Chapter 300: Beta vs Serpent
*THUD.*
Beta landed lightly on the sand right in front of the serpent, knees bending just enough to absorb the drop. Dust puffed up around her boots. She straightened up slowly, tail swishing behind her like she had all the time in the world.
"Next!" she said, flashing that big, toothy grin straight at the serpent.
The serpent froze. One long step back—his coils sliding across the sand with a soft hiss. A fat drop of sweat rolled down the side of his scaly forehead and dripped off his jaw. His yellow eyes were wide, pupils tiny.
"What kind of monster are you?" he snarled, voice shaking with anger. Red aura burst out around his body in angry waves, making the air ripple and the sand near him jump. He reared up high, fangs bared, then lunged forward like a striking whip—fast, deadly, jaws open wide to swallow her whole.
Beta didn’t flinch as she said. "A monster of a kind..." she said, grin getting wider. "Likes of you cannot survive."
She twisted her body mid-air with perfect balance, jumped just a little higher, and drove her heel straight down into the top of the serpent’s head.
*THUD!*
The impact was brutal. The serpent’s long body slammed face-first into the sand so hard the ground cracked under him in a spiderweb pattern. Sand sprayed outward like a bomb went off. A deep groan rumbled from his throat as his whole body jerked once and went still for a second.
Blood trickled out from between his fangs, dark green and thick. He tried to lift his head, but it only wobbled.
"What the... I can’t believe..." His voice came out broken, raspy, full of pain.
Beta stepped up onto his thick neck like it was a fallen log. She stood there casually, one foot planted firm, claws resting on her hips. Her tail flicked back and forth happily.
"Hehehe... that felt good," she said, sounding almost dreamy.
The serpent twitched under her. His eyes rolled up, trying to focus on her face.
"Y-You..." he rasped, struggling to get the words out. More blood bubbled at the corner of his mouth.
Beta tilted her head, ears perking up. She leaned down closer—way too close—putting one hand behind her ear like she was trying to hear better. "Ehh... What? I can’t hear you..."
The serpent coughed once, spitting more blood onto the sand.
"I- I... will... K-kill..."
"You want to kill me?" Beta asked, straightened up a little, blinking innocently. Then she cupped her hand around her ear again and raised her voice in a loud, sing-song tone that sounded way too cheerful for the situation.
She said it like she was confirming a lunch order—bright, melodic, almost cute. A few nearby goblins actually snorted in shock before they caught themselves.
Beta stood over the crushed serpent, one foot still planted on his thick neck like she owned him. She tilted her head, folding her arms across her chest.
"Umm..." she said, making a thinking face. Her tail slowed down for a second, swishing gently while she chewed her bottom lip.
The serpent underneath her wheezed, trying to catch his breath. His eyes darted up at her, full of panic now.
Beta’s face suddenly lit up. Her eyes sparkled like she’d just remembered where she left her favorite toy. She looked back down at him with the biggest, most innocent child-like smile. Her tail started wiggling fast behind her again—happy, excited, almost wagging.
"Well, I can’t let you kill me..." she said sweetly.
Then, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, she added, "So I will kill you!"
She said it flat and playful, like she was deciding what flavor ice cream to get. No anger. No drama. Just... normal.
The serpent’s eyes went huge. Pure horror flooded his face. His long body twitched under her foot.
"P-please..." he rasped, forcing his clawed hands together in front of his face in a desperate prayer. "Let me... li—"
"Die!!!"
Beta’s voice turned loud and cheerful. She flexed both arms—muscles popping under her skin—and slammed them down like twin hammers.
*BOOM!*
The first hit cracked the sand.
*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*
She didn’t stop. Her fists came down again and again in a storm of punches—fast, hard, endless. Each slam shook the whole beach like mini earthquakes. Sand flew up in huge clouds. The ground cracked wider and deeper under the serpent’s body.
*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*
The serpent’s screams turned into wet gurgles, then nothing. His body jerked with every hit until it went completely limp. Beta kept going anyway, turning the spot into a growing crater—deep, round, walls of sand pushed outward like a bowl.
The entire battlefield froze.
Monsters stopped running. The other shadow mystics paused mid-fight. Even the crowd went dead quiet except for a few gasps.
"What the fuck is that monster...?" one goblin whispered, voice shaking. His club slipped from his fingers and clattered to the sand.
Another goblin backed up slowly. "She’s... she’s not human..."
A third one just stared, mouth open. "We... we can’t fight that..."
Nearby, Gamma put one hand on her forehead and let out a long sigh.
"Beta can’t be stopped..." she muttered.
Alpha, standing a little farther away with her sword resting on her shoulder, nodded once.
"Yeah..." she said quietly, watching the dust cloud rise from the crater.
The other girls—Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Omega, Eta—exchanged looks. A couple of them shook their heads with small, tired smiles. They’d seen this before.
Far back on the beach, I sat with my legs crossed, elbows on my knees. The ground kept rumbling under me—each *BOOM* traveling through the sand like heartbeats.
I looked over at the crater, at Beta still slamming away like she was having the time of her life. A small smile tugged at my lips. I let out a slow breath.
"Can’t be helped..." I muttered, mostly to myself. I shook my head once, still smiling.
The punches finally slowed. *BOOM... BOOM...* then one last heavy *THUD*.
Beta straightened up, breathing a little harder now, fists dripping with green blood and sand. She shook her hands out like she’d just finished washing dishes. Her tail gave one happy flick.
She looked down into the crater—at what used to be the serpent. Just a flattened, broken mess now.
She tilted her head, ears twitching. "Done," she said simply.
Then she turned around, big grin back on her face, and waved at the rest of the monsters who were all backing away like she’d grown ten heads.
"Who’s next?" she called out cheerfully.
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