CHAPTER 09………………………………………..
I stared at the sleeping snake and the staircase behind it, letting out a small, quiet “hmm.”
To get past the door, I inevitably had to approach the snake.
“It won’t suddenly wake up, right?”
I recalled what I had learned from documentaries I’d watched. Snakes generally have poor hearing and don’t respond well to sounds.
There was that superstition that playing a flute or whistling at night would draw a snake out, but that was apparently a lie.
Their sense of smell depends on flicking their tongues to collect scents, so I doubted that a sleeping creature would detect my scent.
Even so, there was a small chance, just in case.
My entire body trembled. I forced my quivering legs to move and carefully approached the snake from behind.
—Huuuuh, huuuuh.
Periodic gusts of air escaped from its nostrils.
The sound instantly reminded me of sneaking the TV remote from my father’s hands while he napped.
Just like my father back then, this creature was undoubtedly in a deep sleep.
—Hmmm.
The snake suddenly twitched its head. The light reflecting in its eyes seemed to disturb its slumber.
I withdrew the crystal from my mouth and hugged it close to my chest. The light leaking from it was blocked by my arms and body, and the cavern fell back into darkness.
As the snake wiggled, the only sound that echoed through the wide cavern was the rough rubbing of its scales. I forgot to breathe and froze in place. My heart pounded loudly—thump, thump.
I hugged the crystal tighter to calm my heartbeat.
—Huuuuh.
After a while, the snake returned to a steady, even breathing. I exhaled quietly through my slightly parted lips.
“Not much longer now.”
Carefully avoiding the statues scattered near the snake, I managed to inch toward the door.
Faint moonlight filtered down the stairs. A breeze blew from above, brushing against my cheek.
I had thought the ancient nest, that forest evening wind, would feel cold and gloomy—but who knew it would feel this welcoming?
I cautiously climbed the stairs.
The steps were littered with dust and stones, so I carefully avoided rolling anything down.
At the top, I poked my face into the moonlit hole. Beyond it, I saw a small opening with an iron frame like a sewer cover.
Through the iron grate, buried under thick leaves, I could see the forest sky illuminated by two bluish moons.
When I reached out to the ceiling, the iron grate creaked.
Like the swords the statues held, the rusted metal seemed fragile enough to break with a little force.
“It might make a loud noise because of all the rust, though.”
I glanced down the stairs.
The snake was hidden by the ceiling of the stairwell, but its breathing still carried a massive presence.
I thought quickly for a moment.
The most plausible plan seemed to be breaking through the ceiling and escaping before the snake woke.
“The stair entrance is small, maybe it can’t even reach its head in here.”
The doorway or passage leading to the stairs was clearly narrower than the snake’s massive head.
If the stone building was solid, even if it woke, the fangs wouldn’t reach me.
“Still, better to escape as fast as possible.”
I clenched the crystal in my mouth, planted my feet firmly, and pressed my forearms against the ceiling.
I was in a posture like Atlas lifting the Earth, or Sisyphus holding back a rolling boulder.
Screeeech, screech.
The rusted metal scraped unpleasantly as it creaked, but gradually it felt like it was lifting. I cheered internally.
I was certain that with just a bit more effort, I could get out.
—Ssssss…
From below, I sensed an uneasy, ominous presence.
I tensed my jaw, arms, and legs, worried that the crystal in my mouth might break.
Creeeak, screech.
As the iron grate pushed upward, a strong shock twisted my body. I turned my head and saw the snake’s green eyes peering at me through the narrow gap.
All the hair on my body stood on end, and a cold shiver ran through me.
Compared to the three-eyed wolf, this predator’s majesty made my legs weak.
The snake slammed its head and body against the narrow doorway with thuds, dropping dust like the stone building was about to collapse.
“I have to run!”
In a life-or-death moment, my body summoned extraordinary strength. I pushed the ceiling further.
Screech, whoooosh.
The rusted iron finally gave way, revealing an exit to the surface. I leapt joyfully into the hole.
—Ssssss.
Then, something sticky and slimy wrapped around my hind leg, yanking me back.
“What the hell!?”
It was the snake’s long tongue. Like a chameleon or frog, it had extended through the narrow opening to catch me.
I was dragged down and slammed to the underground floor in an instant. The snake’s eyes loomed in front of me.
—Kaaak!
Angry at being disturbed—or perhaps thrilled at a rare prey—it opened its mouth wide, dripping green venom from its fangs.
I rose, heading back toward the stairs. At that moment, its massive tail smashed the stairs, destroying the passage.
