Serpentification

“A witch must always try to curse fate, mustn’t she?”

As her words fell, a faint light gleamed in Anna’s eyes.

This time, even the incantation was omitted. Yet, a dense aura of magic rapidly converged.

A scorching light coalesced at her fingertips. The explosive magic, compressed to its absolute limit, instantly ignited the smoke laced with flammable debris.

Flames surged upward. Then, a furious gale unexpectedly roared through the semi-enclosed space, carrying the fierce fire.

It forged a wall of flames potent enough to incinerate all flesh and blood to ash.

Several cultists who hadn’t fallen into the blood pool were instantly engulfed by the inferno. Amidst their tragic screams, they were reduced to charred remains, the stench of burning flesh assaulting the senses.

“Damn it!”

The Siren was temporarily forced back by the flames, her features abruptly twisting into a hideous snarl.

She still had many more tricks up her sleeve, and she could see Anna’s current state at a glance. She knew that with just a little more external pressure, Anna’s mental defenses would instantly shatter.

However, Anna’s long-laid plans, coupled with the Siren’s unpreparedness, made it difficult for her to deploy her myriad abilities. She could only watch helplessly as the wave of flames pushed her back.

Then, she saw Anna flip her palm, magic surging, and strike the ground.

She intended to destroy the altar!

“Stop her!”

The Siren shrieked, her crescent scimitar slashing out with a chilling gleam.

But it was already too late.

Anna completely disregarded the Siren’s threatening attack, allowing the blade’s edge to graze past her cheek.

She bent down, pressing her palm against the altar.

There was no time for any magic, any martial arts, or even any tools. She simply gathered all her mana into her palm, unleashing it in an instant.

But this was more than enough.

The ground shook violently.

Cracks, like a spiderweb, rapidly spread across the surface. Accompanied by a surge of vital energy infused with battle aura, the altar, built from an unknown stone material, immediately collapsed.

Dust billowed. Anna stood amidst a pile of rubble, slowly rising.

The arcane runes carved around the altar had all dimmed. The blood that had risen into the air, as if losing its supporting power, flowed back into the blood pool.

Then, the waves turned, and stillness returned.

With her objective achieved, Anna showed no joy. She merely lowered her gaze, sighing softly.

“It’s over.”

With the altar destroyed, the sacrificial ritual to summon the evil god could not proceed.

Though she didn’t know their full purpose, such a crucial step being interrupted surely meant their subsequent plans would fail.

Even if the Serpentification disease was incurable, and she was ultimately doomed, at least… she wouldn’t let anyone else die because of her, right?

That would be enough.

Anna looked up, expecting the Siren’s enraged attack to arrive at any moment. To be killed by her now… seemed almost fitting.

‘I just feel a little sorry, junior, for saying those things to you…’

“Over? What kind of joke are you playing?”

Anna’s pupils contracted sharply, her heart skipping a beat involuntarily.

The Siren hadn’t attacked. Instead, she stood perfectly still, the anger and ferocity having vanished from her face, replaced by a look of playful mockery, as if she had just watched an ant’s futile struggle.

“You couldn’t possibly think this would stop us, stop the great Moon’s plan, could you? Anna, you still underestimate yourself.”

“Underestimate… myself?”

Anna frowned in confusion, not quite grasping the Siren’s words.

In that moment, however, the Siren suddenly knelt before her, respectfully prostrating herself.

“Great Moon, the noble divine scion has been delivered. Please, descend.”

‘Divine scion? What divine scion?’

‘And descend? The altar for summoning the evil god was destroyed by me. How could it descend?’

Innumerable questions flooded Anna’s mind, along with the persistent, chilling whispers that made her head ache.

Only this exquisite moonlight seemed capable of calming her turbulent heart, as if she could simply… drift into eternal slumber.

‘Wait.’

‘Moonlight?’

‘The ritual had already been stopped, so where was this moonlight coming from?’

Anna snapped awake, her beautiful eyes widening as she sharply looked up.

In an instant, her body turned ice-cold.

It felt as though all her blood had been drained, her delicate frame trembling uncontrollably.

For above her, a colossal, ethereal blue moon, as if directly inserted into the semi-enclosed space, nearly consumed her entire field of vision.

The Moon had truly descended.

And it was not some faint power summoned through sacrifice.

What appeared before Anna’s eyes now was, at the very least, a complete projection!

“Is… this how it is?”

As Anna gazed upon the ethereal blue moon, countless thoughts surged, and all the fragmented pieces of information perfectly clicked into place.

What a divine scion was.

What descent meant.

And the true meaning behind the Siren’s words when she first forced Anna to drink the evolutionary potion: “You are the most crucial part of this plan.”

The blood pool.

The altar.

The sacrifice.

None of these truly mattered, for they were merely coordinates for the evil god to pinpoint. They had already been established long before Anna arrived.

The true key was her, Anna.

With her standing here, everything… would become inevitable.

Understanding all this, a dagger appeared in Anna’s hand, and she unhesitatingly moved to slash her fair neck.

Clink—

Sparks flew.

The dagger failed to sever the fatal artery. Before it could, dark scales had already covered her alabaster skin, hard as steel.

Then, a gaze from a higher plane descended from the ethereal blue moon, coldly observing the struggling maiden.

But all struggles were futile.

Immaculate moonlight cascaded down. Anna’s body floated uncontrollably, her purple gown unfurling, beautiful like a mermaid dancing in the deep sea.

The dagger clattered to the ground.

As if truly in the depths of the ocean, Anna felt an endless coldness and silence.

The warmth in her blood was slowly drained away, her heartbeat gradually slowed, and a chilling consciousness invaded her mind, swiftly tearing through her already fragile mental defenses.

And the Tear of True Love, the gem that had sustained her until now, dared not emit even a flicker of light under the evil god’s gaze.

Even her emotions seemed to be stripped away bit by bit. In her mind, that familiar figure gradually blurred.

“Junior…”

Compared to the erosion of her spirit, the physical transformation was even swifter. Dark scales rapidly covered every inch of her skin. The carefully chosen black stockings, designed to accentuate the maiden’s beauty, were torn away.

A rounded, slender serpent’s tail emerged from beneath her dress, swaying gently with the moonlight.

It was a beauty, eerie and captivating.

****

“Is this… the serpent-human that will soon be perfect?”

The Siren crawled closer, observing the maiden gradually transforming under the moonlight. A flicker of jealousy crossed her eyes, but it swiftly morphed into extreme fanaticism.

“To be able to become a vessel for the Moon’s descent, to completely become a part of the Moon, you should feel honored, Anna.”

“But, for the true you, you certainly wouldn’t be happy, would you? After all, you’ve thoroughly become an even purer… monster than me.”

The Siren glanced at Anna’s still-furrowed brows; her consciousness seemed to be still resisting stubbornly. She couldn’t help but say, with a hint of regret, “It’s a pity you’ll never wake up again. Otherwise, I would have loved to see your reaction when you discovered you’d become a complete monster.”

“But now is not the time for me to anticipate, is it?”

The Siren cocked her head, a sneer suddenly curving her lips.

“That fellow actually came. I truly want to see his reaction when he sees you like this, but…”

The Siren bowed respectfully towards the ethereal blue moon, then rose and turned, walking towards the depths of the darkness.

“Let us first continue the game that was not finished before.”

“I’m truly looking forward to it, Ewan Campbell.”