A Groundless Fear
Jekyeong swept away the remaining fish, making his struggle look as desperate as possible as he gradually shrank back. He made it appear as though his strength was failing and his movements were slowing. However, that cunning frog was highly suspicious. Even though Jekyeong looked battered and exhausted on the outside, the creature kept its distance, displaying extreme caution. Stumbling as if on his last legs, Jekyeong eyed the frog from the corner of his eye and clicked his tongue inwardly.
'How annoying. Do I have to pretend to pass out?'
No matter how strong one was, it was useless if one couldn't catch up to the opponent. It was an obvious truth, but experiencing it firsthand made it hit differently. If he could have caught up to that frog, he wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble in the first place.
'Well, nothing is perfect.'
It was greedy for a legless serpent to expect to be as fast as a leaping frog. But even if he understood it intellectually, he couldn't help but feel a lingering sense of regret.
Meanwhile, outside the pond, Cheongo was hovering at a distance, flapping its wings blankly.
"Hmm."
Right now, Cheongo was agonizing. Could Jekyeong defeat the bad frog? It hoped so, but it wasn't sure. Jekyeong was strong, but the bad frog was no pushover either.
'Right now...'
Cheongo's gaze drifted toward the center of the pond. The lotus, which had not yet fully bloomed, sat alone on the water as if begging to be looked at. Once you laid eyes on it, you couldn't look away. Since Cheongo was somewhat accustomed to such experiences, it managed to avoid losing its mind completely, but that didn't mean it could control its desires perfectly.
Gulp!
Reason and instinct clashed. Reason told it to swallow the lotus right now. It screamed to take the immediate profit since it didn't know if Jekyeong could beat the bad frog. On the other hand, instinct told it to wait. It advised not to ruin the precious treasure by rushing, as it was not yet complete.
'What do I do!'
Cheongo was caught in a dilemma. But without even realizing it, it was gradually drawing closer to the lotus.
However, that tiny movement was detected by the frog, which had been cautiously watching its opponent from inside the pond.
"Ribbit!"
At that moment, the frog's cautiously subdued eyes sharpened. It whipped its head around to glare at the surface of the water, then cast its gaze back toward the giant serpent submerged at the bottom of the pond. After a brief hesitation, it launched itself forward with all its might.
'Finally!'
Jekyeong, who was growing tired of this battle of patience, cheered inwardly. The frog, which he thought might try to bleed him to death, had finally moved, but he did not let his guard down until the very end. He feigned a struggle, looking up weakly as the frog approached, and made a show of trying to move his trembling body to counterattack.
Did his soul-stirring performance work? A long tongue shot forward like an arrow. The length of it stretching out looked to be at least five meters—no, six meters.
Jekyeong maintained his composure, staring at the rapidly approaching tip of the tongue. Then, in a single bound, he dodged the bluish tip—which looked like it shouldn't be touched under any circumstances—and bit down on the middle of the tongue. He made sure not to bite too hard, though. If he bit down with all his strength and accidentally severed the frog's tongue, it would be troublesome.
Clamping onto the middle of the tongue, Jekyeong moved. As if he had never been sluggish, his tail whipped through the water like a lash, striking the frog's head.
The astonished frog staggered from the blow to its head. It was fortunate they were underwater; had they been on land, this single strike would have flattened the creature. The moment the blow landed—no, the moment the frog extended its tongue—the battle was already over.
Jekyeong took his time, wrapping his body around the frog's head and torso. With its tongue pinned, the only resistance the creature could offer was flailing its cute little limbs, but Jekyeong's tensed body was as solid as stone. The frog's desperate struggles were nothing more than an itch to him.
"Sssss—"
A massive serpent head broke the surface of the water. Clutched in its jaws was the carcass of the monstrously large frog.
"Jekyeong! Jekyeong!"
Cheongo, who had been half-dazed above the lotus, cheered and flew over. Seeing this, Jekyeong's eyes narrowed. Why was that birdbrain lingering over the lotus? It was a highly suspicious situation, but Jekyeong decided not to dwell on it.
'Even my own heart is wavering.'
That lotus was truly a bizarre object. Even Jekyeong, who prided himself on his mental fortitude as a former human, found it hard to tear his eyes away after just a brief glance. If he didn't force himself to look away, he felt as though he would be frozen in place forever like a stone statue.
'I know it's extraordinary, but is it actually a good thing?'
Just because something was special didn't mean it was good. Although his instincts kept screaming that the lotus was incredibly beneficial, the sheer intensity of that urge made him somewhat wary.
'This must be because of my past life too.'
