WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈

Chapter 61: You Are Responsible Forever for What You Have Tamed

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061.

Insect King Riokk swept everything before them together with their curved forelegs, like rakes.

If fully extended, each leg would measure just short of ten meters.

Whenever they wildly swung those forelegs studded with sharp spikes, monkeys and monsters alike were struck or dragged toward them.

Once something drew close to the teeth that chewed ceaselessly as though they belonged to a separate creature, it was over.

Like a shredder in a waste-processing plant, Insect King Riokk advanced, constantly biting, crushing, and swallowing prey.

A carpet of blood spread in their wake.

Insect King Riokk's eyes were originally pitch-black.

But this Insect King was different.

Something insect-like swam within their clouded eyes.

It meant the Symbiotic Parasites had claimed even those tiny eyes.

Insect King Riokk should have at least known a leader's role, but nothing but instinct remained.

A dreadful hunger ruled them.

It had driven them to abandon the Silver Monkey, whom they had once competed with for strength, and crave the nearest prey instead.

They leaped into the air, then landed with a near-crash.

They had headed for the place with the greatest concentration of monsters.

Perhaps it was inevitable that they landed on the right flank of the formation, where spiders, insects, and monkeys had gathered.

But it was chance that Centipede Mom had been there.

And that she and her children had been swept up in that terrible chaos.

An utterly dreadful chance.

“Keeeeee!”

It was a roar full of grief.

Her cry rang so loudly that it reached where I was.

The monsters moved as though caught in a whirlpool.

Centipede Mom stood tall among them, impossible to miss.

Her three children were always clinging to her back.

No, there were only two, not three.

The white one had to be Bowbow.

The other was the second... no, the third child?

I couldn't tell.

“Keeeeee! Kee!”

Centipede Mom could not even think of fleeing as she searched through the area.

One of her children had clearly been swept away and vanished.

Insect King Riokk kept approaching as they devoured monsters without pause.

-You idiot, get ahold of yourself.

It felt as though someone had dumped cold water over my entire body.

The World Tree's roots.

I looked back and forth between Insect King Riokk, Centipede Mom, and Father.

My group was here.

The monsters I had tamed, and my sick father.

Why did those words suddenly come to mind?

‘You are responsible forever for what you have tamed.’

It was a line I had read in a story about The Little Prince, written by a pilot.

There had been a time when I recited it endlessly.

I had wanted to tell my parents about it, but never got the chance.

I realized I couldn't abandon Centipede Mom or her tiny baby centipedes.

Nor could I throw the group I had tamed before Insect King Riokk.

My decision came quickly, and I moved at once.

‘Father.’

As always, he looked down at me from his hollowed eyes.

‘Please watch over this place. And if I look like I'm really in danger, fire off one beam.’

Then I turned to Gorilla.

‘Don't get too close, but don't stray too far either. Stay together.’

“Boss...!”

Gorilla called out to me, but I was already heading for the centipedes.

*「You use Acceleration Lv. 6.」

Even without legs, I crawled at full speed as though sprinting forward.

Fleeing monsters blocked my path.

I couldn't afford to lose time getting trampled beneath the pounding feet of monkeys.

*「You use Overlord Lv. 2.」

I unleashed my presence without holding back.

The skill worked even on monsters drunk on fear and bloodlust.

Or perhaps the monsters that had once commanded them could no longer fulfill that role.

The monsters parted, opening a path.

I pushed forward without hesitation.

I tore out the hearts of those that refused to move aside.

I slipped between the legs of enormous monkeys.

I ignored the insects clinging to me and kept going.

“Keeee!”

Centipede Mom had completely lost her mind by then.

The missing one was Big Eyes.

They had always been the best eater.

The most...

Boom.

The impact sent me flying.

A gorilla had charged at me on all fours.

It seemed to be a different species from Gorilla, and its fangs were especially long.

It looked startled when I regained my footing without injury.

*「You use Heart-Eating Leap Lv. 2.」

I couldn't tear out its heart, but I sank my Poison Fang into it.

Ignoring the creature as it thrashed, I pushed onward.

A grasshopper the size of a wild dog pounced on me.

I breathed fire at it.

Still burning, it clung to my body.

I was burned as a result, but I could endure it.

Insects covered my body, and other monsters trampled over them.

Ah.

Big Eyes must have been caught in the same mess somewhere nearby.

Maybe they were already dead.

*「You use Heavenly Thunder Decree Lv. 1.」

Crack-crack-crack!

The monsters clinging to my body burned black.

I was free again.

My eyes met Centipede Mom's.

She stared at me, frozen in surprise.

‘Find your child, quickly.’

I hoped she understood.

I turned away again.

Centipede Mom was not the only one looking at me in alarm after the lightning struck.

Insect King Riokk, who had drawn close before I realized it, was looking at me too.

Had the lightning briefly restored their muddled reason?

Was that why they saw me as an opponent?

In truth, they might have simply recognized me as flashy prey.

Either way, they stopped chewing and swallowing monsters.

Yes, come after me instead.

I moved away from Centipede Mom.

Insect King Riokk's head followed me.

Good.

I used another skill that would draw their attention.

