The Tyrant's Pet

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! This isn't a funny joke — where are you?!"

Conan was already gassing out after searching the entire lake for Abel but to no avail. He couldn't find Abel, making his heart thud in panic.

"Your Majesty!" he yelled his lungs out, looking around at the lake. "Your Majesty! I know you're sad that Lady Aries left you all alone here, but this is too much! Your Majesty!"

Conan yelled and yelled until his throat was hurting, making him snap his tongue in irritation. How could this happen? No matter how fast Abel was, he wouldn't be able to get out of the lake without Conan noticing.

"Did he dig his grave under the lake?" he wondered, gazing down at the lake where he was standing. "He's been floating here — did he make it look like he was just floating here and then digging a grave when no one is looking?"

Conan scrunched his nose up, dragging his legs to feel the bottom of the lake with his boots. Realizing wearing boots wouldn't help, Conan took them off and threw them outside the lake. He then resumed his search with his feet feeling the bottom of the lake.

The thought that Abel got out of this world crossed his mind. However, Conan didn't entertain the thought because there was no way Abel could just leave this world on his own. Unless Aries was ready for a good scolding, then she would've let him out. He highly doubted that was the case, though.

Abel had done everything he could and even destroyed almost all living things in the empire when he tried getting out of this world. Obviously, he failed. That was why Conan was convinced it was either Abel buried himself down the lake or he was just pulling another prank on Conan.

"Damn it!" Conan grumbled, burying his toes an inch from the bottom of the lake to see if there was anything he could find. "Why am I the only one that should accompany him? I should be just as selfish as Roman or Morro. Those two had it easy — I'm about to lose my mind just babysitting that crazy empe —"

Conan stopped mid-sentence as he felt something hard on his toe. He kept shoving his toe, ignoring the dirt sticking into his toenails. His brows then rose.

"It's wood," mumbled Conan, eyes lighting up. "I knew it! He sank and then went straight to a coffin. Hah! I've been in this line of work to know every shenanigan that's going on in his head."

Conan giggled evilly, squatting down with his hands reaching the lake's floor. It didn't cross him that he might get in trouble if he sabotaged Abel's plans to bury himself.

"How dare he bury himself alone? If he wants to have a vacation underwater, it's only right to take me with him!" his nose flares up, scraping off the wood's surface with his fingertips. "He knows I'd go insane — I think I already snapped being stuck in this fallen kingdom with nothing else to do — huh?"

His face froze when he felt something wrap around his wrist. It wasn't a hand, that was for sure. A sense of dread crept up his spine because whatever was around his wrist, its texture made all the hair on his body raise.

With dread plastered on his face, Conan carefully raised his hand over the water's surface. There, snaking around his arm, was a giant python hissing at him.

"Ah…" Conan let out an abrupt noise, holding his breath as his brain processed what was right before him. When his brain snapped to clarity, his mouth parted even bigger before a piercing scream disturbed the surroundings.

"Ah!! Get off of me! Your Majesty — help!!!" Conan flung his arm, shaking it in a hurry to get the snake out of his arm, eyes shut, screaming like a little girl. "Kyahh!!! Get off —"

Amid his intense screaming, Conan bit his tongue when he felt another force wrap around his feet. His expression deadpanned, holding his breath, feeling whatever was on his ankle pull him slowly.

"Uh… no…" his leg moved back, making him gasp. "Holy… ahh —"

His screams grew muffled as the force suddenly pull his ankle down the lake with intense force. His mouth bubbled and without thinking, he covered his mouth despite that there was a snake around his arm.

Conan gazed down at his feet while holding his breath, only to see a wrinkly hand with long dirty nails around his ankle. His eyes dilated in horror, but before he could act, the hand holding his ankle pulled him down. Conan didn't even notice that the bottom of the lake felt deeper than it should be. He tried struggling, kicking the hand with his other foot, but to no avail.

Conan held his breath for as long as he could and struggled the best he could. But alas, his best wasn't enough. He felt powerless and his kicks grew weaker and weaker. Soon, his vision blurred as his consciousness slowly slipped out of his control.

<strong>'I swear…'</strong> was what his mind muttered.<strong> '... if this is another prank he is pulling on me, I'll challenge him to a duel. Haimirich was no more and a destructive duel… doesn't seem bad… ah damn it…'</strong>

Conan blinked his eyes weakly until they closed. His hand that was covering his mouth slowly moved away. As his last bit of consciousness slipped past his grip, the snake around his arm hissed. The snake slowly released his arm, slithering freely on the water until it was facing Conan.

Hiss…

The python's green eyes shone brightly, hissing as if studying Conan's face. The snake's eyes glinted before turning, swimming away from Conan while the latter continued to sink deeper and deeper.

<strong>*</strong>

<strong>*</strong>

<strong>*</strong>

<strong>GASP!</strong>

Conan gasped for air the moment he snapped his eyes open. His mouth was open, tasting the tasteless liquid pattering on his open mouth and face.

"Welcome back, Conan."

Shocked, Conan blinked until he caught several figures gazing down at him. There, standing among the few unfamiliar faces, was Abel with a shovel on his shoulder and his other hand on his hip.

"Missed me?"