CHAPTER 274: 274: THE BASILISK’S HUNGER AND THE HAREM’S WRATH

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"Stop," Vel growled, covering her mouth.

Kai chuckled. "This is the weirdest recovery I have ever had."

"You’re welcome," all four said in unison.

The warmth was thick. Soothing. For a moment, it felt like home.

And then the sky cracked.

Not with light or fire. With pressure.

A soundless roar echoed through the air, pressing against their lungs.

Vel shot up, eyes wide. "Something’s coming."

Akayoroi’s antennae stiffened. "A predator. Close."

Sha was already moving. "Direction?"

"South ridge," Naaro said.

Then it moved.

A shadow too fast. Trees fell. Rocks split.

And from that darkness came the beast.

It stood fifteen meters tall, a terror born of obsidian bone and molten sinew. Its main body was that of a massive lizard-dog hybrid, but serpentine heads coiled from its back, each lined with glowing fangs. Its tail swept like a crashing anchor. Its steps scorched the earth.

[Predator-Class Beast: Rank Six

Designation: Cindervore Basilisk

Sub-Trait: Apex Flame Siphoner]

It breathed fire not to burn — but to drain the aura. A soul eater of the wilds.

And it had come for him.

"Defensive formation!" Vel shouted.

Azhara yanked Kai upright. "Sorry sir! Cuddle time is over!"

Kai staggered. "That thing..."

"It followed the scent of power," Akayoroi said grimly. "Yours."

Sha stood beside him. "We’ll hold it."

The basilisk roared, its mouth hissing in unison. It had sensed the Monarch’s aura. A challenge.

Kai forced his body into stance. "Buy me thirty seconds. Then I will burn it down."

Azhara kissed his forehead. "You better." Vel ignited aura bombs. Sha lunged into a flank. Akayoroi summoned a wave of molten spikes. Naaro vanished into the mist.

And far, far to the south, where mountains melted into the valley of metal, a forge blazed under the twilight.

Meanwhile somewhere in the forest, a girl stood alone. Her claws shaped steel. Her eyes turned north. She had heard the call. The forge would answer soon.

The ground rumbled with every breath the basilisk took. Its blue flamed eyes locked onto Kai with a hunger that felt ancient. Obsidian plates shifted along its shoulders as six serpent heads slithered around its back, snapping and hissing in discord. Heat rippled across the clearing like an invisible tide, blistering the edges of the mossy nest they had crafted just moments ago.

Sha moved first, a blur of speed and steel. She darted to the creature’s left, aiming to sever its peripheral heads. Vel throws two aura bombs at it, one arcing high, the other bouncing low like a mischievous cricket on fire. They exploded with blinding flashes, momentarily staggering the beast.

Azhara danced into the fray like a drunk ballerina, laughing as she tossed a glimmering powder in the air that ignited in waves of purple smoke. "Distraction protocol initiated. I also smell like roses now."

Naaro’s form shimmered in and out of shadow near the rear of the creature, leaving behind trails of cold mist. She slipped beneath the beast’s swaying tail, planting spike mines shaped like grinning frogs that croaked just before detonation.

Akayoroi raised her blade high. Her voice was calm, but her aura flared like a dormant volcano awoke. "You dare approach our king?"

The basilisk bellowed in reply, its central maw belching forth a stream of soul-scorching blue fire. It wasn’t flame that burned flesh. It was a flame that clawed at the spirit.

Kai winced, feeling it even from his knees. The heat was a whisper in his bones, calling him out, demanding submission. His blood felt like it boiled. But he held on. Barely.

Vel reached his side, panting. "Thirty seconds? We’re stalling a flamethrower hydra with attitude. Please tell me you’re almost upright."

Kai pushed against the earth, forcing strength back into his limbs. His skin glowed faintly as silver strands of aura wove around him, drawn to his star core like moths to a sacred flame.

"Just a little longer," he said through gritted teeth. "Talk to me. Keep me focused."

Vel nodded. "Right. Uh. Did I ever tell you about the time Sha tried to cuddle a cactus thinking it was a baby hedgehog?"

"You told me that twice," Kai muttered. (Story for another time.)

"I will tell it again until you stand, damn it."

The basilisk swept its tail in a wide arc. Sha flipped over it narrowly, but the tail shattered a stone pillar where Vel had been crouching moments earlier.

Akayoroi hurled her blade, impaling one of the snake heads mid scream. The molten edge burst through the other side, and the head exploded in a sizzling mix of scales and ichor. The basilisk roared in agony, spinning wildly, knocking over three boulders and sending Naaro sprawling.

"Score one for the queen lady," Azhara said, then grinned manically. "Also, we are definitely going to die unless someone stabs that thing’s butthole."

"I volunteer you," Vel snapped.

"I would, but I left my anti basilisk suppository blade in my other pouch."

Kai laughed, just a little. His legs firmed beneath him. "Okay. Time to get up."

Vel stepped back. "We stalled. Your turn, King Sparkles."

Kai stood.

Silver aura rippled along his arms. His aura flared wide, wrapping around his woman like a protective veil. Their exhaustion lessened. Their breathing steadied. Their wounds knit slightly as his presence filled the clearing like sunlight after a storm.

The basilisk froze. All seven eyes turned to him. Its main head snarled. A predator recognizing a rival apex.

Kai stepped forward.

His exoskeleton shimmered, and folded energy unfolded behind him. His mandibles clicked. His voice dropped into a tone that rumbled the stone beneath them.

"I gave you one chance to leave."

The basilisk surged forward. It crashed into the group with a roar, fangs bared. But this time, Kai moved by activating his skill reflex mode.

He blinked out of sight and reappeared above its central head. Both his fists glowed with a compressed aura. He brought them down like twin meteors. The impact cracked the beast’s skull, sending it reeling.

One of the side heads lashed at him, but Vel intercepted, using a short barrier of glittering light to deflect it.