Dust and rubble flew up from all directions as Ifcarus crushed through all the buildings in its path. The ground below caved in and the walls above broke apart in front of Ifcarus’ merciless charge. The Otherworlder hopped in his spot a few times, he twisted his body and sprinted towards the other end of the ceiling.

He put one foot on the seat of the chair, the other on the back, and then kicked himself into the air. The Otherworlder soared through the sky and crossed over to the terrace of the next building. He dived onto the floor, rolling ahead to a safe landing. He stood back on his feet and turned to the right.

The next building over was conjoined with the current one. Without wasting a breath, the Otherworlder rushed over to the next one, and then the one after that.

‘Thank god that kid came back,’ the Otherworlder thought. He wasn’t sure if it was correct to feel thankful instead of ashamed, but decided that both will do just fine. Eilhard’s healing magic was the sole reason he was still able to run around.

The Otherworlder continued to jump from roof to roof as Ifcarus chased after him. Due to its gigantic size, the Snake God had a hard time steering around, with it being far aboveground, the Otherworlder managed to circle to its sides.

“There it is...” the Otherworlder muttered. Right at the spot above Ifcarus’ tail, its scales were missing and parts of its flesh had torn away. That was the part where the first sculpture they had come across joined in.

Vera had destroyed the sculpture with a barrage of high firepower spells, but just like Liesl had told him, all the bits still got teleported and joined up with the body of the Snake God, including the ones that were charred and burnt.

Looking closer, the Otherworlder could see a glint reflecting the lights of the stars at the shaved-off part of Ifcarus’ flesh.

A smile crept up on the Otherworlder’s face at the boom of luck. ‘As expected,’ he wanted to say, but even he couldn’t expect himself to be this lucky.

“It’s do or die now, slithering bastard...”

“GRAHH!!”

“And you’ll be the one dying.”

The Otherworlder’s eyes sparkled as ran off the roof again. He rushed to the edge and jumped off. Instead of going to the roof of the next building, he charged into the window and broke into an empty house. Another window in the house gave a direct view of Ifcarus.

His eyes ran all over the house, he picked up whatever would make a lot of noise with one hand and dragged a chair along with another. The Otherworlder swung the chair at the window ahead to shatter it, then he jumped out again to the next house over.

By sheer luck, the houses he would land in had the perfect windows to pass through without much chance of injury. As the Otherworlder got into the next house, he flung the items he had picked up out the window as close to the snake as he could before rummaging through the place again.

The Otherworlder continued on and on, finding just enough things to make noise with at just the right places in the house before going to the next one. He went in circles around the snake, confusing it with the myriad of sounds coming from all directions.

Ifcarus flailed around after the sounds. It smashed its tail in one place and slammed its body against the next. Once the bustling and busy town had now turned into a wasteland of debris from Ifcarus’ continued rampage. It was angry, no, it was livid, it was fuming.

How dare that measly human hide away from it? Ifcarus couldn’t stand it. It knew the Otherworlder was hiding inside the large structures all around it. So, it decided to crush all of them.

“GRAHHH!”

-CRASH!

-CRASH!

The sounds of crashing rang out again. Immediately, Ifcarus shot its tail in the direction of the sound. It made a hole in the buildings and then slammed its tail downward. As it tore the building in two, another crashing sound came from behind it. With each big movement, the magic stone on its head shrunk by a small amount. The sounds got closer and closer by the second, Ifcarus kept rushing towards the sound to destroy everything around it, but the farther it went the louder the sounds got...

... and then, something crashed right into the wound on its back.

┈ ┈ ┈ ⋞ ⟨ ⏣ ⟩ ⋟ ┈ ┈ ┈

‘...and then the sculptures glowed and started to disappear.’

The Otherworlder recalled the words Liesl had used when she described what had happened to the stone sculptures. It wasn’t difficult to understand that the sculptures would all eventually join together. So, he had her guide him to all the sculptures she had hit and then ended up at some more by flipping coins.

All of it in preparation for if in case the Snake God was revived.

“This is the last one...” the Otherworlder muttered. He was in a house right above the wound in the Snake’s body. The Otherworlder glanced around the house a little. A blue glow in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He walked over to the glowing desk to see some familiar magic stones.

He picked the stones up with narrowed eyes, stuffed below them was a large bag of coins. Papers and books were spread out on the desk, the words ‘Sanguine Snakes’ written on one of them.

“Is this...?”

It was definitely Liesl’s room.

A relaxed sigh came out of the Otherworlder, followed by an elated smile. “My money!” he said as he picked up the bag of coins and pocketed it without hesitation.

“Well, This counts as money too,” The Otherworlder shrugged and also took a few of the magic crystals.

With everything on hand, the Otherworlder pushed the window open and climbed on the windowsill, overlooking the body of the snake.

“I’m counting on you, Lady Luck.”

The Otherworlder leaped off the window.

A wave of air cruised through his skin as the Otherworlder was pulled down to the ground. He bent his knees as he landed on the wound on Ifcarus.

Immediately, the sensation of hard flesh and the raw smell assaulted his senses. He spat out into the wound and turned ahead. In front of his eyes, sticking out from the gape in its flesh was a tiny, thin metallic wire.

The Otherworlder smirked as he reached out to the wire.

It was all precaution. He had Liesl guide him back to the statues so he could set this up. And his luck had wondrously played out in a way that he could reap the fruits of his labor right away.

