132. Magic Serpent's Astonishing Fact: Even Beasts Hold Funerals

Beasts hold funerals too. Not all creatures mourn the death of their kin together, but it's a behavior often seen among animals with higher intelligence that live in groups. Elephants are the classic example, and gorillas do it as well. Magical beasts like wyverns are no different. When a hatchling dies, or a great queen perishes, wyverns gather to grieve as one. Of course, the scale varies wildly.

So, for countless wyverns to assemble in one place to mourn a hatchling's death... well, that's extremely rare.

"UUUUUUU-!"

A low, choral wail resonated in harmony. One could call it the most primal form of a dirge. For anyone outside the beasts—fairies who make nature their home, or hunters who treat demon realms like their backyard—to witness this spectacle was nearly impossible. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, even for them.

Hairit Langrei. The human woman with her twisted affection for magical beasts felt a shiver run through her. Her entire body vibrated. Literally, from the wyverns' resonating infrasound. Especially the two queens' cries—they were overwhelming. Those beautiful, dangerous, enormously massive beasts were shedding tears.

And amid it all, the fairy Iris Selena broke the silence.

"Good."

Hairit's head snapped around at the dry, almost crumbly response. Unlike the moved Hairit, Iris showed no emotion whatsoever.

"Now it'll be easier to investigate the dungeon."

"What the hell did you just say, you lunatic?"

"?"

To witness this majestic scene firsthand and react with, "Great, the wyverns cleared the stone tower rubble ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for us." No human could manage that. Then again, she wasn't human—she was a fairy. That explained it.

The funeral didn't last long. Hundreds of wyverns who had spent seven days hauling shattered rock chunks in their mouths and digging up the earth... They wailed for their dead hatchling, then took to the skies one by one. Even that was a sight to behold. In an instant, only the two queens remained on the ground.

Then it came into view. Without the wyverns' mourning ritual, they might not have even recognized it as a wyvern hatchling. The corpse was covered in something hard like crystal. Had it been hit by some magic? Or had it simply mummified after death? One queen had three hatchlings with her—they seemed to be its siblings.

And Pandan, who had been standing quietly in the back until now, saw the crystal-encased beast and thought of something.

'Could that be... Snake-san?'

It didn't look exactly like that snake. Its scales had glittered like crystal, sure, but this was coated in a thick crystal layer—totally different vibe. No sign of life at all. It lay there slumped over, perfectly still. Inside the translucent crystal, bright red blood and grotesque bits were mashed together—eerie as hell.

'It hid in a wyvern egg and got crushed...'

Pandan, having witnessed the whole ordeal, could imagine it clearly.

'Poor Snake-san. No idea what happened, but it ended up dying anyway.'

He couldn't conclude the snake inside was alive. It felt utterly lifeless, and the closer you looked, the grosser it got. Like bloody pudding trapped unset in a crystal mold.

Pandan glanced sideways. Should he tell them? That it didn't look like a wyvern hatchling—it resembled the snake monster he'd met.

'Why should I?'

No reason to. He turned away, pretending not to notice.

The usual Hairit might have picked up on him hiding something. But now, she was too distracted.

'It looks just like a snake... A mutant? A taxidermied wyvern hatchling encased in crystal... Maybe caught in a special petrification trap. Yeah, that must be it.'

She had a collector's itch for turning hunted beasts into clothes she wore herself. Sometimes, an uncontrollable urge surged up. This was one of those times. Seeing that grotesque crystal wyvern hatchling made her heart race. The first time since spotting the massive Polaris Serpent and its tiny offspring. Hairit had even begged the baby snake for one of its scales.

'I want it.'

But how? Two mighty wyvern queens guarded it. Even for Hairit Langrei, kingdom's top hunter, tough opponents. Besides, the black wyvern queen finally snatched the hardened hatchling in her jaws and took flight. The three-headed white wyvern followed.

'There has to be a way.'

Langrei was a hunter who never gave up. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠She declared:

"Looks like this is where we part ways. You're on your own from here."

Her partnership with Iris ended there. The fairy didn't flinch at the sudden farewell.

