SML Ch 51

Chapter 51

[Anyway, hurry up and sink those humans beneath the water! Stop toying with them under the pretext of wearing them down!]

[Don’t order me around! Half your brain’s gone and you can barely function as it is! They’re weak—so worthless they’re not even fit to be toys!]

[That’s exactly why you shouldn’t let your guard down! If they’re allies of that intruder, they’re bound to have some hidden trump card. If we don’t kill them before they bring it out, this time it might be your other half of the brain that gets blown away!]

The serpent’s heads were now bickering amongst themselves, paying no mind to the humans. The right head was nagging, urging haste, while the left head, annoyed by the admonishment, continued to act high and mighty.

Perhaps that was why.

It must have been why they failed to notice that the arrowheads flying toward them now were a different color than before.

[Whatever, just kill them already! Drain a bit more of their strength and—huh?]

[What’s wrong? Wait a second, what arrow just hit you?]

Reynald had taken advantage of the left head’s opening, landing an arrow squarely into an unscaled spot. Meanwhile, the young men and the prince were frantically coating crossbow bolts with bile venom. The Anura that had clambered onto the deck by now were eagerly spitting their bile onto arrowheads, as though they’d found a brand‑new game.

“Handle them carefully—if that bile venom touches your skin, it’ll be lethal to you as well!”

“Understood! Lord Reynald, the next arrow…!”

Reynald snatched the arrow Alex handed him, nocked it, and fired straight at the serpent’s left head. The head belatedly seemed to sense something amiss and tried to dodge, but Reynald’s arrow struck barely centimeters from the previous wound.

[It doesn’t hurt, but… no, something’s wrong! My face—my neck—it won’t move!]

[I knew it! You idiot beyond compare…!]

The Orthos Serpent, unlike before, stiffened and groaned, unable to properly move its head. Reynald thought quickly about the venom’s spread rate. Since it was a monster, not human, and gargantuan in size, several consecutive strikes would be required for the venom to take full effect.

But the effect mustn’t be too strong. If they weren’t careful, Volant—still trapped within—might also be paralyzed. They had to inject just enough venom into the bloodstream to incapacitate the creature without harming Volant.

[Kill them! Even now—sink them beneath the water!]

At that cry from the right head, the serpent’s massive tail once again swept toward the humans on deck. But this time it was far slower, far weaker. The venom hadn’t yet reached the tail, but with the poison spreading through its head and neck, the creature’s control over its own body had visibly weakened.

And someone seized the opening. Arun. He leapt forward, seized the thinnest part of the tail with both arms, and pinned it down onto the deck with all his strength.

“Inject venom into this tail too! If the tail’s fully paralyzed, the serpent’s combat power will drop drastically!”

Even with Arun’s monstrous strength, he couldn’t hold on long—but the brief moment he bought was enough. Alex hastily smeared bile venom onto his sword and drove it into the tail.

[Damn you filthy brats! My tail!]

Alex, along with the young men and the knights, rushed in and hacked away at the tail. Its hide was so tough they could barely scratch the surface, but even that was enough to get the venom inside.

Soon, the serpent’s tail stiffened like stone and fell limp. Throughout this, Reynald continued firing arrows at the serpent’s heads. The beast thrashed its heads, trying to shake off the venom, gaping its jaws to let the torrential rain wash over its wounds—but…

[Damn it… mere humans…]

In the end, unable to support itself, it collapsed headfirst into the lake. The impact of its massive body striking the surface sent up waves so high they blotted out everything in sight.

“Hold on tight! You’ll get swept away!”

Humans and frogs alike clung desperately to the railing, struggling not to be washed overboard. Reynald fretted for a moment—if the spray carried bile venom, would it poison them on contact?—but thankfully, no signs of paralysis appeared.

Time passed—how long, they couldn’t say—until finally the spray subsided and silence fell. Even the rain that had been pounding endlessly overhead was easing. Evidently, the serpent no longer had the strength to summon the storm.

Panting, those clinging to the boat pulled themselves upright. Upon the lake’s surface floated the limp body of the enormous sea serpent, faintly twitching. It hadn’t sunk completely.

“Row us closer. We need to approach it.”

Reynald spoke as he picked up the sword lying at his feet. The serpent wasn’t dead yet; left alone, it would eventually purge the poison from its system with its own magic.

The knights hurriedly rowed toward the serpent’s head. Its neck was above water, and within the transparent jelly surrounding it, Volant could be seen curled up, breathing faintly. He seemed safe—for now.

[Damn it… damn it all!]

[So, human… what will you take this time? My lungs? My gills?]

The two heads glared at Reynald, groaning. Their eyes barely stayed open; one decisive strike might be enough to finish them both.

Yet Reynald shook his head and spoke calmly.

“No. I intend to clear up the misunderstanding you’re having.”

[Misunderstanding?]

“We really don’t know the identity of this ‘intruder’ you spoke of. The traces you mentioned—that necklace dropped into the water earlier—must be what you’re referring to, right? That necklace isn’t ours. It was something Volant happened to find in his field—nothing more.”

As Reynald spoke, he kept his eyes on the jelly. If the surface color shifted even slightly, it would mean Volant was being poisoned, and he was ready to slice it open with his sword.

