I'm Not an Earthworm, I'm an Earth Dragon

Myungho looked at Akash, his face contorted as if to ask if this was really necessary. Unusually, I sided with Akash and urged Myungho to stab Musgalaki with the skull-shaped sword.

“Myungho. Trust me. If you know a dragon’s true name, you can command it, just once per person. My mother told me, so it’s certain.”

If you know a dragon’s true name, you can command it, even if only once. In the fairy tales I read as a child, there was a story of a cunning dwarf who built an empire that way, and a story of a reckless man who proposed to a dragon by calling its name.

I thought they were wonderful stories when I didn’t know the truth… but after experiencing firsthand what happens when you start a family with a dragon, I felt pity for the protagonists of those stories.

It surely didn’t end well. The empire would have turned to ashes, and the family to a pile of blood. Nothing but tragedy and pain remains from getting involved with dragons.

“Even so… I’m still uneasy. Besides, you’re planning to fight that thing. It’s obvious what will happen, do you expect me to just stand by and watch?!”

Myungho was talking as if I was going to lose. To be honest… I was also harboring a sense of unease that I might be shattered the moment the fight began.

But I had to fight. To gauge the extent of my father’s power, and to gauge how strong I was, I had to. Above all, it might be worth a try once we actually clashed.

I also had to fight to find out if all Great Worms were such absurd monsters that they could manifest a fake underworld, or if the Great Worm beneath us was uniquely strong.

“Yes. Watch. Watch whether it’s an equal fight or a one-sided mockery. And tell me. I’ll definitely come back.”

“…I warned you. Here goes. Musgalaki, I don’t know what will happen either… are you really going to do this?”

-Yes. After hearing what you said, I realized I was foolish. I only needed to take one step, but I ran away, afraid of being hated. I will cooperate with you. Stab me. Ah, but before that. It may not be important now, but when trapped inside that sword, do you have consciousness?

“I… I’m not sure.”

-Hmm. Then I may be able to tell you. Very well. Do stab me.

It wasn’t about being manly or anything, but I felt uneasy about worrying my friend. However, this was the reason I moved with them in the first place.

Myungho squeezed his eyes shut and stabbed Musgalaki with the sword. The sword cracked, and the snake’s body was sucked into it.

After the snake’s eyes, which had been watching us until the end, entered the sword, Myungho let out a deep sigh and said, “Let’s do this.”

“…So, we’re doing as we said. Akash. As your master, I command you. Please, please don’t do anything stupid and stick to what we agreed on beforehand.”

Myungho even used the slave imprint he almost never used, telling him to do it right. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Myungho so tense.

…Did I make a mistake by saying I would fight? He seemed incredibly nervous because I said I would.

No. Don’t weaken your heart. If I catered to those guys, I might not be able to achieve my goal. Yes, adventure is fun. So is throwing yourself into the unknown.

But as long as that guy is alive, my heart won’t be at ease.

“Tsk, I know what I’m doing. I don’t play around with my own life. Let’s go. Yuna, just as we prepared, just as we prepared.”

“Let’s do that. Myungho, don’t bite your tongue from being nervous. I’m most worried about you.”

Yuna and Akash were able to put on a forced bravado, but Myungho was still stiff, looking like he was scared out of his wits.

“Don’t worry too much. Everything will be fine. I’m not trying to fight to the death, just trying to gauge its strength.”

Not to be outdone, I also put on a brave face and pretended it was no big deal. Only then did Myungho seem to relax a little, awkwardly laughing along with me.

“Hahaha… haha… haa. Okay. Then let’s stick to the plan. Let’s go, to meet the mistress of the underworld.”

– – – –

Thousands of years had passed since the body was completed, but he showed no signs of awakening. Strictly speaking, he was already awake.

If one could call it awake when he merely twitched according to the instincts engraved on his body, not his soul. What was the problem? I expanded the underworld, increased the intensity of the underworld by adding more guardians, but his soul showed no signs of returning.

