ODKO | Chapter 12

His body moved before his mind could catch up, instinctively swinging his sword. But the distance was too close.

The Viper’s fangs would reach him before his blade could strike its head.

Realizing this in an instant, Jack clicked his tongue and raised his left arm, intending to use it as bait.

Just before the Viper’s teeth could pierce his skin—

Thud.

A sickening sound rang out, and black blood splattered.

“I’ll cover you, so run!”

Cayenne, who had somehow pulled out a bow, shouted from the hill as he nocked an arrow onto the string. His figure—black hair fluttering in the wind as he drew the bow—was reassuring beyond words.

I thought he was telling me to go die, but I guess I misunderstood.

Suppressing the urge to tear up from the overwhelming emotion, Jack tightened his grip on his sword and leaped forward.

Contrary to his expectations, the Viper’s thick scales weren’t slippery—they were surprisingly rough. Once he began climbing its massive body, he realized that even with considerable movement, the sheer size of the creature meant the vibrations and shaking weren’t as severe as he had feared. If he had enough stamina, he could finish this quickly.

Emboldened by the sight of a clear path ahead, Jack moistened his dry lips and pressed onward, scaling the Viper’s body.

Several times, the beast tried to snap at the soldiers below, but each time, Cayenne’s arrows struck true from the hill. After missing its prey multiple times due to the relentless barrage, the Viper let out a furious roar, shaking the air with its rage.

“Commander!”

The Viper’s black tongue lashed through the air with a chilling snap. The creature, blind and without eyes, relied on its tongue to sense the direction of the incoming arrows.

Realizing he was now the target, Cayenne raised an eyebrow slightly. That was his only reaction. Without a hint of hesitation, he calmly nocked another arrow—but Jack felt as if his own heart might stop.

Hesitation would be fatal.

Despite the Viper’s massive size, its movements were sluggish. But being targeted was another matter entirely. Unlike the other soldiers engaged in battle, Cayenne stood alone on the hill, with no one nearby to aid him if he was attacked.

Damn it.

Jack cursed inwardly and scrambled up the Viper’s back. In his haste, he nearly lost his footing more than once, but luck was on his side—he didn’t fall.

Finally reaching the tip of the Viper’s writhing head, Jack caught his breath and took in his surroundings.

Cayenne stood tall, unwavering, loosing arrow after arrow into the Viper’s gaping mouth—as if he intended to be bait.

What the hell is he thinking? Jack clicked his tongue in frustration.

As he reached the creature’s crown, he spotted the weak point Cayenne had mentioned. Just as expected, the area at the front of the crown, a section of degenerated tissue, was exposed. Unlike the rest of its armored body, this patch of grayish-brown flesh was unprotected by scales.

The problem? The Viper’s head thrashed wildly as it charged toward Cayenne.

If Jack didn’t pierce the weak spot in one strike, it would only enrage the creature, making the situation even worse.

He swallowed dryly.

The lives of the commander and the soldiers rested on his next move, the weight of responsibility pressing down on his shoulders.

Jack gritted his teeth.

He was tense, but there was no time to hesitate.

Kaaargh

The distance between Jack, standing atop the Viper’s crown, and Cayenne’s piercing gaze was so close that he could see it clearly—vivid and unwavering.

Cayenne could have easily dodged, yet he made no move to evade. Instead, he simply let the bow hang at his side, his eyes fixed intently on Jack.

As Jack tightened his grip on his sword and furrowed his brow, a thought crossed his mind—

Cayenne’s gaze… it feels like he’s testing me.

Thud!

In a moment of crisis, the sword’s tip struck heavily into the Viper’s flesh. It felt like plunging a sword into a soggy mud pile.

Kyaaaah

The giant snake-like creature, its weak spot pierced, let out a tearing scream. As the Viper writhed in pain, Jack almost lost his grip on the sword.

“Deeper!”

Cayenne’s sharp command cut through Jack’s momentary hesitation.

Gritting his teeth, Jack tightened his grip on the sword’s handle with both hands and, following Cayenne’s words, drove the blade in deeper.

The flesh beneath the thick, seemingly impenetrable scales was weaker than expected. At the end of his thrust, he felt something hard.

Cayenne mentioned this—the Viper’s core.

