Faint light from glowing mushrooms illuminated the dusty cavern walls.
She shifted uncomfortably on the soft pile of mushrooms that resembled a bed, staring at the stone ceiling embedded with rotten wood above.
A cool breeze from deeper within the cave tingled her spine, bringing with it the stench of decomposing wood and dust. To the average person, it was sickening, but after years of exposure it felt like home to her.
Stripped bark in her ceiling produced droplets of murky water at its tips. She studied the decaying material as if it were a work of art, since it was a different pattern everyday.
'DRIP'
A droplet fell on her face.
Caressing her eyes, she felt a liquid forming from her blindfold.
An unfamiliar thing flowed down her face.
...
Down the clear stream, a gorgon could be seen drinking from an open cenote. Cupping the clear, warm water, she gently poured it over her head, letting each of the snakes repeatedly flick their forked tongues.
The numerous snakes on her head reflected a deep shade of rose on their heads, their scales gradually becoming pale silver in a gradient-like effect the closer they extended to her head. On one of the snakes, she wore a sky-blue seashell that comfortably fit over her 'bangs', letting surrounding serpents drinking from it like a small cup.
Her upper body was that of a young woman wearing plain but well-made garments made of long cave grass. Her eyes were obscured by a simple blindfold, and a glimpse of her mouth revealed her sharp teeth. Her bronze skin juxtaposed her massive serpent tail that replaced her legs, made up of white scales that glossed pink. The scales on her 'legs' mirrored the snakes on her head, transitioning from porcelain beginning at her waist to a deep rose ending at the tip of her tail.
Overhead stalagmites dripped with mineral-rich water to the sides of the pool, the soft sunlight travelled down the long trunk of a gigantic tree above and reflected the deep blue water below. A Harmonious atmosphere of contrasting lights and the glowing of mushrooms created a perfect place for thoughts.
She went back to the small space that she used as a bedroom.
'Drip… Drip…'
The water that had dripped beside her mushroom mattress leaked onto the damp and peeled floorboards. Over 20 years' worth of moisture from the nearby stream had weathered it to a pitiful state.
...I suppose it's time. The young gorgon adjusted her ragged clothes made from long cave grass and ascended the stream. Along the way, she picked a few mushrooms and chewed them with her sharp teeth.
This was her life. Her only other 'friend' was a fellow gorgon that visited once every months. She had not met another individual for years. Her only other form of companionship were the wild animals that lived deeper into the cavernous forests.
"..."
She stopped. For a gorgon, that meant her tail froze in an 'S' shape.
Briefly looking around, she confirmed there was nothing nearby and took a deep breath, gently rubbing the seashell in her serpent hair.
'Hmm~ Hum~ Hm~'
It was a beautiful tune, one that her father had taught her. When she had nothing else to do, singing became a hobby for the gorgon, an innate talent she had inherited from her father.
"Hm... What was this song called again...?"
Although she couldn't recall what her father looked like, all of his songs engraved themselves in her heart and memory. His deep voice had a naturally hypnotic effect, making for perfect lullabies that she would fall asleep to every night.
Moving along further, she spotted a patch of soft soil and decided to test herself.
'Inhale...'
She filled her lungs with cold air and concentrated her mind, outstretching her hands towards the ground.
'...SHIFT...'
The soil moved.
Shaping itself according to her will, the soil began as a small lump, a short pillar, before becoming a miniature rabbit made of dirt.
'THWIP'
She slid her finger to the right and the dirt rabbit turned its head, dropping clunks of soil with the movement.
"Hm..."
Curling her index finger and middle finger into what resembled rabbit ears, she twitched her hand slightly.The ears of the dirt rabbit mirrored her movements, quivering slightly.
Now for the difficult part... The gorgon took another deep breath and began a sweeping motion with her entire arm, her gestures mirroring those of a composer orchestrating a play.
'Shift...'
One step, two steps...
