Chapter 125: Discovered by the Inner Demon
It has been three months since I reincarnated as a lizard in a martial arts novel.
No, it might be closer to four months by now.
A short time if short, long if long—I’ve gone through many crises during this time.
And now, the most dangerous moment of all has come.
My inner demon.
My sin.
My shame.
Will the Snake Queen see that?
If Tang So-yeong saw it, I could have brushed it off.
Who would believe her anyway?
A beast wearing an appropriately balanced black and white outfit and sweeping the yard with a broom for the first time in its life—who’d believe such a tale?
But the Snake Queen is different.
She is a spiritual being.
Moreover, a spiritual being who can speak human language.
If she were to interact with other humans, forbidden knowledge could spread.
And they might even add the false label that I’m into Komodo-Lania’s tastes.
No.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
There’s no reason my inner demon must be a Spinosaurus maid outfit.
Of course, that one always appears whenever I confront my inner demon, but the inner demon is, as the name suggests, a demon within the heart. It’s something that approaches me in various forms.
In other words, something other than the maid Spinosaurus might appear.
For now, let’s think about something else.
If I keep thinking about it, it might actually manifest.
“Focus your mind.”
The Snake Queen’s energy flowed into my body.
I pushed away unnecessary thoughts, just as she instructed.
“Breathe in slowly, then exhale.”
I inhaled and exhaled once more.
A pitch-dark space where I couldn’t see an inch ahead.
I instinctively sensed that there was a large lake in this space.
My inner world became visible.
“It’s a large lake. We’ll examine that later. First, there’s something else to see.”
Suddenly, my world inverted.
In front of me was a small snake.
It looked so much like Shikshik that I almost mistook it for her.
Its round head was quite cute.
“…Don’t stare so intently. That snake you see is my past self.”
So, the Snake Queen used to look like that?
She seemed like she’d let out a cute chirp.
“The goal isn’t to overcome the inner demon but to experience it. All you have to do is quietly observe it.”
A plump little snake wriggled around.
Next to it was a slender snake.
Then my eyes caught sight of a relatively young-looking Kompi.
Coughing, the Kompi took care of the Snake Queen.
The Snake Queen chirped while accepting the food the Kompi handed her.
Various species of lizards surrounding them smiled warmly.
No, to be precise, they weren’t really lizards.
They were all dinosaurs in miniature form.
I couldn’t tell their exact species due to their small size, but I could sense an unusual strength from them.
“…The small snake beside me is Gaetsalgoadal.”
Gaetsalgoadal.
The one I saw looked like a grotesque humanoid bird, awkwardly mimicking a human face.
But what I saw now was just a regular snake.
At a glance, it seemed like a peaceful scene.
Kompi picking up a pair of siblings.
And the uncles looking on warmly.
Kompi taught them, and the Snake Queen and Gaetsalgoadal grew up rapidly.
Time passed swiftly.
Old Kompi disappeared from the scene.
A familiar-looking woman appeared.
Her black hair, resembling an ink painting of a waterfall.
Her white skin, almost reddish in hue.
At first glance, she seemed sharp, but even her sharp eyes were beautiful.
The first human I met in this world.
Baek Yeonyeong.
…No, it wasn’t her.
The woman in front of me had red eyes.
Like the form the Imoogi Bird had taken when it transformed.
But she wasn’t exactly like the Imoogi Bird either.
It was as if Baek Yeonyeong and the Imoogi Bird’s transformed form had been mixed together.
“…I thought I had forgotten.”
At first, there was wariness.
─ Oh my, what a cute snake.
Then, curiosity.
─ What’s its name? Hmm, I haven’t named it yet.
And finally, admiration.
─ You want to be like me? Oh, that’s at least a hundred years too early. What? How old am I?
The emotions within the Snake Queen’s inner world shifted constantly.
That’s how intense her encounter must have been.
─ You want me to teach you martial arts? I only know a few techniques myself.
─ You have a guardian, right? They should have decent martial arts. Oh, and I left something with them. Learn from them instead of me.
─ Oh dear, fine. I give up. I’ll teach you just this once.
The Snake Queen whined, asking to be taught martial arts.
And behind her, Gaetsalgoadal trembled in fear.
─ Confidence is key in martial arts, you understand?
─ Inner techniques or mantras—they’re all unnecessary. Of course, if you say that outside, people will foam at the mouth and charge at you.
─ But what can they do? They’re all people who’ve lost to me anyway.
Her words were perhaps best described as arrogant.
But they didn’t sound like mere bravado.
Even though this was just a manifestation within her inner world, I could sense the depth of her energy.
Baek Yeonyeong.
No, perhaps it was even greater than hers.
─ You just need to give a firm shout and think.
─ I’m the leader. I’m the best.
The Snake Queen’s teacher raised one hand and pointed to the sky.
