[Chapter 2]
-Lamia-
Some time has passed since I died as a Dragon and was reborn a Human. I am standing in an open plain, such landscape is common in this world. A gust of cold wind blows against my face. There are still traces of last winter around, as of right now, it is currently early spring. My legs shiver against the cold as I continue to stand in this open field. It is fill with green, a sign of freshness. The wind carries a faint aroma of flowers too.
Currently, being held in my hand is a knitted basket. Inside are several kinds of medicinal herbs.
Fumu. Today’s harvest is sufficient if I do say so myself.
While thinking about one of the Dragon race’s favorite phrases as a habit, I fill myself with pride and self-satisfaction. While doing so, I hear a voice calling out to me from behind.
“Dran-san, let’s head back soon.”
“Ah, alright. It’s about time, the day is about to end after all.”
Turning around, the figure of a girl with long, flying, and curly red hair behind her back is reflected in my pupils. She’s wearing a frayed fabric blouse and a long skirt, moreover, on her back, she carries a basket just like I do. This is the usual appearance of those who lives in a remote, and more to the frontier villages. Regardless, she has the smile as radiant as the sun, and the freckles around her cheeks further contribute to her charm. Her name is Airi. Happily playing around Airi, in the grass plain, are four Human children.
Airi and I are part of a small village named Bern located at the edge of the continent. They are not just children playing. They are the children of human, of man. The cause of me living as a human must be the work of the Three Goddesses whom ruled over Fate. I, who was the strongest dragon in existence, who held unmatched power, The Strongest, belonged to the most powerful race, was reborn as a human. When I was killed by the hands of the Hero, through some used of forbidden art, my memories and my soul, was was reborn into a new body while also retaining my strength. It was never my intention nor do I know who’s intention was it to had me reincarnate. However, I’ve come to accept the fact that this was what happened and live with it.
All of the theories I came up with, since the time I was still an infant, are just guesswork. I still have no solid evidence as to why I was reborn as a Human. It could be that while I was dying as a Dragon, some sort of Magic Spell was used on me. My physical body was no more, that much I am certain. However, my soul, the soul of the strongest dragon, is strong and impossible to destroy. The Heroes or those who ordered them to subdue me must have known this, and instead tried to weaken my soul through reincarnation.
Thus, instead of going to the Sea of Souls, my soul would be force to repeatedly tries to transmigrate, destine to weaken along with losing my memories and my former strength of a dragon. When it comes to begins highly ranked in spiritual power, even if their their body, is destroyed, its information will be record within their soul. With it, ones can reconstruct or recreate their body from scratch. To me, a body is but a container, and as long as my soul is safe, I can create and regenerate any amount of flesh to serve my liking. At the time when the Hero struck me with the dragon killing sword, I simply was longing for death, and in away, it was given to me. What happened then was just an exception.
Those who wanted me dead, out of fear about my revival, did something to me by forcing my soul into experienced their specially weaved spell which somehow interfered with my transmigration process at the time of my death. As a matter of fact, not long after my human birth, I took noticed that my soul was excessively weaken. That completely amazed me. Both the quality and quantity of magical power which my soul produce are different from the time before my rebirth.
The production of my magical power in the current state is like a completely different terrain compare to before. It was like down pouring rain in the past and now it is similar to morning fog condensed into drops of water dripping down from leaves, one at a time. Even so, the volume of magic my dragon soul produce is far, far, surpassed human’s common sense. Fortunately for me, I have not forgotten how to handle such an amount so I won’t die anytime soon, nor will I see any half alive, half dead person laying around as a result of my power going rampant. Also, human body is just like any other body, with enough magic, one can regenerate any amount of flesh while also be able to store excessive amount of magic. I chose to limit my power and only mimicry the amount an average human produce, taking care not to abuse my power if possible, and stay within the realm which won’t seem too absurd to other humans.
As I follow Airi back to our village, the children are playing cheerfully while walking in front of her. The village is surrounded by a wall made of stones. With a population of around 300, it is only a small outskirt village at the edge of the continent. Being at the edge of the continent, the village often gets attacked by demons and bandits, so the wall serves as a line of defense. There are two ways to enter this village via roads. There is the North Gate and the South Gate. Each gate has two big wooden doors reinforced with iron. There are always at least two soldiers stationing at each gate. Each is armed with a spear and sword, along with bow and arrows.
In the village’s vicinity, one can spot Goblins with child-like height, Kobold with dog-like heads, and armed Lizard which had lizard-like outer appearance walking on two legs. Although the first two races have strength inferior to human, they have a very high reproductive rate as well as fast maturity, they are able to increase in number at an astounding speed. Among them, there are also those who can harness the power of spirits, the shamans. They are not to be taken lightly. The Lizard on the other hand, has a much lower birth rate compared to the other two races but their individual combat abilities is much higher. The villagers in my village train with the Lizard to some extent, and everyone have a very tough time wining one-one-one. Especially when it comes to the Lizard’s tribe commanding officers. They are a very, very tough match up. Even the skilled soldier or even a highly trained knight holding a normal spar with them must be prepared to come out exhausted.
When I still possessed my dragon body, I hardly considered the characteristics of these three races to be of any importance, but after spending some time as a human, I have reconsidered my ways of thinking. Fortunately, the relationship between human and Lizard, as well as other races is very good. The people of Bern helped the Lizard race out in time of needs and the Lizard, likewise, thus both race were able to formed a good relation. It’s not a common sight you’ll see everywhere that human and Lizard are on good terms.
On the way back, I have an amusing chat with the others about the day, although some funny moments they mention make no sense to me. On the other hand, the children are still running around in front of us. Human children are very hyper. With that vigor, the continent is sure to prosper. Nothing compared to a baby Dragon being hatch from it’s egg, boring stuff.
After we enter the village and get to the first intersection, I part with the children. I walk back to the typical looking house that I’ve built. The wall is made out of trees with mud as the filling. The roof is made out of straw mixed with grass.
On this country and in this village, one is considered to be an adult at the age of fifteen. In a family with a boy as its eldest son, at fifteen, the boy will start to work on the farm that will be provided by the parents or the village. After one year, it is a custom that he will build a house of his own, instead of sharing his parent’s house, and become fully independent.
I am sixteen this year. It has been some time since I left my parents, and I’m enjoying my single life. Walking past my house, I decide to pay my parents a visit since the harvest today is very good, and I have some time to spare. It is a short walk to their house, since I’ve built mine in the same area. Opening and closing the wooden door with a squeaking sound, I enter the house.
“Hello Mom! Today’s harvest was plentiful, I went to the store and traded them for some herbs and breads, but it seems like I will have some extra.”
I say my purpose for being here and hand the herb to my mother.
“You’ve come back! These herbs have a very high quality to them. With this I can make some very good medicine.”
“It is going well I see.”
My mother Aracena greets me as I enter the house. My mother is the only one in the house, and it seems like my father and brother are still working in the field. My mother has her golden blonde hair tied up in a ponytail. She’s wearing a faded apron along with a white scarf. The area around her waist is a little bit dirty. Such is the appearance of a mother I’ve always known.
Life in this region is tough. It is filled with troubles, dangers, misfortunes, and unreasonable situations, but if one can endure it, they will find some sort of happiness. With her back turned away from me, she turns her head and reveals a bright smile to me. Women in this village have strong wills, and strong hearts, but they are gentle to their family.
With my memories as a Dragon still intact, I find that it is laughable that the way my mother treats me and my little brother is very different. After all, my actions do not match my age, so she treats me as an adult earlier than my little brother.
There is a lot of work involved in taking care of a child, and the one who carries all the burdens is none other than the wife. I find that women are very respectable, and I have a deep respect for my mom. Of course, not all Humans are worthy of respect. One does not simply have respect, they must earn it. My parents earned mine, but in this village, most people are simply too weak minded. However, that doesn’t mean they are worthless, but it’s a weakness of each individual.
