Chapter 243: The Loathsome Life of Lua (1)

"When I was on the surface, something called a Hasom flower bloomed in my hometown. It was a purple flower that only grew in the highlands. When I climbed the highland with my maids, they would search through the crevices of the rocks, pluck the Hasom flowers, and make bouquets. They would present them to me as if they were the most beautiful jewels in the world and say, 'Queen. We picked these flowers because we thought they would suit you.'"

Before the Demon King's resurrection, Lua, the Lamia Queen who lived quietly in the underground depths, suddenly muttered those words. Every time the Demon King was resurrected, and the rift between the demon realm and the surface weakened, the sealed entrance trapping the lamias would repeatedly weaken and then solidify again.

The entrance was blocked by a massive stone slab that looked like a manhole cover laid on its side. At first glance, it seemed like an entrance that could be pushed aside with sheer physical strength, but it was made of powerful magic and special materials, making it a space the lamias could not open and escape from with their own power.

Numerous lamias, including Lua, were stationed in front of it. They planned to rush out to the surface and slaughter the humans there the moment the Demon King was resurrected. In front of the lamia soldiers who were sharpening their fingernails with expressions full of murderous intent, Lua leaned against a rock and enjoyed its cold texture.

One of Lua's maids spoke.

"When we get out to the surface, I will make a bouquet for you this time."

"Once we kill all the humans."

Lua nodded her head and said so. Once the Demon King is resurrected, we are free. In Lua's eyes, excitement for the freedom right in front of them was boiling up. The trembling of her fingertips in contrast to her calm expression revealed her heightened emotions.

"I-It's opening!"

The soldier standing at the front shouted. Lua raised her body. The soldiers stared at the entrance with tense faces. Hundreds of years ago, the lamias, defeated in the war, were trapped in the underground depths for siding with the demons. Now. The time to exact that revenge was approaching. The massive circular entrance began to move with a crack!

Lua gritted her teeth and bared her claws. Kill the humans. That was the only thing she had thought about for the past hundreds of years. Killing the humans who locked them in the underground depths and took everything from them. She had no other wish but that. The door opened, and a bright light poured in. In front of the dazzling light they had hoped for a lifetime, the lamias shrank back, screaming. Lua also hesitated, unable to adapt to the sudden sunlight.

The sunlight, welcomed for the first time in hundreds of years, was too blinding for the lamias who had adapted to the darkness. Lua gritted her teeth and crawled forward. The light was far too dazzling. Lua shouted.

"Advance! Everyone, move forward!"

A loud shout was heard from behind Lua's back. Lua trembled as she advanced toward the light. Nothing was visible beyond the light, but it was still good that there was light. Lua scrambled across the floor and frantically crawled toward the surface. She trampled over hard stones, raised her body, and smelled the scent of dirt.

The moment she took her first step, Lua buried her face in the ground, overwhelmed with happiness, and smelled the grass. The smell of grass and dirt. The tactile sensation of wet dew and even fresh flowers. Her vision, which gradually recovered in the dazzling light, fully captured the green paradise. The scenery she had only imagined in the underground was spread out before her eyes.

"Finally!"

Lua screamed, overcome with joy. Cheers bordering on screams were heard from Lua's rear. Beyond her blurry field of vision, the lamias were reaching out and cheering.

"Kyaaaaagh! Kyaaaaagh!"

"Queeeeeen!"

"Aaaaaaaagh! Aaaaagh!"

Unable to contain her joy, Lua threw her hands in the air. The lamias in her surroundings were shouting something. As if the world was also blessing Lua's return, a magnificent roar erupted. A roar.

And cheers.

"Kyaaaaaaaagh! Aaaaaaaagh!"

"Aaaaaaaagh! Aaaaaaaagh!"

"Kiyaaaaaaaagh! Aaaaagh! Queen! Queeeeen!"

Cheers bordering on screams. Lua looked at her surroundings. Her vision was recovering. The lamias who had arrived before her were cheering, then looked back. Then they stared at Lua again and began to shout something.

"Queen! Queen!"

Lua froze with her eyes wide open.

"Kyaaaaagh!"

The roar tearing up the ground. The lamias grabbing and shaking her. And her view that was gradually returning. The massive door that was slowly closing, and the lamias dying as they were crushed by it. The sights of them falling into the endless abyss beyond the door. The lamias wailing while belatedly hugging her.

