The huge anaconda leaning over the cave noticed my movements and was about to turn its head this way.
-kwaah!
Eunji from afar lit up the surroundings with a huge flame. The anaconda turned towards it.
Watching Enoch and Diego struggling with other anacondas in the distance, I climbed onto the enormous body of the anaconda in front of me.
It was hard enough to climb up because of the slippery scales, but since it didn’t move much I was able to reach the top of its head safely.
I sat down on one knee on the anaconda’s head, looked at Enoch, and shouted, “Enoch!! Move away!!”
Enoch, who was frantically thrusting his sword into the anaconda’s head, turned to me. He quickly withdrew his sword and climbed down the anaconda.
I aimed the flare gun at its torso, avoiding Diego’s head, and pulled the trigger.
-puah! boom!
Anaconda’s torso was shattered after being hit directly by the burning bullet. It screamed and twisted its body in pain, ripping Diego’s clothes caught in its teeth and causing him to fall.
Before I could check whether Diego was still alive or dead, the anaconda I climbed moved.
If Jenas is watching us through the eyes of these anacondas—
If he really is the creator of this island—
I have to show him.
Whatever he wants, it won’t work out the way he wants it to.
“Shit, I don’t intend to die in vain like this.”
I quickly climbed the head of the anaconda and descended forward to its mouth. And the moment it opened its mouth, I put my foot on its lower teeth, grabbed its upper teeth, aimed the flare gun into its mouth, and pulled the trigger.
-puah!
-boom!
Along with a roar of pain, I was blown away by the recoil.
Its head exploded and a purple gas with a musty smell spread out, and I had no choice but to inhale it.
However, I didn’t have the mind to argue about it as I fell to the ground.
Someone managed to catch me as I closed my eyes tightly, readying myself to hit the hard ground. It was Enoch and Kayden.
Two men opened their arms to catch me and looked at me in panic. My back hurts a little, but I’m still alive.
It was not yet known what happened to Diego, but everyone else seems to be safe.
‘Fortunately.’
Of course, they are the lucky ones, not me.
Purple smoke with a musty smell seemed to float around me. My head is dizzy and my stomach feels sick.
In the end, I passed out in Enoch and Kayden’s arms.
***
When I woke up, it was noon with the sun scorching.
I was lying on the soft leaves, the hem of Kayden’s robe wrapped gently over my shoulders. It seems that I ended up collapsing from the accumulated fatigue. I couldn’t get up because my body was as heavy as cotton soaked in water.
‘My head hurts so bad.’
I feel dizzy from a throbbing headache. My mind is also hazy.
There is a stinky smell coming from somewhere.
‘What else is this smell?’
It was clearly the same as the one I inhaled right before I passed out.
I feel like a misty smoke fills the air, and it smells like rotting mushrooms.
I was wondering if everyone was okay, but I was more desperate to get rid of this sickening headache. Eventually, I closed my eyes to get some more sleep.
Then, a small noise came from behind. Everyone seems to be sitting behind me.
“Margaret, are you awake?”
“I don’t think so.”
The voices of Kayden and Enoch came one after another. Along with the rustling noise, there was also the crackling of firewood.
“Sir Diego?”
“He hasn’t regained consciousness yet.”
Ruzef answered Enoch’s question. After Diego fell to the ground, I couldn’t confirm whether he was alive or not, but he seems to be in serious condition.
I wanted to wake up and hear the details, but my eyelids and body are heavy. So I can only listen to their conversation.
“What the hell happened?” asked Ruzef.
Enoch calmly explained, “While looking around the barrier, Sir Diego and I encountered a group of anacondas. They seemed to be looking for something. It’s not their original habitat here, but I guess that doesn’t matter anymore since they’ve evolved.”
Ruzef said, “I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, but it seems that the monsters are especially aggressive toward Young Lady Floné. I wonder if she’s the reason monsters flocked. Not that I blame her, it’s purely out of curiosity. Why is that?”
