Karnage: Enjoy
V2 Chapter 2 -
Serpent Falls-
Within Sol's cave in Serpent Falls, his body flashed with speed as fire erupted from underneath his feet and gave rise to a terrible speed!
*BOOM*
[Ugh..Why can't I get it right?] -Sol
Sol's body flew crashing into the cave wall, as he got up he rubbed his head and thought to himself.
Sol had been trying to recreate the Huge Red Serpent's move for five days but could only manage to lift off from the floor. As for imitating it's movements, it was still tough to do. Slowly but surely he made progress with this move and was able to mimic a great portion of it.
(Hmmm...What am I doing wrong..) -Sol
Sol sat down cross-legged in contemplation, his gaze revealed a mind in turmoil as he fiddled with his thumbs wondering how to go about perfecting the move.
He had been focused on the movements and tried to do a complete breakdown of the movements but somehow he always failed midway and couldn't finish the rotating phase of the Huge Red Serpents technique. His imagination of the serpent's technique would crash every time he reached the midway point indicating a failed technique.
(I've been using all of my power and still the rotation is....wait...maybe that's the problem!!] -Sol
Sol felt as though he had been struck by lightning, he felt as though he understood it completely now and jumped to his feet.
[I'm supposed to alternate the power at different intervals!! How foolish I've been, why didn't I think of this sooner!] -Sol
Sol took his stance with his blades and slightly crouched his body with both Fanged Blades pointed to the floor behind him. His muscles in his legs, back and abdominals crunched and one could see the intense power building inside, Sol's gaze became solemn as the image of the Huge Red Serpent's technique came to mind!
His golden eyes flashed as he grit his teeth -
"Boom" an explosion rung out beneath his feet, or more specifically his right foot as Sol sprung forward and twisted his body in the air, as soon as his body left the floor while spinning. "Boom" another low explosion came from his left feet pushing him forward even faster!
His body became drenched in flames,as it twisted taking the form of a Flaming serpent. Both Fanged Blades pointed forward, his both feet exploded at the same time giving him an increase in speed along with an increased intensity of fire!
[Infernal Fang Piercer!] -Sol
***RIPPP*** **BOOM**
(Yes people, Psycho crusher ftw... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmDkj3qNyk0 -Author's note.)
The Fanged Blades pierced the air and let out a terrifying fiery ripping sound followed by a loud bang, The Flaming Serpent image flew out of the cave with a terrible screech leaving a trail of fire behind it into the sky drawing the attention of the surrounding lifeforms!
Many of them scattered as this technique looked all too familiar but upon recognizing how small it was and it's obviously lesser power compared to the real thing, they relaxed but still looked vigilantly towards the Flaming Serpent Image. They knew anything capable of creating it would undoubtedly become something powerful, this was what their instincts told them after seeing the Huge Red Serpent.
The Huge Black Serpent opened it's eyes and spotted Sol in mid air surrounded by the Flaming Serpent Image and slightly nodded it's head. Sol was incomparably excited and his face was flushed red as he had succeeded, it was only when the flames faded had he realized he was in mid air falling downward into the river he dreaded so much. Sure enough, his worries weren't unfounded as a huge red shadow emerged from the waterfall quickly in the blink of an eye.
[...Ohh..You really are brave...First you want to steal my prey...Now my techniques..How arrogant. The price for that technique human, is a meal] -Huge Red Serpent
As the Huge Red Serpent said that, it quickly reached under Sol and opened it's huge terrifying mouth, revealing it's jagged and ferocious teeth that were leaking with smoldering flames. The color on Sol's face drained as he looked upon this red nightmare, all of the previous excitement and joy was replaced with extreme horror-
His eyes flashed as his survival instincts kicked in, his face suddenly changed and his face became hardened and solemn. A green glint flickered in his eyes as he looked at the Huge Red Serpent, the beast upon noticing this grew astonished. Sol had always feared it, and then in a split second his bearing had changed.
(If I'm going to die!! Then I'll try my best to take you with me!!) -Sol
This had happened a few times before, when Sol had encountered powerful foes he didn't believe he could beat. His mind and brain which had undergone a mutation because of the 2nd Queen's hypnosis magic had created a separate pocket or more precisely a dummy self.
