Brother's Venomous Onslaught

Hungry. Laughably, in that do-or-die moment, I felt an intense hunger. I'm not human. Probably not an ordinary animal either—I'm a monster. Whether monster or human, if you don't eat, you die. The difference is just the degree of that hunger.

It was ravenous. The kind of instinct that drives you to hunt with your life on the line. Looking at the snake in front of me, I felt it. I wanted to fight, to sink my fangs in. If I ripped off those scales, sweet blood and tender flesh would be inside. Eating and digesting it would make me stronger. My other siblings were probably driven by the same impulse, snapping at each other like that.

But I had reason. And the mental strength to overcome that instinct. Fighting that brother right now would do me no good.

Saaak! Dodging the lunging brother, I slipped past with a shhriiit.

Quick Crawl lv2! Excellent as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠expected. But the problem was that the brother I was facing had Quick Crawl lv2 too. I managed to evade, but he chased after me with terrifying momentum. He's faster than me. Hiding in rock crevices wouldn't help; as the same kind of snake, he'd just slither right in.

Should I fight and win, then? For now, I climbed onto a nearby rock. And then, the sight beyond it. I froze for a moment at the scene, but sharp pain quickly snapped me back. The brother had bitten my rear.

I'd never had my ass bitten by anyone before. Thrashing in pain and shock, my rear burned hot. Not just from the wound—it felt like venom had been injected. Of course; he had venom fangs too.

While flailing, I bit into his side in return. Something spuuurted from the venom glands in both my cheeks. Poison attack!

The effect was superb. The brother seemed to feel similar agony. The sensation in my rear was slowly numbing. I'd bitten his side, so I had the advantage. Maybe I could win now.

Thwack! Nope. I was flung off by the brother's body slam, tumbling degruurr across the ground. In a brawl, size difference matters that much. Our venom wasn't anything special, so both of us could still move decently.

But I didn't flee. I just watched as the brother reared his head high and approached. Fudduk, pudduk. The moment I heard that sound, I glanced up at the ceiling and quickly hid in a nearby rock crevice.

A similar situation unfolded. The brother had bitten my tail. Another hot surge of pain. But since venom glands aren't infinite, it was bearable. And someone punished the brother in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my place. A bat hanging from the ceiling. A resident of this cave that never dared mess around due to fear of Mama Medusa—it sank its teeth into the brother's body.

That was the sight I'd glimpsed beyond the rock. Bats flapped wildly, snatching lone snakes. One bat, drawn to my white body, went for the brother in the crevice instead of me.

Then, intense pain hit. The brother was clamping down on my tail, resisting being dragged off. To avoid going with him, I jammed my teeth into the crevice. And... pop. Insane. My tail snapped off.

Luckily, vital organs were intact, but a finger-length chunk was torn away. Looking up, the brother and bat were fighting mid-air.

True to its name, the bat had claws sharp as blades. My brother was ferocious. They plummeted, tangled together. The bat writhed with a broken wing; the brother, a ragged mess, was on the verge of death.

And I knew what to do in that moment. Blood poured endlessly from my severed tail, and my stomach gnawed with hunger. I needed to replenish nutrients. Good thing being born a snake meant no need to chew. I gaped my mouth wide and swallowed the bat first. Barely baby-fist-sized. To avoid shredding my gut, I left the claws.

Next, the brother—but he was too big. Sorry, bro; the other siblings will clean you up. Ah, my head's spinning. Lost too much blood. Dragging my heavy body, I hid in a rock crevice. I scattered dirt to cover myself as best I could. Screw everything; I needed to recover first.

Heh, power-leveling. I closed my eyes for a bit. Soon, irresistible sleepiness washed over me.

* * *

Gasp! I dozed off. How many opportunities had I blown sleeping? I actually overslept on exam day and had to retake it. Dad beat the crap out of me, of course—ranks in my top 5 life regrets. So, reborn in a new life, was I repeating the same mistake? If villagers asked if I just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠napped while they were purging the snake nest, I'd have a defense. It was sleep I couldn't resist. Probably from taking heavy damage and swallowing a whole bat.

Now I felt refreshed. My dizzy head cleared, body light. Stomach full but no movement issues. Before emerging from the crevice, I checked the important stuff first. I'd definitely heard the level-up voice.

Whoa! The sparse skill list had filled up messily. Bite, Poison Resistance, Bleeding Resistance. New skills all at once. Plus, levels had jumped noticeably. Poison and Bleeding Resistance were probably picked up while sleeping—no acquisition voice.

