"Kaaak!"

Parrots fluttered around frantically.

The jungle was home to countless parrots. Despite their poor combat abilities, barely stronger than that of flying geckos, there were an uncountable number of them. 

Even a gecko trained in So-Ryong’s Sky Step could easily take down a parrot.

So why were there so many of these weak parrots in the jungle, despite their inability to compete in basic survival?

The answer lay in the unspoken rule of the jungle.

No matter how hungry you were, parrots were not to be hunted.

Parrots held a special status.

Although not true spiritual creatures, they could speak and fly across the sky, serving as essential messengers in the jungle’s vastness.

Especially in a place where powerful beings constantly vied for dominance, parrots became invaluable as neutral messengers, respected even by the Bird King himself.

Parrots, in turn, maintained their neutrality, refraining from taking sides. While individuals might practice their own faith, it was the parrots’ sworn duty to remain impartial while delivering news.

"Snake Queeeeen!"  
"Kaaak!"  
"Consort! The consort!"  
"The playbooooy!"

The sudden reappearance of the Serpent Queen.

And with her, the consort, appearing like a comet.

The parrots’ wings beat faster than ever as they spread the news.

Their message spread, reaching even to the nest of Kachalgatal.

One parrot lingered nearby, ready to report what it had learned.

"Kaaak!"

It didn’t dare approach too closely.

The moment it mentioned the Serpent Queen, it realized Kachalgatal’s mood had darkened.

“Uwoooo…”

Kachalgatal let out a low growl.

He had learned of the Serpent Queen’s appearance.

Even without the parrots, he would’ve known eventually.

Through his newfound power, he could share the sight of his followers.

But the Queen had not appeared in his domain, which meant it would’ve taken longer to reach him.

"Kaaak! Kaaak!"

The parrots’ assistance was clearly invaluable in this instance.

The parrot, feeling a chill of unease, quickly flew away from the nest.

Though Kachalgatal had never harmed a parrot before, it now felt it might be the first.

Fwoosh.

A massive fireball shot out suddenly.

"Kaaak!"

The parrot couldn’t escape in time.

Fwoosh!

The powerful fire incinerated the parrot in an instant.

Thud.

Reduced to ash, the parrot fell to the ground.

"Grrrr…"

The one who launched the fireball was a massive stork-like bird.

No, could it even be called a stork?

Its body was absurdly large, almost making it difficult to categorize as a bird.

One thick leg contrasted with its thin, seemingly delicate remaining leg.

Most strikingly, despite being a bird, it wielded the power of fire.

Filbang, known as Kachalgatal’s right wing, was a spiritual creature of immense power.

"Grrrr…"

Filbang landed deftly on his single leg, letting out a strange, inhuman growl.

“Aha.”

A voice responded in amusement.

Another bird, or more accurately, a half-human spiritual creature.

“True to form, Filbang. You’re as fiery as they say.”

The left wing of Kachalgatal, Nakaljo, stood there smirking.

Filbang growled at Nakaljo, unable to hide his disdain.

“Grrrr…”

Nakaljo’s smile faded instantly.

“What’s that? Are you challenging me?”

Nakaljo snapped, her voice sharp.

Neither hid their hostility.

Though they were equals, there was no reason for them to get along.

They seemed poised to clash.

“Enough.”

Kachalgatal flapped his massive wings.

His low, ominous voice reverberated, and Filbang extinguished his flame.

Nakaljo, too, retracted her sharp black feathers.

“I didn’t… summon you here… to fight…”

Filbang turned away, standing stiffly on his single leg.

“Still, I understand,” Nakaljo purred, nestling close to Kachalgatal with a sly smile.

Though her face boasted unmatched beauty, it was a well-known fact among those present that her true face was hidden.

Nakaljo’s talent lay in her powers of disguise.

Kachalgatal gently pushed her back with his wing.

“So, it seems the Serpent Queen is truly making her move?”

At Nakaljo’s remark, the Bird King hummed thoughtfully.

The Serpent Queen would know that this news would spread.

And yet, she had chosen to act openly in her true form.

Had she moved in secret, perhaps even in her human shape, the parrots would not have shared such information so readily.

So why had she done it?

And with such unnecessary grandeur.

All the creatures of the jungle now knew of the Serpent Queen’s consort.

Their location was also revealed.

A very tempting bait had been laid.