"Thanks."

"See ya."

Then Pandan panicked and chimed in.

"Uh, so what about me...?"

"Uh, do whatever?"

"......"

Pandan's expression was hard to read—relieved or annoyed?

And so the trio scattered. Each to their own goals. Of course, for Pandan...

'Whew, guess I'll just head home.'

He decided to simply go back home.

'But seriously, why doesn't anyone realize I'm alive?'

It was natural for me to wonder. Watching my own funeral while alive—what kind of omniscient narrator bullshit is this? Anyway.

But Pellelian dropped an unexpected bombshell.

-Didn't I tell you what you look like right now?

'...What do I look like?'

-Like tomato soup packed in a snake-shaped crystal jar.

'?'

-Chunky, rotten tomato soup. A horrific state that's hard to even imagine. Kinda creepy.

A chill ran through me. No wonder my status window wouldn't load properly. I could spin my eyes 360 degrees, though.

'Lucky I stored Isil and the junk in the ring.'

Otherwise, I'd have left it all behind. Thankfully, I'd grabbed everything, including Pellelian's journal. Wyvern Mom Seletta snatched me in her jaws and flew from Delphram. But not too far. With the old nest destroyed, they needed a new one. The chosen spot was right near Delphram. Wyverns had avoided it before ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠due to the guardian golems, so no existing nests.

The golems had vanished at some point. Once the leader set up the new nest, the other black wyverns flocked nearby. Seletta built a massive nest atop the tallest rock spire—big enough for the three siblings to grow in together. And there I was, tucked in a corner. Like a statue erected in my honor. Or my own damn tombstone.

Plop.

'Again!'

A decapitated eagle dropped in front of me. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠None other than Pipi had brought it, jaws dripping.

"Kwaak!"

Frogs to all sorts of mountain beasts already littered the area before me. Some rotted enough for maggots to writhe. Good thing I couldn't smell.

'Pipi! I said stop bringing them!'

"Kkugak!"

'Aargh!'

Offerings for the dead baby bro, apparently.

-Hey, at least it's looking after you.

'Feels like it knows I'm alive.'

-Then maybe it's feeding you.

A riddle. Wyvern Mom definitely thought I was dead. I'd seen her hugging the hatchlings last night, sniffling before bed.

'Skills should be usable soon.'

Day 3 as a crystal tombstone in this nest. Day 10 since evolution began. About a third through, I'd guess. Pellelian said outwardly, I looked like tomato soup with extra chunks.

'Crown of Connection—what does this skill even do?'

New skill from evolving to Little Prince Serpent. The crown series had Domination, Theft, and Overcoming. Now Connection added—but I couldn't test it yet.

-Since it emerged from bonding with wyverns, maybe commanding a beast legion or something.

'Overlaps with Domination Crown a bit.'

Probably not. Truth is, I was just biding time to escape. If they realized I was alive, it'd be bad. No way I wanted to live trapped in a wyvern nest forever.

'Could use the kids to ride out on their backs?'

Hoping to hijack the trio with Domination Crown and bail.

-Train harder while you can, then.

Pellelian urged. Crystal-encased training? Surprisingly possible.

-A chance like this for such fast, efficient magic training won't come again. Insanely efficient for magic, anyway.

The secret? My mana was down to 1/100th normal. Usually condensed tight (dantian, maybe?), now soupy throughout my body. Casting required structuring it like pulling thread from a spool. But now, I could micromanage the dispersed mana.

If mana is electricity, and spells are ways to make light or move machines... Normally, you'd bundle excess mana into safe, sturdy virtual wires. Not now. I could freely knead the weak, scattered mana. The crystal coating acted as a perfect conduit.

Best science explanation I could muster. All from Pellelian, really.

-Same reason staves get crystals. They process and amplify mana lossless. Proper mages wield stylish staffs.

And my current state?

-You're a snake-shaped crystal staff. Magic snake wand. Wait, you're the staff itself.

I drew mana, and it gathered in my crystal body. Molding it delicately...

-Time to try your crappiest spell: wind magic.

