Boom. Boom. Boom.
Zac felt it through his bones before he even heard it properly. He got goosebumps from the ground shaking.
A deep, violent roar came from outside the tree he was hiding in.
The serpent went mad across the realm, raising dust wherever it went.
Trees were ripped apart from the ground. The once dense forest is slowly being transformed into a barren land from its onslaught.
Herds and herds of beasts were running for their lives.
The serpent released a flash of blue lightning, which burned everything in its way.
Its massive body twisted through the forest like a storm. Everything in its path was either burned or crushed.
Watching the onslaught through a small hole in a tree, Zach's hair stood on his body.
"Why is it acting like this?" He scratched his head and asked genuinely in confusion.
The system didn't reply immediately.
[You have got some nerve asking that.]
He once again scratched his head. "I mean, yeah, I stole his treasure and kind of injured it. Getting angry and throwing a tantrum makes sense."
Boom!
Another explosion sound came. He closed his ears with his hands.
"But this, it's destroying everything; even the entire realm is getting affected by this."
"Isn't it afraid that it won't have a home to live after this?"
[You don't understand.]
[That serpent has reached its racial limit. The Edge-bloom was its last chance to increase its potential and evolve to the next level. That's why it guarded that flower for years, enduring everything till now.]
[And you stole that away from it. How would you feel if something like that happened to you?]
"So, I am the culprit?"
[Do you even need to ask?]
Watching the serpent slowly destroying everything outside. His expression shifted a little.
[What, feeling sorry for it now?]
Zac tightened his fingers.
Then he took a deep breath and relaxed himself.
"In a way, yeah, I do feel sorry for him."
"But," his gaze hardened. "I don't regret what I have done. If given a chance, I would do it again."
There was no rush in his words, only clear determination.
"It's either kill or be killed."
"I didn't understand that before. I thought if I worked hard and was a good person, then the universe would grant everything to me."
He smiled a little. "How stupid of me."
He once again exhaled slowly. "I learned it the hard way."
"And I am done being a good person."
"Now, expect my family; I don't care about anyone or anything."
"I would take whatever I want without a care in the world. If it is going to make me stronger, I wouldn't hesitate to do anything."
The system, for the first time, responded in approval.
[Good.]
[If you want to rise above everyone else, that's the mind-set you need.]
Zac once again looked at the serpent. "I just hope it doesn't come this way."
Seconds stretched to minutes.
The serpent was still continuing its rampage across the realm.
Due to the instability caused by the serpent, the portal started breaking.
The beasts inside the realm felt it and started running towards the portal to save their lives from the serpent.
The portal didn't stay stable for long. Under the pressure of the serpent, it broke down in a few minutes.
The beasts were the first to reach it. They didn't hesitate and leaped straight into the portal in desperation to save their lives.
The serpent's massive body tore through what remained of the forest and followed the beasts inside the portal.
After watching everything with a still body and controlled breath for ten minutes, he came down from the tree and looked at what remained of the area that was once full of trees.
Now it stood like a graveyard of shattered roots and burned earth.
[I think the coast is clear.]
He walked carefully towards the portal while seeing the destruction.
"One monster did all this?" He wondered.
[It's an A-rank existence.]
"Yeah, no kidding."
He didn't immediately enter the portal. He knew if he got out now, he would be surrounded by the monsters outside, so he waited for 30 minutes.
He reached into his bag and pulled out a hoodie and a mask and covered his entire face and body.
Then he stepped through the portal.
The moment he came out, he witnessed the catastrophe caused by the monster outbreak.
The park he knew was gone.
The ground was torn apart, trees were uprooted, and benches, statues, and fountains that decorated the park were crushed into pieces.
Beyond the park, buildings and walls were damaged beyond repair.
His school was among them. Half of it had fallen, and the rest only stood barely, like it was deciding whether to collapse or not.
Zac stood still for a second, taking in everything he saw, and started walking towards his home.
Along the way, he heard screams of multiple people who were getting attacked by the monsters. But Zac didn't care about anyone.
He knew that he was powerless to fight against these monsters. So, he quickened his pace.
From a distance, he saw the serpent running wild on the school grounds, several awakened humans surrounding it and attacking from different directions with their abilities lighting up the dark sky.
"Not my business." He shook his head left and right and went to his home.
When he got to his house, he locked the door and thought about the things that he saw while coming here.
A man running while carrying a baby, a woman screaming for help as a beast closed in.
Everything played inside Zac's mind.
He closed his eyes and tightened his fist while clenching his jaws till they became white.
After a few seconds, he exhaled a huge breath and thought, "If I stay weak, then one day... It will be my mom or my sister."
He heard small noises coming from his sister's room, so he went to check on her.
The little girl was wide awake and browsing her cell phone. When she saw Zac, she stood up and ran towards him and hugged him tightly.
"Brother… you're back!"