2328.Snake

The Eternal Snake expressed the results of its hibernation through its hiss. Marcella could partially evaluate the nature of its new power, but what she failed to understand left her confused.

The creature was still a rank 9 magical beast in the upper tier. Its species had undergone some changes, but there were limits to how much it could improve.

Marcella had seen magical beasts overcoming their innate limits through transformations and modifications, which often involved a radical evolution of their species. For example, the Foolery had to become a hybrid, and the dragons had to turn themselves into mindless weapons.

Even Noah had to go through a similar process multiple times during his life. He had started as a human and had walked the hybrid path for many years until he had eventually surpassed that entire field.

However, the Eternal Snake didn't do any of that. It had remained a magical beast, and most of its core still shared many similarities with its original species.

Of course, Marcella didn't underestimate the hibernation. The current version of the Eternal Snake was the result of numerous empowerments, but she didn't know where that power had gone.

"Defying Demon!" The snake continued to call. "I can smell you! Come out and fight me!"

The snake didn't receive any answer, and even Marcella hesitated to interact with it. She was conflicted about the current situation, and fear had nothing to do with that.

The previous battles had forced Marcella to reevaluate her power, but she remained utterly confident before a magical beast. Yet, she knew that the Eternal Snake was an annoying opponent. Its resilience would only lead to a prolonged battle.

Marcella wanted to help Heaven and Earth, so fighting a magical beast sounded like a waste of time in her mind. Still, she couldn't move freely due to the ice, which forced her attention to remain on the Eternal Snake.

Fighting would generally be the only option, but Marcella saw a different path in the Eternal Snake's anger. Heaven and Earth would never accept a magical beast as an ally, but Marcella only needed it to remove the ice. If she could trick the creature, she wouldn't need to waste any time.

"Defying Demon!" The Eternal Snake hissed again, but the appearance of green light in its surroundings temporarily halted its rage.

"Defying Demon is on the other side of your ice," Marcella revealed while materializing near the snake. "You only need to withdraw your technique to reach him."

"And who would you be?" The Eternal Snake asked.

"I'm an enemy of Defying Demon," Marcella explained while forcing herself to perform a half-bow. "Why don't we make a deal? I won't interfere with your battle if you open a path."

"An enemy," The Eternal Snake hissed before moving its reptilian eyes over its surroundings.

A strange aura came out of the giant chunk of ice during the inspection. The Eternal Snake used its innate ability to enhance its senses, and a vague understanding of the situation quickly filled its mind.

The Eternal Snake had left Noah and the others before the final battle, but the scene that unfolded in its senses made everything clear. The creature didn't only skip the start of that struggle. It had awakened right at its end.

The faint hesitation on the Eternal Snake's face stirred Marcella's worries. She couldn't let the creature change its mind. She had to fuel its anger to achieve her goals.

"Defying Demon decided to free you only at the last second," Marcella announced. "He probably had no intention to use you at all. It must not feel great to be a decoy."

The Eternal Snake pretended that Marcella didn't say anything while its inspection continued. The empty higher plane filled with nothing but a few battles saddened the creature. That wasn't a world worth inhabiting anymore.

"Where are the other magical beasts?" The Eternal Snake asked. "Why is none of them fighting?"

"Defying Demon used them as cannon fodder to fend off our initial assault," Marcella explained. "The few surviving creatures should be hidden inside ethereal inscriptions. I can bring you there if you wish."

"No magical beast is fighting Heaven and Earth," The Eternal Snake sighed before voicing a low hiss. "Unforgivable."

"What?" Marcella gasped before the snake's massive tail cracked at her.

The attack was fast enough to take Marcella by surprise, but she still managed to summon a few plants to protect herself. However, the sheer physical prowess expressed by the Eternal Snake pierced her vegetation and flung her away.

"Plants?!" The Eternal Snake hissed in anger. "How did plants remain in this battle when the magical beasts left it?"

Marcella dispersed her momentum only to find the Eternal Snake staring at her from a distance. She instinctively summoned her vegetation to reveal her power and prove herself worthy of that battlefield, but the scene only made the creature angrier.

"Cultivators," The Eternal Snake scoffed. "Even someone using plants underestimates me. This ends today."

"Wait!" Marcella hurriedly exclaimed in front of the Eternal Snake's sudden calm. "I'll let you fight me once everything is over. Let's take care of Defying Demon first."

"You'll let me?" The Eternal Snake repeated as its calm shattered and anger came out of its figure again. "Do you think you can stop me?"

Marcella could only heave a sigh at those words. Her plan had failed, but she promptly moved to the next one. Energy flowed into her vegetation to generate new magical plants meant to counter what she knew about the Eternal Snake.

The Eternal Snake was too angry to waste time in words. It stretched its body to slam its tail on the thick ice and use the impact to push itself forward.

The sprint was quite exceptional for a magical beast, but Marcella was one of the best privileged cultivators in the entire sky. She could follow the charge, and her plants even happened to be faster than the Eternal Snake.

Sharp flowers and branches that carried bright tips shot toward the charging creature, but clanging noises resounded when they landed on it. Nothing pierced the green scales, and a considerable chunk of the vegetation shattered when the Eternal Snake fell on it.

The Eternal Snake spat a silver torrent that froze anything it touched. The broken vegetation transformed into an icy landmass, but Marcella severed herself from it before the ability could reach her.

Marcella teleported above the snake and recreated the array of magical plants while adjusting them to her opponent's new sturdiness. Flowers with burning petals grew all around them and closed to create fuming spears that shot forward and fused into a single structure.

The attack was too fast for the Eternal Snake. The fuming structure pierced its body before generating branches that expanded through its insides.

A proper array of magical plants grew and pierced the snake from the inside. Roots and branches came out of the scales before diving back into its body to add vegetation to that technique.

Marcella believed that killing the Eternal Snake quickly was impossible, but she could still immobilize it. Dealing with the creature couldn't be easier than piercing the ice separating her from the battle, so she opted for the second approach.

Nevertheless, the Eternal Snake pulled itself away from the technique, uncaring of the scales, muscles, and organs that the plants inside it destroyed. More than half of its body turned into a gory rain during its reckless gesture, but the magical beast didn't care at all.

The Eternal Snake launched its open mouth toward Marcella, but she teleported away and replicated her previous attack. The creature had started to use the ice in the area to heal itself, but vast arrays of magical plants soon filled its body again.

Marcella didn't think much of the Eternal Snake after witnessing those exchanges. The creature's resilience was immense, but it had to freeze something to activate the healing process. She could prevent that by simply retracting her plants after inflicting wounds.

After a few exchanges, the Eternal Snake turned into nothing more than a gory mess of broken skin and falling internal organs. More than ninety percent of its body had fallen into the void, and Marcella sighed at that sight. However, the injuries suddenly vanished, and the missing flesh reappeared on the snake.