Chapter 1. The Snake That Swallowed the Evil Dragon

 

It was noisy.

 

I was definitely sleeping, but the loud noises buzzing around my ears irritated me.

 

One day, I became a snake.

 

And not just any snake, but a large mythical one.

 

In a strange fantasy world, no less.

 

At first, I was confused.

 

Why was I in a fantasy world? And why did I become a strange, huge snake?

 

There was no novel that came to mind, nor did I have any grudge with a writer.

 

After all, even when I read novels, I was a reserved person who only liked and bookmarked them without leaving comments.

 

But after saving a child right before a car accident and opening my eyes, I found myself as a strange snake.

 

At first, it was quite tumultuous.

 

A person who had walked on two legs suddenly moving on no legs at all, not even on four legs, was disorienting.

 

It was awkward to catch and eat animals alive for the first time, and it was strange to see the passing monsters scream with wide eyes as if they had seen something they shouldn’t have.

 

But as I drifted through 1,000 years in such a manner, I eventually rose to a position where no one could touch me.

 

‘Was this the Lesveret Mountains?’

 

A truly gigantic mountain range that defied common sense.

 

I must have slept for a long time using that mountain range as a pillar.

 

‘Hmm….’

 

My body felt stiff.

 

I slowly lifted my head, feeling the sensation of my massive body enveloping the entire mountain range.

 

Then I saw small humans and lizards on top of my body.

 

They seemed to be fighting using all kinds of magic and aura.

 

At least, until I appeared.

 

My transcendent eyesight scanned their reactions. They froze in their tracks, muscles stiffened, and pupils trembling as if facing a great natural disaster.

 

Observing their reactions, I then shifted my gaze to the lizard.

 

A black-bodied lizard with red magma flowing through it.

 

It certainly looked imposing, but—

 

—Grrr.

 

‘I’m hungry.’

 

Was it because I just woke up from a long sleep?

 

The lizard, blazing with lava, looked like a delicious grilled lizard.

 

Then there was no need to hesitate.

 

I opened my mouth wide.

 

And before it could react—

 

—Crunch.

 

I swallowed the lizard.

 

The pleasantly hot sensation going down my throat made me smile contentedly.

 

Whether a snake could smile or not was another matter.

 

‘Next….’

 

The humans were still frozen in place.

 

After a moment of contemplation, I averted my gaze.

 

‘I have no interest in eating humans.’

 

Even though I had become a snake, I was still fundamentally human.

 

As a former human, I had no intention of eating other humans.

 

Besides, I was already full from eating the lizard.

 

‘I should get some sleep.’

 

I slowly laid my body down.

 

Using the gigantic mountain range as a bed, I closed my eyes once again.

 

* * *

 

“Hella!!”

 

The Hero, Levelis.

 

The man known as the foremost hero among many and the one closest to subjugating the Demon King.

 

He was currently facing the evil dragon.

 

[Kroaaaa——!!]

 

The evil dragon roared, and the earth shook.

 

The ground quaked madly, and the dormant lava in the mountains erupted, turning the world red.

 

In that desperate situation, Levelis swung his sword imbued with aura.

 

Swish—!

 

The golden aura cut through the falling lava and rescued the woman within it.

 

A red-haired sorceress, Hella.

 

“Thank you!”

 

“Don’t mention it.”

 

She thanked Levelis and immediately began casting magic.

 

A blue magic circle filled the sky, and a massive meteor descended from it.

 

Meteor.

 

A spell that only a 9th-circle mage could learn fell upon the head of the evil dragon, but it had little effect.

 

Thunk.

 

With a single kick from the dragon, which was several hundred meters long, the meteor shattered into pieces.

 

“Isis!”

 

“Yes!”

 

The falling debris was blocked by a huge golden barrier drawn in the sky.

 

The only saintess of the Holy Empire, Isis.

 

Not only did her holy power create a barrier that protected everyone, but it also bound the evil dragon ‘Kelyaxis,’ which had swallowed tens of thousands of people, in chains.

 

The continued combined assault.

 

But….

 

[Kroaaaa——.]

 

A low, resonant fear.

 

A chilling fear that froze all other races except itself stopped their movements.

 

“Ugh…!”

 

Thanks to Isis’s quick response, they avoided being completely frozen, but the situation was dire.

 

No matter how many attacks they unleashed, they couldn’t inflict even a single scratch on the evil dragon. At this rate, they would all be annihilated. Though Isis was holding on for now, her holy power would eventually reach its limit.

