Chapter 130: Nightmare
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 130: Nightmare
The unicorn had an awakening worthy of a protagonist.
A sacred energy, like blue lightning, took the place of its missing horn.
I couldn't help but marvel at the sight, which was close to the image of a unicorn I had always imagined.
But this was no time to stand around gawking.
“You husband-thieeeef… BE PUNISHED!”
The enraged unicorn.
“Kyaaaaaak! What is this horn…?!”
The Rakshasa Bird was utterly flustered.
Even as it charged the Rakshasa Bird, the unicorn glanced at me.
It was probably saying something like, Leave this to me.
“MONOGAMYYYYYYYY!”
Look at that condensed fury.
It was more than enough power to deal with the Rakshasa Bird.
“Get away from meeee!”
The Rakshasa Bird shrieked, trying to break free from the beast.
Unlike me, she was far from pure, so that horn must be fatal to her.
In its current state, the unicorn could definitely handle the Rakshasa Bird.
There was only one thing for me to do.
Leave this place to the unicorn and join the Snake Queen.
Fwoosh!
KRAAAAAAAAASH!
It wasn't hard to find the Snake Queen's location.
A deafening roar that shook the very earth.
And a Destruction Ray that seemed to tear the sky apart.
The Snake Queen had to be over there.
“Stop him! Stop hiiim!”
But the Rakshasa Bird and the other enemies weren't about to let me go.
“Kikikik!”
The Terror Birds swarmed me.
They couldn't defeat me, but they were trying their best to hold me down.
But they forgot about our forces.
“Shaaaak!”
A giant anaconda instantly lunged for a Terror Bird's neck.
Crunch.
Its bite force wasn't all that strong, but snakes like that had another weapon.
Krrrrrrrack!
Constriction, executed with immense muscular power.
The Terror Bird that had been about to attack me immediately tumbled to the ground, its neck snapping with a crisp sound.
Snap.
Without even a moment to offer my thanks, I dashed toward the Snake Queen.
The enemies tried everything to stop me.
“Grrrrrrr!”
The Sword Dragon, a Stegosaurus, swung its tail, sweeping the enemies away.
“Kieeeek!”
A Pteranodon dealt with the enemies trying to attack me from the air.
Everyone's help was crucial, but the enemy's resistance was fierce.
The enemies struggled desperately to hold me back.
I had to shake them off to get to the Snake Queen.
Dragon Scale Transformation.
Chwa-ja-jang!
I suppressed my dragon scales to the absolute minimum.
Right now, I was practically bare-skinned.
I immediately threw my body forward.
KRAAAAAASH!
I slammed myself into a nearby rock.
Blood flowed from all over my body.
…This should be enough.
Sudden self-harm.
And the dripping blood.
I could see the enemies were confused.
They must be thinking I've lost my mind.
Unfortunately for them, that wasn't the case.
Fwoooosh.
Blue flames engulfed my entire body.
Again, Dragon Scale Transformation.
Chwa-ja-jak!
If you can still catch me now, go ahead and try.
*
The Snake Queen roared.
The entire jungle trembled with her every move.
Her colossal body, capable of leaping dozens of meters with ease, was enough to literally obliterate the swarming enemies with a single movement.
Her movements alone could be called a catastrophe.
But the Snake Queen wasn't satisfied with just that; she fought with all her might.
She fired Destruction Rays with staggered timing. Just when an enemy thought they'd dodged, she would activate her Gaze of Petrification. And if they evaded even that, she would swing the massive sword coiled around her tail, literally scorching the earth.
At first glance, it might have seemed like a pointless waste of energy.
The forces the Snake Queen had brought were formidable, so she could have left the small fry to them.
But the Snake Queen did not.
Not only was this level of exertion nowhere near enough to tire her, but she also knew she had to cause the biggest commotion possible to draw out the King of Birds himself.
He might not have any affection for his subordinates, but he wouldn't be ignorant of the importance of his army.
The longer Quetzalcoatlus delayed his intervention, the more his forces would be ground down for nothing.
That was the message the Snake Queen was sending.
Stop your foolish games and come out.
Fwoooooosh!
A tremendous gust of wind erupted.
Just as she had predicted, the King of Birds appeared.
The moment the Snake Queen saw his face, she unleashed a Destruction Ray.
VWOOOOOOOOM!
The Destruction Ray shot out with enough force to split the sky in two.
The King of Birds flew at high speed, evading her attack.
“It's been a while, Snake Queen…”
Quetzalcoatlus said leisurely.
“No, I should say Bak-sil-li-su-gu (爆失離需懼).”
Sil-li, for you lost even the ability to leave.
And Su-gu, for you feared even to wait.
That was not the Snake Queen's name.
It was a derogatory nickname Quetzalcoatlus had given her.
“Do not speak my name with that filthy mouth.”
“Khuhut! That sharp tongue of yours hasn't changed a bit…”
Quetzalcoatlus laughed sinisterly.
