Arc 1: A Strange Mission
—
On the top of a desert plateau,
a white mansion stood, next to a small garden.
Boom!
The modest mansion exploded into scattered debris.
Thick dust filled the air, mixed with screams and laughter amidst the smoke.
A gray-haired young man in his twenties fled the site of the explosion,
carrying his companion of the same age in his arms.
The young man lifted a bag of money, a sideways smile on his face:
"Sorry about what happened to that lady, but we got a good amount of money. What do you think, Hans?"
Hans, blood dripping down the left side of his face, retorted:
"What do you think you're doing, Felix!"
Felix shrugged and replied:
"No choice—do you think I'm a princess to carry you like this?"
As rocks rained from the sky, Hans maneuvered to avoid high-impact collisions.
"Aren't you being a little harsh?! We're not in a position for foolishness," Hans said.
For a moment, Felix glanced behind Hans at Matfarel,
but what he saw sent chills down his spine.
At the same time, Hans looked at Felix:
"Why are you sweating like that? I'm the one running here!"
Felix said with a trembling expression:
"It's coming…"
"Huh?!"
As Hans ran a few meters, shards of the mansion shook violently.
A massive snake charged at them like a speeding train.
As it approached, it buried its head and dove into the ground.
The earth exploded into chunks in the air,
and on one of these chunks were Hans and Felix.
Felix checked his hands—he couldn't find the bag.
He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
While falling, he looked around but still couldn't see it.
Hans landed on top of him, shouting:
"No time to stop! Run! What a stubborn cobra!"
Felix, distracted and hesitant, replied:
"Why are you sitting on my shoulders?"
"Doesn't matter, just move!" Hans answered, calm but urgent.
Felix felt his legs shaking and then realized the ground itself was trembling,
but he barely noticed, distracted by the money.
The snake emerged from below,
its mouth wide like a deep pit,
revealing a pile of shattered rocks inside.
As the snake emerged, Hans and Felix separated chaotically.
"Where's that bag? I didn't mean to let it slip," muttered Felix to himself.
His hands bled slightly, but he paid no mind.
He pulled a pistol from his pocket and fired six rounds after observing the snake's jaws.
"Hans! Cover the snake!" Felix said confidently.
He closed his eyes, focused his senses, and mapped the space around him in his mind.
Suddenly opening his eyes while falling, he said: "Found you…"
At the same time, Hans extended his right hand,
formed a fist, then lifted two fingers: the pinky and middle.
Hans moved upward, his silver eyes glowing,
while Felix fell into the snake's throat.
Meanwhile, Hans snapped his fingers and pointed at the snake.
The snake froze in place, unable to move, as if held by an invisible barrier.
Hans whispered to himself, catching his breath:
"Given the sheer size of this snake, I must have lost a fair amount of mana.
It's up to you, my reckless companion."
He glanced to his side and saw a motorcycle nearby.
Inside the snake's throat,
Felix continued to fall, the heat constricting his chest.
But after spotting the bag among the crumbling rocks, he felt more reassured.
He drew his pistol again, aimed it in reverse near his neck.
He felt the surface solid beneath him, but said:
"Solid surface, but no problem."
A calm white aura surrounded his body.
The aura enveloped the pistols and absorbed them.
He fired six rounds at different timings toward the snake's stomach.
The snake's body shattered under the rebounding, reflected bullets.
Blood exploded like waterfalls and massive waves,
but before it could hit anything,
Hans intervened on a motorcycle he had found nearby.
He shouted at Felix as he approached:
"Fall back! I'm about to clear traces of this monster. This blood could flood the city,
and we don't have repair costs!!"
While turning the snake's blood into air and dust,
Felix fired a shot near Hans and instantly teleported to the bullet's location.
Felix ran toward Hans, and they swapped positions.
He pressed the right handlebar of the bike, feeling his energy drain slowly.
The rear wheel spun rapidly, kicking up dust and sand.
They jumped the bike off the plateau, past crumbling buildings on the sides.
Minutes after leaving a small town,
they rode along the golden sandy road.
Felix focused on the road:
"Where did you get this bike?"
"I stole it," Hans replied, brushing dust off his clothes.
Felix responded with a strained smile:
"You truly are a noble man."
Hans raised an eyebrow:
"Man, your distraction earlier nearly cost you your life!"
"The money's gone. My apologies." Felix sighed.
Hans took a deep breath, then said: "You~…"
After a moment of silence and the bike's engine noise, Felix, wearing tattered clothes, said:
"Do we have medicine to treat ourselves?"
Hans, leaning back relaxed, calmly answered:
"Impossible. Our supplies are gone, and we're hungry too."
Felix muttered in frustration:
"What terrible luck! And worst of all, when will we reach our next destination?"
——
Author's Note:
Who is that snake? And what does this duo plan to do next?