Andros stared at the creature, a sensation of insecurity invading him before what was about to happen. It was a serpent emerging from the rubble of the crag, with six heads and a stump in the center. It measured at least twenty meters, was green in color, and each head was capable of swallowing a soldier in a single bite.

  This was "the Peseggo Peach Serpent."

  Some time ago, Sigmund had confided in Andros that vitality potions no longer had an effect on his body and that he didn't have much time left to continue fighting at his peak level. However, he had expressed a final wish: to kill that serpent of Peseggo. He told Andros:

  —If we ever run into that serpent, it will be mine alone. Don't you dare intervene.

  Apparently, the serpent was in a state of hibernation in some underground path of the ravine, and Andros's movement in removing the rubble had awakened it. Sigmund threw the mana beast cores with a shout:

  —I finally found you, damn serpent!

  The impacts caused an explosion where the Peach Serpent was found.

  Sigmund approached Andros and Valeria, who were seeking shelter among the debris.

  —I will finally fulfill my last wish —Sigmund told Andros.

  —Wait, Sigmund, we can defeat it without needing that —replied Andros.

  —General, you have already used Damocles and I know it needs cooldown time. I don't want you to also lose an arm like my mother, and leave the city without its protector. Just take Valeria and get to safety.

  The implicit promise that Andros had made with Sigmund was something that, even if it bothered him, he shouldn't break. He wouldn't take away what Sigmund had yearned for so much. Andros shouted to Sigmund:

  —Alright, Sigmund, but let me make sure the serpent doesn't flee.

  Sigmund agreed.

  Andros took Caliburn and began to channel a ridiculous amount of Ether, surpassing the limits of the sword. The blade, which normally supported up to 500 kg, saw its weight increased to several tons, added to a gravity increase effect. Andros, who had already channeled Ether to levels worthy of a General Guardian, charged against the serpent with a swift movement that had no relation to the weight of his sword. Before the attack, the serpent lost its sense of space for a tenth of a second, which Andros took advantage of to nail the sword into the tail of the seven-headed serpent, serving as a sort of anchor from which it wouldn't break free. Andros shouted to Sigmund:

  —You have ten minutes maximum!

  Andros took Valeria to a place far enough away to be safe, but not so much as to not be able to see the fight.

  —Valeria, don't take your eyes off Sigmund, for today you will see a miracle bloom —said Andros.

  Sigmund planted himself in front of the serpent, which launched potent venom attacks. None of the attacks had an effect on him; Sigmund had designed a method of mana armor that, not being matter as such, was not affected by elements or venom. The heads dodged Sigmund's cutting blows while others launched attacks at him. Sigmund was realizing that his attacks were not having an effect because they were not powerful enough, and he knew he couldn't utilize the mana from his bones eternally, in addition to the time limit of the anchor Andros had placed.

  Sigmund resorted to his last resource: he mobilized all the mana he could and formed four mana limbs, two above his arms and two below. This was Sigmund's true Flower of Kadul style; since he couldn't surpass the six petals, he decided that each petal would have its own attack, creating a very compact but extremely destructive style. Each petal took charge of a head, being on par with each one.

  Valeria, who watched Sigmund from afar, contemplating his fighting form, thought about what would have happened if the flowers of Kadul had been planted in an inhospitable place, full of predators and with extreme temperature conditions of a desert. Those flowers would have a much thicker and rigid stem, the petals would be fewer, but larger and sharper, so that animals wouldn't destroy them; a flower that wouldn't bloom under the moon, but under a scorching sun, a desert flower. That flower was Sigmund.

  The scholar began to increase the speed of his strikes, and the mana armor began to react, changing to a bright red color due to the excitation of the mana particles, to the point that it seemed Sigmund was covered in fire. in one movement, he cut each of the six heads of the Peseggo serpent. Each of the heads fell and began to dissolve without leaving a trace.

  Sigmund relaxed, only for a few moments, but a new serpent head emerged from the center of the Peach Serpent. It was a smaller white serpent that snatched an arm and part of the shoulder from Sigmund. He shouted:

  —So you still had more tricks left!

  It was a new head that, as Andros would know later, the Peseggo Serpent had been accumulating mana in the center of its body to avoid losing more energy if another head was cut, therefore, its core was still alive. This head, being only one, was much faster, and although it was still embedded on Andros's sword, it very much wanted to escape.

  Valeria, instinctively realizing that in that way Sigmund couldn't execute his special fighting method, had an idea and shouted to Sigmund:

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  —Sigmund, here goes my sword! —and she threw it to him, which he caught with the arm he had left.

  In his final moments, he remembered his mother and how she kept fighting with only one arm. He started with the four movements to prevent the serpent from freeing itself from the shackle that was the sword Caliburn, and added two more movements to perform counterattacks. This head was much faster and more resistant than the previous ones; Sigmund needed greater speed. He began to remember more of his mother's style, while he withdrew part of the mana armor from his legs, which gave him greater mobility. From six petals, he went to eight and had the serpent completely controlled so it wouldn't escape, but still couldn't damage it. Knowing that the magenta anchor had little time left, he only channeled mana armor in the joints that had to be more stable, like the knees, feet, and elbows, and maximally activated all his musculature to increase his speed in the mobile joints like the hips, shoulders, and wrists. With this, he managed to move his body with greater flexibility by being under less compression from the full mana armor.

  He centered all his mind on his right arm, managing to pass from 8 to 16 petals, delivering 16 cuts from different directions, but towards the same point, managing to decapitate the remaining head of the serpent.

