Chapter 223: The Weeping Serpent (Part 13)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 223: The Weeping Serpent (Part 13)
"Is it over?"
Muen looked at the space that had suddenly become empty and couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
The Silent Moon had been dragged back beyond the borders of their world by the Withered King. In such a direct one-on-one confrontation, the Silent Moon’s fate was predictable. He would no longer be able to spare a hand to harm his Senior.
His plan had been completely ruined.
However, as Muen looked up at the mending mist of the dark moon, a flash of realization crossed his mind.
No.
It wasn't over yet.
Muen looked down at the girl in his arms.
Her eyes were still tightly shut, her brow slightly furrowed.
Pitch-black scales covered her fair skin. Beneath her purple skirt, that eerie serpent tail swayed gently and inadvertently with her every breath.
The Moon was approaching its end.
But the girl had yet to receive the salvation she deserved.
How could Muen ever accept such an ending?
"So..."
Muen leaned down, pressing his forehead against hers.
"Don't be afraid, Senior. I'm here to save you."
*
"Monster!"
"Monster!"
"You little monster!"
Amidst a blur of light and shadow, Anna heard someone screaming in rage.
The voice was incredibly piercing, laced with filthy insults. It was as if they were venting their hatred toward a blood-sworn enemy.
They were...
Ah, they were my parents.
Anna thought for a long time before she could pull their identities from the depths of her memory to match the silhouettes.
The biological parents who had completely abandoned her when she was very young.
So much time had passed that she had even forgotten what they looked like.
Yet, even though her ears were filled with vitriol that would make even the most good-natured person boil with rage, Anna didn't feel particularly angry.
She looked down at her arms.
The scales were hideous.
That’s right, I am a monster. So even if I’m abandoned, why should I feel hatred? Why should I be angry?
Isn't it only human to fear monsters?
She had long since grown used to it.
Anna covered her ears and continued forward.
The road was long.
She didn't know where it led.
As Anna walked, the blurred crowds on either side were clamorous, saying the same things her parents had.
"Monster."
"Monster."
"Look, it's a monster."
Even with her ears covered, those voices continued to flood into her mind.
It’s no big deal.
There’s nothing to be angry about.
They’re just strangers.
What does it matter what they say?
As long as...
"Monster!"
Anna’s expression shifted slightly.
A figure stood in her path, but this time, the face was no longer blurred.
It was... the Matron from the orphanage.
At this moment, that face—which was so kind in her memories—had become twisted with fury. She stared intently at Anna and shrieked:
"Don't come any closer, monster!"
"..."
"Monster!"
More faces gradually became clear.
Her companions from the orphanage.
Strangers she had passed on the street.
The seniors from the Academy.
And...
That old man.
"You monster!"
The old man slammed his hand against the armrest of his rocking chair, roaring with a face turned ashen.
"Get out of here! You aren't welcome!"
"Yes, exactly! You aren't welcome!"
"Get lost! There’s no room for a monster here!"
Everyone began to roar. They wore the faces from Anna’s memory, shouting words that seemed only natural.
Yes.
It was only natural.
Wasn't it only natural for a monster to be rejected?
No one could be blamed for this; she could only blame herself... for her own cursed fate.
That was all.
*
Anna finally escaped the endless torrent of abuse and arrived before a vast, black sea.
Through the water, Anna stared at her own reflection.
In the ocean's mirror, she saw herself covered in pitch-black scales. Her eyes were cold, vertical slits, and her serpent tail swayed with an air of infinite eeriness.
No wonder everyone loathed her. The monster reflected in the water was so ugly, so... disgusting.
Looking at this boundless, dark ocean, Anna suddenly understood something.
"I see."
She gave a self-deprecating smile.
"This is fine, too."
Then, with a flick of her serpent tail, she slowly waded into the sea, allowing herself to be gradually submerged by the pitch-black water.
【Senior.】
Just at the moment she was about to be completely swallowed, Anna suddenly turned back to look at the faces on the shore—some blurred, some clear.
"I feel like... someone is missing?"
It seemed like someone very important.
But who was it?
She couldn't remember.
【Senior.】
...Forget it.
Even if she remembered, it would likely just be one more person to call her a monster.
Anna smiled and continued to let her body sink toward the seabed.
The endless darkness gradually consumed her.
Yes.
This was for the best.
【Senior.】
She wouldn't be a burden to anyone.
She wouldn't hurt anyone.
She wouldn't bring destruction to this world.
Just like this—alone, silent, without a sound—
Buried deep within the darkness.
【Senior.】
It was only that she herself couldn't reach the light...
【Senior.】
It didn't hurt at all.
It wasn't sad at all.
It wasn't lonely at all.
【Senior!】
"Shut up!"
Anna abruptly looked up toward the source of the voice she had been forcing herself to ignore.
"Can't you let me... rest in peace?"
As her voice fell, a boundless radiance pierced through the surface of the sea, descending upon the place with overwhelming force.
It tore through all the darkness.
And there, a blond youth with a blurred but warm smile reached out his hand amidst the blinding light.
"You're finally willing to answer me, Senior. Come back with me."
"I..."
Anna was dazed for a moment, but before she could say anything, that hand grabbed her.
He held on tight.
"I won't let you run away this time, Senior," the blond youth said firmly. Commanding the infinite light, he ignored the girl's struggles and pulled her out of the darkness.
*
"I am..."
Atop the shattered altar, Anna slowly opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was that familiar face of the blond youth.
"Junior?"
"Senior, you're finally awake."
Seeing Anna’s still-dazed expression, Muen smiled.
He suppressed the crimson flames burning in his eyes and let out a breath. "Fortunately, you didn't actually forget me. Otherwise, I would have been truly heartbroken."
"Forget? Junior, what are you talking about?"
Anna frowned slightly, instinctively rubbing her temples.
"I feel like... I had a strange dream?"
"A dream? That’s fine too..."
Muen smiled. "Do you feel unwell anywhere, Senior?"
"Unwell? No, I feel fine, it's just..."
Anna was about to say something when she suddenly froze.
She realized that she was currently being held tightly in Muen's arms.
They were so close that she could clearly feel Muen's body heat and his breath.
No matter how one looked at it, this posture was incredibly intimate.