At least ten cultivators were chasing after Miko now, as far as she could see anyway. The dim light was not a problem for her as she could easily see in the dark with her night vision as a fox. The only problem was that the human cultivators were hurling their spells at her randomly. This was the biggest problem as she could accidentally drop that bottle dodging, or damage it with her teeth. The humans were carelessly hurling their spells left and right, causing a surge in the amount of spiritual energy in the air. Miko dodged skillfully, using the shelves as leverage to bounce and using her tail to sweep the items of the shelve.
"Arghhh!" Voices cried out as they slipped on the bottle of blood Miko may have smashed on the ground, before cutting their legs on the shattered glass pieces. In her fun, Miko tried to teleport, but realised that her power had diminished to the point she could not do that anymore. She could only hope to lose the humans in the dark and her aura be drowned out by theirs and the energy contained in the bottles she smashed.
"TSSSSSSS," a hiss echoed throughout the building, instilling fear in the weaker cultivators. Through the faint light of their auras, they could make out a large, black figure moving about. It appeared five meters long, and half a meter wide.
"Fire!" One of the stronger ones yelled, commanding all the others to fire their most powerful spells at the snake. However, all that remained was a hole in the wall, and the cages have all dissapeared.
Miko saw the hole, and decided that it could be a good escape point. The snake's aura has not faded, showing it was just hidden. Afterall, snakes, like foxes, were one of those with the ability to use illusions.
"Everyone, careful! Its hiding here!" One of the cultivators yelled. He was the strongest one present at the peak of fifth stage.
Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound was heard, and all four walls of the building crumbled outward. Shouts and screams could be heard as the ordinary townfolk scurried away from the source. The only remains left was the foundation of the shop, the floor. Suddenly, Miko was exposed. Her bright pink fur stood out as it contrasted against the now grey sky. Wasn't it bright and clear just a moment ago? A transparent shape started to take form like that of a snake, as it slowly became more opague. More cultivators began to take notice of it rather than Miko as there was a clear power difference between them, and it was obvious which one was more of a threat. The snake appeared dark purple in colour, almost black, which contrasted against its emerald green eyes. It had a lighter grey belly, but that did not make it look any less malevolent. It hissed once more as a warning; a warning to battle. Seeing that its human foes were not retreating, it released its aura. A fifth stage beast. Many cultivators began to scramble away, which gave hint to the hiding townsfolk that they should escape as well. Some stayed, but they were fourth stage and above. With any luck, they could kill this beast together and share the loot.
Its gall was the main organ that stored its cultivation, and was its core. Consuming it would give a direct boost in one's cultivation, as well as longevity. Its skin could help one look more youthful, and its blood could could help purge impurities. This was how snake spirits could advance faster in cultivation, becomming stronger, but at a cost of a shortened lifespan of only a few thousand years compared to other large animals their size.
"Slay it!" The strongest one commanded, as cultivators jumped into battle. Fearful townsfolk hid in the safety of their homes, which was proven otherwise as one spin of the snake's body flung several of the cultivators into their houses, destroying several in the process. The snake continued on a rampage, slamming cultivators with its powerful tail, or strangling them with its body and releasing them as they fell onto the floor, limp and bloody. The stronger cultivators watched as their weaker comrades began to fall. Miko watched from behind a broken pillar of what used to support the shop. She couldn't escape yet. Surrounding her was a deep lake, which she could not swim across since she had never learnt how, and the front was a raging battle. She prayed that the snake finished the battle faster, so she would not be the next target of those humans.
The snake's hissed once more, as a second warning and a display of its strength. It rattled the end of its tail, which served as an additional warning of its kind. The humans stood their ground raising their guard. Their thoughts were in a mess, their body nearly paralyzed in fear. However, they knew one thing. None of them were strong enough to defeat it. They could either escape, or die fighting it.
"Beast! State your demands!" The strongest one yelled, confirming everybody's fears. The beast seemed to squint its eyes in amusement, before wrapping itself in a dark purple mist and shrunk down in size. The mist slowly faded, revealing a girl appearing to be in her twenties. She had pale white skin that seemed almost grey, and dark purple hair that was nearly black. The most dicernable characteristics of hers were obviously her emerald green eyes. She took a step forward, then another, and she approached the mass of cultivators slowly. Her lips curled into a smirk as her unchanged forked tongue continued to flicker in and out her mouth. This was another clear sign of a snake spirit, which made them more difficult to blend in. Their tongue never changes, but is only noticable if you look closely at their mouth. Each spirit had something that made them unique to a species, a specific physical trait. This was a snake spirit's.
"Are you sure you can give me what I want?" The snake chuckled, followed by a low hiss, "Perhaps, it may cost too much."
"We will... try our best..." the cultivator responded, trying not to run away in fright. If he did, what would be left of his face even if he lived?
"I want all the other snake spirits in the cage. Preferably, your herbs too as to make my trip here more worthwhile..." The snake smilled. The humans gulped in fear. The shopkeeper, heavily injured but still alive, crawled out from rubble that had collapsed on him.
"Please, I can give you the snakes, the eggs, but not the herbs and pills! How else would I run my store?!" He begged, kneeling on the ground.
"Who said I wanted your pills? I just want the snakes and herbs. They were all stolen, I want them back!" The spirit screamed, creating a shockwave which caused several buildings nearby to collapse further.
"Just hand over what I want and you will be able to see tommorrow," The snake said coldly, transforming her lower half back into a serpent and coiled the end of her tail around him. She brought him closer, as she waved her hand elegantly to condense a black dagger from purple mist. It had an indigo sheen, showing it was real and not an illusion. Unless made by a master, or an expert with high concentration and attention to detail, usually, illusions would not reveal lighting or high quality shadows.
The shopkeeper, in his panic, yelled,"Give her what she wants! Give the other animals over too!" The snake simply smirked, "Now you know how to listen." The shop assistants and staff immdiately began to unlock the cages, and handed over the boxes of herbs. The snakes slithered out of their confinement and around the snake spirit, which guarded them carefully.
"Thats all we have in stock..." The shopkeeper whispered, but he was close enough for the snake to hear.
"The pink fox, come out. You were waiting to hitch an escape, weren't you?" The snake asked. Miko widened her eyes in shock. Obviously it knew! It was a fifth stage snake spirit, of course it would notice her, even among the chaos. Miko gingerly climbed out from behind the crumbled pillar and approached the snake. Spirits do not usually kill other spirits without reason or provocation, so she should likely be safe.
"Hmm, should I kill all of you now before you call for backup? Or should I let you live and risk all of you taking revenge?" The snake asked, her hiss at the end of your sentence sending chills down their mortal spines.
"Please! We beg you! We will never dare come after you! We are sorry for all we done! Spare us!" They repeated over and over. The villagers, not knowing if they were part of the snake's prey, got out to plead and beg as well. Soon, the whole town center was begging for their lives, as an amused smile crept onto the snake's lips.
"If only this was what you said before you just slaughtered my husband," The snake whispered softly, still plastering that smile on her face, but Miko was still aware of what she said. Her dark pink eyes filled with sympathy for the snake, as she herself could feel the pain of losing a loved one. Her brother, her friends...
However, the sadness in the snake's eyes quickly faded as she regained her composure. It returned to that cold, murderous gaze. This was, afterall, no time to be grieving.
"Alright, I feel kinder today, so I'll listen to your wishes. Well some, anyway."
The town quietened as fear spread through every nerve in their body. What did she mean? Someone near her finally whimpered that out, to which she smiled and said, " I'll spare those unable to cultivate."