A long silence fell upon Ruzef’s question and only the sound of burning firewood hovered in the air.
After a while, Kayden opened his mouth first. “Margaret is indeed suspicious. At first, I thought she might be a spy wearing Margaret’s mask.”
“That sounds plausible. Certainly, Young Lady Floné has changed enough to be considered a different person.”
Listening to Ruzef and Kayden’s words, I quietly held my breath.
I expected them to be suspicious of me, so at one point, I tried to run away alone.
However, I thought that the suspicious stage has long since passed while we are living together…….
I guess I was too careless.
After Ruzef spoke his thoughts, Kayden lowered his voice even more.
Because of that, I can’t hear his voice properly. It’s hard to understand the flow because the conversation is intermittently cut off. It’s so frustrating.
“When the time comes…… obviously Margaret is the key…….”
The words I heard were very ominous.
“It’s suspicious that she can handle magic tools freely……. to be honest, even Eastern languages…….”
“……perhaps the most dangerous person is Margaret…….”
My mouth went dry from the disjointed conversation.
“……by temporarily sealing Margaret’s mana…….”
“Test…….”
And the flow of conversation that follows is simply unbelievable.
It feels like my brain has gone blank.
Is this the conversation of people I know? Am I dreaming now?
No, I must have misheard this. There is no way that men who have shown boundless trust in me will suddenly test me out of suspicion and say that they will kill me.
I must be hearing it wrong, obviously.
“How do you seal the mana…….”
But the conversations that followed only heightened my anxiety. Now, it’s not even clear who said what.
My lips trembled. The smell of rotting mushrooms kept filling my nose and my mind became clouded.
“The magical aid the Crown Prince Arthdal gave her…….”
“……to lure the monsters……. after verifying that the test worked…… just kill…….”
Wait, what?
What am I listening to now? Are you saying that you will get me to lure monsters and kill me?
“……agree with Lord……. ……seal…… Margaret……. ……when she wakes up tomorrow…… let’s try.”
With that, the conversation ended.
I just want to take it as a misunderstanding and ask them what they were talking about.
However, it feels like the very small ember that remained inside of me has ignited a little.
‘The Immutable Law.’[1]
[1] Something that is immutable will never change or cannot be changed.
No matter how the story strays, it’s a rule that in the end, the plot plays out like the original.
Maybe I was destined to be killed by the male leads in a different way.
‘……no, come to your senses.’
My mind is fuzzy, but Kayden and Enoch I know can’t be like that. Never.
They are men who showed strong faith and trust in me until yesterday. Yes, that can’t be.
‘However, if you were pushed into an extreme environment and even felt a threat to your life, wouldn’t your judgment be disturbed instantly?’
I keep having such ominous thoughts.
‘Let’s look at the atmosphere tomorrow and ask them directly.’
Enoch and Kayden I know would surely laugh at what nonsense that is. And they might hug me, saying not to worry.
When I thought that, I felt much more at ease. I fell asleep quietly
***
The next morning,
I still have a headache. At the tip of my nose, the stench I smelled yesterday continued to linger.
I looked around, but I couldn’t find the source of the smell.
‘Is it just my feeling?’
I yawned and tilted my head. It could be that my senses have become sensitive and I had a strange dream last night.
‘Yes, everything I heard yesterday must be a dream.’
I tried to think of it that way, but the atmosphere was unusual.
Enoch was originally a person whose intentions were difficult to judge based on his expression alone. But it was clear Ruzef and Kayden were suspicious of me.
Ruzef who is staring at me intently, Kayden who is obsessively observing me, and Diego who is still lying down with his eyes closed and his body wrapped in bandages.
I don’t feel this was the right atmosphere to ask about the conversation I overheard last night.
“Margaret, are you okay?”
Enoch approached me. At that moment, along with a terrible headache, my vision blurred.
And on the head of Enoch who was looking at me, strange horns suddenly sprouted. His face was greatly distorted, his lips were torn into his cheeks as he smiled ghastly.