Although there are Gods, and they are being worshiped by Humans who are seeking help. I also worship them, only in a sense of course. I once laughed at the Gods and crushed many dreams. I should also note that behind each and every one of these Gods is an ugly face that they never want to be reveal to anyone.
After handing the extra herbs and bread to my Mother, I return to my house.
My dinner is simple. I cook the vegetables and eat it with the bread I’ve gotten from the store. It is my usual dinner, but the taste of Human food mixing with the senses of a Dragon always gives me a fresh taste that has never failed to cheer me up for the last sixteen years of my life as a Human.
From time to time, my senses of a Dragon interfere with my Human senses. For example, when I eat, I always find that something seems to be missing. Apparently it is because I can’t see my mouth while chewing and it annoys me. The field of vision is completely different from that of a Dragon. I had a lot of problem with my vision ever since I was born, but I’ve gotten used to it. I wonder if there are any other reincarnated Dragons around that have the same problem. The taste and sense of smell from my soul connected to my Human body are not completely in sync either, I wonder if they ever will be? But because of that, I can experience many interesting things.
There is no sign of a demon’s attack tonight, so I give my thanks in a prayer that everything went smoothly today. I spent time and effort making spears and arrows for self defense from the trees I cut down while building my house. I use every resource the trees had to offer, from the branches to the roots.
My house has three rooms in total, a dining room, a bedroom, and a storage room. When I go to bed, I spread a thick layer of straw on top of the floor and put a layer of animal fur above it, then I have myself a place to sleep. Life for me is quite simple.
The weather here is harsh. In the summer, it is very sultry, and in the winter, if not careful, one might freeze to death. Mother Nature is not joking around. I take precaution against each of these problems by applying a couple layers of fur in the winter and less fur in the summer. Even so, it is difficult to sleep sometimes.
After a year of working, I believe the environment of this world is beautiful, and it saddens me to see what Humans have done to the surroundings. Especially the condition inside the village. When I was born into this world, it was warm and whenever my mom gave me an early morning sun bath, I was humming and singing, or tried to. There is only a handful of people that know of my secret, that I love sunbathing.
As the sun rises, and dyes the sky with a golden color, the villagers start to wake up and ready for work. I wake up earlier than the rest and warm up the leftover dinner from last night. After breakfast, I go to the field to work again.
Ever since I was a baby, I’ve always been curious about how my parents had earn the right to work on the field near the village outskirt at such a young age, for it’s only a short walk to get there, and more convenient. As a habit of mine, whenever I have free time while working, I would walk around the neighborhood, and observe others working hard on their jobs. As to how I have free time, it is because my soul produces lots of magical energy, I occasionally use magic to help me finish with work. This is just my speculation but it seems like my Dragon soul also strengthens my overall senses and physical strength.
I devote a lot of my time into farm work and am aim to achieve even greater success in farming. Of course I will only use minimal amount of magic and Human strength alone. Everybody is always busy doing their own work, but my habit does not annoy anyone since it is well known to the villagers.
I can produce crops equal to the effort put in by 100 adult Humans per season if I use magic on my field. However, showing that in front of everyone is a no go. People who can wield magic are not uncommon in more populated areas, but around the edge of the continent, it is rare for a person who can utilize magic to be born. Fortunately for me, there is a family of magicians settled in the village. So naturally, I go to them and learn Human magic. But most of their magic are simple and I get bored of it quickly.
Thus, after I finish my breakfast, I go to work, and break some sweat to make a living.
As I walk into the open plain towards the forest, I see someone leading a group of children. Some thought pops up in my mind, but they are probably just going to help out with hunting. While thinking so, I continue on to my field.
On the same day, I decide to head to the Northeast region of the village, where the old Lizard tribe village was located. The friendly relationship between the Lizard tribe and the village is common knowledge around here, and when a disaster struck their village, the Human villagers helped the Lizard tribe build a new village near the lake around here. All of this happened about ten years ago. Before I head to the old Lizard village, however, I pack up a few days worth of supply because I will be spending some time there, in order to uncover what had happened to the village.
Few days later, when all the preparations are finished, and I am about to leave. I see my brother, Marco, in front of my house, and behind him are two women stand facing each other. The two women have delicate facial expression on them, and their experience look much like that of my mother. The atmosphere around those two seem very dangerous. They let out enough killing intent to scare away one or two Goblin. As to the reason why Marco is here, I asked him to take care of my house and my field while I am gone. This should give him some experience so that in a year or so, he can start to live alone.
“I will be going up to the swamp. I won’t be back until tomorrow evening at the latest. I’ll leave you my house and field to take care of.”
“Yes, brother, you can leave it to me. After all, you take very good care of your house and field. Rather than that, you should be worried of where you are heading, be careful, it can be dangerous there.”
It has been around ten years or so since that disaster happened to the Lizard tribe, there may very well be demons lurking around there. Humans have not set foot there since and neither did anyone from the Lizard tribe. When I declared that I will go there and investigate, my parents and brother were absolutely against it. There was a lot more commotion than necessary. In the end, I was able to convince them, and today is when I head out.
“If you do a good job, I’ll bring back some souvenirs from the swamp.”
“Just come back safely, without any scratches is good enough.”
I finish bidding farewell to Marco, and depart. I carry the leather bag which I have put water and two days worth of food into. I bring with me a sword and a dagger just in case things get ugly along the way. Even though it has been ten years since the disaster, the road which heads Northeast toward the old settlement is still usable. There are stories about how people would walk there and mysteriously disappear.
As I travel further north, more Goblins and Kobold appear, but it shouldn’t be surprising, considering the fact that this is where they live. Still, it is weird to see so many Goblins. Occasionally, I see one or two wolves that were separated from their pack. I am prepared to kill them if they come at me, but they are smart enough to avoid me. When the sun is about to set, I’ve already arrived at my destination. I set up camp near the site. Thinking to myself that I have survived the first day, Marco worries were for naught.
The people from the Lizard tribe avoid talking about what had happened to their village, despite the fact that they know something was unnatural. On the Human side however, no one is really sure what the cause was. This boggy place was where the Lizard tribe once lived. Yet for some reason they left it and never returned. Humans should have no business coming here. It shouldn’t take too long to investigate, half a day at the maximum.
Before the sun set completely, I decide to take a look at the swamp. The vegetation around here flourishes wildly. Grass is very tall and the ground is muddy. The air is filled with fine water particles, and when they condense on my cheek, it feel uncomfortable. It is not as if the air around here is humid, because it is, but something isn’t right.
Standing on the bank of the swamp, there is a nasty smell coming from it. There is no sign of life in the vicinity neither. In the middle, lay the ruin of the old Lizard village. Being exposed to the elements for a decade, houses roofs have collapsed and the muddy walls have become piles of mud. On the ground, weapons left behind by the Lizard tribe are rusted beyond recognition. The wild has almost completely take over this place.
“Hmm…”
I let out a small sigh while standing on the edge of the swamp. I pick up traces of Earth attribute magic.
The Lizard probably made their houses using magic, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to withstand this kind of environment.
Harnessing the power of spirits and manipulating the element, the Lizard tribe is quite skilled. As a Dragon, I can change the elements with little to no effort. The same thing can be said to all Dragons, this does not only apply to myself.
Natural phenomenons in this world, the material world, is heavily affected by the spirits living in the Spirit world. The two worlds are connected to one another. I have no interest for that dimension. The scene in front of me right now shows the effect spirit activities have on this world. Around here, the Water attribute is weakened, and the Earth attribute has strengthened. This makes the swamp unbalanced and causes the surrounding to be muddy. While still looking, I remember that my father mentioned this place had a big earthquake. Could that have changed the landscape to this degree?
You could hardly call this a swamp anymore. It’s more like a muddy field, yes, this is a mud field. If I use my power, this mud field will become a swamp flourishing with life again. But will people be happy to come back to a such a place? As far as I know, the Lizard’s current lifestyle is going very well.
Right, should I go fishing by the river in the morning? After that I can restore this place to how it was after.
