Chapter 147: Libyan - The Queen Born Of Thorns

'Libyan...What did it mean again?' Her chest crushed to bits by the treant that she now had squirming within the coil of her tail, the queen of Lamias, knew her time had finally come. However, unlike what she'd expected her last moments to be, she wasn't angry nor in pain, but rather reminiscing on the past, which she no longer remembered much of.

'I remember the rags, and my own mother's poison, and those cold nights born of desperation.'

Thinking back to a time when her clan was but a scattered pile of fugitives wandering here and there, struggling to survive and resorting to cannibalism.

'That's where it started, didn't it? The realization that I could grow stronger by eating my own...Those monstrous adults, and the raping clans of other species, the anger, the resentment, I can feel it still to this day!'

Though her chest was broken, though her bones crumbled to bits, the resentment she felt toward the ghosts of the past made her lift up her body and crumble the treant into bits. Bleeding through her shattered teeth, she rose screeching on her tail. Glancing down at her scales all but crumbled to pieces, Libyan screeched once more before slowly attempting to face the hero's party again.

But alas, her body gave in and she fell to the ground once more.

'I WON'T DIE HERE! YOU HEAR ME?!' Born of a cracked egg, she'd always been a survivor–and even in the face of death, she would rather crawl her way out in indignity than give into the cold embrace of death's mistress. Digging her nails through the dirt, she pulled her body forward, inching herself closer and closer to the throneroom's exit. 'EVEN IF I DIE YOU WON'T GET RID OF ME!

I'LL PLAGUE THIS LAND! THIS SWAMP WILL BE MY GRAVE AND WITHIN ALL CREATURES LIVING AND UNDEAD ON THIS LAND WILL BE MINE AND MINE TO DICTATE!'

Watching the queen's desperate attempts at revenge, Erika felt her scorn bleeding out of her remaining scales. Her words confined not just to her mind, they'd begun acting as a curse or rather a plague that could easily consume the land if left to fester.

'Unless a devil grants her wish for her soul, it'll be centuries before her words come to fruition.' Were Asmodia's thoughts echoing inside Erika's head. Shrugging off the voice of the angel, the priestess quickly inscribed the last rune and began her own escape. 'We'll bury her in this place before any of that happens.'

"L-leave it...two..." Huffed Mel, sitting on the ground and trying to recover her strength.

"Fine! We'll talk with her," glancing over to the half-fae girl and the wisp floating between his and her gaze, Raven squinted his eyes in disgust. And to his surprise, the girl did the same. "And who the hell is she?"

"A devil that's who!" Erika jumped in.

Finally realizing that the priestess had come out unharmed, everyone turned to look at her with relieved sighs. Yet the priestess herself was far from relieved, after all, she may have tolerated demonic weapons in their midst, but a devil child? She wouldn't tolerate such blasphemy.

"ENOUGH!" Breaking the argument, Athenia's voice thundered with the clouds.

Struck with shock, the entire party glanced upwards, but to no one's surprise, there were no signs of their goddess nor any rain clouds.

"What was that?!" Liliyana squealed, hiding behind Amedith, her heart gripped with fear.

"Did she just?"

"Yell at us? Yeah..." Raven answered the priestess who was still baffled that the goddess wanted the devil child with them.

"Leaving that," breaking their interest in the scream that just thundered, Mel tried getting everyone's attention to ask them something important. "Is it only me or did anyone else receive a cursed status?"

Some confused, some concerned, everyone quickly checked their stats and found the permanent status 'Libyan's curse'.