Chapter 121 Headbutting Lizard, Move Out!
I felt empty inside.
What I had taken for granted had left me.
The void it left behind was immense.
It felt like there was a large hole drilled in one part of my head.
When was the last time I felt such a sense of loss?
“Gaeek….”
I let out the sound of a sad lizard.
Smooth, shiny.
“Geeeeek….”
Glossy, slick.
It was time to abandon the name Komodo.
My name was no longer Komodo, but Moomodo (無毛屠).
Death without hair.
Of course, a lizard never has hair to begin with.
What I had lost was none other than my precious black scales.
And not just any scales — the ones on my head were all plucked out.
“Keck….”
Maybe it was because I had practiced the Dragon Claws martial arts from Shaolin; the backlash had come upon me.
I had turned into a headbutting lizard.
Whether she knew how I felt or not, the Snake Queen was looking at the scales she had plucked with a satisfied expression.
“Ufufufu. These will be very useful.”
The strange thing was, despite all these scales being pulled out, not a drop of blood had come out.
If blood had flowed, I would have rolled around on the floor, trying to evoke sympathy.
…No.
Sympathy from the evil Snake Queen who laughed after doing this to my head?
There’s no way that would work.
“Gegegek!”
I let out a cry of fury.
I mean, if you needed scales, you could’ve taken them from somewhere else.
My tail grows back all the time anyway, so you could’ve asked to cut that off.
Though the scales on the tail are a bit weaker compared to the rest of the body.
That’s because I had to use Tail Cutting often, and the structure thinned toward the end.
Still, I thought plucking the scales from the crown of my head was a bit too much.
You could’ve taken a few from my chest or something.
“A gift from my mate. I’ll remember it for life.”
Even though there was no wind inside the temple, my bare head felt cold.
“Keck….”
I made a triangular face and turned my back on the Snake Queen.
I curled up in one corner of the nest.
I covered my exposed crown with my tail.
“Shikshik.”
Shikshik slithered over with her characteristic hissing sound.
If it were any other time, she would’ve screeched and scolded the Snake Queen for tormenting me, but this time she remained silent. Why?
“Shik….”
Crawling cautiously, Shikshik approached, and nestled between her scales was a familiar black scale.
It was a small scale from my crown.
“…Shik.”
I see.
She must have taken a bribe from the Snake Queen to keep her mouth shut.
“Gekeek.”
How could you do this to me?
Shikshik, knowing her wrongdoing, cautiously glanced at me.
But I didn’t have the energy to scold her.
Shikshik crept closer and climbed up my leg, finally settling on the back of my neck.
“Beep?”
Shikshik made a questioning sound.
I couldn’t see her clearly since she was behind me, but I could feel her round body stretching out, like how cobras do.
“Hieek!”
Shikshik let out a startled cry.
She must have finally seen it.
The tragic truth.
Yes, Shikshik.
The Komodo you knew is gone.
Now, call me the headbutting lizard.
After a long pause, Shikshik squirmed and crawled up to the top of my head.
“Hieek….”
She gasped in disbelief.
Now you understand your mistake, right?
You were blinded by one Dragon Scale and failed to stop the Snake Queen.
The cool Komodo you admired is no more.
Just Moomodo now.
…Of course, it’ll grow back in time.
If I level up, the scales will return.
But during that interim, I’d have to walk around as a bald lizard.
“Hieek….”
Shikshik coiled herself atop my smooth head.
Was she trying to take the place of my missing scales?
How thoughtful.
I’ll forgive you for your mistake.
Lick.
I felt something wet.
Lick.
What are you doing?
Lick—
Her long tongue began to lick my bald head.
It wasn’t unusual for Shikshik to lick me.
But this was the first time her tongue touched my smooth, bare head.
Lick—
Even the slow pace of her licking was weirdly irritating.
What do you expect to get from licking my head?
“Beep….”
Shikshik looked at me hesitantly.
…Now that I think about it, Shikshik’s saliva had healing properties.
When we first met, she bit me, which healed a bit of my HP.
So, her licking my head was probably her way of trying to make my lost scales grow back.
Lick.
Okay, just keep doing that.
“My mate, your expression doesn’t look good.”
The Snake Queen had crept up beside me at some point.
How could my expression be good?
After you pulled out all my scales.
“Do you know why I plucked your scales?”
Exactly. I’m curious about that too.
My scales might be sturdy, but they couldn’t possibly compare to the Snake Queen’s.
The Imoogi Bird’s feather attack.
That attack was sharp and strong enough to pierce through my scales.
However, the Snake Queen blocked it without a single scratch.
Of course, her overwhelming size was a factor, but the basic durability of her scales was clearly superior.
To her, my scales were nothing more than decorations.
I was curious why she pulled out so many of my scales.
Could it be that she’s planning to make some armor for Shikshik?
