Snake ?!!?!?!?!

Snake ?!!?!?!?!

Ramiel was once again covered in green goblin blood. A stinking, filthy rag was tied around his waist. By the way, it's an absolute miracle it hasn't rotted yet.

" How could you walk around in that... it's disgusting. " - He looked disdainfully at the naked and dead body of the goblin leaning against the tunnel wall. The monster hadn't survived the night, which wasn't surprising considering its injuries. Nevertheless, even a dead one is useful to the dungeon.

Ramiel crouched down in front of the snake cave and placed the Ice Touch Lily in front of the entrance.

" It would be a shame if I had to use you today. " - He muttered and, without prolonging, went inside. Behind him followed five skeletons armed with pointed bones.

~~~~~~

Lightning Viper was awakened from a deep sleep by a loud clatter of bones. The monster opened his eyes and tilted head to the side in surprise. A skeleton approached him with a laborious step. He didn't know how it got here or what it was doing here. Honestly, he didn't care much.

All that mattered was that the brazen creature had violated his territory. The prescribed punishment for such a heinous offense is death.

The snake lazily picked up the slimy body and slowly glided toward the pile of bones. He didn't feel that the stranger could threaten him in any way, so he remained relatively calm. Being close enough to the skeleton, he wrapped himself around it and smashed it to pieces with a swift flick of his tail.

" Sssss.... "

Perhaps it was better that the skeleton had already gone into oblivion. It would have made him sad to hear how much Lightning Viper despised him.

However, the skeleton wasn't as useless as Lightning Viper thinks. Before dying, he completed the task entrusted to him. He threw a bone weapon near a cluster of mandragoras. The monster ignored his last actions. He didn't care about them because why should he?

In his eyes, the intruder was no different than a harmless bug disturbing his morning nap.

The predator was about to return to his lair, but something hit him on the top of the head. Although hit is too much to say. A certain thing bounced off him.

The nervous snake turned in the direction from which the mysterious object had come. There, about three hundred meters away, he spotted another skeleton with a bony hand stretched forward.

His patience had run out. He moved aggressively towards the intruder, who fled in panic. This time, he wasn't as forgiving as before. In the blink of an eye, it swallowed the pile of bones whole. A few seconds later, the skeleton was crushed by its innards.

In the distance, the snake spotted yet another uninvited guest. The scenario repeated itself... this time, it took him a little longer...

In the meantime, Ramiel emerged from the shadow cast by a bone stuck in the ground.

The presence of skeletons and their actions are no coincidence. They play an insanely important role in his plan. He has sent them on a noble mission, the reversal of the Lightning Viper. Unfortunately, no one but him will return home in one piece....

Saving one life requires sacrificing five others... [A/N The first of AraVus' commandments.]

Ramiel wasted no time. He had no such luxury. He quickly ran over to the mandragor and snatched several of them with a mighty tug.

He preemptively injected a bit of mana into them. This allowed him to avoid the deafening screams of the plants and alert the monster.

Mandragora looks like an elongated turnip with a large brown mouth. No one knows how this thing is used as a base for many potions. However, mana and magic are perfect answers to everything; sometimes, ancient runes from the Exodus era can be added to the duo.

Ramiel wasn't greedy, he took only four plants. One for Caera, another in case he messed up something as simple as soup, and the last two for future experiments. Who knows, he might get his hands on a skilled alchemist in the future.

He tucked everything into the ring and moved confidently toward the exit. Of course, he was careful not to make any noise. He wasn't quite sure how much time his subordinates would buy him or how far they would drag the reptile away. It is better to hurry than to run away with a snake around his neck.

According to my calculations, he should have just been dying the last skeleton... Fuck. - Ramiel cursed in mind. When he looked out from behind one of the rocks, an anaconda sprang up in front of his face. The snake looked exactly as the goblins had described it. Bright blue scales, horns coming out of the skull, and long venomous fangs protruding from the mouth.

The monster was even more surprised to see Ramiel than he was to see him. She was sound asleep, watching for eggs, when she felt a vibration on the ground. She thought it was his useless partner bothering her again. However, instead of him, she encountered a horribly smelly two-legged creature.

The former hunter was the first to recover from his shock. He didn't give the Anaconda the slightest chance to react. Two sharpened bones suddenly appeared in his hands, and without a second thought, he plunged them into a pair of reptile eyes, the only sensible place to inflict damage.

The Anaconda went into a rage. She furiously threw her body in all directions, forcing Ramiel to perform all sorts of acrobatics. She wanted to crush the inferior creature that dared to raise its hand against her.