When Sol had learned about this dummy self, he carefully examined it and cautiously experimented with it in his conscious. He learned this dummy self could store a particular will or range of emotions, in other words he could create another version of himself with his mind. After discovering this state, Sol immediately put it to use and placed several particular wills and emotions within it.
A few of them were: The will to survive, the serenity of calm, the assurance of unrivaled ruthlessness, complete selfishness, the will to flee, bitter hatred, wrathful aggression, iron determination, slight nervousness, selective righteousness, courage and fear.
These emotions were programmed with their specific effects, extracting the good effects from them and countering the bad effects with counter emotions. His goal in mind was to create a personification of predatory instinct which he could switch into in a moment of panic, to place his safety over everything else or to fight to the death. Despite all this Sol was in complete control of his body, he just felt more....Beast-like.
As soon as this "Predatory state" kicked in, Sol's eyes flickered and became bloodthisty, his pupils contracted like a serpent and his eyes looked the same as the Huge Red Serpents, which surprised it. Within his hands, several "shells" appeared and a grin plastered across his face even when facing death.
Sol opened his mouth, inhaling a deep breathe, the Dantian in his chest revolved the mana and without delay, Sol let out a shout accompanied by a raging ball of fire.
[Infernal Blast!] -Sol
The ball of fire exploded before the Huge Red Serpent, who didn't even flinch when facing this minor flame in it's eyes, however this fire ball was just to block it's view of Sol and for another reason....
Almost instantly several round "shelled" balls came shooting towards the Huge Red Serpent. As soon as it got caught up within the explosion of the Infernal Blast, it produced a thick red vapor cloud that descended upon the Huge Red Serpent.
A tiny sense of dread welled up in the Huge Red Serpent as it's eyes locked onto this vapor cloud, it had prepared itself to spit out a casual flame to destroy the vapor cloud but Sol was too close and it would surely hit him. The Huge Red Serpent never had any intention to kill him in the first place, it just liked seeing Sol's scared appearance and hearing the smart remarks whenever he ran away.
At this time Old Black Finally opened his eyes-
*ROAAARRRR*
It let out a terrible roar that made the wind erupt and blast out around it's huge body, the wind flashed and in a split second the poison vapor cloud was blasted away. The Huge Black Serpent sent a glare at the Huge Red Serpent, who's smile faded and it seemed to sigh.
[Your jokes go too far...] -Huge Black Serpent
[What? Old Black...I was only playing with him, Zeshala wouldn't let it go if I killed him...Fine Fine] -Huge Red Serpent
The Huge Red Serpent closed it's mouth and bent it's head, Sol noticing the looks between the two understood they had some sort of dialogue and the Huge Red Serpent calmed down. However, Sol still didn't want to land on it's head and find out he was wrong. He immediately angled his body, and using an explosion under his feet pushed himself away using the same mechanics of [Infernal Piercing Fang]. He launched his body towards the waterfall
*Boom* *Boom* *Boom*
He did it a few times and managed to grab onto a vine near the waterfall. He stared wide-eyed at the two Huge Serpents, who still seemed to be chatting.
[Human...there is no need to fear that red fool, she is supposed to be your guardian here] -Old Black
An old, ancient and powerful voice rung out in Sol's mind, he slightly went dizzy from the pressure and noticed the Huge Black Serpent was looking at him, then it closed it's eyes after meeting Sol's eyes.
*Whoosh*
The Huge Red Serpent quickly moved it's body upwards, placing Sol underneath it's head and then with a flick of his head sent Sol flying into his cave.
[Ahh!] -Sol
*BANG*
Sol flew directly into the cave, the Huge Red Serpent let out a laugh and looked towards Old Black.
(I wasn't going to eat him you know...) -Huge Red Serpent
The Huge Red Serpent said disdainfully towards the Black one.
