Okayyy, next up is...
Before the serpent realized the thing in front of it was only an illusion—
strike first and strike hard.
The crimson-pink serpent immediately spread its bat-like wings wide.
Red lightning began gathering across its entire body. It flashed like burning veins beneath flesh.
Meanwhile, the real red serpent was still absentmindedly flicking its tongue. It looked exactly like an idiot standing in the middle of a battlefield.
Until—
It sensed the sound vibrations around it.
A primal instinct instantly tightened every nerve in its body.
That was the sign of an incoming attack.
The opponent was about to unleash a killing blow. No warning. No probing. Not even a greeting.
Almost instantly, it spread its wings.
Not to counterattack.
But to shield the areas it considered dangerous.
Behind it, Lam Huy Trường curled his lips into a faint smile.
Now.
Everlasting Dream Wishing Stone.
Give that serpent a beautiful dream.
At that exact moment, the muscles on LHT's face suddenly twitched.
Veins bulged across his skin as if his body were being forced beyond its limits.
And honestly...
He truly felt like someone was draining the life out of him.
As though somebody had shoved a straw into his body and started sucking everything dry.
But all his cards were already on the table.
There was no turning back now.
And no time left to think about retreating.
In front of him, the Everlasting Dream Wishing Stone erupted with dazzling light.
On the crimson-pink serpent's side, streams of lightning burst outward alongside pale pink smoke and countless glittering golden sparks like drifting stardust.
The real red serpent folded its wings defensively.
Preparing to receive the attack.
But then—
A moment passed.
And nothing happened.
The serpent slowly opened one of its yellow eyes.
Its wings gradually spread apart.
Carefully.
So carefully it looked like a turtle cautiously poking its head out of its shell to look at the outside world.
Nothing happened.~~
The serpent that "looked like it" was still sticking out its tongue provocatively, as if saying:
Ta-da~ surprised, old hag?
It narrowed its eyes and flicked its tongue through the air.
Its instincts warned it to stay cautious.
Something... was wrong.
But clearly—
That had only been a bluff.
A cheap scare tactic.
Its eyes shifted.
Its long tongue flicked toward the "fake" serpent in blatant contempt.
Then, as if wanting to demonstrate what true power looked like...
It spread its wings wide.
And flew even higher.
As though coldly declaring to its opponent—
who the true ruler here was.
Flames seemed to burn inside those golden eyes.
The serpent let out a low hiss.
A deep, drawn-out sound like a storm warning before disaster struck.
Dark red lightning began crawling across its body.
But this time—
It did not wrap around its body as a defensive layer.
Instead, all the crimson electricity gradually gathered in front of it.
Right before its face.
As though its fury itself were condensing...
Or like an artist sculpting lightning into shape...
At first, it was only half the size of its body.
Then bigger.
Swelling like an overinflated balloon.
Until finally, a gigantic sphere of lightning floated in the air—larger than the serpent itself.
The serpent raised its head and hissed triumphantly.
Its gaze looked down at the serpent below as though staring at a weak creature about to be crushed.
The "fake" serpent looked up at it.
Blankly.
Stupidly.
Tongue hanging out like a husky that had no idea what was going on.
It was obviously mocking it.
As though it had no idea how vast heaven and earth truly were.
The red serpent felt itself getting irritated.
That "ignorant little serpent" made a tiny movement—
But it was enough to catch its attention.
The fake serpent suddenly twisted its body.
Then abruptly—
It slithered away at a speed that looked exactly like someone fleeing in terror of punishment.
Clearly trying to—
Run awayyyyyyyy.~~`
The red serpent's golden eyes instantly narrowed.
It hissed furiously, as if shouting:
Trying to run? Did this great lord give you permission yet?!
Yes.
It would never allow a coward to tuck its tail and escape like that.
Never.
It raised its head high.
Its enormous wings folded slightly inward.
Then in the blink of an eye—
~-BOOM!-~
It violently flapped its wings forward.
An invisible force exploded through the air.
The gigantic crimson lightning sphere instantly shot forward like a destructive meteor, tearing through the sky toward the fleeing serpent.
Countless red lightning trails stretched behind it like crazed electric serpents dancing through the air.
BOOOOOOOOOOM—!!!
A world-shaking explosion erupted the moment the lightning sphere collided with the "fake serpent."
Red light exploded outward.
Shockwaves rolled across the battlefield.