'CRUMBLE'
"...Ha..." She sighed in disappointment. Her skills had always seemed to falter when compared to her fellow gorgons, as a result, she was often teased for being unable to even lift a pebble.
Staring at the pile of soil for a few moments, the gorgon clapped her hands and lifted her mood.
"...I'll get it eventually."
'SLITHER'
Eventually, she reached the underground forest.
As far as she could remember, this place was her playground. She and her friend would swing around the tall branches and have competitions every single day, which often involved collecting. Of course, that was in the past. Now that she lived alone, the forest was merely a silent hunting ground.
Silent, and lonely.
'CRASH'
A loud noise had interrupted her thoughts. At first, the gorgon didn't think much of it. That boar creature often sharpened its tusks by slamming into rocks and trees, but she wasn't looking for a meal currently. She had intented to simply ignore and avoid the sound, but a unique scent wafted over.
It was... sweet, but slightly sour. It was the strange smell of a fruit she didn't know the cavern had. Curiosity piqued, the gorgon rushed over, her body dodging and weaving through the foliage with familiarity.
Reaching a clearing, she moved a few leaves away and caught a glimpse of the situation.
In the nearby stream, the burning corpse of a boar slowly fizzled out, while a crushed red fruit balanced the roasted smell in the air with its scent. Further away, she could make out the figures of two humanoids.
A blonde young man with bloody clothes and a mangled arm lay limp on the floor. His struggled breathing reached her ears as a girl with silver hair loomed over him. She was holding a blade that sparkled under the glimmering of the mushrooms, a deranged expression overtaking her face.
Are those... Humans?
Leaning further, the gorgon could tell they were conversing.
"...loyal...Holy..." Unfortunately, they were too far away. She could only make out a few snippets of words she had never heard before, but she did hear one thing very clearly.
"H-Help!-"
In the next moment, she heard the young man receive a loud slap across the face, choking his voice into ragged breaths.
The gorgon's eyes widened. As a monster, she held no particular guilt to seeing a human die, but how could a fellow member of the same species do such a thing? It was appalling how harsh an injured individual was being treated.
But... it has nothing to do with me.
With no hesitation, the gorgon turned away and quietly left the scene. The human male was about to die, but so what? For all she knew, he could have commited some crime within their community and was being punished. Besides, if either of them could defeat a Cage Boar, it simply wasn't worth the effort to interfere. For her own safety, the gorgon wanted to leave.
But something made her hesitate.
Safety?
That word echoed in her mind.
What use is safety?
She had been in this cavern for far too long. Why should she care about staying alive... When she hasn't- isn't doing anything significant? Is a life of monotony truly what she wants? What she is willing to abandon?
The gorgon did not need to answer her own questions. She turned back to the two humans.
She would find an answer.
Seeing the girl raise the dagger into the air, she came out of the shadows and stumbled.
The gorgon had accidentally stepped onto a path strewn with crushed weeds and broken sticks. Following it with her eyes, she found that it led to the boar that had collapsed into the water stream.
In that time, a sound permeated throughout the underground forest.
'CRACK'
...
Her blade had whizzed past the neck of her target, barely grazing him but drawing no blood. Kassel swiftly glared at the sound, hostility in her eyes, but just as quickly forced herself to stare at the ground. Within that brief second, she saw a young woman with silver serpents on her head and a massive, scaled tail.
Gorgon! What's a monster like that doing here this close to the surface...?! Kassel shuddered, her nerves on high alert. This should have been a simple task, and she had been told this cavern had nothing more dangerous than that boar. Despite her numerous questions, she had to regain her focus.
If I had looked just a little higher, I would have been… She felt a foreign emotion swelling in her heart. Kassel couldn't remember the last time it had appeared, yet she knew the feeling very well.
…Me? Afraid? Unsinn! I can handle a lone gorgon without any backup, I just need to get rid of this… obstacle first.
She abandoned all notion of delaying her assignment any longer. Quickly, she attempted to plunge the jewel-encrusted blade into his throat.