"Please save me! Queen! Aaaaagh!"

"Kiaaaaaaagh! Kyaaaaaagh!"

"Aaaaaaaagh!"

And screams.

Lua could not hold onto her dazed mind. As soon as the door opened, the underground where the lamias had been sealed was collapsing. The children who could not escape in time were falling to the deep bottom. The massive door was closing again. The children who were crushed to death by the door while rushing to get out were trembling, with only their pale blue arms sticking out.

"A-Aah..."

Lua was trembling while slumped on the floor. The young lamias clinging tightly to her were shedding tears. Lua hugged the children tight and gritted her teeth. Just what in the world had happened? Why did the children have to die so miserably? Just what kind of problem had occurred?

The lamias were annihilated. Vainly. All that remained in this place now were barely ten of them. Having to watch the annihilation of her race with her eyes wide open, she had to gather her senses. Because she still had ten lamias left. Because she had to be the queen who protected these children. Lua began to check her surroundings.

The world was far too peaceful, and the weather was clear. Hasom flowers were blooming in clusters on the hill. The flowers trampled on the path they hastily passed through were crushed, scattering green juice. Lua comforted the children who were shivering and hugging her.

****

"The Demon King, has died?"

Disappearances on the continent were a common occurrence. In particular, a traveling merchant in his forties being brutally murdered while moving from city to city was all too frequent. Public security on the roads outside the cities was poor, so the mountain paths always held the risk of being skinned alive. However, the peddler seemingly never thought that the one who captured him would be a lamia, and was spitting out information haphazardly while sweating profusely.

"Yes! Sir Hero and Sir Priest joined forces and killed him...!"

No one recognized the lamia that only remained in history hundreds of years ago. To the merchant, a lamia looked similar to a mermaid, and was merely a terrifying race that was much fiercer and more belligerent. Slothful Lua gently stroked the belly skin of the merchant she had caught and asked.

"Then, what happened after that?"

"Well... rumors have spread that a woman named Evangeline is operating in secret."

Lua kept her mouth shut tight and stared at the merchant. Her sharp fingernail poked the merchant's protruding belly button. The merchant made a dizzying expression and gritted his teeth. Lua's hand gradually began to pierce and dig through his belly skin.

"A-Aaaah! Aaaaaaagh! Aaaaaaaagh!"

A scream, Lua nervously slashed down with her fingers the moment she heard the scream. Innards poured out from the torn belly. The struggling merchant fell to the floor. Lua fell into thought. Evangeline. The Demon King's death. And, her lost brethren.

There was nothing Lua could do in her current state. Because the Demon King had resurrected incompletely, she too was merely a lamia with slightly stronger power, and since the Demon King was dead, she had nowhere to entrust her body right now. She needed to know the recent status of the other Four Heavenly Kings and had to find out about the hero and priest who caught the Demon King.

"Evangeline."

And Evangeline. Had the other Four Heavenly Kings met Evangeline? Was she safe? Agonizing over and over again, a few days later, she met another slave merchant.

It was a peddler dragging a mermaid. She, who was tearing off and eating the arm of the merchant she caught a few days ago, had her eyes stolen by the strange sight unfolding right below her. People dragging a mermaid. Suddenly, Lua thought she should save that mermaid. She herself couldn't figure out the reason. Did the mermaids look similar to her own race that was annihilated after suffering at the hands of humans?

Perhaps they simply looked suitable as targets to use. Because, just as it was in the past, the mermaids of the current era seemed to live very miserably. Lua threw the arm away and quickly crawled down the cliff.

"What the... Eok!"

The mercenary walking at the front grabbed the reins and tried to look around his surroundings as his horse flinched. But the moment he tried to turn the horse's head, the horse lost consciousness and collapsed sideways with the scruff of its neck bitten. The mercenary, who hastily tried to escape from the horse, was wrapped up by the lamia's tail and smashed into the ground.

A sharp fingernail pierced the back of the head of the mercenary who was trying to draw his sword. Licking her fingernails, Lua crunched down on the skull of the human collapsed on the floor. That was how the mermaid and Lua met for the first time.

"Hello?"

Lua asked.