Chapter 80 (Part 1): The Rat Who Was a Man
A Rodent's Confession
The creature's beady eyes darted between the sword at its throat and Bennett's incredulous glare. Its whiskers twitched like frayed wires, and its voice rose to a squeak: "H-human! I'm human! Sw-swear it!"
Bennett leaned closer, studying the rat's comically exaggerated features—the protruding incisors, the twitching snout. "You're a human. Sure. And I'm a goblin's uncle."
"N-no! Truly!" The rat's claws trembled as it clutched its threadbare robe. "T-twenty years ago, I… I was Gurgu! A mage! A great mage!"
Dadaniel lowered his bow, brow furrowed. "A mage? Then why the fur and tail?"
Hussein's blade pressed deeper. "Speak quickly, vermin."
"The Eye Tyrant!" Gurgu wailed. "It cursed me! Stole my flesh, left this… this mockery!"
Bennett snorted. "Convenient." Yet something in the rat's desperation gave him pause. Those eyes… Beneath the rodent cunning, he glimpsed a flicker of human shame.
A Coward's Legacy
Hussein sheathed his sword with a derisive snort. "Gurgu. Yes. The 'Great Mage' who fled a drunkard's challenge. The pacifist."
The rat's ears flattened. "I-I chose diplomacy! Why shed blood over tavern drivel?"
"Diplomacy?" The knight's laughter was cold as winter steel. "You hid in the Guild's wine cellar for a month. Drank their finest vintages dry."
Dadaniel choked back a laugh. Bennett crossed his arms. "So. A cowardly, bootlicking, skirt-chasing mage gets turned into a rat. Poetic."
"Not just any rat!" Gurgu puffed his chest, then deflated under Hussein's glare. "I… I became the Tyrant's vizier. Its… puppet."
"Why?" Dadaniel's voice softened. "Why serve it?"
The rat's claws dug into his palms. "To survive. The Tyrant… it feeds on defiance. Those who resist become statues. Or worse." His gaze drifted to petrified figures embedded in the cavern walls—faces frozen in silent screams.
The Betrayer Betrayed
Gurgu's tale unfolded in fits and starts:
Twenty years prior, he'd joined an expedition led by the infamous mage Azar the Ambitious—a man whose greed rivaled Gurgu's own. They'd crossed the Frozen Lake, seeking relics in the forest's uncharted heart.
"Azar promised glory," the rat spat. "Lies. He sought the Spring of Eternity—a fount of raw magic. But the Tyrant… it was waiting."
Bennett stiffened. The Spring again.
"Azar bargained," Gurgu whispered. "Offered us as tribute. The Tyrant transformed me into this… thing. Made me its herald. The others…" He gestured to the stone figures. "Their screams lasted days."
Hussein seized the rat's collar. "Where is Azar now?"
"Dead! Or… worse." Gurgu's voice dropped. "The Tyrant kept him. Fed on his ambition. Now Azar is… part of it. A voice in its madness."
Shadows of the Past
Bennett knelt, eye-level with the trembling rodent. "Why help us? Revenge?"
"Revenge?" Gurgu's laugh bordered on hysteria. "Look at me! I've no dignity left to avenge. But you…" His claws brushed Bennett's sleeve. "You reek of the Spring's magic. If anyone can kill that thing… it's you."
Dadaniel frowned. "And if we fail?"
The rat's gaze turned hollow. "Then I'll greet oblivion with gratitude."
Hussein hauled Gurgu upright. "Lead us. If this is a trap…"
"You'll skin me alive? Spare the effort." The rat gestured to his mangy fur. "This curse is torment enough."
As they pressed deeper into the cavern, Bennett caught the rat's final murmur: "Pray Azar's ghost doesn't recognize you, boy. The Spring's magic… it lingers."
Chapter 80 (Part 2): The Serpent's Bargain
A Liar's Lament
The cavern walls echoed with Gurgu's whining voice as he recounted his downfall. "Azar the Ambitious—may his soul rot in the abyss—led us into the valley. His knights died screaming. He fled, missing an eye and half his pride. But history remembers him as a hero. Me? A footnote. A stain."
Hussein's blade hovered near the rat's twitching ear. "Explain your absence from the expedition records."
"Azar scrubbed my name!" Gurgu squealed. "He abandoned me to the Tyrant! How could he admit dragging the 'Cowardly Mage' to his doom?"
Dadaniel crossed his arms. "Then why join him?"
The rat's shoulders slumped. "Desperation. Debts piled higher than a dragon's hoard. Nobles spat at my robes. Gambling dens hounded me. I thought… fool that I was… stealing a few unbought魔核 from Azar's kills might save my skin."
Bennett stifled a laugh. "You, a master of 'risk management.'"
Gurgu's whiskers quivered indignantly. "A sound strategy! Cut out the middlemen, pocket the profits! Even a coward knows greed's arithmetic."
The Folly of Ambition
"We reached the canyon's edge," Gurgu continued, claws scraping the stone floor. "Azar's eyes glowed like a starved wolf's. 'The Spring of Eternity lies within,' he said. 'Enough magic to buy kingdoms.'"
