Jin kept his eyes closed. He pressed his cheek flat against the rough moss. He smelled the dry, dusty musk of the massive python.
The snake was inches away. He heard the heavy scales dragging across the wood. It was a slow, deliberate sound. The beast was searching for a warm body. It was searching for a heartbeat. Jin tried to slow his own pulse. It was impossible. His heart hammered violently against his ribs.
He waited for the heavy weight of the snake to slide over his legs. He waited for the thick coils to wrap around his waist and crush his injured spine.
The dragging sound stopped.
The python did not touch him. It did not strike. It froze completely.
Jin did not move. He kept his breathing shallow. He waited for five long seconds. The air on the giant branch grew incredibly tense. The predator was distracted.
Jin slowly opened his right eye. He turned his head just a fraction of an inch to look past his own shoulder.
The black python had its head raised high in the air. It was looking past Jin. It was staring into the deep shadows further down the massive horizontal branch. Its long, black tongue flicked out rapidly. It tasted the air. It was no longer looking for prey. It was assessing a threat.
A new sound cut through the ambient noise of the jungle.
It was a soft, heavy thump. Then another. It was the sound of large padded paws walking on the bark. Sharp claws clicked lightly against the hard wood with every step.
Something else was on the branch.
A shape stepped out of the thick darkness of the leaves. It was a massive black panther. It was the size of a small horse. Its fur was pitch black, blending perfectly with the night. But its eyes were bright. Two glowing green orbs burned in the dark. They locked directly onto the raised head of the python.
Jin was caught exactly in the middle of them.
The panther took another slow step forward. The muscles in its heavy shoulders rolled under its sleek fur. It lowered its head. It let out a deep, vibrating growl.
The sound was not loud, but it was incredibly heavy. It rattled the air in Jin's lungs. The growl was a clear, biological statement. This branch belonged to the cat. The snake was trespassing.
The python did not back down. It was an apex predator in its own right. It had the size and the weight advantage. It tightened its thick coils. It pulled its heavy body backward, compressing its muscles like a giant black spring.
It opened its massive jaws. It let out a sharp, violent hiss.
The hiss was a direct challenge. The snake dared the panther to step closer.
Jin stared at the two monsters. His corporate logic analyzed the situation with cold dread. He was lying right in the kill zone. If they fought, they would not care about him. They would crush him under their massive bodies. A single stray blow from a heavy paw or a crushing coil would snap his injured spine in half.
He could not crawl away. His Aether-seal was still active, hiding his scent, but he was just a physical bump on the battlefield.
The panther growled again. The green eyes narrowed. It bared its teeth. The fangs were long, curved, and pale white in the moonlight.
The python struck first.
It did not slither. It launched its entire upper body forward like a massive, heavy spear. The speed was terrifying. A ten-foot wall of solid muscle flew through the air directly over Jin's head.
The panther reacted instantly. It did not try to block the heavy snake. It dodged to the side.
The python's open jaws snapped shut on empty air. Its heavy head slammed into the thick bark of the branch with a loud, hollow thud. The impact shook the entire tree.
The vibration traveled through the wood. It hit Jin's chest. The shockwave traveled up into his lower back. The hot coal of his deep tissue injury flared into a blinding fire. Jin gasped in pain, but the sound was completely drowned out by the fight.
The panther did not wait for the snake to recover. It lunged forward.
The big cat bit down hard on the python's thick neck, just behind the skull. The long fangs sank deep through the black scales and into the meat.
The python thrashed violently. The pain of the bite sent it into a frenzy. It whipped its heavy lower body around. The thick tail slammed into the panther's ribs. The sound of the impact was sickening. It sounded like a heavy club hitting a side of beef.
The panther grunted, but it did not let go of the snake's neck. It clamped its jaws tighter. It used its front claws to dig deep into the snake's scales, anchoring itself.
The python twisted its body. It began to coil around the panther.
This was how the snake killed. It wrapped its thick, muscular body around the cat's torso. It squeezed. The constriction was absolute. The pressure was designed to crush ribs and suffocate the victim in seconds.
The two massive beasts rolled across the wide branch. They were a chaotic, violent tangle of black fur and black scales. They tore at each other. Dark red blood sprayed across the green moss.
They rolled closer to Jin.
Jin pressed himself as flat as he could against the bark. He closed his eyes. He listened to the wet tearing of flesh and the heavy, desperate grunts of the animals. The branch shook violently. Every tremor sent a new wave of agony up his spine. He was entirely helpless. The fight was only three feet away from his head.
The panther realized it was losing the battle of pure strength. The coils were too tight. The cat could not breathe.
It changed tactics. It let go of the snake's neck. It dropped its head and bit down hard on the thick coils wrapping around its chest. At the same time, the panther brought its powerful back legs up. It used its rear claws to rapidly kick and rake the exposed underbelly of the python.
The claws tore through the softer scales. The snake hissed in sudden, sharp agony.
The python loosened its grip for a fraction of a second. The panther twisted violently and broke free from the coils.
Both beasts backed away from each other. They were both bleeding heavily. The branch was slick with their blood. They were breathing hard. The standoff resumed. The panther crouched low, preparing for another pounce. The python coiled tightly, raising its bleeding head to strike again.
They prepared to launch themselves at each other for a second, fatal clash.
Then, the air temperature dropped.
A thick, unnatural cold washed over the branch. The shadows around the two beasts deepened.
Nyx stepped out of the darkness.
She did not make a sound. She simply appeared on the branch, directly between the two massive animals. She held a heavy bundle of wrapped meat in her left hand. She dropped it on the moss.
The panther and the python both froze. Their primal instincts screamed at them. The new arrival did not smell like prey. She smelled like an absolute void. She projected a concentrated aura of Level 4 Divinity Realm Aether. To the low-level beasts, it felt like a mountain had just dropped onto their heads.
Nyx did not hesitate. She did not engage in a territorial staredown. She was a weapon. She eliminated threats.
She reached to her belt with her right hand. She drew her small, curved blade.
She moved faster than the panther's eyes could track. She stepped forward and swung her arm in a single, fluid arc.
The monomolecular wire edge cut through the air without resistance. It hit the python's thick neck. It sliced through the tough black scales, the dense muscle, and the heavy spine instantly.
The snake's head separated from its body. It dropped heavily onto the moss. The long, thick body collapsed, thrashing blindly in the dirt as the nervous system died.
Nyx did not stop her momentum. She spun on her heel. She faced the panther.
The big cat realized its mistake. It tried to scramble backward. It tried to run.
It was too slow.
Nyx stepped into the cat's space. She swung the blade in a tight, precise horizontal cut.
The blade passed cleanly through the panther's thick neck. The green glowing eyes widened for a fraction of a second, then went dark. The massive head slid off the shoulders and hit the bark with a wet thud. The headless body slumped forward, spilling hot blood across the wood.
The brutal, grueling fight was over in less than two seconds.
Nyx stood completely still in the center of the carnage. She held the bloody blade at her side. She looked at the two dead monsters.
She released a slow, heavy wave of her black Aether. It rolled outward, coating the branch and the surrounding trees. It was a clear, undeniable biological marker.
"This is my territory now," her telepathic voice echoed coldly in Jin's mind. She did not project the words to the jungle. She did not need to. Her power did the talking.
She cleaned her blade on the panther's black fur. She returned the weapon to her belt.
She walked over to Jin. She looked down at him lying flat on the bark. She saw the sweat on his face and the tight grimace of pain.
"The area is secure, My Prince," Nyx reported. "I brought food. And I found medicine."