TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 8

The mouse that approached him under the moonlight was only a low-level magical creature in terms of magical energy.

Creatures of this kind usually have the intelligence of a human child, with simple thoughts, and besides the magical energy, they aren’t much different from ordinary animals. Weak low-level monsters might even have trouble against wild beasts.

However, when this mouse spoke, it used the tone of an adult.

“Did you try to persuade that man to join us? What happened?”

Emerald knew that this mouse was being controlled by an unknown magical creature to communicate with him.

That creature hid behind the scenes, spreading rumors among the monsters without ever revealing itself.

Even though the mouse was controlling its own kind, Emerald still didn’t like it.

“Failed. What about the others?”

“Is that so?” The mouse wasn’t surprised by the outcome. “They’re all dead, except for you. We thought that man was in a weakened state, but we didn’t expect him to be so strong.”

The mouse thought carefully for a moment, lost in contemplation.

“Are you… using us to test his situation?” Emerald couldn’t help but ask.

“You actually dare ask such a question? Did that man say something to you?” The mouse looked surprised, as though it were seeing a fool waking up. “I just told you about that child’s abilities and location. Isn’t it you who rushed over to get the cure for yourselves?”

That was true.

But thinking of the dream from earlier, Emerald felt increasingly dissatisfied.

He didn’t understand what that dream was all about. Maybe it was just a product of overthinking, imagining what it would be like to capture Albin later.

Would that situation satisfy him?

Of course not!

“You told me that the child was the only hope for the demon race, and that turning him into a blood slave would save other demons. You were lying to me, weren’t you?” Emerald said, displeased. “That child is so small and weak, he can’t possibly feed all the demons.”

No matter if Albin was a human or a demon, no matter how many people shared him, Emerald realized this plan wasn’t going to work.

The mouse responded indifferently: “Of course, a child’s flesh and blood can’t save all demons. I never said that all demons should enjoy the cure. That’s just your misunderstanding. You were too naive, too hopeful.”

The mouse’s attitude further confirmed Emerald’s suspicions about the dream.

Emerald angrily lashed his tail against the ground, making the fallen leaves rustle.

“Liars!” He shouted, “You just wanted to use him to control a portion of the demons, didn’t you?”

Low-level creatures like this mouse, Albin in the dream, and all the companions who died this time were all being controlled by someone. What would happen to the other demons once that someone controlled the cure? Would they all end up like Albin in the dream, corrupted?

The thought still scared Emerald.

This creature didn’t care about its comrades. From the start, it was just using them for its own gain, not for anyone else’s benefit!

“You liar! I will never listen to your words again!” Emerald spat, “With Zeman protecting that child, you will not succeed!”

He realized that, even though the mouse knew Zeman was in a weakened state, it only dared to manipulate things in secret, using others to test, too afraid to act itself.

It was a cowardly bastard.

If only he could find the mouse’s true form, he would make sure to punish it severely.

The mouse, however, remained calm in response to Emerald’s accusations.

“I didn’t expect you to side with them. Well, then, you are no longer useful.”

Before Emerald could react, a surge of powerful magical energy erupted from the mouse, energy far beyond that of a low-level creature.

The dark, sticky magical energy instantly enveloped him, like a purple-black poison.

When the energy dissipated, only the lifeless body of a cyan snake remained on the ground.

“Foolish mid-level monster, there are plenty more where you came from.”

After confirming Emerald’s death, the mouse’s mature demeanor vanished, returning to the form of an ordinary magical mouse.

The mouse squeaked, nibbling at Emerald’s corpse before leaving not long afterward.

Time passed, and when the sun rose, the broken snake body on the ground began to move, leaving behind a shedding.

Emerald revived.

He felt fortunate that the mouse didn’t know about his abilities.

“I’m not a mid-level creature; I’m a high-level one!”

He lifted his head proudly, but quickly drooped again due to the severity of his injuries. He searched around for insects and worms to replenish his energy.

This time, there was plenty of food, and after successfully restoring his strength, he began to feel melancholic.

It seemed that everything from the dream was true.

Thinking of Albin’s situation in the dream, Emerald gritted his teeth and decided to warn him to be careful of the mouse.

He dragged his wounded body, ignoring the need for rest, and hurried toward the hunting cabin while his magical energy hadn’t fully recovered.

He carefully approached the cabin, and when Zeman was absent, he used his tail to flick a stone and knock on the door.

“Who’s there?” Albin peeked out, looking around but seeing no one.

【Here.】

Looking down, he finally spotted the small cyan snake.

“Emerald! Great, I thought I wouldn’t see you today!” Albin’s face lit up with joy, but then he noticed how badly injured Emerald was. Many of his scales were missing, and his bloody flesh was covered in grass and dirt.

“What happened to you?” Albin carefully picked him up, his heart aching just looking at the injuries, and hurriedly carried him inside to clean his wounds with warm water.

【I encountered an annoying mouse.】 Emerald mentioned it, 【You must be careful of mice with black cross-shaped stars in their eyes. Never believe their lies!】

“Why?”

