Chapter 101 — The True Verdant Serpent

The two attacks collided.

BOOM!

A shockwave tore through the ruined forest.

Kael's boots dragged across the ground as he was forced backward.

The Verdant Serpent didn't move.

Its massive body remained perfectly still.

Only its eyes followed him.

Kael's expression hardened.

So this is the difference.

Without the territory supporting it, the Serpent should have been weaker.

Instead—

It felt stronger.

Much stronger.

The creature moved again.

Kael reacted instantly.

Spatial Anchor.

V-01X fired.

The blue projectile locked onto the space ahead of the Serpent.

For a fraction of a second, its movement slowed.

Kael used the opening.

He launched himself forward.

The Origin Blade flashed.

CLANG!

The blade struck the Serpent's scales.

Kael's arms shook from the impact.

The Serpent's scales didn't break.

But Kael noticed something.

A faint white line appeared across the point of contact.

His eyes narrowed.

It can be damaged.

He retreated immediately.

The Serpent attacked.

A massive tail swept across the battlefield.

Kael ducked.

The tail passed above his head and destroyed several ancient trees.

Kael moved sideways.

A second strike followed.

Then a third.

The Serpent wasn't simply attacking.

It was testing his movement.

Kael realized it.

It's learning.

The creature had already adapted to his previous fighting style.

Kael switched weapons.

V-01X — Configuration V.

Close Combat.

The weapon compressed into a short metallic blade.

Kael rushed forward.

The Serpent opened its mouth.

A white beam formed between its jaws.

Kael's instincts screamed.

He immediately changed direction.

The beam fired.

BOOM!

The ground behind him disappeared beneath a wave of green-white energy.

Kael didn't look back.

He jumped onto the trunk of a fallen tree.

Then another.

Then another.

His movement became unpredictable.

The Serpent followed.

Its head moved with terrifying precision.

Kael jumped again.

A beam passed beneath him.

He rotated in midair.

Metal Control.

The V-01X changed configuration.

Configuration I.

Penetration.

Kael fired.

The round struck directly beneath the Serpent's jaw.

CRACK!

The creature recoiled.

Kael landed.

His eyes widened.

The scales there are weaker.

He immediately marked the location mentally.

Neck.

Lower jaw.

Inner side of the front coils.

Three possible weak points.

But there was something else.

The Serpent was hiding its true ability.

Kael had already seen enough to know that.

“You're still holding something back.”

The Serpent looked at him.

“You are observant.”

Kael raised the Origin Blade.

“Then I'll make you show me.”

The Serpent vanished.

Kael's eyes widened.

He turned.

Too slow.

BOOM!

A blow struck his side.

Kael flew into the air.

He twisted and fired the V-01X backward.

The recoil changed his trajectory.

He landed on one knee.

The Serpent appeared directly in front of him.

Kael swung.

The Origin Blade met the creature's head.

CLANG!

The Serpent's head barely moved.

Its mouth opened.

Kael saw the attack forming.

He immediately let go of the sword.

The Origin Blade floated beside him.

Metal Control pulled the weapon sideways.

The Serpent's jaws snapped shut where Kael had been.

Kael stepped backward.

The sword returned to his hand.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

“That's better.”

The Serpent stared.

“You abandoned your grip.”

“I don't need my hand to control metal anymore.”

Kael raised his free hand.

The Origin Blade floated.

The V-01X floated.

The damaged GL-02 floated.

Three weapons surrounded him.

The Serpent's eyes narrowed.

Kael had changed again.

He was no longer using the weapons one at a time.

He was turning the entire battlefield into an extension of Metal Control.

The three weapons moved.

V-01X fired.

GL-02 fired.

Origin Blade attacked from another angle.

The Serpent twisted.

One projectile missed.

The second struck its scales.

The blade struck its tail.

CLANG!

The creature roared.

Kael immediately repositioned the weapons.

The Serpent attacked the V-01X.

Kael pulled it away.

The creature attacked the GL-02.

He moved it sideways.

