The Black Serpent reeled backward, its massive coils shuddering as Kaelen's Rising Comet strike burned a glowing, molten scar into its once perfect scales. A deep, guttural hiss, one that vibrated through the mossy earth and rattled the leaves still trembling in the canopy above.
Its triangular head turned sharply toward Kaelen, its crimson eyes narrowing with pure, ancient hatred. Venom oozed from its hooked fangs and hissed when it landed on the ground, droplets smoking against the damp soil.
Kaelen stepped forward, spear angled low but ready; his expression was harder than granite.
"You attacked my brother,"
He said.
"That was your first mistake."
The serpent's pupils thinned, glowing brighter.
In an instant, the serpent moved in a burst of motion. Its body blurred, a streak of shadowed lightning, while its jaws yawned wide enough to swallow Kaelen whole.
Rhys gasped.
"Kaelen!"
Kaelen didn't flinch.
He pivoted. Smooth. Sharp. Deadly.
His spear shaft clashed with the serpent's fangs in a shower of sparks, its sheer force driving Kaelen a step backward; the polished wood groaned under the pressure, thin cracks forming along its surface.
"Damn thing hits harder than a boar stampede…"
Kaelen muttered, his teeth clenched.
With a hiss, the serpent recoiled, its coils tightening as mana rippled beneath its scales like swirling black smoke.
Rhys stumbled further away, almost falling over a root.
"K-Kaelen, what do I do?!"
Kaelen didn't look back, his voice sharp, commanding.
"Stay behind me. And whatever you do, don't run."
The serpent struck again.
Kaelen acted on instinct, honed through years of training and near death scrapes. His spear glided through the air, parrying off the massive head long enough for him to strike back in return.
"Piercing Gale!"
Emerald mana surged down the length of the weapon, concentrating at the tip. Kaelen thrust with explosive force. The glowing spearhead burned into the serpent's flank, puncturing a seam where its scales overlapped.
Dark blood bubbled out, thick and tar like, smelling of sulfur.
The serpent shrieked, its body convulsing with fury.
Kaelen landed lightly, spear angled again, but a slight tremor ran through his arm. The serpent's strike had been heavier than he had expected.
Rhys saw it.
"Kaelen… are you okay?"
"I've been worse,"
He said.
"But keep talking and we'll both be dead."
The serpent's enormous tail whipped around Kaelen ducked in time, as it smashed through the trunk of a tree, splintering wood like brittle bone. Shards flew everywhere.
Rhys covered his face, his heart pounding so hard it felt as if it would burst from his chest.
He felt useless. Stupid. Weak.
And as Kaelen danced with death, Rhys wa only able to watch his brother fight because of his mistake.
Kaelen darted sideways, the serpent striking again, reading its movements like a hunter studying prey. Every breath he took was controlled; every step precise.
"You rely too much on instinct,"
Kaelen muttered to the serpent,
"Predictable."
He spun his spear and struck again, this time grazing another fracture in the serpent's hide and widening it.
"KAELEN!"
Rhys shouted.
Too late.
With terrifying speed, faster than any of its size should have moved, the serpent struck. Its maw opened, spraying venom in a wide arc.
Kaelen's eyes widened.
He slammed his spear into the ground then, using it to vault over the serpentine blast. Its venom hit the forest floor behind him, sizzling violently as it ate into the earth, leaving a smoking crater.
"That… would've melted through bone,"
Kaelen muttered, landing in a crouch.
Rhys's voice cracked.
"Brother… I,"
"Quiet!"
Kaelen barked more out of fear than in anger.
"Focus on breathing."
Rhys swallowed hard, chest heaving.
The serpent curled its body, its scales crackling with dark mana like living lightning.
Kaelen raised his weapon again.
"Good. That means I'm getting somewhere."
They clashed again this time with such force that the ground shook. Kaelen's spear scraped along the serpent's jaw, flaring with sparks. The serpent retaliated with its tail, which Kaelen narrowly avoided by rolling across the dirt.
Rhys winced, clutching his own spear tighter.
"I shouldn't have run ahead. I shouldn't have,"
The serpent slammed its body down, trying to crush Kaelen. The spearman leaped aside, but the tremor knocked him off balance, his shoulder hitting a tree trunk hard enough to draw blood.
"Kaelen!"
Rhys yelled.
"I'm sorry, I'm really so sorry! I didn't"
Kaelen forced himself up, voice strained.
"Not. Now!"
With a final lunge the snake struck, its jaws wide, fangs gleaming, red eyes ablaze with murderous hunger.
Kaelen saw it.
The opening.
Its underside, briefly exposed mid lunge.
He breathed in deeply. Mana coursed within him.
"One strike…!"
His body twisted, each movement honed by discipline and instinct. His spear burst in brilliant emerald energy as he thrust with all his might.
