Raven's POV
"Is... this the end?"
That was the last thought that crossed my mind before that enormous mouth swallowed me whole in a single gulp.
"AAAH—!"
In the next instant, terrifying pressure surrounded me from every direction, as if I had been trapped between four living walls slowly closing in.
I screamed when I felt the bone in my shoulder dislocate.
"Damn it...!"
I bit my lip with all my strength until blood flowed, but it changed nothing.
The muscular walls around me continued to close in mercilessly.
The crushing pressure intensified.
Then—
"Ghk...!"
A stream of blood burst from my mouth when I felt my internal organs being torn apart.
The air began escaping from my lungs, and the feeling of suffocation consumed everything.
"No...!"
I tried to resist.
But I couldn't.
I felt that sensation again.
The light in my eyes began to fade.
My body grew heavier... and heavier...
"Surrender."
A voice echoed inside my head.
It was like a key.
In a single moment, strength began leaving my body, and fear vanished as though it had never existed.
Because what replaced it was far greater than fear.
It was...
Despair.
"Again..."
I remembered that familiar feeling.
The same despair that overwhelmed me when they told me the cancer had spread, and that nothing could cure me.
And slowly...
I closed my eyes.
My muscles relaxed.
"I've died."
"Pathetic bastard... who gave you permission to surrender?"
An enraged voice exploded from the void.
"Hah...? Didn't I die?"
I slowly opened my eyes.
The pain was gone.
The pressure was gone.
The snake was gone.
I looked around, and a familiar feeling crept into me.
An endless black void.
"You damned bastard... look at me."
Before I could process anything, a powerful hand grabbed my throat and lifted me off the ground.
"Let go—!"
The feeling of suffocation returned instantly.
I tried to pry his hand away, but I was too weak to do anything.
I raised my gaze with difficulty toward the person in front of me.
Then I froze.
Silver eyes as cold as ice, burning with furious flames.
Long black hair falling over his shoulders.
A face I knew all too well.
It was...
Me.
"Why do you look so shocked bastard?"
His grip around my throat tightened.
"Look at yourself..."
He leaned closer until his nose nearly touched mine.
"You're still trash."
Then he hurled me away.
My body slammed into the ground.
"Huff... haa... huff..."
I gasped violently while clutching my throat.
I lifted my head toward him, but all I saw was his back.
He was walking away... then he began to fade.
"Wait!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.
But he vanished.
Confusion, anger, and despair filled me.
But that wasn't all.
A purple mist began rising from the void in front of me.
It approached slowly.
Cold... heavy.
"What the hell?!"
I rose quickly and tried to run.
One step.
Then—
Crash.
I fell to the ground.
And when I raised my head...
The mist had already reached me.
"Nooo—!"
It swallowed me.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
"FUCK!"
I opened my eyes while screaming.
The pain returned all at once.
The crushing pressure returned.
The snake returned.
But something else awakened inside me.
Madness.
"To hell with despair!"
Silver flames exploded from within me and began surrounding my body.
The snake's body shook violently.
An enraged roar sounded from outside.
I watched the flesh around me gradually freeze, forming a hardened shell that gave me a little space.
"I'll tear you apart from the inside, you reptile."
I sent mana toward the ring.
"Transform—!"
Nothing.
I froze.
The ring didn't move.
"Not now!"
I screamed and bit my gums until the taste of blood filled my mouth.
I tried to raise my arm.
"AAAH!"
My bones were shattered.
I couldn't.
Then I laughed.
A mad laugh.
"Hahaha... then I only have one option."
I pulled my head back and reinforced it with mana.
Then I slammed it into the frozen layer in front of me.
Part of it shattered.
"HAHAHAHA!"
I laughed again as blood ran over my eyes.
Then I did something that nearly made my stomach turn.
I reinforced my teeth and jaw.
And sank them into the snake's flesh.
"Disgusting..."
The taste was metallic, mixed with blood, mucus, and raw meat.
I nearly vomited.
But I forced myself onward.
I bit down hard.
And when the flesh lodged between my teeth, I yanked my head back with all my strength.
A small chunk tore free.
I spat it out.
Then I went back.
Second bite.
Third.
Fourth.
Fifth.
Until I lost count.
I bit like a starving beast.
Tear.
Spit.
Return.
Outside, the snake began thrashing wildly.
But I didn't stop.
I didn't care.
I continued.
Until I felt my arms could move a little.
"Haha... damn, this is disgusting."
I looked at the gap I had created.
And on the other side...
I saw a beam of light.
I raised my broken arms and reinforced them with what little mana I had left.
I grabbed the torn edges of flesh with both hands.
"HEEYYYAAAH!"
The pain returned.
The ice shattered.
And the crushing pressure returned with it.
But I pulled.
With all my strength.
I felt the flesh begin to tear.
"Tear... for me!"
I released one final scream as the last of the air left my lungs.
Then—
The snake's outer wall ripped open.
"Hahaha!"
I forced myself out and leapt free.
I saw the light.
And felt air fill my lungs once more.
I smiled.
Then my body began falling rapidly toward the ground.
As I fell, I looked at the giant snake.
Its eyes had become blazing red with rage.
Just above its stomach...
There was a bloody, mangled hole.
Its scales were shattered, the flesh torn open, blood pouring endlessly.
"You deserve that."
My smile widened, and the blood on my face gave it a touch of madness.
I looked at the ground.
Only moments remained.
"Slow!"
My falling body gradually slowed.
Then I landed lightly.
I nearly collapsed, but ignored the pain.
I closed my eyes and activated my Truth Eye along with my other skill.
"Perception."
A map appeared in my mind.
Then my eyes widened.
"I Found it."
The rift.
Thirty seconds away if I ran at full speed.
"Accelerate."
Feeling that my mana reserves were around a quarter full, I activated my power and sprinted with everything I had.
Behind me, an enraged roar thundered, and the ground shook under the snake's charge.
It was fast.
Very fast.
If it had just a little more time, it would have caught me.
But fortunately...
The rift was already right in front of me.
Without hesitation, I jumped inside.
And the last thing I heard before the familiar void swallowed me...
Was its furious roar.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
The foul air.
Normal gravity.
Weak mana.
When I felt all of that...
A wide smile spread across my face.
I had returned to Earth.
"Blegh—!"
A thick foam of blood burst from my mouth.
My trembling hand reached into my jacket, pulling out the two potions.
I uncapped them quickly and poured them into my mouth one after the other.
"Hooof..."
My injuries began to stabilize slightly, then slowly heal.
I closed my eyes.
My body collapsed onto the ground.
And I lost consciousness.