I Became a Druid in Another World

-Thud.

-Thud.

-Thud.

-Thud.

Ronan opened his eyes with a sense of satisfaction as the angry footsteps reverberated even to the deep underground where he coiled. Finally, the "time" had come. This time, he would devour every last wretched soul in this village. Slowly, Ronan stretched his body.

-Crunch!!!!

Ronan broke through the small door that had been sealed with thin boards and began crawling out of the basement. As the green light from the wall-mounted candelabras reflected off his scales, they shimmered and rippled with a radiant glow.

Ronan crawled slowly up the stairs. At the end of those stairs, beyond the wall, he could feel a sticky soul emitting a pungent smell. A soul filled with such grotesque desire that it was enough to overflow and fill the entire mansion. Ah, it had been a long time. Not only had it failed to repent, but that desire had grown even more monstrous. With a flick of his forked black tongue, Ronan slithered towards the wall. The scent grew stronger.

A perfect appetizer.

The green snake opened his mouth wide. So wide that his nose and chin nearly touched the ceiling and floor in sheer greed. And then…

-Crack!!!!!

Ronan smashed through the wall.

***

-Crack!!!!!

The sound of the wall shattering was followed by a cloud of thick dust. I narrowly avoided the debris from the broken wall and looked ahead. The fallen village chief came into view. Just when I moved forward to help him up,

-Slip.

I locked eyes with huge, blood-red eyes that sent a chill down my spine. Instinctively, I realized; that was…

Ronan…!

The green snake Demarcushel had spoken of!

I took a deep breath.

"El! Don't look up!"

For an ordinary person, just meeting those eyes would send them into a panic, like a mouse frozen before a snake! But thanks to my [Nemesis of Evil] title, I was immune to fear, confusion, and shock. So I was able to stay calm.

-Hoo.

Ronan seemed intrigued by that. He flicked his forked black tongue and opened his mouth in a grin, revealing four huge fangs.

…Just brushing against those would kill me.

I swallowed hard while looking up at the creature. His red eyes pierced into me as though he was about to say something when suddenly…

"O, O Great One!!!"

The village chief, who had been coughing and gasping, forced himself to rise. Then he raised both arms high toward Ronan and shouted in a cracking voice.

"I, I have heard your message and came to find the gold!"

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, Ronan's gaze left me and turned back to the village chief. With a chilling smile, he looked down at the chief and whispered softly.

-…Ah, you've heard my revelation.

"Y-Yes! The revelation to come and find the gold!"

– Loyal one. I can give you as much gold as you desire. However…

"...!"

-You must offer something to me as well, right?

"I'll give anything, anything! Whatever it takes for the gold!"

-In that case…

Ronan's red eyes gleamed ominously. As I saw his mouth slowly opening wider, I rushed toward the chief in a panic, but…

-How about your soul?

It was already too late.

-Splat!!!!!!

-Crunch!!!!!!

I didn't know if the chief had managed to respond. Only Ronan and the chief would know. Ronan's huge jaws clamped down on the chief, tearing him apart and spraying hot blood like a fountain. I stared blankly at the half-remaining body of the chief while covered in all that blood. But even that was quickly devoured by Ronan.

Ronan licked the blood from his lips with his tongue, then smiled in satisfaction as he glanced around once more. At El, Ayla, and then…

-You are truly mysterious.

At me.

"…I hear that a lot, especially from ones like you."

-Oh, you've already encountered others like me?

"Their bad luck, I guess."

-.….

"Those guys."

I looked up at Ronan with a faint smile. He gazed at me with an even keener interest, though I couldn't tell if it was out of curiosity or just hunger, which made me uneasy.

"…Seems like you've had a good meal, so how about heading on your way now?"

-This is only the beginning.

Yeah, I figured. I was just being polite anyway. Feeling the reassuring warmth of the lizard squirming in my coat, I replied more casually.

"Didn't I just tell you? Every demon I've met has had bad luck."

-I don't despise those with a talent for lying.

"And what if it's not a lie?"

-Hahaha.

"The one buried beneath the Rabata Mine, the one drowned at the bottom of the Dihid Underground Temple… word hasn't spread to hell yet, has it?"

-.….

"Or maybe all of you are just a bunch of worthless nobodies…"

-Crash!!!!

Before I could finish, the snake's head lunged at me. I barely dodged it and shouted to El.

"Get out of the mansion!"

Ayla carried El and quickly made her way out of the mansion. With Ronan's movements, the mansion's frame was collapsing. It had been burning every night, and given Ronan's huge body, it was inevitable. While avoiding the collapsing pillars, I saw a translucent hand waving from afar.

"...!"

It was the hand of a girl.