But it wasn't as easy as it seemed. The snake was suddenly deprived of its most important senses. All it can do is smell and the tiny vibrations carried by the earth.

It was through these that the Anaconda tracked Ramiel.

 The goal was simple, a spell that would wipe out the intruder.

Feeling the ground shake beneath his feet, Ramiel almost immediately used a Shadow Step to escape. He didn't even think about putting up a fight. He wasn't stupid. He knew that he didn't stand a chance of winning in his current form.

Stepping out of the shadows, a slight apprehension haunted him. When casting the spell, he didn't choose the exit point. He simply didn't have time. He had to leave the choice to fate.

As it turned out, he was lucky. He appeared right between the monster's eggs. Temporarily, he should be safe if the Anaconda didn't fall into the darkest depths of madness. In that case, nothing could save him.

He threw the useless bones on the ground and picked up two eggs. He came up with an idea that was slightly risky and crazy but always better than none.

The eggs would keep him safe. After all, no mother would sacrifice her child. She will fight to the last drop of blood, even if it is in the embryonic stage of development. This is how healthy maternal instinct works.

Sometimes, there are deviations from the rule, but the Anaconda doesn't count among them. Otherwise, Ramiel would have been impaled on one of the rocky spikes growing out of the ground long ago.

The snake was intelligent and understood his intentions. It let out a warning hiss, most likely telling him not to do anything stupid.

In the meantime, she cast another spell. This time, she surrounded herself and the intruder in a tight dome made of rock blocks, reaching more than ten meters up. Keeping Ramiel in place is the only thing she has to do. The rest will be done by her partner when he arrives.

Nevertheless, the snake had no way of knowing that it had done Ramiel a favor. The man escaped from the prison before the rocks rose to their maximum height.

Cleverly, he seized the opportunity and dived into the shadows with two eggs. Anaconda didn't have the right conditions to detect his disappearance. From a theoretical point of view, a man traveling through the shadows moves without causing vibrations. Also, the intense smell left behind by the goblins' blood shouldn't dissipate quickly.

One might be tempted to say that this feat oscillates around the perfect crime.

Ramiel appeared at one of the nearby boulders and moved his legs as much as possible to leave the abyssal segment. Being about halfway there, he heard a crackling sound behind him caused by a sudden electrical discharge.

It didn't even occur to him to stop and see what it was. Instead, he jumped through the shadows. It cost him a lot of mana, but it was more efficient than regular running, especially if he had prepared his route beforehand.

Equally every hundred meters apart, he pounded the ribs of the Night Rippers into the ground. They throw a small shadow, but for his purposes, it is enough. It doesn't have to be big.

Ramiel jumped out from under the last bone like a scalding fire and climbed up the steep slope even faster. Reaching the tunnel's edge, he grabbed onto it and pulled with all his strength. Pulling his body inward, he quickly clung flat to the rock.

It was a good move because an azure lightning bolt flew over him with a swish and struck one of the walls.

Ramiel swallowed his saliva and resumed escape. The jokes were over.

He tore off his hip band and threw the cloth over the goblin's carcass. He smashed one of the eggs and left a mandrake root at its feet to be safe.

The Anaconda was the first to crawl into the cave, surprising the unprepared man. He hadn't expected it to be here so soon. His escape plan, devised in haste, wasn't as perfect as he thought.

But still, luck was on his side. The blind snake failed to notice Lila and crushed the plant.

The flower was beyond Ramiel's wildest expectations. Almost immediately, it exploded with a blast of frosty air, forming a vast dome of crystal-clear ice.

The walls and ceiling within 25 meters of the epicenter were covered first with ice and then with frost. The ice block was only about 7 meters smaller.

Unfortunately, the snake seemed to have survived the trap. Anaconda jumped aside and surrounded herself with a tight dome of rock when she felt a suspicious movement of mana.

She failed to avoid the explosion completely. She sustained some injuries. Part of her skin was covered with ice, but it wasn't something she would die from.

Ramiel stopped in place. He lifted the corners of his mouth in a grim smile. A golden opportunity to erase all traces had just arrived. Only a fool wouldn't take it.

He deliberately pounded the last of the sharpened bones into the ice. Gathering every last molecule of mana, he had left, he cast Spark. Pale blue lightning spread across the tunnel's wall, ground, and vault, breaching the integral structure.

Ramiel did what he was supposed to do and retreated. As he walked away, he threw some more debris from the space ring at the goblin and left the rest to fate.

Moments after he left, a wave of cracks ripped through the ceiling. It didn't take long for the first boulders to fall. The rest moved in an avalanche, collapsing the passage.

Lightning Viper's earlier spells had done a lot of damage, and the former hunter had added a small brick to the mix, setting off a chain reaction.

