CHAPTER 183: [LION’S FANG GUILD’S TEAMWORK]

Everyone froze.

For a long moment, no one even breathed.

The serpent’s voice—low, warped, wrong—still echoed through the air, rippling like thunder underwater.

They had all fought monsters that could imitate human speech before—some could even whisper lies into their heads—but this was different. This wasn’t mimicry. This was awareness.

And that single word it spoke—

Orion.

It wasn’t just nonsense.

Everyone knew that name.

Orion—the constellation, the hunter among the stars. A word more likely to be found in astronomy books than in dungeons. It wasn’t something a creature from another realm should have known.

Zaira’s lips parted slightly, her voice barely audible. "Did... did it just say Orion?"

Mio’s brow furrowed. "That’s... not strange."

"It’s speaking our language," Mel muttered, tension lacing his tone. "Is this some sort of auditory trick? Like the phantoms?."

Eli stood completely still, his breath shallow.

If the others were merely shocked that the serpent could speak, Eli’s reaction was different. He wasn’t just stunned—he was unnerved.

Because that word.

That name.

It wasn’t random.

The serpent hadn’t just said Orion—It had reacted to it.

It looked down at them now, its head lowering slowly, the weight of its gaze enough to make the air press against their lungs. Its massive body shifted, blocking what little light remained, its shadow swallowing the clearing whole.

Darkness wrapped around them like a second skin.

’Is it... inside my head?’ Eli’s thoughts raced, his chest tightening. ’Is this some kind of mental ability? Is it going to use my thoughts against me again?’

The serpent’s jaw opened, smoke and static spilling from between its fangs.

"Y... You..."

Its voice grated like stone grinding against metal.

"...know..."

Eli’s pulse pounded in his ears. ’You know...? What do I know?’

The others barely moved, eyes wide, every one of them on edge. Even Caelen’s hand twitched toward his sword, his golden aura beginning to flicker again.

"Or...io—"

Before it could finish, the world blurred.

Eli suddenly felt weightless again—no, not weightless. Airborne.

A strong arm locked around his waist as the ground dropped out beneath him.

"K-Kairo—what the hell—" Eli gasped, his breath catching as wind whipped past his face. "What are you doing?!"

Below, the serpent’s roar split the air, a deafening wave of sound shaking the ground.

"Captain?!" Mio’s voice rang out from below, sharp with alarm. "Where are you going?!"

Kairo’s tone cut through the chaos, clipped and commanding. "Mio, Mel—bind the monster!"

"But—" Mel started, voice cracking.

"Now!" Kairo’s order snapped like a whip.

Eli clutched tighter against him, feeling the hum of mana vibrating beneath Kairo’s skin. "Are you seriously planning to attack it already?!"

Kairo’s jaw tightened, his eyes never leaving the serpent. "Yes."

The blood in his hands surged, coalescing into dozens of crimson blades that floated in the air around them. Each one glowed faintly, pulsing like living veins.

And then—he moved.

The air shattered.

Kairo swung one hand forward, and the blood weapons shot out like bullets, slicing through the fog with a shriek that rattled the trees. The serpent reared back, electricity bursting from its body in retaliation.

The collision was catastrophic.

A blast of heat and light erupted, throwing shockwaves through the forest. Branches snapped, debris scattered, the earth cracked beneath the pressure.

When the dust cleared, Kairo had already landed on a massive branch jutting from one of the fallen trees—Eli still in his arms, his expression unreadable, jaw tight.

Below them, he could see movement.

Caelen’s team—Punzo, Jabby, Arman—were already in motion.

Without even waiting for orders.

For a heartbeat, Eli thought his hearing had gone.

The serpent’s last hiss still echoed in his skull — that voice, deep and broken, "You... know... Orion..." looping in his head like static.

He wasn’t even sure if he heard it right. Maybe his brain was just filling in the blanks.

But before he could even think—

A flare of orange fire sliced through the mist.

The explosion that followed shattered the silence.

Punzo moved first.

The sharp snap of his fingers cracked like a gunshot, and a chain of fiery detonations erupted along the serpent’s flank.

Each blast bloomed midair — one after another, rhythmic, deliberate, as though the explosions themselves were keeping time.

Each flash illuminated the battlefield in violent bursts of orange and gold, cutting through the haze and painting the serpent’s massive body in light and shadow.

"Let’s go!" Punzo shouted, his grin wide, his tone wild. The air around him vibrated with energy — every breath, every twitch of his hand sparking another blast.

’He’s making sound traps,’

Eli realized, eyes widening. ’Every snap, every word—it’s triggering mana detonations. Even the serpent’s own hissing can set them off.’

The serpent recoiled with a hiss so loud it made the ground shake, its scales flashing blue as the next explosion went off, right under its chin.

"Jabby!" Punzo barked.

Eli barely caught her movement. One second she wasn’t there—the next, she was.

Mist coalesced into form beside the serpent’s head, and there she stood, her glaive catching the light from Punzo’s inferno.

Her movements were liquid and sharp all at once—beautiful and brutal. Every swing of her blade sliced through the air with surgical precision, sending crescent arcs of wind crashing into the serpent’s face.

"Keep it blind!" she yelled, her voice nearly swallowed by the roar of wind and flame.

Her body vanished and reappeared in bursts, a blur of speed and motion. The serpent thrashed, massive jaws snapping, but every strike met nothing but air and cutting wind.

Then the monster lunged.

Its head whipped forward like a guillotine, shattering the ground where Jabby had stood a second ago. The shockwave blasted her backward—

But Punzo was already there.

