The Eighth Research - Basilisk (3)
The coiled silver serpent that had slumbered in the sacred lake stirred awake. It had been a truly long time since any mortal creature had directed a wish toward her.
Is this a prayer?
No. There was no reverence in it.
A tomb raider, then?
No. She sensed no material greed.
Instead, this one wishes to tame me.
It had been an unfathomably long time since she last encountered a human who desired to tame her. After obtaining Divinity through the worship of mortals, no mere being had dared harbor possessive intent toward her.
Yet this insolent mortal dares?
The silver serpent was a basilisk who had lived roughly five thousand years. At first glance her form resembled an ordinary sand snake, yet she possessed a colossal size befitting her age. Measured from head to tail, she exceeded one hundred meters, and the thickness of her body surpassed ten meters.
Moreover, the basilisk’s gaze carried the power to petrify living creatures, while her stomach produced primordial venom that she could expel as acidic breath.
In short, the ancient silver serpent was a being more catastrophic than any half-baked dragon.
But the nobility of my true self is not defined by mere physical might alone! The authorities born from acquiring divinity exist as well!
For thousands of years the silver serpent had received the worship of mortals and had once been called a goddess. Though her followers had perished and her divinity had grown faint, she still possessed enough authority to be revered as a demigod.
The God-King who ruled the desert.
That was the silver serpent’s true identity.
And yet this wretch dares claim ownership of me?!
Blasphemy!
He deserved death!
The ancient being seethed with furious rage. Had she been free to act, she would have raised her brilliant silver bulk and swallowed the insolent creature in a single gulp.
But the situation did not permit it.
She was a prisoner, after all.
Sealed within the Abyss.
A coquettish voice struck the silver serpent’s ear. Its owner was Diaboletta, the succubus lord who served as a direct handmaiden to the Queen of the Abyss.
“It seems your followers have come to rescue you. How very touching. A believer rushing to protect their god—what an absurdly ridiculous situation, wouldn’t you agree?”
The succubus lords were the Queen of the Abyss’s personal attendants—mighty high-ranking demons formidable in every field.
“In our homeland, the infinite Abyss, where we execute each other for so much as a scratch on our superiors, such a touching event is utterly unimaginable. Isn’t that right, my slaves?”
Grrrr…
The demons scattered throughout the temple, busy devouring human corpses, all turned at once toward their mistress’s call and swarmed to her. The strongest males, who had been competing for her favor, began glaring at one another until their rivalry erupted into a bloody brawl.
“Kyaaaak!”
“Kieeeeek!”
A mantis-like demon was rammed by a boar-like demon. The boar-like demon greedily tore the mantis apart and devoured it, growing even stronger.
“Good boy. Well done, my boar.”
“Oink! Oink! Oiiiiink!”
The aroused boar mercilessly mounted the succubus lord. At first Diaboletta screamed and thrashed in resistance, but once overpowered she eventually cradled the boar’s head against her chest.
“Oink!”
When the mating ended—
“Thank you, my boar.”
Bang!
The boar burst like a balloon.
“I’ll savor every bite.”
Diaboletta meticulously consumed the boar’s soul and essence. In doing so she simultaneously acquired the boar’s ferocity and the mantis’s cunning.
“Hmm.”
Diaboletta licked her lips and surveyed the surrounding slaves. Those who had lusted after her recoiled in fear of death, yet none could leave her side. They remained enslaved by the very desire to violate her.
“Silver serpent. You too shall become one of our demon kin.”
“…”
“To receive baptism directly from the Queen of the Abyss is the highest honor. Accept it obediently.”
The silver serpent recalled how her nest had fallen. The high priest entrusted with guarding her lair had discovered an unparalleled beauty collapsed in the desert and brought her into the temple—forgetting the sacred rule that no outsider must ever be allowed inside.
Mortal males truly are idiots no matter how many times I see it. Is mating really that important to them?
At the same time, the silver serpent thought:
Something is wrong here.
She was the God-King who represented the will of the Spirit Lords in the Great Wasteland. Had demons appeared, the Spirit Lords should have issued a timely warning. If they had, she would never have fallen into this ridiculous situation of being sealed inside the Abyss while hibernating.
There is clearly a flaw somewhere!
…Yet because she had been imprisoned by a seal personally prepared by the Queen of the Abyss, escape by her own power was impossible. Without outside help there was no way to break free…
I suppose I must hope the mortal who harbors possessive desire toward me draws their attention. Even weakening the barrier slightly would be enough…
It was then—
KWAAAAAANG!
The temple’s protective barrier shattered with a terrifying roar. Thick cracks also spiderwebbed across the temple gate that had been forged in dragonfire.
“Wh-what is that?”
Diaboletta’s face twisted in alarm as the gate cracked. The white temple’s gate was an artifact crafted by the ancient elves as a token of friendship for the silver serpent—an object even she would never have dared destroy with raw power.
“Quite sturdy.”
Yet the voice echoing from beyond the door belonged to what could only be a human male.
“In that case, I’ll have to use my head.”
DOUBLE CASTING
5th Circle — Roar of Cold
FROST NOVA
Extreme cold gathered in his right hand.
