Chapter 112. Father and Son
At the sight of the incoming beam, which on a direct hit could have shattered his barrier and left him badly hurt, Severus didn't even flinch. He only watched, calm, as it drew closer and closer. Then, at the last instant, the beam snapped to the side and slammed into the wall, punching straight through.
"Why didn't you dodge?" the half-snake, half-dragon snarled, looming over him.
"Why would I, when your attack was not meant to kill me, or even to hit me?" Severus replied with a smile, letting his gaze slide to the glowing crystal, identical to the one from the outer part of the 'Magical Forest.' "By the way, do you know why this crystal is here?"
"It was the Ancestor's order, to guard it."
So I was on the right track after all. Severus let out a heavy sigh, and he looked back at the serpent. "So we have an agreement?"
"No. Even for my son's sake, I will not allow you to touch our sacred source," it snorted, yet it did not rush to attack. It wanted its child back too badly.
"I only want to look at the skeleton. Your memories will be enough." A white orb formed in Severus's hand, and he held it out. "I have no desire to bathe in blood myself."
The half-snake, half-dragon stared at the artifact with suspicion, then lifted its gaze to the human again.
"And that is all you want, for returning my son?"
"No. That is not enough. I also want your knowledge of this forest, access to your treasury, and the right to take any three items."
"Aren't you asking for too much?" it growled, narrowing its eyes and baring its fangs.
"Does that mean your son is not even worth that?" Severus asked, mockery ringing in his voice. The roar that answered him deepened, and a blood-red aura began to coil around its body again. "What a worthless father. Or do you not love him at all?"
"SHUT UP!"
"Do you really want to measure strength?" Severus narrowed his eyes and touched the sword's hilt. The runes along it flared, and a dark, crushing aura wrapped around him, barely matching the creature's. The stones beneath his boots seemed to hum, and even the damp air in the cave recoiled from the pressure.
A few seconds later, it forced itself to calm down. A fight here would accomplish nothing. Worse, its kin, the sacred source, and the crystal would suffer, and as King of All Serpents, it was obligated to protect them. If that happened, it would never see its son again.
Severus understood that too. He had staged this little performance only to frighten it and show his strength. This was not a civilized world where everything could be solved with words. This was a wild jungle where strength decided everything. And if you showed weakness for even a moment, you paid for it.
"I accept your conditions." The orb flew from Severus's hand and hovered before the half-snake, half-dragon. It studied the unknown artifact before touching it. A minute later, sensing nothing strange, it clamped the orb between its claws. The orb's color slowly clouded, turning murky and heavy, darkening through deeper and deeper shades of gray until the creature finally spat it back out. "Take it."
"Thank you." Severus quickly checked the memories, making sure they were exactly what he had demanded. Then he squeezed the orb until it cracked. Gray mist burst out and poured into his head. He froze for only a moment, then sealed the knowledge so he could absorb it later, and raised his gaze to the sullen serpent. "But we still have not signed a contract." A red parchment appeared in his hand. It was one thing to use plain A4 sheets with ordinary Magisters. A creature of this level was different, especially one that was close to peak Magister strength. Without his material core, he would have been sprinting for his life today.
He drafted the conditions fast, sliced his finger, and let blood drip onto the parchment. The contract floated up to the creature's gloomy muzzle. It doubted the paper could affect it at all, but it still read every line, and only then copied Severus. To its surprise, the moment the parchment burned away, a strange aura swept through its entire body and settled in the center of its chest, like an invisible brand it could not scrape off.
How is this possible? My body nullifies magical effects, even ones like this. Could this be magic from the times our ancestor lived?
"Well, thank you for the cooperation." Severus smiled at its stunned face. A small box appeared in his hand, and with a flick of his fingers toward an empty spot, a huge winged serpent appeared there, three times smaller than the half-snake, half-dragon. "Take it. Cargo delivered intact and safe."
The "cargo" looked very unhappy, especially under the unblinking stare of the giant. In its entire life it had seen its father only twice: once at birth, and once six months later. Until it turned one, its mother had cared for it. So seeing this enormous creature, even by serpent standards, and hearing that sadist's words, it immediately decided it was about to be eaten.
Still, it forced itself to look away. It saw the bloody pond, the crystal hanging above it, and remembered this place at once. Then it lifted its gaze again, studied the giant more closely, noticed the wings and small horns, and understood exactly where it was and before whom it stood.
"K-King?" it asked, voice trembling.
"Don't you remember me?" At those words, it shook like a leaf.
"I-I beg your pardon, I... I..."
"I see. Claut." The young serpent froze, staring at the giant in shock, unable to understand how it knew its real name. Then the next phrase made its eyes bulge. "I am your father."
At that bluntness, even Severus could not help himself. He slapped a hand to his forehead.
"My father?" After a moment, blinking stupidly, the former terror of the outer part of the "Magical Jungle" asked again. It was confused and thought it had misheard.
"Yes."
Claut looked at Severus with a strange expression. Severus only shrugged. Then Claut turned back to its enormous father, and had no idea how to react. Part of it was glad to meet family, but it did not remember him at all.
For a full minute, a dead silence hung in the cave. Only distant drips and the faint rustle of scales broke it. The King of Serpents stared at his son. Claut stared back. Severus watched them and digested what he had taken from the half-snake, half-dragon's memories.
A seventh-rank dragon. Creatures like that barely matched peak Archmages in raw power, and with their scales they could fight even Great Archmages. I never imagined such monsters could exist in this world, creatures even my past self would have struggled to kill. And if a creature like that was assigned to guard this place... A bitter smile tugged at Severus's lips. That means "they" exist here after all.
The meeting of father and son proved awkward. Neither rushed to speak, and when they did exchange a few words, it was about completely different things, barely touching on anything "family."
From the memories the King of Serpents had accidentally left in the orb, Severus also learned their customs: until the age of one, only mothers raised the children, and only after that did fathers join in. No wonder the tension was so thick.
It started to irritate Severus. He cleared his throat a few times, drawing their attention.
"How about you continue your 'conversation' without me? I am in a bit of a hurry."
"Right. You probably want to see your mother?" the half-snake, half-dragon asked awkwardly, letting out a nervous chuckle. It pointed its tail toward the exit. "When you leave this room, there will be a large passage on the left. Go to the very end. You will recognize her immediately."
"Yes. I will go then." Feeling much the same as his father, Claut nodded and headed for the exit, glancing back now and then until he finally vanished from sight.
After that, the King of Serpents exhaled in relief and settled on the ground, mentally wrung dry. This meeting had been too difficult.
He grew into a worthy son. In just seventeen years, he overcame the first stage of evolution, when others needed more than fifty. He even surpassed me. Maybe, in the future, the first dragon since our ancestor's time really will appear. Pride stirred in the King's chest, the simple pride of a parent seeing a child's success, but one regret remained: it would not be able to watch it with its own eyes.
"Human, I thank you, on behalf of the King of Serpents," it said, lowering its head in a noticeably friendlier tone. "I will allow you to take anything you want from my treasury." Then it added quickly, "But do not get greedy!"
"Thank you, but I am not interested in gold, silver, or artifacts. Only books. So I will not even touch the first two."
Hearing that, the King exhaled with relief. Those books were long finished and boring to it, and there were not many of them. Even if Severus took every last one, it would not care. Gold and jewels, on the other hand, it adored. Their shine and beauty fascinated it, yet the thought of giving them up felt like tearing off a piece of itself.
"Then follow me, and do not touch anything!"
Turning around, it flicked its tail at an empty wall. A hole opened there, leading down. The King slipped inside, and Severus followed.
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