Ye Bai had no time to explain to the misunderstood paper figurine that she hadn’t intentionally attracted the Infernal Lord. The spatial rift wasn’t far from the fortress, and as the two conversed, the glowing fissure was now right before them.
The massive serpent’s head was still about thirty or forty meters away from Ye Bai. The other Infernal creatures that had been leading the chase had already fallen behind, their speed clearly no match for the serpent demon’s.
While keeping an eye on the ‘Infernal Brand,’ Ye Bai seized the moment when the serpent demon was closest to use [Insight] on it.
[Serpent Demon Lord Kedar]
Level: ??
Health: ?????? / ??????
Skills: Decapitation Rebirth, ???, ???
Weaknesses: ???, ???, ???
As expected, the level difference was too great. Apart from the ‘Decapitation Rebirth’ skill, everything else was obscured by question marks.
‘Decapitation Rebirth’ was the serpent demon’s signature ability—exactly as it sounded. If its head was shattered but it wasn’t completely destroyed in one strike, the serpent demon could regenerate its head, restoring its health bar with powerful recovery effects.
Ye Bai was familiar with the abilities of ordinary serpent demons, but as an Infernal Lord, Kedar would have naturally awakened skills from the ‘High-Tier Infernal Skill Pool.’ Without seeing it in action, she couldn’t know what other abilities it possessed.
Generally speaking, however, large creatures like this were rarely adept at magic. Even if they had spells, they were often costly, high-powered attacks. The fact that Kedar had chased her this far without using any skills to hinder her was proof enough.
From this distance, Ye Bai should have had enough time to enter the spatial rift before the serpent demon caught up.
But Kedar noticed Ye Bai’s lingering gaze on the Infernal Brand and remarked with a hint of amusement,
“The last fool who tried to gain knowledge from an Infernal Brand ended up… oh, wait—there was no last one. You’re the first. Your greed is almost admirable.”
Then, without warning, just as Autofis was a few steps away from the rift, the serpent demon’s head suddenly ‘expanded’ in Ye Bai’s vision. It accelerated explosively, closing the thirty-meter gap in an instant!
Serpent demons were a type of fiend, and fiends excelled at instilling fear. Kedar had deliberately lagged behind, toying with Ye Bai all along.
The sudden, overwhelming sight made Ye Bai’s breath catch. Before she could react, a flaming red tongue lashed out from the serpent’s maw like a chain, whipping straight toward her.
“Swish!”
At the last possible moment, Ye Bai felt herself lifted slightly, putting just enough distance between her and the serpent’s head. The tongue, which should have wrapped around her and Autofis, instead grazed past her face, the scorching wind whipping her loose hair forward and back.
In that split second, the surface-dwelling divine-blooded rider on her donkey plunged into the spatial rift.
Kedar, who had been so certain of his victory, paused in surprise. A flicker of astonishment crossed its crimson, burning eyes—but it was quickly replaced by deeper greed.
Without hesitation, a red glow enveloped the serpent demon’s body. Its form elongated unnaturally, as if it had become a single, independent serpent, and it continued the pursuit.
The spatial rift, originally only four meters tall, shouldn’t have been able to accommodate Kedar’s twenty-meter-wide head. But as the red light shimmered over its body, the rift rippled like water, and the massive serpent’s head slipped through effortlessly.
Size restrictions meant nothing to a demigod. Once it had the spatial coordinates, it could cross using its own power.
The world around Ye Bai shifted, the familiar sensation of spatial travel washing over her.
“Hee-haw!”
A cool sea breeze and Autofis’s triumphant bray snapped Ye Bai back to reality—at the critical moment, Autofis had also accelerated, narrowly escaping Kedar’s grasp.
“Autofis, you’re amazing—!” Ye Bai’s cheer was cut short as the spatial rift rippled again, and the serpent’s head emerged right beside them.
Her voice caught in her throat, her scalp prickling. Kedar had crossed the rift far faster than she’d anticipated.
That speed was a testament to its strength. Kraken hadn’t yet reached Level 80—if it faced Kedar now, the outcome wouldn’t be good.
“Splash…”
Just as before, Kraken extended a slick, waiting tentacle, letting Ye Bai and Autofis slide safely onto its head.
Seeing the dire situation, Ye Bai shouted as she slid down, “It’s too strong—we need to retreat—”
But her voice was drowned out by Kraken, who had just finished digesting its last meal and was now eyeing the new arrival with ravenous excitement.
“Big fire! Eat!”
Waves churned as tentacles surged. Kraken’s spiritual and physical forms both gleamed with eerie green light, its expression one of eager anticipation.
“This is…”
Meanwhile, Kedar, now fully emerged into the deep-sea space, stared in surprise—and then delight.
It had already dismissed Ye Bai as insignificant. All its attention was fixed on Kraken.
