WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈
Chapter 51: The Snake Fails at Filial Piety
──────
Unless they were merely gathered because they were alike.
Or unless they were a small group numbering only a dozen or so individuals.
Once their numbers exceeded the hundreds.
Or when thousands, even tens of thousands of monsters gathered like the Insect Legion.
A powerful leader was naturally needed to keep such a group functioning properly.
Just as the Silver Monkey existed among the primates, the Swamp Monster existed within the Insect Legion.
Yet an organization could not function on its leader alone.
Any group of a certain scale needed an advisor who could practically carry out the leader's will.
The advisor to the primate monsters was an old orangutan called the Sage.
The orangutan had not become an advisor because of their strength.
They had become one because they were intelligent and highly skilled with language.
The Insect Legion had an advisor as well.
He was a single spider.
A Demon Face Tarantula.
A monster with a demon's face floating on its bloated abdomen.
The orangutan and the human-faced spider had one thing in common, they could speak.
The human-faced spider spoke through the mouth on his abdomen.
He could also hear thoughts, allowing him to understand other monsters' minds.
Their difference lay in their combat ability.
The Demon Face Tarantula was stronger than the Crimson Teeth Giant Centipede.
Including the spiders he had subjugated and commanded like limbs, he could truly be called the Insect Legion's second-in-command.
Spiders and centipedes did not get along.
It was an ancient grudge, dating back to the time the first persimmon ripened in the Heavenly Orchard, when the longest centipede and the largest spider fought, formed a lake, and both suffered devastating losses.
Still, the insects here had somehow formed a group.
Under the Swamp Monster's rule, spiders and centipedes had joined forces.
That did not mean their rivalry could be stopped.
Clang, clang.
The giant centipede clicked her venomous claws together in displeasure.
Centipedes were not the only monsters at her side. Beetles, scarabs, millipedes, bees, and all manner of monsters stood behind the giant centipede.
The human-faced spider, on the other hand, had only spiders behind him, of countless varieties.
The lips on the face growing from his abdomen moved grotesquely.
"You shouldn't have let that snake live."
His voice carried a strange resonance, as though hundreds of spiders were singing in chorus.
"Small, but strong-looking, monster. If you had eaten it, it would've been excellent nourishment."
His drawling voice was plainly accusing the centipede.
Thoughts accompanied the human-faced spider's voice. The dim-witted insects would not understand what he was saying, but monsters whose intelligence had developed to some degree surely understood the meaning of the accusation.
"We must chase it down and kill it!"
"Kekekek..."
Killing intent seeped from the giant centipede's cry.
Don't touch that snake. That was her warning.
"The Swamp Monster won't like this."
The human-faced spider threatened the giant centipede as well.
Naturally, the insects here did not follow the Swamp Monster out of respect or affection.
Only fear, fear of an overwhelmingly powerful insect, held them together.
As soon as the spider mentioned the Swamp Monster, several insects flinched in fear.
"Kek."
The centipede raised her body.
She would not listen any longer.
'What kind of relationship does she have with that snake?'
The human-faced spider was curious.
If he continued insisting on a pursuit, he would probably have to risk fighting the centipede.
In truth, though, there was no need.
The small spider he had sent with the centipedes to the monkeys had already returned and tipped him off.
The snake had taken the two unripe fruits the orangutan possessed.
If he brought that up, he would have a justification to capture and kill the snake.
Even the giant centipede would have a hard time continuing to resist.
"I'll remember this."
Still, the human-faced spider stopped after putting the centipede at a disadvantage.
Why reveal the fruits' existence? If he secretly took them, they would be his.
He had already sent out his subordinates.
Through three of his eight eyes, he shared the sight of the subordinates following the snake.
'The rocky area.'
What a foolish snake.
Of all places, it had gone to the rocky area.
That thing lived there.
Of course, it did nothing but sleep buried in the rocks all day.
It rarely emerged, which was probably why the Swamp Monster and Silver Monkey left it alone.