*「You use Thunder Roar Lv. 1.」

“Saaaak!”

Perhaps that roar sounded like some kind of signal to them.

“Queeeik!”

They began charging straight at me.

I had to lure them away.

Preferably toward the monkeys.

But I had made a mistake.

-Crawl faster, they'll catch you!

First, Insect King Riokk was faster than I had thought.

From a distance, I hadn't realized it because of their massive body.

Now that they were coming closer, I could see they were far faster than me.

*「You use Acceleration Lv. 6.」

I couldn't keep Acceleration active forever.

I could already feel my Mana running low.

Even after becoming a Crystal Python, my Mana had increased enormously. Was this still all I had?

The second problem was that when Insect King Riokk turned this way, the monsters ahead started fleeing toward me as well.

It wasn't hard to find monsters heavier and faster than a snake among them.

The creatures running for their lives shoved and trampled me.

I had no choice.

Insect King Riokk had changed direction away from Centipede Mom, so even if I gave up Thunder Roar, I needed to escape first.

There were surprisingly few flying insects nearby. Well, if there had been any, they would have fled long ago.

I barely managed to find something like a cicada.

*「With Billy's Horn Lv. 4, you borrow ‘Flight Lv. 8.’」

*「Success.」

It worked.

*「You have temporarily acquired ‘Flight Lv. 3.’」

*「You use Flight Lv. 3.」

My body floated into the air.

Levitation would have been a more fitting description than flight.

I couldn't change direction or control my speed.

But I couldn't Burrow, and I couldn't use Emergency Return right now, so this was my only option...

That was when it happened.

Flap!

An insect clung to my body.

No, two of them. Three.

My body grew heavier.

I knew this would happen.

There was a reason I hadn't used Flight before.

At last, a Long-Legged Monkey grabbed me.

The Flight Lv. 3 I had borrowed with such effort couldn't bear its weight.

“Kiik! Wii!”

The monkeys and insects made a deafening racket.

They covered me again.

I bit wildly at them, trying to escape.

*「Your level has increased.」

I thought I heard something like that.

But I had no time to celebrate.

I gathered my dwindling Mana and used Heavenly Thunder Decree.

*「You use Heavenly Thunder Decree Lv. 1.」

Crack-crack-crack!

Heavenly Thunder Decree had reached Lv. 1, so I could at least use it a few times like this.

I squeezed out from between the blackened monster corpses.

And Insect King Riokk was even closer.

One of their forelegs reached out to snatch me.

*「You use Heart-Eating Leap Lv. 2.」

I used Leap for the sole purpose of escaping.

Whoosh!

Their claw swept past right behind me.

Then I heard Centipede Mom's scream-like cry.

“Keeee!”

Big Eyes hung limply from her foreleg.

Was that a cry of joy, or a wail of grief?

I couldn't tell.

Thud, thud!

Insect King Riokk caught up directly behind me.

If I hit them with Heavenly Thunder Decree one more time...

*「Insufficient Mana.」

Ah...!

I couldn't even use Acceleration anymore.

Where was Father?

Why hadn't he fired a Destruction Beam?

-Move, dodge!

No, I couldn't. There was nowhere to dodge.

I was going to die. Definitely.

That insect would eat me.

It was all my fault that I had ended up in this situation.

What an idiot. Where had all that confidence come from?

I had rushed in to save Centipede Mom, and now I was going to die.

I had lived as a pathetic loser my whole life. Had being reborn as a snake for a few months made me think I could play the hero?

‘No. I'm going to die like this...’

Mental Strength 20 or whatever was useless.

Fear rushed over me, and I regretted everything terribly.

Then I heard Centipede Mom crying.

“Keke, kee...”

I realized there was relief mixed into that sound.

I turned to the right.

Big Eyes was alive.

They twitched and wriggled as they clung to their mother.

‘Ah...’

I came to a complete stop.

-You idiot, what are you doing? Why aren't you running?

‘...Even if I want to run, I don't have any Mana.’

I had only one option left.

I turned to face Insect King Riokk as they approached.

Fine. I'd enter that bastard's mouth and eat their heart.

I'd have to fight the Parasites inside them, but still.

Their saw-like teeth clattered.

I had to leap in time with that rhythm.

Yeah, fuck it. What's the worst that could happen, I die?

Maybe I'd be born as an earthworm in my next life.

They came right up to me.

I couldn't use Leap or Acceleration.

Still, I jumped.

Snap!

Then everything before me turned black.

I wasn't dead.

Something had swallowed me whole.

Not Insect King Riokk. Something else.

I saw soft gums, a damp tongue, and white teeth tightly clenched together.

They felt strangely familiar and warm.

Thud!

The one who had put me in his mouth rammed his body into Insect King Riokk.

Everything shook so violently inside his mouth that I lost all sense of direction.

I carefully kept myself from slipping down Father's throat.

Yes, it was Father.

He had come over at some point and put me in his mouth.

I had asked him to fire just one Destruction Beam if I was in danger.

Did he not have any Mana? Did he have to come here himself...

‘Dad!’

I couldn't bring myself to resent him.

But still.

‘Put me down!’

