It hurts… burns like hell.
She actually managed to injure my main body.
This vessel is charred and falling apart—barely capable of maintaining basic life functions.
Should I just destroy it?
…No, that would be a waste. Times are unstable. The emperor hasn't yet secured his power. Ursus can't afford a full-scale war with Yan.
Speaking of which, Aslan hides within Victoria's cities, the remnants of the Draco have grown weak, and the so-called Dublinn they built—what a joke.
If a fragmented group like Aslan's can crown itself king in Victoria, then surely one more group—like the Capes—wouldn't make much difference.
After all, they're all just Felines.
Hmm… or perhaps I should go further.
Why not make Victoria another Columbia? Overthrow the decaying monarchy, install a presidency instead?
…But "President Cape Reiss" or "King Cape Reiss" both sound off-brand for this persona I've crafted.
And honestly, that's far too much work. People aren't that easy to fool.
Better to remain a powerful financier pulling strings behind the scenes. A quiet hand in politics—that's more my style.
---
Talulah dreamed.
In her dream, she saw an enormous black snake—so vast that its body coiled endlessly across all of Terra.
Some people knelt in awe and prayed to it, trembling before its might.
Some stood in defiance, raising crude weapons in a futile attempt to pierce its scales and wound the Feranmut.
Others—massive creatures themselves—seemed to wish to communicate with it.
But the snake ignored them all.
It simply glided forward, indifferent to the world around it.
No prayer, no rebellion, no plea could alter its path.
From her dreamlike, third-person view, Talulah watched as the snake grew larger and larger, stretching across lands and seas.
The first to change were the kneeling worshippers.
From their mouths, eyes, and ears, countless small black snakes slithered out, crawling toward the great one.
They merged into its massive body—
and where they had been, nothing remained.
They had been devoured.
Next, those who fought, the wandering Feranmuts, and even strange, unrecognizable entities were swallowed and remade into black snakes themselves.
The snake dove into oceans Talulah had only ever seen in books, continuing its ceaseless, aimless journey.
Strange sea creatures approached it eagerly, becoming nourishment.
Those who resisted were crushed into nothingness, unnoticed, forgotten.
It did not even seem aware of what it was doing.
Or perhaps—it had already stopped thinking altogether.
As ages passed, the snake grew unimaginably vast,
its movements slowing under its own weight.
The power that made it godlike had also become its curse.
At last, when no life remained on land or sea, the black snake stopped.
Clumsily, it twisted its tail toward its mouth.
And then—
it began to devour itself.
"!"
Talulah jolted awake.
"Talulah, you're up!"
The first thing she saw was Ch'en Hui-chieh's face, filled with concern.
"..."
Talulah didn't respond. Her mind was still reeling from the dream—
its images burned too vividly into her thoughts.
What… did that dream mean?
She turned her gaze around the room—
to Madam Fumizuki's worried eyes,
to Ch'en's tired expression…
—and then, to the two "ordinary" city officials sitting nearby, each pretending to read their newspapers, faces half-hidden—
alongside a semi-retired gang boss keeping a careful eye on the door.
"I'm fine… Where's Kashchey?"
Talulah rubbed her aching temples. The lingering venom of the black snake still pulsed faintly in her mind.
It wasn't poison in the physical sense, but something deeper—an assault on her consciousness, her psyche, and her memories.
In truth, this so-called venom was nothing more than the corruption left behind by the snake's thoughts—its memories, emotions, and will bleeding into hers.
Her dream had simply been the echo of that corruption—the residue of Kashchey's ancient mind seeping through.
As for the content of that dream…
Tch. So what if an immortal wants to daydream a little?
Even short-lived mortals dream of frogs marrying swans.
---
"…Kashchey's gone. He was only pretending to be dead."
Wei Yenwu's voice came from behind a newspaper, which he used to cover half his face.
He clearly didn't want to meet Talulah's eyes—
nor did he want to recall what had happened.
---
"Surprised, aren't you~?"
Kashchey dragged himself upright from where he had fallen, feigning death moments earlier.
For a long-lived being obsessed with learning, playing dead was just another useful skill, wasn't it?
Besides, he truly was exhausted.
"…"
He brushed away the tear stains from his ruined coat with distaste.
His gaze fell upon the unconscious Talulah lying motionless on the ground.
For a moment, he hesitated.
In the end, all he did was give her a small kick.
Edward's coffin had long since been taken away by Shadow Guards during the battle.
There was nothing left here worth his time.
…Why did I even come here? Just to fight?
He retracted the black snake that had bitten Talulah moments ago.
I need to heal.
…I'll go to Rhodes Island.
It had been part of his plan all along—to visit them eventually.
Originally, he intended to appear as a guest.
But now, he would have to go as a patient instead.
Still, this weakened body might help lower their guard…
---
It seems the black snake still feels something for Talulah… though not much remains.
Wei Yenwu's face was still hidden behind the newspaper.
The snake's retreat, voluntary as it was, could almost be considered a fortunate outcome.
He had clearly seen that moment of hesitation in Kashchey's eyes.
But he also knew—
the next time Talulah and Kashchey stood as enemies,
the Eternal Duke of Ursus would not show mercy again.
As Wei Yenwu's thoughts drifted, the newspaper was suddenly snatched from his hands.
"She's awake now, and you still won't even look at her? She's your niece, for heaven's sake."
"…."
Wei Yenwu looked helplessly at his angry wife, Madam Fumizuki,
then glanced at Lin Kojui, who was doing his best to look uninvolved.
Finally, his eyes met Talulah's.
She avoided his gaze, her own flickering uncertainly.
Their relationship was… far too complicated.
"…You're awake."
"…Yeah."
Just two simple words—
but somehow, the wall between them cracked ever so slightly.
---
"Zhu Jiuyin, why are you in such a sorry state? You had so many of them before—why are there only two or three left now?"
Dusk casually pinched one of the remaining black snakes between her fingers.
Ignoring its furious wriggling, she rubbed its head roughly.
Don't touch me!
The snake hissed, baring its fangs in futile defiance—its aggression more bark than bite.
The other two snakes tried to rescue their companion, but Dusk's newly conjured creation easily subdued them.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop."
Dusk, satisfied after a bit of teasing, finally let go.
The three snakes scurried back to Zhu Jiuyin and burrowed into his body once more.
"Dusk, don't do that again."
Zhu Jiuyin sounded irritated. He hated having his true form touched.
"I absolutely will."
Dusk, visibly refreshed by his displeasure, picked up her pen again with a smirk.
But after a moment of hesitation, Zhu Jiuyin spoke up softly.
"Actually, Dusk… there's something I wanted to ask. A friend of mine has run into some rather unfortunate trouble lately…"