The Serpent of Origin

[Origin controls the vast natural world with just a handful of seeds. If the seed within my body sprouts and grows into a great tree, then all things will move according to my will—this must be the path to ascending to godhood.]

The memory is grandiose, as befitting an absolute being who dominated an era.

The Lord of Despair was a master of Origin who planted seeds of darkness in his body and controlled even the abyss.

Though his era had faded and Origin disappeared along with it, Pernok acknowledged the possibilities that Origin possessed.

Planting a seed in one’s core, governing it with will, and moving the common nature according to one’s desires.

If magic is something realized in reality using mana as a resource.

Then Origin is the power of a ruler who manipulates existing forms based on mental strength.

‘How…?’

Pernok widened his eyes and turned his head in the direction the memories indicated.

Within the surging waves was Krade, the odd-eyed Scale Tribe chief.

The faint ‘Origin’ of the sea that stimulated the Lord of Despair’s memories was flowing out from him.

‘Was there still a civilization remaining that should have already disappeared?’

Origin was both the power that dominated an era and history itself.

Just as the Knight King’s era faded along with special metals, the even older Lord of Despair’s Origin should have disappeared as well.

But now, here in this place, someone using Origin—however faint—had appeared.

In the Lord of Despair’s era, this would have been merely a lower-tier level, but this thing seeping into the sea and manipulating forms at will was definitely the Origin of one who possessed the seed.

Woooosh—!

When a massive wave large enough to swallow even the castle surged before his eyes, Pernok snapped out of his thoughts.

‘I must capture him.’

If he could learn where Krade had obtained the seed of Origin, he might be able to trace back to the Lord of Despair’s era.

Swoosh!

Over Impact punched a hole in the center of the wave.

The lower-tier Origin lost control and collapsed while wavering.

[Your Highness! Please come out!]

The Mana Flash Cannons had finished reloading.

But Pernok didn’t evade—rather, he sent a signal.

“Don’t mind me and fire!”

The second volley fired from the castle.

The flashes split into hundreds and pounded the sea, and Pernok walked across the water, using them as vision to comb through below the sea like picking lice.

Boom boom boom!

In the midst of Scale Tribe members being incinerated, someone tried to raise a new wave with multicolored eyes gleaming.

Pernok examined him with Observation Eye.

‘That’s the one.’

The seed of Origin was embedded in his body.

Seeing how it hadn’t wrapped around his soul like vines, it seemed someone had forcibly transplanted the seed into him.

His level was only half-baked for someone calling himself an Origin practitioner.

But the fact that someone had given him the seed was important.

Kaboom!

Seawater shot up into the air like awls.

When Pernok brushed his hand to scatter the seawater, it instead clung stickily.

It seemed intent on dragging him down into the sea.

‘The way he handles Origin is too clumsy.’

If Krade had properly handled Origin, he would have swallowed both the island and the castle together with this seawater.

But he could only control a portion of the water.

He lacked the right to change the terrain and the power to drag his opponent into an advantageous battlefield, yet he was squandering his meager strength.

There was absolutely no intention of humoring such a sloppy attack.

Whooong!

Dense light gathered in the gloves.

Circulation Link activated, and the artifact guided Pernok to a dimension higher.

Bang!

A single Over Impact.

However, the power released by Circulation Link punched a hole straight through the sea in an instant.

The moment the Scale Tribe chief who had been preparing the wave fell, Pernok shot forward.

The half Scale Tribe with odd eyes, Krade.

When he frantically tried to pull in seawater, Pernok had already arrived right before him and kicked him up with a back leg.

Wham!

Though Krade crossed both arms to block, his flesh tore and white bones were exposed.

Krade tried to grit his teeth and resist the power beyond his imagination, but before he knew it, he had the night sky at his back.

He had floated up into the air.

“At this distance, can you not use Origin?”

Pernok kicked Krade from midair toward the island.

When Krade, embedded in the ground, absorbed the moisture from the sandy beach and barely repaired his wounds, Pernok, who had already landed, raised numerous nature-element magics behind him.

“Are you the Scale Tribe’s chief?”

Krade broke into a cold sweat.

‘How could I not drag him down from the sea even with the god’s blessing?’

He had thought Krade would be strong, given that the god had specifically pointed him out as tribute. However, his leisurely appearance far exceeded Krade’s expectations.

“Kyaaaa!”

“Block them!”

When Scale Tribe members urgently leaped onto the island, Horn Tribe bravely fought them as if they’d been waiting.