If I wasn’t bound to the role of the mistress of the underworld, I would have searched the entire underworld to find his soul. As the loneliness continued, my heart ached more and more.

Musgalaki. I want to hear his warm and wise voice again. I want to hear his whispers that understood and embraced loneliness.

When I see his face, twisted by the miasma of the underworld, it feels like my intestines are being torn apart.

Where, where did you go? We were supposed to be together forever. Liar, cheat. Just as the resentment and curses that no one heard were about to begin, I heard a sound I hadn’t heard in a very long time.

Footsteps. The wriggling of a large body, and the sound of something other than me moving, speaking, and making noise.

Has a god finally come to question my dereliction of duty? Or has a spirit flowed in, confused about where to go?

My eyes, blurred from being locked in darkness for so long, couldn’t discern what it was. Judging from the vibrations, it was clearly not those high and mighty gods, since there were several of them.

Then, who are those over there? At the moment I was questioning, an unacceptable sound came from the mouths of the beings on the other side.

“By the right of one who knows, Ereshkigal! Do not harm us!”

How could they know that? The only one I told my name to was him. Could it be, him? I already knew from the vibrations that there were several human figures, but my mind, devoid of wisdom, could only think of that.

“Musgalaki? Is that you? Ah, I’ve been waiting for you here all this time…! I would never harm you…!”

It’s fine, even if they ask me in the language of those detestable humans. So.

“By the right of one who knows, Ereshkigal. Give up on maintaining the underworld.”

But the illusion shattered as soon as I heard the next cold voice. That voice is not his, not his gentle voice.

He, who is gentle, would never say such cruel things. He, who swore eternity, would never break eternity with his own hands.

But my body was moving according to the will of those ruthless evildoers. I could feel the magic that I had devoted most of to simulating the underworld filling my body again.

Stop it. This is paradise. The paradise where we will be together forever when he returns.

My mind was screaming, but my body wouldn’t listen. Rather, it was accelerating the collapse of the underworld by retrieving the magic I had scattered throughout.

I wanted to crush the vermin that had ruined paradise at once, but I couldn’t because of the first command.

I could only watch with bloodshot eyes as the insignificant creatures stabbed his body with a sword, resentful of myself, and at the same time, I wondered how they had found out my name.

I had never been in contact with humans. The only one I was close to was him. And he only had me. How, how?

“Ereshkigal. It’s been a long time. Let’s… stop this. Eternity is not… something for a dying beast to covet.”

While I was desperately trying to find the answer to an unanswered question, a gentle and lovely voice suddenly came from his body.

His dull and muddy eyes, which had only instinct, were filled with wisdom and understanding. The scales that had been writhing in pain were neatly arranged.

“…Musgalaki? Is that you? Ah, you’ve finally returned!”

Where you were is not important. If you have returned, I can forgive anything. Even if it’s a little late. Even if the underworld is already collapsing.

The underworld is still intact. And my power as its mistress is also intact. So, if I push myself a little, it wouldn’t be impossible to create a rift in the dimension and make our own eternal paradise.

He seems to have a slightly different idea from me. It’s okay. If I pour love into him for an eternity, he will eventually come to think the same as me.

“…By the right of one who knows, Ereshkigal. Let’s stop now.”

But even he didn’t understand me. I trusted him.

I trusted that he would be with me until the end.

My trust was betrayed.

But there’s nothing I can do. Even if I try to completely bury this pit, I can’t harm these creatures.

I roared loudly, trembling with helplessness and anger, and felt the pit shake.

Ah, to think that I can’t even express my anger properly.

How did it come to this?

Unable to contain my rage, I slammed my head on the ground. But those creatures, knowing no bounds, called my name again and demanded something.

“By the right of one who knows, Ereshkigal. Fight me.”

Some mongrel, who knows where it came from, dared to hold its head high and tell me to fight it.