"Khanna wiped them out?" Alex inquired, his expression betraying a hint of surprise at the notion that the Goddess of Automation could do such a thing.
"According to the texts, yes." Arwen nodded with a mouthful of steamed bun.
Swallowing hard, Arwen remarked. "Well, based on my understanding, there were two reasons. As I said, the Serpents were a troublesome and violent bunch, capable of making entire towns disappear due to their insatiable appetite. So the first reason Khanna stepped in was to prevent them from pushing humanity on Henos to extinction and secondly, to place herself on a heroic pedestal."
"A heroic pedestal?" Alex raised a brow.
"According to records, it was around the time she was aiming to become the Goddess of Automation, so basically when she was transitioning from Demigod status to Anti God status."
"Ah, okay." Alex nodded in understanding before once again shifting his attention to the text he was holding.
Taking a few minutes to look through it while Arwen finished her snack, he then inquired. "How were the TruthSeekers certain that she had wiped out all the Many-Headed Serpents?"
"... I have no idea, to be honest." Arwen intoned. "They didn’t say."
"So that means, they could be wrong," Alex remarked while once again glancing at the image of the Serpent they’d drawn on the page.
It was easy to make such mistakes, after all, that was the case back on Earth.
Scientists would record an animal as extinct, simply because they couldn’t find it, without concrete evidence to show that the creature was no more.
That could be the case here, especially since the creature was of mystical origin, and what’s more, the technology available to the TruthSeekers was much more primitive compared to the one back on Earth.
"So are you saying that our target is a Many-Headed Serpent?" Arwen said. "That they aren’t extinct?"
"Most likely, yes." Alex nodded. "There’s no way of telling that Khanna actually wiped them all out, so we could rightfully assume that some of them survived."
"But the TruthSeekers are never wrong, they don’t make mistakes," Arwen argued only to receive a raised brow from Alex along with an expression saying something along the lines of, you’re joking, right?
Coughing awkwardly, she muttered. "Well, they have been wrong a few times... but why would the Goddess let them continue to roam free knowing how dangerous they are?"
"My guess is they went into hiding, maybe took a break, which gave Khanna no reason to go after them any longer, and since she’s technically not around to keep watch, they’ve decided to make themselves known again."
"This is horrible." Arwen breathed out with a worried look on her face. "We have to reach out to the TruthSeekers of Scholastica, get them to send word to every town and city in Henos. They need to know about the Serpents."
"We can do that later, for now, we have to focus on saving ourselves," Alex remarked as he stroked his chin with one hand while still holding the encyclopedia with the other.
"Alright." Arwen nodded, managing to calm her nerves.
"Now all we have to do is figure out where this Serpent is hiding and most importantly, how it managed to become the source of the loop."
"Are we really certain that the Serpent is the reason for the loop?"
"Well, Thera alluded to it." Alex calmly pointed out.
"Yes, you said that but can we really trust her?... After all, she’s an Abyss Wheel Mystic, right?... Those guys are known to be crazy. She could very much be the source of the loop."
"But then why would she direct me to the Serpent?"
"Who knows?... Maybe she was trying to send you on a wild goose chase or perhaps she’s just testing you. We can’t say for certain."
Alex pursed his lips, taking everything Arwen said in stride. Follow current novels on NovelHub(.)net
She did have a point.
What was his reason for believing Thera’s words?... She’d told him a story and that’s it?
No, that wasn’t the only reason.
Even without Thera’s help, Alex had already guessed that there was a third party involved in this loop apart from him and Thera.
"Look, I’m not trying to get you confused or anything, but it remains that Mutants are unable to manipulate Mystical Domains because they lack a Will and the Intelligence needed to do so. That’s what separates them from Cryptids. So how could a Many-Headed Serpent be the reason for a loop that involves an entity like the Timeless Serpent?" Arwen remarked, putting out her thoughts without holding back.
Everything she said made sense and with that, Alex found himself struggling to come up with answers to her questions.
But one thing was certain; there was little time left for him to figure things out.
Azazel thought it quite odd as he clashed blades with the shadowed entity.
This particular night gave him a deep sense of deja Vu, like it had happened before and not just once or twice, but several times before.
Why did he feel that way?... He had no idea.
But the feeling remained and with each move that was made, the feeling grew stronger, biting at him and increasing the discomfort he felt.
Instinctively, he looked above, towards the Hunter floating in the sky, accompanied by yet another shadowed entity.
His eyes, clear as they were, regarded him with a look that seemed to say, I know what you are feeling.
He couldn’t say for certain why he interpreted it as such, further adding to his frustration.
Just what in the world was happening?
But the answer to that question never came, even when he felt death’s cold embrace, filling him with a great deal of regret.
He had failed in his quest and for that, he found himself unworthy of a trip to the Afterlife.
Just then, he felt something reach for him and though he feigned reluctance to make contact with that thing, he ultimately ended up engulfed by it, quickly discovering it to be an odd mix of light and shadow.
In that moment, light flooded his vision and he found himself staring at those clear eyes once again.