Credits
Cleaned color illustrations by Arturo Songor (@artson593)
Chapter 4: Naga's Challenge
Originally published in the August
1990 issue of Monthly Dragon Magazine.
After returning from dinner, I found
the inn I was staying at completely engulfed in flames.
“Hyaaaaaaaaaa!” I screamed.
This is a huge tragedy!
My luggage! My precious luggage! It
wasn’t just ordinary travel gear, I had magic tools, gemstones, rare items...
enough wealth to buy an entire town! And now, it’s all gone!
The street was packed with people
frantically throwing buckets of water at the blaze, though it was clear that their
efforts were barely making a difference.
“There’s someone still inside!”
someone shouted.
I looked toward the third floor,
where, sure enough, a lone figure stood on the balcony, still untouched by the
fire.
A tall, strikingly beautiful woman.
Long black hair, deep-set eyes that radiated intelligence... but, a small skull
necklace dangled from her neck, and her outfit barely covered her chest or
waist. Her black cloak billowed in the rising heat.
...She reminds me of someone…
That outfit, it’s styled after a
famous evil sorceress from centuries ago. The kind of design that guarantees
you’ll catch pneumonia in the winter.
What’s her deal?
Then, as if she had just spotted me,
her gaze locked onto mine.
…No way…
“Lina Inverse!” she suddenly
bellowed, her voice somehow cutting through the roaring flames.
Ahhh! No way!
The onlookers started murmuring.
“Huh? Who’s that?”
“What’s she talking about?”
I tried to subtly blend into the
crowd.
“Don’t try to hide! You! The little
girl with the chestnut hair and black cloak!”
“I’M NOT A LITTLE GIRL!” I shouted
back without thinking.
Immediately, every pair of eyes
turned toward me.
…Damn it.
I sighed. There was no escape now.
“What the hell are you doing?!” I
yelled.
“Finally, you ask! Today, your
legend as the merciless demon comes to an end! I, Naga the Serpent, will strike
you down!”
…Demon? What the hell is she talking
about?
And why is everyone around me
looking terrified!?
Okay, sure, I’ve got a bit of a
reputation among sorcerers. But I’m actually a very calm person!
Though I guess obliterating every
bandit gang I come across has led to… certain misunderstandings.
People challenging me out of nowhere
aren’t uncommon. Wannabe heroes trying to make a name for themselves pop up
every now and then.
And this Naga is clearly one of
those people.
“So you’ll leave without any
regrets,” she continued smugly, “I’ve already reduced all your earthly
belongings to dust. Oooooohohohohohohoho!”
My temples twitched.
“…Alright. I accept your challenge,”
I snapped. “Now come down here so I can kick your ass!”
The triumphant smirk on her face
instantly faltered.
She hesitated. Looked around
frantically. Muttering to herself.
…Oh.
She doesn’t know how to get down.
Idiot.
“Ahhh! Someone! Help
meeeeeeeeeeeeee!” she finally screamed.
I groaned.
“You absolute moron!” In a fit of
rage, I fired a Flare Arrow directly at the balcony she was standing on.
The flames spread instantly.
And just like that, the so-called “Naga
the Serpent” was swallowed by fire. Her true identity shall forever remain a
mystery.
“You’ve been avenged, my luggage,” I
said solemnly, flashing a V-sign toward the heavens.
Just then, I felt an overwhelming
wave of bloodlust.
“…Hey,” a nearby man stepped
forward, his face grim. “What the hell were you thinking? There are still
people in danger!”
Oh. Right. The fire.
I scratched my cheek and let out a
nervous chuckle. The crowd was not amused.
“…Uh, I-I’m sorry,” I said, trying
my best to look remorseful.
No reaction. Their expressions
remained furious.
Oh, come on! It’s not that bad!
“Ah…ahaha…ahahahahaha… Ray Wing!”
With a burst of wind magic, I took
off into the sky.
“She’s getting away!”
This is my most powerful technique:
avoiding responsibility.
...Hey, you reading this. Don’t try
this at home.
“Oooooooooohohohoho! We meet again,
Lina Inverse!”