~~~~~~

With a crackle of lightning, Lightning Viper rushed into the collapsed tunnel. Sensing his beloved's mana from the ice block, he shattered it into a fine poppy seed without a second thought. In the process, he also destroyed the rock dome she had created for protection.

Of course, he found her, but her condition... Anaconda was half-dead and mutilated.

The snake hissed low and surrounded its partner in a tender embrace. He felt half responsible for what had happened to her, and wanted to keep her at least warm...

But she ignored his efforts and tried to reach the collapsed passage at all costs. Lightning Viper didn't stand by and watch her struggle but helped her.

Sniffing the pile of stones, Annakonda wailed in pain. She smelled the scent of an intruder and a broken egg among the rubble. She knew what it meant... She had just lost two unborn children... The pain that came with the realization was unbearable. Bloody tears gathered in the corners of her empty eye sockets, and the end of her tail trembled uncontrollably.

Unlike ordinary reptiles, most snakes love and care for their offspring, at least in the early stages of development.

Lightning Viper felt pathetic, seeing Anaconda plunged into despair. Her wailing tears his small heart into even smaller pieces.

The humiliation he suffered today will stay with him for the rest of his life...

The pain he feels will become his driving force for future evolution.

Unexpectedly, his reptilian eyes went dark with mist, and his scales transformed into storm clouds.

Ramiel didn't yet know how much he would regret today in the future.

~~~~~~

A Few Hours Earlier

" You can't go there alone! I will not allow it! " - The little fairy floated in front of the abyssal gate, stubbornly blocking the passage or at least trying to do so. With her small size, she won't conquer much... at least she should be given a point for her good intentions.

" How many times do I have to tell you?" - The man sighed. Saying the same thing over and over again was beginning to bore him. " I will not be alone. The skeletons will go with me. "

In the meantime, he took a bath in goblin blood. This would help him hide his own scent. A precaution in case the snake wanted to follow him.

" Skeletons aren't thinking creatures! I still insist that you take Asme with you. " - " - Avi shouted at the top of her lungs. She was very stubborn, which was tiring. However, the former hunter isn't angry with her for protesting. He realizes she is making a scene because she is worried about him. If that's all it is, he can forgive her little objection.

" How many times do I have to tell you? I have to be there alone. The snake must think I'm lying there buried under the rubble. If it smells anything else, the whole plan will fail. " - Ramiel took a short pause. The following words didn't want to pass through his throat. He still hadn't gotten over the fact of how weak he had become.

" I don't think, I need to remind you of the difference between us. Even with a whole army of goblins, I won't kill him. Lightning Viper is no slouch. A hunter of medium-low rank would have trouble killing him. "

Finishing the lecture, he put on his hip-band, croaking.

" Ugh... why does it smell so bad? "

Avi ignored his comment and continued to go along.

" You should still take me with you! What if you get hurt? Who will help you then! " - The fairy's eyes reddened. She didn't want to let Ramiel go on such a dangerous mission. She was afraid that he might die there. Thinking about it, the little heart shrank painfully.

" You know that's not possible. Lightning Viper is a vengeful creature. It will not rest until it kills you, and if I am injured... I will most likely die there. " - Ramiel replied dispassionately, hiding his true feelings deeply.

" No - no, you can't! " - Avi's voice broke, and an expression of pure fear crept onto her face.

Although they haven't known each other for too long, they spend every possible moment with each other. Over these few days, the bond between them has deepened to a dangerous degree...

Sometimes it was better, worse, but they always had each other's back....

Their relationship has entered the dangerous territory of addiction, as evidenced by Avi's current state.

The little creature can't imagine life without Ramiel now, even though he's often cold, sometimes wants to throw her to the goblins to eat, and doesn't laugh at her jokes. Despite the flaws, it's still her bond.

" Avi... don't make this difficult. You know very well that if Caera dies, our life will become difficult. We already have a problem with qualified personnel. "

" Besides... in the worst case scenario... it's just another death to the collection. " - Ramiel smiled sadly. His eyes faded briefly, became cold, and devoid of any desire to continue.

Avi lowered her head at his words. They carried a deeper message than it might seem. Unfortunately, the fairy understood him....

She knew that beneath the failed jokes, there was pain. Ramiel has suffered terribly, though he doesn't show it every day...

He still hasn't come to terms with the betrayal or the things he did during the tantrum in an act of revenge. Every day in his dreams, he struggles with the events of that day and the subsequent consequences. He constantly experiences a looping nightmare. He is forced to see the faces of people who arouse extreme and contradictory emotions in him.

After all... betrayal hurts most when one least expects it... and this one was exceptionally cruel and left a significant mark on Ramiel...

It will be a long time before he comes to terms with the demons of the past.