Natchaljo felt anxious.

Her plan had started to falter right from the beginning.

Still, she managed to control the situation and successfully isolate her primary target, the lizard.

Now, all that remained was for the Winged Bird to deal with the lizard.

She would retrieve the dead lizard’s corpse and present it to the Snake Queen.

That was the purpose of this ambush.

Yet, for some reason, the lizard’s corpse had yet to appear.

“What a dimwitted little brat…”

Natchaljo cursed as she narrowly avoided a multitude of attacks, including the petrifying gaze.

She had repeatedly emphasized the importance of subduing it quickly.

However, given the delay, it was clear that the Winged Bird was likely dawdling.

Otherwise, there was no way it would take so long to deal with a lizard that was only at the level of a novice.

At this rate, she would end up collapsing first.

The area around the vial was heavily protected by rock statues created through the power of the Snake Queen.

There was no option to seize it and escape.

If she left the vial behind, the Snake Queen would surely find a way to retrieve the lizard.

In other words, she had to hold off the Snake Queen alongside Filbang until the Winged Bird finished its task.

It was impossible to confront her with brute force.

Unless the Winged Bird joined in to charge all at once, there was nothing the two of them could do against the Snake Queen, who had the petrifying gaze.

Even with resistance, if she halted her movements for even a moment, her entire body would be shattered.

If there was any chance to penetrate, it would have to be in the mental realm.

If the lizard hadn’t launched a surprise attack, Natchaljo’s shapeshifting abilities might have provided some entertainment.

So, Natchaljo changed her tactic.

In other words, she decided to talk.

To shake her opponent’s psyche.

“Surprisingly calm, aren’t we? Do you know what will happen to your partner?”

Wham!

Crash!

The massive tail of the Basilisk swung around like a whip.

Sweat poured from Natchaljo’s body.

Just a graze would be fatal.

“Do you know who’s in that trap? The Winged Bird. That eccentric prepared a trap. Hundreds of beasts are probably tearing your partner apart!”

Barely dodging the attacks, Natchaljo spoke urgently.

“Woah!”

Whoosh.

Filbang continuously shot fireballs to block the petrifying gaze.

Natchaljo swallowed her saliva.

After observing the Snake Queen’s reaction, she had to decide on her next move.

Given that her partner was on the brink of death, emotional turmoil was inevitable.

“How sad.”

Was she actually getting through?

Natchaljo felt a sense of triumph.

“How could I be so detestable that I can only watch?”

She thought it might be an act, but the voice of the massive snake was undeniably sincere.

Natchaljo had a keen ability to gauge her opponent’s emotions.

“Haha. Isn’t it? That lizard will keep calling for you.”

Anger, resentment, guilt, and sadness.

Her voice was tinged with these emotions.

“Oh, my beloved Snake Queen. Please save me. Until my dying moment, I will seek you.”

After responding with exaggerated tones, she watched the Snake Queen’s reaction.

The Snake Queen shielded one of her eyes as if she couldn’t bear to see any more.

Blocking the petrifying gaze?

Was she planning to surrender?

No, the Snake Queen wouldn’t be so easily defeated.

“Looking for me?”

But it was somewhat true that her psyche had wavered.

She had to shake her even more.

“Blood pouring from your wounds, those beautiful black scales falling off, your neck flopping about, while the Winged Bird chews you up alive. That’s how you’ll be searching for me.”

Using crude vocabulary, Natchaljo provoked the Snake Queen.

Once her psyche was shaken, it wouldn’t be ineffective.

“My partner is looking for me…?”

The Snake Queen lowered her head.

Natchaljo internally cheered.

Things were progressing too smoothly.

Swoosh!

Natchaljo’s black feathers flew toward the Snake Queen.

In response, Filbang’s massive fireball soared toward her, aiming to burn her body.

Boom!

The unexpected ambush on a shaken enemy was bound to be effective.

Natchaljo thought so.

“Unfortunately, it seems my partner is a philanderer.”

The massive body of the Basilisk moved grandly.

Boom!

The steel feathers easily bounced off.

Filbang’s flames were similarly ineffective.

No, it didn’t end there.

The Snake Queen’s body clearly moved significantly.

She extinguished all the flames Filbang had laid on the ground.

Natchaljo realized this when her eyes met the Snake Queen’s.

The fate of anyone who gazed into the Basilisk’s eyes was all too clear.

“Are you really bringing three tributes? Isn’t that rather unconscionable?”

The Snake Queen murmured something incomprehensible as she charged at Natchaljo.

