Chapter 35: Black Snake.
The soldier reached toward Airi. Kazuka swiped his hand away hard. Eyes showed hostility.
He growled a threat, like a snarling tiger.
"Speak clearly. Or we won't let you take her."
Feeling it was taking too long, she got annoyed. She stepped up and barked.
"Hey, why are you so slow? Want to die?"
Seeing her approach, Yurika ran inside the library in fear and closed the door.
The four soldiers saw her and turned, bowing.
"Mistress Reika, they won't cooperate."
Her expression turned to annoyance. Face tilted up, looking down.
"Huh? Who needs cooperation?"
Kazuka jumped out and pointed at Reika's face. Dissatisfaction clear. Reproachful voice.
"Hey, you! What do you want with my friend? State your reason."
The four soldiers moved behind Reika to let her speak. As if trained.
Airi kept calm and spoke:
"Do you have something to say to me? You can say it here. My friends are trustworthy."
With the haughty voice of an untaught brat, her eyes looked down at the three.
"I have nothing to say to you vermin."
She pointed at Airi and shouted:
"I simply do not allow anyone here to be prettier than me!"
Silence. Then a loud laugh erupted. Kazuka and Takeshi laughed everywhere.
She looked at them with annoyance.
Kazuka and Takeshi laughed, clutching their bellies. Takeshi said through laughter:
"So you saw my friend is prettier and feel jealous? That's hilarious."
Veins in Reika's eyes turned red like cracking ice. She gnashed her teeth. Her angry face was hideous.
The four soldiers drew swords. The one near her shouted, a final warning:
"You are insulting a member of the Kagami family."
The three saw the swords and stepped back. High alert. She could order the soldiers to kill them at any moment.
Airi spoke to calm them.
"Calm down... let's talk. We didn't mean that."
Reika stood still. Face down, hiding the ugly rage. Hands clenched. Body trembling.
She wanted to eat the three alive. She looked up. Rage enveloped her. She pointed at the three.
Teeth gnashed, "skree skree," then she emphasized every word:
"Do you want to die? When I catch you, I will pull out your bones."
"Catch them for me!"
The four soldiers lunged. Sharp swords in hand. Energy radiating.
Takeshi turned and shouted: "Run!"
Airi followed immediately.
A soldier's sword swung diagonally from the front. Kazuka drew his sword from his hip and blocked the incoming attack.
Clang!!!
He used strength to shove the sword away after the collision. Turned and ran.
"Hey, wait for me!"
The four soldiers chased right behind.
Airi, urgent:
"Speed up!"
"Yeah!"
The three poured more energy into their legs. The soldiers did the same. But the three bolted fast and turned into small alleys.
The soldiers were stunned. In a flash, they were outdistanced. They stopped.
"They're too fast."
Reika arrived behind. Rage uncontrollable. Voice like a scythe at their throats. Threatening death.
"Why aren't you chasing them? Want to die?"
Hearing this, the four soldiers turned and knelt. Trembling with fear of being killed.
They explained urgently, trying to save their small lives:
"They ran into the alleys, Mistress. They live here, so they know the ways. Hard to catch."
She swiped her hand. Disregarding their words.
"I don't care. Find their tracks at any cost."
"Damn rats."
She scanned the people around. Some were laughing in the silence. It made her angrier.
Now, the three had run back to the Old Wolf's house. Kazuka and Takeshi were still laughing.
"Did you hear that, Kazuka? So funny."
"Hahahaha"
"I heard."
Airi spoke with a complaining voice. It wasn't fun for her.
"I didn't expect to get into this. And that reason... I'm speechless."
Takeshi shrugged.
"Many types of people in this world. But that reason is truly nonsense."
"We haven't even gone out yet and there's trouble."
Kazuka's belly growled "gurgle gurgle."
"I'm hungry. Didn't buy anything to eat. Might have to hunt later... but it's dark, nothing's out."
Airi sighed.
"Sigh. Guess so."
As the three walked leisurely along the tree-lined trail back to their familiar shelter, the twilight bathed the forest in a vague pale orange. Like a soft silk draped over rustling leaves. Strange silence. Only the wind breathing through leaves. Footsteps on damp earth rang softly. A gentle country melody ending.
But then, from behind a large mossy rotted trunk, a black shadow darted out as if melting from the forest shadows. The shadow was none other than the Old Wolf. Gray-furred. He didn't just step out. He bolted in front of the group like a dark gust. Head tilted. Mouth baring white fangs in a sinister, bizarre smile. The surrounding shadows seemed to shrink in terror.
His face was a beastly nightmare: distorted, fierce, mocking, and threatening. Everything went silent. Birds stopped singing. Wind stopped blowing. Space froze like a deathly painting.
Kazuka and Takeshi, walking leisurely, were pulled from their thoughts. They jumped like thunder struck their ears. Faces pale. They shouted a panicked, long cry as if their souls nearly left their bodies:
"Aaaaaaaaaa"
The scream echoed through the trees. Tearing the silence like a bolt.
Yet… amidst the small chaos, one person stood still as a statue.
Airi remained cold and calm. As if used to his weird scares or simply finding it childish and silly. She didn't even frown. Her gaze just skimmed the bizarre face with a cruel indifference. Like watching a child seeking attention with a clumsy act.
In the chaos of screams and retreating feet, Airi's calm stood out… making the forest almost stop to listen.
Takeshi stood there complaining.
"You're doing that again?"
