Choose one creature that you can see within range. Make a ranged spell attack against that creature, as you conjure a flying serpent made of crackling, razor-sharp lightning and hurl it at them. On a hit, the target takes 12d6 lightning damage. This damage ignores resistance. If a creature is vulnerable to slashing damage they are also vulnerable to the damage caused by this spell.

On a miss, the serpent flies past the target and begins flying through the air on its own, seeking out another target. Make note of the space that your initial target was in when you cast the spell. At the start of your next turn, you must repeat the spell attack (no action) against the creature that is now closest to that space, up to a maximum range of 90 feet, possibly attacking even yourself.

If this attack misses or has no target, repeat this process using the space of the last creature attacked by this spell, continuing to make an attack each round until the spell ends.

The serpent uses blindsight to find its targets, not vision. Subsequent attacks after the first do not suffer disadvantage if you cannot see the target, because the serpent is seeking targets rather than you controlling it. However, if multiple creatures are tied for being the closest to the serpent when you repeat the attack, you choose which one the serpent attacks.

Once this spell hits a target, the spell ends.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 7th level or higher, the damage dealt increases by 2d6 for each slot level above 6th.