Chapter 72: Azure basilisk (12)
Jaster kept running, passing by all the ruined houses and buildings. The basilisk had really destroyed most of Silver City. Jaster was surprised the warden hadn’t done something yet.
The boy ran towards one of the fallen houses and looked down at the huge boulders and jagged pieces of building on the ground.
"I need..." Jaster didn’t finish the sentence.
He dropped to his knees and began digging through the rubble, tossing aside chunks of broken wood and shattered concrete.
Dust filled the air, sticking to his skin as his hands moved faster, more desperate.
"Come on... come on..."
He shoved aside a cracked tile, then a splintered plank. But still, it was not what he was looking for.
He dug up bottles, broken glass, scraps of metal — it was everything but the one thing he needed.
"Not this... not this either...!"
Behind him, the ground trembled violently.
The basilisk was getting closer, probably mad after Jaster had taunted it with his butt.
Jaster gritted his teeth and dug deeper, ignoring the pain in his fingers as they scraped against jagged edges.
Then his hand stopped. He felt something smooth. His whole body froze as he slowly pulled it free from the rubble, the object catching what little light remained.
Jaster stared at it, his breathing unsteady.
"...Finally."
----
Jaster kept running towards the city center, his mind racing at the same time as his feet.
"If Stella had done her part of the plan, then everything is solid. Well, unless everything I know about the basilisk is false." While sprinting, he glanced at the mirror in his hand. The handle was golden, with a slight crack in the mirror.
"I really hope this’ll work...." He finally reached the city center, where he saw the café still barely standing amid the destruction.
In the middle of it all was Stella.
She was moving in a wide circle, tilting a container as oil poured out in a steady stream, tracing a dark ring across the ground.
The liquid glistened under the light, spreading over the cracked pavement as she completed the loop.
She dropped the oil container and rubbed her sweaty forehead. "Whew, I’m done—"
"Stella!" Jaster shouted towards her. The girl froze and her head turned towards him, her eyes widening.
"Jaster—" Before she could go to him, she saw the colossal basilisk slithering its way in the distance.
"THE SNAKE!" She screamed while pointing her finger. Jaster immediately understood and started sprinting towards her. He stepped inside the oil ring and shouted at her.
"You got the lighter, right?" Stella firmly shook her head, then rummaged through her pocket and threw the white lighter. Jaster barely caught it, examined it, and made a small chuckle.
"Cute."
Hearing the white boy say that, Stella looked away, embarrassed. Suddenly the ground began to tremble, making Stella lose her footing as she dropped to the ground.
The basilisk came crashing through the street, its massive body tearing through buildings like they were nothing. Walls collapsed, windows shattered, and debris rained down as it forced its way forward.
"IT’S COMING!" Stella shouted while trying to get up amid the trembling ground.
Hs flicked the lighter. Instead of a flame coming out, there was nothing. Tilting his head, he kept clicking and clicking.
"Come on...!" The basilisk was getting closer. Jaster looked back and forth between the lighter and the basilisk.
After a couple more tries, he clicked again and a small flame sparked to life. Jaster stared at it, his eyes reflecting the fire.
In front of them, the basilisk lunged, its maw opening wide as crackling indigo energy gathered within its throat.
He flicked the lighter with his thumb and tossed it onto the oil-soaked ground. For a split second nothing happened, but then—
FWOOOSH!
The oil ignited instantly, a ring of fire exploding outward, flames racing along the circle in a blazing arc.
Heat surged upward as the fire roared to life, forming a burning barrier around them.
The basilisk charged straight into it. And the flames erupted violently on impact, fire bursting upward as the beast tore through the burning ring.
As expected, the fire did not leave a scratch on the basilisk’s impenetrable skin. But that wasn’t Jaster’s plan in the first place anyway.
The snake and Jaster were now alone in the ring of fire as the flames erupted outwards violently, growing higher and higher.
The beast looked at Jaster, its eyes squinting. The monster slowly slithered towards him, while the boy did not move at all. They held a staring contest, then the snake closed its eyes. A little curve formed on its cheek as Jaster held on to the mirror.
And in the last second, the snake opened its eyes, revealing azure-colored pupils. Its eyes dilated, but at the same moment the basilisk opened them, Jaster yanked the mirror out and held it up in front of him, angling it toward the serpent’s gaze.
The flames roared around them, a blazing ring of fire twisting and surging upward, their reflections dancing wildly across the mirror’s surface.
For a moment, the basilisk stared. Its glowing eyes locked onto its own reflection, showing no sign of blinking whatsoever.
Jaster’s grip tightened.
"Come on..... Please work..."
The crackling fire was the only sound in the ring. The ground burned. The serpent didn’t move an inch. Every second that passed made his heart race faster. Jaster’s breath hitched.
His plan was to take advantage of the snake’s ability — seeing how it was able to crystallize its victims, Jaster thought that if anything had an ability similar to Medusa’s, then the same tactic used to defeat her would also work on other creatures too... right?
But Jaster learned the hard way that not everything follows mythology. This is fiction, after all, not history.
"...What?"
A cold realization crept in.
"No... no, that’s not right..."
The basilisk’s pupils narrowed slightly. Then it tilted its head as if... confused.
Jaster’s blood ran cold.
"You’ve got to be kidding me..."