Which make me wonder, how did the Lizard tribe live here? Off of fish? I suppose, but once the fishing season ends, they will have to secure a new food source. Life is hard in the north, I think to myself.
Even though no demons attacked on the way, I must consider the chances and come up with countermeasures. Food and security, all of which can be discarded if one gave up on living. But this life is fun, there’s no way I will abandon it half way.
I cross my arms and continue to think about what I should do, but then I notice the sound of a huge snake slithering from my side. It stops just before the bank of the mud field. I look at the serpent that stopped at the ruins of the Lizard tribe.
“Hou?”
I instinctively let out a small sigh of admiration.
She has long, straight, golden hair that is even more beautiful in the setting sun light. The position of her eyes, and nose is not short of perfection. If anyone else was to see this sight, they would no doubt say that it is the work of the most talented artist. With blue eyes shining like Sapphires. Wearing a white hooded cape and a simple pale blue dress while carrying a bag diagonally from her left shoulder. Showing a puzzle look on her face, she appear to be an innocent girl that is in her late teens. Her snake tongue kept going in and out of her red lips.
We stare at each other for a while, the girl’s face is a head above mine judging from the distance. Her torso is that of a giant snake. Her snake body is covered with green scales. From the waist down near to the ground, a piece of dress covers it. Her snake body is bendy behind her.
I mutter “Lamia” to myself as I remember that she is a type of demon, but there is no way a demon with a face as beautiful as that could exist. I heard from the village chief that there was once a demon who cursed the Princess of the Kingdom and she was exiled due to the fact that her appearance changed, and that the Lamia race are her descendants. I did not think that a Lamia would live around this place. But what defines someone as a demon? Is it their appearance? Is it their strength? Or is it what’s in their mind? If so, then I must be the worst of them all.
For the Lamia race however, because of their strong ability to manipulate magical power, along with their powerful snake half, which can crush the bones of a fully grown adult Human with ease. A small village would easily be annihilated if even a single Lamia were to appear. To Humans, they are labeled as monsters. Rumors say that the upper-Human-half of the Lamia race generally has a very beautiful female appearance. This girl in front of me fits that description perfectly.
In addition to that, there is a feeling of female maturity being given off from the girl’s body. Specifically from the coloring of her lower-body, the charm that’s being given off of those green scales. I find her very attractive and it’s hard to look away. It seem like my preferences are still that of Dragon/reptile base. With my experience in the past, I can tell exactly at which state she’s at just from the shininess, the smooth curve, and the flexibility of those scales. Undulating scales are so attractive. In this case, the girl possess both Human and reptile beauty in her appearance. A Lamia may be the only race where I can give full points from of view of both a Human and Dragon.
After a while of awkward staring, the Lamia reveals a smile across her face and then she licks her lips with her long tongue, all the while giving me an uncomfortable look. With her lips now moist by her saliva, she’s look even more attractive than before. Any normal mortal men, without exception, would be attracted to her. To me, that look she’s giving me is making me feeling as if I am prey. In fact, Lamia only type of food is life force, specifically animal’s life force. They keep their preys captive and feed off of their life force. However, their favorites are Human males. Most men who encounter a Lamia would most probably become her snack. In this Lamia’s eyes, I am probably no different.
If it’s my life she’s aiming for, then I will give her one hell of a hunt.
“It is very foolish for a Human being to come here alone. Is there anyone else with you, I wonder?”
It is an incredibly sweet voice. It sounds like a melody sung by the best vocalist, it is as sweet as honey, such an ecstatic tone. The owner of this voice is none other than the girl in front of me, who has not even finished going through her puberty. She used a bit of magic charm while asking me that question. Such a trick is meant to help her with the capture of a prey, let it be animals or Humans. However, it sounds very generic. It’s as if she is taking that phrase straight out of a book. In additions to that, the acting is good but it is still rough around the edges, her tongue can use a little more work. Nevertheless, her acting performance is being wasted if she’s only using it to get food.
I answer her with a calm voice.
“There isn’t anyone else here beside me.”
“Is that so. That’s good then.”
After hearing my reply, she puts her hands on her ample breasts and give out a sigh of relief.
In this situation, as a Human, I should be scared for my life right now. Noticing that I am calm, the girl probably suspects that something is not normal. To my relief, the image of a Lamia in my head is completely blown away by the appearance of this girl. Thank you very much.
Then the girl asks me to state my business for being here.
I give her a brief summary of my travel, and that I come here to take a look at the swamp and plan to settle for the night nearby. While observing me, I can tell that she’s wary, or I should say frightened towards me.
I appear to be calm, perfectly calm, even though it is a well known fact that Lamias are dangerous to Humans, as I stretch out my right hand and slowly place it on top of my sword handle. Noticing my movements, the girl fully reveals her frightened face and slightly recedes away from me. Seems to me that she has a weak personality and hates to fight. I get to know this Lamia more and more.
“Wait, I mean…”
Without waiting for her to finish her sentence, I pull out my sword and slash through a muddy arm that is connected to the earth behind me. The arm hits the ground and stop moving.
“…don’t attack. Eh?”
It takes her a while to understand what just happened, and so I sheath my sword and show that I hold no hostility toward her. I then explain to her in detail what happened to the swamp, and how the elements are unbalanced around the area.
“The Lizard tribe lived here long ago, but they were forced to relocate after a disaster that struck their village. The strength of the Earth element around this area is abnormal, the spirit is going crazy and causing disaster in the Material world. It is possible that this may get worse. It was the correct decision that the Lizard leave the swamp.”
While I tell the girl the story, a couple more arms extend out from the Earth, but I cut them down as soon as they surface. But it seem like the arms are being attracting to a strong magical power source. Utilizing my enhance senses, I try to look for a clue as to why the spirits are going crazy. I also try to tap into the magical network within the earth to look for the mad spirits. I suddenly feel that the ground beneath my feet is about to turn into a quagmire, my body instinctively jumps to the left of the Lamia.
“Huh, oh, what!”
The Lamia gets flustered instantly.
Fumu. How cute.
“Say, what kind of magic can Lamia use?”
I ask the girl while looking at her. The girl, snapping back from embarrassment, begin to think.
“Ermm. The people from my tribe are mostly people with Water affinity, a spirit of the Earth as an opponent is…”
Each element affinity or attribute of magic has its own interaction with one another. Earth attribute tends to work well against Water, which means the girl will have a hard time using her magic against the spirit. If going against Earth magic, then it’s common sense to use Wind magic to counter.
“Speaking to a Lamia as if we are the same. Wouldn’t it be hard for you to go against the Earth spirit with your power as a Human? Fumu.”
It’s seem like I am being looked down upon quite a bit. It’s not a lie to say that a sixteen year old Human boy with only flesh and bone cannot hope to win against a spirit.
Oh well. I thought, as I turn around and see the discouraging look on her face. On the ground are one, two, three…while counting it, I find it to be a useless action and cut the arms down.
“There is magic my tribe specializes in that will work against spirits, but it takes time to prepare.”
“Is that so. Alright, here’s the plan, I’ll be in the front line protecting you while you prepare to unleash your magic. I excel at fighting alone, if you join me in battle it would only be a hindrance.”
She nods.
Even though we’ve just met, with a formidable opponent to defeat, I recklessly propose such a plan. The time we spend talking to each other is short, but I believe that this girl is the key in solving the problem. At the very least, we hold no hostility toward one another.
To be honest, I only half expected an answer to come back.
“With that said, I offer you my gratitude in advance.”
“Those words are only to be offered in marriage.”
“Eh? Ah, oh, I apologies.”
She’s an amusing one. I thought that to myself, then start running toward the mass of arms sticking out of the ground.
The mud arms are only a part that are being controlled by the spirit of the earth. It is only a piece of the spirit. Without hesitation, I cut them down one by one, buying time for the girl. In order to cleanse the Earth spirit from its state of madness, there are several ways. But in this situation, we’ve decided to defeat the spirit and send it back to the Spirit world.