That was what he had naturally assumed.
'...What?'
No way.
That thing was rising beneath the moonlight.
'Retreat!'
From that great distance, the human-faced spider ordered his kin to withdraw.
It was already too late.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
His vision went black, and three of his eight eyes burst on their own.
Yellow fluid trickled from the ruptured eyes.
The spiderlings gathered around him in apparent concern.
The human-faced spider seized the tiny creatures with his small forelegs and put them into his mouth.
The startled little ones scattered in all directions.
'What in the world...'
The kin he had painstakingly raised had died, harming the human-faced spider in the process.
It would take time to recover from this loss.
He burned with sticky rage.
* * *
'Born in the shadows and having gained the Epithet Zoo Keeper, I have watched, tamed, and killed countless monsters. Yet that Serpent, that enormous snake, was among the most beautiful monsters I had ever seen.
It was not the strongest. Even here, the Silver Monkey or the Swamp Monster would be more powerful than that child.
But none could compare to the Serpent in inherent beauty.
His scales glittered with starlight, and his deep, tranquil eyes seemed as though the North Star had been set into them.
Even the savage Medusa Serpent would perform a courtship dance for her husband.
It was only natural.
Even monsters of entirely different species followed that Serpent.
That child was a Unique Species.
An ancestor who had twisted its own path of evolution and been reborn as a new species.
The snake that followed Polaris.
Its name was...'
「From Dashnan's Animal Husbandry Diary」
* * *
──────────────
【Polaris Serpent Lv. ???】
──────────────
That was my father.
The name I had seen in Dashnan's Animal Husbandry Diary.
Polaris, the North Star.
The guide for every ship sailing the ocean.
That name had been attached as the Serpent's prefix.
It had been impossible to imagine what kind of monster Father was from his name alone.
To be honest, I had even had the unfilial thought, What kind of try-hard name is that?
The moment I saw Father in person, though, I immediately understood the meaning of that name.
Just look at those melancholy eyes.
It was as if three North Stars had risen in the sky.
Father gazed proudly upward, like a young captain searching for Polaris.
If you asked how I could sense something like that from a snake, I'd tell you to come see for yourself.
Even when I focused my eyes, I could barely learn any detailed information.
It was even harder than with Gunter.
I had only managed to confirm one Epithet.
──────────────
【Epithet】Big and Cool Snake
──────────────
A straightforward Epithet.
Only then did I understand how Mother and Father had gotten together.
To put it bluntly, Medusa Mom must have been completely obsessed with pretty faces.
-Snake, how can a snake be that handsome?
Exactly.
The Polaris Serpent was more handsome than any monster I had ever seen.
Dashnan's disgusting rambling about him being beautiful was not only because Dashnan was a pervert. He was genuinely beautiful.
Even setting aside his starlit eyes and scales, the perfection of his form seemed to steal one's soul away.
He was huge, too.
He was clearly larger than Medusa Mom. I had no idea how those two had even met.
Even the spiders had been stunned by Father's appearance.
The ones sneaking backward stopped dead.
As if their souls had been stolen away.
That was when Father's tail moved.
It was a light swat, like a person swatting a fly.
KWAANG!
The impact of Father's tail smashing into the ground sent me briefly airborne before I landed.
When I looked back, every spider had been converted from 3D to 2D.
In other words, they had been flattened.
A familiar shiver ran up my spine.
Turning things into bloody paste with his tail was not Medusa Mom's unique skill after all.
The surviving spiders finally began to flee.
Father did not disgrace himself by chasing after them.
He simply opened that dignified mouth a little.
Light began to shine inside it.
I didn't want this to happen again, but another shiver ran through my whole body.
I had realized what he was about to do.
Surely that was something only dragons were allowed to do, not snakes.
Kiiiiing!
A ray shot from Father's mouth and incinerated the fleeing spiders.
That was definitely breath.
-It's Destruction Beam!