Kazuka frowned. Enraged. Clenched fist pointing at the Old Wolf.
"Damn old man. You're old and still playing this game."
The Old Wolf's face turned serious. Eyes shifted to a strange scrutiny. Right hand held a snake by its neck. Raiga tried to coil its tail around his wrist. Weakly. Thin, small body.
"How do you explain this? Why wasn't I told?"
The three were surprised. Airi ran over. Panicked. Pitying.
"What are you doing? Let it go!"
The Old Wolf used his other hand to uncoil Raiga's tail. He let go.
"Explain."
The snake was now a bit thicker than Airi's arm. Changes were not significant.
Released, Airi crouched and reached out. It crawled behind Airi. Slithered onto her, hiding.
"Back to the fire. I'll explain."
Sitting before the flickering fire. The snake sat on Airi's lap, sleeping. The Old Wolf spoke.
"I see. But you don't know its origin and you keep it?"
Airi shook her head.
"I don't know. But looking at this appearance, I knew from the start its origin wasn't normal."
The Old Wolf caught the point.
"Exactly. Not just 'not normal'. It's 'extremely abnormal'."
Airi looked down at Raiga, flustered.
"That serious?"
Kazuka was surprised. Looked at Raiga.
"Really? But it's lived with us a long time. We know it's very gentle."
Takeshi nodded in agreement.
"Right."
Kazuka continued:
"It's shy. Rarely goes out. We bring food inside for it. It doesn't eat raw food. It eats cooked food. Especially grilled meat."
The Old Wolf was surprised. Eyes wide. Mouth agape. Ridiculously bewildered.
"Huh? It eats cooked food? You tamed it?"
Kazuka glanced at Raiga and shook his head:
"I don't know. We just feed it what it eats."
"Let me tell you three... what's this snake's name?"
Airi answered: "Raiga."
"Yeah, nice name. Now, let me tell you."
"Those purple scales are special. Seeing them, I remembered a book. The infant appearance is identical. When it grows, those scales turn black. It is called the Black Snake."
"One of the strongest creatures of the Demon Race."
The three eyes widened. Expression of disbelief that this shy creature was so strong.
The three could only glance at Raiga in confusion.
The Old Wolf continued. Voice low.
"It went extinct in... around... I don't remember exactly. But simply put, during the 18th Demon King's era. At that time, the Demon Tribe mobilized a massive force of the most warlike demons to attack the Monster Tribe. At that time, the King of the Monsters was a Black Snake. Because it is one of the strongest creatures, it had to be king."
"The book says: the previous King of Monsters made an enemy of the Demon Tribe and fled. Of course, demons are warlike and they heavily damaged the Monster Tribe. Since the King was a Black Snake, most Black Snakes gathered there to live. You understand."
"Surprising a Black Snake still exists. Maybe a few left, or this one took a long time to hatch."
"Thinking about it, it's been a long time."
"One Demon King's reign is about 100,000,000 years. The current is the 43rd. That means it was in the egg for a very long time. It finally hatched because no one was there to give it energy to incubate."
The three were wide-eyed, mouths agape at this racial-level info.
Takeshi, disbelieving, asked to be sure:
"Really? That long?"
"Of course. These battles were long ago but they were major. I think the city library has it. Try finding it when you're free."
Airi stroked Raiga's head. Eyes full of pity.
"Unbelievable. If it's the only one left. It will be very lonely."
The Old Wolf nodded.
"Yes. Is it male or female?"
"I don't know."
"Does it understand human speech? If it's a smart species, it will. Right?"
"It understands."
"Then wake it up and ask."
Airi poked its head with her finger. It looked up. Woke up. Cute face looking at her. Airi paused for a moment.
"Are you female?"
It nodded. Airi stroked its head.
"Yeah. Go back to sleep."
The Old Wolf continued:
"Truthfully, I'm not sure. But some snakes don't need a male to reproduce. I think you should hope for that."
The three looked down. Airi watched Raiga.
"Hope? Let's hope so."
The Old Wolf thought of something. A bit of thin hope for Raiga.
"Ah, I just thought of this. You should try it one day."
"I also read this in a book. After the demon attack, a black energy user found a Black Snake. The last one at that time. He caught it. Seems it was female."
"That Black Snake was placed at the deepest level of a Perilous Abyss he created. It was the final boss of that Abyss. Later it was cleared. The snake was killed."
"I mean: maybe you should find that place. Who knows if she laid any eggs. There might be some."
Airi nodded. Eyes hopeful for the future.
"Yeah, that's possible. Worth hoping. But how do we know where that Perilous Abyss is?"
The Old Wolf closed his eyes and shrugged. Head shook slightly.
"Who knows? You have to find it yourself. Such an important event will surely be in books. Whether you find it depends on you."
Kazuka complained.
"Are you challenging us? How can we find it? From that time until now, would it still exist?"
Takeshi added.
"Right."
Old Wolf: "Who knows? That's why I said it's a hope."
Voice turned sarcastic.
"At that time, your ancestors probably didn't exist yet."
Kazuka retorted immediately:
"Neither did yours."
"You must know: Only the extremely strong create a Perilous Abyss. It's usually the creator's tomb. Also where he hides his entire fortune. Surely, no matter how much it's destroyed, it remains. It's always been that way. Have you seen any rich person build a simple tomb? Certainly not."
"So, keep hoping. But I warn you, don't hope too much. Sometimes it leads to disappointment. Disappointment leads to dejection. I said this during training. Now I'm reminding you."