The Cobra King's Return

Sector Gamma Adventures 2

The day was clear. A strange, almost unnatural silence rested over Vermentra, broken only by the whispers of the corrupted wind. Peti stood on the broken path just outside the temple, the gentle breeze ruffling his messy hair. He blinked once—then locked eyes with the charging Scorpobull. That was a mistake.

The colossal creature's pupils flared with crimson rage. Its hoofed claws stomped harder, each impact digging deep, fractured cracks into the ravaged earth. With a roar that shattered nearby glass, sending crystalline shards skittering across the ground, the monster lunged forward—faster, wilder, madder than before.

SCORPOBULL: GRRRRRAAAAAUUGHHHHH!!

But Peti didn't flinch. He stood his ground with an uncanny calm, like he was in a bullfighting ring from some ancient Earth myth. Casually, he reached into his bag and pulled out his red cloth—tattered, stained with who-knows-what, a relic of countless unseen battles. He spun it once with a smirk, a taunting flourish.

Peti grinning: Toro... Toro... Come on, dance with me, ugly.

The Scorpobull stormed forward, its immense horns aimed directly at Peti, trying to gore him—only to miss, again. And again. Each time, Peti dodged with fluid, taunting grace, his movements sharp like a dancer's, or a devil's, always just out of reach.

Meanwhile, Hokori was already on the move, his body a blur of purpose. His cloak shimmered with holy light as he guided Neuronald and his oversized-brained family to safety, pushing Clulu gently out of the path of destruction even as she kept turning in bewildered circles.

Clulu confused: Is this the garden? I smell onions. Neuronald, is that you, dear? Or Hokori? Wait—Peti?!

Neuronald, sweating profusely under the weight of his own comically oversized head, panicked, his eyes wide with fear, but obediently followed Hokori's guiding light, muttering frantic calculations.

Back in the ring of chaos, the Scorpobull grew furious. Each missed strike cracked the ground deeper, leaving radiating fissures in its wake. Its growl thundered louder than before, echoing across the broken hills. It roared in pure frustration, steam bursting from its nostrils like a pair of hellish geysers.

Then its attention snapped—toward Nimora.

She was perched calmly on the temple steps, licking her void-textured paw, utterly unbothered by the cosmic rage unfolding before her. Her glowing eyes narrowed... but it was too late. The Scorpobull launched forward, its hunger now feral, a primal urge not just for flesh, but for essence, for soul.

Peti Oh hell no—

Peti vanished in a burst of static.

In a flash of crimson energy, he reappeared mid-air behind the Scorpobull. He twisted in a perfect backflip, his body a coiled spring of power, bringing his foot around with cosmic force—

WHAM!

His heel collided with the monster's jaw like a divine uppercut, a sound that cracked across the landscape. The Scorpobull's colossal neck snapped backward with an audible crunch, and it was sent flying—launched across the shattered plains like a meteor of muscle and rage. It crashed through three towering rock spires, pulverizing them into dust, and landed somewhere far, far off with a deafening BOOM that shook the very foundation of the temple.

Dust and silence followed, broken only by the distant rumbling.

Nimora tilted her head slightly, her four eyes blinking, a flicker of something akin to awe in their depths. She purred in a strange, electric frequency that made the air around her hum.

Nimora telepathically, softly: Ten out of ten. Would let you kick again.

Peti landed in a crouch, straightened up, brushing his shoulders like it was just another morning routine, a slight smirk playing on his lips.