“Hiooong…”

“Kiooong…”

Tus and Pus, having never seen alcohol before, waved their short arms and stared at the glasses of liquor.

Is it really okay for spiders to be this cute?

Their size has grown a bit, so now they almost look like puppies.

Since Nephila has evolved, it seems like Tus and Pus might be evolving soon as well…

If I move them to my territory, I think I could speed up their evolution.

What kind of species will they evolve into, I wonder?

Half excited, half worried.

I don’t want them to turn into humans right away, but I hope they grow up healthily.

“Pip.”

Sishishi, having tried a few sips, licked the liquid in the glass with her tongue.

“Hiooong!”

“Kiooong!”

The spiders clapped their short arms in response, like they were cheering.

They’re still young, so they seem like they’re going to get along quickly.

It’s not that basilisks and spiders don’t get along; it’s just that snakes and spiders don’t usually mix.

Of course, Sishishi will grow into a great basilisk like her mother, too.

…Wait, but will Sishishi actually grow into a basilisk?

She’s the Snake Queen’s daughter, but she wasn’t born through the usual method.

Her species seems to be different… so what will she evolve into?

She seems to have gained some power related to petrification, but her essence seems to lie in healing powers.

…Do such snakes even exist?

I’m not sure.

It’s probably something I’ll figure out in the distant future, so there’s no need to worry about it right now.

I’m concerned not only about my own evolution but also about the evolution of my followers. It feels strange.

I’m happy that my followers are getting stronger, and I’m excited to see what species they’ll evolve into.

Since I’m not the one making the choice, it’s even more exciting.

“Wow, it’s definitely just been cooked over fire, but how does it taste like this?”

Tang So-Yeong, in her excitement, was devouring the meat, though she’s still a small human who cannot evolve.

She had added a little seasoning and salt, but the cooking was just grilling.

Yet, the Snake Queen’s cooking tasted far beyond that.

The answer was simple.

The Snake Queen can freely manipulate the power of petrification.

She used that power appropriately during the cooking process, creating an effect similar to cooking it in clay.

It couldn’t help but taste amazing.

“It’s so delicious!”

Tang So-Yeong, her face beaming, eagerly stuffed more meat into her mouth.

Turp.

Of course, I wasn’t going to lose to that.

The difference is that I wasn’t using my hands.

“Hehe.”

Nephila smiled and placed a piece of meat that I had torn off into my mouth.

“Gekgek.”

I could eat it on my own, but there’s no need to refuse the kindness.

It feels strangely comfortable.

This reminds me of the past.

When I was still a gecko lizard, and Nephila was still a spider.

I used to cut off my tail and steal food caught in spider webs.

Now, somehow, we’ve become the kind of beings who feed each other.

Life.

No, I guess lizard life is always a mystery.

It might seem like a trivial connection, but it’s become such an intimate one.

What if, when I was being chased by the Oviraptor, I had run to a different tree instead of where Nephila was?

Just thinking about it is terrifying.

Nephila was the first connection I made in this world, and she’s an important being with whom I’ll continue that bond.

“Gek.”

I tore off a small piece of meat and offered it to Nephila.

Her face, which had been grinning, turned slightly red, and she quickly took the meat I offered.

“…Churp.”

She even put my fingers in her mouth, which was a little much.

“Gek!”

She made that noise and playfully laughed, taking her fingers out of her mouth.

…

That face is dangerous.

How is it that she looks exactly like my type?

I shouldn’t have joked about it before.

I said I’d consider it if she came as a beautiful woman with blonde hair and red eyes, but I didn’t think she’d actually come like this.

…Well, it’s a relief that everything isn’t perfect.

“Great Hero, did you know that the experts from the Tang Clan don’t get drunk on alcohol?”

Tang So-Yeong, excited from eating the meat, said with a bright smile.

“It’s a bit disappointing. Since I deal with poisons, I can’t really get drunk.”

True, I’m somewhat resistant to alcohol as well.

I probably have the Baekdokbulchim, or maybe the Cheondokbulchim, because I’m immune to poisons.

It seems alcohol is treated as a type of poison.

Of course, it doesn’t filter everything out, so if I drink too much, I can get a blackout.

“Ugh… Great Hero… two of you…”

Despite her confident voice, Tang So-Yeong was the first to collapse.

Wait, didn’t you just have a drink?

Thud.

She tried to lean into my arms, but Nephila, who was sitting next to me, caught her instead.

Tang So-Yeong collapsed onto the makeshift bed made of spider webs.

“Eek! I was wrong! Please don’t eat me!”

Is she dreaming?

She’s only bound by spider webs, but she’s reacting like that.

…Well, it’s probably normal to react like that when bound by spider webs.

“Hmm… She was a human I could talk to, but she’s already passed out.”

The Snake Queen made a disappointed expression.

Surprisingly, the Snake Queen and Tang So-Yeong communicated well.

It was the Mai Dubok they made last time.

The Snake Queen noticed that Tang So-Yeong had been involved in the making of that clothing.

They were having an in-depth conversation.

Tang So-Yeong taught the Snake Queen about the deeper aspects of the school-miz clothing, and the Snake Queen listened with great interest.

Since Tang So-Yeong had directly seen my Shimma, she was bound to have more knowledge on the subject than anyone else.

“It’s fine. If the mouth is closed, it’s even better.”

