Sorry guys. I have been extremely sick for the last few days. The winter has already come here and you know what that means- fever, coughs and a runny nose. Anyways, I am fine now, at least fine enough to type in a few words.

Sorry again. Stay tuned! Enjoy!

*********

The party sneaked across the narrow tunnels of the catacombs, their senses spread to the fullest. The probability of finding the prey here was quite low, but they had to take the chance.

They passed ten meters. Twenty meters. Fifty meters. They already crossed the halfway line of their predetermined limit, but there were no signs of presence of the python.

The members had inwardly given up, but they still kept their weapons high. After all, the python was known for its sneakiness.

Adrian and Irene, who were at the centre of the formation just behind Bron, had the most relaxed expressions in the party.

Sixty meters. Seventy meters. Eighty meters.

There was no more hope now. The two amateurs at the back sighed in relief. Twenty more meters and they could finally get out of this hell hole. But alas, their wishes casted a curse.

*Rumble*

“Hisssss!”

Earth fell from above. A big white python drilled out from the ceiling of the cave and dived towards Bron, the ‘only’ caster in the entire party.

Bron maintained his calm. Wriggling green plants emerged out from the ground and charged towards the incoming snake. The leader, Dorian, who was the most prepared sprang up in the air, thrusting his spear at the head of the snake with full force.

The plants and the spear made the snake change direction mid-air and it crashed on the ground. Everyone rushed past the cloud of dust and took up formation,maintaining a distance from the snake.

This way, they made sure that the snake could not escape towards the direction of the death zone at least. Even if it escaped, it had no other choices but to go back to the hot spring, its natural habitat.

The snake took up a defensive position. The dust settled. The reports were true. The length of the snake exceeded twenty meters, making it one of the longest winter pythons to be discovered by the hunters guild.

Everyone dropped their backpacks to the ground again. This battle would be one of the most dangerous anyone in the the party ever faced, except Adrian and Irene of course.

The bearded leader turned back to Adrian and Irene. “Are you confident enough to hold yourself in the front lines?”

Adrian nodded and stepped past Bron, brandishing his sword. Irene followed.

Dorian, Adrian and Irene now composed the front lines, with Bron and the two archers staying behind for ranged attacks and support. Simon had arrow nocked to his bow. Ruford, on the other hand, decided to watch. But the grip on his sword was still as tight as ever.

The snake darted it’s reptilian eyes across the invaders, rolling its split tongue out and letting out venomous hisses.

All of the three melee combatants took a defensive stance. Three bows aimed at its eyes while a green magic circle rotated above.

The snake, impatient of the standstill, charged at Irene, who had the freshest smell amongst everyone present with breakneck speed.

Irene easily dodged the attack. Dorian drove the spear aiming for the beasts eyes while three arrows whistled at it. But alas, all of the attacks were stopped by the steel-like skin of the python.

Tens of roots and plants grew out from the ground and walls, and twisted around the long body of the reptile. But it was futile. The snake easily broke the wooden chains and recovered to its original pose in a jiffy.

The confrontation came to a standstill again. But the party was pushed back from its original position with the snake occupying the spot.

“We can’t let this go on.” Bron said. “The death zone is right behind us.”

“I know.” Dorian gripped the spear harder. “But this one’s too strong. I have faced many winter pythons, but none had a skin as this thick as this one.”

“We will have to kill it as fast as possible. Else, it will push us right into the midst of the zone. It’s eyes and mouths are the only way.”

“I can see that.” The tip of Dorian’s spear began to turn red. The air around undulated as extreme heat began to accumulate in the special magical metal. “Vienna, Sior. Aim for the eyes. I will keep it busy. Newbies, use your agility to keep it distracted.”

Everyone nodded. Dorian decided to take the battle to the python and charged forward. Adrian and Irene followed.

The leader threw volleys of thrusts at the snake. But the snake slithered through, dodging all of the attacks and releasing frost breath on the man.