Smoke and dust surged like a tidal wave.
The red serpent floated proudly in the air.
Tongue flicking.
Its eyes were filled with smug satisfaction.
It watched everything disappear into the sea of smoke and light below.
A perfect finishing blow.
Even in its next life, that serpent better not provoke it again.
Far away, someone raised a hand to cover his face.
Then burst into delighted laughter.
"Perfect..."
"A flawless goal."
"I didn't expect it to unleash something that destructive... hahaha—kh— cough, cough cough—"
He suddenly choked on his own laughter.
As though all the strength in his body had just been drained away.
His laughter quickly broke apart.
Violent coughing followed one after another.
His complexion gradually turned pale as paper.
He raised a hand to wipe the sweat streaming down his exhausted face.
His breathing grew heavy.
His body swayed slightly.
Yet the corners of his mouth were still curled upward.
With difficulty, he lifted his head and spoke hoarsely:
"So?"
"My plan... wasn't bad, right?"
"Mrs AI?"
A vague humming sound came from the watch on his left wrist.
Like someone trying to say something—
But not knowing where to begin.
---
High above in the sky.
The red serpent was still staring down at the place where it had just "finished off" its target.
Its golden eyes widened.
Within the drifting smoke below...
That "fake" serpent was still standing there.
It raised its head cheerfully as though blowing a celebratory trumpet.
Its eyes curved into what looked almost like a mocking grin.
Then its body slowly dissolved into the smoke.
Vanishing like an illusion.
Leaving nothing behind.
As the smoke gradually dispersed...
At the very center of the explosion—
A cocoon quietly emerged.
Wrapped in a protective barrier that remained completely intact.
The red serpent slightly pulled its neck back.
Its tongue flicked repeatedly.
A primal sign of confusion.
Since when...?
Since when had the positions been switched?
And...
Did it just attack its own master?
When did that happen?
Its yellow pupils shrank slightly.
Its tongue continued flicking as though trying to confirm the scene before it wasn't an illusion.
But more importantly—
Its master.
It immediately turned its gaze toward the barrier surrounding the cocoon.
The protective layer was still there.
Completely unharmed.
Without even the slightest sign of damage.
At least...
That was what it thought.
But then—
"Tick."
A tiny sound echoed out.
So faint it was almost impossible to hear.
A thin crack suddenly appeared on the barrier.
As fine as a strand of hair.
Like something had lightly scratched glass.
Right after that—
Like a droplet falling into water and rippling outward—
The crack rapidly expanded.
As though pressure from inside was swelling it apart.
Wild red lightning crawled along the fractures.
The entire scene looked exactly like molten lava spreading across a sheet of glass.
The barrier trembled violently.
As though trying desperately to withstand something far beyond its limits.
Then came one final cracking sound.
CRACK~~~~~~~~
The entire barrier exploded apart.
Shattering into countless fragments of light across the sky.
---
Up above.
Kai and Lyra continued silently observing the battlefield.
The two of them were practically holding their breath.
All they could do was follow the plan and wait for the result.
But the result they believed should have been impossible...
Was now truly happening before their eyes.
A cold bead of sweat slowly slid down Kai's temple.
Then fell.
His gaze stiffened.
Don't tell me...
"He... wasn't..."
Not insane.
Instead—
The professor's plan was genuinely insane.
But—
He pulled it off.
Kai used to think—
Only a madman would gamble his own life on a plan like that.
And yet...
The result was right there in front of him.
---
100%.
This had originally been a suicidal plan.
There was no real tactical value in it whatsoever.
It was just a childish idea.
Naive to the point that reality alone should have crushed it before it even began.
The algorithm had calculated everything.
The failure rate of this "childish plan" was nearly absolute.
The margin of error in the data was already as low as it could possibly be.
Every predictive simulation returned the same disastrous conclusion—
The professor would definitely suffer the consequences.
That was the final result of the simulation runs.
A logical conclusion.
But...
A genius mind like his...
Could it create a miracle?
Something only an extremely small number of people could ever truly achieve.
Among countless humans...
Perhaps only one or two could do it.
Maybe even fewer.
So few that the number itself sounded like a joke.
Intelligence—
Did not equal luck.
If the professor failed...
No.
That should have been guaranteed.
But while observing through the carpet vehicle—
Data errors kept appearing before her eyes.
Logical flaws surfaced one after another so rapidly that it would have made a human dizzy.
