Chapter 103 — The Final Form of the Verdant Serpent

The two attacks collided.

BOOM!

Green energy and metallic force erupted across the battlefield.

Kael was thrown backward.

The Verdant Serpent's massive energy sphere shattered against the Origin Blade, but the impact still sent a shockwave through the forest.

Kael landed hard.

His boots dug into the earth.

His arms trembled.

The Origin Blade vibrated in his hand.

Across the battlefield—

The Verdant Serpent remained standing.

Its body was covered in faint cracks of green-white energy.

The damaged Verdant Origin Node continued pulsing beneath its scales.

But it was not weakening.

It was changing.

Kael's eyes narrowed.

[Target State Change Detected.]

[Verdant Serpent — Final Combat State.]

[Defensive Regeneration: 23%]

[Offensive Output: Increasing.]

[Warning: Target is converting defensive resources into offensive power.]

Kael's expression became serious.

“So you're sacrificing regeneration.”

The Serpent's eyes glowed.

“Yes.”

“For more attack power.”

“Yes.”

Kael smiled faintly.

“That means you can't drag this out either.”

The Serpent lowered its head.

“Neither can you.”

Kael glanced at the timer.

[Legendary Immortality Remaining: 40:28:13]

He still had an enormous amount of time compared with a normal battle.

But the Serpent knew that.

And now—

It intended to kill him faster than he could learn.

Verdant Cataclysm

The Serpent opened its mouth.

The sphere of energy appeared again.

But this time, Kael noticed something different.

It wasn't gathering energy from the forest.

It was compressing the energy already inside its own body.

The sphere became smaller.

Smaller.

Smaller.

Until it was only the size of a fist.

Kael's eyes widened.

Compression.

A smaller attack meant higher density.

He immediately activated Spatial Anchor.

The V-01X fired.

The blue anchor appeared between them.

The Serpent released the sphere.

There was no explosion.

No sound.

The sphere simply disappeared.

Kael's instincts screamed.

He moved.

A line of green light passed where his chest had been.

The ground behind him split.

Kael froze.

It didn't travel.

The Serpent had compressed the attack into a spatial pulse.

It wasn't a projectile.

It was an instant strike.

Kael's eyes sharpened.

The Serpent attacked again.

Kael jumped.

Another invisible pulse passed beneath him.

He landed.

The Serpent attacked a third time.

Kael moved before the energy appeared.

The attack missed.

The Serpent's eyes narrowed.

Kael smiled.

“I understand.”

The Serpent didn't respond.

“You aren't firing at me.”

Kael raised his hand.

“You're firing at where I am going to be.”

The Beast stared.

Kael continued.

“And the attack itself doesn't move through the air.”

“It moves through space.”

For the first time, the Serpent showed surprise.

Kael immediately switched the V-01X to Configuration III — Spatial Anchor.

He didn't place the anchor near the Serpent.

He placed it around himself.

Then another.

And another.

Three overlapping spatial anchors.

The battlefield distorted.

Kael stood inside the center of the formation.

The Serpent attacked.

The green pulse struck the boundary.

BOOM!

The anchor shattered.

Kael was pushed backward.

But he remained alive.

“Interesting.”

The Serpent attacked again.

Another anchor broke.

Kael activated the third.

It shattered too.

But now Kael understood something.

The attacks weren't unlimited.

Every time the Serpent used the spatial pulse—

The Origin Node lost energy.

Kael checked the System.

[Verdant Origin Node: 23% → 21%]

His eyes widened.

Only two percent.

But every attack mattered.

Kael smiled.

“You're burning yourself.”

The Serpent's expression became cold.

“So are you.”

Kael raised his weapons.

“Then let's see who runs out first.”

The Serpent's New Ability

The battlefield exploded.

The Serpent moved.

Kael moved.

The Origin Blade met the creature's body.

CLANG!

The Serpent's tail swept across the battlefield.

Kael jumped.

The V-01X fired.

BOOM!

Mana Disruption struck.

The Serpent continued.

Kael changed to Penetration.

The projectile struck the damaged region near the Origin Node.

The Beast recoiled.

Kael followed with the GL-02.

The compressed attack struck its side.

The Serpent turned.

Its tail came down.

Kael blocked.

BOOM!

He flew across the battlefield.

His armor absorbed the impact.

[Vanguard Armor Integrity: 34%]

Kael rolled.

Before he could stand—

The Serpent disappeared.

Kael turned.

Nothing.

He activated Administrator Authority.

