The Evolved One

' So he is the one whose presence I felt that day. He's strong,' Kai thought, gazing at Snake, who had just blocked Kai's attack with his tail. The snake's tail was still blocking Kai's attack. For a moment, both Snake and Kai did not move.

Quickly, with rapid speed, in the blink of an eye, Kai leaped again toward Snake's backside. The speed at which Kai moved was greater than last time when he had tried to attack Snake's tail but was blocked. Leaping onto Snake's back and raising his arm, Kai launched another attack toward Snake's back. But before Kai's attack could land, Snake swung his tail backward, blocking Kai's attack without even looking back.

Knowing that Snake had blocked his attack without even looking and with such speed, Kai's eyes widened in shock. A sense of fear hit him, and he quickly leaped backward, maintaining a safe distance from Snake. Kai was on high alert—he knew how strong Snake was. The seriousness was easily visible on Kai's face, his eyes focused on Snake. Slowly, the snake moved, turning toward Kai.

Watching Snake slowly turn his body toward him, Kai knew it was an act of disrespect. Snake was doing it on purpose. Looking at Kai, Snake suddenly smiled—a smile of evil and arrogance. It was clear that Snake was either confident in his power, believing he would win this fight and kill Kai, or he was simply enjoying the battle.

'That's good for me. That means he's hiding his power,' Kai thought, understanding the reason behind Snake's smile.

Seeing Kai's powerful attacks and how Snake blocked them one after another, shock hit Arthur. The speed and power at which Kai and Snake were fighting made it difficult for Arthur to even see their movements. Everything was happening right before his eyes. Arthur was continuously trying to move his body, trying to speak, trying to escape from Snake's skill, but he couldn't. The only thing he could do was watch what was happening in front of him and hope that Kai would win this fight.

As Snake and Kai gazed at each other, waiting for the next attack, Snake slowly moved his head backward, aiming straight at Kai. It looked like he was about to shoot something.

'A ranged attack, but with magic elements,' Kai thought, trying to understand which magic element Snake was going to use. As Kai prepared for a long-range attack from Snake—

"Thada…!"

With rapid speed, faster than Kai, Snake dashed toward him. The impact of Snake's dash was so strong that it looked like a fighter jet breaking the sound barrier.

Before Kai could react, the next moment, Snake was right in front of him, in mid-air. Kai didn't even have time to respond to Snake's attack.

"….."

With the same speed as his dash, Snake swung his tail toward Kai in mid-air, attacking him. The snake's speed was so fast that Kai didn't have either the time or the speed to dodge the attack. Before Snake's tail could hit him, Kai crossed his arms, trying to block the attack.

"Thadaa…!"

The moment Snake's tail hit Kai's crossed arms, a powerful echo rang across the area. The attack was so powerful that it sent Kai flying back at rapid speed, crashing straight into the wall.

"Boom…!"

With a loud explosion, Kai hit the wall with his back, creating a dust cloud around him. He vanished into the dust cloud, making it impossible for both Snake and Arthur to see him.

'Is he stronger than Kai?' Arthur thought, seeing Snake's attack send Kai crashing through a pillar with devastating force.

Thinking Kai was finished after being thrown against the wall with such force, Snake turned toward Arthur. Luckily, everything was happening in Arthur's direct line of sight, as his head and eyes were frozen in place because of Snake's skill.

As Snake looked at him, Arthur's spirit trembled once more. Knowing that Snake might have killed Kai and was now going to kill him, Arthur was terrified.

'So he has a skill that can freeze his opponent, huh…' Kai thought inside the dust cloud, looking straight at Arthur and Snake. Finally, Kai realized that Arthur was not moving. When he had first blocked Snake's attack, he had assumed Arthur was frozen in shock, but now, looking at him inside the dust cloud, standing in the same position, he knew Arthur's body had been frozen.

'I need to be careful about that. Otherwise, I'll be frozen too. Or maybe…'

Understanding Snake's deadly skill that could freeze his opponent, Kai prepared himself, but suddenly, an idea came to him.

The impact of Kai hitting the wall was so strong that it created a small crater big enough for him to move around in. Before the dust cloud started to clear, Kai prepared himself. He placed his leg, gripping the ground, then placed his other hand, taking a stance similar to a runner at the start of a race. Kai's gaze was locked onto Snake. His expression was serious, but there was also a slight smile—the same smile Snake had before he had shot himself toward Kai.

"Boom…!"

With rapid speed, Kai leaped toward Snake.

Hearing the sound, Snake quickly turned around in shock, but there was no one there. The only thing Snake saw was another big dust cloud in the same place where Kai had hit the wall.

With rapid speed, Snake looked around, his tongue flicking in and out of his mouth, trying to detect Kai's presence. Suddenly, while looking around, moving his head rapidly to search for Kai, he suddenly stopped. Looking straight ahead, he also retracted his tongue into his mouth. He flicked his tongue one more time to confirm something, but now, sweat started dripping from his face.

He knew someone was standing in front of him, but he couldn't see them.

"You are an evolved one, but you still can't speak," Kai said in a strong voice.

Kai was standing right in front of Snake, but Snake couldn't see him—just like before, when Arthur hadn't been able to see him. Kai had blended perfectly with the dungeon's light, becoming invisible.

Hearing Kai's voice, Snake quickly leaped backward. He tried switching his eyesight, and as he did, everything around him turned red—like an infrared vision, showing living and nonliving things. But he still couldn't see Kai.

Continuously switching his eyesight, looking around, flicking his tongue in and out, Snake was trying everything he could to find Kai. But Kai was nowhere to be seen.