The impact sent shockwaves through the chamber, knocking loose stones and dust into the air, obscuring the battle for a brief moment.


    "Now!" Seth shouted, and the wall of mud surged forward, engulfing the serpent''s tail and weighing it down. The serpent thrashed and roared, but it was stuck fast, unable to move freely.


    Sparks emerged as the burning sword clashed against the serpent''s scales, each strike causing minuscule scratches that seemed almost insignificant against the creature''s colossal size. Liber''s muscles bulged with the effort of his swings, each movement calculated and precise. The serpent''s eyes never left his, a silent battle of wills playing out amidst the chaos.


    Liber, noticing the scratches, clicked his tongue in annoyance. The smoke surrounding him shot forward, making him leap toward the colossal body of the serpent.


    The serpent, realizing the new threat, swung its head around with astonishing speed. The purple smoke that had once filled the chamber was now emanating from its very pores, a desperate attempt to disorient and slow down its attackers.


    As the smoke wrapped around Liber and Seth, their movements grew sluggish. The world around them slowed to a crawl, their hearts hammering in their chests like war drums. Despite their best efforts to resist, the venom''s influence was seeping back into their systems. The pain from their wounds flared up again, and beads of cold sweat rolled down their faces as the bleeding resumed.


    "Stay... focused," Liber gritted through clenched teeth, his eyes never leaving the serpent''s. His sword arm felt heavier than ever before, but he knew that if he stopped, they would all die.


    Running with all his might, Liber soon reached the serpent''s head; the serpent, still being held down in the mud made by Seth, started shaking its head in hopes of throwing Liber to the ground.


    Gritting his teeth, Liber stabbed the serpent''s scales to get a better grip. "Like hell… I will go down on you, you bastard."


    The black smoke filled with ashen smell grew denser and denser as it reached his still-burning sword, wrapping it in layers; with a loud thud, the serpent''s head crashed towards the ground as the black smoke had become several times denser and heavier.


    Seth took this chance, his hand trembling as he channeled the last of his power into the mud beneath the creature. The floor cracked and heaved, sending up a spray of earth and rock that smacked against the serpent''s body like a storm of fists. The creature roared in agony, the pressure increasing as the weight of the earth pressed down on its scales.


    *****


    I looked at the ongoing battle; my hands trembled as I held my dagger.


    The waves of monsters have not slowed down even a bit. They kept coming endlessly.


    The smell of ashes and blood had filled the chamber that once was the domain of the colossal serpent'' that was now being held down.


    Sofia, the nimble archer, her eyes sharp and focused, let fly arrows with unerring precision. Each shot found its mark, piercing through the thick hides of the incoming monsters, the smaller ones dropping immediately while the larger ones howled in pain and anger, their eyes burning with a malevolent light. Her quiver was almost empty, but she didn''t let it deter her. Each pull of the bowstring was a declaration of war against the tide of horrors that threatened to overwhelm them.


    Sam, her partner, moved like a whirlwind, his sword a silver streak cutting through the darkness. His blade danced with the grace of a ballet dancer, yet it dealt the merciless blows of an executioner. Each swing sent monsters flying, their limbs severed or torsos cleft in two. He was the epitome of speed and strength, a beacon of hope amidst the chaos.


    I couldn''t help but admire the ongoing battle; surely we were in a dire state, but a small part of me felt excited at this ongoing slaughter of monsters.


    I raised my gun and fired a bang straight at the incoming monsters; the red humanoid creatures perished one after another.


    My nostrils filled with the poisonous smoke of serpents; I still felt dull, and the headache wouldn''t stop.


    ''My ability is much harder to use now.''


    I looked at my left side and chuckled only to see Gian like a bull charging straight towards the monsters, making them fly.


    "Why is it happening?" Kena, being protected by Anny, cried in pain at this endless nightmare.


    "Why?Why? Brother, why did you die?"


    He muttered, but I couldn''t understand what he meant.


    Slash the monsters that got near me, where soon stopped by ''static,'' freezing on the spot, and got either stabbed or cut down.


