The sluggish serpent’s body suddenly swayed violently from side to side. Its rigid tail shot straight into the air, then curved downward and swept rapidly along the edges of the pit. As it passed, the debris of crumbled buildings turned to dust, leaving only faint traces behind.
In its path stood Riner and Akil. Akil’s brow furrowed as he leapt to evade the strike. He had noticed earlier that the tail’s tip bore a venomous stinger, but as it whipped past, the stinger appeared to be missing.
Can the stinger retract and extend? Or perhaps… Akil’s thoughts were cut short when he turned sharply, startled, to find another tail streaking toward him at terrifying speed. Before he could react, his Praz wrapped around him in a protective shield, but it was already too late. With a deafening impact, Akil’s body was sent soaring, crashing into a heap of rubble and dust from the broken buildings.
Riner, narrowly dodging the tail, sprang into the air. He remained alert, the lingering ache from the earlier blow still gnawing at his muscles, putting him in a foul mood.
Determined to observe the creature’s movements from a better angle, Riner propelled himself higher, gaining a full view of the chaos unfolding below. His gaze hardened as he saw Akil flung through the air by the tail.
Ouch. That must’ve hurt.
He watched as the tail that had struck Akil now swept the ground, followed by yet another tail, streaking toward him.
Three tails? Definitely a monster worthy of the name.
Riner landed smoothly, drawing Praz, his body crackling with a crimson aura. His gaze fixed on the descending tail, its tip gleaming with a venomous stinger. Without hesitation, he dodged and swung his sword with precision, aiming to slice the tail’s base where the stinger was embedded.
His Praz seemed to understand the intent, but instead of slicing through the tail with ease, the sword met an unexpected resistance. It felt as though his blade had struck solid stone. The sword slowed, unable to cleave through the tail completely.
Although the tail wasn’t fully severed, Riner quickly yanked his sword free, instinctively knowing that losing it to the creature would be disastrous. His judgment proved correct. The moment the sword was withdrawn, the half-severed tail slipped from the ground and retreated rapidly.
Narrowing his eyes, Riner tracked the tail’s movement. Three tails. One with a stinger, and the shell is incredibly tough.
He had never seen or heard of a creature like this. But his extensive experience hunting larks had honed his ability to discern traits, even in unfamiliar beasts.
A lark’s ability to replicate existing creatures is both its strength and its limitation. No creature in this world is perfect. Even the strongest have weaknesses to match their strengths.
His mind raced as he studied the creature’s design. If the venomous tail is its primary weapon and the shell is nearly invulnerable, the inside might be weaker. I’ll need to aim for the gaps between the scales.
The real challenge, however, was the sheer size of the monster. He had never encountered anything so large. When hunting snake larks, his strategy was simple: sever the body in half. But with this beast’s girth, enough to swallow a building whole, that tactic was out of the question.
Furthermore, the glowing cores embedded throughout the monster’s body were a constant distraction. Riner gritted his teeth. I’d prefer if they were invisible. Normally, spotting a core in a lark triggered his instincts to strike without hesitation, but now, the array of glowing lights only served to cloud his judgment.
Despite the mounting challenges, Riner couldn’t suppress the grin spreading across his face. The thrill of facing such a formidable opponent exhilarated him. He found himself wondering if future hunts against larks would seem trivial in comparison to this.
I need to find the core, he thought, sharpening his focus.
As Riner strategized, a nagging sensation tugged at him, as though he was forgetting something crucial—something far more important than his vengeance against the lark. Then, with a sudden shout, it hit him.
“Ah! That thing!”
The oil drum the Fourth King had shown him. The one he’d smuggled out of the Holy City and delivered to the Hashi Kingdom—was that the answer?
How could I forget? Riner cursed himself inwardly. In his focus on breaking the Holy City’s barrier, he had completely overlooked it. The thought of what the Fourth King might be doing with the oil drum gnawed at him.
Meanwhile, Kasser instinctively withdrew his hand from his pocket, stepping back as an unpleasant sensation he had never experienced before overwhelmed him. His instincts took over before his mind could catch up. Lowering his stance, he crossed his arms in defense.
A blue serpent surged from his body, coiling tightly around him. His Praz, without his command, formed a protective barrier around him.
Praz only acted independently when the king was in immediate danger, a rare occurrence. When it moved without Kasser’s will, it placed a tremendous strain on his body, risking devastating internal injuries. It only activated in moments of true peril.
