‘What a cute little snake.’

Black hair and red eyes.

It was the first time the Snake Queen had seen a human like this.

‘Is that your sibling behind you? Oh, why are you puffing yourself up like that?’

‘What a strange cry. And your plump body is nothing like the snakes I've seen before.’

She spoke to the snake version of herself without any hesitation.

‘Alright. I’ve decided. I’ll stay here for a while. Hm? Ah, where’s that little dragon gone off to? I brought some luggage, and it’s heavy. He’s probably carrying it.’

At first, the Snake Queen had been wary, standing guard alongside Kachalagaatal.

But as she spent time with the little dragon and that woman, her wariness gradually faded.

‘A family? Well, I might look young, but I'm actually quite old. Hmm, maybe it’s time to settle down and marry a decent man.’

‘Two children might be nice. A cute daughter who looks like me. What? She wouldn’t be cute if she looked like me? Little brat, you've grown up too much, haven't you?’

She taught the Snake Queen various things and occasionally brought her human items.

‘Here, try this. Hm? What is it, you ask? It’s a dumpling made from the honey of the Jade Peak flower. Just eat it, will you?’

‘How is it? I knew you'd like it. This isn’t just any honey from ordinary flowers.’

The Snake Queen received honey dumplings made from Jade Peak’s honey as a treat.

‘What kind of flowers are they, you ask? Hmm, should I tell you or not?’

‘Hehehe. Alright, I’ll tell you. White Lotus. And Snow Blossom.’

‘What? Snow Blossom isn’t a real flower?’

‘This is why I don’t like snakes who are too perceptive.’

With lighthearted jokes, they grew closer and closer over time.

‘These are my favorite flowers. The white lotus, and the snow flower that only blooms in the heart of winter.’

Red eyes.

Black hair.

She had incredible strength, but she never used it recklessly.

The Snake Queen idolized her.

The reason the Snake Queen took on a human form was due in part to her desire to resemble this woman.

‘...Are you there?’

Just as their meeting was sudden, their parting came just as abruptly.

‘...You are now the queen of this place.’

The Snake Queen was a coward.

She couldn’t bring herself to stop the woman who was saying goodbye.

The reason she accepted the throne of queen was that she didn’t have the courage to refuse.

That was her last memory of the woman, and though much time had passed, it remained vividly clear.

So, meeting her again came as a huge shock.

The face, aside from the color of her hair and eyes, had no resemblance.

And yet, why did she still think of her?

Her body trembled.

Her mind told her it wasn’t possible, but her body wouldn’t listen.

It had to be a trap.

Surely, it was a trap.

But what if, by some miracle, it really was her?

What if she could see the one she could call “Mother” once more?

The Snake Queen hesitated.

She knew it was something she shouldn’t do.

But she believed this woman was the only one who could save her.

“Geh-geh!”

A familiar cry echoed.

The Snake Queen finally realized.

The one who could save her wasn’t someone from a dream.

A blue beam of light burst forth from the black lizard’s mouth.

*

“Kyaaah!”

With a scream, the Nakhal Bird was thrown back.

Immediately, I checked on the Snake Queen.

Her expression still showed confusion.

Recovering fully right now seemed difficult for her.

“Geh-geh!”

If that was the case, then I needed to focus on the Nakhal Bird.

It hadn’t gone down with one blow.

It was on the same level as the Argentavis.

Now that I had turned its own strategy against it, I had to go in for the finishing blow.

Swish!

I immediately leaped to chase it down.

“You crazy lizard!”

The enraged Nakhal Bird.

Its body was bloodstained, but it still seemed fine.

Yet, I could see the panic in its eyes.

I was about to launch my Dragon’s Breath at it.

Crrrack!

A pair of black wings sprouted from the Nakhal Bird’s shoulders.

Swoosh!

It used its wings to put distance between us.

“No sense of courtesy, huh?”

Swoosh.

At the same time, it shot black feathers at me.

Each feather was as tough and sharp as the scales on my body.

Swish-swish-swish!

However, those attacks never made it to my body.

“Hissss!”

The massive form of the Snake Queen blocked the attack.

In that brief moment, she had come to her senses.

The reason she was confused was likely because of the Nakhal Bird’s face.

It must have taken the form of a human she knew.

In that state, the Nakhal Bird revealed its wings.

She had no choice but to realize that this woman imitating a human form was actually a monstrous bird.

“What... why are you so fast? This should have taken longer...”

The Nakhal Bird sounded bewildered.

Its plan was falling apart.

“Hissssss!”

The Snake Queen let out a roar unlike anything I’d ever heard before.

“W-wait!”

Rumble.

An immense force pressed down on the air.

“Ssssk.”

The Snake Queen took a deep breath.

She was about to unleash that devastating beam of destruction she had shown in the Argentavis’s domain.

No matter how strong the Nakhal Bird was, if it got hit by that, it would be obliterated without a trace.

“D-damn it!”

It must have felt frustrated.

Its carefully laid plan was crumbling.

A mere bird attacking a snake and a lizard in the night was pure arrogance.

“Get out here now, you stupid bastard!”

With that desperate shout from the Nakhal Bird, a deafening explosion rang out.

“Woooo!”

It was indeed a dark night.

For an ordinary bird, moving around would be nearly impossible.

But...

Fwoosh!

A huge flame lit up the pitch-black night.

The fire, blazing with destructive energy, was dangerous.

The Snake Queen’s attack and the Nakhal Bird’s speed were nearly equal.

But the Snake Queen wasn’t alone here.

I was here, and so was Shikshik.