The snake’s green eyes curved like a crescent as it surveyed the collapsed staircase.
“So I have to fight after all.”
I lowered my stance and growled. I had fought humans, wolves, and minor demons before, but never a giant snake, and had no clear plan.
—Kaaak!
It roared again, its green eyes blazing, sending out an oppressive gaze. Snap, crackle—the sound of objects stiffening and splitting echoed loudly.
Leaves on the ground hardened into stone instantly. Everything visible stiffened into a rigid form.
“It can turn things to stone?”
My mind reeled. The objects I had thought were mere statues might have been living creatures.
One thing was certain: like Medusa in Greek mythology, this snake could petrify objects with its gaze.
—Ssssss.
It tilted its head, then its eyes flashed green again.
The stone-turned objects cracked with anxious sounds. Only I and the leaves around me remained unharmed.
—Ssssss.
The snake’s narrow gaze swept over me from head to toe.
I stared back. Its forehead had broken scales with red blood flowing—a wound from when I rammed into the stairs earlier, perhaps.
“It can be wounded too.”
Knowing that it bled like a living creature made me see that it was not an invincible monster, but a living being like me.
I crouched low, facing it. Size-wise, I was a mouse before a giant snake, yet it strangely did not attack, merely watching for opportunities.
Its green eyes radiated impatience tinged with annoyance.
“Hunting cautiously, huh?”
I analyzed it in return.
It was intelligent enough to use its tongue to pull me and destroy my escape route. Yet it was cautious, anticipating potential injury from me.
A cornered prey might forego survival and strike back—something I had painfully learned against minor demonic marble creatures.
“Right now, I’m the prey.”
—Haaak!
It saw an opening and lunged. Despite its size, it moved fast, impaling me with its fangs before I could react.
—Uaaagh!
Pain from the wound made me scream, dropping the crystal, which rang clearly on the floor.
“Who the hell are you biting?!”
I felt immense anger even as its fangs pierced my body.
It was rage at being thrown into this miserable world and at the snake viewing me as mere prey.
The burning pain subsided instantly in a flood of red-hot fury.
I sharpened my claws and slashed wildly at its mouth, scales, and wherever I could reach.
—Haaak!
It opened its mouth wide and threw me to the ground. Scales and deep wounds marred its face.
Seeing the bloody, grotesque reptile, I lifted my lips in a grim smile.
Despite its massive size, it was surprisingly manageable.
The legless queen of beasts, Basilisk El—Gasar couldn’t regain composure from the pain felt after decades.
She hadn’t felt this kind of pain since the three-eyed wolf.
The creature she intended as a mere morsel was somehow immune to her Ma-an attack.
Even after stabbing venom through its body with her fangs, it counterattacked!
Impossible. Such venom should have paralyzed and killed a creature many times its size instantly.
Her mouth and face burned from its claws. Its rock-hard scales suggested it wasn’t an ordinary beast.
—Arrrrrgh.
It stood on its hind legs like a human, raising its forelegs, and roared loudly. Even El—Gasar, with poor hearing, felt the sound pounding.
The roar triggered a strange déjà vu in her.
She recalled being tiny as a small snake long ago and hearing a similar cry.
Despite her many evolutions, she was still just a beast—she could only feel familiarity, not recall the exact moment.
—Arrrrrgh.
Her body trembled from the continued roar. She realized she was afraid.
Having experienced hundreds of seasonal changes, she couldn’t believe she felt fear from a small, bite-sized beast.
—Karrrrr.
Its red eyes flashed.
El—Gasar felt her blood run cold. Then she remembered its identity.
It was clearly a Breed Wratel—the mortal enemy of snakes.
Breed Wratels attacked giant creatures without fear, a trait of their species.
Though its form differed from known Wratels, its ferocity and venom resistance left no doubt.
The Wratel that had raided her nest, devouring her mother and eggs—despite her mother’s venom being enough to paralyze a three-eyed wolf—it remained unaffected.
The venomous Wratel slept after feasting, then awoke to continue eating the remaining snakes.
Her past fear at its nest flashed through her mind.
But now it was different. She had grown, and this one smelled of a newly born juvenile.
—Ssssss.
The noble queen of snakes, El—Gasar, could not tolerate feeling fear.
She opened her mouth wide and lunged at it.
If neither venom nor Ma-an worked, she would crush it with her body.
Yet its claws forced her to twist and retreat.
Having relied on her abilities all her life, she had no experience fighting an opponent immune to them.
