the sun, each movement accompanied by a sinister rustling sound.
I took a step back—not out of fear, but to observe it more clearly.
"Please accept this sacrifice!" Solari shouted, turning to Rian.
Rian, still under mind control, knelt before the divine serpent.
Appraisal!
<
HP: 7501/12450
MP: 8650/8650
SP: 9780/9780
Attack: 95890
Defense: 99230
Magic: 102150
Speed: 63820
Skills:
[Poison Immunity], [Venomous Fangs Lv10], [Holy Scale Lv9], [Intimidation Lv10], [Sensing Lv9], [Fear Resistance Lv10], [Divine Might Lv8], [Destruction Breath Lv9], [Vitality Lv9], [Truth Lv8], [Divine Will Lv8], [Wrath of the Dragon God Lv9], [Rend Lv10], [Prediction Lv8], [Enhanced Vision Lv9], [Enhanced Hearing Lv9], [Enhanced Smelling Lv9], [Enhanced Tactile Lv9], [Enhanced Tasting Lv9], [Domination Lv9], [Holy Thunder Lv8], [Annihilation Lv7], [Mana Absorption Lv9], [Sleep Resistance Lv10], [Pain Resistance Lv10], [Dark Domination Lv8], [Mana Domination Lv9], [Eye of Fate Lv8]
Titles: [Sky Sovereign], [Descendant of the Gods], [The Destroyer], [Mankind's Nightmare], [Avatar of the Serpent God], [Soul Devourer]
Naiwa!
Its stats were nearly three times mine. The skills were almost all maxed out, and it had so many titles too!
This would be a tough one to handle.
However, I still had one advantage—my speed was higher. Not by much, but still. With its massive body, my [Teleport] would be more effective.
The serpent started to approach Rian, but suddenly stopped and looked around. When I used appraisal earlier, it was partly to see its stats, but also to provoke it—scanning a living creature usually causes discomfort and alerts them immediately.
It was still searching for me.
"Do it!" Memez sent through telepathy.
I was already planning on it.
Letting Rian stay close to that thing was too dangerous, so I opened my eyes wide and directed all my killing intent toward it, making myself unmistakably visible. The power gap between us was as vast as heaven and earth, but I had to act.
The serpent finally located me. I teleported atop a building, staring it down.
"Who is that?! Capture her!" Solari yelled, but none of the soldiers moved.
"What are you doing?!"
Still, no one answered him.
"Calm down, brother. The real show's just starting." Memez appeared behind Solari, grinning.
"You! You've betrayed us!"
"This outcome only happened because of your stupidity." Memez retorted coldly.
"Don't think everything is in your control! Come out now!"
At his command, two golden puppets appeared beside him, both radiating powerful energy.
"Golden Puppets, huh? Did you think I wouldn't prepare for this?"
A battle had clearly erupted on their end. It was time for me to focus on mine.
I unleashed my full killing intent to the sky, making everyone present tremble and drop to their knees.
"Die!" I shouted, then charged at the serpent at full speed!
I flew toward it, leaving only a blurry afterimage in the air. My speed outmatched its—but only slightly. Even that small edge was all I had to survive this fight.
The serpent whipped its head toward me as I approached. A violent gust swirled around, the raw pressure of its movement alone was devastating. I instantly teleported to the side, dodging it by a hair's breadth. As I stabilized midair, I sensed danger from below—its tail!
I quickly teleported again, narrowly avoiding it. The ground where I had just stood exploded, forming a massive crater and sending debris flying everywhere. Even the dust scraping my skin carried terrifying force. A direct hit would have shredded me to pieces.
"Aah!" Panicked screams from the crowd echoed around us.
We couldn't fight here!
I teleported in a different direction, using blind spots to rush in, grabbed its tail, and teleported both of us to a remote, uninhabited area.
Phew!
At least we wouldn't be interrupted now.
Honestly, after seeing its status, I didn't even have 1% confidence I could win. I would just fight and see how it went.
I realized I couldn't face it head-on. I had to rely on my speed and mobility to stall.
Beforehand, Memez had told me about a secret weapon strong enough to injure the serpent, but it could only be deployed after Solari was neutralized. My only job was to buy time!
