819 Bear fights a giant snake - Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

Two figures being chased by a snake came into view. The lantern they held was shaking violently in their hands. Since we spotted them, they must also see the light from my bear. "The light's getting closer." "Is there really someone there?" "Hey, you there! Run!" One of the individuals, pursued by the snake, shouted towards us. A gigantic snake was slithering behind them, relentlessly closing the distance on the adventurers. If they told us to run, we could certainly flee with Kumayuru and Kumakyu. But I sensed they might collapse from exhaustion before the snake caught up to them. Plus, since I decided to help, fleeing is not an option. They should worry about their own safety first. Running and shouting at the same time must be tough. Though I've never done that myself; why would anyone typically need to shout while running? While pondering these thoughts, the two adventurer-like figures noticed us. "A bear!? There's a bear in front of us!" "What should we do?" The adventurer-like figures, who had been in flight, noticed us and slowed down, hesitating whether they should continue their dash upon seeing Kumayuru and Kumakyu. Now isn’t the time to hesitate. Stopping would allow the gigantic snake to catch up to them. "Keep running! The snake is right behind you!" I shouted loudly. It would have been a shame if they had gotten eaten by a snake right in front of us after all the trouble to close in on them. The two adventurer-like figures glanced back. "Let's run!" "But the bear—" "It's better than the snake!" Their speed, which had slackened, picked back up. "Yuna, what is that? A snake?" Mane questioned as she eyed the snake looming behind the two adventurers. "It's large, but I think it's a snake." My only clue comes from my detection skill. The signal from that detection skill indicates a snake. "I've never seen a snake that big. Should we escape? These little ones can flee, right?" I wonder where her resolve to help went. Though I can understand the urge to flee when a snake that large is closing in. Mane thought it was a smaller snake when she agreed to help. Same with me. Personally, if I had to choose between a hundred small snakes or one gigantic one, I’d pick the giant snake. A hundred small snakes would be creepy, but a single gigantic one is scary yet easier to battle. While we were discussing this, the snake kept nearing. "Mane, throw the bottle at the snake!" "That potion won't work on such a big snake! Besides, it won’t reach if I throw it from here." Mane clutched the snake repellent bottle tightly in her hands. "You’re not seriously asking me to get closer and throw it, are you? That’s impossible. I'd get eaten before throwing it." She seemed a bit panicked. Seeing such a large snake must indeed incite such a reaction. "Just trust me, throw it!" "If anything happens, it's on you!" Upon my urging, Mane hurled the bottle towards the giant snake. In an attempt to throw it far, it traced an arc as it flew. It was a far prettier throw than I had expected. If it had failed, the bottle would have shattered against the ground. The bottle descended in a curve. "It’s not gonna reach!" As expected, it wouldn’t reach. I fired an air bullet to strike the falling bottle, directing it towards the gigantic snake. Another air bullet! I fired another to adjust the trajectory of the bottle. It flew straight for the giant snake's head, shattered upon impact, and the liquid splashed everywhere. The giant snake stopped in its tracks, opened its mouth wide, and let out a shrill "Shhhhaaaaa" scream. It seemed the potion worked. I leapt down from Kumakyu and dashed past the two adventurer-like figures who had been pursued, racing toward the gigantic snake. I heard something that sounded like "bear" from them as I passed by, but I continued running. The distance between me and the gigantic snake shortened. There are many ways I could take it down. But those methods disregard our surroundings. We're inside a cave. Ideally, I would use the same method as when defeating the Black Viper by striking it with bear flames internally, but it's risky to use fire magic here, inside a cave. Even if there were air holes, using fire magic in an enclosed space poses a danger. Thus, I’d resort to the method I used to defeat the serpent in the land of harmony. Though the snake's advance halted, its head was shaking side to side. "Don’t thrash around inside the cave!" I shot an air bullet beneath its head. The impact halted it for a moment, its mouth opened wide. I leapt towards the mouth of the gigantic snake. "Yuna!" I heard Mane's voice shout from behind. Mana congregated in my hands, and within the snake’s mouth, a bear-shaped rock manifested. I imbued the rock with mana. The rock expanded, forcing the snake's mouth wide open. The snake, with