Every fiber of his body ached.
From the tips of his fingers to the depth of his bones, all were crying out, a howl of the bitter end. Kai was no stranger it, but never had he experienced such pain; spread thoroughly into him.
If it was, the roar woke him up.
The rope had almost loosened around him, but Kai couldn't take his eyes off Peter's face.
The wizard was horrified beyond recognition. Half of his face was already swollen. The remaining half had turned pale blue and white. The colors of fear, terror, and confusion lingered on his face.
Kai had to look beyond Arlen. There he stood, behind Shae's pitiful figure, and over Simon's broken body. Wrapped under an ugly coverlet, holding a wand.
Mr. Beedle stepped forward, his sunken eyes beaming with just rage.
Peter stumbled back, one step at a time.
"WHO WAS IT?" Mr. Beedle roared, blasting the rocks and moss rolling away.
Peter, the wizard; No! Peter, the fool answered by pointing his wand at the legendary wizard.
"SO IT WAS YOU!" Mr. Beedle said, lifting his wand. All the heat vanished suddenly, and the chill came running to take its place. A breath of frozen air escaped Kai's mouth. Then he heard that. The same word he had heard many times by now. "EXPELLIARMUS!"
When Kai had seen it the first time, it was just a scarlet light. The second time, crossing over the sea, he didn't even notice that. He had expected a flash this time, or worse, a bolt of lightning. What appeared, though, was a pillar. A pillar of holy light.
The pillar shot straight towards Peter. Dickon got caught by the pillar's edge and flung off to the cliff's boundary some dozens of meters away. Peter wasn't that fortunate. The Pillar hit him, engulfing his figure from top to bottom. And then a broken kite fluttered in the sky.
Kai never saw him again. Hundred meters. Two hundred meters, or even farther. But no sound of Peter crashing on the rocks reached him.
Kai threw the heavy ropes aside and stood up. Strength seemed to have abandoned him, though. The first step he took brought him to his knees. In a single attack, he had lost more than half of his HP. And for the first time, his SP had been damaged, too. He felt tired, feeble, and powerless.
Now get rid of the other two, Kai thought, turning his head towards Mr. Beedle. What the…?
The boldness and power the old wizard had shown weren't there anymore. He was quivering like a leaf before facing the storm. His head was twisting from left to right, and then up.
"IT's here…" Mr. Beedle the Bard mumbled, shaking. "… DE… DE… DEA…"
Kai looked at Mr. Beedle, but all he saw was a terrified old man.
Suddenly, Mr. Beedle chose a random direction and ran off.
Kai saw a blur chasing the mad wizard. It was the woman. She wasn't the strongest of the two Order's Contestants, but she sure was the fastest. And she had the gun.
"Simon! Red!" Arlen shouted, almost running behind her. "Hold the other one."
But Arlen didn't need to give that order. The round-faced, long-braided man had already stood himself between Arlen's disappearing figure and Kai.
The man grinned.
Kai gave a meaningful look to Simon and held the longsword with both of his hands. When he looked back, the man's hand wasn't empty. There was some kind of ball in his right hand. Its top half was red, and the bottom white.
Kai could even see a small button over the seam where the red and white met.
What's that?! He asked himself.
The man replied by pressing the button and throwing the ball. A sudden flash of light and his raspy voice echoed in Kai's ears.
"GO! Ekans."
Hisssssss!
Kai was the first, and the only one, to understand this hiss. No, he didn't understand it. He just knew. It meant danger.
Then he saw it. It couldn't have been anything other than what Kai had thought. A giant snake. It had a striking purple color and its belly glowed yellow. There was a bright yellow band behind its head, and a yellow rattle at the tip of its tail.
Kai found two large yellow reptilian slits, looking down at him. Even though it was coiled, Kai had to look up to meet its gaze.
The snake was at least or over 3 meters.
The man roared, "Ekans! Use Snare."
A dangerous feeling rose in Kai's mind. The Perception's engine was blasting fuel to his legs, imploring him to run.
Kai took a step forward, hotness spreading through his entire body.
Suddenly, the creature's eyes seemed to enlarge. A purple-yellow swirl in those slits and an ethereal wave emitted out, engulfing Kai and others.
Bang!
A hammer struck Kai's head, his SP falling 10 points. The ethereal pain made him tremble, and he would have lost everything if it wasn't for the heat. His chest was screeching bloody murder within him now.
Thump!
Kai snapped his head back and saw Shae falling face down over the rocks. Even Simon's knees had buckled, and he was panting. One more attack and Kai was sure the one-eyed man would die.
The man had given another order to the creature. "Ekans! Use Wrap."
The magical creature lunged at Kai. Among the three of them, only Kai could face it. Only he was standing. Only he had the weapon. And only he knew how.
The creature slithered, and so did Kai. It came at Kai with its mouth wide open, larger than Kai's head. A foul breath hit Kai's nostrils, and he ducked. The creature jerked and coiled around, trying to trap Kai, but he slid away.
The longsword slashed at the creature's defenseless head.
Kai expected a blood-shower. Instead, he saw a shallow cut, barely deep enough to make him see the snake's blood. A color of deep red-blue.
Fuck! Kai cursed. What is this defense?!
Hissssss!
The snake hissed in pain, and its tail came for Kai's open back. Kai didn't turn around but put the longsword's flat in between his back and the tail's bash.
Cough!
Kai coughed out blood, stumbling forward.
…
[
Warning: The Castle Forged Longsword's Quality has dropped to 20%. The Item will disappear once the Quality becomes 0.
]
…
The creature came for Kai again. It coiled around him, trying to squeeze out his breath. Its forked tongue kept coming out, hissing at him.
Meanwhile, Kai's chest was burning up, hotter and hotter.
