The Moonless Lake (4)
The situation we feared had unfolded in the worst possible way.
The serpent beast's eggs, spilled across the ground.
Clumped together in sticky fluid, cracks began to spiderweb across the surfaces of the eggs.
Before anyone could react, small, elongated things poked their heads out into the world, answering their mother's agonized call.
Resembling baby eels, they squeezed through the cracks, crawling out on long, spindly legs like those of a bird.
The same was happening to the people who had been feeding on the serpent's eggs.
The tiny beasts went wild inside them, thrashing to get out—writhing up throats, through noses and ears, tearing through stomachs, and pushing their heads against the thinnest parts of the abdominal wall.
People clutched their stomachs, retching up the small, black beasts.
One person fainted while trying to pull out a beast that had burst through their skin.
Another stared blankly in horror, convulsing as the creatures crawled out of their own flesh.
Someone else clung to a railing, vomiting up the beasts without end.
Their screams dissolved into the sound of the pouring rain.
"Aaaaargh! Aaagh!"
"Urgh... cough, blurgh..."
"Save me! Please, save me!"
"Mommy... sob..."
Behind the pinkish vomit, crimson blood, and the beasts tearing through flesh came shredded bits of muscle and viscera.
A sickening, fishy stench filled the humid air hanging over the village.
"Pull!"
As we pulled the chains with all our might, the limp upper body of the serpent beast was dragged onto the aqueduct.
I immediately cast the chains aside, drew my sword, and lunged toward the creature.
I had to rip out its heart before it could regenerate its wounds.
But with every step I took, the black masses writhing on the ground tried to snag my feet.
Spindly legs scrambled up my legs, and up Gyal and Rosia's bodies as well.
No matter how many we slashed, crushed, or trampled, the black tide flowing from all directions relentlessly pursued us.
"Eek! G-get away...!"
Panicking, Rosia scrambled up the aqueduct, struggling to keep her footing.
Gyal drew his blazing greatsword.
He scorched the swarming hatchlings, but even that proved difficult under the torrential downpour.
In the end, I was the only one who could deliver the killing blow to the serpent beast.
Yet, ripping out its heart wouldn't be the end of it.
It would only prevent the situation from spiraling completely out of control.
The problem wouldn't be solved until every single hatched newborn was dealt with.
If even one of them managed to hide at the bottom of the lake...
This horrific nightmare would repeat itself for generations.
Should we abandon the village?
But then, where would the survivors go?
Nowhere was safe from the threat of the beasts.
The Dornen Territory was no exception.
Sooner or later, even more powerful beasts would seek to expand their territories. In such a world, powerless people would be nothing more than prey for the rampaging monsters.
I looked up at the frantic, screaming villagers.
And then, I channeled my energy into the tip of my sword.
I couldn't delay any longer.
DIE
DIE
DIE
DIE
DIE
......
Countless thoughts invaded my mind.
Because they were the thoughts of newborn beasts, each individual whisper was weak, but as hundreds of them swarmed my consciousness, my head felt like it was about to split open.
Even so, I couldn't afford to waste energy shielding my mind.
I pushed my energy to its absolute limit, channeling it all into the blade as I shook off the mental assault and pressed forward.
The sensation of flesh and bone crushing beneath my boots was vivid.
They mixed with the rain and the rushing river water, clinging to me like a sticky paste.
As if trying to hold my ankles.
"Everyone, cover your ears!"
I shouted, glancing back.
Rosia instinctively curled in on herself, pressing her hands tightly over her ears.
Gyal also backed away, covering his ears.
And then, I swung my arm with all my might.
Screeech!
I slashed along the open wound, cutting all the way up to the serpent beast's jaw.
The harpoon impaling its body was severed, revealing the pulsing heart beneath.
I grabbed it and ripped it out.
"..."
At that sight, the newborn beasts raised their heads toward the sky in unison.
A scream.
The agonizing shrieks of the orphaned beasts tore through the heavy rain, echoing from all directions. Incomprehensible thoughts invaded my mind, crushing and shaking my brain as if it were soft clay. People clutched their heads in agony, but no sound escaped their open mouths. The fluids of the newborn beasts, which had burst through throats and were now tearing themselves apart on red tongues, were washed away by the rain.
And then—
Along with Tirmisia's laughter, a hot energy began to flow.
Like a tightly wound spool of thread unraveling.
I could feel it.
An even greater amount of energy, and a wider vessel to contain it.
A tiny, pea-sized core of energy near my heart, which I had never felt before, was now clearly asserting its presence.
It wasn't that it had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
It had simply been suppressed and hidden by Tirmisia's overwhelming presence.
Now, I finally understood what Tirmisia meant by the "stature of the soul."
Sssssssss...!
A long, drawn-out shriek, like the hissing of serpents or the buzzing of midsummer insects, echoed.
Countless tiny arms tore at skin, continuing to crawl upward.
Now that I had obtained more energy, they were no longer a major threat.
It was a bit troublesome, but once I dealt with these things...
-Thou art harboring a grand delusion, it seems.
...What?
Along with Tirmisia's words, which sounded as if he were holding back a burst of laughter, the lake began to boil.
