A Snake’s Life Ch 35

Chapter 35

 

That was the biggest reason I had brought Kir. I looked at him seriously. Kir, who had turned his body away at those words, moved and looked at me.

[First, hold on to the power that’s leaking out.]

“How do I do that?”

Kir let out a small sigh.

[Do you see the blue light floating in the air?]

“I can see it when I concentrate to use my power…”

[That light is your power. In human terms… they call it divine power.]

Divine power, huh? That’s what the priests use… Well, the temple was a religion that believed in the Guardian Spirit. For now, I thought I should show what I could do. I showed Kir how I manipulated water. A small droplet of water was floating above my fingertip. When I moved my finger, the droplet followed it.

“This much for now?”

Kir frowned, as if it didn’t meet his standards. What can I do? This is my best.

[…At least you know how to use it. You’ve probably practiced releasing power from within to outside, right?]

Kir was right. I thought the power was inside me, and I had imagined pulling it out. I nodded at his words.

[Then it should be easy. Even pulling in internal power while it’s leaking out is quite a skill.]

“I just tried really hard, and it worked?”

[That wasn’t a compliment. Try doing it in reverse. Pull it from outside to inside. Keep the power from leaking out. If you can do that, the power inside you will become full, and you’ll be able to use it more easily. Start by stopping the power from leaking.]

I scratched my cheek awkwardly. So basically, think in reverse? Should I meditate or something? I remembered some yoga poses I had learned before. I slightly pushed out my chest, straightened my back, sat with my legs comfortably together, and rested my hands lightly on my knees. I took deep breaths and focused my consciousness.

Hmm? Is this it?

As I kept concentrating, I felt like I could see something. It really was leaking! Now I understood why Kir had looked so appalled. A huge amount of blue aura was pouring out of my body. Alarmed, I started to pull it back in. I had been radiating my presence in all directions! Go back in! Kir noticed that the energy was retreating inward.

[Looks like you’ve got the hang of it. That’s how it’s done.]

“Phew. How about now?”

Meditation is hard. I wiped the sweat off my forehead as I spoke. Kir thoroughly checked various parts of my body and said,

[It’s leaking out again… It seems you’ll need to habitually hold the power back.]

This was trickier than I thought. I had let my guard down, thinking I’d succeeded, but the power started leaking again. Only after repeating it several times did I escape Kir’s strict gaze.

[Now it should be much easier to control. Try using it.]

So now I’m really going to use it? Memories of all the days I’d spent trying to control my power flashed before my eyes. How hard it had been… All I could do was manipulate a handful of water. And even that took a huge amount of energy. Before I began, I loosened up my hands. Alright, shall I start? Just then, there was a loud bang, and Casa entered. The loud sound drew both my and Kir’s attention to Casa. His face was stiff, and he shouted loudly at me.

“Get down!!”

The lights went out, and I heard the windows shatter. I quickly covered my head with my hands. Despite his large build, Kir darted quickly and hid between the beds. Black shadows broke through the shattered window and came in.

I heard several footsteps, and people in black clothes stepped into the room with muddy shoes. They looked startled when they saw me. But only for a moment—their movements were incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, a sharp blade was coming toward me. The situation was so sudden, I was too stunned to move.

That’s when the necklace around my neck lit up. I shielded my face with my arm at the red light, and I heard a clang. The dagger was blocked by a barrier and bounced into the air.

“This is…”

The masked person was flustered. Casa didn’t miss the moment of distraction. The masked man failed to completely dodge Casa’s sword and got a cut on his back. But he must have been skilled too—despite bleeding, he dodged the follow-up attacks with agile movements.

Blood splattered in front of my eyes. It all happened before I could say a word. Casa stood in front of me. The once-white bed sheets were soaked with the attacker’s blood. He was doing his best to protect me. The room became a mess from Casa and the attackers’ fight.

All I could do was stare blankly. I couldn’t follow their movements with my eyes. Casa was quick, and they kept clashing and being knocked back. Black hoods, black masks, small daggers, and agile movements—it was clear they were assassins.

Now I understood why the master had assigned such a competent person to me. Casa was alone, and though there were more assassins, he wasn’t easily overpowered despite being outnumbered.

“Take cover!”

“Uh… okay.”

He told me to take cover, but there was nowhere to hide. I tried to run outside to escape the dark room, but of course, they wouldn’t let me go so easily. Their fierce attacks left me frozen, and I ended up clinging to Casa’s back. All I could do was tremble in fear behind him.

Is watching all I can do? I had just been practicing to control my power a moment ago. But my body was shaking, and I was too tense to even see the blue light, let alone focus. I cursed myself silently. Pathetic… This wasn’t the resolution I had made. I had tried to change because I didn’t want to be protected anymore.

