Taeseong’s shadow-dwelling Wairang smacked its lips. It seemed that, from its perspective, the snake-humans looked quite appetizing.
“…Can’t you speak?”
Taeseong curiously looked around. The interior of the village wasn’t particularly special—just a bit outdated in terms of era. The only thing that really stood out was a shrine located deeper within the village. Despite its appearance, it seemed that these beings also worshipped something.
A thought crossed his mind—they might be worshipping the ruler of this forest. Or, given their serpentine forms, perhaps a snake-related deity.
From a distance, he had briefly entertained the notion that this could be a human settlement.
However, now that he saw it with his own eyes, he realized that humans establishing a foothold in this forest was an impossibility. One could choose to classify the beings before him as human, but unfortunately, they were not. Once human, they had been transformed into yōkai by the grace of the “Serpent God.”
“Nure-onna.”
The moment he spoke, the snake-humans observing him flinched.
“If I recall correctly… that was the name, wasn’t it?”
At last, Taeseong remembered. During a prior conversation with the helicopter pilot, he had heard about a snake yōkai called “Nure-onna.”
— What other yōkai are there, you ask? When I was young, the “Nure-onna” was quite famous. Their face is that of a normal human, but the lower half of their body is a snake. They were notorious for luring traveling merchants and devouring them. According to rumors, they were once followers of the evil deity “Yamata no Orochi” and transformed because of their worship…
— Oh! Now that I think about it, there have been many sightings of snakes in the Jukai Forest. You never know, Administrator. Be careful—they might have built a village somewhere, hidden from human eyes.
“I dismissed it as nonsense at the time… but the bastard was right. Tell me, are you all followers of Yamata no Orochi?”
In response to Taeseong’s question, the largest of the snake-humans approached.
Her face was breathtakingly beautiful, one that could turn heads anywhere. But her lower half was serpentine—an anaconda-like tail, at least 20 meters long.
‘At least 20 meters…’
The grotesque contrast between her mesmerizing beauty and her massive snake body was enough to make any ordinary person faint on the spot.
【Who are you?】
A voice as beautiful as polished gemstones echoed in his ears.
Without lowering his gaze, Taeseong replied, “I asked first.”
[…]
The snake-woman narrowed her eyes at him.
She, too, could not grasp what this man before her was.
‘Strange. Ominous. Mysterious.’
Though he appeared human, his aura was no different from that of a great yokai. There were unfamiliar scents mixed within him—some animal, some ghostly.
But most peculiar of all…
She could sense the presence of Yamata no Orochi.
【That is correct. We are devout followers of Orochi-sama. This village exists to serve him, and I am its chieftain, Nure.】
Just as he suspected. These beings were fanatics worshipping the Serpent God.
Taeseong had already learned from an exiled Onmyoji that there were cultists devoted to Yamata no Orochi. That man had even built a shrine deep in the forest to conduct human sacrifices.
‘At least that Onmyoji still looked human… These ones are all snakes.’
That meant the scale of this place was incomparable. A whole village created solely for worshipping Orochi. Every single being here had received the Serpent God’s “blessing” and become snake yokai.
‘Well, for them, there’s no better place to settle than this forest.’
It was far from human eyes, and if there was ever a place deserving to be called a kingdom of yokai, this was it.
Here, they could grow stronger in secret, offering up humans in sacrifice until the Serpent God was resurrected.
【If I may ask… What is your relation to Orochi-sama?】
“Relation, huh…?”
He had eaten its tail, so…
“You could say we’re one and the same.”
【One and the same…? H-Have you perhaps… received the blessing of Orochi-sama’s tail?】
Taeseong gave a slight nod.
【I knew it… That explains why I could sense Orochi-sama’s presence within you… You are one of his children!】
“…Children? Me?”
【If you have consumed Orochi-sama’s body, then you are, of course, his child. After all, all of his children will eventually become one again. It is an honor to be nourished by the Great One!】
Taeseong frowned. He had no idea what she was talking about.
From the context, it seemed like they referred to those who had eaten parts of Orochi as “children.” And eventually, these children would… merge?
【Ahh… You must be hearing his voice even now. It was Orochi-sama’s will that led you here! There is another child in this village—one who has consumed three of Orochi-sama’s tails. Would you like to meet them?】
Apparently, the “children” could hear the voice of Yamata no Orochi in their minds.
— How… HOW can you remain unaffected…? A mere human… How dare you resist my will…? Wait… You… I see now. You were never human to begin with…!
Now that he thought about it… He had heard a voice in his head before.
But it had been so annoying that he had erased it from his mind.
‘So that’s what it was talking about.’
However, something else caught Taeseong’s interest.
‘Three tails?’
Even consuming one tail had granted him immense regeneration. Then what kind of power did the one who had eaten three possess?
