Chapter 48: No, No, No!
“Let it be clear that we’ll kill anyone within my Dark Haze!” Nith raised his voice, and all the snake people behind him lifted their weapons, screaming in victory.
Adrenaline rushed through them. It had been so long since they’d had zero casualties and felt so victorious.
Strength was a powerful drug. When not handled well, it could lead to countless disasters.
Perhaps that was why villains suffered. They couldn’t trust anyone, and their judgment was clouded, while heroes were surrounded by reliable companions whose input kept them on the right path.
Nith didn’t know where he stood.
The line between villain and hero had blurred for him many times.
If he hadn’t met Kyouka, he’d have been a villain. Maybe he would have ended up in prison earlier. Would he have reacted the same way to Medusa and the hatred directed at him over generations without Kyouka’s influence?
Despite these thoughts momentarily seizing him, Nith realized that this kind of humanity didn’t feel so bad after all.
As a mere first-grader, he enabled people and fended off bastards. Some of them might return in the future, but to think that way meant he’d have to kill everyone he’d somehow insulted.
That didn’t sit well with Nith.
“You’re seriously siding with those losers? If it weren’t for their Queen, this tribe would be as good as dead! Got a thing for injured victims or something? Superhero?” a man with few brain cells shouted at Nightshade from afar.
He didn’t sound malicious or condescending. Simple curiosity had opened his mouth.
The others, however, clearly lacking intelligence, thought the man had insulted Night. Their questions were nothing but insults directed at him and the snake people, with comments suggesting Nith felt lust for disabled people, amazons, and more.
Nith narrowed his eyes. ‘The fuck now? I’m better at riling up others than complimenting them. What would Kyouka say now?’
As he thought about his woman, an image of her going all cuddly and friendly with the snake women appeared in his mind.
He could see her touching unique parts of the snake women, such as their scales, smiling brightly with compassion while caressing their scars.
Kyouka frequented various beauty salons and clothing stores, befriending their owners, all of whom shared the same passion for appearance, skin care, and other things Nith would probably never care about.
It was this thinking that made Nith recall his butler’s words.
‘It’s precisely what you don’t notice about yourself that has connected all of us with you. We’re, as other players would say, a small group of NPCs who have chosen you as our Lord. To make it clearer, it’s you and your path that excite us the most, beyond anything else. We’re confident that you’ll stand at the top and take us to the pinnacle of the world, where we’ll gaze at your back.’
Nith scrunched his face. ‘The fuck did he mean by that… So there’s something that connects me to the snake people. I can’t say it’s the poison and Medusa. Oh.’
Still wearing his mask of doubt and confusion, which made him look even grimmer, Nith turned to face the group of humans yelling at him.
Goosebumps ran through them. The snake people had all straightened up, noticing the change on Nith’s face.
He sneered. “Why am I siding with them? It’s simple. We look and feel the same. We both look like the world has wronged us.”
“No, no, no,” all the snake people waved their hands, immediately rejecting Night’s declaration.
“Night, the look in your eyes is as if even a small pebble rolling on the ground upsets you!”
“Yeah, nothing comes close to your grim countenance! We’re like idiots trying to look like pirates! Pirates aren’t even that bad, right?”
“Thinking back, amazons are quite brave and mighty!” said a female snake woman whose breast had been cut out. “They slice off their breasts to appear less womanly, more valiant and intimidating! We and amazons are nowhere near as frightening as you, Night!”
“No eyes? No problem! We can easily sense others by flicking our tongues! Also, the blindfold makes us look more mysterious and cool, like monks! You, though… would look way too frightening without eyes!”
All those comments hit Nith like an avalanche. Across from him, the human criminals stood still, confused. Their bewilderment didn’t last long, and they burst into laughter, shaming Nith.
He looked back, glaring. “Did you fucks just cast me away?”
Everyone gulped. Their bodies trembled, and those injured in the battle pretended to lose consciousness. Others who towered above them felt the grim reaper’s stare weighing them down, forcing them to grovel before Nith.
But if they did, it would be the highest level of defiance. Their conscience and natural instincts froze them, for no one wanted to insult the queen and worsen their situation by doing anything to Nith.
“Why so quiet?” Nith spat.
Only to be stopped by Medusa, who spoke from above as if seated on a throne overlooking the entire kingdom.
She said, “I no longer value your presence here.”
Her playful tone with a hint of condescension had been replaced by a flat, powerful voice that dismissed all the humans except Nith from her territory.
“She’s pissed!”
“I’ve never heard her this mad!”
“Just run!”
Even the snake people trembled, their heads hanging low.
None knew what was brewing within Medusa.
Nith tried to look at her, but she stood so far away that he couldn’t make out her expression.
There was no telling what was happening to her, except that Nith would soon experience it in person, for Medusa raised her voice again.
“Nightshade, come to me… now.”
The last word sounded like an order no one would appreciate. It carried no nuance other than the queen summoning her subject to her side.
“Everyone else is dismissed,” she added, leaving the top of her apartment block and heading to the stairway reserved for high-ranking people.
It had been only four days, yet Nith could already step onto it to follow Medusa’s path.
A/N: Sorry for lack of updates! I swear to keep daily uploads in November and write hard to reach the win-win goals! I’m preparing mindset for that grind! I thank you from the bottom of my heart for so much support this month! Next month plan is to upload tier 3 priv with 20 chaps and 2-3 chaps daily for privilege unlocks! Thanks!