Pelerian ruined the moment.
No, Destruction Beam was cool in its own way.
Come to think of it, the golems in Pelerian's Dungeon had the Destruction Beam skill too.
Could those golems have fired rays like that?
-They couldn't have produced that much power. More importantly, it's certain now...
Pelerian sounded intrigued.
-It possesses magical charm. That is probably an innate ability of that Serpent.
No matter how handsome Father was, spiders of a different species had no reason to freeze like ice.
Pelerian seemed to think it was an ability possessed by the Polaris Serpent.
-It's probably a mental ability related to charm.
Naturally, it did not work on me, since I had the Indomitable trait.
Father looked down at me as if he had found something strange.
Was he surprised that I had not been charmed by his appearance?
Or had he recognized that I was his child?
Father lowered his enormous head and came close to me.
He was even more handsome up close.
I had thought I was pretty cool-looking for a snake, but compared to Father, I was pathetic.
-Be careful. Though even if you are careful, it won't matter if that bastard decides to do something.
Pelerian gave advice that was less than useless.
Even if I used Heavenly Thunder Decree, my strongest technique, Father would probably only feel a sting.
The difference in our power was that overwhelming.
For some reason, I was not afraid.
I could not feel even the slightest hostility from him.
The emotion in Father's deep blue eyes was clearly curiosity.
His tongue flicked out, shrrit.
As a snake, I understood the meaning of that action.
He was smelling me.
Father, I've returned.
I tried to examine Father's status window.
Just as I had done with Gunter, I focused my eyes and concentrated my mind.
It was useless.
As if he had firmly shut the door to his heart, I could not even see Father's level.
"Shrrit."
I flicked my tongue like Father.
Somehow, it felt warm.
Was it because we shared blood?
Father, your son has returned.
*「Your bloodline resonates.」
So it had not been my imagination.
I told Pelerian about the message I had just heard.
-Bloodline resonance? The Medusa Serpent that was your mother was not originally a monster that properly raised its young... Is that because this one is a different breed?
It seemed Father had recognized me.
I sensed my future.
Like Bowbow, Big Eyes, and Big Head, I would now ride around on Father's back.
Then I would have nothing to fear. As long as I did not run into Gunter!
The happy future I dreamed of never came.
*「The Polaris Serpent feels fear.」
*「Bloodline resonance is interrupted.」
Father abruptly raised his head in shock.
Then he began fidgeting as though troubled.
He turned his head, as if searching for someone.
Did he think Mom was nearby?
Before I could give him the sad news, Father suddenly turned around and began running away.
Where are you going!
Instinctively, I tried to chase after Father.
Maybe it was because of the difference in our sizes, but he was incredibly fast.
That was not all.
Whoosh, and Father vanished.
He was nowhere to be found.
There was no way he could hide that gigantic body anywhere, yet it felt as if he had evaporated.
After looking around, I asked Pelerian.
'Didn't he teleport?'
Could Father be a Magic Serpent too?
A high-ranking mage at that...
Pelerian firmly denied it.
-Teleportation was a high-level spell that only a handful of mages in my era could use. There is no way a snake monster can use it.
Maybe he can!
When I asked what had happened, Pelerian could not give me a clear answer either.
-If it were invisibility, you would have sensed his presence... Try using Mana Detection.
I did.
Nothing appeared.
After thinking about it for a while, I decided to take it easy.
I'll find him again.
Unless Father tried to eat me, there was no reason for me to be afraid if he had run away because he was scared.
Someday, I would ride on Father's back. For today, I would go home.
When I looked back, Spot had apparently been terrified enough to shove their head into a gap between the rocks.
I pulled Spot's tail.
Spot sprang up, recognized me, and began licking my face.
'Let's head back for now.'
I had harvests, after all.
──────────────
【World Tree's Unripe Root Fruit】
──────────────
Two fruits.
What in the world were these that had driven the monsters crazy?
I should try eating one.
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