“Ugh…!”

Unlike the soft flesh, the core was as solid as stone. Jack attempted to force his sword through multiple times, but the blade wouldn’t pierce it. With a frustrated growl, he screamed and threw his full weight onto the sword’s tip.

Crack.

Something shattered beneath his blade.

The Viper let out a terrible, drawn-out screech.

Kiiiiik—!

Its massive body, which had been thrashing violently, suddenly lost all strength and began to topple.

Jack held onto the sword, bracing against the unsettling sensation of the ground crumbling beneath him. As the Viper’s main body collapsed, the decoys that the soldiers had been fighting crumbled into dirt—mere illusions.

The soldiers, momentarily caught off guard, scrambled to avoid the falling behemoth, its form as towering as a castle.

With a deafening crash, the Viper finally fell.

And then—silence.

Jack, still gripping the sword embedded in the crown, blinked beneath his furrowed brows, dumbfounded. His heart pounded violently in his chest, the tension refusing to fade.

For a long moment, he remained still, watching for any final movement. But the Viper did not stir.

It was dead. For sure.

The realization hit him all at once. The tension that had gripped his body transformed into an overwhelming rush of exhilaration. Jack pressed his lips together tightly.

They had done it.

They had taken down the monster.

Yet, even now, the victory didn’t feel real.

“…Did we really take it down?”

Wow, one of the soldiers let out a dazed exclamation. A few exhausted soldiers sat down on the ground, still holding their swords.

“…Not bad at all, huh?”

Cayenne, who had been standing on the hill, was now beside the fallen Viper. He crossed his arms and smiled with a relaxed demeanor.

“Well done, Jack Rabbit.”

What does he mean by ‘not bad’?

As Jack pondered dumbly over the vague praise, Cayenne smiled and spoke again.

Even with his brow tightly furrowed, he was strikingly beautiful—but when he smiled, he was like an angel.

Something welled up in Jack’s chest.

Was it the joy of being praised by the Knight Commander? Or the pride of slaying a legendary monster for the first time?

He couldn’t tell.

No, it was definitely both. Jack wiped his nose, pretending to wipe away the sweat from the overwhelming emotions.

“Was it really a Viper?!”

Vice Commander Miles Christopher’s eyes widened in shock. Beside him, Rick Wyatt looked just as stunned, as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

Sitting across from them, Jack awkwardly rubbed his temple with his thumb, forcing a small smile.

Even he had to admit—it was quite the achievement.

But was it really that surprising?

Just as he was thinking that, Rick Wyatt tilted his head.

“What’s that? Is it some kind of animal?”

“…”

Jack erased the smile that had been forming on his lips and bared his teeth.

‘Of course.’ Even he had only remembered the monster from a book after Cayenne’s questioning, so there was no way Rick Wyatt, whose only job was being a knight born with a golden fork in his mouth, would know.

Miles also gave Rick Wyatt a look of reproach for his ignorance. Rick Wyatt, looking startled, closed his mouth and sat quietly.

“Are you sure it was the Viper of the earth? The monster that grows in the land abandoned by spirits.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

The only one who understood was the Vice Commander. Jack nodded with a face that couldn’t hide the pride welling up from within.

Miles took a sharp breath, as if something was bothering him.

“If it was indeed a Viper, then it makes sense for our Repelz to handle it. …But why did it appear near the Capital City?”

“Is it strange?”

The Vice Commander had a look of concern. Before Jack could even question it, the innocent Rick Wyatt asked. Miles, looking flustered, tilted his head.

“It’s not a common monster. Besides, the Viper is a monster that appears where the earth spirits have left… As you know, spirits dislike humans. Given the long history of the Capital City, the spirits left this area a long time ago.”

“Could it have been hiding for a long time? Its size was enormous, suggesting it wasn’t just a year or two old.”

“Vipers are naturally huge. If one that size had been hiding, there would have been some sign of it at some point.”

The people gathered around the round table in the conference room blinked and focused their attention on Miles. Jack also stared blankly at Miles, becoming absorbed in his question.

…Come to think of it.

Miles had a point. While the regions near the borders remained untamed, teeming with monsters and spirits, the areas surrounding the Capital City—nestled deep within the inland—had long been devoid of such creatures.