Chapter 2. A Sacrifice Must Be Offered!

 

When I first became a snake, I thought it was a dream.

 

To dream of being a wriggling snake moving around—I chuckled, thinking it was quite a realistic dream.

 

But now, I had accepted it.

 

I had no choice but to accept it.

 

Memories of my previous life, not even reaching thirty years, were buried and disappeared under the weight of thousands of years.

 

More time passed.

 

Eating a large, fire-breathing lizard and then going to sleep was a mistake.

 

…Who would have thought I’d sleep for thousands of years?

 

No wonder I felt especially drowsy; I must have entered some sort of hibernation.

 

Had my size increased during that time?

 

The cozy mountain range, which fit perfectly to my body, now felt infinitely small.

 

Could my hunger ever be satisfied by eating something in this state?

 

I worried that I might starve to death at this rate.

 

Given that my size could cover the horizon and leap over mountain ranges, the energy required to sustain my body would undoubtedly be enormous.

 

Of course, since I wasn’t merely a gigantic snake, I doubted I would die from starvation, but being hungry was still unpleasant.

 

The solution was surprisingly simple.

 

I just had to become smaller.

 

Had I gained enlightenment due to further maturation during hibernation?

 

I could naturally adjust the size of my body.

 

Currently, my size was approximately 300 meters.

 

While this was still absurdly large, it was far less extreme compared to before, akin to the difference between a whale and plankton.

 

While wandering aimlessly, I discovered a cave.

 

A cave large enough to envelop my several-hundred-meter-long body.

 

Inside, there was a black dog with three heads, each several meters tall, but that was even better. I happened to be hungry after waking up.

 

[Growl——.]

 

The beast let out a low growl, wary of me.

 

Its two blazing red eyes stared intently at me.

 

Was it being cautious?

 

But it wasn’t my match.

 

Crunch.

 

I bit down in an instant.

 

The beast was crushed without even being able to react.

 

‘Are fiery animals the trend these days?’

 

First the lizard, and now this vicious dog that could hardly be called a dog.

 

It was fascinating how their bodies blazed with fire.

 

After eating the beast, I coiled up in the enormous cave.

 

Endlessly bored.

 

Wasn’t there something interesting?

 

I ignored the presence lingering at the cave entrance, hoping it would bring an interesting event.

 

* * *

 

“…What on earth?”

 

Hans, the Hero of Survival, couldn’t comprehend what had just happened.

 

He was a hero dispatched by the kingdom.

 

He had come to subjugate a monstrous beast said to be annihilating villages within a gigantic cave.

 

He thought this beast would be a stepping stone to greater achievements, aiming to become a more illustrious hero.

 

Until he faced ‘it’ in front of the cave.

 

Cerberus.

 

The guard dog of hell, the worst beast that incinerated anyone approaching it.

 

It had devoured dozens of heroes and crushed and burned hundreds of villages under its paws.

 

Once, the kingdom had sent an expedition to subdue it.

 

It was a grand expedition led by dozens of heroes and hundreds of knights.

 

No one expected defeat.

 

They were all seasoned warriors, veterans who had slain dozens of such beasts.

 

A miscalculation.

 

Cerberus’s power exceeded all imagination.

 

Its heat melted the ground into lava, and its hide was so tough that swords broke against it.

 

Even approaching it melted armor and protective magic, leading to a disastrous failure.

 

Twelve heroes melted in the intense heat, and 793 knights were trampled under its massive paws.

 

After that, the kingdom gave up on capturing Cerberus.

 

They withdrew the bounty, sealed Cerberus in a large cave, and cast perception-disrupting magic over the entire mountain.

 

Hence, they were nonchalant about it.

 

Most heroes were immune to magic anyway.

 

Therefore, they didn’t notice.

 

The grand magic the kingdom had cast over the mountain.

 

‘How did…’

 

Had the person he met at the tavern noticed this?

 

Surely, ordinary people wouldn’t have noticed the grand magic cast over the mountain.

 

Hans realized one thing.

 

It was all part of that robed man’s plan.

 

At that moment, Cerberus’s seal was completely broken.

 

The shattered golden chains.

 

Dark magic swirled around those chains.

 

‘I’ve been tricked!’

 

The puzzle pieces fit together.

 

It was all a trap to lure him in.

 

Cerberus’s burning eyes turned towards him. Those eyes filled with a burning hatred and insatiable hunger.

 

Thud.

 

His legs gave out, and he collapsed.

 

‘I’m going to die.’

 

I’m going to die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die.

 

Death filled his mind.

 

In that moment.

 

Swoosh.

 

Something massive entered the cave.

 

A creature several times larger than the hellhound Cerberus.

 

Yet there was a suffocating silence, an absence of any sound.

 

‘…A dragon?’

 

It took the form of a legendary dragon.

 

A legend passed down through texts.

 

Scales harder than steel, a massive lizard-like head.