The two heads exchanged a confused glance, and Reynald waited for their reply. But before they could answer, someone else unexpectedly spoke up.

“Wait, Lord Reynald. If the necklace is what caused this problem…!”

“Alex? What is it?”

“That necklace—it’s not just something he happened to find in the fields! It might be tied to the murder of Volant’s family last year!”

Shouting this, Alex leaned toward the right head, as if certain it knew something.

“Was the intruder you mentioned… a human wearing a strange white mask?”

[That’s right.]

“That intruder killed the people of our village. I heard he entered Volant’s house, saying he only wanted to spend one night there, and then, while Volant was away, murdered his entire family and fled.”

[……!]

“Volant kept that necklace because he thought it might be linked to his family’s killer. He hoped that by holding onto it, he might one day find the murderer and take revenge.”

Alex muttered the last part with some reluctance, unsure if revealing this was wise. But the explanation tied everything neatly together. It explained why Volant’s expression had darkened so suddenly when they’d found the necklace during the spring cleaning.

Had he told them earlier, they might have been able to help—but Reynald dismissed the thought. It was too personal a matter to share easily, and even if they’d known, finding the killer would’ve been nearly impossible. Someone who had murdered Volant’s family and maimed the serpent before fleeing? There was no easy way to catch such a foe.

The two heads widened their eyes at Alex’s words. It was hard to read a reptilian face, but Reynald sensed embarrassment from them. After a moment of silent exchange, the right head sighed.

[It seems I misunderstood the situation… I apologize. If that’s true, then you’ve also been wronged by that fiend.]

“……”

[I do not know the whereabouts of that demon. I only heard him mutter about heading farther east after cutting off my scales and fur, and tearing out half the other head’s brain.]

“I see… farther east.”

East of here lay lands well beyond Reynald’s domain—perhaps even past the borders of the Kingdom of Carbonel. With no countries further east, “borders” meant little, but catching the man would be difficult.

It was an unsatisfying conclusion, but at least the misunderstanding was resolved. Reynald exhaled and raised his sword toward the jelly. He meant to rescue Volant, but for some reason, the serpent’s heads shut their eyes tightly, as if bracing for execution.

[So… what part will you take this time? My lungs? My gills?]

“What? No—we’re just here to retrieve our companion.”

[You’re saying you won’t harm us?]

“I’ve grown tired of fighting, and I have no wish to continue. This much venom won’t kill you. Sleep it off at the bottom of the lake and you’ll recover.”

Reynald could have killed them, but chose not to. The reason was simple: Serna’s earlier words about the “lake’s ecosystem” lingered in his mind.

This serpent had likely kept the balance here, preying on demon octofish and other dangerous monsters. If it were killed or crippled, the lake would soon become overrun with vile creatures, losing its beauty forever.

And since the lake lay within Reynald’s domain, preserving its state would be best—especially if he wanted to return here in autumn to fish again.

Still, the serpent’s heads narrowed their eyes suspiciously. The left head spat out a question.

[You’re not lying? Smelling you up close, I finally get it—you’re a dragonslayer. Someone like you doesn’t not kill dragons. So why spare us?]

“Oh? And how do you know I’ve slain a dragon? I doubt you’ve heard rumors.”

[Forget rumors—your magic reeks. You’ve got the stench of an ancient red dragon all over you. A thousand years old, at least. The things you kill leave traces on your soul.]

So… kind of like how roasting meat leaves the smell on your clothes? Reynald didn’t fully grasp magic, but it seemed monsters of this caliber could sense what their foes had slain.

“Even so, I don’t kill dragons indiscriminately. I had reasons back then—reasons I couldn’t avoid.”

[And now? Do you have a reason not to kill me?]

“Of course. You just apologized—for misunderstanding.”

At that, the left head looked flustered, eyes darting about. Strictly speaking, it had been the right head that apologized, not the left, but it hardly mattered.

The two weren’t separate beings; they were two personas inhabiting one body. What one did was as good as both doing it.

“You didn’t actually attack us during the past six days. You knew we were fishing here, and yet you left us alone. If not for this small misunderstanding, we wouldn’t even have crossed paths, let alone fought. Am I wrong?”

[Well… I suppose not.]

“Then there’s no reason to keep fighting. Let’s end this here. As of tomorrow, we’ll have enough provisions—we won’t need to fish here any longer.”

The two heads gazed at each other in confusion for a long moment, then finally closed their eyes in assent. Reynald wasted no time. He swung his sword, slicing open the jelly. From inside spilled Volant’s limp body.

‘…He’s breathing. Just unconscious.’

Relieved, Reynald lowered Volant to the deck. He hadn’t been affected by the venom; by the time they reached shore, he’d likely awaken.

When he did, Reynald would have to tell him what happened—that they’d discovered the traces of his family’s killer. Would the youth feel joy? Or grief that the fiend had once again escaped? That, Reynald could not know.

“Well then… farewell.”

The serpent likely couldn’t even comprehend his words now, but Reynald bid it goodbye anyway, giving a small wave to both heads.

Beyond the lake, the sun was setting.

They would have to hurry home.