The Origin Blade descended.

The Serpent blocked it with its tail.

Kael's eyes sharpened.

It's splitting its attention.

That was exactly what he wanted.

The weapons didn't need to damage it.

They only needed to force reactions.

Every reaction revealed movement patterns.

Kael watched.

Left.

Right.

Turn.

Coil.

Strike.

Recover.

Again.

Again.

Again.

The Serpent realized what was happening.

“You are studying me.”

Kael smiled.

“Exactly.”

The Serpent's eyes became colder.

“Then study this.”

The creature slammed its body into the ground.

BOOM!

The earth exploded.

Kael jumped.

The shockwave caught his legs and threw him sideways.

The Serpent struck while he was airborne.

Kael crossed his arms.

The Vanguard Armor absorbed the blow.

He was sent flying.

[Vanguard Armor Integrity: 61%]

Kael crashed into the ground.

Before he could stand—

Roots erupted.

Kael immediately realized the problem.

The Serpent had abandoned the territory.

But that didn't mean it couldn't manipulate nature directly.

The roots weren't connected to the old regeneration network.

They were simply part of its innate ability.

Kael sliced through them.

More appeared.

He used Metal Control.

The roots wrapped around metal fragments.

Kael ripped the fragments free.

The roots collapsed.

He rushed forward.

The Serpent attacked.

Kael dodged.

The Serpent attacked again.

Kael moved.

Again.

Again.

The creature's movement was getting faster.

Kael's breathing became heavier.

I can't keep dodging like this.

He needed another advantage.

He looked at the battlefield.

Broken trees.

Ruined stone.

Ancient containment pillars.

Metal framework.

The damaged network.

The central structure.

Then he looked at his armor.

Verdant Configuration.

Kael activated it.

Green lines appeared across his armor.

His armor responded to the energy around him.

The Serpent's eyes narrowed.

“You're using my own attribute against me.”

Kael didn't answer.

He raised his hand.

The Verdant Configuration began absorbing the remaining ambient mana.

Not much.

But enough.

His armor stabilized.

[Verdant Configuration active.]

[Natural Mana Absorption: 13%]

Kael smiled.

That was enough.

He didn't need more power.

He needed efficiency.

He switched the V-01X to Configuration II — Mana Disruption.

Then to Configuration I — Penetration.

Then back.

The system allowed rapid switching.

Kael had spent weeks developing the weapon.

Now he finally understood why.

It wasn't one weapon.

It was a collection of answers.

The Serpent charged.

Kael waited.

At the final moment—

Spatial Anchor.

The creature's movement slowed.

Not stopped.

Just enough.

Kael fired the Penetration configuration.

The shot struck the same damaged scale under the jaw.

CRACK!

A small fracture appeared.

The Serpent roared.

Kael's eyes sharpened.

Confirmed.

That was a real weak point.

He immediately changed strategy.

He wouldn't attack the same place again.

That would be predictable.

Instead—

He attacked elsewhere.

The front coil.

The tail.

The side.

The neck.

The Serpent reacted.

Each strike was designed to push it toward one specific movement.

Kael was building a pattern.

Left.

Right.

Up.

Down.

Every attack was guiding it.

The Serpent realized it too late.

“You're herding me.”

Kael smiled.

“Exactly.”

The Serpent suddenly stopped.

Kael froze.

The creature's eyes became completely black.

The white markings across its body disappeared.

A pulse of energy spread through the battlefield.

Kael's System activated.

[Unknown energy detected.]

[Analysis failed.]

Kael's expression changed.

The Serpent's presence had transformed.

Not physically.

Something deeper.

Its aura had become ancient.

Cold.

Heavy.

Kael felt pressure against his mind.

The forest became silent.

The creature spoke.

“This is the power that existed before this prison.”

Kael stared.

“Before the prison?”

The Serpent raised its head.

“I was not created by it.”

“I was contained by it.”

Kael's eyes widened.

“So the prison didn't give you your power.”

“No.”

The creature looked toward the distant mountains.

