Chapter 305: Monster Curse (5K)

Theresa had a feeling that she seemed to have become some kind of monster.

A monster with tremendous power.

Strength, speed, constitution… everything was different from before.

The world in her eyes had also changed.

Even with her eyes closed, she could sense the surrounding air currents, smells, and temperature.

The only thing she needed to do was stick out the slender tongue that had somehow become so, and flick it around a few times.

So, let her think back—when exactly had the change happened?

It seemed to be not long ago, the first time she was hunted down.

After successfully escaping from the Effort Caravan, Quinna had not fled with her the whole way.

That woman who called herself a knight had Theresa hide carefully in a corner and wait for her to come back.

She had to go back and do one more thing—not only save herself, but also free the other slaves.

Theresa obediently obeyed, quietly hiding in that dark corner.

But Quinna had been gone for a very, very long time, with no sign of returning.

As time passed, Theresa's heart grew more and more uneasy; fear gradually overpowered excitement and took over her entire mind.

In the end, clinging to a sliver of hope, Theresa quietly poked her head out to see what was happening outside.

She told herself it was just one look, just one—nothing should go wrong.

And then, sure enough, something went wrong.

She came face to face with a dark elf guard who happened to be passing by—what rotten luck.

In that instant, the sheer terror from her brain nearly broke Theresa.

Her memories after that were somewhat blurry, with only scattered fragments remaining.

Theresa only remembered running for her life, trying to escape from the other's clutches.

And yet she—a village girl with no training whatsoever, starved for a long time—had actually managed to escape from a fully armed warrior!

When Theresa finally stopped after running for who knows how long, she at last noticed the changes in her body.

She seemed to have become a monster with a human upper body and a snake's tail.

What on earth had happened?

Theresa racked her brains and couldn't figure it out; her heart was filled with fear… but that wasn't entirely true.

At the moment she truly realized what had happened, she actually wasn't as afraid as one might imagine.

Deep down, Theresa had a vague sense of it.

As a clever and sensitive child, she had known since young that there was something about her different from ordinary people.

She could see more clearly than others at night, was never afraid of bloody scenes, felt the cold more than others, her heartbeat was slower than others', her body temperature much lower…

There had to be a secret on her body; otherwise, her father wouldn't have refused to keep her by his side, wouldn't have left her in that remote village with only old people.

And although the villagers had never deliberately targeted her, never hit or scolded her, they had never bothered to hide that distance either.

But like every village girl—no, like every naive child—Theresa had also fantasized that these special things about her held some extraordinary secret.

Theresa had also fantasized that she was one of a kind, the lucky "chosen one" from the stories.

She had always been waiting for her own knight, hoping that someone would come rescue her from that village.

Later, when she read her father's letter, Theresa had also been tremendously excited.

She was of noble blood—perhaps even one of those princesses from the stories who had been forced to fall into hardship.

She set out on the journey, looking forward to learning the whole truth at last.

And now… the truth had come to light.

There was indeed a shocking secret on her body, but it wasn't the beautiful one she had imagined.

She wasn't the princess a knight had to rescue, not even the side-character village girl.

She had become the monster in the story that needed to be destroyed.

A half-human, half-snake monster!

After thinking this through, Theresa couldn't help wanting to cry.

What on earth had all this been for?

Mustering the courage to leave the village, being captured by slave traders on the way, enduring hunger, enduring pain… she had held on, refusing to die, suffering through all of it—what was it all for?

Just to become an ugly monster?

Theresa wanted to die.

She was sick of this nightmarish everything, wanted to wake up from the nightmare.

She… didn't want to go on living as a monster.

But Theresa had no idea how to die either.

A village girl didn't have that kind of knowledge.

Her fingers had turned into sharp claws, but they couldn't pierce the scales on her throat.

She tried to strangle herself, but her fingers couldn't muster the strength; by the time they went limp and let go, she probably hadn't even left a blood mark.

She tried slamming into a wall to kill herself, but only knocked a dent into the wall, without so much as a scratch on her forehead.

Theresa couldn't kill herself.

After several failed attempts, Theresa came up with an idea.

If she couldn't do it herself, then let someone else do it.

She wanted to use someone else's hand to kill herself.

Those pursuing guards—they must have a way to kill her!

But Teresa waited for quite a while, yet still no pursuers came — it was as if they had forgotten all about her.

After hesitating once more, Teresa decided to retrace her steps and go find those soldiers herself.

But her door-to-door death-seeking behavior still did not go as smoothly as she had hoped.

The first thing Teresa saw was a pile of stone statues.

They were elven stone statues, all frozen mid-sprint, faces twisted with vicious fury, smashed into pieces across the ground.

The statues were startlingly lifelike — the sculptor's skill was extraordinary, as if these statues had been alive not long ago.

"What happened here?"

"It probably has nothing to do with me, right?"

She fell silent, not pursuing the thought further, and pressed on.