[Hmm Glowy...It's a good thing you understand. He wouldn't have been able to kill you, but I suspect those things in his hands would have given you a terrible stomach ache for at least a few decades. It probably would have felt worse than death] -Old Black
(I told you to stop calling me that!!...) -Glowy
The Huge Red Serpent seemed angry at the name and after voicing his anger for a bit...asked curiously-
(Have you seen his Soul Beasts?..What do you think about them?) -Glowy
(I don't know what they are...I've never seen a Winged Golden-blooded Basilisk grow so quickly...It seems to me that they are variants of some sort, but it's strange I can't tell how exactly they differ. Especially their different colored eyes, I suspect it may have something to do with the human himself) -Old Black
(It's the same as I thought..why don't we start from tomorrow?) -Glowy
The Huge Red Serpent then lifted his head and looked towards Sol's direction, it let out a grin and then before it submerged itself back into the waterfall sent Sol a message.
[Human, from tomorrow your Soul Beasts will train with us] -Glowy
Sol looked dumbfounded at the two from outside the cave, then he begun thinking. Indeed the twins had to learn stuff on their own and Sol noticed these two huge guys didn't have bad intentions. He solemnly nodded from inside the cave while looking at the two, showing his respect and thanks in his eyes.
These two Guardians of Serpent Falls had raised countless other serpents within these forests, it was part of their duties as guardians of this place. They had produced countless fearsome predators during their years of existence, to them this was a sort of pride. The S-Rank Beasts who possessed intelligence and the ability to speak, respectfully called the both Guardians "Matriachs" and wouldn't dare offend them.
Sol understood the order of the hierarchy and he knew that from day one these guys had never attacked him or shown any displeasure at his arrival, this made it so that he somewhat became comfortable in the environment. He didn't have a bad impression of this place, and had adapted to it quite easily. He tried his best not to stand out and cause trouble to the surroundings and so he was never troubled in return.
What Sol didn't know was that his presence here wasn't a disturbance at all. In fact, quite a few baby serpents came to eat Sol's failed poison remnants as if it were a delicacy, they gained incredible benefits from Sol's alchemy and what he didn't know was that it made their parents grateful. Even though he didn't know who they were, they were familiar with him and now and then they would drop a rare plant near his cave.
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Little by little the residents of Serpent Falls came to accept this weird looking human, Sol wondered what would happen if the mark faded..but for some reason didn't think it would matter. He had become melded in the environment and had become a predator the same as them, he was respected by some, feared by some and ultimately accepted by all. In the wild, only strength matters as well as the strength of one's "Familia".
"Familia" was the term used among beasts to separate themselves. Only powerful or lineaged beasts who came from a powerful family or Special hybrids were allowed to join a "Familia" For example the predators of Serpent Falls were a single "Familia". Many of them were descendants of predators who were born in Serpent Falls or were serpent in nature.
Even some rare hybrid dragons, Azure Flood Serpent Dragon, Flame Winged Serpent Drake, Black eyed imugi, Hybrid Hydra variants and many others joined the "Familia" of Serpent Falls, despite not having been born in Serpent Falls. Their lineage however, descended from them and they were not rejected entry.
Serpents revered power greatly, no matter what form it took and it was partially the reason they had started regarding Sol as one of them. His poisons were comparable to theirs, his physical body was also the same, his wild nature was also the same and the fact that whenever he was angered his pupils would contract exactly like theirs pretty much solidified their beliefs.
No matter how they looked at him, they could sense the serpent lineage in his blood and some even pondered if this was what a male Lamia would be like. This was because the lineage they felt from him, was on par of a noble Lamia. What they didn't know was that it was indeed a noble lineage, one he gained from Zee and over time it gradually started becoming thicker and thicker and was bonded at the molecular level, thereby becoming his.
The reason for a "Familia" had become known to Sol soon enough after arriving, what he came to know was that beasts weren't united at all. There was no unity among them, Serpent Falls was a stronghold of serpents/hybrid dragons and was where they could be protected an given shelter and it had a long history which stemmed from the Lamia Empire.
A short distance away was Ape King Mountain, which possessed a similar "Familia" which power equaled Serpent Falls and they were constantly at odds. The battle of the Huge Red Serpent was exactly because of that, the Storm Wind Ape King that died was one of the sons of the chief of the family and surely in the future another battle would take place.
