After the girl released the condensed lightning and tore another serpent head clean off, only one remained.
She stood in the sparks for a brief moment, swaying, then collapsed.
Face-first.
Unmoving.
"She's unconscious," Kairo muttered from the debris. "Must've drained all her energy."
He sat there, heart thundering, mind reeling.
The serpent slithered forward.
Slow. Intentional. Towering at nearly six feet tall, its remaining head leaned in, hissing softly like it was enjoying the moment. Its tail coiled around the unconscious girl's body, lifting her up, dragging her limp form toward its open jaws.
Kairo clenched his fists.
His brain screamed at him to run. Turn and vanish into the shadows like a sane person.
But something else, something deeper, maybe something in his blood, was urging him forward.
Just like when he opened that door.
That suicidal pull toward danger was stronger than logic again. And now, he had seconds to decide.
What could he do?
He wasn't a demon hunter. No flashy lightning ability. No blade.
Hell, he wasn't even sure how he'd survived last time.
"Ahh damn it," he muttered, grabbing a nearby chunk of wood splintered from his last crash landing and hurling it.
It sailed through the air and struck the serpent across the side.
No damage. Not even a flinch.
But the beast's head turned.
It hissed. Loud and sharp.
Then, it dropped the girl and charged straight at him.
Kairo snatched a sharper piece of debris and readied himself, heart hammering.
"You're not that fast," he muttered, "I've got a shot."
Then just like that, the serpent vanished.
Gone.
Completely invisible.
Kairo's breath caught.
But the stench was still there. The rot. The acid-like odor of demon blood.
It was still in the room.
It was still coming.
He spun around, straining his nose, trying to lock onto the direction.
Then,
WHAM!
His body screamed. The impact was like getting hit by a truck at full speed.
The serpent's tail had materialized behind him and crashed into the arms he raised to block, he heard a crack as one arm twisted unnaturally, then he was airborne again.
He smashed into the stands, the metal groaning under the force.
Debris rained around him. Pain exploded across his ribs and arms. His vision blurred.
He groaned in agony.
His limbs were barely obeying him. His chest heaved. He was trembling.
But he stood.
Staggering. Wheezing. Holding his broken arm with the other.
The serpent was gone again.
He sniffed the air, blood, dust, wood, and rot.
He turned slowly. Calm. Intent. Focused.
He let instinct guide him.
Then
There. The scent thickened. He turned just as the serpent appeared.
The tail whipped again.
Kairo ducked.
It whooshed overhead.
The serpent blinked, surprised.
Kairo lunged forward.
With his unbroken hand, he clawed at the exposed wound on the serpent's severed neck, thrusting his fingers into the raw, wet flesh.
The serpent shrieked in pain.
Kairo scratched wildly, tearing at muscle, nerves, anything he could reach.
But the serpent reacted fast, tail whipping toward him again. It smashed him aside, but the damage was done, blood coated Kairo's arm.
And it burned.
"AGHH!" he screamed, clutching his forearm. The serpent's blood was eating through his skin. Like acid.
It sizzled. Smoked.
His hand blistered, his flesh turning red and raw.
Time passed in screams, in desperate movement, in agony.
Kairo regretted everything.
Every choice that led him here.
That damn job interview. That cursed office. Opening this door. Walking into this court.
Now he lay coiled in the serpent's tail like a ragdoll. Its grip was iron-tight, squeezing the air and life out of him.
"AHHHHH!!"
He screamed in pure pain as his bones cracked. His ribs popped. His spine creaked under pressure.
The serpent's face loomed above his own.
The hiss it gave felt personal, like it was mocking him.
The tail tightened.
His skin ruptured. Blood spilled out.
His vision blurred into white, his scream weakening, then….
A sound.
A sizzle.
The serpent froze.
Smoke curled up its skin where Kairo's blood had touched it.
It hissed again, this time in discomfort.
Kairo forced his eyes open, his brain barely holding on.
His blood was burning the serpent.
The tail loosened. Just a bit.
He sucked in a gasp of air.
His lungs filled like he was drowning in oxygen.
His blood was acid to demons.
He gritted his teeth. This was his chance.
Through the pain, he yanked one arm free, it was broken, limp, and dangling, but he shoved it upward.
Toward the serpent's mouth.
The beast paused, confused. But instinct took over, it bit down.
CHOMP.
Kairo's eyes snapped wide.
The pain was indescribable. The serpent's fangs drove deep into his forearm.
But he smiled through the tears.
"Gotcha"