If the girl didn’t show up, I was planning to forcefully inject my magical energy into the earth and lure out the spirit. After it takes the bait, I would defeat its physical form and release it to the Spirit world. That way would required me to put in a lot of magical energy, an amount that only the most well trained and talented wizard can muster. Or one of the Seven Heroes would also be capable of doing that much. It’s not as if normal Humans can’t produce magical energy, because they can, since their core is a soul and souls produce magical energy, but the rate at which Humans produce it is very slow.
To keep these arms off of the girl, I use a small amount of Dragon Class magic power and cut down the arms as soon as they surface. In a way, this feels like a game. But no matter how fast I cut them down, because they are supplied with magic from the spirit, these arms keep coming back for more. It’s getting harder to keep up with this much power.
While fighting, I notice that an arm is approaching the girl in my blind spot but of course I know since my senses are enhanced. I never had a blind spot to begin with so this is nothing to be worry about.
I continuously dance in the battlefield and cut down all the arms that are in and out of my vision. Without taking a break, I press on and do my best to keep the attackers away from the girl. Eventually I start to wear down, since there are limits to the Human body, this is to be expected. But the arms keep coming and as long as they are, I will continue my duty.
Even though I boosted my physical strength with magic, this has become a battle of endurance. In the past, there was someone who fought me with basically infinite strength, and it was easy to go all out, but I am a little limited in this situation. Due the rate of which the arms keep popping up after getting cut down remaining unchanged, the girl’s chant starts to make the spirit even more frenzied. The real fight has just begun.
“「I, the descendant of the Princess of The Kingdom, call upon the great Serpent God. Now is the time, grant me power so I may defeat my foes.」”
Long ago, The Serpent God, put a curse on a certain maiden, which changed her lower body into that of a serpent, and thus, she was exiled. As the girl continues to chant, a figure of a serpent begins to manifest on the muddy ground. Soon, the arms recognize the serpent as an enemy and start to shift their focus away from me. The serpent is so huge that it can swallow two or even three grown men at once. The arms are no match for the serpent. In addition to that, whenever the serpent touchs an arm, they get destroy and don’t come back.
“Fumu.”
I let out a small sigh.
With that kind of power, it surely is very difficult to maintain, much less control it. That magic the Lamia girl has at her disposal is more powerful than I anticipated. Despise that fact, this girl is not only maintaining it but continues to control it accurately. She definitely has the potential to become a great witch.
After a while, all the arms that attack the serpent cease to exist, turn into mud and fall to the ground. It was the right decision to ask for cooperation since with my current skill with the sword, to defeat all the arms would have been difficult. At the edge of my vision, I saw the Lamia girl relax her shoulders. I would at the very least scan the area one last time before I relax.
“Do not let your guard down just yet. I have a feeling that the spirit may show us its true form.”
“Ah, yes.”
While I am being impressed by her performance, the mud steadily raises in the middle of the mud field. The surface is completely black, and it continues to grow to the size of a hill top. The berserk Earth spirit finally decides to show itself. This is likely the cause of that earthquake ten years ago, and what makes this swamp lack the signs of life. The reason why it so big and powerful is probably due to the fact that it sucked up the power of the water and land surrounding it over the last decade.
I suspected that those arms from before were just its temporary body, looks like I was right. Its current shape is that of a wobbly upper Human body made out of mud, that is around two stories high. There are some outlines that are indeed resemble a Human’s upper body. There are two holes near the top, I think those are its eyes.
The black mud figure starts to approach us with an astonishing speed. The pressure emitted by the spirit is quite intimidating. Especially toward the Lamia girl, its pressure is starting to affect her. If one is exposed to that thing for an extended period of time, they would gradually go insane. Even if the girl is to summon that serpent from earlier, it is unlikely that it will be able to defeat that thing. I stop for a bit and take care as to not strain myself, then run after the girl trying to hold her back as she shouts some stupid things.
“Let’s me go, that thing is no match for my spirit summon.”
“Ah, but it’s dangerous.”
The ground is very muddy and slippery, so I find it’s very difficult to run, but I press on. The berserk spirit approaches the bank from the center of the swamp and starts to fire mud balls at us. Those mud balls are filled with magic so getting hit by one won’t be pleasant. I dodge them with ease since they travel a little slow.
The spirit continues to fire off mud balls at me and I dodge every one of them. Some of the mud balls almost hit me. Looking at the spirit, its eyes are directly focused on me. I am its main target, that much I can guess. Each time a mud ball hits the ground, it would make a moderately big hole on the Earth. If this continue, the surrounding area might become an open field when this is over. The quickest way to stop that thing is to destroy its physical form.
“The Serpent God’s poisonous fangs dwell in my blood. May I unleash its power upon my enemy.”
A familiar chant comes out from the girl behind me. Soon after, the familiar transparent serpent, once again, manifests in the Material world. Wasting no time, the serpent strikes the berserk spirit, trying to rip it apart. As those two fight, I see purple liquid oozing out of the serpent’s fangs. That must be the cursed poison. The cursed poison seem to be causing the berserk spirit to turn into a dense magical mass, and it starts to tremble in front of my eyes.
I am careless to expect the serpent to defeat that thing with poison alone. On the bright side, the berserk spirit’s movement speed has decreased greatly. As I am closing in, the berserk spirit lifts the arm that has been injured by poison, up into the air and slams it downward at me. Such a blow could have easily demolished a house, much less a Human body. Regardless of that, dues to its slow speed, I jump aside, and avoid it.
The Lamia girl lets out a small scream, thinking that I’ve been crushed.
Using my sword, imbued with magic, I cut off its left arm with a single slash. The sword, imbued with Dragon God Class magical power, becomes the best sword in existence. The arm that is cut off falls into the earth and turns into mud while losing its black color. While this lump of mud is still standing tall, I kick against the earth and fly up right to where its eyes are located. I know that, even though hollow, those eyes are looking at me very closely.
Your mind has been corrupted. The environment around here suffers because of you. I’ve made up my mind to send you back to the spirit world where you belong. I think to myself as I determine to defeat this thing. (T.L. Dran is a tree hugger.)
The berserk spirit starts to change a part of its muddy body into the shape of a spear and tries to skewer me. However, even while in the air, I am faster. As I pour more magic into my sword, it starts to glow, and with another swift slash, I cut the spirit into two.
“You did it!”
After I make my landing, I receive a cheer from the Lamia girl. After hearing that, I let out my favorite phrase proudly, showing some pity toward the spirit.
“Fumu.”
With that, I have successfully found and eliminated the cause of the disaster ten years ago. As for the natural balance around here, it will take sometime for it to restore itself. I will just have to let it follow its natural process. The body of the spirit is now split into two lumps of mud. When the spirit’s muddy body fell into the swamp it creates a wave of mud, and washes over the girl. As for me, I clad my body in magic, so the mud does not get onto my face or my cloth. The wave spreads and comes to a stop in about seven seconds or so. While my shoes get filled with mud and water, I start to walk back to the shore where the girl is standing.
“Uhh…Ue, I’ve gotten some mud in my mouth, and my clothes are covered with it.”
Unlike me, the girl is covered in mud, along with her golden hair, and her clothes are soaked. From my leather bag, I take out a leather flask, and hand it to her.
“Here, you should rinse your mouth with some water.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“No needs. Rather it is I that must give you my thanks. You’ve save me a lot of trouble. By the way, my name is Dran, I come from a village to the Southwest. It would be a pleasure if you would tell me your name.”
While holding the flask I gave her, she wiggles her lower body so that it fits into my field of vision, and bows while giving me her name.
“I’m Selia. As you can see, I am from the Lamia tribe.”
“Fumu, Selia. It’s a good name that you’ve received from your parents.”
Selia smiles shyly after hearing my words. She seems to be very pleased to hear a praise toward her parents, their relationship must be very close. It is a good thing that the parents and child are close. After living as a Human for sixteen years, that much I’ve understood. After we have put a lot of effort into solving the situation, it is only natural that I introduce myself. Part of me finds it troubling since this girl is, after all, from a race that is shunned by Human.
