SSS Ranked Shadow Monarch: Summoning Infinite Shadows-Chapter 279: Welcome back
The two figures, the lady and the man poked at the snake after it had consumed Aren. Their faces a complex mess of emotions, they had seen Aren fight, they watched him dance around the snake like a butterfly, there was no real way that he could have gotten caught that easily, yet he was now dead in the belly of the monster.
They had not known Aren for a long time, yet seeing this made their hearts drop, their confidence waned. They stared at the snake, and as it turned to look at them, the initial feeling they had, the confidence they had come with, it was no longer there.
"Tch." The man clicked his tongue in anger, not only at himself but at Aren, who had shown them a false hope that they would win. When they had first attacked, they did not come with the belief that they would win, they knew the odds were stacked against them, and yet they chose to fight. But after he showed up, he showed them a sliver of hope that showed them they could win, only for him to be consumed.
"I guess we take it down ourselves." The lady spoke, her tone as flat as a board, like she did not want to do it anymore, but had an obligation to.
"That’s what we’ll do." He replied, then punched his fists together, hyping himself and forcing the adrenaline to pump.
He charged ahead first, his feet pressing hard against the ground.
"Cover me." He yelled. She responded, mounting her gun into the ground properly and preparing to shoot.
"I got you." She muttered as she lined the shot.
’If that dude was capable of damaging you badly, so am I.’ She said in her mind, forcing her concentration back to the peak and keeping her eyes on the goal in front.
BANG!
Her first shot ripped, it tore through the air and slammed into the snake, it was not her most powerful, but it was enough to push the head back.
The man looked up, he saw his opportunity, he clenched his fist hard, his knees bent, he shot into the air. As the ground got farther away, the snake got closer to him, and he readied to attack.
He pulled his fist back and let it rip, it sounded like it tore through the sound barrier, reaching speeds that made it turn into a blur that could barely be seen.
"Arghhhhhhhhhh!" He yelled, wringing himself dry to get every bit of strength out.
His fist landed.
BOOM.
A shockwave ripped through the air, the side of the snake caved in, and more than ten scales were blasted off. Blood gushed out in an instant, like a fountain.
He looked at it, and a grin formed for a moment, only to be wiped away as the tail of the snake came toward him like a speeding truck. He was up in the air and there was no way for him to dodge, so he tucked himself behind his arm, and prayed for the best.
BANG!
Another shot ripped through the air, hitting the tail right at the tip, deflecting it. The man looked up, seeing the tail get pushed back, he turned around to see the lady, and she gave him a nod.
He allowed himself to fall to the ground as he tried to retreat, he wanted to regroup with the girl before they attacked again, but right at that moment, the snake seemed to move faster, lunging at him, teeth wide open and ready to bite.
"Watch out!" The lady screamed.
He turned around, only to see the mouth wide open and about to snap shut with him there. There was no way he could run fast enough to escape from the teeth of the snake, and it was far too late for the lady to intercept, he was definitely going to die, but as the teeth of the monster were about to reach him,
As the man thought he was about to face his end, shadows suddenly burst out of the mouth of the snake, latching onto the mouth of the snake, forcing it open, and from the depths of the snake, Aren burst out, he leaped from outside with his hammer in his hands. "Keep your damn mouth shut." Aren yelled, leaping into the air as he swung down with full force, the hammer slammed into the head of the snake, driving it into the ground hard.
He flipped and landed on the ground. Aren’s boots skidded across the dirt as he forced himself back, his arms trembling from the impact of that last strike. The ground beneath the snake’s head had cratered, dust and fragments of stone rising into the air like a broken breath, but the creature was not down.
Not even close.
A deep, guttural hiss tore from its throat, vibrating through the battlefield. The snake’s massive body coiled, scales grinding against one another with a sound like metal scraping metal. Blood still poured from the shattered section of its side, but even that seemed to slow, the flesh twitching unnaturally as it began to close.
Aren’s eyes narrowed.
It’s regenerating? No, slowing the bleed. Either way, that is bad.
He exhaled sharply, tightening his grip on the hammer. His arms felt heavy, like they did not quite belong to him anymore. Being swallowed had not just been a close call, it had taken something out of him. The darkness in that thing’s gut, the pressure, the suffocating heat, it lingered.
I miscalculated. I thought I had its rhythm.
"Don’t freeze now!" the man barked from behind him, landing roughly but already forcing himself upright. "You just made your dramatic return, don’t waste it!"
Aren did not respond immediately. His gaze remained locked on the snake as it lifted its head again, higher this time, more cautious.
Good.
It had learned.
"That thing adapts fast," Aren finally said, his voice low. "If we give it space, it will recover fully."
"Then we don’t," the lady replied, already repositioning. Her rifle clicked as she adjusted her stance. "We keep the pressure."
Aren nodded once.
"Fine. Then stay sharp."
The snake moved first.
Its body snapped forward, not with the wild aggression from before, but with terrifying precision. Its jaws did not aim for Aren this time. They shot past him.
"MOVE!" Aren roared.
The man barely reacted in time, throwing himself sideways as the snake’s fangs slammed into the ground where he had been. The impact split the earth open, sending a violent tremor outward.
Aren dashed forward.
His feet dug into the ground as he closed the distance in an instant, swinging his hammer low this time, aiming not for the head, but the wounded side.
If it can heal, then I will just keep breaking it faster than it can recover.
The hammer connected.
BOOM!
Another shockwave burst outward, tearing scales free and reopening the wound. Blood sprayed again, thicker this time, darker.
The snake recoiled, its body writhing violently, but then its tail came.
Fast.
Too fast.
Aren’s instincts screamed.
He twisted mid-motion, barely bringing his hammer up in time as the tail collided with him.
CRACK!
The force launched him across the battlefield like a ragdoll. His body slammed into the ground, bounced once, then rolled violently before finally skidding to a stop.
For a moment, everything went silent.
Then,
"Hey!" the lady shouted.
He coughed, forcing air back into his lungs as pain flared through his arms.
That hurt more than it should have.
His grip tightened again.
No. That thing is getting faster.
The snake did not give him time to recover.
It lunged again, this time at him.
"Not happening," the man growled.
He charged in from the side, fists clenched, and drove a punch straight into the snake’s lower jaw.
BOOM!
The impact redirected the strike just enough, the snake’s fangs snapped shut inches from Aren’s head, missing by a breath.
"Get up!" the man shouted.
Aren was already moving.
He pushed himself off the ground, ignoring the strain in his body as he surged forward again. This time, he did not hesitate.
He leapt.
Higher than before.
The air rushed past him as he raised the hammer overhead.
Endure it.
The snake’s eyes tracked him.
Push through it.
Its body coiled again, muscles tensing.
Break it.
He brought the hammer down.
But the snake moved.
At the last second, its head twisted, and instead of a clean hit, the hammer slammed against the side of its skull.
Still,
BOOM!
The force drove the snake into the ground again, cracking the terrain, but not as deep, not as devastating as before.
Aren felt it immediately.
It’s resisting now.
The snake retaliated instantly.
Its body surged upward, throwing Aren off balance. Before he could recover, its coils lashed out, wrapping around him.
Tight.
Too tight.
Aren’s breath caught as the pressure crushed inward, his ribs creaking under the force.
"Damn it!" he gritted.
The world narrowed.
Not again.
He struggled, trying to pull his arm free, but the coils tightened further.
From the outside,
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
