Riokku gathered everything in front of him with his curved forelegs like rakes.
If he stretched out his legs fully, they would be just shy of 10 meters long.
Wildly swinging his forelegs covered in sharp protrusions, he caught or dragged in monkeys and monsters alike.
Once something got close to his ceaselessly chewing teeth, which seemed to operate independently, it was over.
Like a shredder in a waste disposal plant, Riokku continuously bit, crushed, swallowed, and advanced.
A carpet of blood was laid where he passed.
Normally, Riokku’s eyes are pitch black.
However, this Insect King was different.
Something worm-like was swimming in his cloudy eyes.
It meant the symbiotic parasites had finally conquered even those tiny eyes.
Riokku should have known what a leader’s role was, but now only instinct remained.
A terrible hunger was controlling him.
To the point where he cast aside the silver monkey he had been competing with in strength and craved the nearest food.
He soared up and then made a landing close to a crash.
He headed towards where the most monsters were gathered.
It may have been inevitable that this was the right flank of the formation where spiders, insects, and monkeys were gathered.
But it was by chance that the Giant Centipede was there.
And it was a terrible coincidence that she and her children were caught up in that dreadful chaos.
“Keeeeee!”
It was an utterly mournful roar.
Her cry echoed so loudly that it reached where I was.
The Giant Centipede stood out clearly amidst the swirling monsters.
The triplets always clinging to her back.
No, not three, but only two.
The white one must be Bowingie.
One is the second… no, the third?
I couldn’t tell.
“Keeeeee! Keee!”
The Giant Centipede couldn’t even think of fleeing and was frantically searching around.
It was clear that one of her children had been swept away and disappeared.
Meanwhile, Riokku was continuously approaching, devouring monsters.
“Hey, snap out of it.”
It felt like I had cold water poured all over my body.
The roots of the World Tree.
I looked alternately at Riokku, the Giant Centipede, and my father.
My group is here.
The monsters I’ve tamed, and my sick father.
Why did that phrase suddenly come to mind?
‘You are forever responsible for what you have tamed.’
It’s a line I read in the story of The Little Prince, written by a pilot.
There was a time when I used to recite it over and over.
I wanted to tell it to my parents, but in the end, I couldn’t.
I realized that I couldn’t abandon the Giant Centipede and her little baby centipedes.
And I couldn’t throw this group I had tamed in front of Riokku.
My judgment was quick, and action followed immediately.
‘Father.’
As always, he looked down at me silently.
‘Please guard this place. And if I look really in danger, just shoot one beam and…’
And to the gorilla.
‘Don’t come too close, but don’t stay too far away. Stay together.’
“Boss…!”
The gorilla called out to me, but I had already set off towards the centipedes.
「Using Acceleration lv6.」
Even without legs, at full speed.
I crawled forward as if running.
Fleeing monsters blocked my path.
I couldn’t waste time being trampled under the feet of galloping monkeys.
「Using Hegemon lv2.」
I unleashed my aura without reserve.
The skill worked even on monsters intoxicated with fear and killing intent.
Or perhaps the monsters that had been commanding them were no longer able to fulfill that role.
The monsters parted, creating a path.
I advanced without hesitation.
I bit the hearts of those that didn’t avoid me.
I passed between the legs of giant monkeys.
I ignored the insects clinging to me and moved forward.
“Keeeeee!”
The mother centipede was now in a complete frenzy.
The one that disappeared was Big Eyes.
He was the one who ate the best…
The best…
Kwang.
I flew up with the impact.
It was a gorilla charging on all fours.
It seemed to be a different species from Mrs. Gorilla, with unusually long canines.
It looked bewildered when I stood up again unscathed.
「Using Leap of Heart-eating lv2.」
I couldn’t bite its heart, but I sank my Venomous Fang into it.
Ignoring the flailing creature, I continued forward.
A grasshopper the size of a wild dog pounced on me.
I breathed fire from my mouth.
It clung to my body while on fire.
Thanks to that, I got burned, but it was bearable.
Insects covered my body, and other monsters trampled over them.
Ah.
Big Eyes must have suffered like this somewhere nearby.
Maybe he’s already dead.