The Snake Queen felt an instinctual revulsion.
“Come down before I break your wings.”
“Khat! Khahahahat!”
Quetzalcoatlus roared with laughter.
Threatening a being of the sky to come down to the ground.
She was exactly as he remembered her.
“With pleasure!”
The King of Birds descended close to the ground.
One might think him mad for a bird to touch the earth, but the King of Birds couldn't land an effective attack on the Snake Queen from the sky. To subjugate her, he had no choice but to descend.
And as she'd implied, it wasn't as if the Snake Queen was completely incapable of aerial combat.
The Snake Queen charged at him with a speed that defied her size.
A snake flew through the sky.
An impossible sentence had become reality.
Overwhelming muscles that transcended the limits of her species.
She had coiled her tail like a spring and launched herself with the recoil.
The Snake Queen didn't stop there.
VWOOOOOOM!
A Destruction Ray shot from her mouth.
The Snake Queen used it as propulsion.
By turning her body as she fired, she converted the full power of the Destruction Ray into speed.
As her body turned, her tail naturally faced forward.
And attached to her tail was a greatsword, forged from the feather of a Golden Winged Great Peng and tempered with dragon scales.
Swiiiiish!
KRAAAAAACK!
It was a massive slash that cut down dozens of trees at once.
“To come at me with all your strength from the very beginning… This can't be the strategy you planned.”
Quetzalcoatlus was unharmed.
To be precise, he had dodged the Snake Queen's attack.
The Snake Queen frowned.
He hadn't dodged because he was faster than her.
There was something she didn't know.
“Could it be that you're worried about that black lizard you claim is your companion?”
The Snake Queen didn't answer.
There was only one answer for him.
VWOOOOOOM!
The Snake Queen's Destruction Ray, capable of incinerating everything.
The King of Birds used the same technique.
BAAAAAANG!
Their attacks canceled each other out.
KABOOOOM!
The surrounding area was being literally annihilated by the aftershocks of their battle.
The beasts with any sense had fled long ago; those that hadn't, melted away.
KABOOM! CRACK!
The Snake Queen and the King of Birds were locked in a close-quarters battle.
The pattern continued: whenever the King of Birds tried to create distance, the Snake Queen would immediately close in.
SWIIIIISH! KRAAAAAASH!
Their fight was a perfect stalemate.
They exchanged lethal blows, but not a single attack landed.
It was after they had exchanged about twenty blows.
“Persistent, aren't you!”
Fwoooosh!
The King of Birds created distance with a gust of wind.
“Attacking without even giving me a chance to speak.”
The Snake Queen knew full well what Quetzalcoatlus's ability was.
Just as she had petrification, he had brainwashing.
Of course, their abilities didn't work on each other.
However, an ability not working and having one's psyche shaken were two different matters.
In fact, she had nearly broken down because of the Rakshasa Bird, a vastly inferior version of Quetzalcoatlus.
That was why she had pressed him before he could move that tongue of his.
And she was also worried about her companion, who was fighting the Rakshasa Bird.
The Snake Queen didn't answer and immediately tried to pursue the King of Birds.
But she couldn't.
“Arise.”
The moment Quetzalcoatlus spoke those words, the melted corpses began to rise again.
It was impossible.
The corpses strewn everywhere had melted from their recent exchange to the point where their forms were unrecognizable.
A strange, black, shadow-like substance wove their bodies together and forced them to stand.
It was an ability that defied reason.
But something like this wasn't enough to stop her.
“Klkekeke. Now, allow me to introduce them…”
An enemy with a familiar appearance showed up.
“Cock-a-doodle-doooooo!”
Gogadurisu.
A being that was once the Snake Queen's subordinate.
Gogadurisu.
It wasn't just him.
“Krrrrrk!”
“Kuaaaang!”
The Jian Birds.
Beings that her companion had definitely destroyed.
Let's concede, for the sake of argument, that Quetzalcoatlus had the power to control life and death.
Even so, this made no sense.
Both Gogadurisu and the Jian Birds had had their inner cores removed.
Gogadurisu's body had turned to stone and shattered, and the Jian Birds had been completely devoured by her companion.
How could he revive beings that had vanished without a trace?
Moreover, she could feel an energy stronger than she remembered them having.
They shouldn't even have their inner cores.
“A little surprised? Hehehe…”
The King of Birds smiled with satisfaction.
The Snake Queen focused her mind.
Although an unexpected variable had appeared, it was something she could overcome.
Fwaaaat!
Gaze of Petrification.
Her authority, capable of turning even spiritual beasts to stone.
“Cock-a-doodle-doooooo!”
“Krrrrrk!”
But it had no effect.
It wasn't that they had a resistance or were fighting it off.
The petrification literally didn't work at all.
It was as if she had used her Gaze of Petrification on empty air.
The Snake Queen didn't panic and immediately revised her strategy.
So what if petrification didn't work?
Swiiiiiiish!