A familiar voice rang out as I
strolled along a seaside road.
The early summer sun was warm, the
sea breeze refreshing. My cloak was a bit stifling, but I had a cooling spell
to keep me comfortable.
The woman, on the other hand, was
fully wrapped in bandages, leaning on two canes while standing in the shade of
a tree.
…That’s gotta be hot.
Nobody chooses to dress like that.
Just looking at her makes me sweat.
“We meet again,” she said. Which
means we’ve met before.
But, uh… who is she?
“…Who are you again?” I asked.
She stiffened. Then, after a pause—
“Hmph! That’s really mean!”
She attempted to dramatically point
at me with one of her canes but quickly lost her balance and had to stop.
…She acts really weird.
“Don’t play dumb with me! I’m sure
you haven’t forgotten, Naga the Serpent! Your archrival!”
…
“Sorry,” I tilted my head. “No idea
who you are.”
The sound of waves filled the
silence.
I was just messing with her, of
course. Hard to forget someone who got incinerated right in front of me.
I was even thinking of how to tell
the story to my sister. She’ll love it.
But seriously, how is she alive? And
how did she get here before me?
I don’t remember having an archrival
either.
Naga looked completely crushed by my
response, standing frozen on the spot.
Honestly? Kinda fun to watch.
It wasn’t until after I finished my
lunch that she finally snapped out of it.
“It doesn’t matter if you remember
me! What matters is if I can defeat you!”
Oh, this again.
“Come on!” She started chanting.
Wait, hold on, that spell, Dynast
Breath!?
That’s dangerous magic!
But don’t you need a pose to cast
that…?
See, in the Sorcerer’s Guild, they
teach us that proper spellcasting poses help amplify magic. They aren’t always
necessary, but the stronger the spell, the more important they become.
And for this spell? It’s required.
“You, who sleep in the depths of the
earth,
Dynast, who has a soul of ice—”
And that was as far as she got.
Because she needed to lift her right
hand for the next part.
She tried. She really did. But with
both hands occupied supporting her weight, she couldn’t do it.
“Haa… haa…!” She wobbled, then
flipped over, landing flat on her back like an overturned turtle.
For a moment, she just flailed
helplessly.
Come on, you can do it!
Then she stopped moving.
“…Lina. Help me…”
Daaaaah! She sounds so pathetic!
I should leave her there. But if she
dies, I’ll feel bad.
Sighing, I helped her up and handed
her a cane.
“Hehehe…”
Then—
“Oooooooohohohohohoho! You’re naive,
Lina Inverse! To think you’d show mercy to your sworn enemy!”
…Oh, come on.
She immediately started chanting
again, before tripping and collapsing a second time.
I just stared at her.
“…Help me, Lina…”
“No.”
And this time, I did leave her
behind.
That should’ve been the end of my
self-proclaimed “archrival.”
…Should’ve been.
“Ooooohohohohohoho! We meet again,
Lina Inverse!”
I spat out my drink.
“…Oh. Sorry.”
“Ack! I’m completely drenched!”
That was my third encounter with
Naga the Serpent.
For better or worse… it wouldn’t be
the last.
On a busy street, right in the
middle of the day, a girl in an excessively revealing outfit burst into loud,
obnoxious laughter.
As you’d expect, every single person
in the area turned to stare.
“Hey, hey! I don’t care who you are,
don’t talk to me in broad daylight!” I hissed, my face burning.
“Is this a show?”, “She’s hot!”, “Hey,
show us something!”
Naga grinned, completely unfazed.
Either she was ignoring them or just too oblivious to notice.
“Are you scared, little girl? You may
have beaten me before, but now that I’ve fully recovered, you won’t be able to
rely on those dirty tricks again!”
I let out a long, exhausted sigh. I
really, really don’t want to deal with her. Can’t she go bother someone
else? Ugh, whatever. I’ll just get rid of her once and for all. End this
ridiculous rivalry here and now.
…Though, honestly, I don’t feel like
fighting.
“Yeah, whatever.”
Her snake-like eyes narrowed. “So,
you’ve finally made up your mind.”