Let's go!
I dove low, then suddenly veered off, teleporting and reappearing randomly around it. [Teleport] combined with high speed let me move rapidly, disrupting its senses.
But it wasn't just a giant brute. Its amber eyes glinted, and suddenly, I felt an invisible force halting my movement—[Eye of Fate].
Its skill.
I gritted my teeth. I couldn't move!
Invincible Shield!
I activated it in time to block most of the damage from its strike, but I still took a portion. Even that left my whole body aching. My diamond body was already cracked all over.
This thing was terrifying!
I had to be more cautious.
No time to rest—the serpent charged again. It coiled itself and launched forward at breakneck speed, even faster than before.
I immediately teleported, pushing the skill to its limit to vanish from its path just before its massive head crushed the area I was standing in.
A thunderous boom echoed as the ground split apart and dust filled the air. No time to breathe—I teleported again to maintain distance, quietly activating [Heaven Eye] to track its every move.
Despite its size, it wasn't slow. Its massive tail swept toward me the instant I reappeared. No hesitation—I teleported again, barely dodging. The wind pressure from the sweep made my skin sting. One wrong move, and I'd be crushed.
No matter where I went, it immediately locked on. I had no chance to rest, only to dodge or block with [Invincible Shield]. Even then, the damage kept piling up.
One silver lining—each time I blocked, it took a bit of recoil damage, dazing it for a few seconds. That was my chance to reposition.
But it wasn't over. Those amber eyes tracked me, analyzing my patterns. I moved even faster, using short teleports to shift positions continuously. Yet it seemed to have caught on.
Suddenly, I felt that invisible pressure again.
Eye of Fate?!
Again!?
My body froze briefly. Just a fraction of a second, but for a creature like that—it was more than enough.
It charged. I teleported just in time, but this time, it wasn't so simple. The pressure from its movements threw off my balance after reappearing. I couldn't stabilize in time—and its eyes glinted once more.
Eye of Fate, again!
It had predicted my path and was waiting.
I immediately activated [Dark God Gaze], inflicting it with multiple debuffs. The serpent flinched, missing its chance. I forced myself out of the restraint, twisted midair, and regained posture. But it had already anticipated that too.
A violet-black light burst from its mouth.
Destruction Breath!
I instantly created [Invincible Shield] in front of me and teleported away. The purple light swept across where I had just stood, leaving behind a deep, charred crater. I could feel the terrifying heat from the attack even though I wasn't directly hit. If that had landed, even with high-level [Auto HP Recovery], I wouldn't have been able to stay on my feet.
It was too powerful.
But I couldn't stop.
I hurriedly activated [Heaven's Net], firing hundreds of ultra-thin threads toward the serpent. However, its [Holy Scale] prevented the threads from penetrating its defense by much.
Faced with such overwhelming power, all my tricks were nearly useless.
I clenched my teeth. I swore that if I survived this battle, I would grow stronger—no matter what it took!
I needed to find a weakness.
This couldn't just be about dodging. I needed another approach.
I observed. It had started adapting to my fighting style, adjusting the timing of its attacks. In that case, I needed to alter my movement pattern too.
I charged, but instead of attacking directly, I teleported unpredictably, forcing it to turn its head at my rhythm. Each time it turned, I changed direction again, throwing it off-balance.
Then, I released some [Poison Mist] around us.
Of course, it had [Poison Immunity], but I wasn't trying to poison it. The toxic fog spread and obscured vision in an instant.
In that fleeting moment, I struck.
I appeared right above its head, slashing downward with [Blade Leg] straight at its right eye. The serpent reacted faster than expected. It jerked its head back, avoiding most of the blow and retaliated with a venomous breath.
Damn!
I had to abandon the attack and teleport away again.
After all this back and forth, I still couldn't identify a weakness. Or maybe it was just too strong—even its weaknesses were stronger than me. Suddenly, it turned toward Arkanis. Its amber eyes gleamed with greed and bloodlust.
It wanted to go back?
No way!
I immediately realized its intent—to absorb Rian and recover its wounds. Its massive body had been slightly slowed by my interference, but it still hadn't given up. If it reached Arkanis, this battle would take a devastating turn.