Still nothing.

His expression changed.

It isn't moving through space.

He closed his eyes.

Mana spread through the ground.

There.

Something was moving through the vegetation.

Not the Serpent itself.

Its energy.

Kael opened his eyes.

“The forest.”

The Serpent emerged from the trees.

Kael fired.

The shot missed.

The Serpent moved again.

Kael understood.

It was using every remaining plant in the area as an extension of its body.

Not Territory Authority.

Not regeneration.

Something else.

Natural Resonance.

The Serpent could move its consciousness through living matter.

That made its position nearly impossible to predict.

Kael changed tactics.

He stopped attacking the Serpent.

Instead—

He attacked the forest.

BOOM!

A Mana Disruption round struck a massive tree.

The green energy around it disappeared.

Another.

Another.

Then another.

The Serpent's movement suddenly stopped.

Kael smiled.

“You need living matter.”

The Serpent stared.

Kael continued firing.

Tree.

Root.

Vine.

Moss.

Every living structure connected to the Beast.

Slowly—

The battlefield became quieter.

The Serpent's movement narrowed.

The creature's eyes sharpened.

“You are cutting away my movement.”

“Exactly.”

Kael raised his sword.

“I don't need to defeat your body.”

“Again?”

“You keep giving me the same lesson.”

The Serpent attacked.

Kael moved.

But this time—

He attacked the ground.

Metal Control activated.

Ancient metal fragments buried beneath the soil rose into the air.

Kael formed them into hundreds of thin needles.

The Serpent's eyes narrowed.

“You cannot injure me with that.”

“I know.”

The needles shot outward.

Not toward the Beast.

Toward the forest.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The metallic spikes struck trees and roots.

Kael connected them.

A massive metallic network formed around the battlefield.

The Serpent's movement slowed.

Kael smiled.

“I can detect you now.”

The metal network vibrated whenever the Beast moved through the vegetation.

One vibration.

Two.

Three.

Kael turned.

“There.”

The Serpent emerged.

Kael fired immediately.

BOOM!

The shot struck beneath its jaw.

The Origin Node pulsed.

[Verdant Origin Node: 21% → 18%]

The Beast roared.

Kael rushed forward.

The Origin Blade struck.

SLASH!

The Serpent twisted.

Its tail hit Kael.

He died.

Five seconds later.

Kael reformed.

The Serpent attacked immediately.

Kael already knew the timing.

He ducked.

The tail passed above him.

The Origin Blade struck.

The creature retreated.

Kael followed.

V-01X.

Penetration.

BOOM!

The Origin Node dropped.

18% → 16%

The Serpent attacked.

Kael died.

Reformation.

Attack.

Death.

Reformation.

Again.

Again.

The battle became relentless.

The Serpent adapted.

It stopped using the forest.

Kael's metal detection network became useless.

It began attacking through direct movement.

Kael adapted.

The Serpent stopped striking the same angle.

Kael changed his stance.

The Serpent began using feints.

Kael stopped reacting to every movement.

The battle evolved continuously.

Neither side could maintain the same strategy for more than a few exchanges.

The Origin Blade Awakens

Kael's mana was dropping.

[Mana: 9%]

The V-01X's stability had fallen.

[V-01X Stability: 63%]

The Vanguard Armor was damaged.

The GL-02 was nearly empty.

Only the Origin Blade remained fully reliable.

Kael looked at the sword.

The family crest on the guard was glowing.

He remembered the ancient forging vision.

The first Darven wasn't merely a swordsman.

He was a forger.

A creator.

Someone who had used Metal Control to transform materials into weapons beyond ordinary limits.

Kael understood something.

He had been thinking about the Origin Blade incorrectly.

It wasn't simply a stronger katana.

It was a platform.

A weapon capable of adapting.

Kael placed his hand against the blade.

“Show me.”

The sword vibrated.

A faint resonance spread through his body.

[Weapon Resonance detected.]

[Bloodline Absolute Synchronization: Active.]

[Material adaptation possible.]

Kael looked around.

The battlefield was filled with damaged containment metal.

Mithril fragments.

Ancient metallic plates.

The broken control frame.

He reached toward them.

Metal Control activated.

The fragments rose.

The Serpent attacked.

Kael pulled them toward the Origin Blade.

The sword absorbed the metallic material.

Its blade changed.

The dark silver surface became streaked with green-white lines.

The weapon grew slightly longer.

Sharper.

More precise.

The System responded.