After retreating for quite a while longer, Teresa finally ran into some guards — but they had no intention of arresting her.

In fact, these men seemed unable to do anything at all anymore.

The several dark elf guards were all barely clinging to life, writhing in agony as they lay unconscious on the ground.

Their bodies seemed to have been savagely wrenched apart — every bone shattered, every tendon torn — slumping limply to the ground, more breath leaking out than air going in.

The surrounding ground was equally devastated, as if some great beast had rampaged through it, or as if it had been whipped.

Teresa's heart filled with doubt. She anxiously rifled through her memories for a moment, then quietly lowered her head and saw the tip of her own tail… there seemed to be some bloodstains still not fully dried clinging to it.

"It probably has nothing to do with me… right?"

Teresa hesitated, but in the end fell silent.

She thought back to those "stone statues," and vaguely recalled that Quinna had once mentioned she knew some spell that could turn people to stone.

At the time, Teresa hadn't taken it seriously, assuming Quinna was just joking, and figured a village girl like herself wouldn't know any spells.

But looking at it now, the truth didn't seem to be that simple.

A village girl knowing spells was impossible — but a monster disguised as a village girl knowing spells posed no problem at all.

Faced with irrefutable evidence, no matter how much Teresa wanted to play dumb, she simply couldn't.

Admit it — she was the one who had killed those guards.

And… these guards probably couldn't have killed her either.

So the problem circled right back to the beginning.

"Just how on earth am I supposed to die?"

The girl wanted to die, but found she simply couldn't.

Teresa hung her head, naturally coiled her tail, and shrank in place.

She had wanted to live, yet had become a monster.

She wanted to die, but couldn't die no matter what.

"Is this the fate that belongs to me?"

Teresa murmured in low spirits: "Why does fate treat me like this? What on earth did I do wrong?"

"I've always been trying to be a good child — I've never once argued with Father."

"Why? Why treat me like this?"

She bit down hard on her lip; her newly sharpened teeth pierced straight through it, letting fresh blood trickle down from the corner of her mouth.

A moment later, a thought flashed through Teresa's mind, and her eyes brightened slightly.

"Young Lady Quinna."

"Maybe I should go find Young Lady Quinna — she's a knight, she should know how to kill me…"

"No, wait — a curse!"

"Maybe I've just been cursed!"

Her eyes blazed, and she suddenly thought of something critically important.

From the mouths of those slave escorts, both she and Quinna had been cursed!

Right!

It was a curse!

It had to be a curse!

All the changes on my body — they're all the curse's doing!

Teresa was like someone clutching at the last straw, muttering it over and over.

"We've been cursed!"

"Maybe, maybe Young Lady Quinna knows how to turn me back!"

Young Lady Quinna hadn't truly been cursed — she had deliberately used the curse to weaken herself, all so she could infiltrate the slave caravan.

Maybe she knows how to do it!?

No — she definitely, definitely knows!

After thinking this through, Teresa's mindset suddenly shifted.

She no longer wanted to die.

If one could go on living, no one was willing to die.

If she could return to her original self, she still wanted to live.

"But why hasn't Young Lady Quinna come back yet? Did she run into danger on the way?"

Teresa hesitated for a moment, but quickly made up her mind.

She would go back to the slave merchant to find Quinna.

As for being discovered along the way… no need to fear.

I am strong!

Though Teresa disliked her current appearance, this strength gave her an unprecedented sense of calm.

She did not understand the power divisions among professionals, nor the ranks of monsters—she only knew she was stronger than these guards.

"She saved me before—it's my turn to save her now!"

Teresa's confidence had never been greater; she prepared to charge back and rescue Quinna.

But just as the girl began to move, her tongue twitched slightly, and she whirled her head toward the shadow beside her.

"Oh? You did notice me after all."

A short, hooded figure stepped out of the shadow, appearing like a child, only half the height of an ordinary person.

Yet, from the dark skin exposed on his arms, one could discern Drow bloodline.

An experienced veteran would instantly recognize this as a half-blood with both Halfling and Drow ancestry.

Most half-bloods arise by accident, but this kind of hybrid was deliberately chosen by the Drow.

The Drow would carefully select a group of Halflings, bind them, and force them to serve as breeding stallions, engaging in unspeakable acts with them to enrich their race's diversity.

Not all half-bloods inherit their parents' strengths; many "defects" are born in this process.

And following the Drow's usual practice, only the "superior specimens" were allowed to survive.

The assassin before her was one such product—they were called "Shadow Daggers."

Shadow Daggers possessed the Halfling's innate stealth and the Drow's affinity for shadows; each was a master of assassination.

They were the sharpest blades in the hands of every Drow Matron, used to handle secret, dirty work.

To assassinate rival factions, and to intimidate their own people, maintaining their rule.

Teresa, as a village girl with limited knowledge, had no idea what this meant.

She merely instinctively felt the figure before her was terrifying, as if her blood had turned colder.

