Keon trudged forward, hands in his pockets, muttering to himself about the knight's persistence. "Some people just don't know when to quit. I mean, stabbing me once, fine, but this is getting ridiculous—"
CRACK!
A deafening thunderclap split the air behind him. Keon instinctively flinched as a streak of glowing blue light shot past him, tearing through the ground mere inches in front of his feet. The lightning bolt obliterated a massive boulder ahead, reducing it to glowing shards.
Keon froze, his brain racing to process what just happened. "Okay, what the hell was that?" He slowly turned, dread pooling in his gut.
The knight stood several feet away, his posture rigid, his arm extended as if throwing something. The golden spear that had been in his grip moments ago was gone, leaving only sparks crackling at his fingertips.
Keon's gaze darted back to the smoldering remains of the boulder. Then, back to the knight. Then, back to the boulder. His mind pieced it together.
"Wait… was that your spear? Did you just… throw lightning at me?!" Keon's voice rose in disbelief.
The knight, however, didn't respond immediately. His helmeted head tilted slightly, his stance wavering. Clearly, he had expected the thunderstrike to leave Keon charred and incapacitated, if not outright dead. Instead, it had passed through him like a ghost, as if Keon wasn't even there.
The knight finally spoke, his voice tinged with shock. "You… you are immune to both physical and magical attacks?"
Keon scoffed, throwing up his arms. "Took you long enough to figure that out! Honestly, how many clues did you need? What's next? You gonna try throwing rocks at me?"
Before the knight could respond—or potentially throw rocks—the ground beneath them gave a deep, ominous rumble.
Keon's irritation gave way to alarm. He felt the vibrations in his boots, and a low, guttural sound echoed from somewhere beneath.
The knight stumbled slightly but quickly regained his composure. His head snapped toward the ground, his grip tightening on his now-empty hands.
Keon muttered under his breath, his voice laced with dread. "Oh, great. What now? A dungeon earthquake? A giant mole? A… freaking… lava worm?"
The rumbling grew stronger, louder, as if something massive was shifting deep underground. Keon glanced nervously at the knight, who was now scanning the area with a tense, battle-ready stance.
"Okay," Keon said, backing away slowly, "look, whatever's coming, I vote we both run in opposite directions and pretend we never saw each other. Deal?"
The knight didn't answer. Instead, he pointed toward the ground where cracks were beginning to form, glowing faintly with an otherworldly light.
Keon followed the knight's gesture, his jaw dropping. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me."
The ground gave one final, violent lurch before the surface burst open, sending chunks of stone and dirt flying into the air. Keon shielded his face, squinting to see what nightmare had just emerged.
And then he saw it—something massive, hulking, and distinctly unnatural rising from the depths.
"Yep," Keon sighed, "it's official. This dungeon hates me."
From the gaping fissure in the earth, a massive skeletal snake emerged, its gargantuan form towering over both Keon and the knight. The snake's structure was an unholy amalgamation of bone and armor-like growths, its skeletal plates gleaming with a sinister black sheen. Its empty eye sockets burned with a cold, unnatural light, and its every movement sent tremors rippling through the ground.
Keon stumbled backward, his hands instinctively raised in front of him. "Nope. Nope, nope, nope. Too big, too creepy, and definitely not my problem."
But before he could make a run for it, the snake's head swiveled sharply toward him, its eerie gaze locking onto Keon. He froze, feeling an icy chill run down his spine.
For a moment, the serpent didn't move. Its glowing eyes seemed to narrow, as if trying to comprehend something.
Keon blinked. "…Wait. Do I know you? Did I kill your cousin in a past life or something?"
The snake tilted its massive head slightly, its bony jaw clicking open and shut in what could almost be described as… hesitation? Recognition?
Keon's confusion only deepened. "Oh, great. Now even the giant monsters are acting weird around me. Fantastic."
Before he could continue his sarcastic rambling, the serpent's attention snapped away from him, its gaze now fixated on the knight.
The knight had already drawn a longsword from his side, its golden blade glinting faintly even in the dim light. He held it steady, his stance unwavering despite the towering monstrosity before him.
The serpent reared back, its armored bones creaking like tortured steel. And then, with a deafening screech, it lunged at the knight.
The knight reacted instantly, dodging to the side with incredible speed. The serpent's massive skull slammed into the ground where he had just been standing, creating a crater of shattered stone and dust.
Keon, still standing several feet away, flinched at the impact. "Oh, yeah, sure, attack the guy who isn't immune to everything. Real brave of you!"
The knight didn't respond, his focus entirely on the battle. He moved with precision and grace, his golden sword a blur as he slashed at the serpent's head. The blade struck true, leaving a glowing gash across the creature's armored skull.
The serpent let out an ear-splitting roar, its skeletal body twisting and coiling with terrifying speed. It lashed out with its tail, aiming to crush the knight, but he leaped into the air, narrowly avoiding the strike.
Keon watched the chaotic battle unfold, his mouth slightly agape. "Okay, not gonna lie, this is actually kinda cool. Knight versus giant bone snake. Could be a movie. A terrible movie, but still."
The serpent lunged again, its jaws snapping shut mere inches from the knight's torso. The knight responded with a downward slash, the golden blade sinking deep into the serpent's neck.
But the serpent wasn't so easily deterred. Its body coiled around, attempting to trap the knight in a deadly embrace. The knight, however, was quick to evade, rolling out of reach and slashing at the serpent's tail as it passed.
Keon, still standing on the sidelines, crossed his arms and tilted his head. "So… do I just stand here and watch? Or should I be doing something? Like cheering? Or running?"
As the battle raged on, Keon couldn't help but feel a pang of unease. The serpent's initial reaction to him—its moment of hesitation—still lingered in his mind.
"Why did it look at me like that?" he muttered to himself. "And more importantly… why do I feel like this thing knows something I don't?"