Night had only just fallen in the kingdom of Arcadia. The moon, missing a quarter, had begun its parabolic journey across the clear sky. Minutes passed tirelessly, and so did the hours.
"What is taking him so long?" Shahin said impatiently. "Do you think he's okay? I hope he didn't run into any trouble on the way. Do you think he got lost?"
"I don't know," Shiro replied, weary of the young man's questions; his impatience was starting to get on his nerves.
Suddenly, they heard a neighing outside. They looked at each other and rushed outside to see Akimitsu, covered in blood from head to toe, illuminated by the house's light. He was giving them a tired smile, one hand on the neck of a magnificent steed, the other gripping the staff that helped him stay upright. They were both astonished by the presence of the legendary horse and the state of their friend.
"Hello…" he said.
They stood in stunned silence for several seconds before hurrying to help him. They brought him inside and began tending to his wounds.
"What happened?" Shahin asked as he disinfected the injuries and applied ointment.
"I ran into an army – no, a nation – the entire troll nation came out to greet me," he said bitterly. "From young girls to patriarchs. They were all there to wish me a good first and last stay in their forest."
Once his wounds were bandaged, he lay down with great difficulty on his bed. The pain was excruciating, and every exhale sent a searing sensation through his body.
"The most incredible thing," he continued, "is that they attacked me without warning, like wild beasts. I didn't even have time to tell them I meant no harm."
"Were there that many?" Shiro asked, glancing at the splendid winged horse outside the window.
"More than a hundred," Akimitsu said, closing his eyes. "Wild beasts…"
"In any case, you brought back Pegasus," Shahin said, excited. "Well done!"
"Yes," Shiro added, "thanks to you, we'll be able to solve the mystery of the Black Moon."
"If you want to ride Pegasus, just ask him," Akimitsu said.
"So he really can fly!" Shahin exclaimed, like a child.
Shiro approached the injured man and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry about your injuries. If you rest well, you'll pull through."
A faint smile appeared on the giant's face.
"Has Ogai returned yet?"
"No," Shiro replied, "but he shouldn't be long. Rest now; we'll wake you if anything happens."
The giant said nothing; his eyes remained closed. Shiro stood and went to the window to look outside. Shahin approached him and whispered in his ear:
"Do you think he'll make it?"
Shiro pursed his lips as a response.
Time passed, and a dark night had spread its veil over the land. Shiro sat on the windowsill, eyes fixed on the stars, while Shahin lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling's cracks when they suddenly heard shouts outside.
"Please! Please! We need help!"
Shiro opened the window and leaned out to see who was shouting. He saw a young boy wearing a straw hat, panting and pale as a cloud.
"What is it?" Shiro asked with a smile. "I thought villagers were afraid to come here. What do you need, boy?"
Shahin came to check and leaned out the window, holding a pear this time.
"Oh! It's Akio!" he said, taking a bite of the fruit. "The carpenter's son. What's going on, Akio? Why are you shouting? And why are you so pale, like you've seen a ghost?"
"It's terrible! Sen-hebi! Sen-hebi is back! She's attacking the kingdom and heading for the castle!"
"What!" Shahin shouted.
"She… she's already slaughtered dozens of people, and the king's army is powerless!"
Shiro left the window to open the door for the boy.
"Come in," Shahin said. "Are you sure it's Sen-hebi?"
"Yes," he affirmed. "No doubt about it. A man who said his name is Ogai sent me to find you and ask for your help."
"Ogai is back!" Shiro exclaimed.
"Yes," the boy continued. "He asks you to join him at the fountain square as soon as possible. He's already gone to confront her!"
"What? Where did you see him?"
"I saw him near the center with three other men. He said he'd accompany them to the Lair of Destiny before going to stop Sen-hebi, but he ended up hiring a guide with horses to lead them there quickly."
"Good heavens!" Shahin said. "We need to help him! I'm going right now! Shiro, will you stay to watch over Akimitsu?"
"All right… Be careful!"
"Don't worry," he said, dashing outside. "Where is it, Akio?"
An old enemy, long silent, had returned. Sen-hebi was a Gorgon said to be immortal, terrorizing the kingdom of Arcadia for generations with no way to stop her. Every eleven years, she would awaken from a deep slumber and ravage the kingdom. The hideous beast fed on human flesh, particularly that of children. It was said that only the fresh blood of children could prolong her life. But this time, her eleven-year cycle had been shortened by several years, making it impossible to anticipate her arrival as in previous times. Why had she awakened early? And how?
Shahin left the brave young Akio behind as he raced to his father's aid. He ran like a panther, covering the distance from Coral to the town center in no time.
How is this possible? he wondered. How can so many disasters befall our beautiful kingdom at once? First that incompetent Ragan, then this cursed Black Moon disease, and now the reappearance of Sen-hebi after only six years! Could it be that witch Andora's doing again? What will happen next? War with the kingdom of Genib? In any case, we must stop Sen-hebi now, once and for all. Maybe we can do it this time...
