Chapter 11 - When Seduction Fails, Throw A Hissy Fit (Part 2)
Is she talking about the orb behind her?
"Well then, for what it's worth, since you can't appreciate my beauty, why don't I indulge you with a feast instead? Perhaps that will soften you a little."
"Food?"
"Why, yes! I imagine it's been months or maybe even years since you last tasted the warmth of a cooked meal on your tongue. I'm sure you wouldn't want to lose your chance of having your stomach filled. Correct?"
If she really knows what I'm doing, then the element of surprise is gone. Paranoid? Maybe. But her smirk tells me she has the upper hand.
And the food's probably just another illusion. Like she is. Like the palace is. All a veil masking her real, monstrous snake form.
And the palace is too real. I couldn't sense any Ki beneath it. It looks like just a normal palace, but I know better. Which makes it worse. That kind of control and deception is the mark of a true expert.
She might not look it, but she's dangerous.
No wonder no one else in a thousand years has made it to train under King Kai.
I'm not even sure if attacking her right now would do anything. She might really just be an illusion herself!
"Now then!" she yells, grabbing my attention. Her eyes gleam with something I can't quite name, but the smile says everything.
She noticed.
Still, she raises both her arms at her side and claps twice with theatrical flair, quite adamant about keeping the act.
"Girls, bring them out!"
From the darkness of her palace, a short line of maids in the same snake-scale cheongsams emerges, pushing silver trolleys onto the branching path leading to the intersection. Each of them bears gleaming stainless-steel cloches hiding something inside.
Now she has her maids with her, awaiting orders. Four of them.
It's her subtle way of showing I'm outnumbered, I'm sure. A silent warning dressed as hospitality.
I'm not about to let whatever's inside distract me. But the aroma already snaking through the air is so mouth-watering, my stomach can't help but grumble.
Crap. Focus.
"Witness," she says, ending with a rather deliberate hiss, before continuing, "a feast unlike anything your mortal senses have ever known."
The maids each reveal the dishes as they remove the cloches.
"Braised crocodile skull steeped in Inferno Oil. Ogre barbecue skewers seared in the Ember Forge. Roasted turkey plump swimming in Round Life Tree Fruit extract. Mussels au Gratin dripping in moon-salt cream. And this one I requested especially just for you, handsome—Phoenix Wing Tart glazed in lava honey as hot as you!"
My stomach snarls so loud that I can't pretend to act disinterested anymore. Of course. Leave it to Other World to turn food into a bargaining chip.
Still, I can't afford to be distracted.
Goku ate her food and managed to shake off the sleeping potion early in the show—but that's Goku. His Saiyan physiology probably dulled the effects. I'm not betting on the same luck.
And if Princess Snake has already noticed the orb hovering toward her, then whatever they've mixed in this time might be worse than just sleeping potions.
But something feels off.
If this palace is nothing more than the interior of her massive snake body in disguise, then what about the food? How can it be real?
Yet Goku did eat it. Sure, he passed out right after, but the food itself seemed real enough. Tangible. Digestible.
So… are they illusions? Or worse, living matter disguised as cuisine?
If they're not, then the Round Life Tree Fruit extract must have come from an actual Round Life Tree Fruit. Wasn't that what Goku ate in Hell?
Then the barbecue skewers. She said they're made from an ogre's innards?
Damn!
I can already picture Polivoro ending up as her special if he's not careful in the future.
"Wow, you didn't have to, Princess." I scratch my head, feigning sheepishness, while keeping her smiling face in view. She hasn't looked away once.
"Really. I don't want to owe you anything." The orb moves at my will, speeding closer toward us—but I stop it while it's still far enough to pose no real threat.
Still, not even the slightest flicker in her eyes. No hesitation. No fear.
Her smile has only gotten wider.
"Oh, my boy. Your presence alone graces us more than any offering ever could." Princess Snake hides her mouth behind her gloved hand again, eyes gleaming. "Please, don't trouble yourself with silly obligations. I know how much you want this.
"And surely... you wouldn't really want to hurt someone who's been nothing but generous to you, would you?"
Screw this.
"You know what? Can we stop all the acting?"
I stare Princess Snake down.
"Oh, whatever do you mean?" she replies, her voice still honeyed. But her molars split open as fangs emerge, her face warping.
Her brows thicken unnaturally—looking like a certain youthful Shinobi from Konoha. Only that there's nothing funny about the way she's looking at me now.
Her voice turns husky, venomous: "You even refuse my food? I am the Goddess of Snake Way, who has ruled this realm for one thousand five hundred years. How dare you bring disgrace upon me?"
