Chapter 523 - -523

The heavy, suffocating silence of the shattered treasury was broken only by the sickening, rhythmic ’drip, drip, drip’ of Lord Siss’s dark blood pooling onto the cratered obsidian floor.

Kaya stood perfectly still, her chest heaving as she stared down at the severed head resting against the toe of her boot. The amber eyes of the ancient Snake Lord were locked open in a permanent state of arrogant disbelief. For three hundred years, this monster had ruled the Western territories with an iron, venomous fist. He had crushed rebellions, slaughtered rivals, and hoarded wealth beyond imagination.

And now, he was dead. Decapitated by a magicless human girl and a ridiculously flirtatious Vulture.

The sheer absurdity of her transmigration hit Kaya like a physical blow. A month ago, her biggest concern was paying rent and avoiding public transportation during flu season. Now, she was standing ankle-deep in gore, breathing in the fading fumes of toxic acid, having just orchestrated the downfall of a prehistoric regional superpower.

"I need a bath," Kaya muttered, her modern sensibilities violently reasserting themselves now that the adrenaline was fading. "I need a bath in boiling water with a gallon of industrial bleach."

Veer chuckled, a low, rumbling sound that reverberated in his chest. He flicked the last drops of reptilian blood from his twin curved blades and smoothly sheathed them across his back. "I’ll draw the water for you myself, wife. But first, we have a giant rabbit-bear to thaw out."

Kaya’s eyes snapped wide open. "Cutie!"

She kicked Lord Siss’s head out of her way and sprinted across the ruined treasury floor, her boots slipping slightly on the scattered gold coins. Veer followed closely behind, his long strides easily keeping pace.

They found Cutie slumped heavily against a massive pile of shattered wooden chests. The giant beastman was a terrifying sight. His thick fur was singed and matted with blood, but the real danger was the unnatural, rigid stiffness of his limbs. The Snake Tribe’s paralytic venom was notoriously potent, designed to instantly freeze the nervous systems of massive beasts so they could be eaten alive at the snake’s leisure.

Cutie’s massive chest was barely moving. His breathing was incredibly shallow, a ragged, wet wheeze echoing in his throat. His eyes, normally so bright and gentle, were clouded and locked in place, staring blankly ahead. He was completely conscious, trapped inside a paralyzed body, suffocating as the venom slowly crept toward his heart and lungs.

"Cutie, hey, hey, stay with me," Kaya said, dropping to her knees beside him. She grabbed his massive paw. It was cold to the touch. Panic, cold and sharp, pierced her chest. She had manipulated mercenaries and orchestrated a war, but Cutie was innocent. He had just wanted to make her mud-baked chicken.

"The venom is aggressive," Veer noted, his sharp eyes scanning Cutie’s rigid veins, which were bulging and turning a faint, sickly shade of purple. "His bear vitality bought him time, but his rabbit heart is beating too fast. It’s circulating the toxin. He has maybe ten minutes before his lungs completely lock up."

"Then we find the antivenom," Kaya said, pushing herself up. Her eyes darted wildly around the massive treasury.

The room was vast, filled with towering shelves, broken display cases, and thousands of items. "He’s the Lord of the Snake Tribe. He hoards rare medicinal herbs. His own guards use paralytic venom on their weapons. There is absolutely no way he doesn’t keep a massive stockpile of antivenom on hand in case of accidental exposure. Where is the medical section?!"

Veer closed his eyes, his nostrils flaring as he took a deep breath of the freezing air. His Vulture senses sifted through the overwhelming stench of acid, blood, and ozone.

"There," Veer pointed toward the far left corner of the room, near a row of unbroken obsidian shelves. "I smell bitter roots, dried lotus, and crushed bone. It’s an apothecary stash."

Kaya didn’t wait. She sprinted toward the shelves, practically throwing herself at the wooden racks. There were hundreds of glass vials, ceramic jugs, and bamboo tubes, all completely unmarked. The Snake Tribe apparently relied on smell or memory to organize their medicine.

"Damn it!" Kaya swore, sweeping a row of useless dried herbs onto the floor. "Which one is it? There are liquids in here of every color!"

Veer jogged over, pulling a few vials from the shelf. He uncorked a red one, took a tiny sniff, and immediately grimaced. "Liquid fire. Probably used to torture prisoners." He uncorked a clear one. "Smells like water, but it burns the eyes. Acid."

"Think, Kaya, think," she muttered to herself, pressing the heels of her hands against her temples.

She forced her panicked mind to slow down and revert to cold, hard logic. What did she know about antivenom in her modern world? It was usually derived from the venom itself. It was often kept in cool, dark places to prevent degradation. But this was a beast world. How did they synthesize it?

She looked back at the dead Snake guards scattered across the floor.

"Veer," Kaya said, her voice suddenly entirely calm. "The guards. They fought with venom-tipped spears. But they fought in close quarters, spinning those weapons around like batons. Accidental nicks and scratches must happen all the time during training."

Veer caught her drift immediately. "They wouldn’t run all the way to the treasury if they nicked themselves in the barracks. The grunts wouldn’t have access to Lord Siss’s private stash."

"Exactly," Kaya nodded, her eyes blazing with realization. "The antivenom in this room isn’t for the guards. It’s for Lord Siss. It’s high-grade. And it wouldn’t be hidden away in a random vial. It would be kept exactly where a three-hundred-year-old paranoid dictator could reach it in an emergency."

She spun around, completely abandoning the apothecary shelves. Her eyes locked onto the massive, shattered golden throne sitting on the raised dais at the center of the room. Lord Siss had leaped from the balcony, but the throne was his seat of power.

Kaya sprinted to the dais, ignoring the acid burns on the marble. She dropped to her knees in front of the massive golden chair. She ran her hands frantically along the armrests, the seat cushion, and the backboard.

"Come on, come on..." she whispered.

Her fingers brushed against a tiny, almost invisible seam carved into the underside of the right armrest. She pressed it.

With a soft ’click’, a small hidden drawer popped out. Inside rested a single, ornate crystal vial filled with a glowing, milky-white liquid. It pulsed faintly in the dim light, radiating a strange, warm energy.

"Got it!" Kaya shouted, snatching the vial.

She ran back to Cutie, popping the crystal stopper off with her teeth. She didn’t hesitate or measure a dose. She grabbed Cutie’s heavy, rigid jaw, pried his lips open, and poured the entire glowing white liquid directly down his throat, massaging his neck to force his paralyzed muscles to swallow it.

For five agonizing seconds, absolutely nothing happened.

Kaya held her breath, her hands hovering over his chest. Veer stood silently behind her, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade, prepared for the worst.

Then, Cutie let out a violent, explosive cough.

The milky liquid took effect with terrifying, magical speed. The purple, bulging veins in Cutie’s neck instantly receded. The clouded glaze over his eyes vanished, replaced by sharp, panicked clarity. He took a massive, shuddering gasp of air, his lungs violently inflating as the paralysis shattered.