“Gekgek.”

I agree.

I shrank my body a bit to enjoy the alcohol more, but with so many people, it shrunk quickly.

“Now, have a drink.”

“Gek!”

“Kiooong…”

“Gek!”

“Gekgek!”

Everyone kept offering me more alcohol, so I ended up drinking a lot.

Every time I took a drink from the Snake Queen, Tus and Pus would crawl over and offer me another.

Then Sishishi would offer me a drink.

Then Nephila.

After that, the Snake Queen again.

It seemed like everyone was taking turns offering me more.

“Gekgek!”

I didn’t refuse what was given.

...Sigh, but maybe I’ve drunk too much.

I’m starting to feel dizzy.

“Here, another drink.”

“Geeng…”

“Pipipipi…”

“Gero-ro-ro-ro…”

I think I’ve had enough.

Sishishi even looked human now, I think.

“Are my legs securely tied?”

Nephila and Pus seemed to be tying my legs with spider webs.

“The order is…”

What are you even talking about?

I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t summon the strength to speak.

“Gero-ro-ro-ro…”

It looks like I’ve drunk quite a bit, but I don’t think I need to worry.

Everyone here is someone I trust.

Nothing bad will happen, right?

“Hehe…”

“Keeeng…”

“Beep!”

…But why does the ground feel so wet?

This looks like alcohol.

Did I spill alcohol on the floor while pretending to drink?

Why would I waste such precious alcohol?

I couldn’t understand it.

Maybe when I wake up, I’ll lick it up.

“Gerong…”

Trusting everyone, I closed my eyes.

“Everyone, listen. This time, just taste it. Don’t cross the line, each one…”

I heard strange sounds, but it must be because of the alcohol.

“Squeak… Gek!”

Sishishi. Don’t pull my tail.

…Huh?

•  

“Ugh… how…!”

Cheolduyong looked at the martial artist who was still barely alive.

“Seems like there’s one left alive. And there are those who managed to escape.”

Martial artists, being the strong survivors they are, had excellent survival skills.

Most of them froze in Cheolduyong’s cold, but a few managed to escape and survive.

Though, it didn’t seem like it would last long.

“You… why are you doing this all of a sudden?”

One martial artist, lying on the frozen ground, screamed.

Cheolduyong mocked him.

“Suddenly? Why? You think I didn’t know what Shaolin did to me?”

“…Do you remember?”

Cheolduyong’s memory had been erased.

If it hadn’t been, he wouldn’t have been able to live as their pawn.

“It couldn’t be. The Headmaster personally erased it…”

The Headmaster of Shaolin, one of the Ten Great Masters, Hye Myeong Dae Sa.

He had personally meddled with Cheolduyong’s memory.

It was impossible to revive those memories unless someone stronger than Hye Myeong Dae Sa intervened.

“It’s hard to revive memories, but it’s relatively easy to build new ones.”

Though Cheolduyong had always disliked talking with humans, his thoughts had changed.

It would be better to personally reveal everything to him.

He would slowly die in despair.

“That’s… cough, what are you talking about?”

“A man with the name Nam Gung came to me.”

“Nam Gung? Cough!”

The high monk realized at once who the man with the name Nam Gung was.

“You fool… that man was using you…”

Cheolduyong’s thick leg crushed the monk’s finger.

“Argh!”

“Used?”

Cheolduyong laughed low.

“Is that the word coming from your mouth, Executioner?”

Used?

It might be true.

A strange creature with the name Nam Gung.

There was no way he would approach with good intentions.

He had a purpose in revealing the truth to Cheolduyong.

He had made a plan for him.

“No matter what happens, I would have let myself be used by him if it meant escaping this cursed Shaolin.”

Swoosh.

A cold wind blew.

“…That’s what I thought.”

Now that Cheolduyong knew the truth, he was filled with rage and resentment.

All he thought about was killing every human in Shaolin and escaping from this hellish place.

“Executioner. Do you know where we are?”

“Cough… Dragon Gate…”

It was information given by the man with the name Nam Gung.

“By taking the power of the Dragon Gate, I realized I had been wrong all this time.”

Cheolduyong looked up at the sky.

By defeating the Bingjo and taking its token, he had made the power of the Dragon Gate his own.

The cold of the snowy mountains cooled his rage.

Cheolduyong had come to an understanding.

Everything he had thought was wrong.

Killing the humans of Shaolin and escaping that hellish place was a foolish thought.

He couldn’t be satisfied with such things.

Kugoo…

The fierce blizzard began to rage.

“With overwhelming strength, enlightening the foolish spiritual beings used by humans.”

The Dragon Gate had granted him power.

The power to save spiritual beings in situations like his own.

“I will kill every human in the martial world.”

He would use overwhelming power to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again.

The total annihilation of every martial artist.

That was Cheolduyong’s goal.

“This… you young one…! It’s not like that… You don’t understand…”

The high monk coughed up blood as he despaired.

“That’s the only way to honor my parents.”

The monk’s body began to freeze.

“It's how I honor all the spiritual beings who lost everything like me.”

“If you trust Nam Gung…”

Crack!

The high monk’s words were cut off halfway.

The cold of the snowy mountains had completely frozen him.

“Watch as you despair for the rest of your life, Executioner.”

Cheolduyong looked at the frozen monk with an emotionless face.

“See what result the Nahan you created brings.”