Because of the numbers, Casa could only block the flying blades and had no chance to counterattack. And on top of that, he had to protect me.

They were clearly after me. Whenever they saw a chance, they threw daggers at me. Eventually, one of the daggers grazed Casa’s shoulder. I witnessed him getting injured right before my eyes. My hands trembled violently. I could feel my voice shaking too.

“Ugh…”

“Hey… are you okay?”

Realizing this couldn’t go on, Casa glanced at me and began to scan the surroundings. He was slowly being pushed back and said to me,

“Listen carefully. When I give the signal, run straight out of the room.”

I turned my head. The door was wide open. Because Zerpell disliked people approaching my room, only a minimal number of people were stationed there. But still, there had been guards and attendants. When I turned to look, there was someone. It was the knight who always greeted me when I returned. He had fallen at the door with his eyes open, as if he hadn’t even realized he was dying.

“A signal has been sent, so His Highness will be here soon.”

I didn’t know what kind of signal he meant, but hearing that Zerpell was coming gave me some relief. I was angry at my own powerlessness for only being able to wait and be protected, but it wasn’t the time for that. As long as I was here, I was clearly a burden to him. Casa managed to strike down one of the attackers.

“Now!”

At Casa’s signal, I ran quickly. A curse slipped out of my mouth. Shit… I ran as fast as I could. It wasn’t far, but in that moment, it felt like a great distance. Casa was blocking the assassins trying to chase after me. I was worried seeing him stagger, but there was nothing I could do.

Just as I was about to get out, I heard Casa shouting as someone broke through his defenses. I instinctively looked back. Something caught my foot. It was a shattered ceramic piece from earlier chaos between Casa and the assassins. The room was dark, and it was hard to see. The ceramic shard scratched my leg, and my entangled foot caused me to fall forward.

In the end, I fell. I shut my eyes tightly against the incoming dagger.

[Child!]

I braced myself for pain, but nothing happened. I heard the sound of the dagger falling. When I opened my eyes slightly, I saw the dagger lying next to me. A drop of water landed on my face. It seemed Kir had used a blade of water to deflect the thrown dagger. The assassin didn’t hesitate—he pulled out another dagger to stab me. Our eyes met. His eyes gleamed sharply. The murderous intent froze my body.

Then I heard footsteps approaching, and a sword pierced the assassin’s shoulder. He staggered back. His blood splattered directly onto my face. A hand helped me up, and a large shadow appeared in front of me. It was the master. His back radiated fury, and he looked incredibly reliable.

“Protect Shuiren.”

Zerpell’s voice was terrifyingly cold. Like frost had settled, his tone was icy. The assassins felt his energy and stepped back, clearly tense.

Thud.

Zerpell pulled out the sword lodged in the assassin and immediately severed his neck. The head rolled on the floor. My body froze in fear. As Cedric joined the fight, they began to swiftly take down the assassins one by one.

“Please stand. Leave this to His Highness.”

I heard Ian’s voice next to my ear. My legs had given out, and I couldn’t think of standing. I just sat on the floor, dazed. As Zerpell swung his sword, his opponents were wounded, and blood splattered. With a final scream, they fell. He looked like a predator hunting its prey, his eyes glinting sharply as he slashed down the enemies in his path. Zerpell didn’t blink an eye, mercilessly swinging his sword as blood splashed all over him.

This wasn’t the man I knew. He wasn’t the one who smiled kindly at me or the one who always had a blank face. His eyes glowed with a terrifying light as he swung his sword. The assassins faltered under his overwhelming aura.

As their comrades fell, a few assassins tried to flee. But Zerpell didn’t let them escape. Cedric shouted from behind, “We need to investigate their background!” but Zerpell didn’t seem to hear and took care of every last one of them. In the end, none of them were left breathing.

“I’m sorry.”

Once it was over, Casa knelt gloomily and reported to Zerpell. Blood dripped from Zerpell’s sword. The room was filled with the smell of blood.

“No… it’s my failure.”

Zerpell’s voice was deep and subdued, and the hand holding the sword was clenched tight. He turned his head and met my eyes. He walked toward me, who was still sitting on the floor, and knelt on one knee, reaching out his hand.

“I’m sorry I frightened you… Are you hurt…”

Just then, the lights came back on. The scene that had been dimly visible in the darkness came into full view. Corpses bleeding on the floor and Zerpell soaked in blood. He squinted, dazzled by the sudden light.

His bloodstained hand reached toward me. Instinctively, I squeezed my eyes shut and lowered my head. Zerpell clearly saw my reaction, and his hand froze in midair. The atmosphere turned icy as if doused in cold water. Ian, Cedric, and Casa all witnessed it.

Did I just flinch away? From my master?? I quickly looked up, but it was too late. The damage was done.