---
The final shot cracked through the ravine like thunder, echoing off the stone walls. The bullet, infused with Fizz's concentrated elemental energy, tore straight through the serpent's skull between the eyes. For a split second, the entire world seemed to hold its breath.
Then the beast convulsed, let out a dying hiss, and collapsed with a seismic crash that shook the ground. Dust and mist exploded upward as the massive body went still, coiled in a broken heap.
Fizz floated above the corpse, panting, his tiny chest heaving. Then his cheerful grin returned.
"Oh yeah. That is what I am talking about. Did you see that, John? Tell me you saw that. I just no-scoped a murder snake noodle from midair!"
John walked out from behind the boulder, covered in dust and mud, breathing hard. "I saw it. I think the entire world saw it."
