I Became the Only Reptile in the Community

Chapter 59

—–CROW—– 

[Then I’ll take it.]

-El, be careful!

“Tell us immediately if anything feels strange!”

I nodded.

I had finally convinced everyone, and it was decided that I would hold the cursed sword.

Despite their worries, with Cheong and Silphy behind me, and the wolf divine beast looking on nervously, I carefully used my tail to grasp the cursed sword.

I flinched.

The moment I touched the sword, an intense death qi washed over me.  It was so potent, I wondered if even an Ego Weapon could contain such a force.

-Huh? What’s this now?

Just like with the golem, the sword became aware of me once I held it.

But just in case, I decided to do a quick check.

[Can you hear me?]

-Hear you? Yeah, I hear you just fine. Ha! First a rock, and now a snake is touching me? This is ridiculous.

Hmm. It recognized me properly.

Its words were a bit rough, but the important thing was that we could communicate.

I felt two burning gazes behind me, but… I decided to ignore them for now.

The important thing was to resolve this issue through conversation with the cursed sword.

-Why is my sword life like this?! I thought I could finally spend my remaining days in peace, but then a rock grabs me, and now a sneaky snake!

The cursed sword continued to vent its frustration in an irritated voice.

[Ahem. Well, what’s your name?]

-Why should I tell a snake head like you my name?!

Snake head…

It wasn’t wrong, but it felt strangely offensive.

I almost threw the sword away at its blatant insults, but I remembered the information I needed from it and asked another question.

[Then why are you here?]

-Why should I tell you that?

[You’re not being cooperative at all.]

“Should we just break it?”

-Cheong? Calm down.

The cursed sword’s words provoked a stronger reaction from those around me than from me.

The wolf divine beast glared at the sword with an obvious look of discomfort, and while Cheong was smiling, her raised right arm was tensed, ready to shatter the sword at any moment.

Silphy was also angry, but Cheong’s reaction was so shocking that she was trying to calm her down, making her appear more composed than the other two.

[Watch your words.]

-Why should I?

[You may not know this, but there are others here besides me. They don’t appreciate your attitude. So, watch what you say before something unexpected happens.]

-Huh? You should have said that earlier!

In response to the cursed sword’s complaint, I replied confidently.

[You wouldn’t have been able to hear or see them anyway, even if I had told you.]

-This cowardly snake dares to attack me with facts?! Let’s have a fair fight with propaganda and fabrication!

[How do you even know those words?]

Weren’t those words anachronistic?

Its answer was baffling, but seeing as it had calmed down somewhat, I decided to get down to business.

[Have you calmed down now?]

-Tch. So what?

[Tell me your identity.]

-I’m Lakea. A cursed sword, as you can see.

Lakea.

I knew that name.

There was no point in hiding it.

The name Lakea… was the name of a sword that appeared in “Save Earth Hero.”

But why hadn’t I thought of Lakea when I saw the cursed sword?

Simply put, its appearance and fundamental nature were completely different.

The Lakea before me was rusty and filled with death qi, a cursed sword that would lead its owner to ruin.

The Lakea I remembered from “Save Earth Hero” was a holy sword, a Galactic Sword engraved with beautiful stars, destined to guide its owner to become a hero of the era.

‘Could this Lakea possibly be the same sword I remember?’

It felt unsettling, more than just a coincidence of names.

Perhaps it was because its current state was so opposite to what I remembered.

Yes, this feeling was similar to the dissonance I felt when I saw Silphy and remembered her from her Spirit King days.

[Lakea, are you really a cursed sword?]

-Then am I a holy sword? I think your eyes are the ones that have gone bad.

So it admitted to being a cursed sword.

Was I just mistaken?

-More importantly, why did you grab me?

[I grabbed you because you seemed to be connected to the Wraith above you.]

-A Wraith? That low-grade grudge is here?

Lakea, unable to perceive its surroundings except for me, asked in a puzzled voice.

-Why is a Wraith here?

[That’s what I’d like to ask. Isn’t it related to you?]

-Hmm…

The Wraith was showing hostility towards Lakea.

