Chapter 21: 21. The snake mauls the bear

The portal, taking up the back end of the room, stretched wider and wider. Essence flowed from both my hands and the bronze man's towards it, pulling it further open with every passing second. Light poured out of the opening in space, all the runes that made it possible glowing with a feverish intensity. It was almost difficult to look at as it grew, growing brighter as well as larger. Then, after a whole ten minutes of work powering it, the portal was finally made big enough for me to fit through. 

Just in case our predictions were wrong, however, we kept it up until there was no room for doubt. Only then did I cease the flow of my essence and slither over to the opening. With one arm out of four, I covered my eyes; the light too blindingly bright up close for me not to. 

Then after waving goodbye to the bronze man and his guards, I went through. 

It was a bizarre experience stepping through the portal. Like stepping into a pool of water with your whole body, only the waters warm and constantly swirling around you, trying to bathe you in its embrace. As it did, I felt my position shift. It was like riding on a bus and it suddenly stopped, making me lurch forward, and when I went to stand I was no longer in the bus. 

Instead I was back in the forest, surrounded by trees on all sides. Grass as green as snow was white beneath my scales, and a clear blue sky overhead. The two suns stared down at me as I took it all in. That feeling of being back someplace familiar. A nostalgia that was partially ruined by me being so much bigger than before. 

Though a hunt would probably solve that. 

I slithered forward, the errant sway of my hips and tail knocking over trees as I passed. My tongue flicked out over and over detecting scents in the air. Vibrations of varying intensity traveled along the ground that drew my attention, each one like a tap on the back of my neck. I went towards the bigger ones, eating a number of animals on the way. Almost rabbits and such. They were less than snacks for me at this point and more like tiny nibbles taken out of a tiny bit of food. 

Anything smaller than a bear was like that for me now. Not even worth my time. 

So rather than continue to waste my time, I started draining the essence out of the surrounding area. Not the usual quick and powerful drain I normally used in combat. But a slow and constant drain that was much weaker. It pulled essence from the animals around me, as well as just about everything else that had essence. Not enough to damage them or be all that noticeable, but enough that it could sustain my needs. The constant income of essence slowly fulfilling my nutritional needs and giving me strength and energy. 

Still, there was no substitute for a good meal. 

One such meal sat just beyond a wall of trees and stone. I broke past the wall and slithered forward. Soon finding myself above a waterfall pouring down into a lake. And where lake met shore, there sat a man who was half bear and clearly meditating. 

More importantly, there was a dead sea monster beside him. My gaze remained transfixed on it as I slithered down, going slow as to not appear threatening. Or as non-threatening as possible at the very least. My constant essence drain ruined any chances of that, however. 

As soon as he was within range of the ability a miniscule portion of his essence was pulled to me. His reaction to it was instantaneous. In the span of a single breath he got up and prepared himself for a fight. Then he turned towards me and froze in place. Slowly his eyes rose up to meet mine. 

I waved, and he took a few cautious steps back. 

"Hi." I said politely, muting my essence drain at the same time. 

He continued to stare. 

"Uh, I was wondering if you were going to eat that sea monster over there? Cause if you aren't would you mind-"

"You are aware that we are in a competition, correct?" He interrupted. A frown now on his face. "Why would I give you anything?" 

Before I could even think of a reason, he jumped at me. A layer of thick ice forming around him in the shape of armor. It was sharp, thick, and themed after a lion. Utterly useless against the amount of physical force I wielded, though. 

With a flock of my tail, I swatted him out of the air and into the ground. A crater forming from the impact. He struggled to get up from beneath the weight of my tail, the tip of it heavy enough to keep him grounded. After a minute or two of useless trying to lift me he relaxed and began to gather up his essence. I felt it stir within him and pulled at it, again and again. Ceaselessly interrupting him before he could do anything with it. The effectiveness of my drains increased due to him making physical contact with me. 

For four more minutes he continued in vain, giving up only after I started to "lightly" press down on him. Which I'm pretty sure broke one of his ribs in the half instant I had done so. 

"I-I yield!" He called out. 

"Good." I said and then lifted my tail off of him. 