The rat mimed Azar's grand gestures, his voice dripping with mock grandeur. "What fools we were! The Spring wasn't a prize—it was bait. The Tyrant… no, the Medusa Queen… waited, her serpent hair hissing promises."
Dadaniel leaned forward. "Medusa? The stone-cursed?"
"Worse." Gurgu shuddered. "A monarch of scales and spite. One gaze, and flesh becomes monument. Azar's knights—proud, armored fools—crumbled to statues mid-charge. Their screams… frozen in marble."
Bennett's throat tightened. "And Azar?"
"The hero?" The rat's laugh was bitter. "He gouged his own eye out to escape her gaze. Then…" Gurgu's voice dropped to a venomous whisper. "He betrayed me. Tossed a vial of luminous powder onto my robes. 'Split up!' he cried. 'Confuse the beast!' Lies. I glowed like a festival lantern in that cursed dark."
A Rat's Redemption
"I plunged into the Spring," Gurgu rasped, claws clutching his matted fur. "Drank its waters—or drowned in them. Next thing I knew, her hand dragged me up. Cold. Scaleless, yet serpentine. A woman's face, beautiful as frostbite. 'Serve,' she hissed, 'or join the gallery.'"
Hussein's grip tightened on his sword. "And you chose servitude."
"Chose?" The rat's shrill laughter echoed. "She reshaped me. My magic warped. Human thoughts trapped in rodent sinew. For twenty years, I've lured fools to her lair. Fed her hunger. Watched her collect screams like jewels."
Bennett's gaze sharpened. "Why tell us this now?"
Gurgu met his eyes, trembling. "Because you reek of the Spring's power. Because Azar's ghost clings to that cursed water. Because…" His voice broke. "I want to die as a man, not live as her jest."
The Queen's Gaze
Dadaniel paled. "Medusa… How do we fight a creature that petrifies with a glance?"
"Blindfolded," Gurgu snapped. "Or with mirrors. Or—"
A hiss slithered through the cavern.
Stone cracked. Dust rained.
From the shadows emerged a figure—humanoid, yet writhing with serpentine tendrils. A voice, honeyed and venomous, echoed: "Guests. How… delightful."
Gurgu froze. "T-too late. She's here."
Bennett's hand flew to his dagger. "The Medusa Queen."
"Queen?" The figure stepped into the dim light, revealing a face of chilling beauty—one eye milky white, the other a golden slit. "Such flattery. I prefer… Collector."
Azar's surviving eye gleamed in her socket.
Chapter 81 (Part 1): The Serpent's Curse
A Queen's Shadow
The name Medusa Queen hung in the air like a blade. Hussein's jaw tightened. Bennett, though newer to the world of magical beasts, felt the weight of dread settle in his bones.
"Highest evolution of the Golden-Eyed Serpent lineage," Dadaniel muttered, fingers brushing his bowstring. "Apex predator. Shapeshifter. Intellect sharper than any human sage."
Gurgu, sensing their fear, puffed up his rodent chest. "She's no myth. Her gaze turns flesh to stone. Her hair writhes with a thousand serpents. And her mind—"
"Enough theatrics." Hussein's voice cut like ice. "Why spare you?"
The rat flinched. "She… saw kinship."
Bennett's eyes narrowed. "Kinship?"
The Ageless Spring's Deception
Gurgu's claws trembled as he recounted his plunge into the cursed waters. "The Spring of Eternal Youth—what fools we were! For beasts and trees, it grants longevity. For humans? A cruel joke."
His voice cracked. "I drank it mid-transformation—trapped as a rat. My magic… frozen. No reverting. No aging. Just… this." He gestured at his mangy fur. "A stasis curse. Corpses preserved, lives imprisoned."
Bennett knelt, curiosity overriding disgust. "Yet she let you live."
"Sympathy." The rat spat the word. "She said, 'Welcome to eternity, little mage. Now we rot together.'"
The Queen's Classroom
"You taught her." Bennett's accusation hung heavy.
Gurgu's ears flattened. "What choice had I? Trapped in her lair, surrounded by petrified fools? Yes, I shared spells—feeble tricks. But her hunger…"
He shuddered. "She dissects magic like a chirurgeon. Fire, ice, illusions—devoured and perfected. Had she access to your Guild's libraries…"
Hussein gripped his sword. "How close is she to mastery?"
"Close?" Gurgu's laugh bordered on manic. "Last month, she recreated the Dragon's Breath incantation from scratch. Using bird bones and moss."
Dadaniel paled. "Gods above."
A Lair of Living Stone
Bennett pressed further. "The Spring's 'preservation'—how does it serve her?"
"An army." The rat's voice dropped. "Petrified warriors line her halls. When threatened, she… activates them. Statues with beating hearts. Slaves to her will."
Hussein's blade glinted. "And Azar?"
Gurgu hesitated. "His corpse stands guard. Eyes intact. Watching."
A chill crawled through Bennett. Eyes intact. The Spring's magic preserved more than flesh—it preserved power.
The Bait Unseen
"Why reveal this now?" Dadaniel demanded.