Yes. I decided to remove you from my
life.
We locked eyes. She may be as dumb
as a sea slug, but I can’t ignore the fact that she’s a half-decent sorceress.
Dynast Breath isn’t something just anyone can use.
I shouldn’t underestimate her.
“They’re one of those girls, right?”,
“And they look so young, how sad…”
I heard the murmurs from the
onlookers and felt my face heat up. Great. Now people are misinterpreting
things.
I might have the edge in magical
ability, but she has a clear advantage in sheer lack of shame.
“Let’s meet outside town at sunset,”
I said quickly. I didn’t want an audience for this fight. And if she made a
fool of herself, at least no one would be around to see it. Win-win.
“Hmm.” She snorted. “Seems you’re
still afraid of fighting me…”
In a way, yes.
“You’re probably planning to run
away!”
…I mean, I did consider it. But if I
fled, she’ll just track me down again in a few days.
“I won’t allow it! We’ll settle this
right here, right now!” She suddenly raised a hand and started chanting. “Freeze
Arrow!”
“Hey, wait—!”
“Shut up!” A dozen ice arrows
materialized in front of her.
The crowd erupted in panic. Screams
filled the air, market stalls collapsed, and children wailed as people fled in
every direction.
What a mess.
Freeze Arrow is the opposite of
Flare Arrow. It may not look as dangerous, but it freezes the target instantly.
At best, it’ll leave severe frostbite. At worst, I’ll end up as a Lina-flavored
popsicle.
And she wasn’t giving me any time to
counter!
I unsheathed my short sword and
leaped to the side.
“You won’t get away!”
The ice arrows shot off in all
directions, spearing into market stalls, freezing produce solid, and forming
jagged pillars of ice where they struck the ground. A few were aimed straight
at me. I dodged the ones I could and parried the rest with my short sword.
The arrows shattered on impact,
breaking into tiny snowflakes that melted almost instantly in the summer heat.
Even through the leather-wrapped
hilt of my sword and my gloves, I felt the lingering chill.
“Oooooooohohohoho! What’s the
matter, little girl? You’ll never defeat me like that!” Naga laughed haughtily,
flinging more Freeze Arrows in every direction without a care.
I could easily counter with fire
magic, but that would just burn down the town. I’ve learned my lesson.
This is bad. I need to lure her
away, and—
“Wah!” My foot slipped.
Oh, come on! One of her arrows must
have frozen a puddle or something.
“Oooooooohohohoho! Seems your luck
has finally run out!” Naga strolled forward triumphantly.
Apparently drunk on victory, she was completely oblivious to the murderous intent radiating off me. I could escape easily, but… honestly, I wanted to see what she’d do next.
I slumped on the ground and stared
at her
“As of today, the title of
‘Strongest Sorceress on Earth’ will change from Lina Inverse to—!”
A frozen watermelon smashed directly
into her skull.
The fruit shop owner, whose entire
stock had been flash-frozen, glared at her. Behind him stood a small army of similarly
wronged vendors and citizens.
“Hey! What the hell was that for!?”
Naga clutched her head, dazed.
The old man stepped forward,
cracking his knuckles. “You ruined my business! How do you plan to make up for
this?!”
The rest of the crowd nodded in
agreement.
This is getting scary.
“B-but…” Naga stammered, but the mob
wasn’t having it.
“You’ll make up for it by working
here!”
She turned to me, eyes pleading.
Sorry, but this is your mess.
I stood up and dusted off my
trousers. “Thank you all! This girl has been chasing me for days. I’ll be on my
way now.” I flashed them a smile and quickly walked off before she could
protest.
“—Get back here! You have to clean
all this—!”
“Ahhh! Stop it!”
Leaving Naga’s screams behind, I
fled town.
It’s obvious she’ll come after me
again, but at least I’ll get some peace for now.
“Oooooooohohohoho! We meet again,
Naga the Serpent! The time to settle our rivalry has finally come!”
I decided to take the initiative
this time and greeted her in her own ridiculous manner.
She stared, her mouth agape.