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    "Argh!" Holding my head, I clearly felt it twitching in pain; my nose had already started bleeding.


    The metallic taste of blood felt too unpleasant; my attention wavered once more, making me get hit in the arms by one of the monsters present.


    I staggered back, dropping my gun.


    Raising my dagger with trembling hands, I locked eyes with the snarling humanoid creature. It lunged at me, its claws outstretched. I stepped aside, my reflexes sharper than I had any right to expect given the state of my body. The creature''s momentum carried it past me, and I took the opportunity to bury my blade into its side.


    Thud


    A loud thud followed. I looked at the gigantic serpent, its scales shining in the dark, as it fell to the ground with Liber at the top of its head.


    "Did… they kill it?"


    I mumbled at the sight of such a creature falling down, my breathing still heavy.


    "Asher! Are you alright?"


    Anny''s shouts reached my ears; looking at her, I simply gave a nod.


    I was alright, but for now only. My ability is becoming impossible to use with each passing moment.


    A monster slipped past me, running toward Anny and Kena.


    "Stop."


    The monster''s body went rigid as I hit it with ''static.'' Not wasting a second, I held my gun, aimed, and clicked the trigger. As the white strikes the monster, its body crumbles in thin air.


    "Wahhh"


    Kena, who had watched the monsters move toward them, crawled out, running away.


    "Kena, stop."


    Anny shouted in a hurry.


    My attention wavered once again; my eyes got blurry.


    Seth had fallen to the ground, his body twitching as white foam left his mouth; the poisonous purple smoke got him.


    "Seth" Kena, who had run away, reached toward his fallen body.


    Liber from afar could be seen struggling against the serpent now free from its chain.


    "Ha!" a sound escaped Kena''s mouth.


    "Hahaha haha."


    The small sounds grew into a crazed laugh, echoing through the chamber, piercing the ears of the exhausted team. They turned to see Kena standing over Seth''s trembling body, his eyes wide and wild, the laughter unnaturally deep and sinister.


    "I see, I truly wasted my time, didn''t I? I should have just drunk the potion from the start. Sorry for being a coward." Kena smiled at Seth, whose body had started to turn purple from poison.


    I couldn''t help but quietly see the unknown play going on.


    "If this thing can heal my legs and make me an awakener, surely one more vial of it will make me even stronger."


    Kena''s hands glowed as a veil with greenish red liquid appeared in his palm.


    "With this, I will surely surpass my dead brother. Then Father will look at me. My mother will also look at me right! Right!"


    Kena mumbled as he took a sip from the bottle he had taken out, and after a gulp, he threw it.


    One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six.... so on countless balls of water formed around him.


    They hovered in the air like a cluster of glowing orbs, each one pulsating with an eerie blue light that reflected off the wet stones and the serpents'' scales.


    "Fire," Kena shouted with a dark smile spreading across his face, his eyes wild with power and a hint of madness. The water bullets shot forth from his fingertips, each one leaving a trail of mist in its wake. They flew in a chaotic pattern, not caring about friend or foe as they sought out the monsters that had surrounded them.


    Gian''s instincts took over, pushing Anny behind him and bracing for the impact. The water bullets slammed into the monsters with the force of a raging river, tearing through their ranks. The serpent, caught off guard by the sudden barrage, reared its head back, trying to avoid the projectiles. However, even in its frenzied state, Kena''s power had grown too erratic. One stray bullet hit Gian''s shoulder, sending him crashing to the ground.


    "Gian!" Anny screamed, her voice filled with horror and desperation as she saw her friend fall.


    The laughter echoed through the chamber, a chilling sound that seemed to resonate with the very air itself. Kena looked around, his eyes wild with a mix of madness and triumph. "What, you''re all still alive?" he taunted, a crazed grin plastered on his face as the water bullets continued to fly erratically. "You''re all just a bunch of bugs to me now!"


    "Have you gone mad!!"


    I cursed out loud at Kena, who now looked at me.


    "Mad, you say. How rude haha. Are you not just jealous of me now?"


    My face went pale as I watched him speak. His body had started turning blue, yet he didn''t notice. Whatever he had taken was making him go crazy.


