It wasn't a small cave. There was a long, winding path leading inward. Its walls had been smoothed and expanded by the movements of the serpent that called this place home.
Considering the size of that thing, there was more than enough space for Gio to walk comfortably the entire way.
The silence was deafening. His own footsteps sounded so loud that he wanted to end his own life, feeling as if the beast would be awakened at any moment.
Still, he pushed on.
'I don't need to actually approach it.'
He only needed to find where this cave opened up, where the serpent laid its head to rest, and place the bomb there.
It was a simple job.
But that didn't mean it didn't take incredible courage to make the trek through the cave.
The seconds passed as if they were hours as Gio walked those winding tunnels. He didn't know where he was going necessarily, but his path was determined already.
The journey would have been much more difficult if the cave was completely submerged in darkness, however, that wasn't the case.
There was moss all over the ground, walls, and ceiling that glowed with a soft green haze, casting small auras of light into the large tunnel.
They didn't illuminate the entire path, but they gave him the ability to see.
He only really felt like they were a problem when he made it to that place.
Because if it weren't for them, maybe he wouldn't have had to witness that sight.
His body froze up the same way it did when he first entered the Tower of Babel. He felt a sort of sensation that he hadn't felt since the 45th floor of the tower.
A primal fear. A purely instinctive feeling that told him death was near.
'As expected, the difference between a Tier 5 beast and a normal person is unsurmountable.'
Gio shivered, calming his beating heart.
'If I wanted to fight it directly with any hope of winning, I'd have to be a General Rank Sequencer, probably around Origin Level 2-5 at least.'
The classifications for Sequencers didn't need to be discussed when Gio wasn't anywhere near his first Sequence yet, but that was a level he only reached in the Tower of Babel after fighting for decades.
He shook his head, trying to rid his mind of the thought.
'Since I can see it, I'm close enough.'
The poison cloud created by the bomb would be big enough to fill this entire cave even if the gas escaped through the surrounding tunnels. It was a necessity, after all, for someone like Gio.
Carefully, cautiously, he placed his bag on the ground and took the bomb out. Placing it on the ground, he gazed at his target.
It was truly an entity that made humans pale in comparison.
Its form was, naturally, that of a serpent. Its length was around a hundred feet and its body was twice the width of a concrete pillar. Its underbelly was a crimson-red color darker than blood, while the rest of its form was covered in pitch-black scales that seemed to ooze with some sort of liquid, making them shine even in an environment with little light.
Its mouth was closed, but Gio had seen the head of one of these before. Its fangs were longer than a man's arm. Its eyes were wide open, showing a deep reddish-purple color that seemed to freeze the world over.
There was no way it would be easy to see those eyes, but Gio took solitude in the fact that nothing they saw would be registered by the sleeping beast.
On the sides of its head were two large flaps that looked like dragon wings. One would believe those were the reason it was called the Blackwing Demon Serpent, but no.
It was called that because of the massive pair of black demonic wings protruding from what could be considered its back. They were wrapped around its body as it slept, but when it was awake, those wings weren't just capable of flight. They were weapons that could raze small cities if given the time.
"Huu…"
Gio took a breath, his eyes never breaking contact with that beast.
Beep!
He heard a subtle beep from where his hands were working. He'd done everything he needed to. The bomb was set.
'It'll start spreading the gas in five minutes.'
There was only a single beep. It wouldn't make any more sound.
Unfortunately, no matter how sure he was that the serpent wouldn't wake up before the poison could get to it, Gio couldn't stay to watch the proceedings.
For the serpent, a cloud of poison gas like that would slowly deprive it of consciousness and kill it.
For Gio, the cloud of poison would turn him into a puddle of human juice in seconds.
'I should go.'
He took one last look at the serpent before his gaze traveled back to the bomb. The single red light shining from its rear showed him that it was indeed active.
And without a single further thought, he turned back and retraced his steps. He moved faster than he did when entering the cave, but he didn't let his steps get too loud.
It took him right about five minutes to reach the cave exit.
With the acoustics of its structure, he was barely able to hear that sound.
Pssssh!
A barely audible pop, followed by the sound of air being expelled at a rapid rate.
Gio's eyes narrowed. He hurried his steps, moving several tens of feet away from the entrance.
For him, the next few minutes would be a waiting game. In some time, he would start to see some of the gas leaving the cave the same way he did. A little later, the gas would completely disappear and after waiting a bit more, he would enter the cave to see the results of his actions.
But, well, for anything living within the cave, those same few minutes were a catastrophe.
It started with just a bit of gas. Other than the serpent, there were only plants in the vicinity, so there was no one to smell that subtle scent of danger.
The small cloud got bigger and bigger. The slope of the cave naturally led most of the smoke into the larger opening rather than back into the tunnel, rapidly filling the space with a purple-black haze.
The luminous moss was destroyed first. The moment the gas made contact with it, it shriveled up and turned black. The moss on the ceilings and walls fell to the ground, lifeless and lightless.
To see it happening at first was difficult, as one couldn't see the serpent breathing.
However, as the gas cloud got thicker, more and more poison was absorbed into its skin and lungs, slowly filling its body.
The corrosion started immediately, but the serpent's natural systems fought back.
Hsss…
Its tongue flicked out of its mouth as it regained consciousness.
It didn't have time to be groggy.
The moment that tongue flicked out, it finally smelled the surrounding air. Its eyes rapidly gained light as its massive form slowly rose off of the ground.
Hisss!
It hissed violently as it whipped its head around to assess the situation. It banged its tail against the rocks, trying to force out whoever or whatever was creating the gas.
It opened its mouth to bellow, gathering Aether to show off its power.
But there was something in the air.
Something was pushing against its consciousness, lulling it back to sleep.
OOO–!
It couldn't finish the sound that left its mouth. Doing such a thing only allowed more poison to enter its system.
Its eyes turned bloodshot. It felt the lull of sleep, and within it, the serpent sensed the lull of death.
It didn't understand what was happening, but it could not allow itself to die.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The cave shook as it unfurled its massive wings and pushed its way into the tunnel leading out of the cave.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
It slithered with all of its power, moving recklessly to get to the exit.
Its speed was much faster than Gio's. It could reach that exit in less than a minute if it needed to.
It had always reached the exit that fast, allowing it to always catch invaders before they could touch the precious fruit it had been protecting.
This time should have been no different.
It pushed through the same tunnels it always used. The walls had already been pushed apart by its body to perfectly accommodate its movements.
So why couldn't it move?
Why wasn't it able to see sunlight yet?
It opened its mouth, letting out a guttural cry as it fought against the things invading its body.
However, its efforts were fruitless.
The poison it faced was the same as if a snake with venom as powerful as its own attacked it along with aid from its other enemies. This was an assault from a group, not just a single enemy.
It was powerful, so much so that even Raymond would be hesitant around it.
But the young boy who caused its fate knew everything about it.
Under his watchful eye, it would need a miracle to attain victory in this battle.
Still, it saw the light at the end of the tunnel.
It saw the rays of sunlight illuminating the entrance to the cave.
That was the last sight transmitted to its brain before its eyes lost their light.
That, and the shadowy form of a small bipedal creature in the distance.