We were in a forest near a small
village. A good place for a fight, no risk of collateral damage.
“Hmph,” she recovered, puffing out
her chest. “Y-yes! That’s exactly what I was about to say! You escaped three
times before, but this is the end of the line!”
…No one would describe what I did as
‘escaping.’
“…So, did you pay back all the
damages last time? You found me faster than I expected.”
“Of course! I froze some oranges and
made sorbets! It was a huge hit!”
“Oooh! That’s actually smart!” I was
genuinely impressed. “That sounds like a great product. I gotta say, you’ve got
a good business sense.”
“Uh, well…” She scratched her cheek,
clearly pleased.
My family runs a business, so I’ve
had the merchant mentality drilled into me since I was a kid. I can’t help but
think about ways to make money.
“Tell you what, I might try that
myself. If you come up with any other good ideas, let me know.” I waved and
started walking away.
“Sure thing!” She waved back,
grinning.
…
Wait a minute.
“Hey! You tricked me again!”
“No, I was serious—”
“Shut up! It’s time to settle
things!”
I sighed, taking a stance. “Fine.
Let’s settle this.”
She hesitated, then fired a volley
of Freeze Arrows.
I countered with a wind barrier,
effortlessly deflecting them.
Her eyebrow twitched.
“Alright,” I smirked. “My turn, Mega
Brand!”
“Waaaaaah!” She was sent flying and
crashed headfirst into the dirt.
Hmm. She’s not moving.
…Wait, really?
No, wait, she’s twitching. She’s
fine.
She groggily lifted her head. “…Impressive,
Lina Inverse. You are truly worthy of being my rival…”
“You decided that for yourself.”
“Silence!”
“Huh?”
“Take this! Dam Brass!”
“Ray Wing!”
I flew into the air as she blindly
hurled spells, obliterating trees left and right.
Suddenly, she stopped.
…That’s suspicious.
I peeked through the thicket.
A tree had fallen on her.
“Hey, you okay?” I squatted beside
her.
“W…w…”
“I can’t hear you.” I leaned closer.
“…W-we’re done for today…”
I smacked her in the head.
“Ugh…”
By the time she came to, we were in
the house of the village’s only herbalist.
“Ah, finally awake?” I said, sitting
nearby.
“Lina…?” She looked confused.
Well, obviously. The person she was
just trying to kill suddenly saved her life. Who wouldn’t be confused?
After I knocked her out, she passed
right the hell out, so I dragged her here. But she doesn’t need to know that
part.
“I was defeated… That’s why I helped
you.” I put on my most solemn, noble expression.
“…Huh?” She blinked. “You lost?”
“Yes. Your unwavering determination
to keep fighting, even after—”
I was half-quoting a dramatic folk
song about a hero’s rival. If an outsider heard this, they’d think I lost my
mind.
But Naga, bless her, didn’t notice.
“Then… does that mean…?”
I nodded. “Yup. From this day
forward, you hold the title of the most powerful sorceress.”
Her eyes shimmered with emotion. “Lina…”
She reached out her hand.
I took it firmly.
Now then…
“I finally found you, Naga the
Serpent!”
A few days later, I caught up with
her again. To make sure this happened, I had her leave first, then tracked her
down.
“L-Lina!?” She spun around, her
voice ringing like a dinner bell.
I grinned. “You took the title of
‘most powerful’ from me… but I’m taking it back! Come on, I’m challenging you!”
Her face went pale. “W-wait a
second! I’ve had enough of that!”
“Hmm? I haven’t.” I lifted my pinky,
as if swearing a vow.
This… This is something I’ve always
wanted to do, relentlessly chase someone!
That’s exactly why I let her ‘win’
back in the village.
“Waaaaah! Cut it out!” She turned
and bolted.
I grinned wider and dashed after
her.
Contents
Chapter 1: The Prince of Saillune
Chapter 2: Revenge!
Chapter 3: The Robbers’ Killer
Chapter 4: Naga's Challenge
Chapter 5: Elsia's Castle
Chapter 6: Slayers Excellent — Villain Fight!
Afterword, Color ilustrations and Download Links
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