[Vol. 8] Chapter 203: The Bite of the Venomous Fang
“Great power always comes with a price far beyond imagination. The five items left behind by the Serpent hold incredible blessings that many would dream of. But to truly absorb and use their power, to become the World-Devouring Serpent that surpasses all worlds, is a long and difficult journey.”
“It’s like the evolution of a species. You can’t rush it. And if you fail at a key stage, you’ll be corrupted and twisted by the power. The host will become something similar to the World-Devouring Serpent, but not quite the same.”
“These twisted beings are called [Flying Serpent] among the Serpent’s inheritors. To outsiders, they look like a relative or follower of the World-Devouring Serpent. [Flying Serpent] retain some of the mutated powers of the Serpent, but they can never become the real thing. Their abilities vary depending on where they were born, their host body, and which part of the Serpent they fused with.”
“That’s why the name [Magic-Devouring Flying Serpent] describes the nature and power of Tartanos. I’m sure you’ve already seen signs of it outside, Miss Violet.”
Violet stayed silent after Ashnard finished telling the long story, one that had started 300 years ago. She was quietly sorting through the details in her mind, filtering out the most important parts.
If what he said was true, then the five Serpent items are like a selection process. A kind of survival-of-the-fittest trial. Only the strongest and most suitable inheritor can rise above all others and become the one true World-Devouring Serpent, Jörmungandr.
Even though there are five Serpent-related items, there’s never more than one Serpent in history. That means the role is exclusive. Once a new Serpent is born, all the others are immediately disqualified.
But…
Something felt off.
There was a strange sense of contradiction, something that didn’t quite add up.
Violet frowned and suddenly looked up at the young man sitting across from her.
As time passed, his body seemed to grow more and more faint, almost see-through. And yet, the flickering firelight cast his shadow longer and longer…
Until it looked like a twisting, slithering serpent crawling along the cave walls.
Yes…
It really looked like a snake.
Even though the fire was still burning steadily, a chill had quietly crept into the cave.
“...Who are you, really?”
“Miss Violet, what are you saying? I’m Ashnard Bernard, the older brother of the Swift Wind Sword Saint, Bevis Bernard. Didn’t I just tell you that?”
Even though the conversation had clearly turned serious and strange, he still wore the same calm and easygoing smile on his face.
But suddenly, Violet felt a strong wave of unease. She realized what exactly had been bothering her this whole time.
It wasn’t just the holes in his story.
It was his expression.
From the moment he started talking about the World-Devouring Serpent, his facial expressions had felt… wrong.
Too stiff.
Too forced.
Like someone was trying hard to copy the proper emotion but didn’t really feel it.
It was like he wasn’t the person who had lived through the story.
It was more like he was… pretending.
A faker.
Yes, that was it!
He shouldn’t be smiling right now and yet he was. Even worse, it was a smile that looked completely off.
“Hah… You dare to put on an act in front of me?!”
With a cold snort, the priestess suddenly stood up. The firelight flickered wildly as a gust of wind rushed through her robes. The shadow behind "Ashnard", twisting like a snake, grew more violent, as if it was about to leap off the wall and pounce on its prey!
Without wasting another word, Violet raised the [Eternal Scepter of the World's Heart], which she had already summoned, and swung it straight down at the grinning young man in front of her!
“Pop!”
Like a balloon popped by a needle, the moment the holy scepter touched the illusion, the figure of "Ashnard" burst like a bubble and vanished into thin air.
And as if a chain reaction had been triggered, the blazing campfire was instantly extinguished with a whoosh.
Darkness. Nothing but darkness.
In that darkness, a pair of cold, slitted pupils, like a snake’s, locked tightly onto the intruder who didn’t belong in this place.
No sound came.
Then, as if her vision had been completely taken away, Violet suddenly raised her staff to block!
“CLANG!!!”
The loud clash rang out like metal striking metal in a battlefield. In this mental world, the darkness wasn’t just about physical blindness. Though she was attacked first in the pitch black, Violet could clearly sense what she had blocked with her weapon.
A pair of cold, sharp poisonous fangs!
“Hissssss!!”
The snake-like creature let out a low, vicious hiss and slipped back into the darkness after its sneak attack failed. But it didn’t just sound angry, its hissing seemed to be saying something more.
From all directions, strange sounds like the slithering of countless snakes began to rise. The creepy, rubbing noises stacked together into an overwhelming wave of sound, loud and distorted enough to crush someone’s hearing and mental focus. Just hearing it made Violet’s scalp tingle and her skin crawl.
But then…
A soft, calm voice swept through the darkness, carrying the weight of divine law.
“[I said, let there be light.]”
In an instant, a burst of golden light spread out from where she stood.
It was the color of Light.
Violet’s figure, holding the staff, became a radiant source of holy light. It surged outward like a fountain, casting away the darkness and revealing every vile, hidden thing in her surroundings.
“VMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!”
Her silver-blue eyes glowed with divine radiance. Holy light gathered around her, forming a shining golden robe and halo. The staff in her hands transformed into a slender holy spear. Six wings of pure, golden brilliance, sacred and flawless, unfolded behind her and lifted her into the sky.
Anyone watching carefully would see it clearly.
At this moment, Violet wasn’t just summoning a holy spirit of light. She had become one.
Because this was a mental world, a place made of shared consciousness. Here, if one’s willpower was strong enough, even things that couldn’t happen in the real world… could become reality.
And when dealing with something that plays dirty, why not use some unconventional methods?
Rising like a new sun, the goddess of light soared into the sky. Under her divine glow, the mental world no longer looked like a narrow cave. But a vast, open valley.
And everything the light touched…
Was filth.
Violet saw countless twisted imitations, formed by black magic, taking on the shapes of many things she recognized. Dragons, birds, humans, beasts…
It was like the whole world was shown there, but in a very wrong and twisted way.