It became known to Sol that the Huge Red Serpent fought almost everyday with it's life on the line to defend Serpent Falls and sure enough he begun recalling days when it came back home injured and covered in blood. At first it looked weird and he thought maybe it was blood from it's prey, but now it started making sense.
**
Three months later, Sol was meditating at the side of the huge river. The Huge Red Serpent "Glowy" took Hydreas out and began to teach her how to use her body and her elements, the same could be said for Hydrian who was on top of one of the waterfalls near Old Black. Old Black remained in the shade and Hydrian found a patch of sunlight to remained coiled in. This had become a usual routine, and the twin Basilisks started showing their mights and rewards of their hardships.
As time flew on, two months became six. Sol had reached the 7th Order Body condensation, his Dantian however, still remained on the first level without showing much changes. The Two Baslisks had grown slightly bigger and were now almost comparable to the size of their mothers, they had learned the basics of killing and hunting from the Matriachs as well as how to control their elements much better.
Hydrian was the most elated as now she could remain hung around Sol's neck, Hydreas was happy as well and didn't like staying away from Sol for too long. Sol still treated them like babies, as he knew they still liked being spoiled and loved having their heads rubbed.
Sol began inspecting their bodies which had become a usual thing as he noticed their changes were coming much more rapid. Sure enough he discovered something new, two stubs began growing around their hooded areas.
[W-Wings?...Already?] -Sol
Sol was dumbfounded as he looked at these two stubs growing on their backs. Hydreas seemed to notice Sol's gaze and proudly raised it's head. Hydrian shook her head and went back to sleep comfortably. He laughed at Hydreas and rubbed her her head, giving them each a gentle kiss on their foreheads before returning to meditation.
**
Within these six months, Sol had created some techniques he was quite proud of. Every day hunting had become easy and now beasts of the A-Rank had trouble holding their own around him. This ruthless Serpent Familia member had become notorious in the area outside of Serpent Falls, whether it was because of the fiery inferno he created, the raw phsyical strength that could compete with them or the deadly and fatal poisons that threatened to kill everything in it's surroundings, all allowed him to claim his notoriety.
This news had been spread amongst the lower beasts in the forest, through various means. The Serpent Familia and Storm Wind Familia weren't the only Familias around but the strongest ones. There were quite a few minor ones around who also possessed a terrifying might. Sol was within the forest and had been attacking a few A-Rank Crystal Spiders, he noticed parts of their organs could be grinded into dust and become a strong poison ingredient and spared no efforts in hunting. Naturally he declared war on this minor Familia and carried out an attack, a few curious serpents followed from Serpent Falls.
*BANG* *BANG*
The Fanged Blades in Sol's arms danced as they issued out a flaming light with every chop! His body slithered and shifted and moved in an irregular manner as he fought against these powerful A-Rank poisonous beasts.
Their 8 limbs were nothing short of a nightmare for Sol, but luckily he had his own means. The Crystal Spiders would squirt poison at Sol through the hollowed out tip in their limbs but Sol would open his mouth and do the same and not just with poison but fire as well, sending them into a deadly depression.
[Infernal Blast!] -Sol
As Sol released a terrifying intense burning fire ball from his mouth, he turned and looked at the twin Basilisks and sure enough the two were creating havoc in this Spider nest! Hydrian had acquired the poisonous trait from her mother and as such her poison was extremely acidic, it corroded armor where-ever she spewed and her bastardly strength surpassed Hydreas and was comparable to Sol's, this was the light element into play.
Beasts or humans that possessed the light element would reckless fight to the death because their regeneration was incredibly high. When one fought they would always have to be cautious of receiving damage, the same can't be said for Light affinity holders as that common sense did not apply to them.
Even if she was hit with poison or stabbed a few times by the penetrating power of the Crystal Spider's limbs, Hydrian would show no reaction besides slaughter! A little blood would leak, and as right as rain the slaughter would continue!
Hydreas looked at the Crystal Spiders in disdain, every time she opened her mouth it would rain fire down upon them. Wherever she passed left smoldering trails of fire that made the forest rage.