「Using Thunder Roar lv1.」
Zzzzzap!
The monsters clinging to my body burned black.
I regained my freedom.
My eyes met with the Giant Centipede.
She was frozen in surprise, looking at me.
‘Quickly, find your child.’
I hope she understands.
I turned my head again.
It wasn’t just the centipede who was startled by the fallen lightning and looked at me.
Riokku, who had somehow gotten closer, saw me too.
Did the lightning momentarily restore his clouded reason?
Is that why he saw me as an opponent?
In fact, he might have just recognized me as a flashy, glittering prey.
Anyway, he stopped chewing and swallowing monsters.
Yes, come this way.
I moved in a direction away from the Giant Centipede.
Riokku’s head followed me.
Good.
I used more skills to attract his attention.
「Using Thunder Roar lv1.」
“Saaaaaak!”
That roar might have sounded like some signal to him.
“Kwiiiiieek!”
Because he started charging straight towards me.
I need to lure that thing away.
Preferably towards where the monkeys are.
But I made a mistake.
“Crawl faster, you’ll be caught!”
Firstly, Riokku was faster than I thought.
When I saw him from afar, I couldn’t tell he was fast because of his huge body.
But seeing him approach up close, he’s much faster than me.
「Using Acceleration lv6.」
I can’t use acceleration indefinitely either.
I’m already feeling a shortage of magical power.
Even though my mana increased tremendously after becoming a Crystal Double Horn Python, it’s still this bad.
The second problem was that when Riokku turned this way, the monsters in front also started fleeing towards me.
It wasn’t hard to find monsters heavier and faster than a snake among them.
Those fleeing for their lives pushed and trampled me.
There’s no choice.
Riokku’s direction changed from the centipede, so even if I have to abandon Thunder Roar, I should escape for now.
Surprisingly, there were almost no flying insects nearby. Well, if there were, they would have fled long ago.
I barely found something similar to a cicada.
「Borrowing ‘Flight lv8’ with Billy’s Horn lv4.」
「Success.」
Got it.
「Temporarily gained ‘Flight lv3’.」
「Using Flight lv3.」
My body floated up.
Rather than flight, levitation might be a more appropriate expression.
I can’t change direction or control my speed.
But when I can’t dig a tunnel or use Emergency Return, this is the only way…
That’s when it happened.
Pababak.
One insect clung to my body.
No, two, three.
My body gets heavier.
I knew this would happen.
There’s a reason I didn’t use flight before.
Finally, a long-legged monkey grabbed me.
The Flight lv3 I had borrowed couldn’t withstand that weight.
“Kiiieek! Wiiiii!”
The noise of monkeys and insects is deafening.
I was covered by them again.
I tried to escape by biting frantically.
「Your level has increased.」
I vaguely heard such a sound.
But there’s no time to be happy.
I used Thunder Roar, drawing on my depleting mana.
「Using Thunder Roar lv1.」
Zzzzzap!
Thanks to Thunder Roar leveling up to 1, I could use it a few times like this.
I crawled out from among the blackened monster corpses.
And Riokku had gotten closer.
His foreleg reached out to grab me.
「Using Leap of Heart-eating lv2」
I used the leap solely for escape.
Whoosh!
His claws grazed right behind me.
That’s when I heard the centipede’s scream-like cry.
“Keeeeee!”
Big Eyes was hanging limply in her forelegs.
Is that a cry of joy, or a sad wail?
I couldn’t tell.
Kuung, kung!
Riokku caught up right behind me.
If I could just hit him with Thunder Roar once more…
「Not enough magical power.」
Ah…!
I can’t even use Acceleration anymore.
Where’s father?
Why hasn’t he used the destruction beam?
“Dodge, move more!”
No, it’s not possible. There’s nowhere to dodge.
I’m going to die. For sure.
I’ll be eaten by that insect.
It’s all my fault that I ended up in this situation.
How pathetic, what kind of confidence did I have?
I jumped in to save the centipede and now I’m about to die.
I lived my whole life as a loser, and after a few months of being born as a snake, did I think I could play the hero?
‘No. I’m going to die like this…’
Mental Strength 20 or whatever is of no use.