The sky serpent

In an instant, the sky serpent attacked, its speed and precision too much for the ash hawks to handle.

The ash hawks, quick and alert, were caught off guard and had no chance to escape.

With a swift motion, the sky serpent wrapped its long body around the first creature, constricting it with crushing force.

Then, in a flash, the serpent swallowed the creature whole.

Suddenly, Chimsy lost connection with it and at that moment, a notification popped up in front of her.

"You have lost a minion"

But soon as the serpent's swallowed the creature it immediately spat the creature back out, sending it falling down to the ground, several kilometers below.

The other ash hawk tried to fly away, but the serpent's wind blast knocked it off course.

It was snatched from the air, its wings beating futilely as the serpent's body closed around its body.

In a flash, the serpent's maws opened and snapped shut, its jaws closing around the hawk's body.

The sound of crunching bones and tearing flesh filled the air around the hawk.

The sky serpent with its deadly precision struck again, its body constricting the creature with crushing force.

But this time, it didn't bother to swallow its prey whole.

Instead, it tightened its grip, squeezing the life out of the creature.

Then, with lightning-fast speed, it struck the final blow, its razor-sharp teeth slicing through the creature's neck with deadly precision.

The creature's head was torn from its body, its undead life force extinguished in an instant.

Suddenly, Chimsy lost connection with it and at that moment, a notification popped up in front of her.

"You have lost a minion"

The ash hawks' fate served as an eye opener for Chimsy who immediately screamed "Shit!! " as she mentally ordered her remaining undead minions to turn and run.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

The group had faced a couple of monsters together, and I never thought we'd meet something we couldn't handle.

Maybe the effect of two victories in a row really got to me more than I thought.

But the sky serpent was different from the monsters we've faced.

Its power was awe-inspiring, its deadly efficiency unmatched.

From watching the very brief hunt it had showcased it was obvious that it was more powerful than the fifth tier.

We were lucky that it didn't have psychic powers to tell that actual preys were mere kilometers away, out of eyes reach but not away from its grasp given its ridiculously high speed.

Chimsy's terror was palpable.

She had just witnessed the sky serpent kill her two undead minions with so much ease.

Her composure was completely shattered, replaced by a fear so raw it was contagious to the two who hadn't seen what had just happened.

Dae-su Han and Jackson Lee were confused, unsure of what was happening.

"What's going on?" Dae-su asked, his voice laced with concern.

"Why are we retreating? I thought we were getting ready to fight" Jackson added, his eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of danger.

He didn't have any idea how he could fight from such a height but he was willing to give it a try.

But Chimsy knew the creature that they were about to fight. She had seen the sky serpent's true power, and she knew that fighting it would be suicidal.

As we fled, I couldn't help but wonder why it didn't swallow the undead minions?

Could it be because they were undead?

There was no other explanation for its repulsion.

From the way it attempted to swallow the ash hawk in the first place, it showed that it was likely a carnivorous creature and usually swallows its prey.

Well, that didn't matter for now. We all just had to survive first.

Dae-su Han and Jackson Lee's questions hung in the air, unanswered as we moved.

She couldn't explain the sky serpent's power or her own fear.

There wasn't even any time for that.

Her energy was dwindling, her reserves depleted from controlling the undead minions and using her aura to shield us from the temperature.

She knew she had to act fast, but her mind was cloudy, her thoughts disjointed.

She sent a mental command to three of her undead minions to go back to stall the sky serpent for time.

She knew that one couldn't be too careful with a creature that powerful.

She hadn't encountered such a monstrous creature before but her intuition told her than she had to sacrifice a lot if she wanted to survive this near-encounter with this creature.

The whole situation felt strange to me though.

Chimsy had always been haunted by a dark desire; a longing to escape the pain and suffering of her existence.

Death seemed like a welcome respite, a sweet release from the weight of her own life.

But ever since this whole scenarios started she found herself fighting to survive.

It was a stark contrast to her previous apathy, her former willingness to embrace death.

At first, it was just a reflex, a primal instinct to flee from danger.

But as the moments passed, she realized that she was actively trying to survive.

She was using her powers to protect herself and her companions, to outsmart whatever monster came her way.

It was a strange and uncomfortable feeling, like wearing a skin that didn't quite fit.

Even Chimsy herself couldn't explain why she was suddenly so invested in living.

Maybe it was the thrill of the challenge, the rush of adrenaline as she narrowly escaped death's grasp.

Maybe it was the companionship of her friends, the sense of belonging that she had never known before.

Whatever the reason, Chimsy found herself clinging to life with a desperation she never knew she had.

Meanwhile her minions lurched backwards, their undead bodies moving as they separated from the group.

But Chimsy's energy was running out.

Her vision was blurring as her grip on the ash hawk that she was on loosened.

Dae-su Han caught her, when he noticed she was struggling to sit up straight.

"Chimsy, what's wrong?" Dae-su asked, his voice laced with concern.

He scooted closer to her, allowing her to lean on him while he wrapped his arms around her to grab a hold of the part of the ash hawk's body that was in front of Chimsy.

Chimsy couldn't answer.

Her energy was almost spent, her body weakening.

She knew she had to conserve what little strength she had left, or risk losing control of her minions and that meant we'll all fall.

As we put distance between ourselves and the sky serpent, Chimsy's grip on her minions began to slip.

They faltered, their movements becoming more erratic.

She knew she had to hold on, but her energy was dwindling fast.

In a desperate bid to regain control, Chimsy focused all her remaining energy on her minions, as her aura that wrapped around us dwindled in intensity.

She felt her connection to them strengthen, her control solidifying.

But it still came at a cost; her own energy was almost depleted, even when she was trying portion her energy utilisation.

Moments later, the undead minions caught up to the sky serpent and were destroyed in an instant.

Simultaneously the notification "You have lost your minion " popped up in front of Chimsy three time as she struggled with her severe exhaustion.

If the sky serpent was aware of our presence the undead minions wouldn't have done much for us.