The pillar of light illuminated the room in a ghastly green. Erich and Lilith remained crowded by the window, still dazed.
“What is that? Is it some kind of special snakefolk ritual?” Erich asked.
Beside him, Lilith shook her head. “I've never seen it before, but I don't think so.”
It likely wasn't. On the streets below, the snakefolk had initially panicked as well, their hisses rising and falling. Many emerged from their low wooden huts, craning their necks to look toward the temple. But unlike the equally panicked humans, once the initial fright passed, the snakefolk began gathering toward the temple in the center of the city where the pillar of light originated. Wave after wave of them moved, as if drawn by some invisible force, like moths to a flame.
Erich stared down at the dark, surging mass of scales, a chill running down his spine.
A sudden knock sounded at the door, heavy and urgent.
“I'll get it,” Lilith said, jogging over to open the door.
Standing outside were the other three members of the Gray Fang, already fully geared up. As soon as the door opened, Marcus and Grace first saw Lilith, whose hair was still loose, and then spotted Erich standing by the window. Their expressions turned somewhat meaningful, though neither of them said anything about it. Marcus simply urged, “Get your gear on, quick. That pillar of light is bad news. We need to prepare to pull out.”
Lilith's face instantly flushed red. She squeezed past Marcus and bolted back to her own room to pack her things.
Erich also pretended not to notice their looks, quickly slipping on his coat and buckling his sword belt.
Before long, everyone was fully equipped and carrying their gear as they headed out of the tavern. The snakefolk staff had disappeared, leaving only a few human guests remaining inside.
Just as they stepped out of the tavern, they ran into Bryant and his two companions, who were also fully armed.
Bryant spoke first. “What's the plan?”
“Let's get out of here. The transaction is already complete.” Marcus looked up at the pillar of light. “Besides, I have a bad feeling about this.”
Bryant didn't ask further questions and gestured for his men to follow. The group quickly formed up and began retreating toward the city outskirts.
The streets were already in complete chaos. The snakefolk were still surging toward the temple, shoving the human adventurers moving in the opposite direction every which way. Many houses collapsed under the weight of the chaotic crowd, turning into ruins.
Marcus and Bryant took the lead and rear positions, guarding the group in the middle as they struggled to push forward through the crush.
Before they could make it very far, the pillar of light extending from the temple suddenly contracted, vanishing in an instant as if swallowed whole.
Immediately following that, the ground began to shake violently.
Erich was nearly thrown off his feet and grabbed a nearby wall for support. The street beneath them cracked with loud snaps, splitting into bottomless fissures that spread in all directions like living things. Screams echoed through the street as many people lost their footing and fell into the cracks.
As the tremors subsided slightly, an even greater anomaly followed.
Out of the bottomless darkness within those fissures, shapeless pale-golden lights began to emerge. Wisps of mist wrapped in glowing halos floated up from the depths of the earth, slowly drifting toward the temple.
“What... is that?” Lilith's voice trembled.
No one answered her. The lights grew more numerous, pouring out of every crack and casting flickering shadows across the entire street. Erich felt a bone-chilling cold wash over him whenever those lights passed by.
A massive, overwhelming aura then rose. Almost everyone present simultaneously felt as though they were being watched. Their hairs stood on end, their bodies stiffened, and they couldn't even move a finger.
While everyone stood frozen in fear, the pale-golden lights converged entirely on the small temple.
In an instant, the world fell dead silent. The people on the street unconsciously slowed their breathing, and Erich could even hear his own heartbeat.
Then, a world-shaking hiss resounded.
Blinding green light suddenly burst from the prominent temple in the center of the city. The building ruptured from within, sending fragments of wood and stone flying in all directions. A massive black serpent reared its head from the ruined temple.
The head was ridiculously large; the serpent's head alone almost completely obscured the ruins of the temple. Flicking its tongue, the giant snake slowly slithered out of the rubble and began to crawl, wrapping itself around the high platform in the center of the city. Its massive body gradually came fully into view. Its black scales gleamed under the green light, coiling around and around until they almost entirely enveloped the platform. Finally, the serpent's head climbed to the very top of the platform, rearing high. Its slitted pupils glinted with human-like emotion as it coldly swept its gaze over the entire city.
The surrounding snakefolk had already begun to prostrate themselves, bowing to the ground in droves, chanting under their breath.
Relying on his sharp vision, Erich spotted a familiar figure clinging to the giant serpent's body. It was the elderly snakefolk they had seen earlier. He was currently slumped between the giant scales, rising and falling slightly with the serpent's movements, though it was impossible to tell if he was dead or alive.
After surveying the city, the giant serpent hissed deafeningly once more, then lowered its head and began to devour.
A crowd of snakefolk closest to the platform was sucked into its mouth along with the very earth beneath them, followed quickly by those further away.
The giant serpent was not a picky eater. Snakefolk, humans, magical beasts—as long as they were close, they were all swallowed into its stomach. Its throat convulsed, and with every batch it devoured, the aura it radiated climbed higher and higher, making it hard to breathe.
Under the heavy pressure, Marcus and Bryant exchanged a glance. The two veteran adventurers instantly reached a tacit understanding.
Marcus unstrapped the box from his back and thrust it into Lilith's arms.
“Take this and get out of here. Go to the surface and get help,” he said.
Lilith caught the box, freezing for a brief second before shouting, “What about you guys?”
“We're going to hold off this monster here. If we let it keep devouring like this, the consequences will be unimaginable.”
Having said that, he turned his gaze to Erich. “I'm leaving Lilith in your hands.”
Without waiting for Erich's response, Marcus turned away.
Grace stepped forward and pulled Lilith into a tight embrace. Lilith struggled in her arms, but Grace merely patted her back, released her, stepped back, and nodded at Erich.
“Mom!” Lilith cried out.
Marcus, Grace, Nasha, and Bryant's trio—their figures moved against the fleeing crowd, advancing toward the giant serpent coiled around the high platform.
“Dad! Mom! Nasha!” Lilith's weeping cries were drowned out by another deafening hiss from the giant serpent.
Rate on N.U.