 

The hero made a decision.

 

‘Leaving that evil dragon alone is too dangerous.’

 

The evil dragon was not yet fully mature.

 

Even now, it was growing stronger and larger by absorbing the heat from the surrounding atmosphere.

 

If left unchecked, it would undoubtedly re-emerge as a colossal calamity that would bring great harm to humanity.

 

‘In that case….’

 

He had to kill it here, no matter what.

 

The hero looked at the mark engraved on the back of his hand.

 

A golden sword etched into his skin.

 

The ‘stigmata’ bestowed upon those chosen by the goddess.

 

Every stigmata granted a power befitting its bearer.

 

The power of his stigmata was to increase his physical abilities tenfold momentarily.

 

If asked why he hadn’t used it until now, the reason was simple.

 

‘…My body can’t endure it yet.’

 

The stigmata only enhanced physical abilities.

 

It didn’t grant a body that could withstand that power.

 

In other words, moving with physical abilities suddenly increased tenfold could cause his entire body to burst and die.

 

Not even the saintess could revive the dead.

 

That’s why he had never used it before, but….

 

“Huff, huff….”

 

“Levelis… make a choice….”

 

Everyone was exhausted.

 

He closed his eyes for a moment to catch his breath, then made his choice.

 

He decided to use it.

 

As soon as he opened his eyes with that resolve.

 

The world stopped.

 

The evil dragon, rampaging uncontrollably in the sky.

 

The lava pouring down like rain from the sky.

 

The massive earthquake shaking the ground.

 

Everything stopped in an instant.

 

The hero briefly thought his time had stopped, but soon that thought was bleached white.

 

Eyes, met, mine.

 

Endlessly huge and endlessly great.

 

It was just a single head.

 

Yet its head couldn’t be contained by the sky, filling the entire world.

 

A massive eye turned towards him.

 

Just that alone made the hero forget to breathe.

 

As soon as those calm eyes reached him, he experienced death hundreds and thousands of times in his imagination.

 

That was no living creature.

 

It was a colossal disaster surpassing even nature.

 

Its overwhelming presence turned the gigantic evil dragon into nothing more than a mere lizard.

 

[Kroaaaa——!]

 

The evil dragon let out a fearsome roar.

 

But it was not a roar of intimidation like before; it was the scream of prey, terrified.

 

Kelyaxis twisted its body.

 

Instinctively feeling the need to flee, it flapped its wings.

 

Just as its massive body, reaching the size of a small mountain, was about to rise.

 

The hero blinked as he watched the scene.

 

0.1 seconds.

 

In that fleeting moment.

 

What he saw when he opened his eyes.

 

Was a giant entity that had swallowed the evil dragon mid-flight.

 

‘I didn’t even notice….’

 

His senses, which never missed any attack, were suffocatingly quiet at this moment.

 

As if it was pointless to notice anyway.

 

It wasn’t even a hunt.

 

The evil dragon’s end, having swallowed an entire kingdom, was nothing more than a meal for the great being.

 

[……….]

 

Slowly, that being’s gaze turned towards them.

 

The hero swallowed his breath but felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

 

He had a gut feeling… that this being wouldn’t harm them.

 

And just as he thought, the being averted its gaze and moved away.

 

Rumble——!

 

The world trembled.

 

It was similar to the tremors caused by the evil dragon, but fundamentally different.

 

‘Ah….’

 

The hero blankly looked around.

 

The horizon, formed of a gigantic mountain range, from end to end.

 

‘All of that…….’

 

The realization that struck him sent chills down his spine.

 

Soon, the earth calmed.

 

The massive vibrations ceased, leaving only suffocating silence in the tranquil mountain range.

 

How much time passed?

 

A minute, ten minutes, an hour.

 

Perhaps a day.

 

Levelis, who had been staring blankly into space all that time, finally spoke.

 

“…Let’s go back.”

 

“…….”

 

“…Yes.”

 

What had we just seen?

 

A single question that lingered in everyone’s throats.

 

But they forced it down.

 

They just wanted to remember that being and warn everyone not to approach it.

 

The hero dared to name that being.

 

‘Lesveret.’

 

The name given with reverence to the master of the mountain range that was originally the Lesveret Mountain Range, who now embodied the mountain range itself.

 

The hero and his party members.

 

After staring at the gigantic mountain range in a daze for a while.

 

They left, leaving thanks for dealing with the evil dragon.

 

Later, it became a secret that those who heard of its grandeur established a small religion there.