A Snake’s Life Ch 99

Chapter 99

The Pope summoned rain using the divine relic’s power. As the rain fell the moment the Pope spoke, the people praised him. The Pope smiled in satisfaction.

Having realized that the divine relic could absorb the power of the water god, the Pope summoned Shuiren to draw that power out. The divine relic glowed with a deep blue light.

The rain that had simply wet the ground changed when the divine relic absorbed Shuiren’s resentment. Although the Pope was flustered when the relic slipped from his grasp, he mistakenly assumed the deepened light meant more rain would fall.

But that was a grave misunderstanding.

The power Shuiren had absorbed was pulled into the divine relic, and the relic began to move according to the will of the serpents. The rain that was falling no longer followed the Pope’s will—it was the serpents’ will.

They had no intention of forgiving the humans who had killed and used them.

Suddenly, people caught in the rain began to scream in pain. Instead of water trickling down their skin, the raindrops pricked like thorns stabbing into them. The pain made them writhe in agony.

“Ow!!”

“What the hell? Why does the rain feel like this??”

“Your Holiness, what is going on?!”

Since they believed the Pope had summoned the rain, the blame naturally turned to him. But the Pope was at a loss, shaking his head in confusion.

“This… this can’t be happening…”

According to ancient texts, when the orb glowed blue, it meant rain could be summoned at any time. Shuiren had been called the divine messenger ever since he began summoning rain. The Pope believed that by summoning rain himself, Shuiren’s influence would diminish.

He planned to continue using the divine relic to drain Shuiren’s power until Shuiren could no longer summon rain. At that point, he would claim to have received a divine oracle through the relic and proclaim himself the true representative. Once Shuiren lost the ability to summon rain, people’s faith would naturally shift to the Pope.

However, the serpents within the relic had awakened the slumbering serpents inside Shuiren’s body, and as a result, all their resentment gathered in the divine relic.

Zerpell had to take control of the chaos—not only because Shuiren had collapsed, but because the entire scene was descending into confusion. The rain drenched everyone, even Shuiren’s smooth skin.

“I never thought the knights’ fashion-conscious uniforms would come in handy.”

The knights were fluttering their capes adorned with the imperial insignia.

“Quickly evacuate the citizens!”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

The knights moved like arrows, using their capes to shield the people from the rain. Having fought alongside Zerpell on battlefields, the knights regarded the stinging rain as little more than a mild itch.

Fortunately, the rain was not a heavy downpour that obscured visibility. It fell lightly, as if it were only the beginning. Zerpell shouted toward the Pope.

“Pope! What have you done? Stop this at once!”

“I know!!”

The Pope himself was in utter confusion. He bit his lip in frustration.

‘This wasn’t how it was supposed to go…’

His original plan had been to demonstrate that he could summon rain and prove that he, too, was chosen by the water god. He reached for the divine relic, but it had risen so high that he couldn’t touch it.

Zerpell gazed at the relic that now radiated an ominous light. If things got worse, he was ready to destroy it. Drawing the sword Kasa carried on his person, he aimed precisely to pierce the relic—but at that moment, the body of Shuiren, who had been lying in his arms, began to swell unnaturally.

A brilliant light burst forth, and something pushed Zerpell backward. When the light faded, he lowered the arm that had been shielding his eyes.

“Shuiren?”

Zerpell’s brows furrowed. It was indeed Shuiren, but not in his usual small form. He had transformed into a large serpent. His once-tiny fangs now looked sharp enough to threaten a human, and he flicked his tongue menacingly. Shuiren had lost all reason.

Kasa stared in shock at Shuiren. Although momentarily taken aback, Zerpell quickly assessed the situation. It was clear Shuiren had lost control. Still, Zerpell didn’t believe for a second that Shuiren would ever harm him.

Even now, though Shuiren’s body was massive, to Zerpell he was always the small and adorable serpent.

Zerpell lowered his sword and looked up at Shuiren. Whenever he had called his name before, Shuiren had always turned around. Now, however, he opened his jaws wide, as if ready to swallow someone whole, and let out a threatening sound.

Shuiren’s consciousness had sunk into the depths of his mind. It was no exaggeration to say he was now being controlled by the serpents’ resentment. His tail twitched, sending people flying.

Thinking this was his moment, the Pope shouted toward Shuiren.

“Your Highness, how could the divine messenger try to harm people?!”

“What?”

Zerpell scoffed in disbelief, but the people were confused. It was undeniable that Shuiren was now threatening them.

Some speculated that the divine relic had gone awry and angered the gods. That assumption was both wrong and right. Yet, because of Shuiren’s known character, no one openly condemned him. Most simply wondered, “Could it really be?”

