The light hissing sound sent shivers down Kai’s spine, and Onyx’s fur stood on end as he barked toward the rapidly approaching creature. Almost instantly, he shoved his head between Kai’s legs, carrying him away from the unknown creature. The cold air bombarded Kai’s body, his blood flow slowing down as the tips of his fingers began turning as cold as ice. Whatever could make Onyx react like this?! His muscles trembled from fear and anxiety, and his eyes widened in surprise as the creature gradually revealed itself.
It lifted its head, slowly its horrifying appearance. Purple scales covered its thick skull, as well as its long, slimy body, which glimmered slightly under the moon’s pale light. Two crowns decorated the spot above its beady eyes, which glowed with an ever-changing color. Accompanying them, a sharp horn stuck out of its nose, almost looking like a sharpened blade. Curling up, it almost took the appearance of a spring as it glared at Kai and Onyx as it stood at their eye level.
Suddenly, its figure became a blur as a whooshing sound echoed in Kai’s ears. Without hesitation, he jumped up, forcing Onyx to duck just in time for a strong gust of wind to pass in between them. The snake-like creature appeared behind, sticking out its raspy tongue as it hissed madly at the two. Its scale flickered with a strange light, and Kai’s pupils widened. It can use magic? What is this thing? I’ve never seen it anywhere in my books!!
Panic began to take hold of Kai’s mind, and he gulped as he clutched the purple sword’s hilt. Cold sweat drenched his back, but he gritted his teeth as he glanced at Onyx. The Obborik’s body also flickered with a soft light as he cast several enchantements on himself, and Kai jumped onto his back. “Boy, can you outrun it?” He asked in a quivering voice, his eyes fixated on the creature’s figure.
Onyx let out a low snort, yelping slightly as his yellow eyes glared at the thing.
Kai’s expression under his mask immediately turned sour, but with no other choice but to face the beast he grits his teeth. “Alright… let’s do this.” He grabbed the hilt of his one-handed weapon with both hands, tightening his fingers around it as much as he could. Sensing that Kai would not run away and instead face it, the creature opened its mouth as wide as possible, revealing a pair of sharp fangs dripping with an unknown substance.
A shiver ran down both Kai’s and Onyx’s spines at the sight. The Obborik lowered its head and raised his lower body as he got ready to dodge the attack, whilst Kai could only do his best and react accordingly.
“Hisssssss!!!!”
The beast sped toward the two, slithering through the thick grass, using it to slightly cover its tracks. However, Onyx’s eyes followed it like a sniper and bared his fangs as the snake-like beast got closer and closer. The grass rustled violently, and Onyx moved to the side, barely dodging the attack by a hair’s breadth. Kai’s eyes widened, however, he was far too slow to react to the attack, even if he saw it coming. Damn it! My body… it’s too slow!
However, he had no time to cry about it as the thing immediately launched at them once again, its speed increasing as the scales covering its body glowed with a faint light. Once again, its figure became a blur, and even Onyx had a hard time following.
“Awooo!!” The Obborik let out a loud howl, and an invisible mana wave followed his voice, smashing against the enemy, whose movements immediately slowed down. Without waiting for it to react, Onyx growled and bared his fangs as he dashed toward the snake’s jugular. Kai reacted in time and aimed his sword at the creature’s eyes.
The air reverberated with the harsh scrape of metal meeting metal, as Onyx's fangs connected with the resilient scales, leaving only faint marks that failed to breach the creature's tough exterior. The keen edge of the purple sword hovered perilously close to the serpent's eyes, but the small crown-shaped shields above them swiftly interlocked, guarding the vulnerable orbs against impending harm.
Opening its jaw, a rapid jet of poison shot toward Kai and Onyx. Without any time to completely evade, they turned around as the poison spread on the Obborik’s fur and Kai’s black cloak.
Onyx let out faint groans as he dashed away, creating some distance between them as his flesh sizzled under the corrosive liquid. Kai’s cloak didn’t fare any better, however, he didn’t receive any further damage. Damn it, what kind of acidic poison is that? Fuck! Kai cursed inwardly as he stared at the serpent with trembling pupils. Those scales are way too thick… can we even defeat it without magic?!
Another flash of light even lopped the reptile’s scaly body, rapidly gaining speed as it bared its fangs at Onyx. Its eyes stared at the Obborik with venomous hatred. Not waiting for an invitation, Onyx’s body glimmered slightly, and this time his fangs seemed to have grown a bit, becoming sharper at the same time. Speeding forward, Kai stared at the purple scales covering its body, looking for the slightest gap in its seemingly impermiable defense.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
The Obborik looked like he rushed straight toward it, preparing once again for a frontal assault. However, the snake’s pupils widened as it watched Onyx kick the ground, jumping right behind it. Instantly, he bit toward the end of the tail, and the creature let out a loud hiss as Onyx’s fangs dug deep into its flesh. Before it could even turn around, the Obborik’s body flashed with a fiery light while lifting his head, and threw the snake toward the forest.
