The serpent that emerged was far smaller than the first. Instead of a sleek black coat of scales it bore splotches of different hues of green along its body, like camouflage. In terms of length, it was hardly half the size of the one that Hemlock had been dealing with so far.

But the mere addition of it to the clearing, and the fact that its open mouth features rows of fangs that were still very much present, made a world of difference for the situation that Hemlock was in.

The bigger of the two serpenti dropped its raised maw in a performative gesture. Seeing the addition of its kin to the clearing, it turned its cold gaze back to Hemlock who immediately raised his shield in defense.

SCRAH!

“Damn it!”

Both of the beasts lunged at the priest in unison. The air vibrated throughout the clearing as the shrill noise of their throaty hisses struck the leaves.

Hemlock was forced to jump backward. He was unable to meet both of the serpenti’s attacks at the same time as they came from different angles. His instinct in that moment had screamed at him to retreat, and he hadn’t bothered to argue.

The spot where Hemlock had been standing a moment before became puddy as both of the fanged beasts dug into it. The shield in Hemlock’s hands was splashed by a shower of dirt from the impact.

“Licht! I need some help!”

…

The shield nearly fell out of Hemlock’s hands as he dodged away just in time.

‘If I had been a half a second slower I would have been killed!’

Hemlock thought as a deluge of sweat dripped down his face

The situation was rapidly spiraling out of control.

Hemlock called with urgency to Licht, who he knew from their past equipment tests was positioned just beyond the visible tree line, ready to interfere should anything go wrong.

And going wrong it was.

Hemlock had gathered enough experience in the past week to be able to fend off a single one of the serpent beasts thanks to the shield, but two at once? The limited surface area of the shield didn’t make that option viable, and Hemlock himself wasn’t agile enough to try. He was unusually capable for a priest, but he was ultimately just that.

But the sudden change in situation called for an emergency assist. Screw the equipment test, his life was at stake after all!

Hemlock’s vision shook as both of the beasts recovered from their last attack. Their predatorial slit eyes locking onto him with bestial frustration.

Was this still an equipment test? What part of the situation before him was “routine”!?

He was just about to open his mouth again to call for Licht, when a sound whistled through the clearing.

WHOOSH

A slender blur zipped out from the tree line, threading the space between the encroaching beast and sticking itself into the ground before Hemlock’s feet.

Hemlock glanced at the buried spear. The sight of the object and what it meant caused him to inwardly shout with frustration.

‘Are you kidding me? He wants to continue the tests?!’

The spear was the other half of their project, the weapon intended as the birthday gift for Siya. Though it was remarkable by Hemlock’s standards, it’s design featured considerably less complex elements at play than the shield. So thus far its tests had not required Hemlock’s active participation nor any element of danger.

But it had been thrust into the ground before his feet now, as if the woodland guardian was beckoning Hemlock to make use of it in his life-or-death struggle.

Hemlock shook his head, ducking under another lunge of the smaller beast as he grabbed the spear by its shaft.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Pulling it from the wet ground with little effort, he held it aloft to the face of the larger beast that had yet to strike. With all the conviction the priest could muster, he tensed his knees into the dirt as he prepared to be knocked off his feet.

…

And then the beast lunged.

Licht watched as Hemlock, reminiscent of an old-world hoplite, held his spear pointed forward as the giant serpent thrust itself directly toward him, impaling itself on the tip.

The priest was pushed downward into the mud as the struggling beast slid forward across more of the spear’s length, laying its massive weight into Hemlock at the same time.

The thrashings of the serpenti quickened as the spear embedded itself further into the roof of its fanged mouth and threatened to tear the weapon away from Hemlock’s grasp.

Yet he held on, and soon the color in the serpenti’s eyes dulled as it grew still.

The astonished Licht heard a system notification in the back of his mind, but his focus was still locked onto the remaining beast.

His reasoning for giving the spear to Hemlock instead of directly intervening when the second beast emerged had been twofold.

First, the spear had never been field-tested, and as sharp and well-balanced as Licht knew it was, there was only so much you could know about your tools without using them.

And second, although he hated the idea, Licht needed to test Hemlock.

Like the spear itself, there was only so much you could determine about a person without seeing them at their most vulnerable. Though Licht despised the trope of testing others to reveal their intentions, as it almost always came from a place of high-handedness, he could not deny the processes’ ability to produce results.

And if he was going to end up accepting Hemlock as one of the members of their Grove, as that seemed to be the trend they were following, he had to make sure the man hadn’t just been acting during the past handful of days. If Licht didn’t take this measure, how could he protect the grove from outsiders with wicked intentions?

He had suffered enough of those kinds of people for more than one lifetime, and he knew the children had too.

But Hemlock hadn’t failed him, as the man pulled the spear out of the serpenti’s large head, Licht knew he could count on him as a reliable member of their family.

Licht quickly broke through the trees, sparing a glance to the remaining beast that had been about to pounce on the vulnerable priest. Before the serpenti could react, Licht raised a hand, beckoning a half-dozen roots that laid below the beast to spring up in snapping motions.

The hungry expression of the predator remained frozen in place as its body was sundered into numerous pieces. The whole event took less than a few seconds. Licht kept walking.

He heard another ping from his system as he approached the sweating Hemlock.

“You did well. How was the performa—”

“You call that well?!”

Hemlock stood up, not caring to wipe the sweat from his face as he looked Licht directly where his eyes would have been. His eyes were red and filled with veins from stress.

“I could have died! And all you care about is the performance of your tools?”

Licht frowned.

‘So he feels indignant about my treatment of him? Or perhaps his emotions are running a little high after the battle.’

“I care about both. Hemlock, I’m glad to see that you’re okay, and I’m sure that the future of Siya and Arjun will be all the better for it thanks to your actions here.”

The anger in Hemlock’s eyes dulled a little bit.

“But that doesn’t change that you still prioritized the testing of this spear…!”

The priest shook the spear in his hand as if he could choke it.

“...Over my life! Has my time in the Grove amongst you meant nothing so far? I thought we were growing closer!”

It dawned on Licht that Hemlock felt betrayed. Had he really gone too far in testing him?

But what was he supposed to do? Hemlock didn’t understand their history with the parasites. Licht didn’t feel inclined to explain at the moment either.

But he still wouldn’t capitulate. The position he was in bore responsibility for the lives of others, and necessitated a strong stance.

“We were getting closer, Hemlock. And we still are.”

Licht said with a definitive tone.

“If you feel that I have wronged you, then we can talk about it later, but here is not the optimal location to be making a lot of noise.”

Licht’s hand waved over and behind him, beckoning Hemlock to start their journey back to the Grove.

If Hemlock wanted to talk, he would do so. Gladly. Licht’s desire to accept the priest among them was genuine. But participating in a screaming match in the middle of a forest that was full of sound-sensitive beasts was foolish. Licht was not so delusional to think he could fend off anything that might come their way.

Though all Hemlock saw beyond Licht’s hand was the dissected body of the second serpenti. Cut with effortless ease into uncountable pieces. The roots had made a mockery of his life-or-death foe.

So drawn aside from his anger, Hemlock gulped. After a moment, he turned back to Licht, not willing to meet the same eyeless stare again.

He closed his eyes, sounding out with an undercurrent of frustration, his agreement at Licht’s proposition.

“Alright. Lead the way.”