Cage

Floating and sinking…

My powerless body swayed up and down.

Drifting…

My severed consciousness flickered in and out.

Hazy…

My numbed five senses… seemed unimaginably far away.

—Splash!

It was the sound of water.

To be precise… it should be the sound of sea water.

For a body submerged in the ocean, the first sense to lead the consciousness back to clarity was hearing.

“Gaga gaga gaga!”

“Ula guagua gua!”

Though the dialogue was incomprehensible, the atmosphere of a quarrel could be heard.

Very close… they were approaching…

Despite knowing this, my heavy eyelids could not open under the thick drowsiness, along with my consciousness…

Swish, swish, swish!

The sound of cutting through the water’s surface.

“Humph—!”

A powerful force struck from my back, and before I could react, my body was forcibly dragged by this strength.

What on earth am I…

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The whistling wind roared past my ears.

Splash, splash, splash!

The sea surface was split in two by my lower body cutting through the water.

Impact, vibration, and extreme speed.

Finally, the external stimulation pried open my sleepiness, driving directly into the depths of my consciousness.

“Cough, cough, cough!”

I woke up.

My lungs, having choked on seawater, were roaring, followed by a cough that felt like it would shatter my brain.

“Norama!”

Whoosh—!

Reality was not gentle.

My eyes, tightly shut from coughing, had no time to open before a call to the distance came from behind, and a sensation of floating suddenly attacked.

I was thrown out.

This force, it was from a high place—

Shua!

“Saika Shilubanma.”

At the same moment my collar was grabbed, a woman’s voice rang out.

“Cough, cough! Cough, cough… ha… ha…”

The seawater was finally coughed out, and regardless of the tears and snot running wild on my face, I took large gulps of air, only wanting to desperately open my eyes—

“…!”

Eyes.

Under a huge hat printed with a skull, a woman dressed in pirate attire with a pair of sinister green pupils looked over like a snake…

No.

The lower half of this woman’s body… was a thick, long snake body covered in crimson scales.

Even as her eyes stared fixedly at me, her mouth occasionally flicked out a long, thin tongue with a hiss.

Half-human, half-snake!? Where is this! What happened to me… why would I encounter such a monster!

I struggled instinctively, swinging the suitcase tied to my hand by a rope, trying to break free from the grasp of the monster before me.

Pa!

However, as if dealing with a small child, the snake demon in front of me blocked the suitcase’s attack without the slightest effort and, with a backhand, grabbed my right hand that was tied to the suitcase.

“Maka Ganqi?”

I heard an unintelligible language; as I was pulled close, her face, wearing a pleasant smile, slowly pressed against mine.

Then.

Her eyes emitted a terrifying purple light.

“Ugh!”

That purple light seemed to penetrate my pupils and swallow all my nerves; my body felt as if it had been filled with lead, and even moving a finger seemed to require all my strength.

So hard… to move… even breathing… is exhausted…

“Ale, Duokeduo.”

Her gaze remained locked on me, but two more figures appeared behind her.

All… snake people… what exactly… is…

Thump-thump! Thump-thump, thump-thump…

With my lungs restricted and breathing difficult, the sound of my heartbeat also drifted further and further away.

It’s almost…

Bang!

I held on.

The snake woman flung me aside, and my back collided violently with the deck.

At the same time, the other two snake people immediately tied me up alive with coarse hemp rope.

“Phew…”

Though the sound was small, the snake woman secretly let out a long breath.

I could see her flicking her tongue from time to time as she adjusted her breathing; from her glaring eyes, it could be seen that she was somewhat surprised.

Did that move just now consume more strength than she imagined?

The rope bound me so tightly that I could not move, and at the same time, my suitcase was snatched away by one of the snake people.

This was a rare opportunity to catch my breath after a series of threats; even though the crisis was not yet resolved and my tense consciousness remained high-strung, my exhausted body was greedily resting, as evidenced by that heavy breathing.

The last thing to enter my sight was the blue sky, white clouds, and the wide deck.

The snake woman in pirate attire looked over with a satisfied smile on her face.

After reality threw a series of riddles at me, it locked me back into the abyss once again.