“The prison took most of it away.”

Kael's grip tightened.

“Then what are you?”

The Serpent didn't answer.

Instead—

It attacked.

There was no warning.

No visible movement.

One moment it was several dozen meters away.

The next—

It was directly in front of Kael.

Kael raised the Origin Blade.

BOOM!

His entire body was launched backward.

He crossed the forest at terrifying speed.

His armor flashed.

[Impact detected.]

[Integrity: 42%]

Kael barely managed to regain control.

He fired every weapon simultaneously.

The V-01X.

GL-02.

Origin Blade.

Metal fragments.

All of them struck the Serpent.

The creature didn't stop.

Kael's expression changed.

No reaction.

The attacks weren't penetrating.

He switched tactics.

Mana Disruption.

The V-01X fired.

Nothing.

Kael's eyes widened.

It resisted the disruption.

He fired again.

Still nothing.

The Serpent appeared before him.

Kael moved.

The creature changed direction in midair.

Kael blocked.

CLANG!

His arms went numb.

He was thrown backward.

He landed.

The Serpent was already there.

Kael activated the Spatial Anchor.

Nothing.

The creature tore through the anchored space.

Kael froze.

It broke through it.

For the first time—

Kael felt genuine danger.

Not because he could die.

He could.

That wasn't new.

But now the Serpent was defeating the tools he had relied on to create openings.

His usual strategy was failing.

The creature attacked.

Kael died.

Five seconds later—

He reformed.

His weapons returned.

The battlefield remained exactly the same.

The Serpent waited.

Kael looked at it.

It had not attacked during his reformation.

That mattered.

“You're testing me too.”

The Serpent's eyes narrowed.

“Yes.”

Kael smiled.

“Good.”

He picked up the Origin Blade.

“I was worried I'd have to fight something stupid.”

The Serpent's mouth curved slightly.

“You may regret saying that.”

Kael raised his hand.

The weapons floated.

But this time—

He didn't attack.

He closed his eyes.

Mana Control.

Metal Control.

Administrator Authority.

Bloodline synchronization.

He connected everything.

The battlefield became information.

Every metallic particle.

Every mana fluctuation.

Every movement.

Every disturbance.

He wasn't watching the Serpent.

He was watching the space around it.

The answer appeared.

Kael opened his eyes.

“You don't move fast.”

The Serpent's eyes narrowed.

“You move through space.”

Silence.

Kael continued.

“That's why Spatial Anchor failed.”

The Serpent's smile disappeared.

“You anchor the space behind you.”

Kael pointed.

“The moment you move, you're already outside the space I locked.”

He switched the V-01X.

Configuration III — Spatial Anchor.

But instead of firing at the Serpent—

He fired behind himself.

The anchor locked the area where he stood.

The Serpent appeared beside him.

Kael immediately moved backward.

The creature followed.

Straight into the anchored zone.

Its movement slowed.

Not much.

But enough.

Kael attacked.

The Origin Blade struck beneath its jaw.

CRACK!

The fracture widened.

The Serpent recoiled.

Kael didn't stop.

He fired the V-01X.

The projectile hit the same location.

Then the GL-02.

Then a metal spear formed from the ground.

All attacks converged.

The Serpent roared.

Its head snapped upward.

Kael's eyes widened.

The weak point wasn't its scales.

It was whatever was beneath them.

A concentration of mana.

A core structure.

Something hidden.

That's why Penetration works.

He understood now.

The outer scales weren't the true defense.

They redirected damage.

The actual target was underneath.

Kael needed to bypass the scales.

The Serpent attacked again.

Kael moved.

This time, he wasn't trying to damage it.

He was trying to place it.

He anchored one location.

Then another.

Then another.

A triangle.

The Serpent moved between them.

Kael followed.

The battle became a game of positioning.

The Serpent attacked.

Kael retreated.

The Serpent followed.

Kael placed another anchor.

Then another.

The battlefield slowly changed.

Kael was creating a cage.

Not with chains.

With space.

The Serpent realized it.

