"Look! Look!" she exclaimed, her finger trembling as she pointed towards the gruesome sight of the meat Mr. Kanjo was consuming. Horror filled her eyes as she realized it was human flesh, visibly decomposing and crawling with maggots, writhing all over the chunk of meat.
In a state of panic, Mr. Mu Kanjo instinctively began to spit out the mouthful he had just swallowed, desperately searching for the milk on the table to cleanse his mouth and rid himself of the vile taste. However, the milk revealed its true nature; it was an acid, a poisonous concoction that burned as it made contact with his skin. Just as his hands reached it, Jean rushed to knock over the cup, but the liquid only splattered onto the floor, melting through whatever it touched.
Meanwhile, the room's surroundings ominously morphed into a very frightening scene, cloaked with spiders and draped in cobwebs. The atmosphere was thick with an unnatural dread, and grotesque sights greeted their eyes. There lay children, their skeletal forms stark against the darkness, the remnants of flesh eerily burned away as if singed by fire. One particularly gruesome body bore a dagger embedded in its skull, a sinister detail that chilled them to the bone.
Before them, the old woman had morphed into a ghostly figure, her lower body twisting and slithering like a snake. She hung upside down from the ceiling, her presence both haunting and disturbing.
"What's this?" Jean shouted, her heart racing as she suddenly found herself face to face with an enormous king black cobra, its length nearly nine feet, dangled above them, poised and ready to strike.
Mr. Mu, visibly taken aback yet instinctively brave, reached for the sword that rested beside him. "I thought immortals were supposed to be smarter," the snake hissed, its tongue flickering with mockery. Jean, her mind racing with terror, managed to stammer, "Mr. Mu! What is that thing?" But there was no time for answers; in a swift and calculated motion, he slashed at the snake's head, severing it in a single blow.
To their horror, the blood that spilled from the creature's neck was not just any blood—it was corrosive, seemingly acidic in nature. And even more terrifyingly, the serpent's body began to swell as if responding to the injury; it split and grew, sprouting two additional heads that emerged swiftly, causing the creature to double in size and become even more menacing.
"Shift!" Mr. Kanjo yelled, instinctively pushing Jean aside just in time, her mind clouded by paralyzing fear. He raised his sword, prepared for the next attack as the snake lunged towards them with renewed vigor.
"What's wrong with me?" Jean silently questioned, trapped in her own thoughts as panic clawed at her insides.
"You reek of him, you monster. You killed my father!" the snake hissed, its eyes burning with a murderous rage as they locked onto Jean. "I'll kill you, devour you, and feed you to the dead!"
"Run!" Mr. Kanjo shouted, breaking through the thick tension that had settled around them, urgency lacing his voice as he urged Jean to escape
The hut was in ruins, its roof wrecked by the massive black snake thrashing around, wreaking havoc inside. Mr. Kanjo stayed right behind Jean as they fled from the chaos.
The aftermath was nothing short of a disaster; the snake's scales gleamed like polished metal, and a menacing golden stone pulsed between its two heads embedded in its body. As they dashed away, the serpent continued its rampage behind them. Breathing heavily, Jean turned to Mr. Kanjo and asked, "How are we supposed to take that thing down?"
He gasped and replied, "Its scales are harder than diamond, but that crystal-like stone on its back? That's its only weak spot. One of us needs to distract it while the other moves in for the attack. Look for the tallest tree around." She pointed at a tree in the distance. While they kept running, Mr. Kanjo insisted, "You should be the one to grab its attention." "Me?" Jean exclaimed, her voice shaking with fear. "No way!" But Mr. Kanjo persisted, insisting, "You have to be the bait; it's definitely focused on you." With surprising agility, he scaled the tree like a wolf, determined to set the trap.
"Well, well, well," hissed the snake, "fate has finally brought us together, young one. I've been waiting for this moment to take my revenge, especially after learning that the monster who killed my father is no longer alive—Ashura."
Jean shot back, "Oh, so you're one of the Black Serpent's fruit? I heard he left you behind because you weren't worth it."
The snake reacted with anger, "Not worth it? My father was the one who drew the fight away from us!" it cried. "It's been fifty years, and I've been preparing ever since."
"Preparing by feeding children, you twisted beast," Jean retorted.
"The vitality of humans, especially the young ones, is my absolute favorite," the snake replied, launching a stream of poisonous acid at Jean, who barely managed to dodge.
Jean cautiously stepped back, carefully leading the snake down the tree as she retreated.
From above, Mr. Kanjo watched, poised to leap. He could see the black, demonic snake just a few meters away, but something felt off. What confronted Jean was merely an illusion projected by the beast.
"I won't be deceived!" Mr. Kanjo called out as he leapt from the tree, targeting what he recognized as a mere shadow, rather than what Jean had been deceived into seeing. He struck the snake directly at its core, catching it completely off guard.
As Jean finally glanced back, realizing the trap she had nearly fallen into, she gasped, "Wow, I could have died!"
With Mr. Kanjo's sword embedded deep in the snake's center, it began thrashing wildly, roaring and hissing in anger.
As it thrashed and roared, it gradually shrank until it finally withered down to the size of a worm. Without a moment's hesitation, Mr. Kanjo stepped on it, crushing it beneath his boot.
"Isn't that its acidic blood?" Jean asked. Mr. Kanjo shook his head, r
responding, "Nope, the demonic life force is gone."