'FLICK'
The gorgon threw a small pebble from her tail, hitting Kassel's hand with impressive precision and making her stab into the soft ground, catching the intricate designs on the blade on underground roots.
Stuck... Damnit! Kassel's expression twisted into a frustration unbefitting of her 'persona'. Her jovial attitude had been completely replaced with that of hatred and bloodlust.
She quickly took out her fire striker and flint from her inner pockets, quickly sprinting to a nearby tree.
'FWSH'
She struck the flint with extreme precision, sending off sparks near the roots of the glowing tree that quickly grew to a fire the size of a child's hand.
Reacting swiftly, the gorgon outstretched her arms, concentrated, and shifted a small amount of soil over the fire, smothering it before it could expand further.
Ash-swallowing little wretch! If only I... Kassel scanned her surroundings, being careful not to look in the direction of the damned human-serpent monster. Swiftly, her eyes landed on a thick and long branch a little over her height, which had fallen near the spot Karlos had been hit by the boar.
"...Perfect!" She reached into her inner pockets once more, this time procuring several small blades and accurately threw them at the gorgon, who had been rushing over towards the injured Karlos. The blades could hardly count as such. In contrast to the beautiful dagger she held before, they had no grips and were of terrible quality, but worked as excellent projectiles.
"Wouldn't you like a present, monster!"
The sharp scraps of metal spun in the air, flying at great speeds.
Raising her tail, the gorgon hid behind her thick scales like a shield. Not even the fangs of a wolf could pierce such a defense, therefore-
'SHTCK'
The sharp sheets of metal suddenly curved midair, bypassing her tail and digging deep into the silver snakes that had moved to cover her face. The blades would have stabbed into her eyes if she had not blocked in time, but they left deep cuts into the sides of several snakes.
"That would have been checkmate." Kassel clicked her tongue and muttered under her breath. Although disappointed her attack did not do more, the girl smiled.
"Though, that's fine. I think you'd like this gift instead."
The gorgon removed the remaining blades from her serpent hair and warily prepared for Kassel's movements. She raised her guard, causing the snakes that replaced her hair to bare their fangs, but the young woman in front of her remained prefectly still with a smile on her face.
...'Cough'
Moments later, the gorgon began coughing.
'Cough!' 'Cough!'
She felt her throat strain as she coughed violently.
The pain forced the gorgon to collapse to the floor as the poison took effect. Kassel could be heard laughing, but soon turned her back on the struggling monster and dashed to a nearby tree. The gorgon had no such luxury. Instead, she sent a silent message to one of the snakes on her head and raised her arm.
The snake had a sort of direct connection to her thoughts. Sensing her intentions, it bit at her arm, drawing blood and injecting some kind of venom into her body.
Kassel had reached the tree in that time. She took the staff she had spotted earlier and tested a few swings, before beginning her third plan.
She was not stupid enough to believe her poison was enough to finish off a gorgon, but she knew fighting normally would be too dangerous. She knew all too well how she could not look into the eyes of such a monster, after all.
But she wouldn't need to. Clearing her thoughts, Kassel took out a small bottle from her pocket and promptly downed it.
The gorgon had stood back up, shaking off the dazed look in her eyes. As a gorgon, she naturally had paralyzing toxins in her saliva, which was produced by the snakes on her head. As a measure against infighting against other tribes, anti-venoms were essential.
Though, the poison was likely not the most dangerous thing about the silver haired human before her.
The gorgon, having recovered from the previous attack, saw her opponent motionless and decided to take advantage of the situation. She had an uneasy sense of danger coming from the human girl, but she could consider that after preparing.
'Running' over to the injured young man, she loomed over his unconscious body
"Human! Are you alright?"
"..."
"Can you move? Hey!"
He was unresponsive, likely due to blood loss.
I'll just have to place him somewhere else...
Bending her tail, she crouched and lifted his body. To a gorgon, it wasn't a difficult task, but at that moment, she heard something.
"..."