How was he supposed to fight with his mouth closed?

Setting aside the fact that he couldn't fire that destructive beam, if he couldn't bite or inject his Poison Fang, Strangling was the only thing a snake had left.

There was no way he could strangle to death an insect that had been stronger than him from the beginning.

So he had to put me down.

Or just swallow me already.

‘Spit me out!’

The only answer I received was a physical shock.

Boom!

My body rose into the air.

Insect King Riokk's cry could be heard even from outside.

Then the sharp smell of blood reached me.

Blood surged out of Father's throat in a rush.

‘Come on...!’

After that came more impacts.

Blood.

Insect King Riokk's roars.

Father did not scream, and he never opened his mouth.

He only kept wriggling toward somewhere.

Then, for the first time, I heard Father's voice.

It was neither advice to me nor a warning to Insect King Riokk.

“...Honey.”

That was all.

‘Hah.’

A hollow laugh escaped me.

There was nothing funny about the situation.

I asked Pelerian.

‘Could you go outside and tell me what's happening?’

-...Very well.

Pelerian did so.

* * *

-Oh, my.

A fragment of the old mage Pelerian's soul let out a sigh.

They had seen countless brutal things, but the sight before them was truly horrific.

The once beautifully shining snake was in a miserable state.

The starlit scales along his back had been torn away with the skin, leaving ragged flesh behind.

A third of the way from his tail, his body had been nearly severed and hung loose.

Blood streamed from one eye.

Even so, he kept his mouth tightly shut and crawled forward slowly.

Insect King Riokk was behind him.

The insect was in no better condition.

Only two of their six legs remained.

Their antennae were broken, and parasites as large as snakes spilled from their crushed abdomen and rear.

Yet bloodlust, or perhaps hunger, still remained.

They continued following the snake slowly.

-Even his father was no ordinary creature.

Pelerian muttered bitterly.

Swaying, the Polaris Serpent finally collapsed.

* * *

Thud.

My vision brightened with the impact.

Father's mouth opened.

I staggered out.

My body was dyed bright red.

It was all the blood Father had coughed up.

I examined his condition.

His eyes were unfocused.

He wasn't dead. He was still breathing in shallow rasps.

But it looked as though he could stop breathing at any moment.

‘I seriously don't understand you...’

I felt like I was about to cry.

Snakes couldn't cry, yet I felt as though tears would start falling at any moment.

I had used almost all of the potion Nanaruk had given me.

I poured all but one bottle down Father's throat.

I had kept one aside just in case after seeing Father's status window.

‘Why did you hide it so much?’

Father didn't answer.

Focus returned to his eyes, and it seemed as though he was looking at me.

‘Stop this and get some rest. I'll give you the potion too...’

I didn't know whether Father had listened to me.

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【Polaris Serpent Lv. 100】

【Traits】

[Observer of the North Star], [Cowardly], [Devoted Husband], [Avoidant]

...

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Perhaps his Health or Mana had run out.

His injuries were that severe, and it had been such a terrible battle.

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【Skills】

[Deadly Venom: Neurohemotoxin Lv. 10], [Hell Strangling Lv. 20], [Destruction Beam Lv. 20]...

[Giantification Lv. 10]...

──────────────

One skill in his list caught my attention.

‘Giantification Lv. 10.’

Father's enormous body began shrinking.

The Giantification he had been maintaining was deactivated.

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【Status】

[Fear], [Relief], [Injured], [Near Death], [Blood Loss], [Maimed], [Giantification]...

──────────────

He kept getting smaller.

Eventually he became smaller than Insect King Riokk, then smaller than Gorilla, then even smaller than Spot.

At first, I had wondered how Father had met Mother while being so huge. Maybe it had been the opposite.

At last, his shrinking stopped.

Father's true size was only a little bigger than mine.

‘You weren't that small.’

Before Father's breathing stopped, I took out the potion, poured it into his mouth, and applied it to his wounds.

He seemed to improve little by little. It was still maddeningly slow.

I wanted to care for Father, but I couldn't.

“Queeeik!”

That vile insect.

Insect King Riokk dragged themself closer on their two remaining legs.

‘Wait here a little longer.’

This time, I would fight.

So we should have both been honest with each other a little sooner.

*「With Surpassing Horn Lv. 3, you surpass the limits of the skill ‘Billy's Horn Lv. 4.’」

*「You have temporarily acquired ‘Billy's Horn Lv. 10.’」

I had restored my Mana by swallowing a great deal of precious Magic Stones.

With that, I would borrow a means to fight Insect King Riokk.

*「With Billy's Horn Lv. 10, you borrow ‘Giantification Lv. 10.’」

*「Success.」

*「You have temporarily acquired ‘Giantification Lv. 0.’」

*「With Surpassing Horn Lv. 3, you surpass the limits of the skill ‘Giantification Lv. 0.’」

*「You have temporarily acquired ‘Giantification Lv. 1.’」

All the Mana I had painstakingly restored was consumed in an instant.

*「You use Giantification Lv. 1.」

My view rose.

My body grew.

*「You grow gigantic.」

At last.

Only for a moment, but still.

As big as Father.

Footnotes:

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