She immediately spun her body and unleashed a slash.
KRAAAAAAAAAASH!
A strike powerful enough to split a mountain of rock in half.
Even a spiritual beast couldn't survive a direct hit from that.
“Struggle all you want, Queen…”
The creatures were certainly annihilated.
“Cock-a-doodle-doooooo!”
But, Gogadurisu reappeared at Quetzalcoatlus's feet.
The Snake Queen realized it instantly.
Unless she killed the King of Birds, it was all meaningless.
She had to risk minor injuries and prioritize taking his head.
The Snake Queen immediately put her plan into action.
She moved like a mad thing, striking down the resurrected beasts.
All to hide her true intentions from Quetzalcoatlus.
She pretended to fight his endlessly reviving subordinates while preparing a hidden trump card to take his head.
For some reason, Quetzalcoatlus just watched the Snake Queen from a distance.
Could he have seen through her plan?
If not, there was no reason for him not to attack with his minions.
She knew his personality was twisted, but this was the final phase.
Quetzalcoatlus, acting incomprehensibly as always.
Just then, a thought flashed through the Snake Queen's mind like lightning.
Quetzalcoatlus had gained an ability related to rapid regeneration or resurrection.
He used it to control spiritual beasts that were already dead.
The Rakshasa Bird, who her companion was fighting.
She had planned the matchup assuming its wings hadn't healed yet.
But what if that injury was fully healed?
What if, on top of that, its power had been enhanced?
Her entire strategy would be invalidated.
She finally understood why the King of Birds was stalling for time.
He was using the Snake Queen's own strategy against her.
The Rakshasa Bird would defeat the lizard and join with the Bifang.
Then they would rejoin the King of Birds.
The Snake Queen had no choice but to change her strategy immediately.
She couldn't think about what came next.
For victory in this war, and for the safety of her companion, she had to kill him in a single blow.
The material of the sword she wielded was the feather of a Golden Winged Great Peng.
Though only a part of it, the internal energy of the Golden Winged Great Peng was imbued within.
The power itself wasn't that great.
But it was a power that could be called his natural enemy.
The time had come to use that power.
The Snake Queen's scales began to glow with a brilliant golden light.
“Hoh. It seems you've finally realized…”
The corners of the human-faced bird's mouth curled up.
“By the way, Snake Queen. Would you care to look down?”
There was no need to listen to his words.
Just like the Rakshasa Bird did, he was probably planning to show her master to shake her psyche.
It was an obvious, transparent trick.
She couldn't lose the precious being in her present by getting caught up in a ghost from the past.
But.
“…Now, you are the queen.”
A vivid voice echoed in her ears.
The Snake Queen tried not to look down.
But she couldn't.
“My… favorite flowers…”
A human figure covered in black shadows.
“The white lotus, and the snow flower…”
And a conversation from that day that only she knew.
Why.
How are you…
The Snake Queen swallowed the words that were about to escape her lips.
How cruel could this be?
Of all times, why did she have to appear now?
Grind.
The Snake Queen clenched her teeth.
That is Quetzalcoatlus's malice.
An illusion created to deceive her.
It was a situation she had been wary of ever since her encounter with the Rakshasa Bird.
She thought she could ignore whatever appeared before her eyes.
But to dismiss it as mere malice, those red eyes felt far too warm.
They belonged to the person who had taught her.
They belonged to the person she had failed to hold onto.
The Snake Queen was a coward.
She regretted losing her master.
She waited for a master who would never return.
It was the person she thought she would never see again in her lifetime.
The Snake Queen's heart began to break.
I wanted to see you again.
I wanted to see you, the one who saved me, just one more time.
And I wanted to beg for forgiveness.
Those were the words she wanted to say.
KABOOOM!
An explosion erupted from the Snake Queen's mouth.
She had used the Destruction Ray on herself.
She felt that without doing this, she wouldn't be able to overcome this temptation.
It's just a ghost from the past.
I have someone more precious to me now.
“…Yes, that's it.”
The woman smiled benevolently.
It was the same face from that time, when they had shared the Okbong's honey with happy smiles.
…Is that really just a ghost from the past?
Could her master still be alive?
Even knowing it was a foolish thought, the Snake Queen couldn't bring herself to move.
A black liquid slowly began to consume the Snake Queen's heart.
She couldn't resist.
If only she hadn't spoken.
If only she hadn't shown that smile.
Then she could have just shaken it off.
Wasn't this all just a nightmare?
When I wake up, won't I be back in my small snake form?
With that thought, the Snake Queen closed her eyes that were never meant to close.
….
VWOOOOOOOOM!
A blue ray swept over the Snake Queen's master.
Thump.
Thump.
The Snake Queen's heart began to pound.
It was probably because of the Jian Bird's inner core that she had shared with him.
The blue ray.
And the resonating energy of the Jian Bird.
The one who would save the Snake Queen from her nightmare was not a ghost from the past.
“Gegegegegek!”
Her companion had returned.