Chapter 10 – Dance with Death
The only sound echoing in the darkness of the cavern was Seryn's ragged breathing.
Every breath sent a sharp sting through his cracked ribs, every inhale felt like a blade scraping his chest from the inside.
When he tried to stand, his legs barely supported him — but he couldn't fall.
If he fell now… he knew he'd never rise again.
The Serpent King slithered slowly before him. Its massive body was soaked in blood, wounds deep and numerous, its breathing heavy and uneven. Yet those cursed, glowing yellow eyes still burned — with hatred, with hunger, with the primal will to kill.
"It's not over…" Seryn whispered.
"This fight isn't over yet."
---
The serpent lunged.
Seryn dodged instinctively, but his movements were no longer as sharp as before. The beast's massive body brushed past his shoulder, throwing him off balance. He crashed to the ground, pain exploding in his chest as the fractures in his ribs deepened. Even breathing felt like torture.
Then he heard it — a sinister hiss, the sound of something heavy cutting through the air.
The tail.
Seryn ducked at the last possible second, but the edge of the serpent's tail still struck his face.
The world spun. A metallic taste filled his mouth as blood poured from his lips.
For a few seconds, he lost consciousness without even realizing it.
"No…" he groaned. "Not now…"
The serpent pulled back, then attacked again — but this time, its movements were different. Smarter.
The first strike was a feint. Seryn dodged right, only to be caught off guard as the real blow came from the left. The colossal head slammed into the ground, and Seryn was thrown backward, his spine colliding with the cavern wall.
A crack.
Then another.
One of his legs trembled violently.
"Damn…" he hissed through clenched teeth. "One more step…"
---
Then came the poison.
Seryn froze as a sharp, acrid smell filled his nostrils. The serpent's jaws parted, releasing a thick, toxic vapor into the air. It wasn't just corrosive — it was a neurotoxin, a paralytic that could slow his reflexes to nothing within seconds.
Breathing it in would mean death.
He covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve, retreating as quickly as he could. Before the gas could fill the chamber, he scrambled up a rocky ledge.
But the serpent had anticipated the move. Its massive tail smashed into the wall, collapsing the platform beneath him.
Seryn tumbled through the air, flipping helplessly before crashing flat on his back.
He didn't even have the strength to scream.
"Get up…"
"Get up…"
He repeated the words like a mantra.
His face was soaked with blood.
His arms trembled violently.
But his eyes… still burned with fire.
He stood.
---
"It's not over…" he whispered.
The fight had become something more brutal than a duel — it was a massacre.
The serpent attacked. Seryn fled. The serpent shattered the ground. Seryn barely escaped with his life. Every strike was a death sentence. Every blow honed his survival instinct sharper than the last.
There came a moment when even breathing became impossible. His chest burned, his vision blurred.
And then, amidst the haze, an idea sparked in his mind.
"Tired… It's tired and angry…"
"Anger… clouds the mind."
A plan formed.
It was reckless.
It could kill him.
But he had no other choice.
---
Slowly, Seryn retreated, hiding behind a large boulder. The serpent did not follow. Instead, it sniffed the air, searching for his scent.
Then, coiling its enormous body, it prepared to strike.
That was the moment.
Seryn threw a shard of his broken sword toward the opposite side of the chamber.
The sharp clang of metal echoed through the cave.
The serpent turned instinctively.
Just as he wanted.
Seryn ran with everything he had left. Each step sent agony coursing through his body, but he did not stop.
By the time the serpent turned back, it was too late — Seryn was already at its vulnerable flank.
A heartbeat of silence…
Then steel met flesh.
Seryn plunged his blade deep into the beast's open wound. This time, the cut was deeper, more devastating. The serpent let out an earth-shaking screech, its body convulsing violently. Seryn couldn't hold on — the thrashing flung him like a rag doll into the cavern wall. His ribs felt like shattered glass.
His vision went black.
But the beast was faltering too.
It was weaker now.
Slower.
---
The battle entered its final stage.
The serpent, now furious beyond reason, tore through the cavern with mindless rage. Seryn, crawling through his own blood, reached for his sword.
His arm was numb. His fingers refused to move.
But he did not stop.
He rose.
Staggering forward, he took one step.
Then another.
And another…
The serpent gathered every ounce of its strength for one last attack.
Its head rose high, eyes locked on Seryn, and with a deafening roar, it lunged.
Seryn let out one final breath.
And swung his sword.
Steel met flesh — and silence fell.
The serpent froze. Its eyes widened, staring into nothingness… before its colossal body collapsed, crashing into the ground with earth-shaking force.
---
Seryn couldn't breathe.
Everything was blurry.
He fell to his knees, his sword slipping from his hand.
He had won… but the price was devastating.
The only thing he could hear was the pounding of his own heartbeat.
And one phrase echoed in his mind:
"Only one would walk out of here alive…"
He was that one. But the victory didn't feel like a victory.
He fell to the ground.
His eyelids grew heavy.
And as darkness pulled him under, he realized the beast was no longer moving.
And then…
Nothing.
---
💠 If you enjoyed this chapter, please support the story by adding it to your library and leaving a comment!
💭 Seryn survived this battle… but a far greater trial awaits him now.