Gurgu met Bennett's gaze. "You carry the Spring's taint. She'll sense it. Come for you. But you—" He jabbed a claw at Bennett. "You might survive its curse. Use it."
"Become like you?" Bennett recoiled.
"Better a living monster than her puppet!" The rat's shriek echoed. "She plans to drink the Spring dry. Evolve beyond flesh. Become… something worse."
Hussein hauled Gurgu upright. "Lead us. Now."
As they ventured deeper, Bennett glimpsed shadows moving within the walls—petrified faces twisting in silent screams.
Gurgu's final whisper clung to the damp air: "Pray she hasn't learned your magic yet, boy. Pray harder."
Chapter 81 (Part 2): The Serpent's Curse
The Bitter Truth of Immortality
Bennett's laughter was dry, tinged with irony. "So this 'Fountain of Youth' is nothing but a cruel joke for humans. Preserve corpses and heal wounds—hardly worth facing a Medusa Queen for."
Dadaniel frowned. "But the legends—"
"Legends lie," Bennett cut him off. "What good is eternal preservation if you're already dead? I'd rather rot naturally than become a mummy. Though…" His voice trailed off, a flicker of dark humor in his eyes. "Imagine if the great King Aragorn's corpse is still pristine after centuries. Poetic, isn't it?"
The thought vanished as quickly as it came.
The Queen's Gilded Cage
"Why claim kinship with me?" Bennett pressed Gurgu. "She's a Medusa Queen—supreme among beasts. What harm did the Spring do her?"
The rat's whiskers trembled. "Before drinking, she was a Golden-Eyed Serpent. The waters forced her evolution into human form—permanently. She cannot revert, not even to her true serpent body. Imagine losing your very essence."
Dadaniel blinked. "But human form is superior! Why mourn a snake's life?"
Bennett's gaze turned sharp. "Spoken like a true human. Would you trade your flesh for a dragon's scales? Abandon wine, soft beds, lovers? Picture bedding a 'beautiful' she-dragon with claws and scales. Still eager?"
Dadaniel recoiled, face pale. "Gods, no!"
"Exactly." Bennett's voice softened. "To her, humanity is a prison. She lost her natural world—the freedom to coil through forests, hunt as a serpent. Now she's trapped in flesh that feels alien. A queen in chains."
Gurgu nodded bitterly, claws clenching.
A Rodent King's Folly
"Your 'kingdom'…" Bennett gestured at the cavern's rodent inhabitants. "Why mold mice into mock-humans?"
Gurgu's ears drooped. "Boredom. Desperation. After decades as a pariah, I needed purpose. Medusa permitted it—found my theatrics amusing. But building a civilization from mice…" He groaned. "Do you know how long it took to teach them not to defecate in their own halls? To wear clothes? To speak without squeaking?"
Bennett's lips twitched. "And the size? You're no ordinary rat."
"A century of trial!" Gurgu spread his arms, revealing patches of matted fur. "The Spring's magic let me enlarge myself, but true transformation? Impossible. Medusa tried to learn my arts, but her own cursed form blocked her. We're both… stuck."
The Unseen Catastrophe
Bennett's humor vanished. "You fed them the Spring's waters. What madness—"
"Only drops!" Gurgu protested. "Enough to grant intelligence, not immortality. And it sterilized them. No offspring. A dead end."
"Thank the gods," Bennett hissed. "Had they kept their breeding prowess? Intelligent, human-sized rodents overrunning the world? You'd have birthed an apocalypse."
The rat froze, realization dawning. "I… I never thought—"
"No. You didn't." Bennett's voice chilled. "But luck spared us. Your 'kingdom' remains a sad joke, not a plague."
The Sleeping Storm
Dadaniel leaned forward. "You said Medusa sleeps. How?"
Gurgu lowered his voice. "Her palace straddles the Spring's source. She slumbers atop it, waking only once a decade. Her last awakening was nine years ago. We've time… maybe."
The trio exchanged glances—Hussein's hand tightening on his sword, Dadaniel's breath quickening, Bennett's mind racing.
"A decade's grace," Bennett murmured. "But why sleep?"
"To conserve power," Gurgu whispered. "Each awakening drains her. She studies, schemes, then retreats. But when she stirs…" His beady eyes widened. "She'll sense intruders. Sense you."
A Glimmer of Hope
Hussein's blade hissed from its sheath. "Then we strike now. Slay her in slumber."
"Fool!" Gurgu scampered back. "Her chamber is guarded by stone—petrified knights with beating hearts. One misstep, and you join her collection."
Bennett stood, dusting off his trousers. "But she's vulnerable. Asleep. Distracted." His gaze locked onto Gurgu. "You know the path. The traps. The weaknesses."
The rat shrank. "I… I won't—"
Steel kissed Gurgu's throat. Hussein's voice was a winter wind. "You'll lead. Or die here as a coward. Choose."
Trembling, Gurgu nodded.
As they prepared to depart, Bennett glanced at the rodent "citizens" bowing in mock reverence. A kingdom of fools, he thought. But better than a world of stone.