Summoned with an SSS-Rank Portal Skill
Chapter 296 - 296: Mindless Beast

William looked confused. Not because of the serpent watching over him—he knew it belonged to his bloodline—but because of what had just happened.

It was hard to piece things together. The place he was in made no sense. A dark void, still water underfoot, and those red, unblinking eyes in the distance. Then it clicked. He remembered the arrow hitting his neck.

"Oh... that fucker Denis attacked me," William murmured.

Denis should've been on the ground, nearly dead. And yet, he still managed to fire off a deadly arrow from behind. William felt like an idiot for ignoring him.

He realized then—if he didn't want to get stabbed in the back again, he couldn't show mercy. No more letting enemies crawl away. No more begging. The only way to stop them was to kill them.

The serpent was still watching him, silent and eternal. Then, it spoke.

"Do you want power?"

William didn't answer. He just stood there, staring at it.

The serpent asked again.

"Do you want power?"

Its voice was hoarse and ancient. Every word sent a gust of wind that rippled through William's hair and clothes, even disturbing the calm water beneath his feet.

William answered.

"What's the catch? You going to ask for what—my soul?"

It was a mythical creature, after all. You never just said yes to something like that.

"There's no catch, young man. I need you in the future. If you die, then everything is lost. I can give you my power, but you will be enraged—unable to think straight. Are you sure you want it?"

William smirked.

"It's not like I even have a choice. I'm dying. So I need your power."

That arrow hit him in a deadly spot. Even with his healing factor, he could tell it wouldn't be enough. And his enemies were probably coming to finish the job. He had to move—fast.

He needed the serpent's power, even if it drove him mad for a while.

"How long will I be enraged, unable to think?"

He expected a few minutes, maybe an hour. But the serpent's answer caught him off guard.

"Three days."

"Three days? I can't be like that for three days! They're going to blow up this island—I need to get out of here!"

"It's either that or die. At least this way, you have a chance of surviving."

It was bad. Really bad. But he didn't have a choice. Like the serpent said, at least he had a chance if he accepted. If not, he'd just die here.

Victoria's image flashed in his mind. And the others. The ones counting on him. If he died, they'd be next.

"I accept it."

The moment he said yes, William felt power flood into his body. It wasn't like anything he'd ever felt before.

It was even stronger than the day he fell into the blood pit and awakened a new stage of his demonic transformation. This power wasn't just intense—it was different.

But just like the serpent had warned, his mind began to slip. Rational thought started to fade.

And then he rose.

William got up, shocking Denis and the others.

The leader of that group shouted.

"What the fuck? How is he even alive?! Denis, shoot him again!"

William's eyes had changed—serpent-like, glowing. The arrow still in his neck was yanked out, and the wound closed instantly.

Scales began to cover his entire body, forming an organic armor. His nails grew into poisonous claws.

Denis fired another arrow, but it bounced off his scales like it was nothing.

Other attacks followed—swords slashing, spells flying. Some hit. Some even broke through the scales. But they grew back in seconds, and the wounds healed just as fast.

The leader's eyes widened in horror.

"What kind of monster is this?"

William didn't look like a human anymore.

He looked like a beast—a serpent beast born for one purpose: to end their lives.

He dropped his sword to the ground. There was no need for it. Not now. Not in the state he was in. His mind wasn't thinking, not in any rational way. He was driven purely by instinct.

With swift, animalistic movements, William charged toward Denis first. He didn't run like a man—he moved on all fours, like a true monster.

Denis's face twisted in horror.

"Wait, please, don't kill me!"

But no words would save him. William wasn't listening.

He didn't slash with his claws or swing with brute force. He lunged with his mouth wide open and sank his teeth into Denis's neck. The force behind the bite was immense—enough to crush bone.

And then, with one violent pull, he ripped Denis's head clean off.

The others froze, their faces pale with terror. Whatever plan or bravery they once had was gone. Now, they just wanted to run.

But William didn't let them.

He darted after the closest one, leaping over rocks and bodies with terrifying ease, and struck again.

Sometimes he used his claws, tearing flesh and leaving poison behind. Sometimes he bit down and ended it in one gruesome motion. And other times, he just punched—his raw strength enough to break bones and snap spines.

He had no pattern. No preference.

There was even one who died moments later, his body foaming and convulsing—killed not by claws or fangs, but by the venom coursing through his veins.

The leader was the last one to die.

He tried speaking to William, just like the others had. But it only took a second for him to realize—William wasn't there anymore. His mind was gone. No reason. No humanity.

So, the leader accepted his fate.

William drove his claws straight into the man's torso and ripped it open without hesitation. Blood sprayed everywhere, painting the ground in crimson and creating a grotesque scene.

And then, William did something unthinkable.

He began to eat them.

The leader was the first.

He tore into the corpse with savage hunger, his claws digging in, his teeth shredding flesh like paper.

From a distance, Kier had been watching it all unfold. The moment he saw William feasting on the dead, he turned around and made his way back to the king without wasting a second.

"King," Kier said, urgency in his voice, "William almost died, and then used some sort of transformation. He's out of his mind—and he's even eating them!"

He caught his breath, then added.

"We should go to the portal now. Let him be. At least for now."

Only the king heard what Kier had to say.

If the other farmers had heard it, then William would have turned into a monster in their eyes.

"Everyone," the king shouted, "hasten up. We must hurry!"

They increased their pace. Even the ones who looked like they couldn't take another step pushed forward. It was a matter of life and death.

William was still busy devouring the people he had killed. That gave the king and the others a precious head start. The distance between them and the beast only grew with each passing second.

The one good thing about it all was that William ate his victims slowly. His twisted feast bought them time.

By the time William finished consuming every last corpse, the king and the group were already entering the palace through the main door.

"Follow me! We go straight to the portal!" the king ordered.

They thought everything was going smoothly. But then—William saw them.

And the moment he did, he dashed toward the palace at full speed.

A beast had found its next meal.

The king wasn't naive. He had already considered this possibility.

So, once everyone was inside, he activated a series of traps and formations designed to seal the entrance.

"This will keep him busy long enough," the king murmured.

William reached the palace door and slammed into it.

The moment he touched it, a massive explosion erupted from the spellwork.

He was sent flying back, the blast ripping through his body with tremendous force. Most of his scales were blown apart. Both of his arms were gone.

He stayed on the ground for a few moments, motionless. But once again, his healing speed kicked in.

His arms began to grow back.

It was slow, gruesome even, but the fact that his limbs were regenerating at all was astonishing.

Ten minutes later, William was as good as new—standing again, body whole, eyes still wild.

He approached the palace door once more and tried to open it.

Another explosion.

This time, it was worse. His body was blown apart, cleanly severed in half.

While William was busy trying to force his way through that sealed entrance, the king was moving quickly through the palace with everyone else, heading straight toward the location of the portal.

There was no time to waste.

On the third try, William managed to open the door.

But it was already too late.

The king and everyone else had passed through the portal, and the detonation device had been activated.

The demon island would soon perish.

Victoria hadn't wanted to leave William behind. She screamed, fought, tried to resist. But in the end, they knocked her out and pushed her through the portal.

William, still mindless and consumed by the serpent's power, had no idea where the portal was. He could only rely on instinct—on scent.

He ran, sniffing the air like a beast, trying to follow the trail.

But the palace had already begun to explode.

And it wasn't just the palace—multiple points across the island were going up in flames. One after the other.

The destruction had begun.