Chapter 22: Smile Hidden Behind The Mask

"Selvà," I muttered, and everything went quiet—the breathing of the basilisk, the rumbling of the stones, and even the wind felt still.

"Huh?" I looked around and saw that the basilisk was still in its position.

It isn't going to attack? I could hear my heart pounding as if it would pop out any second.

A few more seconds passed like that when I felt the burning sensation on my wrist and the rune informed me:

[You are safe... for now. Get out of this hanging position.]

I immediately tried to move but realized I couldn't. I had my wand held close to my wrist, pressing down on my skin to keep the first serpent's skill, the Serpentine Vision, active.

How do I get out of here?

[Figure it out yourself.]

It looked like there was no help in this situation.

I looked around and saw that Ines was squirming near the passage of the door from where we came. She was hurriedly crawling towards it until—

ROAR!!!

The basilisk seemed to have sensed Ines's presence. It roared and, with great force, turned its head towards her. Pulling its long tongue out of its mouth, it leaned towards Ines, who was now frozen with fear.

She tried to back-crawl while keeping an eye on the basilisk, but as the tongue approached her, she immediately turned and ran—

*Tuck*

"!!!Kyaaa!!!!!" But before she could run through the passage, her leg was grabbed by the tongue.

I let go of my hand that was pressed on the stone and fell down the pit. The basilisk's body extended far beneath the ground, so as I fell, I immediately grabbed onto one of its scales.

I anticipated the impact of the basilisk moving its body when it sensed me, but that impact never came.

"?"

I was confused, but when I saw that it was slowly pulling Ines towards its already open mouth, I wondered why it was so slow.

This place is already too cramped for a creature this big to live, so there's a high chance that there's a pit deep down that's big enough to hold this creature. Second, it could've left this place and wreaked havoc in the capital, but why is it still here?

[Climb! Think later!]

The rune brought me back to reality. I grabbed onto another scale while trying to keep the wand in contact with my body. If the binder is not in contact, the spell will be diffused.

I don't know what this spell has done, but whatever it is, it's working just fine. It's like I'm non-existent to the basilisk.

Bit by bit, I managed to climb close enough to the head—this seemed way too easy because there was no struggle from the basilisk. It was solely focused on Ines.

Her screams were guttural. With each drag, her screams became more and more panicked.

I looked around, and with a jump, I was on top of the basilisk's head. I looked down and saw Ines with her snot-covered face trying to pull herself away, but the ginormous tongue didn't budge.

I took a last leap, and with that, I landed just behind Ines.

"Uh... *Sniff* Sir! Sir!! Please!!!!! Please get this monster away!!! I beg you!!! Please, I'm so—" Almost as if she had seen a god at death's door, she begged, clawing onto the hard ground with bloody nails.

I gulped to wet my throat and looked. The reddish eyes of the basilisk stared ahead. I squatted down near Ines, keeping my eyes on the creature.

"Yes! Yes!! Please just get me out—Ugh." Her pleading came to a halt when I grabbed her hair and turned her face towards me, then slowly towards the Northern Basilisk.

"You screamed and woke that guy up, right?" I leaned towards her ear and whispered, "You wanted me dead, right?"

"No! I'm—I'm so sorry!! I never meant that—I-I," she frantically tried to give excuses, but I just yanked her hair and made her face the monster again.

"You... you needed to see this—" I paused, remembering what she called me, "fucker."

"Ahhh!!!! I'm—please—don't, I am so sorry—" but she kept begging.

The tongue was almost back to the basilisk's mouth.

I kept a firm grip on Ines's hair, her pleas falling on deaf ears. The basilisk's tongue, now retracting closer to its mouth, brought a terrifying sense of urgency to the moment.

"Look at it," I hissed into her ear. "This is what you wanted, right? You wanted to see me suffer? Now you get to see what real fear looks like."

Tears streamed down her face, mixing with dirt and blood. Her body trembled violently as she stared into the monstrous eyes of the basilisk. It was a sight she couldn't escape.

The creature's tongue finally reached its mouth, and for a moment, everything seemed to freeze. I could feel the air thicken with tension, the imminent danger palpable.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!"

Without warning, the basilisk snapped its jaws shut, the sound reverberating through the chamber like a thunderclap. I yanked Ines back just in time, pulling her away from the brink of death, but her ankle was ripped off in the process.

With a swift motion, I dragged her away. She seemed unconscious. I ran, her body dragging on the ground. We reached the passage, and I looked back—the basilisk was still there, but it didn't move. It just opened its mouth and let out its tongue to follow us.

I ran faster until we reached the door. I spun the wheel and it opened with a click. Throwing Ines inside, I jumped in and closed the door behind me.

"Haa, haa," I panted, collapsing to the ground along with my wand. It's hard to keep the binder in such situations.

There was another roar from the other side of the door, and then the earth rumbled.

"Oh, fuck, don't tell me it's coming." I immediately pulled myself up and searched for the wand, but soon the rumbling stopped and silence fell upon us.

Did it go back inside the hole?

I hope so. I carefully put my wand in my pocket and looked around—Ines's breathing was harsh, and her leg was bloodied.

I also have to drag her up too.

Poor soul.

***

"Come on, you do it. I'm always the one knocking," one knight grumbled.

At dawn, two knights stood in front of a house at the edge of the capital, debating who should knock on the door.

The other sighed, "Fine, I'll do it."

He raised his fist to knock, but before he could, the door was frantically thrown open. A sixteen-year-old boy with raven hair stood in the doorway. His expression turned from scared to relieved, and then to one of overwhelming emotion. Tears streamed down his face as he fell into the arms of the knight.

"Thank God, sir! You are here!" the boy cried.

The knight, taken aback, tried to calm the youth. "Easy there, lad. What happened?"

The youth, Asher, pulled them inside with a sense of urgency. "You have to see this," he said, his voice shaky.

Inside, right by the door near a coffee table, was the figure of a girl. One ankle was cut off, and her hands were tied. Beside her lay a suitcase. The girl's face was a mask of terror, her mouth open, but only faint sounds like "Eekk" came out.

Asher, still trembling, said in a meek manner, "I caught her hiding here. She tried to attack me. I was so scared."

The knights exchanged a glance before nodding. One of them gently placed a hand on Asher's shoulder. "It's alright, lad. Just tell us what happened."

Asher looked at them with a very scared expression, his voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know who she is or why she was here. I... I heard noises last night, and when I came down to check, she attacked me. I managed to subdue her, but she wouldn't say anything."

The girl, still bound and gagged, looked up at the knights with pleading eyes. The knights, wary but determined, moved closer to assess the situation. One of them knelt down beside the girl, checking her bindings and the extent of her injuries.

"We need to get her some help," the knight said, looking up at his companion. "But we also need to get to the bottom of this. Asher, do you have any idea who she might be?"

Asher shook his head, his eyes wide with fear. "No, sir. I swear, I have no idea."

The knights nodded, their expressions grim. "Alright," one said. "Let's get her stabilized and then we'll figure out what to do next."

As they worked to care for the girl, the other knight turned to Asher. "You've been brave, lad. But we need to know everything. Don't leave anything out. We need to understand what happened here."

Asher nodded, taking a deep breath. "I... I heard her speaking to someone before she saw me. I think she was looking for something, but I don't know what."

The knights exchanged another look. "This might be more complicated than we thought," one muttered. "Let's get back to the barracks and report this. And make sure the girl is secured."

The knights felt like they had found what they were looking for, but they missed Asher's smile that he hid behind their backs.