His memories of being human and the reason stemming from them made him fear the abnormal. In a way, it was a groundless fear. Unlike his past life, there was no telling how many abnormal things existed in this world.
'After all, even I am one of those abnormal things right now.'
Therefore, it was ultimately a groundless fear, and a fear he had to overcome.
"Jekyeong! Jekyeong! What do we do now?"
The monstrous frog, which had guarded the lotus and the pond so well until now, became Jekyeong and Cheongo's daily bread. They shared and ate the frog right by the pond. Though "shared" meant Jekyeong ate ninety-nine percent of it, while Cheongo only got the remaining one percent.
"Well."
In any case, the master of the pond had changed. Jekyeong and Cheongo could pluck and consume the lotus right now if they wished. Yet, both Jekyeong and Cheongo hesitated.
'If I want to play it safe, eating it now is the right move.'
Just as they had barged in today, another beast could invade tomorrow. The frog had likely faced quite a few intruders itself.
'Can I protect it until it fully blooms?'
The frog must have been confident it could protect it. Indeed, it had done so successfully until today, so its confidence hadn't been entirely groundless. But in the end, it had failed and lost its life.
As he pondered over and over, Jekyeong noticed that the thick fog surrounding them seemed to have thinned slightly.
'Right, this fog was also that frog's ability. Now that it's dead, the fog will soon disappear completely.'
This meant guarding the lotus would become even harder. Jekyeong guessed that the frog had spread the fog not only to detect intruders but also to limit the vision of its enemies—especially the birds flying around.
'The lotus is too eye-catching. Even if they spot it from afar, they'll be drawn straight to it.'
Just like Jekyeong himself, the frog had no real way to deal with flying enemies. Birds, which could look for openings at their leisure while remaining out of reach of attacks, were the worst threat when it came to guarding the lotus.
'I'm one thing, but Cheongo won't be of much help either.'
If the lotus had bloomed on dry land, he might have tried to cover it with trees or rocks, but because it was sitting right in the middle of the pond, there was nothing he could do.
'Ugh.'
What should he do? Just wait and see? But what if those spiritual birds he saw earlier barged in? If that happened, let alone the lotus, he wouldn't even be able to save his own life.
'There's no choice.'
His contemplation was deep, but his decision was swift. Jekyeong raised his body, which had grown heavy after eating the frog. Feeling Cheongo's gaze on him, he spoke.
"Let's eat it now. If we drag this out and other demon beasts invade, we won't get anything."
"Okay..."
Cheongo, opening and closing its beak a few times, grew sullen. It wasn't foolish, so it knew there was no other way.
"Then..."
Moving to the center of the pond, Jekyeong carefully took the entire lotus in his mouth. He wanted to swallow it whole right then and there, but he held back, remembering his promise to Cheongo. A partner who could fly and act as his eyes versus a few petals of unknown efficacy—it was clear which one he should value more.
A moment later, Jekyeong emerged from the water and divided the lotus as promised. He gave Cheongo a few of the partially opened petals and kept the rest in his mouth.
Gulp!
Without hesitation, Jekyeong swallowed the lotus. The moment the flower, insignificantly small compared to his massive mouth, slid down into his stomach, Jekyeong felt an indescribable, refreshing coolness wash over his entire body.
And in the next moment, a sudden drowsiness washed over him. Before he could even register the strangeness of it, Jekyeong fell asleep.
Yet his eyes remained open, and his body did not collapse to the ground. He could still see, and he could still move, but he could not think.
How much time had passed? Light returned to Jekyeong's vacant eyes.
'What is this?'
Something had changed. What he saw was different, and what he felt was different. The maddening part was that while he knew something had changed, he couldn't pinpoint exactly how.
But it had definitely changed. The world had changed.
'No. Is it not the world, but me that has changed?'
His mind was clearer than ever before. His thoughts were sharp, and his emotions were steady and distinct. As for his physical strength... he wasn't sure. He had felt overflowing with power even before this.
"Cheon—"
Jekyeong went to call out to Cheongo but closed his mouth. He saw the small bird, which had landed nearby at some point, staring blankly into space as if hypnotized. It was likely undergoing its own transformation, just as he had moments ago.
'I feel absolutely wonderful, but...'
Instead of disturbing Cheongo, Jekyeong decided to slowly grasp and savor the changes that had occurred within him. Laying his body down and coiling up, he looked up at the sky with half-closed eyes. It was undoubtedly the same sky he had seen countless times before, yet now it appeared completely different to his eyes. Especially the countless celestial bodies hanging in the heavens.
'Huh?'