Chapter 82

“Happy weekend to you all!” @[emailprotected]82nd round

27. The Magical Beast and the Sanctuary’s Snake #081 – The Magical Beast and the Sanctuary’s Snake #3

━ “What do you think you are, now?”

I frowned at the ground.

Thick fingers, like the most persistent weeds, were wrapped around my ankle and showing absolutely no sign of letting go.

I fiercely scratched the constraining fingers with my front claws.

━ “Graaahhh!”

With a loud scream, someone crashed through the vine-covered floor and made themselves known.

‘Well, they certainly look impressive.’

I composed myself as I laid eyes on the sudden arrival.

This creature, all mixed up in reddish and white fur, was about one and a half times the size of the Sphinx I had tussled with earlier.

‘Yep, I totally get it. This guy is the boss around here.’

The Mihuwang I kept hearing about was definitely referring to this guy.

Looking at me with glaring eyes and drooling like a rabid beast was a serious source of pressure.

Dodging behind him was Kaah, who flashed an enticing smile while whispering, “Well then, Your Majesty, please take care of that white creature over there. Oh, and don’t k*ll it. I just happen to have a potion I was dying to try out.”

━ “Graaah!”

With a ferocious roar, Mihuwang lunged forward.

He leapt like he owned the place, darting between vines like it was his personal playground, showcasing some serious acrobatics.

‘Wow, this guy can climb trees.’

I was quite confident in my climbing skills, but this real monkey made me feel like I had a lot to learn.

He circled around me, swinging from vine to vine like Tarzan or Spider-Man.

It seemed like he was waiting for the perfect moment to pounce and attack.

I followed his every move with my eyes.

I had a feeling that showing him my back would result in an instant ambush, so I couldn’t afford to look away.

━ “Heh, little beast. You really think you can defeat the enraged Mihuwang under my spell?”

Kaah teased me, making me distracted for just a moment.

In that brief distraction, something flew towards me at high speed and grazed my face.

━ “What was that just now?”

I glanced at the thing that had fallen onto the vine floor.

It was round and hard like a fruit.

━ “So you can attack from a distance, huh?”

I looked up to see Mihuwang reloading another fruit in his hands.

━ “Graaah!”

With a roar, he hurled the fruit at me like a javelin.

I dodged the incoming projectile while contemplating how to lure him down from the trees.

That’s when my eyes fell on Kaah, who was wiggling her tail like it was a snake.

‘Wait, my real target isn’t Mihuwang after all!’

I remembered my original goal.

Judah had asked me not to defeat Mihuwang but to take down the snake witch, Kaah, who was captivating him.

━ “Graaah!”

With a mighty roar, I charged at Kaah.

Kaah, who had been observing our little showdown, suddenly recoiled in shock as my fangs closed in on her.

━ “Just d*e quietly!”

I swung my front paw at Kaah.

━ “W-What are you doing?! Block her!”

Just as my claws were about to touch Kaah’s scales, Mihuwang jumped in between us, responding to her urgent cry.

━ “Finally decided to come down, huh?”

I smiled with satisfaction, sharpening the claws on my front paw.

Without hesitation, I charged at the massive beast blocking my view.

‘Gotta take him out while I have the chance! If this drags out, I’m toast!’

I figured I’d need all my strength to take down Mihuwang.

Kaah’s confidence in taking on Yan-Mite through Mihuwang was not just pure delusion.

Though he seemed to be losing control and going wild, Mihuwang exuded the aura of a true powerhouse, just like the other forest rulers I’d met.

‘Perfect! I wanted to test my skills anyway!’

I lashed out, clinging to Mihuwang’s giant body.

He thrashed about like a bug trying to escape from under a shirt.

━ “Graaah!”

As I clung to him, I skillfully scratched his tough muscles while dodging his swipes.

‘If I can keep making tiny cuts, it must have some effect!’

Attacking with my claws didn’t require much power.

Even though short, my claws were sharp enough to slice through beastly hides and make them bleed with just a swipe.

━ “Graaah!”

Mihuwang flailed around, attempting to throw me off.

But his panicked moves were pretty big and obvious, making it easy for me to avoid them.

‘This guy is going berserk because of that Kaah!’

Mihuwang’s strength was enough to leave me dumbfounded, but other than that, I didn’t have much to fear.

The only downside was that with his size, he probably had way more stamina than the average beast.

In game terms, he had a ridiculously high base HP.

━ “Just go down already!”

I dodged his swipes, climbing from his back to his neck, then to his face.

I unleashed my claws mercilessly on his forehead and face.

━ “Graaah!”

He bellowed, reaching for his face.

Since I was expecting that move, I thought I’d dodge it, only to get caught up in something that wrapped around my ankle.

‘Wait, what?!’

I was lifted into the air and then flung away like a ragdoll.

I rolled on the vine-covered floor but managed to right myself.

Behind Mihuwang, I could see Kaah’s long, red tail slithering like a snake.

━ “So, you’ve got a tail too, huh?”

She was using her tail just like an arm to throw me around.

I shook off the minor scratches from my paws as I shrugged my shoulders.

━ “Alright, I never thought this would be easy.”

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my ragged breath.