A being worshipped as a god, sealed into stone. The Otherworlder didn’t know what it could do. He was unaware of the extent of its capabilities, of the things it can bear, and the damage it could do, it was also impossible to destroy it then and there. So, in preparation for the off chance that he would have to fight it, the Otherworlder planted his wires deep into the Snake’s petrified body.

For something he might not be able to face from the outside, he was ready to destroy it from within.

He had wondered what he would do if he was discovered, after all, the parts were being teleported away. But, his luck had worked out for him again. The nod he exchanged with Vera was all he needed to understand that he was in the clear.

She knew of the wires he had embedded and had hidden them away with the illusion magic she had used to hide them before.

The Otherworlder planted his legs into a firm stance as he grabbed the wire with both hands. Summoning all the mana he had remaining, he concentrated it to the tips of his fingers. The mana slowly made its way into the highly conducive wire...

“GRAHHHHH!!”

A tremor shook the Otherworlder, but he remained firm.

The wires stretched and connected inside the body of the snake. They tore through its organs and shifted its flesh as the mana guided them ahead. One part connected to another, and then the next.

Ifcarus screamed and flailed as the pain spread through its body. Disgusting black blood trickled out of the wound, but the Otherworlder didn’t even flinch.

As all the wires connected, the Otherworlder immediately switched to the next phase. He lowered his stance and guided the wires upward. The sharp wires pushed into Ifcarus’ flesh but were met with great resistance. The more the wire tore through its flesh, the more would push down on it.

“GRARARAHHAGAG!!”

Ineligible screams boomed out of the Snake God. A searing pain spread through its nerves. It was being torn apart from the inside. Ifcarus rolled on the ground, it smashed its head ahead and then smacked its tail behind. The ground below it was crushed apart as even the underground channels revealed themselves.

The Otherworlder was smashed on his left, then his feet were lifted to the air before being smashed back down. Ifcarus’ violent movements thrashed him around. Sweat dripped down the Otherworlder’s head, he was slowly losing his grip on the thin wires. It would all be over the moment he let go. His coat fluttered around and hit him back, he could feel something sharp and thin in the pockets of his coat.

With heavy breaths, the Otherworlder let go of one hand and reached into his coat. He pulled out the object and gazed at it.

It was Aida’s dagger, the one he had taken retrieved in the underground channels. The Otherworlder firmly clenched the handle of the dagger and shoved it in Ifcarus’ open flesh.

With a real grip to hold on to, the Otherworlder shook his head and focused himself again. He poured his mana into the wires and pushed through the Snake God again.

“GRAAA!!”

Ifcarus relentlessly thrashed all over the town. The pain increased each second. It smashed into the buildings and rolled on the roads. Every second its ear-splitting wails boomed into the clouds, but the pain didn’t subside. It continued to flutter in pain, the magic stone in its head shrinking smaller by the second.

“GODDAMNIT!”

The Otherworlder screamed at the rising intensity of Ifcarus’ movements. Stone and debris crashed into the Otherworlder’s head and back, and blood dripped down his forehead, but he continued to pour his mana into the wires.

Seconds that felt like years passed, and the wires made their way higher and higher through its flesh. A puddle of blood had formed at the Otherworlder’s leg. Yet, neither side was ready to give in. Ifcarus continued to writhe in agony, while the Otherworlder kept his grip firmly on the dagger.

Just a little more.

He had almost cut Ifcarus open.

Just a little more.

The Otherworlder’s grip weakened and his fingers trembled. The influx of mana suddenly slowed down.

“Ah...” a weak groan escaped the Otherworlder’s lips.

He was almost out of mana.

It was all over.

‘If I had never gone back to save them... would I have had enough? Shit, why is this so tough? I never thought it’ll be like this. I should have never–’

The Otherworlder’s eyes shot open and his thoughts cleared away. ‘What are you thinking, you cowardly bastard... You have already flipped a coin.’

He let go of the dagger for a second and reached into his pockets. His mind going back to the magic crystals he had taken from Liesl's home.

Magic Crystals harvested from the dungeons. They were a power source, an entity that existed from and because of mana and mana only. A physical existence that was nothing but energy from corner to corner, like electricity that could be touched, or light that could be moved, something that defied the laws of nature, a stark opposite of the entities known as humans.

Without a second of hesitation, the Otherworlder pulled the magic stones out and gobbled them whole.

An electrifying sensation ran through his body. His teeth chattered and his muscles spasmed. The Otherworlder’s pupils dilated and his breath became faster. A terrifying sensation of energy spread through his veins and up to his spine. A dreadful pain covered every inch of his body that the mana passed through.

“Uooohh!!!”

Like an ocean being dropped into a river, an enormous amount of mana flowed through the Otherworlder’s hands and into the wires.

The conducive wires trembled from the sudden burst of energy and returned to their assault with a force incomparable to before.

“GRAH!!” Ifcarus slammed to the ground again. Blood burst out in small pores all over its body as the wires rose from within. It rolled on its side to stop the pain, but to no avail. The magic stone on its head was shaking loosely as the mind-numbing pain continued to sear through it.

The Otherworlder collected all the extensive mana he could feel tearing his body to shreds and pushed them all into the wires ahead.

“DIE!!!”

The mana burst out from his body and flowed into the wire. They pushed onward in one final charge, tearing through the flesh and the skin.

-CRACK!

A loud crack shook the skies above.

A magic stone split in two and fell to the ground.