“No.”

It attacked the anchors.

Kael expected it.

The V-01X fired.

BOOM!

A mana disruption round struck the ground.

The Serpent's attack weakened.

Kael stepped in.

Origin Blade.

SLASH!

The Serpent recoiled.

Kael immediately retreated.

The creature followed.

Another anchor.

Another.

Another.

The cage tightened.

Kael's breathing became ragged.

His mana was dropping fast.

[Mana: 7%]

He couldn't maintain this much longer.

The Serpent knew it too.

Its eyes locked onto him.

“Your strength is nearly exhausted.”

Kael smiled.

“I know.”

“And yet you continue.”

“Because you made one mistake.”

The Serpent paused.

“What?”

Kael looked toward the ancient containment structure.

“You told me your power existed before the prison.”

The Serpent's expression changed.

Kael's smile disappeared.

“But you never said the prison was completely separate from you.”

Silence.

Kael raised his hand.

The ancient metallic framework beneath the battlefield responded.

The Serpent's eyes widened.

“You wouldn't.”

“I don't need to break the structure.”

Kael pulled.

The metal shifted.

Only slightly.

But it was enough.

The containment system moved one of its stabilizing rings.

The Serpent's body suddenly staggered.

Its spatial movement flickered.

Kael's eyes sharpened.

“There!”

The hidden core beneath the jaw became visible for a fraction of a second.

Kael switched the V-01X.

Configuration I — Penetration.

He fired.

The projectile struck.

BOOM!

The Serpent roared.

The entire forest shook.

Kael fired again.

Then again.

The third shot penetrated.

A burst of green energy erupted.

The creature was thrown backward.

Kael dropped to one knee.

He was exhausted.

His mana was almost gone.

But the Serpent had finally been injured.

Not defeated.

Not even close.

But injured.

Kael stared at it.

The creature slowly rose.

Its white markings had disappeared.

Its breathing had become heavier.

And for the first time—

There was blood-like green energy leaking from the fractured area.

The Serpent looked at Kael.

“You have learned quickly.”

Kael smiled.

“I had a good teacher.”

“Who?”

Kael looked at his own sword.

“Everyone who tried to kill me.”

The Serpent laughed.

A deep, ancient sound.

Then the forest changed.

The containment structure beneath them began glowing.

The two unknown authority sources activated.

Kael's expression changed instantly.

“No…”

The Serpent looked toward the ground.

“They have decided.”

“Who?”

The answer came from beneath the earth.

A voice.

Cold.

Distant.

Ancient.

“The next lock is failing.”

Kael froze.

The Serpent's expression became grim.

The voice continued.

“Begin the second release.”

A massive crack appeared beneath the forest.

Kael looked toward the distant black tower.

Something had changed.

The pocket world had just reacted to their battle.

The Serpent slowly turned toward Kael.

“This is no longer only our fight.”

Kael tightened his grip.

“What does that mean?”

The ground shook again.

Far beneath them—

A second chain began to break.

Kael's eyes widened.

The Serpent spoke quietly.

“If that chain breaks…”

Kael stared into the darkness.

“What happens?”

The beast looked toward the central black tower.

“The thing your bloodline was built to contain…”

A pause.

“…will finally notice you.”

The System appeared.

[Warning.]

[Prison instability detected.]

[Central containment integrity: 82% → 74%]

Kael's expression became serious.

His timer continued counting down.

[Legendary Immortality Remaining: 42:17:36]

The Verdant Serpent lowered its head.

Kael raised the Origin Blade.

Neither attacked.

For several seconds, they simply stared at the shaking earth.

Then Kael spoke.

“We're still enemies.”

“Yes.”

“But if that thing escapes…”

The Serpent's eyes narrowed.

“We both lose.”

Kael's grip tightened.

“Then we finish this first.”

The Serpent's eyes glowed.

“Yes.”

The ancient forest shook once more.

Kael stepped forward.

The Verdant Serpent moved.

And the battle continued.

But now—

Something beneath the world was waking with them.