In the middle of the long hallway knelt Vorenhart. His hands trembled, and his eyes were wide with fear.
Standing before him was the Snake Of Illusions. Her smoky body spread across the walls, and her ember-like eyes pulsed like twin infernal flames.
Noticing their presence, she hissed coldly and deeply:
"Long time no ssssssee…"
Frieren immediately understood what was happening. His eyes widened, and without a moment's hesitation, he sprinted forward. He slipped his hand under his coat and drew his sword.
As he charged ahead, his hood slid down his face, gliding over his shoulders and revealing his long, pointed ears.
He didn't stop. With his other hand, he grabbed something from the inner pocket of his coat – a small, smooth, transparent sphere, glowing faintly with a strange bluish light. He clenched it tightly, and the light briefly illuminated the determined expression on his face.
"This ends here, Snake!" Frieren shouted as he lunged at her.
The snake, massive and terrifying, lunged at the Elf with all her might, opening her jaws to devour him. The hiss of her breath filled the air, and the cold, smoke-and-ash-infused vapor enveloped Frieren's body.
But he didn't flinch. He raised his sword and with a powerful strike blocked her attack. Steel clashed against her unreal, smoky fangs, sparks flying from the impact.
Summoning all his strength, Frieren pushed her back several steps. In the next instant, as the snake writhed, he swung his sword and cut precisely across her neck. But instead of blood, thick smoke mixed with glowing embers burst from the wound.
The snake coiled around him, her massive body tightening more and more, while the dense smoke seeping from her neck wound pressed under his skin. The smoke was scorching. Frieren felt his lungs burn, his throat constrict, and every breath turned into agonizing suffocation.
He couldn't endure it—he began coughing, blood dripping from his lips—but even then, he didn't falter. In desperation and resolve, he crushed the sphere he had been holding until it shattered in his palm.
At that moment, the sphere shone brightly. The bluish light pierced the darkness, growing so strong it illuminated the entire hallway. And then—in the next breath—it exploded.
BOOM!
The intense light scattered the smoke in every direction, yet the snake's eyes remained floating in the air. She reformed behind him and struck with her tail. The walls cracked, but Frieren raised his sword, slicing through the blow and deflecting it.
Then the Snake filled the hallway with his own duplicates—dozens of Frieren clones, all with the same sword and the same eyes. They all attacked him at once.
The battle was brutal. Swords clashed, light and smoke flying everywhere. Each clone struck as if real, and Frieren barely managed to fend them off.
"Ah! Ah!" Frieren screamed as his own clones slashed him with their swords.
Blood began to pour from his body, every blade strike leaving a scar and tearing through his clothing.
"Enough!" he shouted, driving his sword into the floor. A wave of magic thundered through the hallway, and all illusions shattered into dust.
The snake reformed from smoke again, taller and stronger. Her eyes glowed like molten iron.
"I am sssssstronger than you!" the snake hissed, opening her mouth.
From it, a pillar of black flame shot out. Frieren raised his sword and the sphere—the barrier of light countered the fire. The hallway trembled, stone melted, and Vorenhart screamed in fear:
"AHHHH!"
Frieren gritted his teeth.
"I will defeat you!"
Frieren's sword flickered in his hands, then suddenly wrapped in blue flames. With one strike, he cut through the black pillar, and with another, severed the snake's head.
For a moment, silence reigned. The snake's smoky body dispersed into a thousand thin threads that slowly vanished into the air, leaving only two glowing ember-like points on the floor. They flickered for a few seconds, pulsing with the last breath of her existence… and then slowly went out.
Kai and Mei reached the Elf, who knelt, leaning on his sword to keep from falling.
"Are you okay?" Kai asked, offering his hand to steady him.
"Oh… um… yes, I'm fine…" Frieren murmured, trying to hide the fatigue in his voice. Yet a smile briefly crossed his face.
Mei couldn't hold back—her eyes shone with excitement. "That was AWESOME!" she shouted, nearly bouncing with joy.
Kai immediately added, "Yeah, you were totally… Ha! Hija! Hu! —and then Hiya!" he shouted, waving his arms as if holding an invisible sword, trying to mimic every one of Frieren's movements.
In the next moment, they both started giggling, swinging and spinning wildly as if engaged in their own epic battle. Their imitations were hilariously clumsy.
Frieren just watched them, blinked a few times, then let out a soft sigh and—for the first time in a long while—smiled quietly.
"Excuse me…" Frieren began, his gaze heavy, eyes full of concern as he looked at the brother and sister. "Excuse me for not telling you… But…"
"What?" Mei blinked, confused, not understanding why the Elf was apologizing.
"I… I know where the diary is…" the Elf added, lifting the tension in the room.
"Really?!" Vorenhart stepped closer, his footsteps echoing on the stone floor, face serious, eyes full of expectation.