“What do you think? If we’re going for a full assault, now would be the perfect time.”

The Bird King quietly organized his thoughts.

No one knew the Serpent Queen as well as he did.

For the Serpent Queen to expose her weakness.

It was suspicious.

If they launched a full-scale attack, it would likely end in failure.

“Our objective… remains unchanged…”

In that case, they would simply take the bait and retreat.

The purpose of this assembly was to eliminate the Serpent Queen’s consort.

Even sending one of his spiritual creatures should be enough to handle a lizard.

But with the Serpent Queen by his side, they couldn’t touch him.

The answer was simple.

They just needed to separate the Serpent Queen from her consort.

“Relay to Beak… to set… the trap…”

---

There’s a saying about borrowing the authority of others.

Right now, I felt it applied perfectly to me.

The term refers to a fox flaunting the might of a tiger; in my case, I was basking in the prestige of the Serpent Queen.

What started as a peaceful outing had somehow turned into a spectacle, with all sorts of creatures gawking at us.

Though most were animals that couldn’t speak, I sensed they were envious.

Maybe they were admiring our harmonious family scene.

Among them, I recognized a familiar face.

The unicorn I had met before.

Now missing its horn—perhaps it should be called the hornless unicorn.

It was tearing up; maybe it was just moved by the sight of such a loving family.

I continued through the jungle amidst the cheers of the creatures.

This jungle was much larger than I’d thought.

No matter how far we walked, I couldn’t see its end.

Eventually, an enormous tree appeared before us.

It was so massive that I hadn’t even realized it was a tree until we’d stopped in front of it.

It sounds contradictory, but it was almost too enormous to recognize.

A truly colossal tree.

It seemed as though the Serpent Queen would have to stretch her full height to reach its top.

Its width was equally impressive.

If there was such a thing as a World Tree, it would probably look like this.

“Remember this place.”

The Serpent Queen’s voice echoed from her basilisk form.

How could I forget such a sight?

It was the largest tree I’d ever seen.

“Gek gek.”

The Serpent Queen’s tail coiled around mine.

Then, without warning, she charged toward the tree.

Was she planning to bring it down?

It seemed impossible, but if anyone could, it would be her.

…But what about me?

“G-gegek!”

Just before I became a lizard pancake, I clenched my eyes shut and let out a panicked squeal.

The Serpent Queen collided with the tree.

Crash.

To my surprise, the anticipated sound of splintering wood and the impact of my body smashing into the tree never came.

Had something happened to my hearing?

No, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Whoosh…

I could clearly hear the wind blowing past.

I cautiously opened my eyes.

Before me was a rough terrain that resembled a mountain range.

The tree hadn’t been real.

It was an illusion.

“What a coward.”

“Piiak!”

Shikshik chirped happily, as if she’d known all along.

A little warning would’ve been nice.

I may look tough, but I’m quite fragile inside.

As we passed through the illusion, a misty mountain range greeted us.

It was breathtaking.

Though curious as to how such a place could exist within the jungle, I knew there’d be no one here to explain it.

The Serpent Queen had her mouth open…

…Wait, why was her mouth open?

“You’re late.”

Fwoosh.

The air surged, as if every particle within the space was converging in one spot.

It was a precursor to her devastating beam attack.

A far more powerful beam than any I’d seen her use before.

“Hieek!”

I quickly flattened myself against the ground, covering Shikshik with my chest.

Shikshik squeaked in irritation, flailing her tail, but I couldn’t risk letting her go.

Boom!

A massive beam split the air.

The energy blasts I’d seen until now had always been short bursts.

Three seconds of sustained fire was impressive by most standards.

I knew, having used a similar skill myself, how much effort it took to maintain.

Yet the Serpent Queen held her beam for tens of seconds without strain.

Ziiing!

With every movement of her head, the beam shifted its trajectory.

Boom!

It was as if she intended to destroy everything in her path, shattering the mountain range in a relentless assault.

After what felt like ages of

 bombardment, a cry echoed from afar.

“Kieeeeeeeek!”

Only then did the Serpent Queen halt her assault.

“Finally decided to show yourself, huh?”

Something with the shape of a giant bird was soaring toward us.

“Kieeeee!”

The massive bird cried out, slicing through the sky with ease.

**[Argentavis LV70(-15)]**

It was the former king of birds.