Executioner turned slowly, his vision still a bit hazy, but his senses sharp enough to feel danger. The moment his eyes met the creature, his heart froze.
It was massive.
The snake stood tall like a mountain, its scales black and cracked with glowing red veins. It opened its mouth, wide enough to swallow a cart whole. Without warning, it lunged down at Executioner.
He barely managed to throw himself out of the way. The snake's jaws crashed into the earth with a deafening boom, shaking the ground like a quake. Dust flew everywhere. Rina and the kids lost their footing and fell hard.
Executioner didn't even get a second to breathe. The snake's long tail swung like a whip and slammed into him. His body flew like a broken doll, smashing against a tree. His back cracked against the bark, and his head slammed hard. Blood poured down his face as everything around him blurred.
He couldn't move.
His limbs wouldn't respond.
The pain was too much.
The snake turned its attention toward Rina and the kids, who were still on the ground, trying to get up. Its tongue flicked out, making that weird clicking sound that sent chills down Rina's spine. Her hands were shaking. She pulled the children closer and screamed, "No! Please no!"
The kids started crying loud, holding onto her tightly.
Executioner was still on the ground, barely breathing. But Rina's scream—her voice, raw and terrified—cut through everything. It reached him deep.
His eyes opened, but blood blurred his sight. He wiped it away with his shaky hand and forced his vision to clear. What he saw made his heart stop. The snake had opened its mouth again, right in front of Rina and the kids.
He gritted his teeth and stood up, shaking. His whole body hurt. His knees almost gave out.
But he didn't stop.
A green lightning started forming in his palm. It flickered violently. Executioner pulled back his hand and threw it forward.
"Raijin Burst!" he roared.
The lightning blast shot forward like a beam and slammed into the snake's head. It let out a low roar, annoyed, and slowly turned to face him again. Smoke poured from its nostrils and mouth, thick and white.
It opened its mouth and blasted a blue flame straight at him.
Executioner's eyes narrowed.
He lifted both hands and formed a shield from his power.
"Volt Wall!"
The flame hit the shield and spread like fire hitting water, sizzling loud and bright. The moment the flame ended, Executioner dropped the shield.
But the snake was gone.
He stepped forward, trying to find it.
"Executioner! Watch out!" Rina screamed.
He turned too late.
The snake shot from the side, coiling around him in one fast move. Its body wrapped him tightly and lifted him into the air. Executioner struggled, trying to break free, but his body was too weak.
Then the snake opened its mouth again.
And this time—it swallowed him whole.
Rina screamed louder than before. "Nooo!"
The beast let out a sound like it was pleased, then turned quickly toward Rina and the kids again. It moved faster now, hungrier.
But as it slithered, it slowed.
Something wasn't right.
Inside its belly, Executioner lay half-conscious. The air was thin, the heat unbearable, and the smell—it was sickening. Sticky fluids covered him. He was suffocating.
The voices in his head growled, full of anger.
"Look at you," one of them spat. "You've grown weak. You've got a human heart now. And it's made you pathetic."
Executioner didn't answer. He was too tired.
"Can't even protect them," the voice said again. "You really thought that lightning blast could kill Jaryuu—the Serpent of the Broken Void?"
Jaryuu.
That was its name.
Executioner clenched his jaw. His fists twitched, but still, he didn't speak.
The voice growled again, this time louder. "You can't die here. Not like this! Are you even listening?! STAND UP AND FIGHT! NOW!"
Executioner breathed heavily. Weak. Shaking. But somewhere deep, something clicked.
"You are Executioner," the voice said, softer now, but firm. "You were born in storms. You walk with thunder. Are you gonna just sit in this thing's gut while it eats the people you care about?!"
Executioner's body tensed.
"You gonna let this ugly monster kill the only people who've looked at you like a person? You gonna DIE like this?"
Then silence.
A long pause.
Then Executioner whispered, "No."
The voices went quiet.
"I'm not dying here," he said louder. "Not now."
Power surged.
Green lightning sparked again from his palms, brighter and hotter than before. Fire rose from his other hand. He merged both into one blade.
"Kaminari Fang," he muttered.
The blade burned and crackled with green lightning and red flames. He stood inside the snake's gut, barely holding himself together—but ready.
Then he roared.
He jumped and stabbed the sword upward, piercing through Jaryuu's throat from the inside. The beast roared outside, thrashing wildly. Executioner dragged the blade downward, tearing flesh as he went.
He screamed louder, putting every last bit of power into the strike.
The sword cut deep—so deep that it split the snake's stomach apart. Its whole body convulsed, splitting open from the inside.
Executioner dropped out of the snake's stomach, soaked and covered in the beast's fluids. He hit the ground hard. His legs gave out, and he collapsed.
Rina ran toward him, her eyes wide. The kids were behind her, scared but safe.
Executioner laid there, half-conscious. The sticky stuff on him burned. He tried to breathe but couldn't take a full breath. His vision dimmed.
Then everything went dark.