At that moment, the turbulent emotions Kaiser had managed to suppress surged back to the surface, uncontrollable.
Staring at the dark, serpent-like entity coiling within Ophis' hand, his grip on the True Longinus instinctively tightened.
He could feel it—this entity contained an unfathomable power.
A power that far surpassed his current self, that eclipsed every existence he had encountered thus far.
Faced with such power, he felt a deep, visceral fear—and yet… an undeniable longing.
Yes, longing.
He desired this power.
"This is the Snake, isn't it?" Kaiser's voice came out hoarse.
The Snake was Ophis' power.
As the Infinite Dragon God, a being renowned for possessing boundless strength, Ophis was not only a colossal entity in terms of scale and status but also wielded an inexhaustible, infinite force.
A force that could never be depleted.
Thus, Ophis had taken fragments of her power, fashioning them into Snakes, which she bestowed upon various members of the Khaos Brigade.
Simply consuming one of Ophis' Snakes would be enough to elevate one's strength by an entire tier.
An Ultimate-Class Devil who consumed it would ascend to Satan-Class.
A Satan-Class being who consumed it would step into the realm of demigods.
Many within the Khaos Brigade had partaken of this power, and in doing so, had achieved terrifying leaps in strength.
Now, Ophis was preparing to grant that same power to Kaiser.
"This is a Snake that is even closer to my essence," Ophis stated.
"It holds approximately one-tenth of my full strength."
Kaiser's eyes widened in shock.
One-tenth of her power?
Had Ophis ever granted a Snake this potent before?
The Snakes she had previously bestowed upon the Khaos Brigade were nowhere near this level of strength.
"Swallow it," Ophis continued, her voice calm and unyielding. "Become part of the infinite and the void. Stand alongside me in reclaiming the Silent World and vanquish the Great Red."
She extended her hand, offering the Snake to Kaiser as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Yet Kaiser's heart was anything but calm.
Ophis was strong.
Unfathomably strong.
But to what extent?
To put it simply—
If every significant existence in this world were ranked in terms of power, then setting aside Great Red, who resided beyond this world, Ophis would undoubtedly claim the number one spot.
And the difference between her and the entity ranked second was an insurmountable chasm—an unbridgeable abyss.
Among dragons, aside from Ophis and Great Red, the strongest were the two Heavenly Dragons, whose power far exceeded that of the Dragon Kings.
Even the weakest of the Dragon Kings possessed strength comparable to a Satan-Class Devil, while the strongest among them could rival gods.
The Heavenly Dragons stood even higher, able to contend with the top ten existences in the world.
But Ophis?
Even in the latter parts of the original story, after suffering a devastating loss that stripped away more than three-quarters of her strength, she had still been leagues above the Heavenly Dragons.
At the time of her power's theft, she had scattered the stolen fragments across different dimensions in the form of Snakes. And yet, after reclaiming those fragments, she remained two entire tiers above her former peak.
Two tiers.
To put that into perspective—
An Ultimate-Class Devil was two tiers above a Low-Class Devil, making the latter nothing more than an insect in comparison.
A Satan-Class entity was two tiers above an Ultimate-Class, rendering the gap between them similarly insurmountable.
The Heavenly Dragons, in turn, were two tiers above Satan-Class Devils.
A regular Satan-Class entity was little more than an ant in the face of a Heavenly Dragon.
And in the presence of Ophis—who surpassed her former self by yet another two tiers—the Heavenly Dragons might as well be infants.
And this was Ophis after losing a significant portion of her power.
Had she been at her peak, even if every single top-ten-ranked entity joined forces, they still wouldn't stand a chance against her.
Even if all the major factions of the world combined their might and waged war against Ophis, she would likely still emerge victorious in a landslide.
So, was Ophis strong?
Unquestionably.
And now, at this moment, Ophis stood before Kaiser in her fully restored state—her prime.
If Kaiser were to absorb one-tenth of her power, then just how strong would he become?
Surely, he would reach the level of the world's top ten.
Perhaps even among the highest of those ten.
And that was assuming a conservative estimate.
What if this fragment of Ophis' power was even stronger than that?
Wouldn't that mean he was about to ascend in one single step?
In the face of such a temptation, how could Kaiser possibly remain indifferent?
All he had to do was reach out his hand.
With just that one motion, he could seize this power.
He could instantly attain a strength that would allow him to rival, or even surpass, the gods themselves.
"..."
Kaiser closed his eyes.
"...You refuse?"
