105

─thud thud thud thud

The ground trembled faintly.

Divine power churned through the air.

Hamel and the others entering the tunnel paused.

“It seems Ono is performing the ritual properly, doesn’t it?”

“Yes.”

Eleora whispered, and Hamel nodded lightly.

As Hamel had requested, Ono was throwing his full strength into drawing attention.

That level was perfect.

The enemy neither underestimated them nor was excessively on guard.

Now it was their turn.

─twitch

Eleora’s nose twitched as she caught the scent.

Only for a moment; they continued onward.

They grew more cautious at every fork.

But they did not stop.

She moved through the tangled tunnels as if she knew them, picking routes quickly.

Were they going the right way?

He had his doubts, but so far they hadn’t hit a dead end.

How much time had passed?

─swish

She raised a hand, tilted her head, and whispered.

“We’re close. It’s just ahead.”

“…Excellent.”

Hamel’s surprise flickered, and he nodded.

They had passed more than five forks.

Each fork offered two or three possible paths.

Even so, the combinations must have numbered in the hundreds.

Eleora had found the right path at once.

No one could match her tracking.

Hamel walked slowly, impressed.

From here on, it was his domain.

He was confident his stealth could rival anyone’s.

─rustle

Hamel reached the end of the tunnel and peered beyond.

An underground space furnished like a human dwelling spread out before him.

As Eleora had said, a Lamia lay there.

She rested coiled on a huge bed.

Her body rose and fell slowly with each breath, as if asleep.

Perhaps Ono’s sudden maneuver had lulled her.

The Lamia rested deeply, seemingly never imagining she’d be ambushed in her lair.

But Hamel didn’t lower his guard.

There it is.

Hamel noticed a pair of eyeballs resting in the Lamia’s hands.

The Lamia’s twin eyes that Ono had warned them about.

They shifted ceaselessly on her palms, standing guard.

─roll

Oh no.

When the eyes glanced toward the tunnel, Hamel flattened himself against the wall to avoid their gaze.

The eyes were watching the tunnel entrance.

It looked like three paths led into the room.

With only two eyes, they couldn’t watch all three at once.

Hamel hesitated, studying the pattern.

Left, then right.

Center, then left.

Right, then center.

The eyes’ movements seemed irregular, but Hamel didn’t give up.

Even subconsciously there has to be a pattern.

Precisely because it was subconscious, a pattern had to exist.

The subconscious follows habits.

So Hamel persisted, mapping the eyes’ movements in his mind.

Then, for a moment—

Found it.

Hamel’s eyes gleamed.

As expected, there was regularity.

Though the intervals were long, the motions repeated in a set order.

All that remained was to seize the eyes or recover the dragon’s blood…

The thing to find first should be the dragon’s blood.

If anyone touched the eyes, the Lamia would wake instantly.

The problem is…

They couldn’t see the dragon’s blood.

There wasn’t much time.

At best, maybe twenty minutes.

After that, Eleora’s winter palace would vanish.

Then the Lamia would notice and start moving.

“….”

After a moment, Hamel nodded.

Hoping for any change here would be unreasonable.

Waiting for the right moment wouldn’t solve anything.

Hamel timed his move by watching the shifting eyes.

Then, in one motion—

─snap

He dashed into the Lamia’s room.

─turn

Sensing something odd, the eyes rolled toward the tunnel faster than expected.

But—

“…?”

There was already nothing there.

Hamel had slipped out of their sightline and concealed himself in a corner.

That was close.

Hamel exhaled in relief and advanced slowly.

The room wasn’t very large.

By Hamel’s standards it was sizeable, but considering the Lamia’s bulk it couldn’t be called large.

With few pieces of furniture, the room felt bare.

That made it more puzzling.

Where could she have hidden the dragon’s blood?

If it were me…

Hamel reached that thought and turned his gaze to the Lamia.

She’d keep it close to herself.

No—more likely she kept it on her person.

Her torso garment clung tight enough to show her shape, so it probably wasn’t hidden there.

Then, likely—

The coil, then.

Hamel crept closer to the Lamia, holding his breath.

He leapt up and grabbed a protruding rock on the ceiling.

He intended to peer into the coil.

Now then, where…

As Hamel hung from the ceiling and peered into the coil’s interior—

─suddenly still.

Hamel’s body froze like stone.

Those who met his gaze froze as well.

It was…

The boys the Lamia had kidnapped long ago—the ones who had gone missing.

One, two, three.

Three boys met Hamel’s eyes, bound inside the coil.

In one boy’s hand was the dragon’s blood Hamel had been searching for.

“….”

“….”

A brief silence followed.

Hamel hesitated.

There was no predicting how the boys would react.

And it led to the worst outcome.

“U-uaaahhhhh!”

“La-Lamia! Lamia! There’s an intruder!”

Two boys screamed wildly, grabbing and shaking the Lamia.

Whether from gaslighting or Stockholm syndrome, for various reasons it’s not uncommon for abducted victims to side with their abuser.

Overlooking that came at a great cost.

─sssshk

At the commotion, the Lamia reacted to the children’s warning.

She jammed one of the eyeballs into her eye socket.

As she moved to insert the other eye—

─snap

Hamel snatched it.

“…You!”

The Lamia’s enraged voice filled the room.

