Water surged as the long, thin body of a serpentine creature leapt out of the water, into the round chamber of the ancient temple. The light of the blooming flower in his hand reflected off of the creature’s blue-silver scaled body as it reared its head back before turning its gaze – and thus, sharp fangs – towards him.
Blood froze in his veins as their gazes met.
Then, the creature lunged forward. Sharp fangs clapped at the air as he leapt back, stashing the flower in the pocket of his coat, hoping it would survive the fight. He held his sword with both hands while inwardly cursing at his weakened right hand. His grip wasn’t nearly as strong as it was before he was wounded.
The serpentine creature let out a blood freezing hiss before leaping back into the pool. Moments passed in nerve-wrecking silence.
He held his breath, trying to hear it. Was it waiting just beneath the surface? Or had it gone back to the depths? He took a few small, cautious steps towards the pool, and looked down towards the water. It was as calm and peaceful as just before the serpent appeared.
He was about to sheathe his sword when he heard the sound of water splashing against something from outside the temple. He turned around, and his eyes widened as he watched the serpentine creature leap out of the water, and spread open a pair of majestic, feathery wings.
The creature’s bright blue gaze met his as it curled in the air, beating its large wings to fly up even higher, towards the ceiling of the large cavern. It soared high up for a few moments before folding its wings, and diving back down, towards the large entrance to the temple.
Midhir’s eyes opened wide. He stood no chance against a creature of that size, when it was charging at him with such speed. He kicked the ground as it approached, dashing towards the large statues decorating the walls.
The serpentine creature hit the ground with its underside, shaking the temple as it did so. It slid between the rows of columns in front of the entrance, its tail hitting them as it tried to reach Midhir.
He threw himself behind the nearest statue as the serpentine creature snapped at the air where he was standing just a few moments ago. Water, carried by the creature splashed against the walls before slowly receding into the pool. The serpent hissed as it slid along the ground, fully entering the chamber.
As it turned in an attempt to face him, Midhir ran out from behind the statue, trying to stay out of its sight as he circled around it. He summoned the power within him, allowing it to flow into the augment embedded into the hilt of his sword.
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The crimson crystal emitted a soft glow as the blade burst into flames. He let go of the sword with his left hand, directing the flames to flow into his palm. As a flaming orb formed between his fingers, he hurled it towards the serpentine creature.
The ball of fire hit the side of the serpent’s head. The creature let out a screech as its body flung to the other side with the force of the fireball. It beat its wings against the ground in an attempt to reorient itself, and its tail flailed around wildly, hitting the statues decorating the walls.
The force of its tail was more than enough to smash the statues to pieces. As large chunks of stone started raining down all around him, Midhir cursed under his breath, and dashed forward, towards the creature’s body. All he needed was to get in one good, accurate hit near its heart.
The creature lifted its head, saliva dropping from its forked tongue as its gaze focused on Midhir. The side of its head where the ball of fire had hit seemed relatively unharmed. While the blue-silver scales there had lost their lustre, they were still intact, and seemingly unharmed.
Something glimmered beneath its chin as it raised its head high, rearing its upper body back. Its tongue quivered as it hissed, drops of saliva he could only hope wasn’t filled with venom fell to the ground. Then, it lunged forward.
He threw himself to the side, quickly rolling and getting back up on his feet. The serpent smashed its head against the ground, cracking the large stone slabs with the force of its strike.
Without a moment of hesitation, he lunged forward, gripping his sword with both hands, and struck the creature’s eye. Dark blood gushed from the wound as the creature reared back, letting out a deafening screech.
He barely found the strength to keep holding onto the hilt of his blade as the serpent lifted its head high up towards the ceiling of the chamber. Within seconds, he was dangling quite a distance upwards of the floor. His right hand ached, and he could feel the sword slowly slipping out of the wound, cutting through the creature’s flesh and scales.
Once again, a glimmer caught his attention below the creature’s skin – a silver-coloured rod was sticking out from between its hardened scales. It appeared to be embedded in its flesh, at the middle of an old scar.
The creature shook its body from one side to the other, hitting the temple’s walls and what remained of the statues. Debris rained on them, sharp pieces of broken stones cut Midhir’s arms, and his back, while the serpent seemed unbothered by the small pieces.
His grip on the hilt of his sword began to slip. His right hand was aching quite a bit, and his grip was already weakened because of the newly-healed wound. The snake was too large to wrap his legs around to stabilise himself. With his grip slowly slipping, he closed his eyes, and focused.
Catching the thread of power within him, he pulled at it, summoning forth a steady stream of power to feed into the augment. The blade burst into flames, causing the snake to screech in pain once more. As the flames consumed its now blinded eye, it beats its wings, rose high up in the chamber, then leapt into the pool, dragging Midhir along with it.