Just as he arrived in the streets of the center, a faint, pale glint caught his attention. He paused to examine the small, strangely shimmering object reflecting the moonlight. A silver scale… he thought. So, it is truly Sen-hebi in the kingdom.
Indeed, Sen-hebi's body was covered in silver scales – a unique silver that made her body indestructible. Moreover, her hideousness was so terrifying that it could paralyze anyone who looked at her. Legend had it that in the past, her face was so grotesque that anyone who gazed at it would turn to stone. This was why, for generations, no one had ever managed to kill or even wound her. And this was why Shahin ran at full speed toward the center: beyond his likely powerlessness against Sen-hebi, he feared for his father's life.
As he passed through the kingdom's streets, he saw that the Gorgon had already begun her massacre, devouring young children in their homes and slaughtering the adults trying to protect them. Along the way, he counted at least fifty horribly mutilated bodies – royal guards, men, women, and children. Anger surged through him, urging him to move even faster.
The last time Sen-hebi had appeared in the kingdom, he was too young to intervene, although he hadn't lacked the courage. His friends had held him back. Now, as a grown and strong man, he would not wait for her next reappearance.
According to young Akio, Sen-hebi was headed for the fountain square near the market. Indeed, a series of horrifying screams led him there.
Shahin stood speechless for a few moments. The ground was littered with corpses and drenched in blood. The fountain's water had turned a deep crimson. Arcadians screamed for help, some fleeing with arms flailing like the damned, others trying desperately to drag the injured to safety. Among them, Shahin recognized his friends from the Locust Gang.
"Are you okay?"
"Oh? It's you, Shahin! " said a young man in excruciating pain.
He had a severed arm.
"I'm fine. If that man fighting Sen-hebi hadn't intervened, I'd be dead by now. That's your father, isn't it?"
"Where? Where is he?" Shahin asked frantically, looking around.
"Don't you see them? They're behind the fountain."
Shahin circled the fountain. He saw a man with a sword in hand, circling an incredibly terrifying creature. Ogai was fighting Sen-hebi!
"Your father has been bravely fighting her for a while," his friend said, joining him. "If that monster weren't covered in her famous scale armor, he'd have defeated her long ago!"
When Shahin looked at Sen-hebi in detail, he was struck with fear. His body froze, muscles stopped responding, sweat poured from his scalp, and his heartbeat quickened.
"No," he murmured. "I'm scared? Impossible…"
He had seen – or barely glimpsed – Sen-hebi six years earlier, but apparently, he hadn't truly looked at her then. Now, he could: the beast stood about three meters tall, her massive body entirely covered in silver scales, with fingers tipped with sharp claws. She had no hind legs but stood on a long, snakelike body. But the most terrifying feature was her head, crowned with living snakes that wriggled as hair. Her eyes were entirely white, devoid of irises and pupils. Finally, her wide, carnivorous grin exposed sharp fangs ready to devour human flesh. Her appearance alone kept Shahin at a distance.
"I have to move," he muttered. "I must help him, or he'll be killed! But no one has ever defeated or even scratched Sen-hebi. How can I do it?"
"Aren't you going to help him?" his friend asked.
"I… I can't move! I'm paralyzed!"
"What?"
His friend realized the source of Shahin's sudden paralysis because he, too, had been immobilized by fear before losing an arm to the monster.
Ogai continued to circle the Gorgon, sword raised to eye level, waiting for the right moment. He was calm and sharp. Yet, all the attacks he had launched so far had failed, and in truth, he had no idea how to penetrate the beast's armor.
Suddenly, the monster lunged, a claw ready to strike him, but Ogai was faster. He dodged backward and immediately counterattacked, slicing her hand and sweeping his blade up to her face, finally striking her flank. Sen-hebi roared in pain. The sheer force and precision of his strike filled him with confidence: he was sure he had mortally wounded her. He let down his guard.
Ogai saw her motionless and mistakenly believed she was about to collapse, dead. He stepped forward carelessly, sword lowered, but the beast spun around in a flash and struck him with an unstoppable claw. He screamed in agony and fell, his sword landing ten meters away. Shahin's heart froze as he saw his father hit the ground.
The blacksmith nearly collapsed under the force of the blow but regained his senses just in time.
Incredible... he thought.
Yes, what an incredible irony that this blow struck him in the chest, exactly where he had been wounded by the Demon twenty years earlier. It seemed to him that the blood was flowing in the exact same way.
What happened? he wondered almost out loud, his eyes wide open. His mind wandered among the stars of the constellations twinkling above him and the memories of the past. Everything came back to him. Everything. The face of that Demon, his slashed chest, the cries of his children, the last vision of his wife...