All the maids' faces warp, twisting with something inhuman beneath their skin.
I ready myself to fight. It's just a shabby, upright boxing stance. Can't be helped. I never once bothered learning to fight properly during my two years in the cultivation world.
Kami knows I'm not ready, my heart beating from the dread and anticipation.
I smirk anyway despite the sweat trailing down my temple. "Would it appease you if I told you I'm actually vegan? I believe in animal rights. Even ogre rights, now that I think about it."
Since any hopes of cleanly neutralizing her are out the window, I might as well go all out. Taunting her or even distracting her would be good. Anything to keep my cool.
"Oh, look at yourself. You should really trim down your eyebrows. Getting all bushy up there, aren't they?"
This will be my first real fight. Hopefully it won't be the last.
I crack open my lead hand, the coating of Soul Ki unraveling like water as I draw the front half the energy into my palm and begin to compress it there.
"Save it, boy." Princess Snake chuckles. "We had so hoped to make your final hours... delightful. But if suffering is truly what your heart desires, then allow me the honor of showing you the depths of it."
Oh, it's on!
One of the maids speeds toward me. With more focus, her strike toward my face with a fist seems much slower. I catch it mid-strike, barely registering the impact as I lock her in place.
I'm this strong now, huh? I didn't even move from the force of the punch or anything.
Her yelp snap me back into focus as the Soul Ki coursing through my right arm grazes her skin—cold and deathly. I hurl her aside like dead weight into the golden clouds.
Another vaults into the air, same slower speed, leg slicing down in an axe-kick. I catch it in a vice grip with both arms, halting her momentum cold without a hitch. She winces as the Soul Ki bites into her flesh.
Two others dash toward me, but I twist right on time, swinging the maid caught in my grip like a hammer. They take the full brunt, hurtling into the depths as they scream. I toss the last one after them without hesitation.
"Too easy."
Before gravity training, I wouldn't have stood a chance against these maids. And this is me when my limbs are still under some level of pressure from the Soul Ki.
Princess Snake just stands there with the same smile on her lips. I pay her no mind as all four of the maids emerge from the golden clouds and gather above me as they hover.
"So, already itching for another round? You girls are wild."
One of them scoffs.
Guess I should knock them out this time.
They all dive into my direction, scattering just when they're a few feet away.
With the four of them together, one manages to snatch my other hand from behind.
I yelp. "You really surprised me there."
I swing her hard into another, slamming them together with such force that both go flying. Again.
They just don't learn. Then again... I really should've taken that opening to finish it.
Another lunges, aiming to sink her fangs into my Ki-less arm. Her teeth graze skin—too close. I seize her by the hair and yank, dragging her head back. The Soul Ki lacing my arms shrivels her strands on contact, the scent of burnt hair curling in the air. She screams.
I wince.
A wave of air behind me warns me of movement. The next one is charging with a punch, but her fist slices through air. I drop low, pivot into a full 180, dragging the screaming maid with me, and slam her head against the floor. She's now out cold.
My heart drops. The brutality.
I brace myself with my arms, lift my leg, and drive a kick into the next one's armpit.
She goes flying—but I move faster. Have to if I want it done sooner.
I burst forward and slamming my elbow into her chest mid-air. The impact rips the breath from her lungs as a shockwave explodes outward, carving a depression where her body crashes down.
My body shakes. While I could somehow ignore this aversion of violence, it all comes flooding back to me when the adrenaline rush subsides.
I take a deep, slow breath. And release. It would be all be okay.
You had to, Carson. It's gonna be okay.
Princess Snake's clapping snaps me out of my pep talk. The maids now stand at Princess Snake's sides, glaring at me. "Wonderful. Truly a spectacular fight indeed."
She stops her claps and smirks.
"To think we have a fighter of this caliber like you seeking King Kai's guidance. You know, you're the second warrior who excites me like this. You should feel honored that I, the Goddess of this realm, will be the one to claim your blood."
She turns serious.
"You should be thanking King Yemma's incompetence that I'm still around. Because this time, I'm not passing up the chance to feast on the flesh of formidable prey like you!"
All the Soul Ki is finally gathered and condensed. "We'll see about that!"
Without another word, she vanishes. So fast!
And appears right beside me with a strike from her kick mid-air I can barely dodge. I raise the other arm to block. I grunt from the force, my shoes scraping against the floor as my position shifts diagonally.
Any more, and one foot would've slipped off the edge.