‘If I get too excited, I might go berserk too. That would make using my secret technique impossible.’

As I wrestled with my inner rage, Kaah approached Mihuwang and stroked his thick arm.

━ “White beast, I see you’re strong. But let’s be real; sharp claws alone won’t bring down this mighty Mihuwang. How about you just surrender now? Then I’ll raise you as my loyal servant like Mihuwang.”

━ “What does a servant even do?”

I recalled a similar offer I’d heard from Eve before.

Kaah wiggled her tail and stroked Mihuwang’s chin.

━ “Just do as I say. Easy, right? Sure, you’ll lose your sanity, but don’t worry! It’s much easier living like that.”

━ “Graaah!”

Mihuwang drooled white foam. I recognized that familiar look.

━ “Wait, is that rabies? You turned him rabid?!”

It seemed Mihuwang was losing himself to some curse of madness or something, thanks to his red fur that blinded me to it.

Kaah smiled slyly.

━ “It’s not just rabies. It’s the best spell brought over from the western lands! Sure, it makes you go berserk and lose your mind, but when paired with my talent, ‘Allure,’ it strikes a great synergy! Want a taste?”

Suddenly, hers scales shimmered in a kaleidoscope of colors.

As I watched her scales change like a rainbow, a dizzying sensation hit me.

‘Is this the allure she’s talking about?’

I closed my eyes to clear my swirling mind.

Without the distracting colors of her scales, the dizziness faded.

━ “Oh, closing your eyes to avoid the allure? Clever move! But how are you planning to deal with Mihuwang then?”

Kaah’s question was interrupted by a sudden WHOOOSH!

Remembering what I learned from Ilgast, I focused on my senses—smell and hearing.

It was like a hot wave approached, flickering in my mind.

━ “What you see isn’t everything.”

I dodged the presence lunging at me.

I felt a rush of air as a near miss whooshed past my fur.

━ “No way, even though Mihuwang’s movements have slowed down, you’re dodging without looking?!”

Kaah’s panicked shout reached my ears.

Though I couldn’t see with my eyes closed, it seemed I was managing to dodge Mihuwang’s attacks remarkably well.

━ “Graaah! Graah!”

Mihuwang’s growls made it easy to sense his movements.

Thanks to that, I managed to dodge with minimal motion, breathing steadily to keep my wits about me.

Then, I filled my lungs with air and held my breath.

━ “Huff.”

━ “W-What’s going on?! Where did he go?!”

When Kaah’s panicked voice reached my ears, I finally opened my eyes.

Kaah and Mihuwang were looking around, twisting their heads this way and that.

‘Success!’

Holding my breath, I grinned.

The skill I gained from eating the perennial snow fruit, `Stealth`, only worked under specific conditions—when my heartbeat was low and I was holding my breath.

It may sound simple, but its power was massive, making it so the enemy couldn’t see me even when I was right in their face.

This ability to hinder sight while holding my breath was the definition of `Stealth`, something I garnered from two weeks of experimenting with my skills.

‘I’ve got about two minutes before I need to breathe again. I must find a weakness and go for a critical hit within that time.’

I lifted up my toes and stealthily moved around my surroundings.

━ “Where did he suddenly go?! Is he like that Lao-Hoo from the West? No way! Find him! Find him now!”

Kaah urged the dazed Mihuwang.

Mihuwang was flailing his arms like a madman, trying to find me.

‘Phew, guess his sense of smell isn’t so great.’

The combination of `Stealth` and quiet movement was nearly unbeatable, but it’s true that this method would falter against creatures with great olfactory senses or tracking abilities.

But these two seemed to have no worries about being detected.

‘You’d think being a snake, he’d sense the heat! But nope, no convenient abilities here.’

I glided quietly behind the jittery Kaah.

Having experimented with this ability multiple times over the past two weeks with Leaf, I was confident I could sneak upon her unnoticed.

In fact, Kaah had no idea I had come this close, almost brushing her back with my fur.

━ “Huh, where did he go…? Or was I just hallucinating this whole time…?”

Kaah murmured nervously.

Standing right behind her, I opened my mouth wide and BIT DOWN HARD on her delicate, white neck.

━ “Gyaaaaaaaah!”

Kaah screamed in surprise, writhing in shock.

I held on, clasping her neck as I hung there.

━ “L-Let go of me!”

Kaah desperately tried to shake me off.

Most beasts would have fainted or died from just this grip, but she showed remarkable resilience, proving her lineage as a mythical creature.

━ “Get off me, you little beast!”

Kaah coiled her thick tail and body around me like a heavy boa constrictor.

The more she squeezed, the stronger the pressure became on my jaw.

It turned into a game of chicken: would my bite crush her neck first or would her squeeze crush me?

‘Since I started biting first, I have the advantage!’

I felt the strength gradually leaving her.

━ “Hgaah, hgaah…”

Eventually, it seemed Kaah lost all her strength, sagging down and leaving her body limp.

Her coils relaxed and flopped down like a deflated balloon.

Kaah gasped as if she were about to d*e.

━ “Is this how I, the last descendant of Laplace, perish to a Ratel…?”

I paused, releasing her neck at the sound of the name that passed her lips.

━ “Laplace, you say?”