[To be continued]
[Chapter 2]
-Lamia-
Some time has passed since I died as a Dragon and was reborn a Human. I am standing in an open plain, such landscape is common in this world. A gust of cold wind blows against my face. There are still traces of last winter around, as of right now, it is currently early spring. My legs shiver against the cold as I continue to stand in this open field. It is fill with green, a sign of freshness. The wind carries a faint aroma of flowers too.
Currently, being held in my hand is a knitted basket. Inside are several kinds of medicinal herbs.
Fumu. Today’s harvest is sufficient if I do say so myself.
While thinking about one of the Dragon race’s favorite phrases as a habit, I fill myself with pride and self-satisfaction. While doing so, I hear a voice calling out to me from behind.
“Dran-san, let’s head back soon.”
“Ah, alright. It’s about time, the day is about to end after all.”
Turning around, the figure of a girl with long, flying, and curly red hair behind her back is reflected in my pupils. She’s wearing a frayed fabric blouse and a long skirt, moreover, on her back, she carries a basket just like I do. This is the usual appearance of those who lives in a remote, and more to the frontier villages. Regardless, she has the smile as radiant as the sun, and the freckles around her cheeks further contribute to her charm. Her name is Airi. Happily playing around Airi, in the grass plain, are four Human children.
Airi and I are part of a small village named Bern located at the edge of the continent. They are not just children playing. They are the children of human, of man. The cause of me living as a human must be the work of the Three Goddesses whom ruled over Fate. I, who was the strongest dragon in existence, who held unmatched power, The Strongest, belonged to the most powerful race, was reborn as a human. When I was killed by the hands of the Hero, through some used of forbidden art, my memories and my soul, was was reborn into a new body while also retaining my strength. It was never my intention nor do I know who’s intention was it to had me reincarnate. However, I’ve come to accept the fact that this was what happened and live with it.
All of the theories I came up with, since the time I was still an infant, are just guesswork. I still have no solid evidence as to why I was reborn as a Human. It could be that while I was dying as a Dragon, some sort of Magic Spell was used on me. My physical body was no more, that much I am certain. However, my soul, the soul of the strongest dragon, is strong and impossible to destroy. The Heroes or those who ordered them to subdue me must have known this, and instead tried to weaken my soul through reincarnation.
Thus, instead of going to the Sea of Souls, my soul would be force to repeatedly tries to transmigrate, destine to weaken along with losing my memories and my former strength of a dragon. When it comes to begins highly ranked in spiritual power, even if their their body, is destroyed, its information will be record within their soul. With it, ones can reconstruct or recreate their body from scratch. To me, a body is but a container, and as long as my soul is safe, I can create and regenerate any amount of flesh to serve my liking. At the time when the Hero struck me with the dragon killing sword, I simply was longing for death, and in away, it was given to me. What happened then was just an exception.
Those who wanted me dead, out of fear about my revival, did something to me by forcing my soul into experienced their specially weaved spell which somehow interfered with my transmigration process at the time of my death. As a matter of fact, not long after my human birth, I took noticed that my soul was excessively weaken. That completely amazed me. Both the quality and quantity of magical power which my soul produce are different from the time before my rebirth.
The production of my magical power in the current state is like a completely different terrain compare to before. It was like down pouring rain in the past and now it is similar to morning fog condensed into drops of water dripping down from leaves, one at a time. Even so, the volume of magic my dragon soul produce is far, far, surpassed human’s common sense. Fortunately for me, I have not forgotten how to handle such an amount so I won’t die anytime soon, nor will I see any half alive, half dead person laying around as a result of my power going rampant. Also, human body is just like any other body, with enough magic, one can regenerate any amount of flesh while also be able to store excessive amount of magic. I chose to limit my power and only mimicry the amount an average human produce, taking care not to abuse my power if possible, and stay within the realm which won’t seem too absurd to other humans.
As I follow Airi back to our village, the children are playing cheerfully while walking in front of her. The village is surrounded by a wall made of stones. With a population of around 300, it is only a small outskirt village at the edge of the continent. Being at the edge of the continent, the village often gets attacked by demons and bandits, so the wall serves as a line of defense. There are two ways to enter this village via roads. There is the North Gate and the South Gate. Each gate has two big wooden doors reinforced with iron. There are always at least two soldiers stationing at each gate. Each is armed with a spear and sword, along with bow and arrows.
In the village’s vicinity, one can spot Goblins with child-like height, Kobold with dog-like heads, and armed Lizard which had lizard-like outer appearance walking on two legs. Although the first two races have strength inferior to human, they have a very high reproductive rate as well as fast maturity, they are able to increase in number at an astounding speed. Among them, there are also those who can harness the power of spirits, the shamans. They are not to be taken lightly. The Lizard on the other hand, has a much lower birth rate compared to the other two races but their individual combat abilities is much higher. The villagers in my village train with the Lizard to some extent, and everyone have a very tough time wining one-one-one. Especially when it comes to the Lizard’s tribe commanding officers. They are a very, very tough match up. Even the skilled soldier or even a highly trained knight holding a normal spar with them must be prepared to come out exhausted.
When I still possessed my dragon body, I hardly considered the characteristics of these three races to be of any importance, but after spending some time as a human, I have reconsidered my ways of thinking. Fortunately, the relationship between human and Lizard, as well as other races is very good. The people of Bern helped the Lizard race out in time of needs and the Lizard, likewise, thus both race were able to formed a good relation. It’s not a common sight you’ll see everywhere that human and Lizard are on good terms.
On the way back, I have an amusing chat with the others about the day, although some funny moments they mention make no sense to me. On the other hand, the children are still running around in front of us. Human children are very hyper. With that vigor, the continent is sure to prosper. Nothing compared to a baby Dragon being hatch from it’s egg, boring stuff.
After we enter the village and get to the first intersection, I part with the children. I walk back to the typical looking house that I’ve built. The wall is made out of trees with mud as the filling. The roof is made out of straw mixed with grass.
On this country and in this village, one is considered to be an adult at the age of fifteen. In a family with a boy as its eldest son, at fifteen, the boy will start to work on the farm that will be provided by the parents or the village. After one year, it is a custom that he will build a house of his own, instead of sharing his parent’s house, and become fully independent.
I am sixteen this year. It has been some time since I left my parents, and I’m enjoying my single life. Walking past my house, I decide to pay my parents a visit since the harvest today is very good, and I have some time to spare. It is a short walk to their house, since I’ve built mine in the same area. Opening and closing the wooden door with a squeaking sound, I enter the house.
“Hello Mom! Today’s harvest was plentiful, I went to the store and traded them for some herbs and breads, but it seems like I will have some extra.”
I say my purpose for being here and hand the herb to my mother.
“You’ve come back! These herbs have a very high quality to them. With this I can make some very good medicine.”
“It is going well I see.”
My mother Aracena greets me as I enter the house. My mother is the only one in the house, and it seems like my father and brother are still working in the field. My mother has her golden blonde hair tied up in a ponytail. She’s wearing a faded apron along with a white scarf. The area around her waist is a little bit dirty. Such is the appearance of a mother I’ve always known.
Life in this region is tough. It is filled with troubles, dangers, misfortunes, and unreasonable situations, but if one can endure it, they will find some sort of happiness. With her back turned away from me, she turns her head and reveals a bright smile to me. Women in this village have strong wills, and strong hearts, but they are gentle to their family.
With my memories as a Dragon still intact, I find that it is laughable that the way my mother treats me and my little brother is very different. After all, my actions do not match my age, so she treats me as an adult earlier than my little brother.
There is a lot of work involved in taking care of a child, and the one who carries all the burdens is none other than the wife. I find that women are very respectable, and I have a deep respect for my mom. Of course, not all Humans are worthy of respect. One does not simply have respect, they must earn it. My parents earned mine, but in this village, most people are simply too weak minded. However, that doesn’t mean they are worthless, but it’s a weakness of each individual.