The girl did not act rashly—she stared at him in panic, her breathing slowing.

The Shadow Dagger assassin paid no heed to Teresa's tension; he stepped out of the shadow, tossed his dagger, and sneered:

"You're the filthy serpent demon who violated the Moore family's taboo? How bold of you!"

He stopped five meters from Teresa, not advancing a single step, eyeing her with disdain.

Teresa felt uneasy under his icy gaze, yet refused to surrender.

She gathered her courage and shouted at the assassin: "I—I'm not a serpent demon! I'm cursed!"

Teresa did not know the truth, but chose to believe it anyway.

Because this was her only hope of survival!

"Cursed?"

The assassin's brow twitched; he stepped half a pace back, his fingers brushing the pouch at his waist, pulling out a bone ring.

After slipping on the ring, the assassin visibly relaxed, sneering again: "A serpent demon can be cursed?"

"You're lying!"

Teresa's tail slammed hard against the ground as she shouted: "I'm not a serpent demon—I'm cursed...!"

Teresa struggled to argue, but the assassin had grown impatient; he waved his hand dismissively.

"Enough talk. Whether cursed or not, violating the taboo in Moore City demands punishment!"

"I'm not! I really am...!"

Teresa continued pleading, trying to explain further, when suddenly she sensed something wrong behind her.

"Huh!?"

She spun around—and saw the shadow behind her had changed shape: a small, distorted shadow!

What?

"Hey, you're quick."

The shadow opened its eyes and sneered at her: "But it's too late."

The assassin had swapped places with the shadow!

"You..."

Teresa stared in panic, trying to dodge—but the assassin was already before her.

The dagger in his hand was razor-sharp, gleaming with a chilling light, aimed straight at her throat.

!!!

Teresa had once wanted to die—her resolve was genuine.

She thought she wasn't afraid of death.

But when death truly came, when that bone-chilling cold crept up her spine, nearly freezing her blood solid... she panicked.

Death.

Death.

Don't want to die.

I don't want to die!!!

"No!!!"

She tried to flee—but it was already too late.

The dagger, shimmering with seven-colored light, sliced across her neck, sparking against her scales—but it still cut through them.

Hss—

Blood seeped out.

As it fell, it turned black, then rapidly dissolved into a wisp of dark mist.

Poison.

That dagger was coated with deadly poison!

Moreover, the assassin's attack was far from over.

After landing one strike, his second wave of attacks arrived in an instant.

"Aaaahhh!!!"

Overcome by fear, Teresa instinctively let out a great scream.

Whoosh—

The snake tail coiled underground lashed out violently, whipping straight toward the hooded assassin.

"Hah! I've been waiting for you."

The assassin twisted his body midair, his toes actually stepping directly onto the snake tail, using that borrowed force to soar high up.

He had long since seen the guards' wretched state and knew this snake demon's tail possessed terrifying power that had to be avoided.

One careless slip, and even he would capsize!

But since he had long been prepared, that wasn't a problem.

"Filthy snake demon, die!"

The assassin twisted his body, then dove downward, viciously stabbing the dagger toward Teresa's eyes.

However, this outstanding assassin had still overlooked one thing.

If he had been able to walk a few more steps forward, he would have seen the shattered stone statues scattered across the ground, and he would not have aimed his second attack at Teresa's eyes.

The bangs covering her right side swept aside, revealing the purple eyes beneath.

They were cold, cruel eyes, like those of a snake.

Crack, crack, crack…

"What is this!?"

The arm holding the dagger rapidly petrified, and the petrified portion quickly spread, creeping along the arm toward the rest of his body.

"Petrification!"

He suddenly realized the change in his body and immediately altered his movements, fleeing backward without a care for anything else.

This damned snake demon actually possessed a petrifying power as well!!?

The assassin fled in panic, yet Teresa did not seize this chance to counterattack.

As a village girl with zero combat experience, Teresa chose to run outright.

She chose to flee, running desperately for her life.

And behind her, the assassin with his entire right arm petrified did not give chase on the spot, but instead gazed at his own arm and muttered.

"Snake demon, curse, petrification ability…"

His eyes lit up, and he hissed excitedly, summoning his companions: "Everyone, come to me! I've found the target!"

"I've found the special Sacrifice the Matriarch needs!!!"

"Chase her! We absolutely cannot let her escape!"

……

……

Maragas City, city gate.

"Hm? What's wrong?" Elisa looked at Herbert, who had stopped beside her.

"Hmm… something here doesn't seem quite right?"

Herbert looked at the target city he was about to enter, the corner of his mouth twitched, and he asked inwardly: "Nie Nasha, did you notice the problem?"

But the jokester god, usually bored and always available on call, fell silent at this moment.

He was currently seizing the time to digest those massive gains.

"…Forget it, let's go."

After waiting a while, Herbert shook his head and said to Elisa: "There probably shouldn't be any big problem."

"Nothing major will happen."

(End of this chapter)