Luna’s hand raised to her face as she braced for the inevitable...but it never ca.
KLANG!
She opened her eyes slowly, only to see a figure standing there, lodging both swords against the snake’s teeth.
"Aren—!"
Aren’s arms locked as he fought against the constrictor’s crushing pressure. Mud churned beneath Aren’s boots as he slid backward slowly.
"MOVE!" he shouted through gritted teeth.
Behind him, Daniel and Marcus didn’t hesitate.
Marcus grabbed Luna by the arm and hauled her upright while Emily and Iris rushed forward to help drag her back toward the clearing.
Sterling’s threads flashed again, wrapping briefly around the serpent’s neck to slow its advance.
But even that only bought them seconds.
The Erald Constrictor hissed, its massive body pushing more and more as it forced its jaws close.
Aren’s arms trembled.
Shit...It’s not gonna hold—!
CRACK!
Both blades shattered like glass between the monster’s teeth. Aren stumbled backward, barely making enough distance to break into a sprint.
"Aren, co on!" Sterling gestured from the end of the mangrove trees.
Aren ran like his life depended on it, because frankly...it did. He ducked beneath a low branch and kept sprinting.
The serpent surged after him, its massive body flowing across the swamp floor, smashing through trees and roots alike to get to him.
It’s too fast! I’m not gonna make it!
Aren risked a glance over his shoulder.
The Erald Constrictor’s head was already weaving between the trees behind him as the distance between them was a asly few ters.
Aren threw himself sideways as the serpent’s jaws slamd into the ground beside him, mud and broken roots exploding outward from the impact.
He rolled once, scrambling back to his feet.
The clearing was just ahead now. Light spilled through the mangrove trunks where the lake opened beyond the forest.
Almost there—
The serpent struck again.
This ti its massive jaws opened wide enough to swallow him whole. Aren looked down to see an all-encompassing shadow take over him.
I’m...dead.
Threads of shimring ether wrapped around his torso like a net, tightening instantly as his body was ripped sideways through the air. The serpent’s jaws snapped shut inches from his face.
Aren slamd into the mud as the threads dragged him across the clearing.
Sterling stood several ters away, one hand extended as glowing strands of ether stretched from her fingers.
She jerked her arm sharply.
Aren slid across the swamp floor until he crashed beside the rest of the group near the edge of the lake, breathing heavily.
"Tha—thank you," he said softly in-between breaths.
Sterling didn’t respond imdiately. Her gaze was fixed on the forest behind him. The others slowly turned as well.
Branches shook violently as the Erald Constrictor burst through the mangrove treeline, its enormous body tearing through the forest in one quick motion.
Sterling’s expression changed instantly.
"Hide. Now."
Daniel grabbed Emily and pulled her head down behind a cluster of nearby bushes while Marcus dragged Iris and Luna into the tangled base of a nearby tree. Aren dropped beside Professor Sterling as they waited.
The Erald Constrictor slid forward, its massive body coiling slowly through the clearing.
It had lost sight of its prey, but knew they were here. Its head lifted slightly as its tongue flicked through the air.
That was when they all felt it...
A large spiritual wave of pressure resounded across the entire clearing. The air itself seed to thicken as an invisible force slamd into Aren.
It was hard to even breathe in such density. Aren looked around only to see that his group mbers were feeling the sa. Even Sterling seed to shift uncomfortably in her spot.
But everyone seed to be thinking the exact sa thing:
...It woke up.
Across the clearing, the Erald Constrictor felt it too. Its vertical pupils dilated back and forth toward the dark waters of the lake.
The lake itself exploded, water and mud blasting outward as sothing enormous ca flying from the other side of the clearing.
The Mangrove Tyrant didn’t hesitate at all.
The tyrant’s massive body twisted violently, its entire mass rotating like a drill as it hurled itself right into the intruder. The attack ca so fast that even the Erald Constrictor barely reacted.
The serpent’s body snapped sideways, slithering across the mud as it narrowly dodged the spinning charge.
The Tyrant tore right past it and smashed into the ground in the exact spot where the serpent had been monts earlier. Mud, mangrove roots, and debris erupted in the air violently as they rained back down once more.
When the spinning finally stopped—
A massive crater had been carved into the clearing.
...Holy shit. So this was the power of the Tyrant.
Across the clearing, the Erald Constrictor recoiled, its massive body coiling up as it hissed violently at the Tyrant.
The ruler of the lake had made its ssage very clear:
This swamp already had a king.
But it seed the ssage went unnoticed, as the snake launched forward imdiately.
One mont, it was coiled near the mangrove roots. The next, its massive body dashed across the clearing as it closed the distance in an instant.
The Tyrant barely had ti to turn.
The Constrictor’s enormous body whipped around the crocodile like a living chain, snapping tightly around the Tyrant’s whole body, limbs, and snout.
The Mangrove Tyrant roared. Its massive jaws tried to snap toward the serpent’s body, only to be tightened once more by the Constrictor.
Mud and water erupted outward as the two titans wrestled across the clearing, their combined weight tearing trenches through the swamp floor.
"Co on," Daniel nudged. "Now’s our chance."
No one argued. With the two titans locked in a violent struggle behind them, the group slipped quietly from their hiding spots.
With both rulers locked in battle, Emily quickly Manifested her dragonflies as they climbed on and flew across the lake.
No one turned back to look at the scene, all except for Aren—with only one thought in his head as he looked at their fight.
I can’t beat those Titans as I am now...not yet.
I need to get stronger.
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