Myriad Devils-Chapter 73: Lightning Snakes

The Crystalline Lake could not be located within the heart of the Blood-Drip Jungle. In fact, if one measured the Blood-Drip Jungle, and its depths, one would realize that the Crystalline Lake only signaled transitioning from the outermost perimeter of the Blood-Drip Jungle to the initial inner reaches of the forest.

The danger one may’ve faced up to now would then begin an evolution.

So, to those that did not find the Blood-Drip Jungle as dangerous as it may have previously been portrayed as, perhaps not the Crystalline Lake itself, but soon after encountering the Crystalline Lake, one was sure to pick up a whiff of a certain scent.

This scent...

Whether it be within the depths of the Crystalline Lake, or past the lake and deeper into the forest, it was omnipresent.

Naturally,

This was the scent of death.

Evidently, even on the surface of the Crystalline Lake, its waters sometimes crackled with electric currents. Such an occurrence actually originated from the very depths of the lake, specifically, from the creatures that existed within it.

These beasts lived hundreds and thousands of feet away from the surface, yet the residue of their prowess traversed upwards and could sometimes be visible to those that neared the lake.

Usually, this occurred when these creatures activated their powers, whether that be for show, for example, in an act of play, or in the event that they feel threatened, for example, in a battle of life-and-death.

Verily, right now, it was the latter.

In the depths of Crystalline Lake, a region where light originating from the skies would’ve long been devoured, not reaching, still, this area was beautifully lit up, decorated by glowing flower buds which had sprouted from the lake’s bed.

Crackling with bolts of multi-colored lightning, these Lightning Flower Buds, genuine mystic treasures, brightened this world which resided at the bottom of the lake.

The Lightning Flower Bud’s its children confronted the otherworldly intruders.

Its children...

Lightning Snakes, born from the Lightning Flower Bud, each Lightning Snake had a long and sleek body with iridescent scales shimmering with hues of blue and white, reminiscent of lightning flashes. Their bodies were almost ethereal in appearance, crackling with bursts of lightning that terrorized their surroundings.

Anon’s golden amber eyes locked onto one of the lightning snake’s pair of yellowish amber orbs.

These animalistic gems glowed with ferocious intensity!

In the depths of the Crystalline Lake, these lightning snakes maneuvered through the water, reaching speeds that left the group of seven speechless.

These creatures had sharp, elongated fangs that, upon piercing Felix’s flesh, left in him a state of shock, paralyzing his body in the depths of these waters.

Unperturbed by the dense water, Anon’s staff, glowing in a dazzling golden light, parted through the dense water, creating powerful ripples that expanded into the surroundings.

They signaled the beginning of his confrontation between him and the three lightning snakes as he protected an immobilized Felix.

’Heh!’ Frowning outwardly, his annoyance was only shown through bubbles exiting his lips as he swung his staff towards one of these creatures, only to stab nothing but water.

’Their speed is bordering, no, it’s already within the second world!’ Whilst thinking this, the other two lightning snakes darted towards him, clashing with his staff by their own accord.

Lightning flickered in the surroundings as a field of lightning bolts encompassed them in unison, seemingly intertwining with each other, protecting them from Anon’s staff as their companion focused on Felix, spitting out a bolt of lightning towards him.

Before Anon could react, to defend Felix, his two adversaries opened their jaws wide. What occurred thereafter, caused Anon to curse aloud, even in the depths of the lake.

The magical principles of water were manipulated against him as a suction force akin to, yet much more powerful than the ocean tides drew Anon towards the lightning snakes, pulling him away from the paralyzed Felix.

Towards the bolt of lightning that rushed towards him, Felix was unable to protect himself, instead suffering an onslaught of lightning bolts that burnt, charred, and tore at his skin and flesh.

One, two, three...

Seven...

Over a dozen lightning bolt attacks landed on him.

Felix’s pupils, previously dilated, suddenly enlarged as his dazed expression disappeared and his unmoving body, twitched uncontrollably.

Sensing this, the lightning snake that just unleashed a barrage of lightning bolts, abruptly retreated.

But it was too late!

...

’An intriguing principle,’ Seth thought.

Even in the depths of the Crystalline Lake, under quite robust water pressure, Seth’s staff was illusory, akin to seven differing staves with minds of their own.

Still, it was only one.

Yet just one ordinary staff forged from Kolar-dust did not stop him from effortlessly dominating his adversaries.

Amongst the entire group, he confronted the most lightning snakes.

Six of them circled him, and yet, seven staves lashed out against them, allowing him to control the entire battle, and even observe the other fights.

His presence single-handedly affected the entire confrontation, saving the other members of the group from facing off against two or even three lightning snakes simultaneously.

Something that would’ve already seen them defeated.