It wouldn’t help the Snake Queen, but it would certainly benefit Shikshik greatly.
After all, these could be called dragon scales, and living with such items could have a positive influence on Shikshik.
Like a seahorse that evolves into a dragon after possessing dragon scales and undergoing communication evolution.
I’d be happy to give my scales to Shikshik.
But the Snake Queen had clearly said the gift was for herself.
One core of the Beihj Bird was for Shikshik.
And my scales were for the Snake Queen.
It was clear she had another purpose, not intending to give them to Shikshik.
“Actually, I was hoping to receive a parting gift, like one of my mate’s tails.”
“Gekgek!”
“I needed my mate’s scales. But since you refused to leave this place, I chose your other scales instead of the tail.”
No, you can just take my tail if you want.
Maybe I can’t reattach those scales after all.
“The reason I needed your scales is to capture the Gaetsalgoadal.”
Capture the king of birds with my scales?
Could it be that the Komodo-Lania, which slaughtered countless birds, possessed such power that even the king of birds would fear it?
I’m becoming more afraid of myself.
“Hmm… I’m not sure what you’re imagining, but it would be better to show you directly.”
The Snake Queen took out something she had received from the Argentarvis.
It was a thing I couldn’t properly identify, as it was wrapped in cloth.
Inside was a single gigantic feather.
It was coiled up, so at first, I thought it was just an Argentarvis feather, but when it was fully unfolded, I realized it wasn’t just ordinary in size.
It was so large that Shikshik and a few others wouldn’t even be able to measure its length.
“Do you know what this is?”
There was no way I could know.
To exaggerate a bit, that single feather was about the length of my body.
“This is the feather of a Goldwing Bird.”
Goldwing Bird.
I had heard of it before.
“I’ve never seen one myself. It’s a legendary creature even among divine beasts.”
Another name for the Goldwing Bird is Garuda.
In some traditions, it’s even considered a god.
“We can’t even be certain it exists. In fact, this feather might not even belong to a Goldwing Bird.”
It didn’t seem to matter whether it was a Goldwing Bird’s feather or not.
If someone possessed a feather of this size, that creature had to be extremely powerful, even if it wasn’t a Goldwing Bird.
But even if it was a Goldwing Bird, what could be done with just a feather?
“I plan to forge this into a weapon.”
It was an answer I hadn’t expected.
A weapon made from this gigantic feather.
If the main material was the Goldwing Bird’s feather, then the secondary material was my scales.
…Is that even okay?
Am I really qualified to be involved in this?
I mean, I’m a divine beast too, so I guess I could be on the same level as a divine bird.
“Gekgek.”
I don’t know.
There must be a reason why the Snake Queen chose my scales.
It wasn’t just because she felt like pulling out my scales, right?
But a weapon?
Perhaps it’s symbolic.
The Snake Queen wouldn’t wield a weapon herself.
“The weapon I’m going to make is a sword. And it will be a sword large enough for me to wield.”
“Gek?”
What is she talking about?
She’s going to make a sword for herself to use?
“Oh, I haven’t told you, have I?”
The Snake Queen picked up the Goldwing Bird’s feather that had fallen to the ground.
“I was originally a swordsman.”
A swordsman?
She wielded a sword with that body?
No, while she shoots destructive beams from her mouth, spreads poison and petrification from her eyes, and crushes her enemies with her body, she’s also swinging a sword?
That doesn’t make any sense.
Moreover, that feather is way too large to use as a sword.
The Snake Queen lifted it effortlessly, but swinging it would be a different story.
Or maybe she plans to reduce its size during the forging process?
That would make more sense.
“Hmm… The size is a bit disappointing, but this is the best we can do for now.”
What does she mean by that?
Does she mean that even something larger would have been usable?
In human form, there’s no way she could swing a weapon of that size.
Her strength might be overwhelming, but her structure is flawed.
Even if she could swing it, the efficiency would be terribly low.
Unless it’s her true body, swinging something that size…
…Wait.
No way.
The Snake Queen lightly floated the feather and grabbed its tip with her tail.
“Well, I could think of it as a dagger.”
The word swordsman the Snake Queen had used.
I realized what she had meant.
She wasn’t referring to a swordsman (劍士), but a swordsnake (劍巳).
Our Snake Queen would blast destructive beams from her mouth, scatter poison and petrification from her eyes, crush her enemies with her body, and wield a sword with her tail as she rampaged through the battlefield.
…
I’m really glad the Snake Queen is on my side. If she were an enemy, I’d have flipped over in surrender immediately.
“Gekgek.”
“What is it? That cute noise.”
I opened my eyes as wide as possible.
“Why are you suddenly giving me such kind eyes?”
I quietly pulled out the remaining dragon scales.
“Hiek…”
That sound didn’t come from Shikshik just now—it came from the Snake Queen’s sword, Komodo-Lania.