[Adaptive Edge activated.]

[Temporary Configuration Created.]

[Verdant Severance.]

Kael's eyes widened.

The technique wasn't simply more power.

It was synchronization.

The blade now resonated with the Serpent's own energy.

The Serpent noticed immediately.

“That weapon…”

Kael smiled.

“You recognized it.”

The Serpent stared.

“It shouldn't be able to do that.”

Kael raised the blade.

“Neither should I.”

The Serpent charged.

Kael stepped forward.

Their attacks collided.

BOOM!

Green energy erupted.

But this time—

The Origin Blade cut through it.

Not by overpowering it.

By resonating with it.

Kael's sword entered the Serpent's defensive layer.

A crack appeared.

[Verdant Origin Node: 16% → 12%]

The Serpent recoiled.

Kael attacked again.

The blade struck.

12% → 10%

The Beast roared.

Its body shook.

For the first time—

Kael was damaging it faster than it could recover.

The Serpent's expression changed.

“You adapted the blade.”

Kael nodded.

“You forced me to.”

The Serpent's Counterattack

The Beast stopped moving.

Kael immediately became cautious.

Something was wrong.

The creature's energy was falling.

But its presence—

was becoming stronger.

The Serpent closed its eyes.

Its entire body became still.

Kael's instincts screamed.

He retreated.

The Beast opened its eyes.

All the green-white energy around it vanished.

Every plant in the surrounding forest collapsed.

The remaining vegetation lost its energy.

The ground became silent.

Kael stared.

“What did you do?”

The Serpent answered.

“I removed everything unnecessary.”

Its body began absorbing the remaining energy.

The cracks across its scales disappeared.

The creature became smaller.

Not weaker.

Denser.

Its enormous body contracted.

Its presence became concentrated.

The giant serpent that had towered over the trees became only a fraction of its former size.

But its aura—

was terrifying.

The System appeared.

[Target has entered Verdant Core Compression.]

[External Energy: 2%]

[Internal Density: Extreme]

[Defensive Regeneration: 10%]

[Offensive Output: 211%]

Kael's eyes widened.

“Two hundred eleven percent?”

The Serpent moved.

Kael reacted.

Too slow.

BOOM!

He flew backward.

The Vanguard Armor shattered.

Kael hit the ground.

He died.

Reformation.

The Serpent was already there.

Kael barely moved.

The attack missed by a fraction.

He rolled.

The Beast struck again.

Kael blocked.

His arms shook.

He fired the V-01X at point-blank range.

The shot struck.

The Serpent barely moved.

Kael's expression changed.

This isn't the same battle anymore.

The Serpent's physical power had increased dramatically.

Its movements were smaller.

More efficient.

It no longer wasted energy.

Every movement was precise.

Kael attacked.

The Serpent dodged.

Kael attacked again.

The Beast countered.

Kael died.

Reformation.

Again.

He changed angles.

The Serpent adapted.

Again.

Kael tried ranged attacks.

The Serpent closed the distance.

Again.

Kael created spatial anchors.

The Serpent destroyed them.

Again.

Kael used Metal Control.

The Serpent ignored the metal.

Kael died.

Reformation.

His breathing became heavier.

The timer continued.

[Legendary Immortality Remaining: 38:14:52]

He had lost more than two hours.

The Serpent hadn't.

Kael stood silently.

He needed a new answer.

Not another weapon.

Not another technique.

A new way of thinking.

He looked at the Serpent.

It was smaller.

Faster.

Denser.

Its remaining external energy was almost nonexistent.

Its offensive power was overwhelming.

But—

It had lost almost everything else.

No territory.

No massive regeneration network.

No forest movement.

No spatial attacks.

No enormous energy reserves.

Only its compressed core.

Kael's eyes narrowed.

It's all in one place.

The answer became obvious.

He didn't have to beat its entire body.

He had to force the compressed core to overload.

Kael smiled.

“I finally understand.”

The Serpent watched him.

“What?”

Kael raised the Origin Blade.

“You compressed yourself to become stronger.”

“Yes.”

“That means every attack is coming from the same core.”

The Beast's eyes narrowed.

Kael's smile disappeared.

“So I'll make you use it.”

The Overload Plan

Kael raised the V-01X.

Configuration II.

Mana Disruption.

He fired.

The Serpent dodged.

Kael fired again.

The Beast moved.

Again.

Again.

Each shot missed.

The Serpent smiled.

“You cannot hit me.”

Kael smiled back.

“I don't need to.”