  The entire body of the serpent except for the final head began to dissolve, and Sigmund sat on the ground, watching the Peseggo Serpent disappear. Andros returned in instants to Sigmund's side.

  —Old man, will you be okay? We will heal you, Valeria, do something! —said Andros with a trembling voice.

  Valeria approached crying and tried to heal him with her Ichor, but it had no effect, Valeria shed tears while Sigmund bled out.

  Sigmund, with a broken voice, said:

  —Don't bother, my body became immune to healing long ago, a product of my mana bones.

  Then, looking at what remained of Caliburn due to the high stress it had to withstand, he added:

  —General, I think I ruined your sword. Buy yourself a new one with the core of that damn snake, take it as part of payment.

  —General Andros, thank you very much for this opportunity. Now I will be able to see my mother with pride.

  —Child, don't cry for an old man. I am very happy, I fulfilled what I wanted for so many years, I could even complete the sixteen petals with my right hand thanks to your sword, and I know that in the future you will execute them much better than this old man.

  Sigmund stopped talking, his eyes lost their shine and his body stopped moving.

  Andros squared up in front of Sigmund:

  —General Guardian Andros Varell shows respect to Combat Scholar Sigmund Feres.

  Valeria saw how the highest battle authority of the city paid honors to a scholar. Valeria stood up and took her sword, bowed in front of Sigmund's body:

  —Thank you for the lesson, Master Battle Scholar Sigmund Feres.

  The return trip was somewhat quiet at first, until Andros began to tell her stories of Sigmund, of how he had met him, the subjugation trips they had made, of how he was in the regiment, stories of his mother and more things. Neither Andros nor Valeria would know the repercussions of this sea of coincidences in both their lives.

  Upon arriving back at the city, Andros was seen with a face of sadness, with a mask of joy to honor Sigmund's death. At the city gate, Ronny was standing guard and, seeing Andros, approached him, but upon seeing a covered body on a horse, quickly approached.

  —What happened?! —he demanded as an answer from Andros upon seeing Sigmund's lifeless face.

  —We ran into a unique mana beast and Sigmund protected us —said Andros.

  Ronny asked as if he already knew the answer:

  —What unique beast was it?

  —The Peseggo Peach Serpent.

  Upon seeing the tremendous mana core on top of Sigmund's body, Ronny, with some tiredness, said:

  —This crazy old man finally did it —finishing with a laugh of joy for Sigmund, whose face said it all; even though he was lifeless, he had a smile of happiness that was rarely seen on him.

  Valeria, at the end of the day of arrival in Haniel, while packing her belongings to leave the city, addressed Andros:

  —General Guardian Andros, I have concluded my sacred faith trial. I sincerely appreciate everything I have learned, both from you and Captain Sigmund. I have rethought many things; among them, I will go see my family in the town of Bara. I think I have much to talk about with them and much to apologize for.

  Andros replied:

  —What a shame, I wanted you to stay a few more days. However, if later on you desire a position in the Haniel regiment as a Devotee of Grace for subjugation missions, the position will be available.

  —Thank you, General —said Valeria—. But maybe I will stay in Gavriel. My goal in raising rank was to be a teacher in the monasteries, and I think with what I have learned I will be able to better advise the new generations of Devotees.

  Andros affirmed:

  —I think you will be of much help. I can only change the vision of the Legionaries of this regiment, but there are more towns and cities that continue to discriminate against mixed-bloods and scholars. I hope with all my heart you succeed.

  Then he added:

  —Valeria, since you will be heading to the town of Bara, when you pass back through the city of Jofielar, tell General Guardian Emma that I sent you to have a light leather armor made with this.

  Andros handed her a bag containing the white skin of the last head of the Peseggo serpent. Valeria responded with effusiveness:

  —General, I refuse to take the serpent skin. It is something too valuable and is property of…

  —It is property of Sigmund —interrupted Andros—. And he would be happy for you to use it to protect yourself. Besides, I don't use light armor and I'm taking something equally valuable. Also, that 'sanctimonious bee' owes me some favors, so I will send a telegram so you have no problem with the cost of your new armor and stop using that old rusty armor.

  Valeria showed her respects with a military salute and set off on her course to the town of Bara. Andros, after saying goodbye to Valeria, went to see Salva:

  —Hello Salva, I have an order to make.

  Andros showed him the remains of Caliburn. Upon seeing his creation, Salva exclaimed:

  —But what did you do to my sword!

  Andros replied:

  —I had to do what was necessary to subjugate a unique beast.

  Upon hearing this, Salva's expression changed, revealing pride in the fact that his creation had managed to destroy a unique beast. Andros continued:

  —I liked the functions of Caliburn, but, on the other hand, I would like you to make a replacement using this.

  Andros took out the mana core of the Peseggo serpent. It was the size of a melon, with toasted, caramel tones and yellow shimmers intermingled, similar to a tiger's eye gem. Salva looked at him in astonishment; never before had he seen a mana core of that quality.

  —Of what unique beast was this core? —he asked.

  Andros replied:

  —The Peseggo Peach Serpent.

  Salva added:

  —The Tree of Death.

  Analyzing the mana core, he told Andros:

  —General, what you ask of me is not easy at all, and also requires a lot of time.

  —Then you won't do it? —asked Andros.

  Salva replied quickly:

  —You're crazy, General! Of course I can. It’s just that I will have to cancel some orders to dedicate all the time to this creation. It should be finished in about 2 to 3 months, but take a spare sword.

  He pointed to a dark blue sword.

  —That sword looks like Caliburn; it changes weight the harder you hit, although it cannot release energy at a distance like Caliburn. But it has greater durability, it will serve you in the meantime.