“I sense holy magic in the distance,” the serpent said as it began to awaken from its slumber at the bottom of the lake.
The serpent was known as an evil monster to the general public, but in truth, it was a messenger of God and shouldered the role of guiding the saintess on the right path. The monster’s goal was to select the perfect saintess and bring peace upon the world. It had to cause a bit of destruction to encourage the saintess to make her way to it, and the creature was quite fond of its role. It especially had a habit of harassing beautiful women.
The serpent reared its head above the surface of the lake and saw some well-dressed people relaxing nearby.
“There aren’t many pretty women around,” the serpent grumbled.
It found this to be a letdown but still decided to do its work. It emerged from the lake, revealing its massive body. The people scattered like marbles.
The serpent was satisfied to see everyone flee.
“Hmm, this shall do,” it muttered. “I can only hope that the saintess will be here soon.”
It glanced around and saw a pair of ladies in their seats, huddled together. They stared at the monster in fright. One had dark hair, and the other had blue locks—they were young but beautiful. The dark-haired lady was especially eye-catching. The serpent had lived a long life, but it rarely saw a looker like her.
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It seemed the ladies had stiffened in fear. The sight only tempted the monster’s sadistic side.
“I’ll have some fun with them,” the serpent said.
It raised its lithe head and flicked its slender tongue as it slithered toward the ladies. They screamed with terror and tripped over their own feet as they tried to flee.
“An excellent reaction,” the serpent said.
With glee, the monster completely left the lake and began to toy with the ladies, slowly giving chase.
“Surely I’ll be allowed a lick,” the serpent hissed.
No longer did it think about guiding the saintess. The girls failed to run away and tripped on the ground.
“What a pathetic sight,” the serpent said. “And yet, they’re still so beautiful.”
It opened its maw slightly and drew its head near them; the cacophonous screams of the young women were like a symphony to its ears.
“Now then, how shall I have my fun?” the serpent wondered.
As it was thinking, a sharp pain shot through its tail. Turning around, it spotted a man in armor using a sword to attack it. The serpent’s scales were tougher than iron and didn’t easily let attacks through, but it quickly recognized the silvery gleam of the greatsword.
“Mithril!” the serpent hissed.
Even its tough scales couldn’t defend against mithril—the tip of its tail had almost been completely severed. The monster let out a shrill hiss to display its fury, but the man was completely unfazed and swung his sword down again. The serpent flicked its tail as a counterattack when it suddenly felt something hit the back of its head. The warmth it felt made it suspect that magic had been used. When it whirled back to the ladies, the black-haired one was surrounded by magical residue. Her expression of terror had vanished and was replaced by a fearless smile. The lady with blue locks had donned armor and was also gripping a sword—she’d likely had it hidden beneath her clothes.
“Is this a trap?!” the serpent cried.
It was stunned. No one should have known that it was going to appear today, and it had only emerged from the lake on a whim. Yet these humans had clearly come prepared and even had a plan of attack. Sharp pain shot through its tail again. The humans had completely severed part of the serpent’s tail, even if they’d only managed to cut off the tip.
“They shall pay.” The serpent seethed.
It once again swung its tail—a single blow could easily kill a human. The large man had evaded the serpent’s initial attack, but he wasn’t all that nimble. The creature was sure that it could defeat him right then and there. Just then, another spell flew out from the side. The serpent turned and spotted a lady with red hair clutching a staff.
“Two mages?!” the serpent gasped.
The monster was highly resistant to magic—its only weakness was the light element. Still, as an aquatic monster, it was susceptible to fire, and the two mages took advantage of that.
What a pain, the serpent thought.
As it tried to think of a plan, it felt something pricking its body. When it turned to look, it noticed that an arrow had sunk into its side. The arrowhead must have been made of mithril, since it had managed to penetrate the monster’s scales.
The serpent saw a dark-haired archer. The humans didn’t remain clumped together, instead scattering to attack from various angles.
How annoying. How very, very annoying.
The serpent decided to thrash about with all its might. It used its tail like a whip to attack any humans nearby and used its venomous fangs on the rest. It was a beast of divinity, and it refused to go down against mere mortals. Their attacks hadn’t done much damage anyway.
It was annoyed that its strikes failed to hit its targets, but it was still convinced that it would win in the end. Just then, something descended upon its head.
With that, everything went dark.