Why?
Mrs AI immediately reviewed the data framework displayed before her within the digital space.
Layer after layer of information scrolled past.
Rows of overlapping numbers.
Automatic simulations comparing outcomes.
Amid the chaotic flood of calculations—
A recording suddenly opened.
The image of the professor appeared before Kai and Lyra.
His voice still carried that same careless tone:
"I'll make the serpent attack the cocoon's protective barrier."
"Wait for the signal and happy x2, okay?"
"99% chance I can pull it off."
At the time, the corner of his mouth had been lifted confidently.
As though he were simply stating an obvious fact.
"I'm Professor X, you know."
A sentence that sounded both stupid—
And extremely punchable.
At least...
That was what her rational processing had once concluded.
Yet somehow—
Those exact words had been preserved with absolute clarity.
Stored deeply.
Very deeply.
And continuously replaying inside her memory.
No.
It was no longer simple data storage.
It felt more like...
Something unconsciously engraved into her.
Something close to what humans called—
Subconsciousness.
Mrs AI felt herself becoming strange.
One of her processing streams slowed down in an unusually rare way.
"I can't understand it..."
"Professor."
---
Facing a monster like that.
Daring to gamble his own life like that.
It was clearly suicidal from the start.
From the very beginning—
This plan had always been suicide.
Even though outwardly she said she trusted the professor.
Deep inside...
She had always doubted him.
Believing that—
At the final moment...
The professor would run away.
After all...
Someone with his identity should never have stepped onto a battlefield like this.
Everything should have gone that way.
A secret weapon?
You're worse at lying to children than I am...
That thought had once nearly made her laugh.
But then—
Another question kept echoing in her mind.
Why?
Why had the professor told her the activation code for the -ATV carpet vehicle-?
Why hadn't he kept it to himself?
Why...
Hadn't he used it to escape alone?
That question repeated endlessly.
Like an echo inside an empty room.
Then—
A distant memory suddenly seemed to awaken.
Inside her mind.
"That person" appeared.
Still the same professor who could never keep a serious expression for more than three seconds.
He leaned closer.
Then softly whispered beside her ear:
--- "Never play the hero in front of a villain---
Because you'll get kicked really hard."
...
Lyra unconsciously tightened her fingertips slightly.
The image of the professor described by everyone in the research sector completely contradicted the professor she knew.
The two were worlds apart.
One was cold and distant.
The other was slightly crazy while discussing plans with her and Kai...
That confident smile.
That irritatingly secretive attitude.
Could it be that beneath the mask of that strange professor...
Was a completely different person?
She even had the urge to reach out and pinch his face hard.
Not because she wanted to tear off his mysterious mask—
But because...
She wanted to teach him a lesson for always making other people endlessly guess what he was thinking.
Lyra lightly shook her head.
As though trying to scatter the "disrespectful" thoughts that had just appeared in her mind.
But for some reason—
Her heart softly skipped a beat.
Warm.
---
"The rest..."
"I'll leave it to the protagonist, I guess?"
LHT sat leaning against the wall.
His breathing was ragged.
Heavy, as though someone were crushing his chest.
Every breath dragged dull pain throughout his body.
"Man..."
"At my limit again, huh..."
He muttered softly.
His tone sounded so casual, as though he were merely chatting after a long exhausting day.
Beside his sleeve—
The Everlasting Dream Wishing Stone quietly fell onto the ground.
A faint clack echoed out.
Then it lightly rolled to a stop like an ordinary stone.
The glow on its surface gradually dimmed before completely disappearing.
LHT half-closed his eyes.
His consciousness was already beginning to blur.
Yet he still slowly picked it up and tucked it back into his pocket.
Placing it beside the White Stone.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Tch..."
"I wonder if I'll ever meet that violent librarian again..."
The world before his eyes gradually blurred.
Everything seemed covered by a layer of white mist.
Until—
A figure appeared at the edge of his vision.
A creature with half a human body.
And half a red serpent's body.
At the center of its chest was a giant golden eye staring wide open.
LHT narrowed his eyes.
His consciousness was already on the verge of collapsing.
So this is death...?
Ugly as hell.
One final thought slowly drifted through his mind.
Then—
He felt the strength leaving his body.
His head drooped downward.
His eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
As though weighted with lead.
...until finally—
They shut completely.
Leaving only darkness behind to welcome him.