its head entirely destroyed, collapsed to the ground with a thud. Snuffing out these gargantuan snake-type creatures has become quite the habit. "Yuna, are you alright?" Mane, riding on Kumayuru, and Kumakyu approached. "I’m fine with this sort of thing." "I was shocked when you charged at the massive snake like that. To think you’d actually defeat it!" Mane gazed at the gigantic snake forcibly torn apart at its mouth. It was a tad smaller than the Black Viper I had fought before, perhaps. For someone like me, who has taken on the Black Viper and serpents before, this was no challenging foe. "Still, the way you defeated it was savage." Mane touched her own jaw and mouth, likely imagining how the rock expanded inside the snake’s mouth. Even someone like me won’t use such tactics against people. "Mane, do you want to take this snake back?" "Yes, it’s worth quite a bit at this size. Someone’s bound to want it, given how rare a giant snake like this is." There might be a research lab for monsters. Even if Mane doesn’t need it, selling it might fetch a good price. As I drew closer, thinking that, "It’s still alive!" A man shouted from behind. Simultaneously, Kumayuru whimpered, "Kyuuuuuuun," and, gripping Mane’s bear costume in its mouth, Kumakyu pulled them away from the spot. A split second later, something heavy crashed down where we were standing, causing the ground to shake. "What!?" The snake’s tail slammed against the ground... No, it’s not what I thought. It wasn’t the tail— it was the head. The head, not the tail, lifted slowly. Flicking its tongue in and out, the red eyes glared down at us. "A two-headed snake..." Mane muttered. I instructed Kumakyu to let go and observed the snake. "Get out of there quickly! That head is vicious!" "It's venomous, stay away!" The adventurers shouted. The snake, illuminated by the bear's light, had a purplish liquid seeping from its mouth. Its red eyes locked onto Mane and me. The moment I thought its eyes shifted, its mouth moved. The giant snake launched a liquid like a water cannon. Mane and Kumayuru, along with Kumakyu and me, dodged aside. "Yuna, it's poison. Be careful!" The liquid that hit the ground turned purple. "Kumayuru, Kumakyu, get Mane out of here," I ordered. If the target switched to Mane or the adventurers, it would be troublesome. I cast wind magic at the giant snake to attract its attention to myself. I wanted to use a powerful spell, but it might cause the cave to collapse. It wasn’t just my attacks I had to worry about; if the snake's poison were to become airborne, it could be catastrophic. "Mane, is the poison just liquid, or does it become airborne?" If it’s only liquid, there’s no issue. But if it turns into gas and spreads as mist in the cave, it would be dangerous. "There's no way to know for sure. Running might be best." Escaping is one option. But we can’t proceed without defeating it. What Mane seeks lies beyond this point. As a precaution, I used wind magic to direct the air flow and prevent the poison from reaching where Mane and the adventurers were. "The wind..." "This reduces the poison’s risk, but stay alert." "Yuna!" "I'm going to finish this quickly." I ran toward the snake. It pursed its lips and shot out poisonous liquid. What should I do? I said I'd defeat it, but how? If the fight drags on, there will be more poison. The snake spits poison. As soon as I dodged, was it the tail? It swept the decapitated head of the side I had vanquished in my direction, dragging across the ground. Disgusting. I leapt over the swinging head, firing an air bullet. It struck the snake’s body like a shotgun, causing it to recoil. I didn’t relent in my assault. But the snake kept its mouth tightly shut. Could it possibly understand why the other head was defeated? Was it intelligent? While I pondered, Mane's shout came from behind. "Yuna!" Turning around, I saw Kumayuru standing firmly. All of a sudden, Kumayuru adopted a pitching pose. What is it doing? "Now, Kumayuru!" Mane called. "Kuuuuun!" Kumayuru whimpered, launching something into the air—a bottle! The small bottle spun as it flew towards the snake. This wasn’t the feeble toss from Mane earlier; this was a mighty pitch. Kumayuru's throw hit the giant snake's head, the bottle shattered, and liquid rained down upon the snake's head. Apparently averse to the liquid, the snake opened its mouth. This is my chance! I dashed towards the thrashing snake. It screeched, "Shhhhaaaaaa," seemingly irritated by the potion concocted by Mane. Closing the distance, I ejected myself towards its head. This ends now. The bear rock manifested within the snake’s mouth. It expanded, rendering the snake unable to spew its poison. Instead, the venom dribbled from the cracks around the bear rock. The snake's jaw kept opening wider until its mouth was torn apart. It collapsed. This time, it must be defeated, right?