CHAPTER 297: CHAPTER 296 - “MOTHERLESS BASTARD.”

The courtyard trembled with the chorus of squirrels, the absurd war cry reverberating like an omen after Raven’s words.

No one said anything and fought.

Zephyr, staring at all this, clenched his fists, his jaw tight, and his violet eyes burning with disbelief.

If Raven and his mysterious powers weren’t enough, now he had to take care of these squirrels as well.

’Where did they even come from?!’

He growled inwardly.

He had heard news about Raven adopting a rodent, but he didn’t know that he had a whole army of them.

Worse yet, they were all supernatural squirrels.

Squeak!

A squirrel jumped past him, embedding its iron claws into one of the undead’s backs.

Zephyr’s anger boiled.

Today, every event has been annoying him.

As he clenched his fists harder, purple flames coated his fists. Turning to the nearest squirrel, he tried to grab it, wanting to burn it to a crisp, but before he could—

Raven waved his hands again.

Zephyr’s eyes widened as he tried to defend against the incoming attack, but the problem was that he couldn’t see it.

Boom!

The attack hit him, sending him sliding some distance to the side.

His pupils contracted, fury mixing with unease as he glared at Raven.

He had braced for the attack, so it didn’t send him sprawling on the ground, but the fact that it still sent him sliding, despite being alert, was a hit to his pride.

It was as if Raven was telling him that no matter what he did, he couldn’t win.

The problem was that he was still hesitant.

Zephyr could tell that he was scared of Raven’s invisible attack, which enraged him more than anything else.

But he still tried to stay calm.

"...You," he glared at Raven, his voice low and cautious. "How are you doing this? This shouldn’t be possible."

Raven, on the other hand, tilted his head, almost bored. "Don’t hurt yourself thinking about it."

His grin widened, sharp and unflinching. "A dying man shouldn’t be worrying about how he was going to be killed but about how he was going to survive."

It was then that Omni’s voice echoed from Raven’s tattoo. "Oho! My man’s doing the OP protagonist lines, eh?"

’Let me enjoy the moment, man,’ Raven, who was, for the first time, loving how he could dominate the field, muttered.

"Sure, sure."

Omni went silent with that.

For Zephyr, however, those words sliced cleaner than any blade.

His teeth ground together. For the first time, his usual mocking smirk was gone, replaced by unfiltered rage.

A child he had seen struggling to survive was now talking about his death as if he were below him.

So, Zephyr decided that it was time to show Raven the difference between their powers.

"Enough talk, you motherless bastard," he hissed. "If words mean nothing to you—"

Mana exploded outward, violet flames spiraling across his body. His frame twisted, bones popping, and flesh warping.

The ground split. Heat churned the air.

When it stopped, towering above them all was a colossal serpent, scales gleaming like amethyst fire, fangs glistening with molten venom. Its body coiled, crushing stone beneath its weight.

A purple snake.

The courtyard went silent again. Even the squirrels froze mid-battle, tails raised, tiny mouths gaping.

"...Okay," Clara finally said, blinking. "I’ll say it. Has anyone ever seen a snake form before?"

Jessy frowned, metal still hovering around her fingers. "Nope. I’ve read a lot of scrolls, but this isn’t in any of them."

Siris, dangling from a half-frozen undead’s shoulders, grinned. "That’s actually badass. Not as badass as stabbing something until it pops, but still. Points for style."

Even Valeria, who had been glued to Raven, tore her gaze toward her brother with wide eyes. "What... What did you do, Zephyr?"

Lia, closest to Raven and Zephyr right now, however, wasn’t focused on the snake form.

Her eyes were wide, as she had heard what Zephyr said.

"He just called Raven a motherless bastard," she muttered, but her voice echoed through the surroundings due to the silence.

As soon as everyone heard that, their expressions changed—especially Raven’s group.

Even in the group, there was one person who was covering his cheeks as he stared at Raven’s cold eyes fixed on Zephyr’s snake form.

It was Rufus, the guy who had once called, or more like, made people call Raven by the same name.

"He’s screwed, isn’t he?" He murmured to himself, while the others merely shook their heads, feeling pity for Zephyr.

The guy at the focus of their gazes, now in serpent’s form, narrowed his eyes, violet flames shimmering in their depths.

He frowned a bit at Raven’s change in expression and how his eyes had turned golden, but he didn’t care.

He could feel the power coursing through his body.

When Zephyr spoke again, his voice rumbled like thunder, though threaded with smugness.

"Surprised, little brother? Did you think you were the only one training? Maybe you thought that you were the only one gathering power."

His coils tightened, stone crumbling beneath the weight. "No. You worked. I took. Both paths lead to strength."

He bared his fangs in a grin. "Are you shocked?"

Raven’s golden eyes flashed as he remained silent for a while, but his lips moved.

"Shocked? Please." A cold smirk appeared on his face, his voice cutting across the battlefield like cold steel.

"Don’t compare us. I bled, clawed, and dragged myself through hell for my power. You—" he flicked his hand dismissively, "—you stole it. From human lives. From experiments. From sacrifices that were never yours to make."

Zephyr didn’t respond.

He didn’t need to.

