Somewhere, inside a dark area, a man was sitting on a chair with a frown on his face. He has long black hair that draped over his shoulder.
A man with pink hair color was standing behind him looking at the screen before them.
"Both of them are going to meet... It's too early." The pink-haired man said plainly.
"Yeah, both of them are variables that could change the tide in the future. We couldn't let anyone of them perish soon." The man on the chair nodded.
"There's a difference in power. The other one had already tapped the power of beast instinct while the other only tapped the tip of it. The two of them will achieve monster lord in the future as long as they continue their pace." The pink-haired man said.
"Both of them are already at the fourth stage. This is good but for them to cross paths this early..." The man on the chair rested his chin on his palm. "Their meeting is inevitable. Well, I already have a plan regarding this. No one among them would die."
He then glanced at the pink-haired man behind him and chuckled. "You're luck is bad. I've watched everything that happened in the previous cycle and you're the only variable. No wonder the entire population almost experienced extinction. Even at my time, there are six variables."
"From my knowledge, the Imperium held back in the last cycle to preserve its power. Only this time the Imperium took out everything giving birth to dozens of variables." The pink-haired man said.
"Hehe, variables should just continue to improve their strength. They shouldn't worry about other people. That's why I'll give them a path. I'll guide them." The man on the chair said strongly.
"Imperial's blessed children..." The pink-haired man muttered.
'We'll lose control of what's happening soon. The foreign energy is making it hard for me to interfere. She's getting closer and closer. I don't have much time.' The man on the chair said inwardly.
...
Sob!
Souta heard a sobbing sound when he approached the seals. In the center of the metal poles, the giant rock was gone. Instead, a woman with long black hair was curled in the center as she tightly hugged her knees. Some parts of her arms and legs were covered in black scales.
She's crying?! The great monster sealed in this place was crying? The monster that Heracles subdued in his second labor... It's different from what he imagined. She wasn't like this in the game.
This woman was the Lernaean Hydra that Hercules defeated in his second labor. She hasn't died from that battle. In fact, Hercules couldn't kill her at that time so he resorted to seal her after weakening her.
Thump!
Souta felt his heart beating wildly. It felt painful and it made him hard to breathe.
"This level of suppression?!? There are two seals left so how...?"
He gritted his teeth and pressed his hand on his chest. It was outside of his expectation that the suppression would be this powerful.
"H-Hey, can you remove the suppression?" Souta asked with great effort.
The woman lifted her head revealing a flawless face. Her skin was white as snow, exquisite slit pupils, and plump red lips. A streak of tears dropped from her eyes as she stared at the unknown monster.
Her emotions were fluctuating wildly but once she heard this monster's voice, her emotional instability slowed down.
She slowly opened her mouth and timidly asked, "H-How?"
"Y-You...!" Souta was stunned. He didn't expect that she didn't even know how to control the suppression she was emitting. She wasn't bluffing since his [Galaxy Eyes] could differentiate the truth from lies.
"Can you calm down?" Souta asked carefully. He could still feel the powerful pseudo-suppression from this woman.
The woman stared at him with her reptilian eyes. She didn't why but she felt like she could trust this man. Some sort of intimate feeling was blooming in her heart.
"Do you want to get out of this place?" Souta said as he felt something strange deep inside his mind.
"I-I want..."
The voice of the woman was cut down as Souta felt the surrounding had changed. Everything turned dark and he found himself in the middle of nowhere.
Souta couldn't move his body. He could only feel a surge of loneliness in the surrounding.
I'm lonely.
It's always been like this.
I couldn't see or talk to anyone.
I'm... Argh!!! RAAHHH!!
Souta suddenly went back to reality. His forehead was filled with beads of sweat and his breathing was heavy.
'What is that?!'
He clenched his chest as various images popped into his mind. He stared at the woman in front of him and understand what was going on.
"I am..."
Souta stretched out his hand. The woman also subconsciously stretched her hand.
"...The Serpent Bearer..."
Both of them were about to grasp each other's hand but the seals pushed them away.
Kyahh!! The woman screamed as her body slammed into the ground.
Huh? Souta regained his senses. He looked at his hand and it quickly regenerate. He couldn't feel the pseudo-suppression anymore.
He understood everything. He controlled the doppelganger downstairs immediately. The doppelganger moved and took out the [Burning Ring Seal], completely removing the remaining two seals around the woman.
Crack!
A loud sound echoed as the metal poles along with the chains were shattered into tiny particles. Just like that, the seals were gone.
The indomitable monster that Hercules fought in the past regained its freedom.
Souta smiled at the woman and said, "Come here..."
The woman stared at his hand before her figure flashed. She turned into a small snake that slithered around his arm in an intimate manner. The head of the snake gently rubbed against his cheeks.
'So this is another use of [Serpent Dominance]...' Souta stared at the system and saw that the details of the ability had changed.
All the serpents in the world would favor him. They would treat him intimately and if someone fall-out, the effect of this ability was disastrous. It wouldn't only affect serpents at the same level as him. It would also affect those who are above him by one rank. If the difference was beyond one gap, Souta would gain an additional +500% damage to the said serpent.
That's why this ability was called [Serpent Dominance].
He could dominate snake-type monsters easily.
But it wasn't perfect yet... There are still various limitations. For instance, their intimacy was low at the beginning... It only worked because the woman wanted to remove the seals and he fulfilled her wish.
He could see that this ability would reach perfection once he unlocked the remaining legacy. The serpents around him would treat him as their master even without receiving the parasites. He would have an army of snakes in the future.
This...
Souta sucked a cold breath. This ability was powerful. There were various snake-type monster lords in the world.
World Serpent Jormungandr, the one who destroyed the army of the Great Astley Empire in the game.
Yamata no Orochi, a powerful monster lord that Susanoo sealed in the past.
These two were just an example of snake-type monster lords.
Even if they fall out with him, the effect of perfect [Serpent Dominance] would let him have an advantage against them.
Saya understood the meaning of Future Souta's words back then. Why he didn't place Yamata no Orichi's worshipper in his eyes? It's because of this ability... She finally understood why the Thirteenth Sign was so great.
Souta didn't need contract for this serpent to follow him. She had a favorable impression of him and thanks to the effect of [Serpent Dominance], she would follow him as if he was her master.
"I'll give you power... Lower your defense and open your pores." Souta said gently to the snake wrapped around his arm.
The snake looked at him for a moment before it followed his instruction. Souta proceeded to implant a parasite inside the body of this snake. No matter what, the parasite was assurance. He would be able to control this snake in case the two of them fall out.
"Stay here for a while. I'll come back later. Just focus on recovering a little bit of your strength."
Souta said to the snake.
Although she was a fifth stage monster, she was still sealed for several decades and it led her to her declining stage. She wasn't some sort of monster lord that could endure the power of seal for thousands of years. So that strength she could muster right now was only twenty percent of her overall might. In her current state, if she used her release form it would worsen her condition.
Souta looked up. This place was a special environment and the energy density in the atmosphere was higher than normal. She could probably speed up her recovery if she stayed here.
Only at her full power she would be able to help Souta in his next plans.