The weapon pierced deep into the serpent's heart.
Everything froze.
The eyes of the serpent widened, its hiss turning into a strangled roar. Its huge coils thrashed vigorously, tearing the underbrush, uprooting shrubs, and sending leaves flying upward into the air like a storm of green.
Rhys fell backward, shielding his head as the beast convulsed.
After several agonizing seconds, the serpent collapsed, its body hitting the earth with a thunderous impact that rumbled through the forest.
Silence.
Heavy, oppressive, final.
Kaelen remained sill, his chest heaving up and down, sweat dripping from his jaw. The spear was still in the serpent's body, its emerald glow fading off slowly.
Rhys stared at him, in awe and terror.
Kaelen exhaled finally, pulling the weapon free. Dark blood clung to the steel.
He turned to Rhys.
Yet his face while calm, it carried a storm.
"Do you understand now?"
Kaelen asked quietly.
Rhys's throat tightened. Shame burned behind his eyes.
"Yes…"
He whispered.
"I... I do."
Kaelen walked toward him with the spear resting against his shoulder, eyes softening just a little.
"You could have died, Rhys. If I had been even a second slower…"
He shook his head, tightening his jaw.
"Don't forget that feeling. The fear of realizing you're not ready."
Rhys looked down, his fists trembling.
"I'm so sorry… Kaelen. I thought I could handle it. I thought… I was strong enough."
"You're strong,"
Kaelen said firmly.
"But strength isn't everything; knowing your limit is just as important.
Rhys nodded, his eyes welling at the corners, but refusing to fall.
"I won't be reckless again."
Kaelen laid a steady, warm hand on his shoulder.
"See that you don't. I'd rather not fight a beast like this because of your impulsiveness again."
Rhys let out a small, shaking laugh.
"Me neither."
The tension slowly eased.
The two approached the fallen serpent together, to retrieve Kaelen's spear and to examine the valuable hide. Kaelen knelt and ran a hand over the obsidian scales.
"This will fetch a fortune in the city,"
He murmured.
Rhys swallowed.
"Kaelen… can I ask something?"
"What?"
"…Were you scared?"
Kaelen stopped, then let out a weary, honest sigh.
"Yes,"
He admitted.
"Fear keeps us alive. It reminds us that we're human."
Rhys gazed upon the huge corpse.
"Then why did you look so calm?"
Kaelen cracked a slight smile.
"Because you were watching."
Rhys blinked, surprised.
Kaelen wiped his spear clean.
"Let's finish what we came for. We still have boars to hunt."
They shifted deeper into the forest, backtracking along the path they had abandoned earlier. Kaelen took down the first two boars with little difficulty, though his movements were more deliberate, his body still worn from battling the serpent.
Then he saw the third boar.
"Rhys,"
Kaelen said, stepping aside.
"This one's yours."
"What? After everything?"
"Confidence isn't built by hiding behind someone stronger. Go, I'll watch your back."
Rhys swallowed, clenching his spear a little tighter. The boar charged, tusks shining, enraged by their presence.
"Steady…"
Kaelen murmured.
Rhys inhaled.
He struck.
His spear drove into the boar's neck just at the proper moment, stopping its charge dead. The beast collapsed with a strangled squeal.
Rhys stared in disbelief.
"I… I did it?"
Kaelen smirked.
"You did."
In Rhys's chest, a small ember of pride lit and warmed him in a way that assuaged the cold terror still there.
The brothers began the trek home, carrying the serpent hide and three boars, at dusk, when the sky turned into brilliant orange and purple. The forest grew quiet.
As soon as they entered the village, the reactions were immediate.
Gasps. Awe. Fear.
Children peered out from behind adults, pointing to the large obsidian scales Kaelen was carrying. Older villagers whispered urgently, looking at each other in disbelief.
"That's… a Black Serpent…"
"How did they survive…?"
"Kaelen killed that thing…?"
Rhys felt heat rise to his cheeks, part embarrassment, part pride, part guilt.
At home, their parents listened intently as Kaelen recounted the battle without softening any detail.
Their mother's hands trembled as she gripped her apron. Their father's jaw tightened with fear and pride.
"You could've died,"
Mother whispered, voice cracking, as she looked at Rhys.
"I know,"
Rhys murmured.
"And I'm sorry."
Kaelen added,
"He learned. The hard way. But he learned."
Their father slowly exhaled, the relief visible beneath his stern expression.
"Good. Then let this be a lesson carved deep."
Dinner was quiet that night: warm stew, cracking firewood, and the occasional glance between brothers.
And a feeling of something heavy but important settling inside Rhys's heart.
He would never forget today.
Not the fear.
Not the shame.
Not Kaelen's unwavering protection.
Not the weight of being saved.
The forest had almost claimed his life.
But it had taught him something too:
Recklessness had consequences. And strength meant nothing without wisdom.