5th Circle — Arcane Spell
ARCANE EXPLOSION
Arcane power surged in his left.
With the shout, the spell in his right hand completed. A blast of absolute zero froze the dragonsteel gate solid.
Immediately afterward, overwhelming arcane energy detonated from his left hand. The gate, already afflicted with Frozen, suffered catastrophic additional damage. It was on the verge of collapse.
“Mistress!”
“A dangerous opponent!”
Diaboletta’s guards rushed forward with desperate expressions. They were meat puppets willing to lay down their lives for their lady’s smile.
“You must take shelter!”
“…”
Diaboletta narrowed her eyes at the gate that was about to shatter. Subduing the silver serpent was a matter the Queen of the Abyss herself had taken interest in. Failure would bring a punishment far worse than death.
I lack confidence in a head-on fight…
Succubi were natural diplomats and spies. They could also pose as skilled assassins or knowledgeable mages, but as warriors they were sorely lacking.
A mage capable of destroying an ancient elven gate would possess far greater firepower than I do.
Direct combat was impossible.
There was no choice.
She would gamble.
“…My lady?”
Her subordinates hesitated at the thought of abandoning their seemingly delicate lady, but when Diaboletta glared and pressed them, they obeyed.
“Please, come in.”
Therefore, when Tellorian smashed through the gate and stepped inside, what he saw was—
“…Who are you?”
“I am…”
The ideal intellect he had longed for.
“It’s been a long time, my disciple.”
“…Master?”
The gray-robed mage who had entered the temple froze mid-step. The woman he had dreamed of for so long was waiting for him in her most beautiful form.
“Tellorian.”
His master burned as intensely as ever. Hair the vivid red of flame. Eyes brimming with passionate heat that stirred the flesh.
“Have you been well?”
“…”
Faced with the woman he had yearned for, the Lore Master regressed into the street urchin he once was. She had offered bread to a boy who had starved for a week, taken him in, washed him, fed him, and given him a place to sleep.
“…Master.”
That was not all. The woman before him had given him the affection and teachings he had desperately craved. Because the Flame Witch had cared for and instructed that pitiful boy, the present-day Lore Master Tellorian had been born.
“…Have you been well, Master?”
Suppressing the emotions surging within him, he bowed his head in greeting. The Flame Witch smiled like a benevolent mother and gently patted his back.
“Everything is all right.”
“…”
“Now everything is fine.”
The Flame Witch could feel the boundless loneliness that had seeped into Tellorian’s soul.
“Tell me how you have lived all this time.”
“I will, Master.”
Master and disciple sat together in the marsh hut, sharing sweet conversation. This place had once been their private sanctuary. Just the two of them.
“…It must have been difficult.”
“…Yes.”
As the conversation deepened and their eyes met, a sexual tension began to flow between them.
“You’ve become such a splendid man without my noticing.”
“Master, you remain as beautiful as ever.”
His master’s lessons had been strict.
Beyond strict—they had been cruel.
“Tellorian.”
“…”
“Living under constant threat, I must have burdened you with much of my anxiety. As your guardian I was terribly inadequate. Yet my heart that cherished you was always sincere. I’m sorry.”
They were sweet words.
Words he had always wanted to hear.
Words his master would never have spoken.
“So, will you forgive your lacking master?”
His master took both his hands with fingers as delicate as any lady’s. How amusing. She had never spent so much time on adornment.
“My Tellorian.”
“Of course, Master.”
This was false.
A fabricated illusion.
Still… it feels good.
An illusion.
A fake world where dreams came true.
…But what of our real world?
Painful.
Insufficient.
Miserable.
Everyone harbors a wish they desperately desire yet ultimately cannot obtain. That is the nature of a true wish.
This place was the manifestation of his own wishes.
Even now, within the dream, it was the place he desired.
“Tellorian.”
His master spoke in a voice sweet as honey—words his boyhood self had longed to hear but never received.
“Come here.”
As the dream progressed, the demon’s illusion grew increasingly cheap. Now his master even discarded her robe, revealing a body as exquisite as a masterpiece.
“…”
That was what his adolescent self had burned for. When he had achieved tremendous results as her disciple, she had offered it as a reward—only for him to realize the truth.
What he had truly desired was not his master’s flesh and blood.
“This is enough enjoyment.”
What he wanted was her fiery heart.
“You may stop acting now, succubus.”
“?!”
Enjoyed the Succubus Lord’s Seduction!
EXP +10
Legacy Points +1
Until Level 21: 70/100
Legacy Points: 15
“It’s grown too crude to enjoy any further.”
Once, he had desperately wanted to possess both her body and her heart.
He allowed himself to indulge in the past for a fleeting moment of amusement.
“There was a time when I had the chance.”
The chance to turn his master into a doll that belonged only to him.
Yet he had refused.
“Because I realized something.”
He drew a deep breath.
Then unleashed a torrent of powerful mana!
“Memories are most beautiful when left as memories.”
Crash!
The illusion shattered.
Just as the past had already passed.
Broke the Succubus’s Spell Through Sheer Willpower!
EXP +20
Legacy Points +2
Until Level 21: 90/100
Legacy Points: 17