Gulp.
Taeseong unconsciously swallowed.
From the depths of his shadow, Wairang also seemed to grow restless with hunger, attempting to crawl out.
‘Stay put. If you keep acting up, I won’t feed you for days.’
【Whimper… Whimper…】
‘Yeah, I know how you feel. I’m feeling pretty hungry myself. So just stay still for a bit. I’ll let you have some snake meat today.’
Both master and companion were enduring their hunger, clutching their growling stomachs.
As Taeseong moved, the gazes of the snake-people poured in from all directions. Some looked at him with curiosity, some with reverence, and some with open hostility.
It didn’t matter.
They were all going to disappear soon anyway.
‘There must be at least 200 of them.’
Nure, who had stopped in front of the shrine, spoke.
[This is the sanctuary where we worship Lord Orochi.]
As expected, the thick stench of blood and rotting corpses filled the air.
Inside, a massive altar stood.
Far more bodies were piled up here than he had seen before, stacked into a mountain. Corpses lay beside it, corpses lay beyond it—no matter where he looked, there were only corpses.
Judging by their appearance, most of them seemed to be humans who had drifted into this place.
“Were the sacrificial offerings the humans who wandered into this area?”
[That is correct. The master of the forest has acknowledged our domain, allowing us to offer any humans who enter as tributes to Lord Orochi. At times, when offerings are scarce, we go out beyond the forest to obtain them ourselves.]
“If I had known, I would’ve brought some with me. It’s a shame to show up empty-handed when meeting my siblings.”
[It is of no concern.]
And behind it all, a massive snake lay hidden.
Unlike the snake-people, this one was a true serpent. The only difference was its abnormal size and the fact that it had three heads and three tails.
‘It feels like standing in front of a massive boulder. If it’s this big lying down, just how massive would it be when it rises?’
Even Nure, who was over 20 meters long, looked tiny in comparison. There was no need for further explanation.
‘So this is the “child.”‘
[Noble Tanjin, please awaken. A new child of Lord Orochi has arrived.]
At that moment, the enormous snake stirred, lifting its colossal body. Three heads turned toward Taeseong.
“Nice to meet you, brother.”
Being a polite man, Taeseong greeted first.
Tanjin, still groggy from sleep, stared at him with its three heads before finally speaking.
[This thing before me… is supposed to be our mother’s child?]
Nure answered respectfully.
[That is correct.]
“You don’t recognize me?”
Tanjin’s three heads flicked their forked tongues, moving as if trying to assess Taeseong in their own way.
Then—
Suddenly, Tanjin’s faces contorted with rage, and a furious roar burst from its mouths.
[Nure! What have you brought here?! Mother says that thing is not a child, but a monster!]
Once again, a monster was calling him a monster.
Taeseong was starting to get annoyed.
He was clearly a human, born of human parents, yet actual monsters were calling him a freak.
[How dare you call that wretch a child when he has ignored Mother’s words, defied her will, and slain his own kin?! Tear him apart this instant!]
“You lot are hilarious. Weren’t you just saying that anyone who ate that snake bastard’s tail was a child? And now you’re suddenly changing your tune? Ah, I see—So you mean to say, a traitor is no child, huh?”
[One who rejects Mother’s grace has no right to speak of being a child!]
“Well, I suppose you’re right. I’m a perfectly normal human. It wouldn’t make sense for me to be the child of a snake. Fine. As of today, I forsake my status as a child. And you—I’ll be sending you to your mother first, Three-Headed Snake. With three heads, at least you won’t be lonely.”
Nure stared blankly at Taeseong, as if struggling to grasp the situation. Meanwhile, Tanjin thrashed violently, tormented by the nagging voice of its mother echoing in its mind.
“Dinnertime, Wairang.”
[Grrr!]
Taeseong drew his sword from the subspace and swung it at Tanjin.
A crescent-shaped arc of blue sword energy slashed cleanly through two of its heads.
Swish!
But in that instant, from the severed necks, new heads sprouted—two for each, making a total of five.
Seeing this, Taeseong had a sudden thought.
‘If I make good use of this, we might be able to solve world hunger. Though I can’t vouch for the taste.’
[Kahahahaha! You pathetic worm! Slice me a hundred times, a thousand times if you will—Death does not exist for one blessed by Mother’s grace!]
In the past, this would have been a troublesome foe.
No matter how finely he sliced it, with this level of regeneration, it would recover instantly.
Indeed, having consumed three tails, Tanjin’s regeneration was far superior to his own, having only eaten one.
However—
“That would’ve been a problem before.”
Dozens of blue flames flickered into existence around Taeseong, floating in the air.
The glow of the fire illuminated the area, reminding them of a long-forgotten truth.
The inevitability of death.
“But not anymore, right?”
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