It’s happened.

Their plan had been ruined.

They hadn’t secured the dragon’s blood, and had captured only one of the Lamia’s eyes.

Moreover, this was enemy territory.

Everything was turned upside down.

It would be worse than fighting outside.

Was I too greedy?

If they’d run off with just the eyes from the start…

A momentary regret crossed him, but it was pointless now.

Hamel clicked his tongue and shouted.

“Eleora, we will retreat!”

“…Understood!”

Before the words finished, Eleora bound the Lamia with ice.

They couldn’t stall for long.

It was only temporary.

There was no hope of winning here.

They had to pull back bit by bit and get outside.

Even if it was a futile struggle.

Just as Hamel steeled himself—

“You seem to have a connection with him.”

“…?”

A familiar, ancient-sounding voice reached Hamel’s ears.

He turned and saw a green-eyed child.

“…Apophis?”

It was the unfathomable monster they’d encountered before.

For some reason, it was among the boys inside the Lamia’s coil.

Ah! Now that I think about it, there was a kid I liked. I picked up a handsome boy just before meeting you.

Was the thing the Lamia mentioned back then Apophis?

─snap

In a blink, Apophis snatched the vial of dragon’s blood the boy held and clambered over the Lamia’s body.

“What is this now?”

The Lamia scowled.

“…!”

─creak-crack

With a sound like a giant tree twisting and splitting, Apophis’s body swelled.

Morphing from human into a massive black serpent, Apophis leaped forward and shouted.

“Seize them, sir! And the lady too!”

“…Yes!”

Hamel didn’t hesitate.

There was no time to deliberate.

Hamel and Eleora leapt at the Apophis charging fiercely down the tunnel.

The horn-like protrusions on Apophis’s head were good to grab.

In that instant—

Apophis muttered quietly.

“I’m getting out of here.”

─thud

Apophis thumped the ground with his tail and began to exit the tunnel at incredible speed.

The Lamia did not just stand by.

“Stop right there!”

─rumble

In an instant the icy bindings shattered.

The Lamia drew a weapon and thundered after them at terrifying speed.

Her pursuit matched Apophis’s speed.

Still, in a brief opening, Hamel, clinging to Apophis’s back, asked,

“Why are you here…?”

“To reclaim the stolen name of my ‘immortality’,” he answered.

“I don’t know precisely, but is that thing an enemy?”

“It’s closer to prey.”

Hamel heard the reply, thought for a moment, and said,

“Then you deal with it. I don’t intend to steal your prey.”

He didn’t know what it was, but it wasn’t a bad situation.

If this powerful monster killed the Lamia for them, nothing could be better.

Just then.

Apophis replied, slightly embarrassed.

“…That’s difficult.”

“What do you mean, a monster like you…”

“If you’re talking about the intimidation you felt, it’s all bluster.”

“…?”

“Maybe if both of his eyes were taken. But with only one taken, I’d lose.”

Bluster?

That it was mere bluster?

When Hamel couldn’t find a reply, Apophis awkwardly offered an explanation.

“It’s not entirely false. Once I was a deity that reigned at the top of this world.”

“Then why can’t you do it?”

“What you saw was an imitation of me at my prime.”

“…An imitation?”

“Yes. An imitation. In fact, you could say that’s my most powerful trick.”

So the intense shock he had felt then…

The overwhelming pressure and helplessness had been manufactured sensations?

It was hard to believe.

Apophis continued calmly.

“Now they’re worn, forgotten relics. The names that once pointed to me have scattered, bolstering other gods’ ranks.”

It didn’t sound like a lie.

Come to think of it, Apophis’s true presence wasn’t that overwhelming.

He might be akin to an upper-grade demon, but certainly not super-class.

“…So in the end I’ll have to handle it.”

“Please. If you find my name of immortality, I will repay you later.”

“….”

Hamel rubbed his head in exasperation.

He couldn’t turn Apophis—who was helping them now—into an enemy.

But if they quietly cooperated to kill the Lamia, they’d aid an ancient monster regaining power.

Meanwhile Eleora, having heard the exchange, stared at Hamel with a strange expression.

Hamel sighed and answered weakly.

“I’ll explain later.”

“…Aah.”

Eleora, unusually dazed, nodded.

What should he explain this time?

With secrets emerging endlessly, even Hamel was getting tired of making excuses.

Although his relationship with Apophis wasn’t really his fault…

The problem was that to others it only looked like he was on friendly terms with a demon.

It was a relief that at least Eleora thought well of him.

No—right now that thing comes first.

The Lamia, now close enough to be seen, shouted, her face twisted into a cruel sneer.

“How dare you trick me, brat? If I catch you I’ll tear you to pieces! And you, Hamel Gilmore… I’ll make sure you end up in my hands!”

With only one eye, her visage was more hideous than before.

Hamel swallowed and reached toward Apophis’s face.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

The flask of dragon’s blood Apophis had held in his mouth came into Hamel’s hand.

The situation’s strange, but…

The conditions they’d been given exceeded expectations.

A faint starlight shone in the distance.

In other words—

“We’ll be out soon! Prepare!”

“Understood.”

─click

Hamel popped the cap off the flask.

Now the preparations were complete.

All that remained was to throw everything into the clash.