Villain's Second Heart: Trapped in A Fantasy Novel (BL)-Chapter 50: Deek & Oby’s Lamia Adventure

Deek bounced down the rocky path, twirling her boomerang between deft fingers. After walking for a couple hours, she and Oberyn rapidly approached the distant grotto.

"So, lamia aren't too bad normally, but they do like to infest water supplies. They breed pretty quick and they like to start setting up these big old massive colonies - you ain't never seen anything like a full grown lamia colony! Well, I haven't either... "

"Let me guess, you heard it all from Rav?"

"Oh yeah!" Deek exclaimed. The excitement she exuded was infectious.

"Rav said when the lamia colonies get big enough, they start kidnapping people and making them slaves. Real nasty stuff, Oby!"

"You're calling me that now, too?" he chuckled, before turning serious. "I had no idea about lamia, though. How awful."

"Yeah, pretty much all monsters are, you know. Kinda monstrous! Not like they're from this world, anyway."

Oberyn halted in his tracks. He'd heard something like that once before, but never questioned it. But Deek presented a great opportunity just then.

"Hm?"

"What do you mean, monsters aren't from this world?" Ezra asked. "Where are they from?"

He was from another world. Ezra was, too. 'How many other worlds are out there?' he wondered.

"Mr. Rav would be the expert on that, but he says monsters were made from people who came from other worlds and 'lost their way'. So apparently the lamia started as just one lady, who turned evil and became a snake. I dunno, the story sounds way cooler when Mr. Rav says it!"

She let out a dramatic sigh, adjusting the folds of her bright yellow dress.

"I hope there's not too many of them, the lamia are freaky," she said, her voice laced with concern.

Oberyn barely heard her. His gaze was fixed on the entrance ahead, where a cool blue glow pulsed from within the cavern.

"They'll be down in there?" he asked. Beneath the waterfall that cascaded into the lagoon, a small opening was nestled, and inside was a sizeable cave.

He and Deek approached cautiously, not wanting to alarm the Lamia and preferring to sneak up in silence.

As they passed into the cavern, Oberyn's entire perspective on Earth changed.

Rippling light danced over the water's surface, shifting and refracting against the stone walls and creating a beautiful mosaic of cool-toned colors.

Colorful aquatic plants crawled up the walls, emitting a full spectrum of colorful light. The brisk air conflicted with the natural warmth that radiated from the sun-kissed waters.

He inhaled, slow and measured, taking the cool grotto air into his lungs. It was beautiful. The kind of place he might bring Ezra to one day. A rare, untouched piece of the world - charming and idyllic were it not for Rav's knowledge of some lamia posted up there.

They stepped inside, their boots splashing against the shallows. The grotto widened into a chamber, and there, coiled in the water in a semicircle, were five lamia. Their serpentine bodies gleamed with iridescent scales, each one blasting a different color, and their slit-eyes radiated with predatory hunger. A clutch of gooey eggs lay scattered in the shallows, wedged among the rocks like crusty geodes.

Deek whistled, tilting her head. "Oh boy. Well, Mr. Nephilim, you do it best! Blow 'em up!"

Oberyn tensed, reaching for his sword. The lamia moved as one, hissing in unison, their claws and fangs bared. And then the fight began.

It was quick, decisive. Deek danced between them, her boomerang slicing through the air, cracking against skulls and slicing through flesh. Oberyn fought with precise, calculated movements, parrying their strikes and cutting them down in clean, efficient strokes, each laced with a crackling aura of explosive magic. As his strikes passed through the lamia, the magic seared their flesh and blew them apart.

But the exertion took its toll. As the last lamia fell, the cursed mark on his back burned white-hot, sending agony lancing through his veins. He staggered, gripping his chest. His mana was too low again, even from something like this. His curse mark needed to be treated quickly.

Ezra.

He had to free himself from this curse. This weight. This endless exhaustion.

"Hey, Oby, pull yourself together." Deek's voice cut through the haze. She was standing over him, arms crossed, her expression unreadable. "You gonna keel over just from a couple fancy sword swings?"

"It's the curse," Oberyn explained. "It keeps growing faster and faster until it's treated."

"Hmm. All this talk about curses. Speaking of curses, I heard -"

She never got to finish.

The corpse of one of the fallen lamia jerked unnaturally, its broken body twisting upright. Its eyes glowed an eerie, lifeless blue and it belted out a hideous, lifeless screech at the top of its lungs. The undead had risen.

Oberyn clenched his teeth. Of course it wasn't over yet.

The finale was swift. Oberyn's eyes flashed with vivid orange light, activating his innate arcane energy. It sparked through the air, descending onto risen lamia and blasting her to bits.

The lamia were finished.

But then there were the eggs.

Oberyn stared at them, untouched in the shallows. He already knew what Deek would say.

"We should leave them be," he said, his voice even but firm.

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Deek sighed, shaking her head. "You know what happens if we do, Mr. Nephilim. Look, I don't wanna do it either, but Mr. Rav said to clear this place out."

He did. But that didn't make it easier.

"...Fine."

The eggs cracked and splintered under the weight of their weapons, and they washed it all away into the gently flowing waters of the grotto. And when they walked away from the majestic caverns, leaving the flickering blue light behind, the weight of their actions weighed heavy on them - but they were ultimately successful.

For their efforts, both of them gained an additional level.

On the way back, Deek sought to brighten the mood.

"Just look on the bright side, we'll get to see Mr. Rav again soon!"

Oberyn perked up, laughing alongside Deek.

It wasn't Rav he was looking forward to seeing again. It was Ezra.