    "Kena, calm down; we will die if we get hit by your bullets."


    Seeing his actions, I tried a calmer approach. Hoping he would also notice his own actions.


    "So what?" Ken tilted his head; a bulk of mass raised in his head.


    "You all are lowly bugs who will care not for me, of course."


    His height increases at an astounding speed, as his body got thinner and thinner with each passing moment; he again created a number of water orbs as they hovered in the sky surrounding him.


    His eyes had gotten bloodshot, his pupils dilating and contracting erratically. Suddenly, his limbs split apart into a multitude of meat tendrils, each one ending in a sharp tip, like the arms of an octopus. The transformation was grotesque, his body convulsing as it reshaped itself. The tendrils flailed around, leaving a trail of wetness that sizzled and steamed as they grazed the serpent''s scales.


    "Kena! What have you done?" Anny''s voice was a mix of fear and anger as she watched Kena''s body contort and change into something unrecognizable.


    The serpent took advantage of the distraction, its body slithering away from Liber''s exhausted form. The creature''s tail lashed out, sending a spray of mud and stone into the air as it made its escape. Liber coughed and spat out a mouthful of dirt, his eyes never leaving the retreating serpent.


    Thr purple  serpent raised its head towards Kena direction,its jaw opened as it fired his own beam of destruction,corroding  everything  in its path.


    Kena orbs also retaliated as they moved toward, the corrosive  beam.


    The chamber was now a battleground of chaos as Kena''s water bullets collided with the serpent''s purple acid. The impact sent up geysers of steam, the two opposing forces canceling each other out in a display of power that was as beautiful as it was terrifying. The serpent''s eyes narrowed, focusing on the new, monstrous threat before it.


    We all stumbled backward, trying to avoid the flying debris and the serpent''s thrashing tail. The ground beneath us trembled as if it too was alive with the same primal rage that had consumed Kena. I could see the fear in everyone''s eyes, even as they continued to fight with everything they had. The serpent''s escape was not going to be easy, not with Kena in this state.


    Liber, seeing the serpent''s retreat, took a deep, painful breath and pushed himself up. His muscles screamed in protest, but he had to act fast. With a roar, he lunged forward, sword slicing through the air with a speed that defied his exhausted state. The blade bit deep into the serpent''s neck, and it shrieked in pain. The creature''s movements grew erratic, but it didn''t slow down its attempt to slither away.


    As the serpent retreated, the chamber grew eerily quiet, the only sounds the heavy breaths of the team members and the distant echoes of their battle. Sam and Sofia lay on the ground, their bodies bruised and bloodied. They had fought valiantly, but the relentless onslaught had taken its toll.


    Gian''s eyes flickered open, and he groaned in pain. Anny hovered over him, her hands glowing with healing energy as she tried to repair the damage done by the serpent''s venom. Her eyes darted from her friend to the monstrous creature that had once been Kena.


    "Hold on, Gian," she murmured, her voice strained with effort. "We''ll get through this."


    Asher''s heart hammered against his ribs, a frantic drumbeat against the silence that followed Kena''s laughter. Coward, he thought, his own weakness a bitter taste in his mouth. He watched as Gian fell, Anny''s cry echoing his own internal scream. His fingers twitched, a phantom sensation of the gun in his hand.


    Liber''s eyes never left the serpent''s retreating form, his sword arm quivering with the strain of his final strike. The serpent''s tail slapped against the ground, sending waves of mud and dust in every direction as it thrashed about wildly. I watched Kena, my heart racing. His transformation was unnerving, a stark reminder of the dangers lurking within the very power they sought.


    I couldn''t help but shiver. What kind of monster is this? How can a human turn into something like this.?


    My heart sank again as I saw the countless water orbs floating in the sky; Kena, now the tendrils-filled monster, was not going to show mercy if that hit us. We will die.


    If only… He saw the water orbs hovering, each one a tiny sun of destruction. His mind raced, trying to calculate the trajectory, the potential impact. There has to be something… But the poison clouded his thoughts, making it hard to focus, his ability flickering like a dying flame. He had to do something. Anything.