I couldn't let that happen!
I had to hit harder!
This battle needed to level up.
My killing intent surged—and this time, it wasn't alone. Excitement began to rise in my chest. My heartbeat pounded—not from fear, but exhilaration.
I raised my hand, silver light flashing in my eyes as mana surged.
"Eternal Flame!"
The sky darkened in an instant, and then from above, pitch-black flames erupted.
The undying flame from the peak of Imperior!
This was no ordinary fire. Water and wind could not extinguish it. It would burn its target until nothing remained. And now, that target was the divine serpent before me!
To burn through those hardened scales, I summoned Eternal Flame across the widest area I could manage.
The black flames descended and latched onto the serpent's body. A pained roar echoed across the skies. I could see patches of dark-purple scales igniting. Even with its formidable defenses, Eternal Flame wasn't something that could be resisted by ordinary means. It pierced all magic resistance, all armor, and clung to the very soul of its victim.
The serpent writhed, roaring in madness, but it couldn't extinguish the flame. It lunged at me in fury—faster than before!
I teleported immediately to evade, but it had anticipated that. A tail swipe lashed toward the spot I reappeared.
Too fast!
I twisted midair, forming an [Invincible Shield] to lessen the impact before teleporting away again. But the moment I reappeared, its eyes gleamed.
[Eye of Fate] activated again!
Shit!
My body froze for a fraction of a second. That was all the serpent needed to launch another tail strike.
[Invincib—]
BOOM!
This time, I didn't make it in time. The serpent's speed had increased drastically, and I took the full brunt of the attack.
Damn it!
My body felt utterly wrecked. It was a miracle I was even alive, let alone still able to fight.
The serpent, still burning with black fire, charged at me again. It likely believed that killing me would extinguish the flames, so it poured everything into this final blow.
No… I can't die here!
I lay there, half my body already gone. My HP was dropping rapidly, but… I couldn't give up!
Teleport!
I managed to teleport again, but the distance wasn't far enough—I was still within range of its attack. It spun around, ready to finish me with a crushing tail strike.
"It's not over yet!" I smirked.
In that moment, I shouted with all the strength I had left: "Holy Spirit!"
The sky suddenly burst into radiance.
From the void, a pillar of dazzling light descended, scattering the darkness and black flames. A graceful figure emerged within the brilliance—a woman whose eyes shone with divine light.
A voice echoed in my mind, calm and majestic: "You who bear the mark of Imperior… You are not yet allowed to fall."
As those words rang out, an immense power surged into my body.
My torn flesh began to regenerate, muscle fibers reconnecting, shattered bones restored. Everything from the waist down, once obliterated, was now being reborn under the divine light.
I… was alive again!
A figure stepped forth from the gate of light and appeared beside me.
She wore radiant silver armor. A pair of grand wings behind her glowed with holy brilliance. Her presence exuded a pressure nearly on par with the divine serpent. Her eyes were deep, yet unwavering.
The Holy Spirit had descended.
Before I could even adjust to my newly restored body, she launched into action.
BOOM!
The serpent's incoming tail strike was stopped. A golden light enveloped her arm as she caught the blow. The ground beneath her cracked from the immense pressure, but she didn't budge.
I seized the moment to resummon Eternal Flame, since my weakened state earlier had canceled all skill effects.
Black flames surged from my hands. This time, I didn't throw them. I used both hands to guide the fire like a writhing serpent in the air.
The divine serpent roared in rage and turned, attempting to bite down on the Holy Spirit. She deftly dodged, responding with a punch infused with holy light directly to its face.
BOOM!
The punch was so powerful it made the air tremble, sending shockwaves that scattered everything nearby. The serpent was forced back—but it didn't yield.
Its scales burned brightly under Eternal Flame, yet it resisted, continuing to fight.
Its fury had reached its peak.
The Holy Spirit turned to me. Her eyes were calm but resolute.
"Take this chance, bearer of the mark."
I understood her instantly.
This was my opportunity—my one chance to turn the entire tide of this battle!
I took a deep breath, clenched my fists, and felt the undying flame surge stronger than ever before.
This fight… was far from over!