22 22 Harsh Reality
The giant reptile's glowing red eyes gazed at Jerouch as he unleashed his murderous pressure on the intruder.
He was on the left of the rectangular staircase, about five metres away.
He coiled around himself and reached a height of fifteen meters. And his width, from Jerouch's estimate, was at least a meter in diameter.
Unlike the other snakes, he had crimson skin with thin golden and silver stripes around his head and midsection.
'' How dare you intrude my space, puny humans, '' The giant reptile yelled, and a scarlet aura was unleashed from his body that was still coiled up.
'' Urggh! ''
Jerouch found strength leaving his body as he was lifted from the ground and thrown backwards like an old rag doll.
His head hit one of the statues in the back and he started bleeding. His vision twinkled and the sound of a distant bell kept ringing in his head.
The roc too wasn't fanning well as he was flung backwards despite being in the air.
However, the roc was still higher in rank. Hence, he quickly balanced himself and dived downwards, arriving at Jerouch's position in one motion.
Perhaps it was from the murderous aura or the collision, but Jerouch's eyes had gone back to their normal colour.
'' W-what I'm doing here? '' His voice was shaking as his mind finally cleared out.
He knew that the roc was the one that suggested this place after asking him to look out for monsters they could hunt.
He first assumed that the roc wanted to ambush him, but seeing that the roc too had been attacked, nullified that assumption.
It wasn't as if he didn't know when he entered this place. However, as soon as he got close to the sanguine canyon, his brain seemed to refuse to work properly.
Again, he felt as though his mind was being controlled constantly, and he couldn't stop the feeling at all. Even now, Jerouch still felt as though something was trying to reach his mind.
Jerouch's eyes were set in the distance in the glowing orb's direction on the altar. That feeling of his mind being corrupted by an external force increased, and the orb appeared to glow brighter.
He wasn't stupid, and he abruptly felt chills down his spine. His heart pounded in a disrupted state as an ugly realization dawned on him.
'' What have I got myself into? ''
The orb was controlling his reasoning, yet, he didn't even realize until now…
As for the roc, his eyes too had returned to their original colour.
'' Can he resist the control? '' jerouch wondered.
'' Ssshrrll! '' A shrilled hiss pierced Jerouch's ears and they started bleeding.
Blood trickled from all his orifices, and his dirty robe was further torn into pieces.
'' Can I even survive this? '' Jerouch gulped, and momentarily took a few steps backwards.
His mouth was wide open, and his eyes seemed to lose focus as much as he tried to remain calm under that horrifying aura.
'' I-is this it? After finally getting the power to change my fate…''
'' A-at least. '' His vision turned blurry as he reminisced about the entire scenario.
Yes, the orb tainted his thoughts, but that didn't justify his own greed.
First, he treated a monster that could slap him to death because of his edacity to gain a strong companion quickly.
Not only that, but his naïveness also pushed him to believe that with the large bird around, he could hunt stronger monsters quickly.
He could have found a way to leave the forest, train and become stronger before coming back here. But here he was, an E rank warlock, in front of a monster that was at least a B rank monster.
He wanted to smack himself for his utter stupidity and selfishness, but he knew that wouldn't salvage the present situation.
''H-however…'' Jerouch staggered weakly, cleaning the blood that leaked from the corner of his mouth.
'' I'd rather die fighting than be at the mercy of others. ''
The roc also sensed his determination from his fierce eyes, and he knew that if he didn't do something, they both would be done for.
The roc was a C Rank monster, which was why Jerouch perceived him as powerful, having seen it kill D rank monsters with ease.
The snake was still a rank above the roc, though. However, in the world of monsters, ranks weren't the only factors that determined strength.
There was another thing that mattered a lot, and that was…
Bloodline!
The stronger and purer the bloodline was, the more powerful the beast that wielded such a bloodline.
And when it comes to bloodline…the snake could only fantasize about the likes of the roc. He may be a B rank monster that was close to advancing, but what happened next stunned even Jerouch.
'' KRUU! ''
A loud, powerful screech left the roc's mouth as he spread out his wings.
A majestic silver aura spread out from his body and clashed with the scarlet aura of the snake.
The snake saw his aura being pushed back, which honestly infuriated him.
Not only that, but he also felt his bloodline getting weaker in the presence of that silver aura. That aura made him feel like he should prostrate to his king, and that feeling made him mad.
He then unleashed his aura in full force, which eventually pushed back the silver aura.
The roc also saw what the snake was doing, and he quickly enveloped Jerouch in his silver aura to offer him a bit of protection.
Jerouch felt a majestic and ethereal aura cover his full figure, and the pressure from the snakes'aura lessened a bit.
However, the full aura of the snake when it reached him still flung him backwards and a few of his ribs ended up fracturing.
Both monsters had yet to clash, yet their auras alone had caused multiple internal injuries to Jerouch who now looked like a bloodied zombie.
'' Th-the power to crush your opponent with just your presence…'' Jerouch's knees were on the floor and his two palms also rested on the floor firmly, afraid of losing his balance.
His eyes squinted with increasing adrenaline, in anticipation and worry, as he finally saw the two monsters move.