With no medicine available, Albin tried to use his magical power to heal Emerald but failed. He had to bandage him with cloth, finishing with a bow at the end.

Emerald, with the bow on his head, said seriously, “That mouse has set its sights on you. It wants to capture you and use you. You’ll be badly hurt, and it will be horrible.”

Albin was stunned for a moment.

This… didn’t it sound like the villain who would adopt him in the original plot?

Albin had thought that once he escaped the fire, he wouldn’t have to encounter such people again, but now he realized he had already been targeted. Perhaps the villain had been planning to adopt him from the start.

But why?

Albin puzzled, “What does it want to use me for?”

He couldn’t understand what there was about him that could be useful to anyone.

【I don’t know either.】 Emerald turned his head away, seemingly examining the bow on his head, not directly answering Albin about the cure.

On one hand, he felt somewhat guilty; on the other, he thought this kid was way too trusting!

If Albin knew the truth, he might foolishly let others drink his blood without anyone needing the mouse’s influence.

To test this, Emerald cautiously asked, 【If… I mean, if there were many people who went mad because of illness and started harming others, but you had the ability to alleviate their illness and stop them from going mad, would you save them? For example, if your blood could alleviate their madness?】

“Of course I’d save them!” Albin said without hesitation, “If my blood could not only help the sick but also protect innocent people, I’d definitely donate my blood to save them!”

Emerald: …

This kid was truly that naïve!

【It will hurt a lot, and it will last a long time.】 Emerald warned him.

Albin, who feared pain the most, was indeed scared upon hearing this, but still asked, “How painful would it be? Is it more painful than death? Will I die?”

【Probably not.】

“Then I’ll still save them!” Albin puffed out his chest.

He had experienced death before!

【Fool!】 Emerald felt a pang of conscience.

Suddenly being scolded, Albin looked innocent, his red eyes confused, “Why are you scolding me?”

Emerald straightened up at the table, looking down on him as he lectured him.

【Fool! How much blood do you think you have? You won’t be able to save many people like that.】

He seemed to have forgotten that he too once naively believed a child could save an entire race.

“Got it!” Albin nodded, understanding the point. “So, if I need to save a lot of people, my blood wouldn’t be enough.”

“Then what’s the right answer?”

Emerald’s posture softened again.

【I don’t know either.】

Albin thought for a moment: “Then can we research why my blood can save people and develop a special medicine?”

Emerald was stunned.

【How would we research that?】

“I’m just a kid, I don’t know, but it must be advanced technology, right?” Albin imagined the laboratories he had seen on TV and in ads.

【Technology? What’s that?】 Emerald shook his head, confused.

Albin couldn’t explain it clearly: “Anyway… it’s something not available here.”

Emerald drooped his head in disappointment.

Albin then said, “Then we should avoid letting everyone keep getting sick, or directly solve the cause of the sickness?”

Curses come from gods—how could that be solved?

Even if the curse was temporarily lifted, it would anger the gods, and worse curses would follow, right?

Should they defeat the gods?

This thought suddenly flashed in Emerald’s mind, giving him a huge shock.

Monsters may resent the gods, but they are gods, and no monster has ever thought they could defeat a god.

Some monsters even choose to faithfully worship the gods, hoping for forgiveness.

Albin, still puzzled, asked, “Why is Lord Emerald asking me this? Is it because of my blood…?”

[Just asking, testing you!] Lord Emerald quickly interrupted his speculation.

Anyway, Albin must not know the truth!

Albin didn’t dwell on the topic. He brought Lord Emerald a honey-glazed roasted rabbit leg.

“This is the rabbit leg my father roasted last night. It’s super delicious! It’s even better than the bread and cheese I gave you last time. I saved a piece for you. Try it!”

[Why are you being so nice to me?]

He treated his wounds, and now he was giving him food.

This kid had no idea he had wanted to eat him earlier!

So clueless! So clueless! So clueless!

“Because I think Lord Emerald is a friend.” Albin blinked. “Didn’t Lord Emerald come to tell me about the bad guys? Thank you for the reminder.”

[Who’s your friend!] Lord Emerald turned his head away, [Are you trying to bribe me?]

He was a high-level monster!

There’s no way he could be swayed by such simple tactics!

And he still wasn’t sure whether this kid was human or a monster.

Albin, with his sparkling eyes, asked directly, “Is that okay?”

As if attacked, Lord Emerald’s tail wagged rapidly.

No, no matter what, anyone who could talk to him must be an ally, right?

He turned away from Albin’s gaze and said with some restraint, [If this rabbit leg tastes good, I’ll reluctantly agree to your request.]

Under Albin’s eager gaze, Lord Emerald took a bite of the rabbit leg and was instantly astonished. He devoured it happily.

Albin rested his elbow on the table, supporting his chin with a smile as he watched him. “Hehe, my father’s cooking is pretty good, huh?”

[Well, it’s not bad.] Lord Emerald continued eating without looking up, tossing the remaining meaty bone into the air and swallowing it whole, [By the way, who is your father?]