 

A colossal body as enormous as a mountain, with a commanding presence looking down on everything.

 

It was like the form of a dragon from legend.

 

Hans stared blankly at the creature.

 

If there were a god, would it look like that?

 

The jet-black scales moved fluidly, approaching Cerberus.

 

He reached out his hand.

 

He lacked the confidence that this dragon could defeat Cerberus.

 

Surely the dragon was bigger.

 

Its intimidation and presence were more powerful.

 

But…

 

This was Cerberus.

 

The hellhound that devoured dozens of heroes.

 

According to the dragon’s lore, it should be able to devour such a beast, but… rumors tended to be exaggerated.

 

Hans did not believe in the dragon’s legends.

 

A single gesture summoning lightning and shaking the heavens and earth?

 

If that were possible, wouldn’t it be a god?

 

Yet, the dragon nonchalantly approached Cerberus.

 

[Growl——.]

 

Cerberus let out a low growl.

 

Just hearing that low frequency froze Hans’s body.

 

The hellhound’s eyes blazed.

 

Cerberus’s massive body started to burn fiercely, like a giant flame.

 

Hans suffered severe burns from that alone.

 

The intense heat melted his armor, causing it to stick to his clothes.

 

‘At this rate, I must escape…’

 

He wouldn’t last long.

 

But with the dragon drawing its attention…

 

He had to get out of this mountain—

 

—Crunch.

 

In that instant, there was an eerie silence.

 

The sound of something being crushed echoed through the cave.

 

‘Damn it…’

 

Had the dragon already been defeated?

 

Despairing, he turned around and stared blankly at the dragon.

 

No.

 

The dragon wasn’t dead.

 

Rather…

 

Crunch.

 

It was chewing on Cerberus.

 

The hellhound, like a volcano, was being devoured in one bite.

 

Hans stared blankly at the scene.

 

The fight lasted only a moment.

 

A battle ending in a split second beyond his perception.

 

The victor was clear.

 

Who was stronger was evident.

 

Blue eyes turned towards him.

 

Hans momentarily forgot to breathe.

 

Every nerve cell screamed that he was about to die.

 

He was the Hero of Survival.

 

A hero with a stronger survival instinct than anyone else.

 

Barely, he managed to move his feet.

 

Only because the dragon lost interest and turned its gaze away was he able to do so.

 

Hans fled in that instant.

 

Even while escaping, thoughts of the dragon filled his mind.

 

He descended the mountain, rushing back to his kingdom.

 

The dragon’s lore came to mind.

 

‘That creature is a lump of greed. Once it marks prey, it never lets go, and if regular sacrifices aren’t offered, it descends upon nearby villages or kingdoms, bringing great calamities.’

 

A passage from mythology he dismissed as mere fancy.

 

With that myth now proven true, it became a crucial survival strategy in Hans’s mind.

 

‘A sacrifice… A sacrifice must be offered….’

 

Otherwise,

 

‘The kingdom will perish.’

 

Chilling certainty.

 

It was a belief born of his fierce survival instinct.

 

Hans, trusting his survival instinct, requested an audience with the king from the palace knights.

 

As a hero, it wasn’t difficult for him to meet the king.

 

The king came out immediately.

 

White beard and deep wrinkles etched by time.

 

Yet his eyes were filled with joy.

 

“Haha, Hans. What good news brings you here in such a hurry?”

 

King Lesbeligo was in a good mood.

 

The Hero of Survival was a rare treasure in his kingdom. He was the only hero born in this remote kingdom.

 

It was thanks to his power that no wars had broken out with neighboring kingdoms.

 

Such was the importance and power of a hero’s position.

 

A hero destined to defeat the Demon King.

 

Antagonizing such a hero was tantamount to antagonizing the greatest empire, Astrape.

 

Also, Hans was ambitious.

 

His dream was to grow stronger and someday defeat the Demon King.

 

The king fully supported and empowered him.

 

For he was the kingdom’s only hope and everything.

 

With such warmth and kindness, the king greeted Hans, who then spoke with a serious expression.

 

“A dragon has appeared.”

 

“…What? Haha, what a joke. Aren’t dragons mythological creatures?”

 

The king thought he was making a jest.

 

But Hans was deadly serious.

 

“That dragon devoured Cerberus.”

 

“…Hans, this joke has gone too far.”

 

The king thought he was making a poor joke.

 

Cerberus?

 

The hellhound that devoured dozens of heroes?

 

And a dragon devoured Cerberus?

 

All hard to believe.

 

“Hans, stop with these jokes….”

 

“I, Hans the Hero of Survival, swear upon the goddess with my heart.”

 

“……!!”

 

Swearing upon the goddess

 

with one’s heart.

 

It was akin to making a solemn vow with one’s life.

 

Hans, still deadly serious, spoke to the king.

 

“A sacrifice, a sacrificial offering must be made.”

 

It was a moment when the kingdom was thrown into emergency.