"Congratulations! You have defeated a mutant serpent of Chaos and End for the first time, a high-level creature! Your reward will be some magical rubber tree seedlings. Discover their special effects when you plant them." — Vez exclaimed excitedly as Sete tried to drag the huge snake out of the water, and continued to instruct her: — "Spread your divine aura over the region to purify this waterfall and the surrounding area. However, it will still be necessary to defeat other high-level creatures to purify the rest of the refuge."
The young deity listened silently, slowly pulling the long scaly body to the edge of the pond and removing it from the water. That snake must have been over fifteen meters long, with the width of at least three adult men: it was quiteheavy. However, with her recent gain in divinity, Sete's physical fitness had improved greatly — her endurance and strength had increased enough to be considered superhuman.
Therefore, as she performed this humanly impossible task, Thomas' surprise — who was forced to peek through the curtain of water due to his deplorable state — was completely justified.
— Wow… — He muttered, completely soaked. — It's okay-
The boy lost his voice and widened his eyes when two slightly smaller snakes jumped out of the dark water toward Sete, attacking her from different directions. She, in turn, did not flinch: just dropped the last section of the dead creature's tail that she had just pulled out of the pond and grabbed the little monsters before they could reach her neck with their huge fangs.
In the next second, the weight of the snakes struggling in Sete's arms caused her to fall to the ground, where she was able to transform a blade of grass into a razor-sharp green dagger, which she plunged into the body of one of the monsters. The snake struggled even more, but it had no chance against Spring, who turned sideways on the ground and drove her blade through scales and putrid flesh, pinning the cylindrical body to the ground.
The other creature had been thrown away during Sete's fall, but did not hesitate to crawl toward death, even after seeing its brother impaled by the grass. Its fate, then, was not much different: the young deity summoned another dagger through the nearby corrupted grass and waited for the snake to leap toward her to pierce its scaly head with the unexpectedly sturdy blade.
— Didn't I tell you to come only after I called? — Sete scolded Thomas, panting as she held the grass dagger firmly in the snake's head, which was twitching its last spasms before lying motionless on the ground.
Thomas, completely silent, disappeared behind the waterfall and returned to the cave.
Everyone looked at him expectantly. After all, the noise of the waterfall prevented them from communicating with those outside the cave, not even allowing them to hear their conversation. However, the children had other plans: Kai and Agatha appeared excitedly in front, the girl carrying a suspicious white mass in her arms as if holding a baby.
— Bro, look what we found! — Kai exclaimed with an excited smile and pointed to the thing Agatha was holding, his narrow eyes almost closing with joy.
— What the hell is that!? — Thomas leaned against the cave wall, his legs weak. It wasn't enough that he had witnessed the bloody and terrifying scene outside seconds ago, now there was this. The rest of the group, however, didn't react much: they all cautiously analyzed the oval shape in Agatha's arms.
Suddenly, however, the thing moved, struggling inside the clear and limp film. Thomas rolled his eyes and put his free hand on his forehead, as if he were feeling sick.
— Look, isn't it cute? — Agatha said with a small smile, her brown eyes shining with excitement and her cheeks flushed.
— I think I'm going to faint… — Thomas whispered.
At that moment, interrupting the beginning of deliberations about what to do with that thing, a familiar green sparkle took over the waterfall, flooding the cave with a comforting floral scent. Immediately, the water became crystal clear and drinkable, completely purified by the powers of Sete.
In the next second, a large leaf opened up a passage in the waterfall. The plant acted almost like a natural umbrella, redirecting the flow of the waterfall to the sides and leaving a space in the center for the heirs to pass through without any problems. They still had difficulty understanding how the powers of Spring could make plants as rigid as concrete without changing the delicate appearance of their leaves, but they didn't question the gifts of the deity.
On the other side of the passage, with clean water up to her waist, Sete held the stem of the huge umbrella leaf and waited for them with inexpressive patience.
— Shall we go? — She extended her free hand to Agatha, intending to carry her to the shore due to her short stature. However, when the little girl was in her arms, she finally noticed the strange white mass moving slowly in the child's embrace. — What is that?
— It's a cute baby! Can we keep it? — Agatha begged, her eyes fixed on Sete's expressionless face.
— The baby could be our pet! — Kai added, excited by the idea of a little animal following him everywhere. — Let us keep it, pleeease?
— All right. — Sete agreed without thinking too much about it, after analyzing the oval and limp shape moving again. Then she directed part of her purifying green aura toward the thing, which calmed down immediately. — But what is a pet?