A loud thud reverberated in the air, accompanied by rustling leaves and bushes as the snake slammed against a tree. Shaking its head, it quickly slithered out of the forest, the hatred in its eyes becoming even more evident. Its breathing turned rapid as it showed signs of exhaustion, however, the expression etched on its face seemingly refused to give up. A brief flash enveloped its body once again, however, it was much fainter this time. It let out one last, muffled hiss and it charged.
The creature rushed toward the two once again, gradually coiling up its body as it prepared for another dash. Onyx’s fur flashed with a white light and stood still, waiting for the perfect moment to dodge. It seems to be tired, but it also seems more pissed off!
This time, Kai readied himself, immediately noticing the snake’s attack pattern. However, now, he only held the sword with one hand, whilst the other one reached toward the side of the backpack.
He pulled out a thick rope with a swift grabbing motion just as the beast’s coiled body reached its limits. Like a spring let loose, it shot toward the two. Kai glanced at Onyx, and once again jumped off his back. However, the snake didn’t aim for the Obborik, instead, it predicted where Kai would be after the previous interaction!
Shit! Kai’s vision slowed down as he watched the snake shoot toward him, its sharp horn pointing straight at his stomach. He panicked, knowing full well that his original plan had been derailed. This thing is smarter than it looks! The creature’s purple scales reflected the moon’s soft light. From afar, it looked like a firework ready to explode, however, from Kai’s point of view, it looked like death’s scythe.
Suspended mid-air, Kai had no way to dodge out of the way. He gritted his teeth and quickly wrapped the rope around the blade’s hilt, letting the other end fall to the ground. The snake-like creature’s mouth opened wide, seemingly ready to swallow Kai in a single bite. In turn, Kai pointed the sword right at the creature’s throat at the last moment. The sound of tearing flesh reverberated in the air, however, no blood dripped down on the floor due to the serpent’s speed. It slammed right into Kai, its sharp horn piercing Kai’s shoulder as they shot toward the ground.
A loud groan escaped the boy’s body, and the snake’s agonized hiss followed soon after as it twirled and struggled on the ground. The purple sword pierced right through its skull, however, that didn’t seem to be enough to take its life as it quickly turned toward Kai. His trembling pupils constricted, and he put pressure on his shoulder as he crawled away as fast as he could. The snake quickly pursued him, opening its jaw as it prepared another acid attack.
Hot, steaming liquid shot out of its mouth, aimed straight at Kai’s face, however, its trajectory quickly changed as the sword thrust into its skull pulled backward. The burning acid missed Kai’s eyes by a hair’s breadth, however, a few drops landed on his mask and the hand pressuring his shoulder. A soft smile creased his lips despite the blazing pain in his hand. Not far away from them, Onyx held a rope between his teeth, and pulled it as tightly as he could while running circles around them.
The Serpent’s head unwillingly moved along with the sword, unable to do anything besides watch as the rope twisted and turned around its body. Its head slowly lowered, the luster within its eyes slowly fading away as the heat generated by the tightening rope, took away its breath at the same time.
Kai panted as he watched the serpent fall, its head slamming against the grass with a soft thump. Cold sweat drenched his clothes, making them stick to his blazing skin. The creature glared at Kai, and it let out a last hiss as it gave its last breath.
His heart threatened to jump out of his chest as adrenaline coursed through Kai’s veins, and he choked while exhaling. Onyx rushed to his side, breathing heavily with his tongue stuck out. Quickly sniffing the serpent’s corpse, he let out a low growl before flopping next to Kai.
Both of them stood like that for a few minutes, doing their best to calm each other down while glaring at the corpse spasming a few meters away from them.
“What the fuck…” Kai blurted out as he stared at the creature before him, his arms, his entire body shaking. He jumped to his feet, throwing his mask to the side as a burning liquid rose his throat.
Onyx’s eyes snapped open to the sound of Kai’s wrenching, and walked over to him, placing his paw on the boy’s back. Letting out a light yelping sound, he waited for Kai to finish throwing up before moving next to the corpse. Sniffing it, he tried to take a bite out of its flesh, however, its scales remained just as strong even in death.
Kai approached them as well, dawning the mask over his face as he crouched before the snake. “We did it…” he said, a tinge of disbelief hidden within his eyes. “We did it.” Onyx scoffed in response, however his expression and wagging tail gave away his true emotions. Kai’s heart still raced in his chest, however there was no time to waste, as the twilight sun began showing itself. His skin sizzled slightly, and quickly his arms under his cloak. “We need to hurry…” he said, glancing over at the tied-up corpse. “We can’t leave it here, can we now? But first…”
His backpack landed on the ground with a light thud, and he quickly rummaged through it as he took off his cloak. Crimson blood soaked his clothes, however, the bleeding seemed to have stopped some time ago. Kai pulled out a few bandages and signaled Onyx to block the sun for him. Taking off his shirt, he rapidly covered his wounds, tightening the bandage as much as he could before tying it.
Quickly wearing a new shirt and his ripped cloak, he got up while throwing the backpack over his shoulder. He took the end of the rope before jumping on the Oborik’s back, leaving a trail as they approached Evicario.