She springs off my arm like it's a platform, flips mid-air, and lands at a distance. I twist in an arc and use the momentum as I throw the orb of Soul Ki at her, hitting her chest and sending her flying.
A maid materializes at my side, cleaver in reverse grip. The cold glint of steel freezes me for a heartbeat—and in that moment, the blade strikes my chest.
It shatters. It didn't even hurt.
She gasps.
I kick her away.
Another one's already mid-leap, cleaver raised. She sees what happened. Sees the broken weapon. I catch the flicker of panic in her eyes. She can't change her momentum.
I step into her landing path, grab the blade mid-swing with my lead hand.
It chips on contact.
She releases it instantly and scrambles back.
The first maid is still reeling from the kick when I flash to her, slamming the cleaver's handle down onto her skull with blunt force. Like the others, she dissolves into green, viscous goo.
A raged cry cuts through the air—the final maid rushes to tackle me. But Princess Snake is faster.
She flashes into place, already inches from me.
Her right hook crashes into my cheek, and I'm launched off Snake Way.
The shift in gravity. The disorientation. The force of her punch. My head spins as I drop—and the golden clouds rush up to meet me.
I've never tried flying before.
Is this it? Am I about to crash into Hell and get tossed back to the start through King Yemma's drawer?
Then an idea sparks, just in time.
I channel the energy in my body, forcing it down to my left palm. "Ha!" I shout, unleashing a beam from my outstretched arm that rips through the clouds like a flare.
It slams into the underworld's crust seconds later, and the force hurls me upward.
I keep the blast going, pouring in more power as I surge higher. The purple skies draw near, Snake Way shrinking behind me, and my heart pounds like it's trying to escape my chest.
What if I don't land on the path? Snake Way is too narrow for landing on it to be certain.
Snake Way is nothing but a speck now from high up here. I stop channeling more Ki. I've got at least five or more seconds to spare.
This time, I need to fly.
One second in. I channel Ki downward into the meridian pathways in my legs. There's propulsion, but it's unstable. I grit my teeth. "Come on!"
Three seconds in. Princess Snake rockets in my direction. Gotta think faster... Maybe I'm doing it wrong. I can hover at my feet, but the gravity pulling my body wrecks my balance. Maybe it's not just about blasting from the bottom.
Five seconds in. I shift focus, pushing Ki through my whole body's meridian pathways, feeling for the spots that can help me control my whole body during flight.
Torso. Thighs. Legs.
Princess Snake finally appears before me, sending a storm of punches crashing into me mid-air. I can't dodge most of them. Pain blossoms across almost every part of my body at the front.
It's hard to defend when I just learned how to fly. Much less evade.
The last maid takes the opportunity to land a kick on my back. I force a layer of Ki to defend myself and turn my back on Princess Snake's attacks.
Grabbing the maid by her leg, I hurl her so hard into Snake Princess, dissipating the coating on my body to conserve more energy. But Princess Snake catches the maid and leaves her dangling by one arm. I let go the second she does and deliver a blow with a straight punch.
Only for the punch to hit the maid, splattering green goo as my fist pierces right through her chest. She chokes and vomits a mass of green onto my face.
She used her as a meat shield!
I float back. My hand. My face. All covered in this sticky liquid. My body, it trembles.
The ruthlessness. Again.
Then the liquid disappears, as though it was never there.
I snap out of it.
"Careful, boy."
And with that, sharp pain blossoms on my chest from the kick of her stiletto. My stomach sinks as the force hurtles me down below, drops of blood spewed out of my mouth.
I scream, pressurizing my Ki within to resist the freefall, and rush through the air and reach for Snake Way.
I land. Breathless. I'm still in pretty good condition, save for the red mark on my chest through the gaping hole of my shirt.
Had I been any weaker, that alone would have pierced through my flesh.
"You're not much of a fighter, are you? Got no experience? Easily rattled by the viciousness of battle?" Princess snake sneers, looking down on me from above with arm crossed on her chest. "And here I thought you'd be a challenge."
I put up a front. "Didn't think you'd start getting that serious. Seriously, using someone else as a shield? Didn't think you had it in you to stoop that low."
She smirks. "As if the morals of the defeated will matter in the end. Your fate has already been sealed the moment you came here."
I crinkle my nose, spitting more blood. I smile at her, showing my teeth. I imagine it's red from the blood, probably looking badass.
"Really, now? Because I'm just getting started."
Power Levels:
Carson (removed all Soul Ki) - 918
Princess Snake - 900
Maids - 250 each