But the heat of the spear nullified the breaths, turning it into mist. Adrian and Irene took positions at the flanks of the reptile, but did not show any signs of aggression.

Nevertheless, the snake became more cautious of the duo. It had more idea about the couple’s strength more than the hunters’ party.

It used its tail to whip at the duo, but all of its strikes missed. Adrian and Irene dodged them with ease. But as the snake focused more on Adrian and Irene, it became vulnerable to the spear that came from the front.

The spear left a few marks on the snake’s skin. Even the most deepest of cuts was a mere flesh wound.

The archers kept releasing arrows, but none of them hit the bulls eyes, or in this case- the snake’s eyes. It was not that they were incapable, but the beast was moving too fast. Even with their fluent team work, they were unable to keep up with the speed of the winter python.

Since the start of the battle, they had already moved ten meters or so back. They were getting closer and closer to the death zone. Even though the real zone was quite a distance away, there was a buffer that everyone feared. Because nobody knew what was in those zones; none who witnessed the danger ever left alive.

They began to regret taking this side of the tunnel. If they knew that the python was this strong had this thick skin, they would never have done this. But it was already too late.

Nevertheless, they still had hope. They were getting momentum and soon, the pushback would come to a close. But Adrian- he had other things planned.

Suddenly, the tail hit Adrian right in the abdomen. He flew off and crashed into the nearby wall. Irene jumped across the snake and rushed to him.

The snake was just about to hit Irene as well, but suddenly two colossal auras locked on the tail. One was eerie and dark, with the other being extremely cold. Only the snake felt the auras. It panicked and charged onto the party of six with renewed favour, trying to run away from the two monsters.

The sudden wrath of the snake took the hunters aback. Nevertheless, due to the snake’s outrage, an arrow pierced into its left eye. But it only added to the craziness. It began to use its life force and began to push the party to the death zone.

Soon, only Adrian and Irene remained in the scene. He got up. And patted the dust off his coat.

He used his senses. The party of hunters along with the snake were getting further and further.

“Aren’t we going in as well?” Irene took off her hood.

“Nope.” Adrian turned to the direction of the death zone. “It’s not the one we are looking for.”

“Where shall we go now then?”

“Have ever bathed in a hot spring?”

******

“Fuck! Why is it like this! This never happened before!” Dorian did his best to hold his ground. His fire element did a lot of damage to its skin but that was it.

“Forget about fighting. Try to escape from the sides!” Bron shouted. The archers, despite having wind attribute could not find the gap to get past the crazed beast.

The tunnel was getting narrower and narrower.

“Lead! We are too close to the death zone! It’s not even a hundred meters from here.” The lady, Vienna, cried. Her quiver was almost empty, with a handful remaining.

“I know! I know!” Fire of determination began to burn in the leaders eyes. His heart beat at twice the pace as he squeezed the life force from his very core. It began to churn with the already circulating magical energy, giving his whole body a huge boost.

He thrusted his spear, which was burning even brighter than before right at the snake’s throat. The crazed snake, sensing the danger, instinctively dodged. However, the tip drilled into the beast’s flesh and stuck right into its bones. A sizzling sound erupted as the snake’s hissed in rhythm.

The other veteran’s seeing what their leader did, steadied their heart and mind as well. The green circle above Bron got larger and brighter.

Whole thick trees emerged from the earth and wrapped around it. The quivers of the archers emptied in moments. All of the arrows arrows penetrate into the snakes eyes.

The beast craned its upper body up in pain. Dorian, whose beard began to show strands of white, did not let go of this opportunity and used all his strength to thrust at the snake’s throat. It pierced in, sizzling its innards.

He heaved the spear back. The battle- was over.

Everyone sighed in relief.

“We are safe, let’s go back.” Dorian said.

“What’s the hurry?” A grim voice that did not belong to anyone of the party sounded through the tunnel, sending a chill through everyone’s spines.

“You should meet my babies first.”