I could endure, but Shikshik definitely wouldn’t survive that kind of impact.

“Geh-geh!”

I raced toward Shikshik.

“Hiiik...”

Shikshik was trembling with fear.

I grabbed it close and curled up protectively around it.

The sky turned crimson.

It would hurt.

It would hurt like hell.

But I had no choice.

I couldn’t leave Shikshik on its own.

Boom!

A massive fireball struck the ground.

“I feel embarrassed, always receiving help...”

The Snake Queen’s voice was calm.

My body was unscathed.

The Snake Queen had shielded me with her own body.

“Hiiik!”
“Geh-geh!”

Shikshik was wrapped in my arms, and I was wrapped by the Snake Queen.

I had survived, thanks to her.

I worried if the Snake Queen was alright after blocking such a ferocious attack, but surprisingly, she didn’t seem too badly hurt.

She had likely neutralized the attack with the technique she had been gathering.

Slide...

The Snake Queen uncoiled, setting me free.

“You have no shame, huh? You’re fine even after taking that hit?”

The Nakhal Bird shouted in disbelief.

And beside it stood another massive bird.

【Philbang Lv80】

Philbang.

The single-legged crane, a subordinate of Kachalagaatal, wielding fire.

There was no way they would have sent just the Nakhal Bird.

Even if the plan succeeded, it wouldn’t have the firepower to kill the Snake Queen. Failing meant certain death.

They needed extra force, and Philbang was the answer.

If you thought they were the only ones, you’d be mistaken.

It’s possible that reinforcements like the Biik Bird or even the Bird King himself could appear.

But for now, only two birds were in sight.

“It wouldn’t be bad to thin out their numbers now.”

This was the perfect chance.

The Snake Queen hid Shikshik inside her mouth.

Since Philbang’s attacks covered such a wide area, Shikshik could easily get caught up in it.

The safest place was the Snake Queen’s mouth.

Of course, with Shikshik inside, the Snake Queen couldn’t use her destructive beam.

But that wasn’t much of a problem.

[Using “Scale of Rage Lv1”]

[Temporarily obtaining “Kaek Death Beam Lv1”]

Boom!

I was beside the Snake Queen.

Boom!

The beam, imbued with the power of Kaek, pierced through the Nakhal Bird’s shoulder.

“Kyaaa! You crazy lizard!”

And the Snake Queen wasn’t queen solely because of her destructive beam.

Her eyes gleamed.

Zap!

Where her gaze fell, solid rock formed.

Philbang and the Nakhal Bird hurriedly flew to avoid the petrifying gaze.

Since the Cockatrice had betrayed them, they had some resistance.

But true immunity was impossible.

The Snake Queen’s power was a serious threat to them.

“Philbang! Unleash a big one!”

“Woooo!”

Whoosh.

Boom!

Philbang, soaring into the air, unleashed a massive flame.

It wasn’t targeted at anyone specifically, so the firepower was dispersed.

It was within my tolerance level.

After all

, I had a natural resistance to flames.

Their aim was not so much to attack with fire but to obscure the petrifying gaze.

Even a momentary lapse in concentration would leave them open to the Snake Queen’s brutal physical attack.

The battle continued in the same pattern.

The Nakhal Bird and Philbang attacked with fire and steel feathers, dodging the Snake Queen’s eyes.

That might not have been their full strength, but they hadn’t managed to seriously harm the Snake Queen.

At this rate, victory was assured for us.

They couldn’t keep dodging the Snake Queen’s gaze forever.

The best move for them would be to acknowledge their first plan’s failure and retreat.

But they didn’t.

There was no lack of opportunity to escape.

Did they think they could win?

They had that look in their eyes.

A confident look.

They were aiming for something.

“Woooh!”

A fireball shot toward us, mixed with a hail of steel feathers.

Then something was thrown in.

I knew instinctively.

That was their true aim.

Woooong.

My whole body screamed with warning.

Danger detection and a sense of killing intent both told me this object was extremely dangerous.

There was no way just the two of them could capture the Snake Queen.

Yet they hadn’t retreated and instead kept dragging out the fight because they trusted in that item.

On the other hand, if I could neutralize that object, I could shatter their confidence.

The flames and feathers obscured it, flying at an angle that kept it out of the Snake Queen’s sight.

I didn’t have any techniques that could intercept it in the air.

The techniques that would work took time to charge, so using them would be too late.

The only option left was to leap forward and strike the object down myself.

It was a logical decision.

Even if I got hurt, I could recover as long as I leveled up.

If that object harmed the Snake Queen, it would mean I’d have to face both of these monstrous birds alone.

Just one of them was stronger than me, so that would be impossible.

My best move was to risk injury to ruin their plan.

“Geh-geh!”

I leaped forward at high speed.

Just as I swung my claw to strike the object thrown by the Nakhal Bird...

Woong.

The cloth covering the object unraveled.

Revealing a small black flask.

“Hah-hah!”

The Nakhal Bird grinned a twisted grin.

“Did you think we were here to capture the Snake Queen?”

Only then did I realize.

The Snake Queen hadn’t been their target.

“It would be easier if you just gave up.”

The reason for sending two monstrous birds was to separate me from the Snake Queen.

The Bird King was after my head.

Shwoooosh!

The flask began sucking me in.

I understood instantly what was happening.

In the blink of an eye, my surroundings changed.

From the lake where I had been fighting alongside the Snake Queen, I was transported to a place filled with beasts intent on killing me.

“Grrrr…”

“Grrr…”

Various beasts with bloodshot eyes radiated pure malice, making their hostility clear.