I sprinted toward the staircase that the girl's hand pointed to. Nearly flying up the steps, I raced upward.

– Ssssshhh!!!

I heard Ronan quickly chasing after me.

– Crash!!

– Crackle!!!

As soon as I reached the second floor, the sound of the stairs and railing breaking followed behind me. Thud! Thud! Thud! Snap! The pillars supporting the mansion were cracking and splintering.

"Cuscus!!!"

– Whoosh!!!

When I called for Demarcushel, shadows stretched out in an instant to hold up the collapsing house.

– I can't hold it for long.

"…I'll finish it before then."

At the end of the second-floor hallway, the girl waved her hand again. Rosalyn Dawson. Her face was blurry, and she pointed toward the ceiling. I ran to the end of the hallway and reached up toward the ceiling. I felt the trace of a rope and a carved groove. When I hooked my fingers into the groove and pulled, a door opened and a ladder leading up to the attic came down. Cough, cough. I coughed a few times at the smell of dust and climbed up the ladder.

The attic looked like it had once been the girl's playroom, with toys, dolls, and storybooks scattered around. Even a half-chewed dog bone. Amid the cluttered floor, I spotted something glimmering.

A necklace…

It was a small necklace for a child, with a golden pendant no bigger than a fingernail. When I picked it up, a wave of thoughts embedded in the necklace flowed into my mind like a tide.

– Rosalyn, look at this. It's the first gold your mother and I ever made.

– Thinking of you brought about this miracle!

– When you wear this necklace, you'll always be with us.

– We love you, Rosalyn.

– Bark! Bark! Bark!

– Yes, we love you too, Argos.

The necklace radiated a warm, gentle, yet powerful energy. I took out my bow and arrow, wrapped the necklace around the tip of the arrow, and waited for the green snake to stick its head out of the attic.

"…Legion, get ready."

I nocked the arrow and pulled the string. Meanwhile, as if to warm up, Legion smacked his lips and took a deep breath before inflating his body like a balloon. And then…

– Crunch!

– Slither, slither, slither…

I could hear the sound of the snake coiling tightly around the pillar, nearly breaking it, as it slithered up to the second floor and crawled through the hallway. It was almost time. I took a deep breath and focused my mind. For a moment, everything fell silent.

– Crash!

Then, the small attic passageway shattered. The green snake's head burst through the attic floor, breaking half of it, and its crimson eyes locked onto me. Like a predator spotting its prey, it flicked its tongue and hissed. With each flick, sulfurous flames seeped through the gaps between its green scales.

"Looks like you're the unlucky one."

That's the thing with villains; they always have to throw out some cheesy line. You could just feel the frustration behind their forced calm. How do I know? I'm a gamer from South Korea. Stuff like this doesn't faze me at all. When I let out a small laugh, Ronan was no longer able to hold back and opened his mouth wide. A glowing green fireball began to form deep in his throat.

"Legion."

– Fwooooosh!!!

At the moment Ronan unleashed the green fireball, Legion responded with a torrent of black flame of his own. The sight of the round, balloon-like lizard spewing an immense amount of breath was truly a spectacle. These were the fierce black flames, powerful enough to burn even fire itself! Ronan's flames, drawn from the depths of hell, were strong, but not as strong as Legion's. Of course, that was to be expected. A snake could never win against a dragon.

– Boom! Pop! Boom!

– Fwoooosh!!!

In the end, the black flames consumed the green fire entirely. Ronan's mouth was left charred black, and even his forked, blackened tongue had been completely scorched away.

[Theo. Did I. do well?]

"You did great, Legion."

[Theo. How well did I do?]

"You did incredibly, incredibly well."

Well done. I gave Legion a playful wink, then aimed my arrow straight at the blackened center of Ronan's mouth, pointing towards his throat. Boom! Boom! Boom! Small green explosions kept going off in his throat. This was a sign that he was gathering flames again.

[Theo. Should I… do it again?]

"No, Legion. Now it's my turn."

[Theo. Turn?]

"That's right."

I pulled the bowstring as tight as I could while waiting for the "final" explosion to happen. Boom, boom, boom. The moment the green flames flickered again at the back of Ronan's throat—

– Swishhhhh!!

The arrow shot out like the wind.

– Thunk!!!!

The golden necklace dangling from the arrowhead shone brightly as it pierced through the green snake's throat.

– Sssssss!!!!

The flames, which were just about to burst from its throat, fizzled out, and the snake's jaws reflexively snapped shut. At the same time—

– Crack, crack…

– Crack, clatter…!

The green scales began to tremble, one by one, as if they were alive and releasing gas. I grabbed Legion as he began to swell again. Okay, okay. I understand you want to finish this…!

"Let's get out of here, Legion!"

[Huh???]