### Chapter 125: Discovered by the Inner Demon
It has been three months since I reincarnated as a lizard in a martial arts novel.
No, it might be closer to four months by now.
A short time if short, long if long—I’ve gone through many crises during this time.
And now, the most dangerous moment of all has come.
My inner demon.
My sin.
My shame.
Will the Snake Queen see that?
If Tang So-yeong saw it, I could have brushed it off.
Who would believe her anyway?
A beast wearing an appropriately balanced black and white outfit and sweeping the yard with a broom for the first time in its life—who’d believe such a tale?
But the Snake Queen is different.
She is a spiritual being.
Moreover, a spiritual being who can speak human language.
If she were to interact with other humans, forbidden knowledge could spread.
And they might even add the false label that I’m into Komodo-Lania’s tastes.
No.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
There’s no reason my inner demon must be a Spinosaurus maid outfit.
Of course, that one always appears whenever I confront my inner demon, but the inner demon is, as the name suggests, a demon within the heart. It’s something that approaches me in various forms.
In other words, something other than the maid Spinosaurus might appear.
For now, let’s think about something else.
If I keep thinking about it, it might actually manifest.
“Focus your mind.”
The Snake Queen’s energy flowed into my body.
I pushed away unnecessary thoughts, just as she instructed.
“Breathe in slowly, then exhale.”
I inhaled and exhaled once more.
A pitch-dark space where I couldn’t see an inch ahead.
I instinctively sensed that there was a large lake in this space.
My inner world became visible.
“It’s a large lake. We’ll examine that later. First, there’s something else to see.”
Suddenly, my world inverted.
In front of me was a small snake.
It looked so much like Shikshik that I almost mistook it for her.
Its round head was quite cute.
“…Don’t stare so intently. That snake you see is my past self.”
So, the Snake Queen used to look like that?
She seemed like she’d let out a cute chirp.
“The goal isn’t to overcome the inner demon but to experience it. All you have to do is quietly observe it.”
A plump little snake wriggled around.
Next to it was a slender snake.
Then my eyes caught sight of a relatively young-looking Kompi.
Coughing, the Kompi took care of the Snake Queen.
The Snake Queen chirped while accepting the food the Kompi handed her.
Various species of lizards surrounding them smiled warmly.
No, to be precise, they weren’t really lizards.
They were all dinosaurs in miniature form.
I couldn’t tell their exact species due to their small size, but I could sense an unusual strength from them.
“…The small snake beside me is Gaetsalgoadal.”
Gaetsalgoadal.
The one I saw looked like a grotesque humanoid bird, awkwardly mimicking a human face.
But what I saw now was just a regular snake.
At a glance, it seemed like a peaceful scene.
Kompi picking up a pair of siblings.
And the uncles looking on warmly.
Kompi taught them, and the Snake Queen and Gaetsalgoadal grew up rapidly.
Time passed swiftly.
Old Kompi disappeared from the scene.
A familiar-looking woman appeared.
Her black hair, resembling an ink painting of a waterfall.
Her white skin, almost reddish in hue.
At first glance, she seemed sharp, but even her sharp eyes were beautiful.
The first human I met in this world.
Baek Yeonyeong.
…No, it wasn’t her.
The woman in front of me had red eyes.
Like the form the Imoogi Bird had taken when it transformed.
But she wasn’t exactly like the Imoogi Bird either.
It was as if Baek Yeonyeong and the Imoogi Bird’s transformed form had been mixed together.
“…I thought I had forgotten.”
At first, there was wariness.
─ Oh my, what a cute snake.
Then, curiosity.
─ What’s its name? Hmm, I haven’t named it yet.
And finally, admiration.
─ You want to be like me? Oh, that’s at least a hundred years too early. What? How old am I?
The emotions within the Snake Queen’s inner world shifted constantly.
That’s how intense her encounter must have been.
─ You want me to teach you martial arts? I only know a few techniques myself.
─ You have a guardian, right? They should have decent martial arts. Oh, and I left something with them. Learn from them instead of me.
─ Oh dear, fine. I give up. I’ll teach you just this once.
The Snake Queen whined, asking to be taught martial arts.
And behind her, Gaetsalgoadal trembled in fear.
─ Confidence is key in martial arts, you understand?
─ Inner techniques or mantras—they’re all unnecessary. Of course, if you say that outside, people will foam at the mouth and charge at you.
─ But what can they do? They’re all people who’ve lost to me anyway.
Her words were perhaps best described as arrogant.
But they didn’t sound like mere bravado.
Even though this was just a manifestation within her inner world, I could sense the depth of her energy.
Baek Yeonyeong.
No, perhaps it was even greater than hers.
─ You just need to give a firm shout and think.
─ I’m the leader. I’m the best.
The Snake Queen’s teacher raised one hand and pointed to the sky.