Although there are Gods, and they are being worshiped by Humans who are seeking help. I also worship them, only in a sense of course. I once laughed at the Gods and crushed many dreams. I should also note that behind each and every one of these Gods is an ugly face that they never want to be reveal to anyone.
After handing the extra herbs and bread to my Mother, I return to my house.
My dinner is simple. I cook the vegetables and eat it with the bread I’ve gotten from the store. It is my usual dinner, but the taste of Human food mixing with the senses of a Dragon always gives me a fresh taste that has never failed to cheer me up for the last sixteen years of my life as a Human.
From time to time, my senses of a Dragon interfere with my Human senses. For example, when I eat, I always find that something seems to be missing. Apparently it is because I can’t see my mouth while chewing and it annoys me. The field of vision is completely different from that of a Dragon. I had a lot of problem with my vision ever since I was born, but I’ve gotten used to it. I wonder if there are any other reincarnated Dragons around that have the same problem. The taste and sense of smell from my soul connected to my Human body are not completely in sync either, I wonder if they ever will be? But because of that, I can experience many interesting things.
There is no sign of a demon’s attack tonight, so I give my thanks in a prayer that everything went smoothly today. I spent time and effort making spears and arrows for self defense from the trees I cut down while building my house. I use every resource the trees had to offer, from the branches to the roots.
My house has three rooms in total, a dining room, a bedroom, and a storage room. When I go to bed, I spread a thick layer of straw on top of the floor and put a layer of animal fur above it, then I have myself a place to sleep. Life for me is quite simple.
The weather here is harsh. In the summer, it is very sultry, and in the winter, if not careful, one might freeze to death. Mother Nature is not joking around. I take precaution against each of these problems by applying a couple layers of fur in the winter and less fur in the summer. Even so, it is difficult to sleep sometimes.
After a year of working, I believe the environment of this world is beautiful, and it saddens me to see what Humans have done to the surroundings. Especially the condition inside the village. When I was born into this world, it was warm and whenever my mom gave me an early morning sun bath, I was humming and singing, or tried to. There is only a handful of people that know of my secret, that I love sunbathing.
As the sun rises, and dyes the sky with a golden color, the villagers start to wake up and ready for work. I wake up earlier than the rest and warm up the leftover dinner from last night. After breakfast, I go to the field to work again.
Ever since I was a baby, I’ve always been curious about how my parents had earn the right to work on the field near the village outskirt at such a young age, for it’s only a short walk to get there, and more convenient. As a habit of mine, whenever I have free time while working, I would walk around the neighborhood, and observe others working hard on their jobs. As to how I have free time, it is because my soul produces lots of magical energy, I occasionally use magic to help me finish with work. This is just my speculation but it seems like my Dragon soul also strengthens my overall senses and physical strength.
I devote a lot of my time into farm work and am aim to achieve even greater success in farming. Of course I will only use minimal amount of magic and Human strength alone. Everybody is always busy doing their own work, but my habit does not annoy anyone since it is well known to the villagers.
I can produce crops equal to the effort put in by 100 adult Humans per season if I use magic on my field. However, showing that in front of everyone is a no go. People who can wield magic are not uncommon in more populated areas, but around the edge of the continent, it is rare for a person who can utilize magic to be born. Fortunately for me, there is a family of magicians settled in the village. So naturally, I go to them and learn Human magic. But most of their magic are simple and I get bored of it quickly.
Thus, after I finish my breakfast, I go to work, and break some sweat to make a living.
As I walk into the open plain towards the forest, I see someone leading a group of children. Some thought pops up in my mind, but they are probably just going to help out with hunting. While thinking so, I continue on to my field.
On the same day, I decide to head to the Northeast region of the village, where the old Lizard tribe village was located. The friendly relationship between the Lizard tribe and the village is common knowledge around here, and when a disaster struck their village, the Human villagers helped the Lizard tribe build a new village near the lake around here. All of this happened about ten years ago. Before I head to the old Lizard village, however, I pack up a few days worth of supply because I will be spending some time there, in order to uncover what had happened to the village.
Few days later, when all the preparations are finished, and I am about to leave. I see my brother, Marco, in front of my house, and behind him are two women stand facing each other. The two women have delicate facial expression on them, and their experience look much like that of my mother. The atmosphere around those two seem very dangerous. They let out enough killing intent to scare away one or two Goblin. As to the reason why Marco is here, I asked him to take care of my house and my field while I am gone. This should give him some experience so that in a year or so, he can start to live alone.
“I will be going up to the swamp. I won’t be back until tomorrow evening at the latest. I’ll leave you my house and field to take care of.”
“Yes, brother, you can leave it to me. After all, you take very good care of your house and field. Rather than that, you should be worried of where you are heading, be careful, it can be dangerous there.”
It has been around ten years or so since that disaster happened to the Lizard tribe, there may very well be demons lurking around there. Humans have not set foot there since and neither did anyone from the Lizard tribe. When I declared that I will go there and investigate, my parents and brother were absolutely against it. There was a lot more commotion than necessary. In the end, I was able to convince them, and today is when I head out.
“If you do a good job, I’ll bring back some souvenirs from the swamp.”
“Just come back safely, without any scratches is good enough.”
I finish bidding farewell to Marco, and depart. I carry the leather bag which I have put water and two days worth of food into. I bring with me a sword and a dagger just in case things get ugly along the way. Even though it has been ten years since the disaster, the road which heads Northeast toward the old settlement is still usable. There are stories about how people would walk there and mysteriously disappear.
As I travel further north, more Goblins and Kobold appear, but it shouldn’t be surprising, considering the fact that this is where they live. Still, it is weird to see so many Goblins. Occasionally, I see one or two wolves that were separated from their pack. I am prepared to kill them if they come at me, but they are smart enough to avoid me. When the sun is about to set, I’ve already arrived at my destination. I set up camp near the site. Thinking to myself that I have survived the first day, Marco worries were for naught.
The people from the Lizard tribe avoid talking about what had happened to their village, despite the fact that they know something was unnatural. On the Human side however, no one is really sure what the cause was. This boggy place was where the Lizard tribe once lived. Yet for some reason they left it and never returned. Humans should have no business coming here. It shouldn’t take too long to investigate, half a day at the maximum.
Before the sun set completely, I decide to take a look at the swamp. The vegetation around here flourishes wildly. Grass is very tall and the ground is muddy. The air is filled with fine water particles, and when they condense on my cheek, it feel uncomfortable. It is not as if the air around here is humid, because it is, but something isn’t right.
Standing on the bank of the swamp, there is a nasty smell coming from it. There is no sign of life in the vicinity neither. In the middle, lay the ruin of the old Lizard village. Being exposed to the elements for a decade, houses roofs have collapsed and the muddy walls have become piles of mud. On the ground, weapons left behind by the Lizard tribe are rusted beyond recognition. The wild has almost completely take over this place.
“Hmm…”
I let out a small sigh while standing on the edge of the swamp. I pick up traces of Earth attribute magic.
The Lizard probably made their houses using magic, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to withstand this kind of environment.
Harnessing the power of spirits and manipulating the element, the Lizard tribe is quite skilled. As a Dragon, I can change the elements with little to no effort. The same thing can be said to all Dragons, this does not only apply to myself.
Natural phenomenons in this world, the material world, is heavily affected by the spirits living in the Spirit world. The two worlds are connected to one another. I have no interest for that dimension. The scene in front of me right now shows the effect spirit activities have on this world. Around here, the Water attribute is weakened, and the Earth attribute has strengthened. This makes the swamp unbalanced and causes the surrounding to be muddy. While still looking, I remember that my father mentioned this place had a big earthquake. Could that have changed the landscape to this degree?
You could hardly call this a swamp anymore. It’s more like a muddy field, yes, this is a mud field. If I use my power, this mud field will become a swamp flourishing with life again. But will people be happy to come back to a such a place? As far as I know, the Lizard’s current lifestyle is going very well.
Right, should I go fishing by the river in the morning? After that I can restore this place to how it was after.