Pernok glanced at that sight and nodded.

“You are the chief indeed. But how could a half become the chief of those stubborn Scale Tribe?”

Grit!

Krade gritted his teeth and drew up the Origin bestowed by the god.

When seawater tried to creep up along the ground, Pernok scattered magic and evaporated it all.

“Cough.”

Krade coughed blood and staggered.

‘Why?’

He had only failed to bring the water.

He had merely released power, yet Krade couldn’t understand why his insides were churning violently.

“Origin is organically connected to the power it governs. That water is all your hands and feet. If you can’t retrieve the power midway, the blow is transmitted to you. Do you not even know this simple fact?”

“……”

“Well, fine. The night is long and time is plentiful, so let’s have a leisurely conversation.”

When Pernok struck the ground, rocks shot up from all sides and formed a circular dome.

In the dome perfectly isolated from the outside, a single flame that Pernok had raised was shining.

“Our conversation in this place won’t be heard outside.”

“…!”

“By the looks of it, you seem unprepared enough to be controlled by power. I’m personally very interested in that power, so I’ll give you one chance.”

Pernok’s mana filled the dome completely.

“Who was the one who planted that seed in you?”

“……”

“If you remain silent, I’ll annihilate all the Scale Tribe who attacked this place.”

Krade’s eyes wavered.

“I intended to gather you under me. The reason I proposed the Blood Battle Ceremony is because I know your abilities. However, the power beyond the norm is not your race’s original power. If it’s heading in the right direction, I’ll take that as well, but if it’s a twisted method, I’ll cut it out from the roots.”

“……Humans cannot handle it.”

“Is the one who granted you power something beyond human?”

“That one is the god of the sea.”

“A god… What nostalgic resonance.”

Krade coughed up blood profusely and clenched his fists.

“Stop it. Your Origin is already shattered.”

Then Krade collapsed to the ground.

He clearly witnessed the bluish energy escaping from his body.

Pernok’s mana devoured all the bluish energy.

“That bastard who grandiosely bestowed a seed that shatters after a few of my punches is absolutely not a god.”

“I attacked the Horn Tribe. Yet why does the Horn Tribe’s chief give me an opportunity?”

“Because I must find the Origin you wielded without understanding. If you hadn’t used Origin, I would have killed you and your entire tribe the moment the bombardment started. That would have been more convenient for taking over the Scale Tribe.”

Pernok walked forward to stand before Krade.

“Do you think I can’t do it?”

At the indifferent voice, Krade trembled.

‘This is not a level I can handle. However……’

Could the human before his eyes face the sea god?

Krade couldn’t easily make a judgment.

But even if he returned now, dying by the sea god’s hand was the same either way.

If both choices drew only bad futures, he had to at least finish this with his own sacrifice.

“If I tell you everything, can you stop the war?”

“That depends on your attitude.”

“What are you curious about?”

“That absurd bastard called the sea god. The identity of that bastard who bestowed you Origin.”

Krade exhaled a deep sigh and spoke.

“Twenty years ago, my father, who was the chief, brought a human to this land. That person entered our sacred ground and planted an egg. Father said that egg would lead us to a brilliant future.”

“But?”

“The moment the egg hatched, the human said this.”

Krade’s complexion hardened as if recalling that day.

“He said it was a failure.”

The human planted a blue light in the egg and left.

At that moment, a small lizard that hatched from the egg swallowed all the Scale Tribe who had entered the sacred ground.

It took less than an hour to digest everyone, including the chief and the elders.

The lizard that had cleanly devoured the Scale Tribe without a single drop of blood gained intelligence and shouted this to the collapsed Krade.

“If you offer me tribute, I promise prosperity to your race.”

Krade couldn’t resist.

Because the rapidly growing serpent manipulated the entire area’s sea and bound everything.

“The god fulfilled the promise.”

Clear waves surged, and a foundation ideal for Scale Tribe growth was completed.

The Scale Tribe’s numbers began to swell rapidly, and Krade, who had made the tribe prosper, was elevated to chief.

“There was no need to hold the Blood Battle Ceremony. Because I reigned on the throne with the power the god planted in me.”

Though the serpent had merely bestowed a tiny seed, Krade had become the absolute being of the Scale Tribe.

He governed part of the sea and began uniting the Scale Tribe, and this entire area fell into his hands.

Then the serpent flicked its sinister tongue.

“The god said it must complete Origin and holed up in the sacred ground. That’s when it started. The god was not satisfied with the sea and began coveting even the pure energies of the land.”