The moment I did, however, he rolled away and flung something at me. It flew through the air towards me and was stopped mid-flight by a wall of ice I quickly made. The item - a knife as it turned out - fell to the ground harmlessly. 

The bear attacked at the same moment it fell, having gotten on me while I was distracted blocking the knife. He used his claws as a weapon and tried to cut my tail. His claws bounced off my, soft yet durable, scales and the bear ran for my upper body. He quickly scaled my mountainous buttocks and stretched his arm out towards my head. Claws aimed directly for my throat. 

... And was frozen in place as I turned to look at him. My head twisting unnaturally to dodge his attack. I watched as he tried to piece together how I could move the way I did and be as large as I was. Then the poison, from when he tried to attack my scales, started to kick in. From the almost imperceptible scratch across his hand it spread. Slowly, the dose too small for it to move any quicker. 

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He slowed ever so slightly from its effects. And I lifted my upper body out of his reach, staring down at him from above and across the vast expanse of my rear. From his belt the bear threw a collection of knives at me. 

12 in total. 

I couldn't even block half of them. Unlike the first knife these ones were enchanted and easily broke through the wall of ice I quickly created. Most of the knives bounced off the scales of my armor, but a few made it past the cracks. Three of them sank into the flesh of my belly, and one into my left breast. 

My sword found its way into my hand before I knew to grab it. A second later it came crashing down toward the bear as my thorns were unleashed. Scales were propelled upward as he dodged backwards, Narrowly avoiding my strike. They cut and nicked him, more poison spreading through his veins. 

Again he threw knives at me, and rather than dodge them I lifted my sword up like a shield and charged. None of the knives hit me, they all bounced off my sword or armor. Then I increased the pressure on him as he kept dodging, by making rudimentary ice golems. Only a few simple instructions given to them: Kill bear, protect me. It was all that I was capable of at the moment. 

Still, it was more than enough. 

The bear, truly beginning to slow down, stepped onto one of my thorns. Poison invaded his body, vines attempted to rip apart from within, and my golems grabbed his legs. They weren't strong enough hold him for even a second, even while he was weakened by poison. But it was enough to distract him and allow me to close in. 

My strike came fast, yet his defense was faster. He raised a knife defensively and a great sword made of ice projected forth. With it he blocked my attack.

A mistake on his part. 

Runes, hidden across the surface of my blade lit up. They ripped essence away from his ice blade and used it to fuel my attack. Not that it was necessary. Even without my swords enchantment, blocking wouldn't have done the beat any good. I was just too freakishly strong. 

My sword shattered his and kept going, cleaving his arm clean off. He screamed and I wound myself around him, willing the poison in him to stop once I had securely within my grasp. 

"So, can i have it?" I asked again, a smile on my face. 

"Yes." He growled. "To the Victor go the spoils." 

Pleased with his answer, I brought my upper half over to the dead sea monster and ate it. Way too fast apparently, as the bear guy stared at me with wide eyes the entire time and looked horrified when I finished. 

"Are you going to eat me?" He asked, a hint of fear in his voice. 

"No. I don't eat people. Well at least not normally." And with that I let him go, dropping him onto my body and gesturing for him to scamper off. 

Instead he - presumably - got on his knees and looked up at me. It was hard to tell with my belly/breasts in the way. 

"I don't think you understand." He started. His tone shifting from one of defeat to teaching. "One of us has to die. Such are the rules of the grand contest." 

"What if we both just walk away?" I suggested. 

He shook his head, completely dismissive of the idea. "We cannot, it would bring shame to both our great houses." 

"I'm not from any 'great house' though." 

"What!?" He sputtered. "B-But you're clearly a descendant of the great Naga lineage. Trained in secret so that none would know of your leviathan like proportions, right?" 

"Nope. So I suggest you surrender unless you want your mass adding to these two home-grown hills I've got back here." I said pleasantly, giving my booty a couple of playful smacks. Each smack causing an earthquake of wobbles and ripples to travel down my length, and make my butt bounce rather seductively.

".... I surrender." He said, right before vanishing in a flash of light. 

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