Which make me wonder, how did the Lizard tribe live here? Off of fish? I suppose, but once the fishing season ends, they will have to secure a new food source. Life is hard in the north, I think to myself.
Even though no demons attacked on the way, I must consider the chances and come up with countermeasures. Food and security, all of which can be discarded if one gave up on living. But this life is fun, there’s no way I will abandon it half way.
I cross my arms and continue to think about what I should do, but then I notice the sound of a huge snake slithering from my side. It stops just before the bank of the mud field. I look at the serpent that stopped at the ruins of the Lizard tribe.
“Hou?”
I instinctively let out a small sigh of admiration.
She has long, straight, golden hair that is even more beautiful in the setting sun light. The position of her eyes, and nose is not short of perfection. If anyone else was to see this sight, they would no doubt say that it is the work of the most talented artist. With blue eyes shining like Sapphires. Wearing a white hooded cape and a simple pale blue dress while carrying a bag diagonally from her left shoulder. Showing a puzzle look on her face, she appear to be an innocent girl that is in her late teens. Her snake tongue kept going in and out of her red lips.
We stare at each other for a while, the girl’s face is a head above mine judging from the distance. Her torso is that of a giant snake. Her snake body is covered with green scales. From the waist down near to the ground, a piece of dress covers it. Her snake body is bendy behind her.
I mutter “Lamia” to myself as I remember that she is a type of demon, but there is no way a demon with a face as beautiful as that could exist. I heard from the village chief that there was once a demon who cursed the Princess of the Kingdom and she was exiled due to the fact that her appearance changed, and that the Lamia race are her descendants. I did not think that a Lamia would live around this place. But what defines someone as a demon? Is it their appearance? Is it their strength? Or is it what’s in their mind? If so, then I must be the worst of them all.
For the Lamia race however, because of their strong ability to manipulate magical power, along with their powerful snake half, which can crush the bones of a fully grown adult Human with ease. A small village would easily be annihilated if even a single Lamia were to appear. To Humans, they are labeled as monsters. Rumors say that the upper-Human-half of the Lamia race generally has a very beautiful female appearance. This girl in front of me fits that description perfectly.
In addition to that, there is a feeling of female maturity being given off from the girl’s body. Specifically from the coloring of her lower-body, the charm that’s being given off of those green scales. I find her very attractive and it’s hard to look away. It seem like my preferences are still that of Dragon/reptile base. With my experience in the past, I can tell exactly at which state she’s at just from the shininess, the smooth curve, and the flexibility of those scales. Undulating scales are so attractive. In this case, the girl possess both Human and reptile beauty in her appearance. A Lamia may be the only race where I can give full points from of view of both a Human and Dragon.
After a while of awkward staring, the Lamia reveals a smile across her face and then she licks her lips with her long tongue, all the while giving me an uncomfortable look. With her lips now moist by her saliva, she’s look even more attractive than before. Any normal mortal men, without exception, would be attracted to her. To me, that look she’s giving me is making me feeling as if I am prey. In fact, Lamia only type of food is life force, specifically animal’s life force. They keep their preys captive and feed off of their life force. However, their favorites are Human males. Most men who encounter a Lamia would most probably become her snack. In this Lamia’s eyes, I am probably no different.
If it’s my life she’s aiming for, then I will give her one hell of a hunt.
“It is very foolish for a Human being to come here alone. Is there anyone else with you, I wonder?”
It is an incredibly sweet voice. It sounds like a melody sung by the best vocalist, it is as sweet as honey, such an ecstatic tone. The owner of this voice is none other than the girl in front of me, who has not even finished going through her puberty. She used a bit of magic charm while asking me that question. Such a trick is meant to help her with the capture of a prey, let it be animals or Humans. However, it sounds very generic. It’s as if she is taking that phrase straight out of a book. In additions to that, the acting is good but it is still rough around the edges, her tongue can use a little more work. Nevertheless, her acting performance is being wasted if she’s only using it to get food.
I answer her with a calm voice.
“There isn’t anyone else here beside me.”
“Is that so. That’s good then.”
After hearing my reply, she puts her hands on her ample breasts and give out a sigh of relief.
In this situation, as a Human, I should be scared for my life right now. Noticing that I am calm, the girl probably suspects that something is not normal. To my relief, the image of a Lamia in my head is completely blown away by the appearance of this girl. Thank you very much.
Then the girl asks me to state my business for being here.
I give her a brief summary of my travel, and that I come here to take a look at the swamp and plan to settle for the night nearby. While observing me, I can tell that she’s wary, or I should say frightened towards me.
I appear to be calm, perfectly calm, even though it is a well known fact that Lamias are dangerous to Humans, as I stretch out my right hand and slowly place it on top of my sword handle. Noticing my movements, the girl fully reveals her frightened face and slightly recedes away from me. Seems to me that she has a weak personality and hates to fight. I get to know this Lamia more and more.
“Wait, I mean…”
Without waiting for her to finish her sentence, I pull out my sword and slash through a muddy arm that is connected to the earth behind me. The arm hits the ground and stop moving.
“…don’t attack. Eh?”
It takes her a while to understand what just happened, and so I sheath my sword and show that I hold no hostility toward her. I then explain to her in detail what happened to the swamp, and how the elements are unbalanced around the area.
“The Lizard tribe lived here long ago, but they were forced to relocate after a disaster that struck their village. The strength of the Earth element around this area is abnormal, the spirit is going crazy and causing disaster in the Material world. It is possible that this may get worse. It was the correct decision that the Lizard leave the swamp.”
While I tell the girl the story, a couple more arms extend out from the Earth, but I cut them down as soon as they surface. But it seem like the arms are being attracting to a strong magical power source. Utilizing my enhance senses, I try to look for a clue as to why the spirits are going crazy. I also try to tap into the magical network within the earth to look for the mad spirits. I suddenly feel that the ground beneath my feet is about to turn into a quagmire, my body instinctively jumps to the left of the Lamia.
“Huh, oh, what!”
The Lamia gets flustered instantly.
Fumu. How cute.
“Say, what kind of magic can Lamia use?”
I ask the girl while looking at her. The girl, snapping back from embarrassment, begin to think.
“Ermm. The people from my tribe are mostly people with Water affinity, a spirit of the Earth as an opponent is…”
Each element affinity or attribute of magic has its own interaction with one another. Earth attribute tends to work well against Water, which means the girl will have a hard time using her magic against the spirit. If going against Earth magic, then it’s common sense to use Wind magic to counter.
“Speaking to a Lamia as if we are the same. Wouldn’t it be hard for you to go against the Earth spirit with your power as a Human? Fumu.”
It’s seem like I am being looked down upon quite a bit. It’s not a lie to say that a sixteen year old Human boy with only flesh and bone cannot hope to win against a spirit.
Oh well. I thought, as I turn around and see the discouraging look on her face. On the ground are one, two, three…while counting it, I find it to be a useless action and cut the arms down.
“There is magic my tribe specializes in that will work against spirits, but it takes time to prepare.”
“Is that so. Alright, here’s the plan, I’ll be in the front line protecting you while you prepare to unleash your magic. I excel at fighting alone, if you join me in battle it would only be a hindrance.”
She nods.
Even though we’ve just met, with a formidable opponent to defeat, I recklessly propose such a plan. The time we spend talking to each other is short, but I believe that this girl is the key in solving the problem. At the very least, we hold no hostility toward one another.
To be honest, I only half expected an answer to come back.
“With that said, I offer you my gratitude in advance.”
“Those words are only to be offered in marriage.”
“Eh? Ah, oh, I apologies.”
She’s an amusing one. I thought that to myself, then start running toward the mass of arms sticking out of the ground.
The mud arms are only a part that are being controlled by the spirit of the earth. It is only a piece of the spirit. Without hesitation, I cut them down one by one, buying time for the girl. In order to cleanse the Earth spirit from its state of madness, there are several ways. But in this situation, we’ve decided to defeat the spirit and send it back to the Spirit world.