The life existing on nearby islands and the fish roaming the sea all became the serpent’s prey.

Not satisfied with even that, the serpent finally tried to absorb even the Horn Tribe’s powerful mana.

Krade, who feared conflict between races, maintained only moderate clashes and pleaded that the Scale Tribe’s power was insufficient.

“I tried to make the Scale Tribe prosper more by receiving the god’s power.”

“And then you planned to strike that crude god with the strengthened forces?”

“Yes. I thought that was the only way to solve the Scale Tribe’s problem on our own. But it was my miscalculation.”

The more the Scale Tribe grew stronger, the more tribute the serpent demanded.

The longer the war with the Horn Tribe dragged on, the more the serpent’s patience began to disappear, and finally the thing began devouring even the Scale Tribe.

“From the beginning, we were emergency rations. The god always intended to swallow us and reclaim the power it had distributed.”

“Yet you couldn’t resist?”

“There are children who have just opened their eyes. I wanted to send at least those children who haven’t been affected by the god to another sea.”

Krade stared at Pernok.

“The god said if I offered you, it would give me ten years. I thought that would be enough, but now I can accomplish nothing.”

“Me as tribute?”

“The god covets you. I brought the Scale Tribe’s warriors to offer you as tribute. I have no intention of begging for forgiveness on the battlefield and living miserably. But since I’ve told you everything you wanted, won’t you spare the lives of those holding spears in exchange?”

Krade realized that Pernok was too overwhelming an opponent for him to handle and presented his neck before him.

“The newly born children know nothing.”

Pernok chuckled.

“I hate guys like you. You hide your own incompetence in solemnity, dress it up as if there’s a great cause, and try to die comfortably. A general on the battlefield must pursue victory in any situation.”

“……”

“You’re young for a chief, inexperienced, and easily swayed—I have no intention of keeping someone like you alive. However, I did like the one fact that the Scale Tribe’s trust in you is solid. So I’ll make you one good proposal.”

Pernok bent his knees and met his gaze.

“Offer me as tribute to that worthless god.”

“…!”

“Because I have something I need to learn from that bastard.”

“You’ll kill the god?”

“You have nothing to lose. Whether I succeed or fail, you can prove to the god that you brought tribute.”

Though Krade was flustered, he didn’t act foolishly.

“What do you want from me?”

“If I kill the god, I’ll take the Scale Tribe.”

“Will you…… become chief?”

“You’re the chief. I’m saying I’ll take everyone including you as my subjects.”

Krade’s eyes wavered violently.

“Will you guide me to the sacred ground like your father who brought in the human? Or will you all perish together here? The opportunity to correct your mistake is given to you now, young chief.”

Just like when the serpent tempted him, sweet resonance dominated his mind.

‘Why do the Horn Tribe follow this human?’

The person acknowledged by the Horn Tribe, whose pride and valor exceeded even the Scale Tribe’s.

The new human chief who stood at the forefront protecting the numerically inferior Horn Tribe.

Krade bowed his head.

“My life already hangs on the human’s will. The Scale Tribe respects the victor’s rights.”

“I suppose so.”

Pernok smirked.

It was their unchanging way since the Lord of Despair had placed the Scale Tribe under his command.

* * *

The dome opened, and Pernok, who revealed himself, called Mati.

“Take the Horn Tribe and evacuate inside the island.”

“Don’t tell me the human lost……”

When Mati discovered Krade collapsed on one side, he tilted his head.

“……That’s not it, but why?”

“We found a negotiation plan that satisfies both sides. Hide yourselves properly while I resolve this. Don’t show yourselves carelessly and mess up my plan.”

“The Horn Tribe don’t run from fights……”

When Pernok frowned, Mati startled greatly and put away his club.

“Ah, understood! I’ll evacuate immediately!”

“I’ll send a signal, so come out then.”

Mati ran to Katish and conveyed Pernok’s words.

Katish blew the horn without a moment’s hesitation.

When all the Horn Tribe entered inside the island, Pernok extended both arms to Krade.

“Tie me up. You need to make it look like you won. The bastard won’t run away and will stay right there.”

Krade endured the pain, stood up, and bound Pernok’s arms with tough seaweed.

“Then shall we go see this thing called a god?”

Pernok walked leisurely as if out for a stroll.

Krade ordered the Scale Tribe to retreat, and the castle also disappeared without a trace.

Then Pernok headed toward the Scale Tribe’s sacred ground.