Uron rubbed his eyes and looked again, but it was indeed a snake. Yet a moment later, stepping calmly out of the flames was the dark elf, Neria.
Even within the superheated fire, Neria bore not a single burn.
Not even a singed strand of hair. But that wasn’t what shocked Uron.
“What? Did I see wrong?”
He rubbed his eyes once more, but the vision of the serpent was gone.
All he saw was Neria. The snake he had glimpsed was nowhere.
“I must be getting old… to be seeing illusions. Or was it you? Did you cast an illusion spell?”
That, Uron thought, was possible.
Dark elves were as inscrutable as their black skin. For one to cast a sinister illusion was hardly surprising.
Uron barked an order to the beastkin.
“Tear her apart at once! I’ll feed her to Nokhan!”
At the reply, the beastkin transformed.
Three were wolf-men, two were bear-men.
Each one boasted fearsome combat strength.
Howling, they charged at Neria.
One veered aside toward Zeon, who had simply been standing there.
Zeon stepped back and said:
“I have nothing to do with Lady Neria.”
“You’re the one being noisy.”
Zeon covered his ears theatrically, taunting the bear-man. The beast roared with greater fury.
“I’ll rip you apart!”
The bear-man swung his massive forepaw.
Claws like hooked blades slashed toward Zeon’s throat.
Zeon stepped back again, narrowly avoiding the blow.
He had seen wolf-men before, but never a bear-man.
The creature was a cross between man and bear.
Its body was cloaked in fur as tough as steel, boasting terrifying defense, while its teeth and claws could shred foes limb from limb.
Even martial awakened whose bodies were tempered to the extreme would be torn apart like paper if struck by those claws.
The bear-man roared, charging Zeon.
A body slam using its massive frame.
A hit like that could shatter a human’s bones like brittle candy.
Even martial awakened avoided head-on collisions with bear-men.
The beast closed the distance in an instant, descending upon Zeon like a sudden calamity.
At that moment, Zeon snapped his fist upward in a short strike.
The target was the bear-man’s jaw.
With a sharp sound of breaking bone, the creature’s head snapped back.
Zeon’s fist had landed precisely where he intended.
The bear-man’s mind went blank.
Even with its vaunted durability, a perfectly placed strike to a vital point left it stunned.
Unconscious for a moment, the bear-man crashed to the ground.
Groggy, it shook its head left and right.
Though hit at a vital point, the beast recovered quickly.
Its resilience was monstrous.
Even Zeon hadn’t expected to drop it so easily.
As it rose, Zeon’s knee slammed into its face.
Another heavy impact. The bear-man reeled, dazed again.
Zeon’s fist crashed into its skull.
The bear-man shrieked this time, unable to endure further.
Zeon’s knee followed, smashing into its snout.
Its muzzle collapsed, teeth scattering.
Any normal being would already be incapacitated.
But beastkin were different.
In regeneration and endurance, they rivaled trolls.
To subdue a bear-man, one had to kill it instantly or prevent its healing.
Killing it was simple enough—
A burst of white phosphorus would reduce it to ash.
But that would create problems.
Unlike Neria, Zeon hadn’t come to El Harun to stir trouble.
He had even sworn on Perino’s necklace.
So he had to subdue, not kill.
Zeon’s fist slammed again into its face.
He felt bones give way.
No matter its durability, no beast could endure repeated blows.
He mounted the bear-man’s chest, fists raining down.
The beast instinctively swung its claws, but Zeon pinned its shoulders with his knees, denying it leverage.
With its monstrous strength, the bear-man could have flung off a mere human like Zeon.
But in its battered state, it couldn’t.
Blow after blow landed on its face.
Blood sprayed, bones cracked.
Even its thick skull couldn’t protect its brain from trauma.
The bear-man’s consciousness was utterly shattered.
Its regeneration slowed.
Only after confirming it was fully unconscious did Zeon rise. This update ıs available on NoveI(F)ire.net
At that moment, beastkin screams rang out.
Zeon turned his head—
The ones attacking Neria were writhing on the ground, clutching their throats.
Their faces blackened, frothing blood from their mouths.
Something was horribly wrong.