If the girl didn’t show up, I was planning to forcefully inject my magical energy into the earth and lure out the spirit. After it takes the bait, I would defeat its physical form and release it to the Spirit world. That way would required me to put in a lot of magical energy, an amount that only the most well trained and talented wizard can muster. Or one of the Seven Heroes would also be capable of doing that much. It’s not as if normal Humans can’t produce magical energy, because they can, since their core is a soul and souls produce magical energy, but the rate at which Humans produce it is very slow.
To keep these arms off of the girl, I use a small amount of Dragon Class magic power and cut down the arms as soon as they surface. In a way, this feels like a game. But no matter how fast I cut them down, because they are supplied with magic from the spirit, these arms keep coming back for more. It’s getting harder to keep up with this much power.
While fighting, I notice that an arm is approaching the girl in my blind spot but of course I know since my senses are enhanced. I never had a blind spot to begin with so this is nothing to be worry about.
I continuously dance in the battlefield and cut down all the arms that are in and out of my vision. Without taking a break, I press on and do my best to keep the attackers away from the girl. Eventually I start to wear down, since there are limits to the Human body, this is to be expected. But the arms keep coming and as long as they are, I will continue my duty.
Even though I boosted my physical strength with magic, this has become a battle of endurance. In the past, there was someone who fought me with basically infinite strength, and it was easy to go all out, but I am a little limited in this situation. Due the rate of which the arms keep popping up after getting cut down remaining unchanged, the girl’s chant starts to make the spirit even more frenzied. The real fight has just begun.
“「I, the descendant of the Princess of The Kingdom, call upon the great Serpent God. Now is the time, grant me power so I may defeat my foes.」”
Long ago, The Serpent God, put a curse on a certain maiden, which changed her lower body into that of a serpent, and thus, she was exiled. As the girl continues to chant, a figure of a serpent begins to manifest on the muddy ground. Soon, the arms recognize the serpent as an enemy and start to shift their focus away from me. The serpent is so huge that it can swallow two or even three grown men at once. The arms are no match for the serpent. In addition to that, whenever the serpent touchs an arm, they get destroy and don’t come back.
“Fumu.”
I let out a small sigh.
With that kind of power, it surely is very difficult to maintain, much less control it. That magic the Lamia girl has at her disposal is more powerful than I anticipated. Despise that fact, this girl is not only maintaining it but continues to control it accurately. She definitely has the potential to become a great witch.
After a while, all the arms that attack the serpent cease to exist, turn into mud and fall to the ground. It was the right decision to ask for cooperation since with my current skill with the sword, to defeat all the arms would have been difficult. At the edge of my vision, I saw the Lamia girl relax her shoulders. I would at the very least scan the area one last time before I relax.
“Do not let your guard down just yet. I have a feeling that the spirit may show us its true form.”
“Ah, yes.”
While I am being impressed by her performance, the mud steadily raises in the middle of the mud field. The surface is completely black, and it continues to grow to the size of a hill top. The berserk Earth spirit finally decides to show itself. This is likely the cause of that earthquake ten years ago, and what makes this swamp lack the signs of life. The reason why it so big and powerful is probably due to the fact that it sucked up the power of the water and land surrounding it over the last decade.
I suspected that those arms from before were just its temporary body, looks like I was right. Its current shape is that of a wobbly upper Human body made out of mud, that is around two stories high. There are some outlines that are indeed resemble a Human’s upper body. There are two holes near the top, I think those are its eyes.
The black mud figure starts to approach us with an astonishing speed. The pressure emitted by the spirit is quite intimidating. Especially toward the Lamia girl, its pressure is starting to affect her. If one is exposed to that thing for an extended period of time, they would gradually go insane. Even if the girl is to summon that serpent from earlier, it is unlikely that it will be able to defeat that thing. I stop for a bit and take care as to not strain myself, then run after the girl trying to hold her back as she shouts some stupid things.
“Let’s me go, that thing is no match for my spirit summon.”
“Ah, but it’s dangerous.”
The ground is very muddy and slippery, so I find it’s very difficult to run, but I press on. The berserk spirit approaches the bank from the center of the swamp and starts to fire mud balls at us. Those mud balls are filled with magic so getting hit by one won’t be pleasant. I dodge them with ease since they travel a little slow.
The spirit continues to fire off mud balls at me and I dodge every one of them. Some of the mud balls almost hit me. Looking at the spirit, its eyes are directly focused on me. I am its main target, that much I can guess. Each time a mud ball hits the ground, it would make a moderately big hole on the Earth. If this continue, the surrounding area might become an open field when this is over. The quickest way to stop that thing is to destroy its physical form.
“The Serpent God’s poisonous fangs dwell in my blood. May I unleash its power upon my enemy.”
A familiar chant comes out from the girl behind me. Soon after, the familiar transparent serpent, once again, manifests in the Material world. Wasting no time, the serpent strikes the berserk spirit, trying to rip it apart. As those two fight, I see purple liquid oozing out of the serpent’s fangs. That must be the cursed poison. The cursed poison seem to be causing the berserk spirit to turn into a dense magical mass, and it starts to tremble in front of my eyes.
I am careless to expect the serpent to defeat that thing with poison alone. On the bright side, the berserk spirit’s movement speed has decreased greatly. As I am closing in, the berserk spirit lifts the arm that has been injured by poison, up into the air and slams it downward at me. Such a blow could have easily demolished a house, much less a Human body. Regardless of that, dues to its slow speed, I jump aside, and avoid it.
The Lamia girl lets out a small scream, thinking that I’ve been crushed.
Using my sword, imbued with magic, I cut off its left arm with a single slash. The sword, imbued with Dragon God Class magical power, becomes the best sword in existence. The arm that is cut off falls into the earth and turns into mud while losing its black color. While this lump of mud is still standing tall, I kick against the earth and fly up right to where its eyes are located. I know that, even though hollow, those eyes are looking at me very closely.
Your mind has been corrupted. The environment around here suffers because of you. I’ve made up my mind to send you back to the spirit world where you belong. I think to myself as I determine to defeat this thing. (T.L. Dran is a tree hugger.)
The berserk spirit starts to change a part of its muddy body into the shape of a spear and tries to skewer me. However, even while in the air, I am faster. As I pour more magic into my sword, it starts to glow, and with another swift slash, I cut the spirit into two.
“You did it!”
After I make my landing, I receive a cheer from the Lamia girl. After hearing that, I let out my favorite phrase proudly, showing some pity toward the spirit.
“Fumu.”
With that, I have successfully found and eliminated the cause of the disaster ten years ago. As for the natural balance around here, it will take sometime for it to restore itself. I will just have to let it follow its natural process. The body of the spirit is now split into two lumps of mud. When the spirit’s muddy body fell into the swamp it creates a wave of mud, and washes over the girl. As for me, I clad my body in magic, so the mud does not get onto my face or my cloth. The wave spreads and comes to a stop in about seven seconds or so. While my shoes get filled with mud and water, I start to walk back to the shore where the girl is standing.
“Uhh…Ue, I’ve gotten some mud in my mouth, and my clothes are covered with it.”
Unlike me, the girl is covered in mud, along with her golden hair, and her clothes are soaked. From my leather bag, I take out a leather flask, and hand it to her.
“Here, you should rinse your mouth with some water.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“No needs. Rather it is I that must give you my thanks. You’ve save me a lot of trouble. By the way, my name is Dran, I come from a village to the Southwest. It would be a pleasure if you would tell me your name.”
While holding the flask I gave her, she wiggles her lower body so that it fits into my field of vision, and bows while giving me her name.
“I’m Selia. As you can see, I am from the Lamia tribe.”
“Fumu, Selia. It’s a good name that you’ve received from your parents.”
Selia smiles shyly after hearing my words. She seems to be very pleased to hear a praise toward her parents, their relationship must be very close. It is a good thing that the parents and child are close. After living as a Human for sixteen years, that much I’ve understood. After we have put a lot of effort into solving the situation, it is only natural that I introduce myself. Part of me finds it troubling since this girl is, after all, from a race that is shunned by Human.
[To be continued]