The shots struck the ground.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Metal Control connected them.

A circular formation formed.

The Serpent realized the trap.

“You are surrounding me.”

Kael nodded.

“Not you.”

He pointed at the ground.

“The space you're moving through.”

The V-01X switched.

Configuration III — Spatial Anchor.

Kael fired all remaining anchors.

The battlefield locked.

The Serpent tried to move.

Its body slowed.

Not because it was trapped.

Because the space around it had become rigid.

Kael rushed forward.

The Serpent attacked.

Kael didn't block.

He allowed the strike to hit.

He died.

Reformation.

Kael returned at the center of the formation.

The Serpent attacked again.

Kael moved into the next position.

It followed.

Another death.

Reformation.

Another position.

The Beast followed.

Kael was building a pattern.

A forced route.

The Serpent kept chasing him.

It believed it was hunting him.

But Kael was controlling the battlefield.

Each death placed him somewhere useful.

Each reformation created another anchor.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

The formation became denser.

The Serpent realized it too late.

“You're turning your deaths into anchors.”

Kael smiled.

“Exactly.”

The Serpent's expression changed.

Kael had transformed Legendary Immortality into a battlefield construction tool.

The Beast launched a massive attack.

Kael died.

Reformation.

He appeared at the final anchor.

The formation was complete.

A massive spatial cage surrounded the Serpent.

The creature tried to break out.

Kael activated every remaining weapon.

The V-01X fired suppression rounds.

The GL-02 fired compressed mana.

Metal fragments formed barriers.

The Origin Blade glowed.

The Serpent roared.

It released its compressed power.

The spatial cage shook.

Kael's mana dropped.

[Mana: 3%]

He could barely move.

But the cage held.

The Serpent's compressed core was working harder.

Harder.

Harder.

Kael watched.

[Verdant Core Pressure: 71%]

The Serpent realized.

“You are forcing me to spend energy.”

Kael nodded.

“You can't escape without increasing output.”

The creature roared.

Its core pressure rose.

78%.

84%.

89%.

Kael raised the Origin Blade.

The Serpent attacked.

The cage tightened.

94%.

Kael waited.

97%.

The Origin Node began flashing.

[Critical Internal Instability detected.]

Kael's eyes widened.

“Now.”

He charged.

The Serpent released everything.

BOOOOOOM!

The spatial cage shattered.

The shockwave swallowed the battlefield.

Kael was thrown into the darkness.

His body disappeared.

Five seconds later—

He reformed.

Silence.

Kael slowly opened his eyes.

The forest had become still.

The Verdant Serpent stood several dozen meters away.

Its compressed form had cracked.

Green-white energy leaked from its body.

Its movements had slowed.

The System appeared.

[Verdant Origin Node: 10% → 4%]

Kael's eyes widened.

It had worked.

But the Serpent was still standing.

The Beast slowly lifted its head.

Its expression was calm.

“You forced my core into instability.”

Kael tightened his grip.

“Yes.”

The Serpent looked toward him.

“And now…”

A smile appeared.

“…you've forced me to use the final portion of my original power.”

Kael's expression changed.

The creature's body began glowing.

Not green.

Not white.

Something deeper.

A color Kael had never seen before.

The containment structure reacted.

The black tower in the distance trembled.

The System flashed repeatedly.

[WARNING.]

[Unknown energy detected.]

[Origin classification failure.]

[Target is accessing sealed power.]

Kael stared.

The Serpent looked almost peaceful.

“I was imprisoned for thousands of years.”

Its eyes opened.

“And I have spent all of those years waiting for someone strong enough to free me.”

Kael's eyes narrowed.

“I'm not freeing you.”

“No.”

The Serpent smiled.

“You're defeating me.”

The forest shook.

The ancient containment structure began glowing.

The Verdant Serpent raised its head.

“Then prove that you deserve to inherit what comes after me.”

Kael raised the Origin Blade.

The System displayed one final message.

[Verdant Serpent — Final Origin Phase beginning.]

[Warning: Unknown outcome.]

Kael took a breath.

His remaining mana was almost nothing.

His weapons were damaged.

His armor was nearly destroyed.

His immortality timer continued falling.

But the Serpent was finally weakened.

Four percent remained.

Kael stepped forward.

“Then let's finish this.”

The Verdant Serpent answered.

“Yes.”

The two charged.

But beneath them—

the ancient containment structure began opening something that had never been meant to open.

And far inside the central prison—

another pair of eyes opened.