“That scent… I wasn’t mistaken when I sensed it on that little insect.”
Scent?
As Ye Bai landed inside Kraken’s protective bubble, the serpent demon’s words triggered a realization.
The effects of her [Title] weren’t just optional buffs—they were permanent accumulations that influenced faction reputation and NPC behavior, impossible to remove.
The title [Feeder of the Sea God] specifically mentioned that Ye Bai was permanently marked by Kraken’s aura. It wasn’t just bad luck that she had drawn Kedar’s attention—it was likely because of Kraken’s lingering presence on her.
And if Kedar had pursued Kraken’s scent so relentlessly… did that mean it had been targeting Kraken all along?
Recalling that serpent demons could also enhance themselves by consuming powerful creatures, and that their most defining trait was greed... Ye Bai's expression tightened as she was about to warn Kraken to be careful.
However, at that moment, massive waves surged around them, the deafening roar of the sea filling the air and limiting their vision.
Beside her, Kraken's spiritual form wore a tense, focused expression, her small face stern with concentration. The green bubble barrier she controlled had shrunk to half its original size, now offering only basic protection without the previous noise-canceling and translucent visibility effects.
Through the gaps in the turbulent waves, Ye Bai caught glimpses of the serpent demon lord's head lunging forward, already locked in combat with Kraken's physical form.
"Combat" wasn't quite the right word—more accurately, the serpent demon, upon seeing Kraken's colossal size, had its crimson eyes gleaming with an eerie red light. The light coalesced into a terrifying beam, slicing through the air like a laser sword, sweeping across Kraken's massive body.
Where the beam struck, Ye Bai saw clear burn marks seared into Kraken's tentacles. But the wounds weren't ordinary—they altered the very nature of the flesh, transforming patches of it into what looked like molten lava.
These wounds wouldn't heal naturally; instead, they inflicted continuous damage.
Ye Bai recognized it instantly: 【Magma Ray】, the highest-tier fire spell below legendary rank.
Yet, in stark contrast to the serpent demon lord's focused assault, Kraken's physical form ignored the injuries entirely. Just as before, she surged forward, her tentacles parting to reveal the dark, gaping maw hidden within.
Another colossal wave crashed over them, obscuring Ye Bai's view once more. Frustration and panic surged through her—she didn’t dare distract Kraken's spiritual form, but if this kept up, that gluttonous fool might end up grilled into calamari by the serpent demon lord’s magma rays!
As countless frantic thoughts raced through Ye Bai’s mind, searching for a solution, she suddenly felt a violent tremor beneath her feet. She grabbed onto the fish basket, magically anchored at the center of the bubble, to steady herself.
Then, a piercing shriek tore through the sea.
"AAAAAHHH—!"
That voice... belonged to the serpent demon lord!
Ye Bai’s spirits lifted. Beside her, Kraken's spiritual form suddenly snapped her emerald eyes open and cheered, "Delicious!"
The green bubble expanded instantly, clearing Ye Bai's vision. She immediately turned toward the spatial rift—only to see the serpent demon lord’s head, which had just been unleashing magma rays, now entirely engulfed by Kraken’s maw. Only half of its serpentine body remained, thrashing desperately as it tried to retreat back into the infernal rift. But Kraken held on tight, refusing to let go.
It seemed they were now locked in a tug-of-war.
D-Did she really just eat it?!
Ye Bai stared, dumbfounded, at the abruptly reversed situation.
That serpent demon lord, Kedar, had looked like he’d hit the jackpot when he first saw Kraken, sending Ye Bai into a panic. And this was how it ended?!
Then another thought struck her—that giant serpent head, which had just been spewing magma rays, was now inside Kraken’s stomach. Wouldn’t that hurt her digestive system...?
No sooner had the worry surfaced than Ye Bai saw a radiant emerald glow envelop both Kraken’s physical and spiritual forms. She also noticed that, under this light, the previously unhealable magma wounds on Kraken’s tentacles vanished, restoring the flesh to its original state.
"She grew bigger!" the red-haired little girl in the fish basket exclaimed excitedly to Ye Bai.
Bigger? Ye Bai’s gaze shifted back to Kraken.
【Kraken】
Identity: Bai Ye’s Pet
Attribute: Physical Form
Level: 81
Status: Hungry
Ye Bai witnessed firsthand Kraken’s terrifying digestive prowess. The serpent demon lord’s head, devoured mere moments ago, had already been "processed," pushing Kraken past the threshold of level 81—straight into demigod territory!
Of course, with every level-up for Kraken, there was one inevitable follow-up.
【Your pet ‘Kraken’ has surpassed your level. You have gained 5,700,000 shared EXP.】
Staring at the experience pool now filled with enough points to boost her to level 55, Ye Bai couldn’t help but feel like she’d just experienced a reverse version of "a rising tide lifts all boats."