Towards Felix, ’A principle that affects what is logical,’ Seth mused inwardly, ’Indeed, the world glorifies and blesses some but forsakes and abandons most.’

...

Within the depths of the waters, Andrew, Cathrina, and Melissa worked in unison as they confronted a pair of lightning snakes.

Though they were much slower than the lightning snakes, to the point that they were at risk on more than one occasions, they still remained steadfast.

Whenever they were put in a tight spot, a powerful ripple originating form Andrew’s body, on more than one occasion, saw the bodies of the lightning snakes freeze in time, just barely allowing the group to escape a seemingly detrimental situation.

If he could’ve done this amidst their united attacks, then coupled with his ability, Catharina would’ve been capable of finishing them off, but since their escape from the flesh ripping ants, he had been utilizing this attack, straining his spirit greatly.

So, the confrontation between them and the lightning snakes was at a stalemate.

On the other hand, Bolan, even within the depths of Crystalline Lake, was capable enough to forge multiple images that adorned a familiar appearance, greatly confusing his adversary.

His dark twin blades danced through the waters, ripping apart any resistance as they sliced at the lightning snake which whizzed through the waters.

And though the lighting snake touched upon speeds that was truly stepping into the second world, Bolan’s face remained expressionless as he indifferently confronted its prowess.

The lightning snake rushed towards Bolan, creating several afterimages in its wake. Appearing before Bolan, the crackling of lightning entered his ears, as immediately thereafter, a blinding light attempted to impair his vision!

A ball of lightning that encompassed the lightning snake exploded with destructive intent, and yet, Bolan’s twin blades drew two arcs in the waters, parting the blinding light, like two black lines on a piece of white paper.

Thereafter, the explosive and chaotic lightning energies that rushed towards him saw its power greatly diminished, breaking apart into the surroundings.

A grin plastered Bolan’s face as his abyss-like eyes expressed emotion. Tightening the grip on his blades, a dark aura leaked from his body as it glided effortlessly through the water, almost unreal, Bolan’s movements.

As the serpentine creature prepared to build up power for another burst, he appeared before it, striking...

Boom!

Describing the sudden change in the waters as chaotic would be an incredible understatement as he, Bolan, was sent hurling through the waters uncontrollably, even losing one of his blades in the process.

Some distance away, Seth’s pupils enlarged as he took in the sight displayed before him.

Anon retreated a distance away as Felix, with a muscular body over twelve feet tall, stretched his hand out in a grabbing motion.

The lightning snake had no time to react before it found its body gripped tightly by an all-powerful hand.

Another arm grabbed hold of two more lightning snakes simultaneously. These two had worked seamlessly, together, to confront Anon, but now, even with their lightning barrier, they could not resist Felix’s power.

The sound traversed through the water.

Within his palms, it was akin to explosives erupting as the three lightning snakes had their bodies broke down into chaotic lightning energies that dispersed into the surroundings.

For a moment, a peculiar stillness permeated the depths of this lake.

The six lightning snakes circling Seth moved with synchronicity, completely forgetting him and hurling towards Felix’s gigantic body.

To this, Seth shook his head as his staff interrupted one of the beast’s paths, seemingly catching it by surprise.

’Beasts are just that, beasts,’ Seth secretly lamented at their lesser thinking capabilities, but before his staff could penetrate its body, Felix’s arm came rushing towards the group of six beasts, and Seth.

A powerful fist that utterly dominated wherever it went.

The bodies of the six lightning snakes exploded almost instantaneously as, for just a moment, Seth was able to take in a deep breath of air as the water that surrounded him was seemingly evaporated.

Without a moment’s notice, Seth’s back rocketed into the lake’s bed, causing an expansive crater to take shape as his blood-red orbs twinkled with an unknown light.

He had just suffered an unexpected attack, yet there were no visible hints of emotions on his face. Instead, he simply stared at Felix’s gigantic form, almost as if he was in a daze.

But this was Seth.

In a daze?

Anon didn’t believe so.

So as Felix, seemingly without any reasoning, rushed towards Seth as if to confront the latter, Anon moved quickly, intercepting his path with a golden staff shimmering under the light from the Lightning Flower Buds.

Felix’s body was stained with injuries, charred skin, and even gaping wounds caused by the lightning bolts, and yet his strength was higher than ever before.

In the face of Anon’s staff, Felix’s heel descended from above, towards Anon who floated before him, protecting Seth who still rested on the lake’s bed, unmoving.

At the same time, the three remaining lightning snakes that confronted the other members of the group, enticed by the gathering of stellar cosmic energies between the confrontation of Felix and Anon, darted towards this spectacle, desiring no more than to join this showdown.

As Anon’s staff parted the waters, rushing upwards, and Felix’s heel generated a repulsive force that pressed down on Anon, the two were circled by three more lightning snakes, along with a brilliant display of chaotic lights.