---

***

Nephela Jurassica had many thoughts despite her fearsome appearance.

The incessant whining of her spider sisters.

The incessant crying of a human female.

Since she was far from the lizard, she had to lead his divine beings.

She felt a bit sad that the lizard she had just reunited with was leaving so soon, and she already missed him.

However, she couldn’t stand in his way.

He was doing his best wherever he was, and she had to do her best in what she could do to uphold her duties as his wife.

Thus, it was inevitable that her thoughts would multiply.

However, having many thoughts didn’t necessarily mean she was troubled.

The lizard she loved was not something that could easily die.

If she needed to worry, it would be about guarding her lower half.

In that regard, she wasn’t overly concerned.

The female of the Dang clan, whom she could consider a rival, was manageable with just two small spiders.

While she was a bit bothered by her spider sisters growing bigger, they didn’t compare to her, who had once evolved into a form resembling a human.

There was a beautiful woman with black hair, but she was closer to being the lizard’s teacher or even a parent than a rival.

Since she might become a future mother-in-law, Nephela behaved very amiably.

Though she still had yet to attain a fully human body, her only actions were weaving webs to depict him, and her mother-in-law found those drawings quite pleasing.

While passing the time like this, receiving treatment as the lowest in rank, Nephela Jurassica awaited their reunion.

However, a worry unexpectedly arose.

It was due to the sudden appearance of two female snakes.

Since she was apart from him, she found herself in a situation she couldn’t do anything about.

She desperately tried to convey her thoughts to him, but recently that had become difficult as well.

Nephela guessed that the mother snake had played some sort of trick.

It wasn’t impossible, but conveying her thoughts to the lizard from this side had become immensely challenging.

Though she couldn’t initiate a conversation, she could easily know what the lizard was doing.

It was quite a spectacle.

He was playing around with the snake, apparently lacking confidence, dancing wildly with small lizards, and now he was even putting unfamiliar birds into his mouth.

Nephela was worried about how to guard his lower half.

More than anything, what she disliked was the being called the Snake Queen.

Why was it carrying such a useless mass of flesh attached to its chest?

Nephela recalled the time she had taken on a human form.

It was somewhat disheartening to feel the comparison.

Though that lizard might have had a peculiar fondness for the grotesque mass, it likely didn’t hold much significance.

Nephela recalled a proverb she had heard somewhere.

Childhood friends always win.

Whether that saying had come from the lizard’s unconscious mind or from someone in the Dang clan, she wasn’t sure.

While understanding its exact meaning was difficult, Nephela liked that saying.

After all, she would win.

So she could easily laugh off whatever tricks the snakes pulled.

When the being known as the Snake Queen proclaimed herself as his partner, her smile briefly vanished.

Of course, it was likely an unilaterally declared statement from the other side, without her approval.

But Nephela couldn’t help but feel a bitter taste in her mouth.

Yet, she could somewhat comprehend this much.

It seemed she was treating her beloved quite well.

It was a little frustrating, but she thought she was feeding him much better elixirs than the ones she had prepared.

But wasn’t licking his body with a tongue going too far?

That was Nephela Jurassica’s thought.

The Snake Queen had crossed a line.

She had rolled around with a creature she hadn’t even tasted yet!

That was the very same little lizard she had seen for the first time, now grown small!

Childhood friends always win.

Nephela had believed that saying, but with time, her anxiety naturally deepened.

What if he truly got eaten?

What if he disappeared again?

What if he never returned?

As time passed, she grew more melancholic.

Could her childhood friend truly win?

As her body drifted apart, would her heart drift away too?

And thus, time continued to pass until this moment arrived.

Her beloved was in peril.

An unprecedented crisis.

The proud Snake Queen couldn’t save him.

The only one who could save him was her, his childhood friend.

The divine energy she had accumulated without waste.

The power of a goddess.

And the faithful followers who always believed in him.

She sent the experience points she

 had gathered to him.

She had seen that lizard’s body recover as if reborn during battle.

This time, she hoped to help him recover as well.

She wouldn’t stop there.

The lizard had countless enemies.

As a goddess of Kaekkaek, she had to protect his side.

And.

Childhood friends always win.

Though she didn’t possess such a capability in reality.

To be precise, she didn’t know how to use it.

Yet, she could do it because the Snake Queen had lent her power.

She had never met the being face to face nor exchanged words with it.

There were more negative feelings than positive ones.

But their intentions were aligned.

An unprecedented situation where the goddess of one religion and the divine beast of another joined forces.

At the center of it all was the lizard, who was writhing and crying out.