If Lakea were a living being, the Wraith would have tried to kill it on the spot.

‘But Lakea doesn’t know the reason.’

There was something here.

Something the Wraith remembered but Lakea didn’t.

And it was highly likely related to the death qi flowing from Lakea.

[Then, Wraith. Lakea claims to be unaware of anything related to you.]

-…

[So explain it yourself. What happened between you and Lakea? Why are you lingering here?]

However, the Wraith didn’t answer me this time either.

Unlike before, when it had shown some reaction and emotion, it remained fixated on Lakea.

-Is it alright?

[If Black Despair is doing it, I’m sure there’s a reason.]

“Why do you keep calling El Black Despair?”

[Because Black Despair-nim *is* Black Despair?]

-What kind of wordplay is that?

Ignoring the three chattering behind me, I frowned and shot a flame at the Wraith.

*Whoosh.*

-…!!

[You’re treating me like a fool.]

My reason for seeking out the Wraith wasn’t born from some righteous desire to resolve its grudge.

Wraiths were evil, only causing harm to living beings.

There would be no problem if I simply eliminated it right here.

-Uh… are you allowed to do that?

[I’m sorry, but I’m not a hero who acts for justice, so I don’t care.]

Perhaps sensing something from my declaration that I could kill the Wraith without consequence, Lakea spoke to me in a strangely softer voice than before.

-Uh… um… sorry for messing with you earlier?

***

*Sizzle.*

“Yes! Yes! It’s going well~”

A pitch-black space, devoid of any light.

In this darkness, where one couldn’t see anything in front of them without reaching out to touch it, a being was skillfully conducting research.

*Clatter. Squirm.*

*Clatter. Squirm.*

*Clatter. Squirm.*

Along with the clattering and squirming sounds, a satisfied voice, as if admiring a long-labored creation, filled the space.

“All three life signs normal! I’m glad none of them died!”

A being shrouded in darkness, black wings folded neatly against its back so as not to obstruct its work.

Having never revealed its name to others, this being decided to call itself X.

“You’re the first. You’re the second. You’re the third!”

X smiled, looking at the three eggs before it.

Finally, freedom from this darkness.

Creating these eggs had required immense effort – creating a space devoid of light, extracting the purest essence of evil, and countless other preparations.

“But I need to leave them like this until they hatch, right?”

Not wanting to ruin the results of its hard work through a careless mistake, X suppressed its desire to go outside and decided to endure this life a little longer.

*Clatter. Creak.*

“Now that the experiment is a complete success, it’s time to name them.”

X stroked its chin, looking at the three eggs huddled together.

These were its life’s masterpieces, so it pondered deeply over their names.

“Hmm. What names have I used so far…”

Basilisk. Dragon Knight. Cerberus. And then…

“Ah, there was Lakea too.”

Unlike the others, Lakea was an Ego Weapon, a sword imbued with a soul.

It was the first and last Ego Weapon X had created, so just thinking of its name vividly brought back memories.

“I wonder how Lakea is doing?”

It had apparently gained quite a bit of notoriety after X sold it to a human consumed by revenge.

X recalled the human, eyes bloodshot with the madness of vengeance, gripping Lakea, and then had a realization.

“Ah, should I have retrieved it?”

It had been over a hundred years since X sold Lakea to that human.

Even if the human were still alive, the desire for revenge would have surely faded by now.

“Eh, whatever. It’s already left me, so it’ll manage. You don’t worry about children who have left home.”

And though it felt awkward to say this…

Lakea was quite special among the experimental creations X had made.

“Forget about Lakea, who’s probably doing fine. I need to name these children!”

There were three eggs in total.  Therefore, three names were needed.

X happily gazed at the eggs, blocking the poisonous qi emanating from them, and then, thinking of the being that could be considered their parent, clapped its hands.

*Clap, clap, clap.*

“Yes! These names will do!”

Sky. Sea. Land.

May they spread their name throughout the world with their deadly fangs!

“Nidhogg. Jormungandr. Hydra!”

—–CROW—– 

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