His serpentine body shifted, muscles rippling like rivers of flame. His massive head swung, and with one violent sweep of his tail—

WHAM!

A dozen squirrels went flying like fluffy meteors, squeaking indignantly as they scattered into the walls and rooftops.

"Oh my gods!" Clara gasped. "He just tail-swatted them!"

"Those were the rapid strike squirrels!" Jessy yelled. "Do you know how hard it is to knock them off formation?!"

On the ground, the squirrels groaned, staggered back up, then raised their tiny paws in synchronized defiance. Sparks of fire, ice, lightning, and raw psychic force surged back into their claws.

Chatterfang’s scarred eye narrowed. One commanding squeak—sharp, vicious—and the tide of fur surged back toward the serpent’s massive coils.

A cluster of squirrels clung to the serpent’s fangs, scratching and biting with suicidal tenacity.

One squirrel even rode Zephyr’s flaming scales like a tiny knight on a dragon, squeaking wildly as if declaring a duel.

Siris let out a barking laugh. "THEY’RE RIDING HIM LIKE HE’S A MOUNT!"

"Correction," Omni chimed in dryly from Raven’s hand. "They’re griefing him. Bro’s getting squirrel-ratios mid-fight."

It was then—

SLAM.

The snake’s jaw snapped shut, scattering them like pebbles.

With a surge of purple flames, the squirrels were gone.

Or so it seemed until everyone noticed a slab of metal protecting them from the attack.

It was Jessy.

"Get away from there!" She yelled, and the squirrels, realizing that they were no match for Zephyr, quickly scattered away.

Zephyr’s snake form hissed, smoke venting from his fangs as his fury rose.

"You dare block my attack?!" His eyes turned toward Jessy as he reared up, towering over the battlefield, coils poised like an avalanche ready to crush everyone beneath him.

Raven, however, wasn’t deterred.

He began walking toward Zephyr again, each step calm and steady, as the squirrels parted to let him through.

He looked up at the massive serpent, golden eyes meeting violet flame.

There was coldness in his eyes that promised suffering, but he still smiled. "I would’ve preferred showing you what a real transformation was, but because of your royal blood, I can’t."

Then, he would rub his chin, observing the snake form.

"Still, you transformed into a snake, huh?" His grin widened as he added, "A snake among the family of dragons. How fitting."

The serpent’s tongue flickered, flames instead of venom dripping as Zephyr’s jaw parted, revealing his fangs.

The courtyard was about to collapse under the weight of two legacies colliding—one built on sacrifice, the other on stolen blood.

But not for long, as Zephyr moved.

He lunged, his colossal body snapping forward like a whip.

The courtyard cracked, stones flying as his fanged maw barreled toward Raven, violet fire streaming from his throat.

But before he could strike—

BOOM.

The sound rang out like a thunderclap, the serpent’s head slamming against something that wasn’t there. The air itself shuddered as if an invisible barrier had caught him mid-charge. Sparks of violet flame scattered uselessly across the unseen wall, illuminating the lines of force rippling like water across glass.

The impact rattled through Zephyr’s skull, sending cracks of pain down his jaw. His massive coils writhed, muscles flexing as he tried to force his way through. But it didn’t budge. Not even a hair.

Raven, standing just a few feet away, hadn’t even lifted a hand. He was staring straight into Zephyr’s burning eyes, his golden gaze calm, unblinking.

"You thought this was a fight?" Raven’s voice rang across the battlefield, steady and merciless. His lips curled into a razor-sharp grin. "No. This isn’t a fight."

The air thrummed as his words sank in, heavy as iron.

"This is a beatdown. You—" his head tilted slightly, voice dropping low, almost amused, "—are going to stay still and take it."

Zephyr’s coils thrashed harder, stone shattering beneath his body, the courtyard quaking under his rage. He bellowed, fangs gnashing, violet flames spilling in a frenzy. "YOU DARE—"

CRACK.

A sound like a snapping bone filled the air as Raven flicked his wrist.

The invisible wall pulsed once, then slammed Zephyr backward as though he’d been struck by a mountain. His massive serpent body crashed into the courtyard, toppling shattered pillars and spraying dust into the air.

Gasps erupted all around. Clara’s brows rose, Jessy froze mid-motion, and even Valeria covered her mouth in disbelief.

Siris let out a sharp whistle. "Oh, shit. He actually pancaked a snake."

Omni’s voice oozed smug delight from Raven’s tattoo. "And here I thought you’d play with him a little. Guess you’re in speedrun mode, eh?"

Raven didn’t answer. His golden eyes never left Zephyr’s form.

The serpent writhed, trying to rise again, fury burning in his violet flames. But when he surged forward a second time—

WHAM!

The invisible barrier slammed him down once more. Dust exploded across the courtyard, the air ringing with the sound of his impact.

Raven stepped forward, his shadow stretching across the rubble.

"Stay down, Zephyr," he said, voice quiet but carrying, sharper than any blade. "The only thing you’ll accomplish by getting up again is giving me more reasons to remind you why you’ll never be my equal."

Zephyr hissed, flames pouring from his fangs in rage, but the tremor running through his coiled body betrayed something else.

Fear.