It was almost too quiet, but she could tell that the human was breathing. At the very least, he was just unconcious. The instant her hand made contact with his bloodied skin, his breathing changed and his upper back trembled. But despite all of these signs that he was alive, he didn't respond further.
She tried several more times to wake him, but time was running short. Left with no alternative, the gorgon placed his body into a bed of foliage and turned to face the human girl.
To be honest, it wasn't in her interest to continue fighting, but she would rather save an innocent life than watching a death -- No, excecution. Even if she was mistaken, and even if she was unknowingly provoking a sleeping beast, she couldn't ignore how dangerous the human girl in front of her.
She took the intiative and moved forward.
Sweeping up a large amount of pebbles, the gorgon used her tail to send a flurry of dirt and rocks at the silver haired human, who had still not moved a step. It was not a particularily dangerous attack. Her opponent could easily block the barrage of earth with just her clothes, but it would definitely blind, if not disorient the senses of a normal person. The gorgon had thought of using that brief moment to close in and strike first, but the human had did something she had completely unanticipated.
Kassel slowly walked forward...
Upper right, shoulder. Top left, head.
'Fwoosh...'
...And dodged every last bit of dust.
Twisting her body, making slight adjusments in her posture to avoid large rocks, and even rolling onto the floor... Kassel easily progressed towards the gorgon, all while her eyes remained closed.
The monster repeatedly swept more rocks and dirt at her, but the human had not halted her pace. Despite her effort to back away, the gorgon saw the distance between them shortening. Kassel was simply approaching too fast.
Eventually, when she felt close enough, Kassel twirled the staff in her hands and redirected the dust back towards the gorgon.
Blinded by the dust, the monster closed her eyes for just a second.
Kassel took her chance immediately. She began delivering blow after blow, strike after strike at the gorgon, completely relying on her senses to direct her aim.
Outmatched, the gorgon could only helplessly block as bruises emerged on her arms, tail, and body. Any attempt to dodge was also followed up by another attack. Any attempt to flee was intercepted. And of course, any attempt to counterattack was dodged.
Seeing Kassel go for a sweeping horizontal strike, the gorgon twisted her serpent body and dodged the attack, before closing in.
'HISS!'
One of the pale snakes on the gorgon's head waited for this opening and lunged forward, attempting to bite the vicious attacker.
...Lower left neck.
Kassel raised the staff and blocked the attack, breaking a fang off the snake. She had been waiting for such a reckless action and grabbed the head of the pale, pink-headed serpent, violently pulling downwards. At the same time, she raised one leg and kicked the chest of the gorgon.
'POP'
The gorgon screamed. A loud tearing sound echoed as the snake in Kassel's hands wiggled in shock. It's not easy to describe the feeling of having such a thing torn from the body, but it was enough to make the monster immediately give up resistance. She collapsed to the floor, choking on dust and blood as she trembled from having her nerves being ripped apart. In response, the other snakes on her head violently writhed in agony.
Kassel, confident of her position, relieved the stress from sustaining her ability and opened her eyes. She first realized how far they travelled during their fight. Indeed, the gorgon had been backing away from her attacks the entire time, so it was only expected that they would reach the borders of the forest. Keeping that in mind, Kassel looked down at her feet.
At first, she wanted to mock the pained monster, but she shifted her smile to a frown as she seriously studied the features of the gorgon.
Silver hair... Bronze skin... Isn't this...
A memory flashed.
...Well, whatever.
She felt that the monster was familiar, but brushed her suspicions aside. There was only one goal she needed to achieve in this cavern, and it was lying in a pile of plants nearby. Staring down at the helpless gorgon, Kassel resumed her usual temperament.
"Ha... Hahaha!"
Her gleeful laughter travelled to every corner of the cavern, even dimming the soft glow of the mushrooms.
"Oh,
Ha..."
After a sigh, Kassel became deathly calm once more.
"I'll be taking them, by the way."
She smiled.
"Your eyes."