Following his oh-so-kind lecture, I kneaded. The faint mana flowed through crystal into the air. Felt like a mana humidifier. It coalesced invisibly. I'd failed every prior try.

-FYI, I nailed it in five.

Fourth or fifth attempt? Whatever. Grit pulled it off. A butterfly of wind!

If I had a mouth, ssssk! of joy.

-Focus!

Spell succeeded.

-This is intermediate magic's start!

No message like "Using Intermediate Elemental Magic: Wind lv1." Pure exploit.

I wafted the spell toward the siblings. Tiny mana—wyvern mom wouldn't notice. Wind butterfly hit Pipi's noggin.

Pop!

Balloon burst. Pipi freaked. 1/100th power, stellar result.

"Kekekeke!"

"Chupuhaha!"

Kay and Chui burst out laughing. Pipi pounced on them. Ecstatic over magic win. Couldn't jump, though.

'Four tries. Genius, right?'

-Wasn't it five?

Pellelian seemed unsure. Wind and water safe for practice—no wyvern suspicion. Clouds meant rain soon; water training then. Seemed minor, but solid gains.

Wind—my worst after water—jumped two days' worth in days.

–Pull all elemental magics to intermediate this time.

'Yes, Master.'

-Don't call me that. Ahem.

He didn't hate it. Magic swordsman time. Balanced in all ways.

Then.

"Goooeo."

"Dururu-"

"Kerelek!"

Familiar cries. Massive wyvern landed.

'Ugh, this guy's back...'

X'd. Kota incoming. Chugota.

Seletta, awake, flopped back down casually. Chugota no longer raged or rampaged. Meditation during the digging? But daily visits to stare at me, then leave.

"Gooe."

Visiting kid's grave daily? Kinda sad. But alive me? Terrified. His gaze was off.

Wyvern Mom treated him like the neighbor geezer now. I found him creepy.

'Gotta escape soon...'

Escape urge spiked. Train magic, wait evolution. Few more days, stronger.

Eager student, great prof. Progress was a breeze. Three more days. Nailed intermediate for all but water. No issues, except nearly torching the nest.

Rainy night. Water intermediate success.

Officially shed beginner elemental mage label. No time to celebrate. Who knew three white heads would pop from shadows? Chugota. Storming in via downpour. Silent for once—no weird cries.

'Aaaah!'

-Eeeek!

I inner-screamed. Wyverns might wake, but Chugota's visits dulled vigilance. Mom slept hugging babies.

Bold theft ensued. Chugota gingerly clutched me with claws. Took off. Wingbeats drowned in rain.

'You crazy wyvern!'

His obsession unbroken. Might end up with him forever. Probably hide deep in demon realm post-theft. Not much different, but... With his mad eyes, post-evolution he'd swallow me whole to never lose me. Or realize I'm not his kid and attack.

What to do? Pellelian, help!

-Figure it out!

Only cheers from him. Magic? At 1/100th power? Or tickle side with wind to drop me since he's gentle...

Chugota climbed higher. Hiding in storm clouds. Losing it.

'Uwaaa!'

Fired what magic I could.

Thwack!

Arrow lodged in Chugota's shin. Not my summon. Barely pierced hide, talisman tied on. Rune flashed.

Boom!

Explosion. I plummeted. Chugota dropped me.

"Kkugagak!"

Blacks woke to blast. Chugota roared fury, too late. I fell through torrent.

Wait, this height? Shatter to death! Shoulda evolved wyvern for flight!

Thoughts flashed.

Clang.

Didn't shatter.

"Gotcha!"

Someone caught me. Never thought this human face so welcome.

"Up close, you're too pretty!"

Hairit Langrei, the red-haired hunter.

'Look up!'

No need—hunter senses kicked in. She looked. Furious Seletta dove at Chugota. He glared at thief Hairit. Three heads opened wide.

Kiiing!

White light gathered. Right, destruction beam.

Didn't think I'd get caught in it. Another death flashed.

Then, through raindrops—a translucent wind butterfly? Hallucination?

Booom!

Compressed wind burst, shaking Chugota midair.

Eh. My magic?