[GRAAAAAAAAA!!!]
Sure enough, the guest Sol had been awaiting was approaching with a terrible anger. This was the S-rank Crystal Spider Queen. The Crystal Spiders backed away as this ruthless Queen came running towards Sol's group, in her mouth spider legs could be seen and it was obvious this tyrannical Queen had just eaten a subordinate to give her energy.
*Clink* *Clink* *Clink* *Clink*
Crisp sounds like a steel dagger hitting rocks issued out as it ran towards Sol, the earth below it had holes where ever it passed, even a sturdy rock below it had a clean hole through it.
[Hydrian, Hydreas..It's arrived, Do as you please] -Sol
Immediately the both Basilisks slithered off reluctantly into the crowd slaughtering Crystal Spiders, leaving Sol to face the Queen as he had commanded. He didn't want the Basilisks to face her, this was his fight and he didn't want to risk any of them getting badly injured because of his poor judgement. Now and then the twins would shoot glances and pay attention to the situation.
The Crystal Spider Queen stood directly before Sol, angered and hatred seeping through it's eyes and a malevolent aura filled the place. Sol could feel the range of negative emotions coming from it, but was not scared in the slightest. If a creature like this could scare him now, he would truly be a waste.
Sol lifted his Fanged Blades and pointed towards it which made it even more angry -
[What are you waiting for? More Fire & Poison?] -Sol
As if it could no longer contained it's heart's desires, the Crystal Spider Queen angrily shot off towards Sol with an enraged roar. It released it's fury and fired a series of accurate and quick thrusts of it's limbs.
*CLINK* *CLINK* *CLINK* *CLINK*
Where-ever the Fanged Blades and diamond-like limb edges collided sparks would fly and crisp sounds would issue out. The Poison around the two lingered in the air and rose to an all time high, the white liquid poison shot out from the it's limbs and the green and red powder from Sol's arms flew in the sky around it.
*CLINK* *CLINK* *CLINK*
Sol seemed to be happy with his body's responses and had a slight smile, he had not given the S-Rank Queen any face at all. He was using her as a dummy to judge his strength and this made her fury reach a new peak. Her ruthless attacks hastened and finally her anger soared after being played with-
She quickly shot out a web out of what seemed like a diamond-like thread attaching it to two trees and quickly retreated backward using the string tied to the forest trees as a bow. The resistance from the web that carried a sound of steel being twisted rung out as the thread cut deeply into these tough, old and overpowering trees from the force.
*PLINK*
She placed all of her limbs together to form a terrifying spear and with the powerful resistance brought about by the diamond-like thread she flew towards Sol while rotating in the air like a drill-
Sol showed an astonished expression before one of complete joy
[What a coincidence...I can do that too!] -Sol
Sol crouched down to the floor, after erupting with enormous physical power a blaze of fire left his feet as it propelled him toward the Crystal Spider Queen. The Image of a flaming serpent covered his body and the Fanged Blades in his hands made a terrible drilling sound as he shot forward like a flaming rotating arrow!
[Infernal Piercing Fang!] -Sol
The Queen showed an expression of horror at the incoming technique and hastily tried to dig her limbs in the floor to stop herself. However, fate was not kind and the wild was unforgiving. She flew directly into the drilling force that greatly surpassed her own.
*VRRRRRR*
*BOOM*
*SHATTER*
The hollowed diamond-tipped limbs all but shattered under the fiery inferno that carried a tremendous drilling and penetrative force. The sounds of the both moves colliding sounded like two drills hitting one another head on! Needless to the say, the Queen's carapace had a huge hole through it.
Sol appeared on the other side covered in green blood, the flames from his body gradually made it evaporate and Sol looked at the Queen's corpse and gave a cold snort.
The Basilisks had already finished cleaning up and the place was smoldering in flames, Hydreas inhaled a deep breathe sucking up the flames around them and then Sol hopped on her head with Hydrian hanging around his neck and departed after retrieving all the venom sacs from the beasts. The serpents who tagged along naturally enjoyed the free feast and ate at their hearts content.