The sound of scaly scraping, sharp and piercing, echoed in the darkness.

Huai Shi's steps faltered. She sensed something rapidly gestating in the darkness... something growing fast, beyond her control.

In the secret chamber of the Earth Dragon Leaders, all the gathered ninjas sat exhausted on the ground, badly wounded.

"Clench your teeth—"

The aged Zi's voice rang out.

On his face, two bloodied, dark depressions lifted as though assessing the Yin in front of him.

He said, "Don't be afraid."

With one hand holding the blade and the other grasping Yin's wrist, his hand moved, the knife fell, and an arm dropped to the ground, promptly devoured by the hulking giant sprawled there.

The hair-raising sound of chewing filled the darkness.

That was Si.

Representing the Snake amongst the twelve Earthly Branches, the ninja, with his jaws agape, was devouring the limbs of his comrades.

The small arm was easily crushed in the fanged maw, swallowed, and then, unscientifically... his body actually grew by several tens of centimeters.

On his skin, the pattern of Snake Scales had become so prominent that they protruded. Splitting the thin skin, a soft keratin layer emerged from between the muscles. Exposed to the air, it quickly hardened, turning from pale to grayish-black.

Zi's eyes, Yin's hand, Wu's legs, Wei's liver...

The more he ate, the larger his body grew, and the more his Power swelled, the thinner his human will and Soul became. Suddenly, Si froze, his entire body rigid.

Beneath the skin, his muscles twisted. Then, abruptly, from a split at the top of his head, he shed his human skin, transforming into a giant snake that let out a high-pitched, shrill hiss.

That thin layer of human skin seemed connected to an unending cavern, allowing the writhing giant snake to slide out for over ten meters, with no end in sight...

That was no longer Si.

At best, what Si provided was merely a shell from which an entity that had long since fallen into Hell, the fallen Lord of the river, could be born and sprout...

The Mystic Ritual of Transforming into a Dragon.

Originally, that was correct. What should have manifested was a noble dragon god transformed by Chen.

But when there were no dragons left in the world, the once-mighty Earth Dragon Leaders degenerated into denizens of Hell. The once strongest, Chen, became the weakest, and only Si could take its place, assuming this sacrificial duty.

Now, the Giant Snake of Hell had been summoned!

Flicking its crimson forked tongue, the Giant Snake loomed over Zi, interrogating coldly in Si's voice, "Where is the enemy?"

"Probably right behind you."

In the deathly quiet secret chamber, a voice that didn't belong there rang out.

In the roiling darkness, a slender silhouette slowly rose, holding a bloodied blade, smiling.

An aura of Disaster, far surpassing that of the Giant Snake, emanated from those pitch-black eyes. The Abyss's favored and endowed had descended here, yet it did not favor the monster it had fostered. Instead, it took the side of the enemy.

Within the Buried Sacred Place, the spiteful air of Rotten Dream's remains spread. Beneath the long-cuffed gloves, a mechanized right arm unfolded slightly, the furnace ignited, and the Fire of Blessing from the Ruler burned silently.

Looking down from above at the intruding Giant Snake, Huai Shi smiled and asked, "Looking for me? Do you have business with me?"

Sorry to bother you, I'll take my leave.

If it had hands, the Giant Snake would surely be bowing with clasped fists right now.

Its massive vertical pupils almost shrank to a point, and its flickering tongue almost stretched taut.

Immediately thereafter, the giant body that had been sliding out from the human skin crevice suddenly halted. Then, without any hesitation, it began to retract twice as fast, retreating from where it came.

Backing into the garage!

The Current Circumstances are too dangerous; I must return to Hell quickly!

It didn't hesitate to defy the Mystic Ritual and Legion Contract. It was prepared to pay triple the price to return, even if it meant regressing two cycles—a cost it deemed acceptable.

"Leaving so soon? Why bother, since you're already here," the hospitable Miss Huaizhi urged. "At least have a meal before you go."

Behind her, a rolling blackness rose. Countless excited crimson eyes emerged, and a multitude of metallic glints overlapped, spreading a greedy and ferocious aura.

They were already ravenous.

Since someone ordered takeout right to our door, why be polite?

—Time to eat!

At that moment, the coiled Giant Snake shrieked frenziedly, opened its mouth, and spat out a black-purple fog that engulfed the figure like a tide.

But swiftly, the toxic tide was parted.

The raised sword blade fell.

One step forward, and she was within arm's reach.

Behind Huai Shi, the rapidly spreading tide of poison began to retract inward, as if dragged by an invisible maw, swallowed into the Buried Sacred Place until not a drop remained.

And the sword blade was raised again, aimed at its head, and cleaved down!

Under the stimulus of death, the Giant Snake shrieked, opened its mouth, and lunged at Huaizhi.

In the next instant, it was as if struck by lightning.

For Grudge had already struck. The brutal Tang Bamboo Type tore through the air, almost becoming a blaze of light, leaving a roar in its wake as it slammed into the snake's head.

Like an Iron Hammer.

The soaring Giant Snake was smashed to the ground. The hard scales on its head shattered, and its flesh was cleanly split apart.

A deep chisel mark was left upon its Iron Stone-like skull.

Almost instantly, it was split in two!