It wasn't just an illusion caused by the falling rain. An ominous movement surged from the very bottom of the lake, as if a massive torrent of water was violently thrashing, preparing to erupt.
Yes, as if it were about to explode.
Boom!
With a massive burst of spray, a colossal tail reached up to grasp the sky.
Why on earth had I assumed there was only one?
As if utterly shattering that naive assumption, the lake split apart, scattering water droplets everywhere.
Craaaack!
The water that had flooded the village floor was suddenly sucked back in at a rapid pace.
The violent current swept away both people and newborn beasts.
The sturdy bridge groaned and shook, and those of us standing in the middle of the aqueduct were instantly submerged, our bodies tossed around by the current.
I wrapped my sword in energy, heating its tip, and channeled the newly gained power into my arms to drive the blade deep into the ground.
The red-hot tip easily pierced the stone floor, allowing me to withstand the crushing water pressure.
By the time the black torrent swept away the traces of battle from the village,
the true master of the lake finally revealed itself from the depths.
"..."
"This is impossible..."
Gyal and Rosia stared up at it blankly.
I, too, stared at the creature with my own eyes.
Its half-rotted body was covered in glossy black scales.
Through the collapsed, melted-looking flesh of its flank, dark gray ribs gleamed.
And inside, a throbbing red heart.
The persistently beating heart made its presence undeniably clear.
What stood out most were its two firmly developed arms.
Like the hatchlings, two arms sprouted from its torso, hanging limp and catching the falling rain.
"That's...!"
"It's a male," Gyal remarked calmly.
With Gyal's dry observation, the beast lunged.
Its massive body surged upward before slamming straight down toward the aqueduct.
A tempest raged.
Gyal and I raised our swords, bracing for the impact.
Stepping between us, Rosia extended her right hand.
In the darkness, a faint light began to flicker, enveloping the three of us.
Keeping my eyes forward, I asked her,
"How did you even get here?"
Rosia, pale and trembling, snapped back,
"Shut up. How dare you take my horse without even telling me?"
"Your horse?"
"Yes, Lily! I'm the one who named her!"
As she muttered, a long, black body suddenly burst from the water.
"...!"
The beast's hands lunged aggressively.
Reaching out with both hands, it dragged the female's corpse toward itself, unhinged its jaw, and began to stuff the body down its throat.
It was a sight I had never witnessed in my life.
Why is it doing that...?
Crunch. Cruuuunch.
A sound, indistinguishable as to which of the two bodies it came from, leaked from the beast's throat.
Having swallowed its mate whole, the male let out a wheezing roar, and a bizarre spectacle began to unfold.
The newborn beasts that had been swept into the lake began to crawl up the male's scales.
Clambering up, they latched onto the rotted wounds of the serpent beast, filling the empty spaces and writhing as they let out bizarre cries.
It was an unsettling sound, resembling the laughter of young children.
On the surface, it looked no different from the beasts I had faced in the past, but many things were clearly different.
It was, quite literally, an alien existence.
"Gyal!"
I threw the heart I was holding to Gyal.
Without missing a beat, Gyal caught the heart and swallowed it whole.
His greatsword, which had been faltering in the heavy rain, began to erupt with its usual fierce flames.
I channeled the hot, surging energy into my sword and my feet,
and leaped with all my might toward the head of the serpent beast, which seemed satisfied with its meal.
Raindrops pelted my body, leaving red marks on my skin that quickly faded.
Spotting me, the beast let out a low growl and swung its arm as if swatting away a pesky insect.
Instead of blocking, I held my posture and aimed the tip of my sword directly at the crown of its head.
And then—
"Here I go!"
At Rosia's shout, I squeezed my eyes shut.
With a blinding flash, a burst of light erupted, engulfing the beast's head.
Through the hilt of my sword, I felt the sensation of tearing through a tough membrane.
The beast roared, clutching its eyes with both hands, its voice so powerful it seemed to make the falling rain hesitate.
From below, the sound of boiling mud and a foul stench wafted up.
Gyal's greatsword, plunged deep into its chest, flared with fire, burning the rotted flesh and the newborn beasts covering it.
Like moths flying into a bonfire, they writhed in agony before crumbling into ash.
"...The god is calling us."
"Ah, we must be of help to him. He is crying, crying..."
"...The wicked, the wicked ones are trying to ruin everything."
Like fish caught in a net, the villagers who had been swept to the railings of the dock muttered with vacant expressions.
Perhaps bolstered by their worship of a mere beast as a god, the thrashing serpent beast raised its arms high toward the sky,
―――!!!
And from the dark, ominous storm clouds swirling above,
a massive bolt of lightning struck down in an instant.
The colors of the world inverted.
As if shedding its skin, the entire landscape was bleached white in a split second.
Instinctively, I let go of my sword and threw myself aside.
No, there wasn't even time for that.
My body, completely out of my control, convulsed and curled inward.
My skin charred black as a yellow heat surged wildly through my veins.
All I could do was desperately draw out my energy and wrap it around my body, repeating the process dozens, hundreds of times.
And then, my vision faded to black once more.