Chapter 55: REJUVENATE
Zuriel tore through the golden brown earth of the rift.
Each step was so subtle that even the sand did not stir.
He did his best to avoid confrontation.
Even if he wanted to fight, it was not something he was willing to do before familiarizing himself with the surroundings.
But the rift was not ready to give its intruder a break.
As he took the next step, the earth beneath him erupted, exploding into a pillar of sand that nearly hit his eyes.
Zuriel’s reflexes took over before his mind could catch up. He leapt backward.
He landed gently on his toes.
His gaze fixed on the pillar of sand as it began to collapse.
"Even after trying so hard to avoid all of this," he muttered, squinting through the haze of settling dust.
Before he could make out what was there, a head snapped toward him.
It was enormous, more than twice Zuriel’s size at a glance.
Zuriel twisted out of its path, letting it graze his arm.
The head snapped back, and he finally saw the full beast.
A white serpent, stretching over five hundred meters.
Large rings floated above its head.
Its split tongue slithered out, as though savoring the moment before devouring its prey.
Zuriel sighed.
"I might as well make a lesson out of you."
Pillars of light shot down from the sky.
He watched as they passed clean through the serpent’s body as if it were a ghost.
The pillars struck the earth.
Time seemed to pause, then snap back violently.
The ground exploded, sand incinerating under the intense heat of the light.
Zuriel looked at the beast with furrowed brows.
Then with a long exhale, he spoke.
"Seal."
As if struck by something invisible, the serpent’s body jolted uncontrollably.
Zuriel was already above it, sword blazing with light as he slashed toward its neck.
Rip.
The air groaned as the serpent’s tail lashed forward.
Zuriel watched it close in.
His body twisted mid air, backflipping over the attack.
A grin spread across his face as he continued the slash.
That was when he noticed.
The tail he thought he had dodged was already in front of him.
His expression tightened, but it was too late.
Zuriel was smacked through the air, rings of wind exploding outward from the sheer force as he flew backward.
His body rolled across the ground until he came to a stop.
"Rejuvenate," he said quickly.
White light enveloped him.
In the next instant, his wounds were gone.
Then his essence pool surged back to full.
He did not have the luxury to wait. The serpent was already slithering toward him.
He leapt up.
As if it had been waiting for exactly that, the earth shook beneath him.
Zuriel’s eyes widened.
He had been baited.
A second, larger serpent lunged from below, mouth gaping wide to swallow him whole.
Before it could close in, a large golden coin drove itself into its mouth, plugging it.
Zuriel landed with a sigh, running a hand through his hair.
"Even if it is only ten times the size and sharpness of a normal coin, it still does the job," he muttered as he turned to face the first serpent.
Light surged through his entire body and veins.
His eyes flooded with essence as he activated his aura.
Boom.
The earth caved in as Zuriel launched forward.
His sword was wrapped in light as he closed the distance.
The serpent charged toward him, eyes burning visibly with rage.
Its tail shot forward toward Zuriel’s chest.
Zuriel ducked beneath it.
Then he slashed upward, releasing a pillar of light along the sword’s edge.
For a moment, silence.
Both of them were still.
Until the pain hit.
White blood splattered across the golden sand.
The serpent thrashed and coiled wildly.
Zuriel lunged forward, this time aiming to finish it.
His sword was already over the serpent’s neck.
"Why is the serpent upside down?" He muttered.
That was when he realized.
It was not the serpent that was upside down.
It was his own head, detached, rolling through the air.
He watched the last serpent devour his body from the corner of his vision.
A muffled sound escaped him.
"Rejuvenate."
His head burst into blinding white light as his body began to regrow.
It took less than three seconds before he was whole again.
"Thank goodness I always keep spare clothes in my spatial ring," he muttered, pulling out a fresh set.
The three serpents stared at their prey as he got dressed.
At that moment, even they seemed to have developed the capacity for fear.
"That one can still be killed since I sealed its phasing ability," he said, pointing at the tailless serpent.
All around him, motes of gold began popping into existence.
With a single flick of his finger, the coins tore forward.
A loud impact echoed through the air, raising dust and sand.
White blood gushed from the cleanly slit neck without stopping.
Instinct overtook reasoning and the serpents lunged toward Zuriel.
"Pause," he said.
They froze mid air, bodies locked in place.
"Seal," he said, pointing at the next one.
Before the effect had fully settled, the only thing remaining where Zuriel had stood was the dust his movement left behind.
He flashed over the serpent’s neck and slashed downward without pausing.
Like a hot blade through butter, the neck parted cleanly.
Creak.
The sound of cracking bone echoed through the air as Zuriel’s body was smashed by the last serpent.
As he flew, he said one word.
White light covered him and he returned to peak condition.
His body stopped, then shot forward again.
"Seal."
As he closed in, light condensed along the edges of his blade.
Shadows wrapped around the serpent’s frame at the same time.
Thin lines spread across its body as Zuriel flashed from head to tail.
A long exhale escaped his lips, and in the next second, the serpent’s body began to fall apart like finely cut meat.