Another snap — a burst of heat erupted beneath her, cushioning her fall with an upward explosion. She spun midair, landed beside him, breathless but smiling, her hair glowing faintly under the reflection of his fire.

Eli’s chest ached. Awe mixed with disbelief. "Their teamwork is really something," he whispered, his voice trembling. "It’s like they’ve trained for this exact fight."

Then the world split open.

The ground itself cracked with a blinding surge of gold. Light streaked outward in jagged veins that crawled across the forest floor.

Eli’s head whipped around.

Arman.

He was already sprinting across the serpent’s massive coils, every step detonating with raw energy. Sparks climbed up his body, racing toward the blade in his grip. His eyes burned gold, focused, furious.

The pressure in the air spiked—so dense Eli’s ears rang.

"PULSE ARC!" Arman roared.

When his sword came down, it wasn’t a swing. It was a supernova.

The impact was instant and devastating. The world turned white.

A deafening crack split the air as shockwaves burst outward in concentric rings, tearing the forest apart. Trees exploded from the ground. The serpent’s body convulsed, its scales splitting under the sheer force.

Eli threw an arm over his eyes, teeth gritted, the brightness so intense it burned behind his eyelids.

When the light finally dimmed, he could see them again—

Punzo diving through the smoke, snapping, his detonations perfectly timed to intercept the serpent’s counterattacks.

Jabby spinning midair, walls of wind deflecting debris and redirecting the creature’s own gusts.

Arman charging through the center of the chaos, his sword wreathed in lightning and gold, every strike shaking the ground beneath his feet.

They weren’t fighting chaotically.

They were flowing.

Each movement fed into the next—Punzo’s fire shielding Jabby, Jabby’s wind clearing the path for Arman, Arman’s pulse detonating in rhythm with Punzo’s next explosion.

It wasn’t just combat. It was choreography—destruction in perfect harmony.

And Caelen...

Caelen hadn’t even joined in yet.

The serpent’s hiss tore through the air — a sound so loud and sharp it made Eli’s chest tighten. Its massive body writhed, twisting and recoiling as Punzo’s explosions rippled across its scales. Each detonation sent waves of molten air surging outward, the sound bouncing through the ruined forest like cannon fire.

But the team didn’t falter.

Jabby was already moving — her body a blur of motion and wind. Every sweep of her glaive condensed the surrounding air into slicing gales that wrapped around Punzo’s flames, compressing them. The fire didn’t fade — it intensified, the heat magnified until it roared like a living thing.

Arman caught the backlash of it. He braced himself, one foot digging into the scorched ground, the energy from the blast rippling up his arm and into his sword.

His blade flared gold, lightning crawling along its edge, and with a shout, he redirected the kinetic force back at the serpent in a massive arc of destructive power.

It was chaos — but coordinated chaos.

Eli’s pulse thundered in his ears. From his vantage point above, it almost looked like they were winning. The serpent’s massive frame shuddered under the combined onslaught.

Fire and lightning crackled across its body. The ground split open beneath it, molten and charred.

’It’s working... it’s actually working...’ he thought, breath hitching.

But then—

The smoke cleared.

And his stomach dropped.

The serpent’s scales gleamed under the flickering firelight — black, wet, and pristine. Not a single one was broken. The light reflected off them like polished armor. The spots where Punzo’s fire had burned still glowed faintly, but the skin beneath was untouched. Untouchable.

The realization sank in like a stone.

Eli’s voice came out quiet, almost a whisper. "Well... as expected." His hand curled slightly at his side. "It’s not working."

Because of course it wasn’t.

It was an SS-Class boss — the kind that shouldn’t even exist outside of specialized raids. No matter how strong they were, not one of them, not even the two S-Class captains, could take it down alone.

Down below, Punzo wiped the sweat from his brow, his smirk faltering. The flames flickered weakly at his fingertips. "You’ve gotta be kidding me," he breathed, his usual swagger replaced by disbelief.

"It’s not damaged!" Jabby shouted, her tone sharp with frustration. She swung her glaive again, wind slicing through the air—but it scattered harmlessly against the serpent’s hide. "Even the air won’t cut through!"

Arman grit his teeth, slamming his blade into the ground. Another golden shockwave tore through the soil, surging up the serpent’s side. The earth trembled — but the monster didn’t even flinch.

"Then we hit harder," he growled, his aura crackling.

The serpent’s body tensed in response, coiling tighter. Its head tilted slightly — that alien intelligence glimmering behind its bright, electric-blue eyes.

Then its scales lit up.

Electric veins pulsed under its skin, mana flooding through its body in thick, luminous streams. The hum of it filled the air — deep, resonant, and terrifying.

Kairo clicked his tongue, his eyes narrowing as the light reflected across his face. He didn’t speak, but his expression said enough. His team, too, looked shaken — caught between awe and alarm.

Eli could tell.

Kairo wasn’t impressed. He was assessing.

And maybe, just maybe, a little irritated.

From what Eli remembered, Kairo never watched other guilds’ raids. He didn’t care about comparisons, didn’t bother analyzing competition.

But now, watching Caelen’s team move — perfect in their coordination, relentless in their rhythm — he was forced to see it firsthand.

’So even he can get thrown off,’ Eli thought faintly, his lips twitching. ’Guess he’s not immune to being outshined.’

Below, Kairo’s blade flared brighter, his expression tightening.

"Fucking bastard," he muttered under his breath, voice cold but controlled.

Eli’s gaze flicked toward him, catching that subtle crack — that tiny slip in Kairo’s calm demeanor.

’That’s new.’