Kai's expression suddenly shifted to confusion. "Weird… Voren doesn't want to commit suicide?" he thought, trying to reconcile this new information with what he had known.
"Y-yes… the diary is—" Frieren began to finish his sentence, but suddenly a terrifying, loud sound broke the silence:
GULP!
Before anyone could react, the snake suddenly appeared from nowhere. Her body filled the room and, in a swift, deadly bite, swallowed Frieren whole. His sword was still in his hand, but there was no time to do anything. The sound of crunching and hissing smoke echoed through the hallway, and Vorenhart and Kai stood frozen in shock, while Mei's mouth fell open in disbelief.
"Thanks for the meal!" hissed the snake, her voice cold and ominous, reverberating through the hallway.
"NOOOOOOO!" Vorenhart shouted through the room, his voice echoing off the walls. "SPIT HIM OUT!"
The snake briefly raised her head, glaring at him with her molten eyes, and Voren's eyes widened in terror. As if paralyzed by her gaze, he instantly turned and fled.
Kai swallowed hard and lowered his gaze toward his sister. "Looks like it's just us now…" he said, swallowing nervously.
The snake didn't hesitate. Her body coiled, then lunged straight at them with terrifying speed.
"SMACK!" Mei shouted, swinging her arm hard, trying to stop her. But it was as if she was hitting mist—her hand passed through the dense smoke with no effect.
"It's not working!" Mei yelled, retreating.
But the snake gave them no moment of peace. Her massive body coiled and lunged straight at them, striking with her tail.
Mei was thrown backward. Her slender body hit the wall with a dull thud, the impact knocking the air from her lungs. A cry of pain stuck in her throat as blood splashed across her face. She pressed against the wall for barely a moment, then slid down it, leaving thin streaks of dark red fluid. She collapsed onto the floor beside her brother, leaning her back against the cold wall, her hand trembling as if trying to reach Kai.
At the same time, Kai's body was hurled backward and slammed into the wall with full force. The sound of the impact echoed down the hallway. Blood spurted from his mouth, leaving a dark red streak across his uniform. For a moment he pressed against the wall, as if pain had pinned him in place, then slid down, leaving a bloody trail behind. He collapsed onto the floor, lying against the cold surface, his chest heaving with labored, broken breaths as his gaze flickered, struggling to stay conscious.
"Brother…" Mei whispered, trying to rise, but her body remained pinned by the force of the snake's attack. She couldn't move, and pain stole her breath.
Kai's gaze shot urgently to his sister, his heart racing as he watched how vulnerable and scared she was. Without hesitation, he pushed off the wall and stood in front of her, spreading his arms.
"I'll protect you… sis!" Kai shouted, his voice filled with determination but also fear he tried to suppress.
Through tears, Mei looked at her brother, her heart full, and as her eyelids trembled, tears slid down her face. "If I have to die now… I will. And I will be happy!" she said softly, yet with such strength and sincerity that Kai's throat tightened with a sense of responsibility and love.
"Good… Then I'll eat you first!" hissed the snake, her voice menacing and fiery, full of malice and threat. Her body coiled and, like lightning, lunged straight at Kai.
But…
Before the snake could swallow Kai, a deep, eerie sound came from inside her stomach—creaking and cracking, as if something inside was trying to escape.
In the next moment, Frieren appeared. His figure tore through the inner walls of the snake's stomach, ripping them apart from within with his sword, while thick smoke billowed from every motion. With a sinister but resolute expression, he stepped onto the floor, and all of the snake's insides instantly vanished into dense black smoke.
All that remained were her eyes—two glowing ember-like spheres that fell to the floor and slowly dimmed.
"This time you won't trick me. DIE!!!"
Frieren stomped on the two embers, completely destroying them.
Kai and Mei stood a few steps back, still in shock but overwhelmed with relief. They felt their hearts pounding, eyes filling with tears of joy for surviving.
Kai knelt on the floor, his body shaking from tension. "Thank you!" he said quietly, his voice full of gratitude.
Frieren smiled gently, like someone who had just accomplished the impossible, and sat down, leaning casually on his sword. "Good luck on your quest!" he said in a calm tone.
"Wait, wait… You can't die now… Tell us where the diary is!" Kai shouted, but it was already too late. "Hey, don't die on me!" His tone became commanding but desperate.
He slowly crawled over to Frieren and began shaking him, trying to wake him. "Where's the diary?!" he yelled, his voice trembling.
In anger and despair, he slapped him once, then again, then again—but Frieren didn't respond. His body remained motionless, calm, almost as if sleeping forever. Kai only sighed, feeling the weight of loss and helplessness pressing down.
"Looks like we're on the first square again…" Kai thought. "Why is so everyone useless?"