Watching him, Ophis tilted her head, her expression one of genuine confusion.
She knew that this human was a member of the Hero Faction.
There was a strong possibility that he would reject her Snake.
Most members of the Hero Faction had done so.
To mitigate that risk, Ophis had intentionally condensed this Snake with far more power than usual.
It was both a greater temptation and an effort to ensure that this human would grow strong enough.
Strong enough to help her defeat Great Red.
Strong enough to return her to the void.
But now, judging by his reaction, he still seemed hesitant.
Why?
Does he think it's not enough?
Should I offer him more?
Ophis seriously contemplated this.
Just as she was about to act, Kaiser opened his eyes.
"No," he said. "I'll take it."
Kaiser responded with an eerily calm demeanor.
"I appreciate the gesture. I'll accept it."
He extended his hand, taking the Snake that Ophis had condensed in her palm.
However, instead of consuming it, he carefully stowed it away.
"…You're not going to use it?"
Seeing this, Ophis' expression became even more perplexed.
"That's right." Kaiser nodded, speaking with blunt honesty. "I don't intend to consume your Snake just yet."
Due to her infinite power, Ophis had always been an exceedingly generous presence within the Khaos Brigade. Anyone who wished to obtain her Snakes had never been refused.
As a result, in the original timeline, countless members of the Khaos Brigade had utilized Ophis' Snakes.
Apart from a few factions—such as the Hero Faction, who had deliberately rejected them—the majority of Khaos Brigade members had consumed these Snakes to greatly enhance their strength. Moreover, there seemed to be no apparent side effects.
However, at the end of the day, the Snake was Ophis' power—not the user's own.
In the original story, one of the four Maou, the current Lucifer, had once purged an opponent's body of Ophis' Snake using his own demonic energy, instantly reducing them back to their original state.
This proved one crucial fact: Ophis' Snake did not truly integrate with its user. It functioned more like an external amplifier—an augmentation of power that could still be forcibly stripped away by others.
Moreover, when Ophis lost a significant portion of her power, she had dispersed fragments of it into different dimensions in the form of Snakes. Later, she effortlessly reclaimed them.
This demonstrated that Ophis held complete dominion over the Snakes—she could reclaim them at will.
And there was another unknown factor—whether those who consumed the Snake could be influenced or controlled by its original owner.
With so many potential risks, it was no surprise that certain members of the Khaos Brigade had chosen to reject the Snakes.
Given all this, Kaiser naturally had no intention of consuming Ophis' Snake either.
Had it been an ordinary Snake, he would have outright refused it.
But this one was different.
Ophis had given him a Snake of unprecedented quality—one infused with a staggering amount of her power.
This was a rarity, something that even Ophis might never offer again.
Thus, after weighing his options, Kaiser made his decision.
He would accept it.
Because as long as he possessed it, whether or not he used it was entirely his choice.
For now, with all these uncertainties in mind, he wouldn't use it—but that didn't mean he would simply let such a valuable asset slip away.
Instead, he planned to find an alternative means to harness its power, ensuring he could reap its benefits without suffering any negative consequences.
And if no such method existed in this world, then he would seek answers in other realms of fantasy.
After all, if there truly was a way to absorb and integrate this power, much like he had done with Manadyte and Urm-Manadyte, he would undoubtedly take it.
If he could achieve that, he wouldn't just grow stronger—he would ascend to a realm beyond the gods.
Of course, Ophis had no way of knowing Kaiser's thoughts.
"Humans… such incomprehensible creatures."
She watched him for a moment before shaking her head, her tone carrying a sense of detached curiosity.
"It's not that we're incomprehensible," Kaiser replied evenly. "Humans simply think in more complex ways than other beings."
Then, after a brief pause, he added, "Also, I'm not just a human. My name is Kaiser."
"Kaiser…"
Ophis lifted her gaze, her void-like eyes locking onto his.
For a long moment, she stared at him in silence.
Then, she spoke.
"I'll remember that."
With those words, she turned away.
Like a shadow dissolving into thin air, she vanished—melding seamlessly into the atmosphere.
Kaiser remained still, watching the space where she had disappeared.
For a long, long time, he stood in silence.
Then, his gaze slowly shifted downward—to the True Longinus gripped tightly in his hands.
Thinking of Ophis' overwhelming power—thinking of how powerless he had felt in front of her—his grip tightened.
"I need to accelerate the pace…"
A burning desire flared within him.
He needed to get stronger.
And he couldn't wait any longer.