Surrounded by snakes, Dreu couldn’t think of an answer to their predicament. Even if Marun was with them, the cavern was far too big and the snakes were far too numerous. The battle was decided the moment they were surrounded in a location where the snakes could use their numerical advantage. Dreu cursed himself for putting them in this situation but it was already too late to have regrets. He had to keep fighting until he fell in battle.

  I brought help!

  A bear emerged from the water and easily slayed multiple snakes in a single swipe. While Marun made her way to Dreu, a being surfaced behind her. The being had a humanoid body for the upper half and a snake-like tail for the bottom half. The upper half was covered in scales making the being resemble a snake more than a human. Her eyes were the same color as the lake under the dim light but Dreu felt no hostility in them. A closer inspection made the young man realize that the being was also covered in injuries. If a human had those injuries, that individual would have long been dead.

  “Hello, human! Your bear freed me so I will assist you!”

  The being merely raised her hand and a whirlpool appeared in the center of the lake. All the snakes that were in the lake were pulled towards the whirlpool where they dyed the water red upon making contact. Marun had wisely climbed onto land where she single handedly pushed back the snakes back to the cavern entrance. Few minutes later, the snakes had all withdrawn, giving Dreu and his companions a temporary victory. With the breather, Dreu walked over to thank the being and asked for her name.

  “My name is Seiluxr and I’m a naga.”

  Before she could say more, the naga suddenly collapsed onto the ground. Dar and Loryss quickly went to work but their healing didn’t even heal the injuries on Seiluxr’s body. While Dreu was puzzled by this development, the naga opened her eyes.

  “Don’t waste your healing on me,” she spoke with much struggle. “I am not long for this world.”

  Seiluxr briefly explained her hopeless situation. When she arrived in the demon realm, she had lost consciousness. When she woke up, the snakes had already taken advantage of her by injecting powerful toxins that forced her to do their bidding and weakened her severely. She was kept alive in the lake due to the snakes providing limited doses of antidotes at regular intervals. Now that she was free from their control, it was only a matter of time before the toxins finished her off.

  “Why don’t you join us then?” asked Dreu. “Then, you can still keep fighting and not die in a place like this.”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Dreu knew he was being selfish but he wanted the powerful sorceress aiding him. Thus far, he had no one capable of fighting underwater. The naga was the solution to his problem. To his limited knowledge, it should be possible for Seiluxr to join his group, though it must be at her own volition. He couldn’t and shouldn’t force anyone to fight for him if the individual didn’t want to. He was also unsure if it was possible to force anyone, though he had no intention of finding out.

  I don’t blame her for being so hesitant.

  At this moment, the young man understood that Dar and Loryss were merely extending the life of Seiluxr. The moment they stopped, the sorceress might just die in the next few minutes. As he was about to give up on her joining him, she spoke up.

  “I’ll do it!”

  “Why?” asked Dreu before he could stop himself from asking.

  The young man wanted to hear her reason for wanting to join someone weak like him. Even in her state, Seiluxr performed incredibly when she wiped out at least hundreds of snakes with her whirlpool. He could only imagine her abilities when she could fight at her full strength. Generally, the strong wouldn't want to serve the weak in any capacity unless they had no choice.

  “I still have something I must do,” she said simply without elaborating.

  After confirming that nagas were terrible at fighting on land, especially in tunnels with no water nearby, Dreu unsummoned Seiluxr and checked if she was alright. The sorceress stated that she was fine with the luxurious accommodations. It was at this moment that the young man realized he had no clue what conditions his companions lived in when they were unsummoned. This wasn’t a topic he ever thought of bringing up with Bayard and the others. Instead of bothering Seiluxr further on the topic, he checked with Zog.

  I picked the forest like many of the other demonic creatures. We don’t like staying inside the large city. In fact, none of us even entered it.

  City?

  If they weren’t stuck underground with snakes possibly around every corner, he would look into the matter more. Instead, Dreu told his companions that they were heading out. Marun took the lead again but there were no snakes barring their way this time. The snakes had apparently learned their lesson and wisely avoided a much stronger foe. The bear was just too powerful for the snakes to even try anything. The loss of the sorceress no doubt further broke the morale of the snakes, making them far more timid than usual. The group arrived outside the cave without further problems. Dreu was making his way down when Seiluxr spoke up.

  Dreu, what is that swamp? What is inside it?

  The swamp?

  Upon realizing what the naga was referring to, Dreu answered honestly that he didn’t know. The swamp wasn’t a place he planned on exploring at all so he never looked further into the location. He promised Seiluxr that he would check with someone who was more familiar. He hoped that Ragellon would have the answers the naga needed. She was earnest when she said she had something to do and a part of him wanted to make sure she could complete whatever she had in mind.

  It’s the least I can do if she’s willing to help me move forward.