It's not the strong who survive; survivors get strong. I was the smallest here, but I'd outlast them all. No intention of giving up. With resolve hardened, I emerged from the crevice.

Ah, I wanna give up. People had multiplied outside the cave. Soldiers with torches too. They looked ready to storm in any second. Steeling myself, I slowly approached the entrance. My superiority over siblings—even dead Mama Medusa—was understanding human speech. I could eavesdrop on the soldiers.

"Can't we just set it ablaze and smoke 'em out?" one soldier asked reluctantly.

The Guard Captain in armor irritably pointed at a torch, its flame flickering sideways in the wind. "Wind's blowing out from inside right now—think that'll work? Snakes stick to the ground; smoke won't reach 'em anyway."

"Yessir..."

"Don't chicken out. The mother's the scary one; the babies are just snakes, not even proper monsters. Strap on greaves and gambesons, you're good."

The Guard Captain reassured his men. They wore gambesons—padded jackets of tough linen stuffing. That alone would block venom fangs. Even with hordes of us siblings, we'd be wiped out quick.

"We move in at dawn."

I started retreating deeper but got curious. Could I read human stats? Focusing on the Guard Captain...

Is his species "Guard Captain"? Ridiculous. I gave up digging deeper—just name and level. Same as with Mama. Seems I can't fully analyze much stronger foes. No more time-wasting; I headed inward.

The cave interior was chaos. Sated siblings had stopped cannibalizing. Bats, realizing we weren't easy prey, only pecked corpses. Siblings down to under a thousand easy. "Everyone flee together before they enter! The lucky ones will survive. We'll meet again someday!"—if only I could speechify. No such luck.

I passed siblings eyeing me and went deeper. Mama's chosen den wasn't huge or deep, but the innermost chamber was spacious. Her bedroom, basically. Sigh, back here, memories of departed Mama... Nah, none. Just the stench of filth everywhere. All Mama's traces.

But I figured these were our escape key. If the plan worked... Ah, there. What I found: animal statues. Not Mama's art hobby—these were her petrified lunchbox stash. Bad habit: storing food near bed, munching while lounging. Petrification was amazing. Even mighty beasts like huge-jawed jaguars or long-snouted boars froze solid under her gaze. Preserved fresh, reviving on release—Mama displayed them like trophies.

I strained my eyes on their names.

These two looked strongest—no need for levels. I'd seen Mama hunt them. Released, even the Guard Captain and soldiers outside couldn't handle them. Escape in the chaos—perfect. I'd watched how Mama undid petrification. Like this? I climbed atop their heads, squeezing out max venom. I could spit full venom maybe twice. Fangs couldn't pierce rock, so just coating. But Mama only licked with venom-tainted tongue. Should suffice.

Yep, I'm Mama's kid alright. Spraying venom like her, petrification slowly lifted. Color returning. Revived monsters would bolt from the cave. Ride that chaos out...!

"Move in!" A shout from the entrance. Dawn already? Commotion there. Petrification? Not yet! Colors returning slowly, but no twitching. Peering to see what was happening.

Soldiers entering, two lines with torches. "Check rock crevices! One spear jab's all it takes!" Guard Captain was dangerous indeed. Good I ditched hiding plan. Soldiers methodically speared siblings in crevices.

"Let a few slip! Waiting outside anyway!" A couple broke the net, but they were prepped. These backwater grunts this thorough? Most siblings instinctively fled deeper from soldiers. Soldiers advanced slowly without rush.

Mama's bedroom wasn't small. But near a thousand snakes covering the floor made it packed. Soldiers reaching here hesitated to push further. "What now?" "Too tight to enter..." They looked unsure. I sighed in relief. Hadn't spotted the hidden petrified monsters yet. Time-buyer for me till release.

"Hmm." But the Guard Captain was ruthless. He checked torch flame direction. "Wind hole after all. Dawn shifted the flow."

"Then..."

"Oil flasks out!" Soldiers gleefully drew brown glass bottles from belts. Siblings clueless, but I clocked it instantly.

"Light 'em and fall back. Throw!" Dozens of brown bottles arced through air, shattering with a clang clang, splattering foul oil everywhere. Snakes panicked at the stench—but that wasn't the real terror.

"Ignite!" A few soldiers hurled torches. Flames whooooshed to life.

The house—it's burning.