Uron’s eyes, fixed on Neria, brimmed with terror.
“You… what are you? What did you do to my men?”
“Too grim a word? Then call me the goddess of vengeance.”
Uron’s face twisted with rage, thinking she mocked him.
But Neria went on, unfazed.
“Derod offered himself to me. So vengeance—I must grant him that much.”
“You insane wench… Die!”
Uron unleashed his greatest spell.
An overwhelming blaze, far beyond an ordinary fireball, engulfed Neria.
The ground itself melted under the infernal heat.
It was as if the gates of a fiery hell had opened.
Yet within that furnace, Neria strolled as if on a casual walk.
Flames cloaked her, but she advanced unharmed.
That sight drove Uron to deeper fear.
“Y-you fool! If you harm me, all El Harun will never forgive you! Do you accept that?”
“That is why Derod, though he lost his daughter, dared not take revenge. Too many were tied to you. Too many filthy elves to shield you.”
The target of vengeance was clear, but Derod could not strike.
Uron’s influence in society was too vast.
Had Derod moved openly, El Harun itself would have crushed him.
Not even his beloved insects could help.
He could not bring his red locusts into El Harun—its wards kept them out.
So Derod sought vengeance from beyond.
He stole the Black Horn. He resurrected the Black Queen.
He sacrificed himself, entrusting vengeance to Neria.
Having accepted his offering, she was bound to fulfill it.
She advanced toward Uron to complete his vengeance.
A cruel glint passed Uron’s eyes.
“Wretch! You think me so easily beaten? Come forth, Nokhan!”
At his cry, the courtyard floor split wide.
From below burst forth a massive shape.
A monstrous being, grotesque, unknown.
It resembled an ironclad gorilla, yet far more hideous.
As large as a mid-tier beast, its bloodshot eyes rolled madly, drool dripping from its jaws.
He reached out and stroked it gently. The creature’s frenzy calmed a little.
At the word “son,” Zeon’s brow furrowed.
This could not possibly be the offspring of an elf.
No elf could bear a monster five meters tall.
As if realizing something, Neria spoke:
“So that is the fruit of your sin.”
“Silence, dark elf! My son Nokhan will devour you to the last bone!”
Veins bulged on Uron’s brow as he shouted, but Neria ignored him.
“Pathetic, elf. You boast of nobility under heaven, yet in secret you lust for other races. How will you answer for that? Even in an age without gods, not even the dead gods would forgive you.”
Nokhan was a mutant, born of Uron and a beastkin woman.
The woman, raped by Nokhan, cursed both Uron and the child in her womb.
Perhaps it was that curse—Nokhan was born a gorilla-like monster.
At birth, he devoured his own mother.
Even mighty Uron could not control him, and so confined him underground.
Only Uron’s words held slight sway over him.
“My son Nokhan! They seek your father’s life. Your father is weak—defend him in his place.”
“Yes! You may devour them. Leave not even a scrap of bone.”
Nokhan burst into a bizarre laugh, face twisted with glee.
His monstrous visage looked even more terrible smiling.
He shook his massive shoulders and lumbered toward Neria.
But despite his enormity, Neria’s face remained unchanged.
She said indifferently:
“You are an impurity that should not exist in this world. What makes you so joyful?”
“You’ll devour me? Fine! If you can, try. I too am an impurity. To be erased may be my wish as well.”
Nokhan lunged, jaws clamping over Neria’s head.
“Yes! Swallow her head, my son!”
Uron laughed loud at the sight.
To him, Neria was already dead.
He turned his gaze toward Zeon, who still stood nearby.
“You’re next, human!”
“First, perhaps you should worry about your son.”
Zeon pointed at Nokhan.
Frowning, Uron looked.
And his eyes widened.
Nokhan’s mouth, clamped on Neria’s head, was prying wider and wider.
The beast strained to bite down, but could not.
Its jaw spread unnaturally, as though about to rip apart.
And from between its gaping teeth emerged something impossible.
From Nokhan’s mouth slid a serpent’s head.
And not one, but hundreds, thousands of small snakes poured forth.
Neria’s thick black hair had all become serpents.