The Pope faltered but quickly composed himself. He had already hidden agitators among the crowd.

“Still, he’s clearly trying to kill us.”

“Watch your mouth when speaking of our divine messenger! Isn’t the relic what’s really wrong here?”

“That’s true.”

As if to prove their longstanding faith in the water god, people began to criticize the one who spoke against Shuiren. Silenced, the man glanced awkwardly at the Pope.

Unfortunately for the Pope, others noticed that glance.

“Now that you mention it, didn’t His Holiness bring the relic and say he could make it rain…? But isn’t the rain a bit strange?”

“Yeah. Why does it sting? Don’t tell me something’s wrong with the relic?”

“Did the water god become angry?”

The suspicions only grew stronger because Shuiren’s gaze was fixed solely on the Pope. Though his large form had caused collateral damage, he had yet to launch a direct attack. The serpents seemed to instinctively know who had used and killed them—and they glared only at the Pope.

The Pope shouted to the paladins guarding him.

“The divine messenger has lost his mind and is rampaging. Restrain him!”

“Yes!!”

All at once, the paladins drew their swords and pointed them at Shuiren. In response to the gleaming blades, Shuiren let out a hissing, threatening sound.

Yet someone stood calmly behind Shuiren, watching everything unfold.

“How dare you raise your swords against him?”

The paladins felt cold sweat trickle down their backs. Although Shuiren was terrifying by presence alone, it was the steely force in Zerpell’s cold gaze that truly made them flinch. Zerpell glared at their drawn swords.

“Did you not hear me?”

“B-But the divine messenger…”

One of the paladins stammered. Zerpell ignored him coldly. The mere intensity of his gaze made the paladins feel as if blades were pressed to their throats, and their sword tips gradually lowered.

“So you dared to draw swords against Shuiren in front of me? If you unsheathe your blades, I am more than ready to draw mine.”

At Zerpell’s words, his entire party reached for their weapons in unison. The paladins fell silent, glanced around, and reluctantly sheathed their swords. Zerpell looked up at Shuiren. His head had to tilt back to see his now-distant face.

“Shuiren.”

Zerpell gently called his name. But Shuiren didn’t seem to hear—his gaze remained fixed on the Pope, as though he were about to attack at any moment.

“You’ll get sick if you eat something like that. If you’re hungry, I’ll prepare something else for you.”

Zerpell’s ridiculous remark bewildered those nearby. It was as if he didn’t see Shuiren’s enormous form and chalked everything up to a silly prank. Perhaps it was the sound of Zerpell’s voice, but Shuiren turned his head toward him. The Pope, who had flinched at Shuiren’s ferocity, flushed with embarrassment at Zerpell’s nonchalant words and shouted.

“Your Highness!”

That shout redirected Shuiren’s attention back to the Pope. With a loud hiss, he squirmed forward. His tail demolished the temple as people scrambled for shelter.

Stretching his tail toward the Pope, Shuiren snatched him up in an instant. Startled, the paladins reflexively swung their swords, and one managed to scratch Shuiren’s scales.

Perhaps stung by the pain, Shuiren slammed his tail against the ground repeatedly. The Pope, trapped in his coils, struggled to breathe and pounded on the tail, but Shuiren did not let go.

Dust filled the air, and a small stone grazed Zerpell’s cheek.

“Your Highness. Please step back.”

“……”

Kasa quietly handed him a handkerchief. Zerpell merely wiped the blood trailing down his cheek with his fingers and brushed it away.

“Looks like Shuiren is very angry.”

“……”

Perhaps no one else would understand, but Kasa had seen this many times before.

With a soft sigh, Zerpell began walking toward Shuiren. Despite the risk of being crushed beneath his tail, Zerpell didn’t hesitate. In fact, he worried more about the rampaging Shuiren than his own safety.

“Shhh. Calm down. You’ll hurt yourself. Stop getting so upset, alright? See, you’re already covered in little wounds.”

Despite the gasps of shock all around him, he spoke to Shuiren gently. Their eyes met—Zerpell’s golden gaze with Shuiren’s red one. But Shuiren turned his head away sharply, and Zerpell’s lips tightened slightly. With a glint in his golden eyes, he whispered sharply.

“Shuiren. You shouldn’t look away, should you?”

At that, Shuiren’s body flinched, and he hesitantly turned his head back toward Zerpell. Just moments ago, his red eyes were filled with murderous rage—but now, a hint of embarrassment flickered in them. Smiling, Zerpell reached out his hand and said, “Come here.” Their gazes locked like they were reading each other’s hearts.