Headed by a Snake

"You're... what?"

Tycondrius's jaw hung loosely as he stared at Suka. The girl defiantly returned his gaze... though the effect was largely muted, as she was bound like a barrel strapped to a supply cart.

...Her eyes were... deadly serious.

Nervously, he glanced around at his Letalis companions...

She was supposed to be his consort? He would have no such thing-- he was decades older than the hatchling. Coupling with her would certainly be a crime! --or it should be, anyroad.

Boxtholomaeus shook his wooden head, "I don't know who this person is, Sir."

Athena pursed her lips to the side, "Don't look at *me*?! I have no clue..."

The shadow shook its helmeted head.

"W-well, that doesn't matter!" Suka huffed, vigor returning to her determined wriggling, "Release me! These bindings won't hold me forever!!"

"I dunno," Athena frowned, exhaling deeply. She was losing in the card game against Tycon's Shadow... "The ropes are pretty strong..."

"No, she's right," Tycon sighed. "The rope will prove ineffective at limiting her for long. She has the advantage of a peculiar anatomy."

...As for why the young lady had not yet transformed back into her Shadow Snake form... the answer was beyond him.

"Mhm!" Suka bobbed her head in agreement. "Now, you weird devil-armored people have no choice but to--"

"Break her legs," Tycon ordered.

"Break my-- NNNNO!! WAIIIIIT!" The girl frantically screamed. "No! NNNNO! NO! You will NOT DO THAT!! I ORDER you not to do that!!"

Tycon chuckled, "Why don't you call on your... 'Ivory Prince' to save you?"

"Why you... Alright! FINE!" The child took a deep breath.

Tycon hesitated... watching warily.

...Was the girl actually going to call for him?

"SISSSS!! SAVE MEEEEEEE!!!!" Suka cried, bawling her eyes out.

"Stars and stones," Tycon placed a palm over his eyes, his dull headache resurging... "Have some self-respect, young lady."

Athena tapped her forefingers together... "I kinda don't wanna break her legs anymore."

"I would... but I don't think I am physically capable of doing so..." Boxtholomaeus lamented in his childish voice, weakly holding up his wooden doll arms.

Tycon's shadow-- Ultra-Death-Shadow as Athena called it, poofed out of existence.

"That's fine," Tycon shrugged as he grabbed his curved blade, still in its adamantine scabbard. He had no compunctions against doing it himself.

"(Stay your hand, Sweet Prince...)" An echoey hiss resounded in his mind... its location, unidentifiable.

"Empty night," Tycon rolled his eyes, the adrenaline draining out of his system. "Whattt now?"

Athena clenched her tiny fists tight, looking about in a panic, "G-ghost!?"

...It appeared that he wasn't the only one who heard the voice.

Tycon glared at the young lady, "The entire Dungeon is filled with ghosts and undead. Why are you panicking only now?"

"S-snake-ghosts are different than people-ghosts!"

The little Vanzano was very insistent.

"...In what manner? ...besides the obvious?"

A small crowd had gathered around Guild Letalis' area. It was no surprise, as Suka's incessant screaming had not been a silent affair.

Even Mister Lawrence had come to witness the spectacle. The unconscious Bannok still laid draped over his shoulders... How had he gotten away from Aria? He wasn't the stealthiest member of Guild Letalis.

"(So these are the humans that trespass on our territory...)" The voice mused, evidently female. "(There are far fewer than I'd imagined. Mmmmm... and youuuuu, Sweet Prince... this one has not seen you since she was hunting... lizards in the Magic Kingdom.)"

Barza Keith, the Lone Shadowdark, approached with some hesitation... looking all around at their shadowy surroundings, "B... boss... W-why can I understand the hissing??"

Tycon thought for a moment, examining the environment... "You can tell by the magical distortion in the air-- it's a mere communication spell."

Lone stared blankly. He obviously could not tell. From the glazed look in the surrounding humans' eyes, the Ranger was not the only one clueless.

Tycon pursed his lips, thinking on how best to summarize... "You'll hear our enemy's speech in its natural tongue, overlaid with your native tongue."

"Ohhhh..." Lone nodded, "Got it. I was... kinda hoping I somehow learned snake-speak."

"It's called Parseltongue," Tycon chided. "I'll teach you later, if you'd like."

"BIG SIS!!!" The bound Suka wiggled and writhed, "SSSSAVE MEH-PLEASE!!"

"(Oya? And what do you think this one is doing, hatchling?)" Said the voice.

"NOT SAVING ME!!" Suka sniffled, "They're gonna break my legs!!"

"Lone, break her legs," Tycon insisted.

"(Do nottttttt break her legs~ Uhuhu~)" The voice sang.

Lone grimaced... "Wh... who do I listen to?"

Tycon reared his head back in incredulity, "Me! ...OBVIOUSLY!!"

Grumbling in annoyance, Tycon shut his eyes, opening a dialogue with his System.

« System, display the communication details. »

⟬ System response: Communication details with Ananta are as follows... ⟭

Tycon reviewed the information in his mind...

⟬ Ananta, Gold-Rank Shadow Snake Incanter. ⟭

Ananta was a 60-fulm long Shadow Snake he'd met previously on his journeys in the Kingdom. There, she had shared with him a drop of her blood essence.

Honing in on that magical connection, the woman was able to use him as a target of a long-range communication spell... without his permission. Either she had a spell or had the tools available to empower that into an audible conversation... with his own mana as a medium.

Though he could have forcibly cut the connection, he decided that it would behoove him to converse openly... with a few changes to the settings.

Using his System, a transparent blue avatar of Ananta appeared amidst the Brazen Guard collective. She appeared in her human form, a mature human woman with dark and disheveled hair that fell to her shoulders.

...On further observation, Ananta's human-form had an uncanny resemblance to Suka's.

Also, Tycon dressed the avatar in a simple but elegant black dress that befit her station as a matriarch of her people. If he didn't, he was fairly certain she would appear nude.

"(OohHHhh... Clothes, Sweet Prince?)" Ananta coquettishly placed a finger to her lips. "(I'm quite proud of my human form... and it's best appreciated... without.)"