“Mr. Zeman. He agreed to be my father last night!” Albin thought for a moment. “You might not have met him yet.”

Lord Emerald, who had been eating ravenously, suddenly froze as if he had eaten poison.

Zeman?!

This is the rabbit leg roasted by that terrifying apocalyptic dragon?!

For a moment, he had the illusion that he was being coated in honey, strung on a stick, roasted over a fire by Zeman himself.

Albin, worried, asked, “What’s wrong? You’re so small, how could you eat bones?”

Lord Emerald snapped out of it and swallowed the food in his mouth.

[I’m fine. My ability is [Gluttony], so I can easily consume prey much larger than myself.]

When Albin saw that Lord Emerald swallowed the rabbit leg without his snake body bulging, he finally relaxed.

Mentioning Zeman reminded Albin of something.

“If the bad guys target me, my father will be in danger too…” He furrowed his brow, feeling a little regretful. “It’s all my fault for asking him to be my father.”

Lord Emerald: ?

Who’s in danger?

Is it that human who became the nightmare of many monsters by slaying his way through the abyss, or the apocalyptic dragon who will one day strike terror into all of humanity?

Lord Emerald was about to tell him Zeman’s true identity when he suddenly stopped, realizing:

If he revealed Zeman’s true identity now and Albin later learns the truth about the antidote, this kid would definitely offer his blood to Zeman! It would be like a sheep walking into a dragon’s mouth!

No, I can’t tell him!

Clearing his throat, Lord Emerald said, [Don’t worry. The rat is only targeting you. The rat is very cowardly. As long as you stay near Zeman, it won’t dare to show itself.]

“Really?” Albin asked.

[Of course. So, don’t ever leave Zeman.]

For now, Zeman posed no threat to Albin and would protect him instead.

Upon hearing this, Albin relaxed.

So that scumbag was just a human trafficker who only dared to pick on isolated kids.

“Thank you, Lord Emerald!” Albin reached out and patted his snake head. “You really don’t want to come with me? My father and I are leaving here today. We might not see you again.”

The dangerous high-level monster lowered his head and let Albin pet him.

[We will meet again.]

After leaving the hunting cabin, Lord Emerald found a place to continue resting and healing.

He was deeply curious about the vivid dream he had earlier and wanted to revisit that world to see what happened to the child.

He fell into a deep sleep and found himself back in the same place.

But from the changes in the forest scenery, it seemed some time had passed since the last dream.

The [Green Serpent] once again snuck into the manor.

It seemed he had been here many times before and was quite familiar with the place.

Upon entering, he saw [Albin] cutting open his wrist and quickly stopped him: [What are you doing? I told you I don’t need your blood!]

The weak [Albin] finally noticed his presence, taking a container to collect the blood, then said to him, “No, this is my own research.”

[Research?]

“Yeah, I want to research a way to save all monsters. That way, my father will definitely like me more.”

The [Green Serpent] got a little excited: [Is there a way?]

“I haven’t made much progress with the blood. It seems like I can only focus on breaking the curse. But there are so few books on the gods in the manor’s bookshelf. Lord Emerald, could you bring me some related books next time?”

The [Green Serpent] immediately deflated, mumbling, [I can understand human speech, but I can’t read human writing.]

In short, he was illiterate and had no idea which books Albin needed.

Albin chuckled lightly. “It’s okay, I’ll ask my father next time. He’ll definitely give me those books as a gift.”

[What gift? He’ll just want more of your blood.] The [Green Serpent] sneered in displeasure, then asked, [What’s your plan for breaking the curse?]

“To break the curse, we’ll have to face the gods. So, I think, wouldn’t it be great if the gods didn’t exist?”

“—I want to find a way to kill the gods.”

The [Green Serpent] was stunned.

[Kill… kill the gods?]

“Because it seems like this is the only way that hasn’t been tried yet.” Albin smiled shyly. “To test this method’s feasibility, I need a lot of information on the gods.”

The [Green Serpent] stared at him seriously.

[Even if it works, you can’t do this alone, right?]

“Yeah, it’s impossible for me to do it alone, but I’m not at that point yet…”

[Well, in that case, you can leave here with me, look for the books you need, and gather the companions you need. I know a high-level monster hiding in the human world. It should be able to help.]

[Since the curse was placed on us monsters, it’s up to us to solve it.]

[Besides, I’m not afraid of dying. You can count on me for this.]

The dream abruptly ended.

Lord Emerald woke up, stunned.

That kid… actually had the determination to kill gods for the sake of the monsters?

Did he leave the manor? Did he find a solution? Was the curse broken? What happened to that kid?

He rolled around on the grass, trying to fall asleep again, but couldn’t enter that dream.

Let him see it!

Lord Emerald looked at the bandages on his body. The part that hadn’t healed was now faintly tinged pink because of his earlier actions.

Pink… a person suddenly popped into his mind.

He thought of it!

He could go find that high-level monster from the dream. Maybe it had the same dream as him!

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