Before the snake could put strength in its muscles, three water bullets hit its head. One went straight into its eye, and the creature hissed in tremendous pain.
Kai managed to take the advantage of its confusion and slithered out of its grip.
Suddenly, a misshapen piece of rock fell over the creature's head. The creature backed away, and then Kai sensed why. There were two more of such rocks, hovering just above its head.
Who?! Kai asked, looking back. His eyes went wide when he saw Shae's blood-covered figure, her eyes staring at the rocks without blinking. How is she doing this? Is she like Simon? But she isn't dancing. Is this Magic?! But she doesn't have a wand either.
Questions after questions appeared in Kai's mind. And he would have found an answer if it wasn't for Simon's call. "Red!" he shouted, falling back on the rocks. "Attack!"
Shae couldn't seem to hold any longer too. Kai saw the two rocks getting hurled at the snake. He followed them. He knew how the snake would dodge the rocks, and where it would end up. Kai was familiar with the movements of these types of creatures.
And then, Kai thought, narrowing his eyes. I would thrust the sword into its mouth.
It was a perfect plan. Yes. If the snake had dodged the rocks. But it didn't.
"Ekans!" the man shouted, playing with his beard. "Use Sludge Bomb."
From where had it come, and how had it come, Kai did not know. He saw the snake opening its mouth and then shooting out an enormous ball of mud like a cannonball. It was powerful enough to trap the rocks and bring them along with it.
No! Kai was in its path. He lunged sideways, but the ball of mud caught the longsword. Kai had to let it go. Shae and Simon weren't that lucky. They couldn't even move.
Boom!
"Haha!" the man laughed, his hands outstretched and his face pale. "I knew it. This creature is the perfect slave. It does whatever I tell it to do."
Kai kneeled over the rocks, blood dripping out of his mouth and nose. He had lost his weapon, and his strength had almost vanished. His head was drooping low, and the sound of panting was even louder than the man's outrageous words.
But… Kai was grinning. Like a maniac.
How could I forget that? Kai asked himself, his eyes turning into slits.
A wriggling snake tattoo appeared on his right arm. The surrounding water sensed the heat coming off him and evaporated.
Kai ran. With all the strength he could muster, he lunged at the snake. The man couldn't see his eyes, Kai knew.
"Ekans!" the man commanded the creature. "Wrap."
Kai's slits met those of the creatures. The snake out a loud hiss, uncoiling itself to slither towards Kai.
Kai's mouth opened then. No sound came out, though. Kai wanted to talk, but his throat felt stiff. But somehow, Kai transferred his thoughts.
A slight exchange of eye contact.
A passive thought.
An intention.
Elementary Snake Language!
An ethereal hiss escaped Kai's throat, like the sigh of the summer's wind. His throat ached, his stomach twisted, and his eyes became bloodshot.
Stay!!!
The beast let out a maddened roar, shaking its head and thrashing its tail. It hissed, looking back at the man. It hissed louder when it turned to look at Kai.
Kai was only a few feet away from it.
Then Kai passed it.
The magical creature's entire body shook, the hissing never stopped. The braided man's face was already pale, but seeing the snake's state, it became blue and green.
"EKANS!" the man roared out of his lungs. "Sludge Bomb."
No!!! Kai hissed, passing the intention without looking back. This hiss brought bright blood with it in his mouth. Kai felt his throat's muscles tearing with a cloudiness in his eyes. His HP Regeneration had been working non-stop till now, but it was slowing down again.
Roar. Hisssss. The sound of madness came from behind, the beast struggling to carry out the order. But which one? Who to follow? What to do?
A perfect slave, Kai thought, rushing at the man. What will happen if it doesn't know who its master is?
Kai punched out. The man stumbled, dodging the punch. It didn't seem to Kai that the enemy was a skilled fighter. But Kai was weak, tired, and was struggling for breath too. The punch followed the kick, like the tail of the snake, slithering and invisible.
It landed between the man's legs.
The red and white ball dropped out of the man's hand. He clutched his manhood with both hands and let out an agonizing howl of pain and misery. His knees buckled, and in the next moment, he was on the rocks, rolling and raging.
Kai followed.
The man saw Kai, and then his eyes fell on Kai's reptilian pupils. Fear must have overcome the pain then, as the man jolted up on his feet, and cried out. "Ekans! Wrap."
The snake passed Kai, its speed more than double. The magical beast didn't face any confusion about what to do. No hiss had come out of Kai's throat. No intention had been passed. It didn't wrap around Kai, though. It went for the man, and coiled around him, acting as a shield.
Unbreakable. Impassable.
"Haha!" the man laughed. "Wait! You just wait! I will take my time to fuck you, pretty boy."
Kai was laughing too, as he had been waiting for it to happen. His vile smile shook the man.
The hiss came bursting out of Kai's throat.
Rip!!!
Kai's reptilian slits sent a commanding gaze to the purple and yellow snake as if he was a lord, and his bidding must be carried out.
The beast knew what to do then. The unbreakable shield became a prison, the snake's body squeezing the man's chest. "What…" a muffled voice escaped the man's throat. It was too late. The snake might be a little stronger than the man, but it was faster. It was closer.
Long black fangs bit into his neck.
A crunch.
Kai saw the beast taking out half of the man's throat. Blood burst out in hundreds of liquid jets, turning the snake's yellows to reds.
Go!!! One last command and the reptilian slithered away.
Kai was pressed for time. he forgot what his HP was, or if he was tired. He rushed, like a bull in heat. Kai's hand reached first, at the man's throat and went down. The man vomited blood on Kai's face. Kai fumbled around, ripping everything inside the man, searching for something.
He felt the heart… and crushed it.
…
[
You have killed 1 Order's Contestant
Elementary Snake Language: Proficiency 5% (+5%)
]