The Dark Rebirth of Pandora: Revenge of the Abyss

Chapter 497: City Chief — A High-Class Predator

I wander through the city for a while before realizing this place has a library. Of course, I didn’t know it was a library, and the monsters here don’t call it a library, so it was hard to figure out.

They kept calling it the [Hall of the Dead Collection] and, surprisingly, it makes sense. Because inside the library, the books are made from the skin and bones of monsters, and the letters are their blood smeared over carvings that signify the letters.

"..." And now I’m exploring this library. It’s quite interesting because it’s full of "books," though the stench of rot the place has is a bit disgusting, but it’s tolerable.

’Magic...’ There’s a magic book I’m reading now that’s really interesting. It explains magic well, and because of the good explanation, I’m managing to fix my mistake in using magic inside the abyss.

’So the monsters are using their bodies to channel Pure Mana instead of creating pure mana outside of it... That makes sense, that’s why the cost is lower and they do it so easily...’ Not that I know how to do it, but I can try to learn now that I know how it should be done.

"..." I try to grab another book, but someone grabs it first. Judging by the height, it’s someone much taller than me. Considering I’m two meters tall now, this monster must be at least two and a half to three meters.

"I was going to read that," I say, turning to see who the "little" wretch was that took what I was about to take.

"..." I stare fixedly at the body of the girl in front of me. She’s very tall, with legs reminiscent of a bird’s, with very sharp claws. She has feathers up to mid-thigh, and her "arms" are actually wings with small fingers at the end of the wing’s joint.

She has very large breasts and a beautiful body overall, but her gaze is similar to mine: red eyes with a spiral that seems infinite. Her hair is blonde, reaching below her waist, while her expression is completely neutral.

Her feathers are completely black and dark, contrasting with her pale skin tone. Probably many abyss beings are pale because there’s no sun in the abyss.

"..." She stares at me, analyzing my body just as I analyze hers, until her expression twists for a moment.

"You’re new here." She immediately hits the mark. Meanwhile, I think she looks like some kind of harpy, but her body is much more savage, and her intimate parts are much more exposed because no one in the abyss I’ve seen so far wears clothes.

"...Yes. And you are?"

"Zhita’hna, leader of this city." When she says that, I realize something. I didn’t feel her approaching behind me. In fact, I didn’t notice anything until her hand passed by me to grab the book. This sends a shiver down my spine, making my tail twitch as I realize she could have easily killed me if she wanted.

’Her level... what level is this thing?’ It’s high. Too high. So high that her concealment breaks any detection method I have. And that’s terrifying in the sense that she’s a "bird," and birds that are good at hiding everything about themselves are generally dangerous predators.

"...You smell of death," she says, staring fixedly into my eyes.

"Well, isn’t that the case for everyone?"

"You have a dangerous and destructive gaze." Her way of speaking is as if we don’t literally have similar eyes, though mine are a darker red. Looking closer, the spirals in my eyes are darker and deeper, giving an illusion of movement, while hers are more static.

"Well, I don’t want to destroy anything. I’m just reading books." I really don’t want a fight, especially with someone who got behind me without me noticing.

"Books?"

"...Records. I’m reading records." Here they don’t call books ’books.’ At least common monsters don’t call them that. To them, it’s "record," which makes sense, but I wouldn’t say it’s the best name.

"..." She bends down a little and sniffs me deeply. Fortunately, the rotten smell of the place helps hide my scent.

"...You... smell like Echidna’s servants..." When she says this, my curiosity is piqued.

"Do you know any of her servants?" I ask, trying to hide my excitement.

"...Yes. The former city leader was her servant. But he died... his time limit came, and his body self-destructed. Now the city is mine since I’m his successor." With this information, I become slightly calmer. It means she’s not averse to my mother’s servants.

"So, could you teach me more about it?!" When she hears my question, she tilts her head at a 170° angle, which is bizarre, before raising her head again.

"Why would I do that?"

"...For nothing? Just for the sake of doing it. Wouldn’t it be good to find something to destroy the boredom?" It’s not like there’s much to do in the abyss. This place is primitive, like the Stone Age. There are no real means of entertainment here.

"I’m not bored. I’m busy... Besides, outsider, your smell is strange... It doesn’t inspire much trust in me..." I look at the book she’s holding.

"Could you at least give me back the book... record? I was going to read it before you took it." I don’t know what’s in the book because the covers don’t indicate, but still, if the city leader herself took it, it must be useful.

"..." She opens the book and shows me. I see it’s completely useless for me. It’s a book about eggs, and I don’t need to know about eggs.

"Are you laying eggs?" I ask, noting that it seems common for abyss beings to lay eggs. I myself can lay eggs, though it’s with my tail, and usually, the egg is formed inside another being’s body.

"...I’m taking care of some... It’s cold... They don’t like the cold of this city..."

’Monsters are pretty honest, huh? Or maybe lying is complicated.’ Their intellect is rational, but it’s still an intellect underdeveloped by instincts. In other words, they’re not good liars.

"Well, if you want to warm them up, why not cover them with something soft and warm? Like the fur of some monster that has hair and whose hair is warm." I try to give an idea. I’d like her help with some things.

"...Doesn’t work. Needs to be very warm..."

"How warm?"

"...Warm... very, very warm. Warm enough to melt the Mana in the environment."

’Melt... HOLY SHIT!? What kind of egg needs over 15 million degrees to hatch?’ Normal mana starts to "melt" at over 100 thousand degrees, but abyss Mana is denser, so the degree amount needed to affect it increases a lot.

"...It’s not much... I already managed to heat them to that level with magic... But now the eggs are fragile... I need to be careful... or they break." She speaks in a somewhat drawn-out manner. It seems like it’s hard for her to speak sentences that are too long.

"I see. Then it’s just a matter of waiting. Well, congratulations on your children, I guess..."

"Mine?"

"...Yes?"

"No... they’re not mine... They are the eggs of the former city chief... I’m warming them for him out of respect... I haven’t laid my eggs yet... It’s not a good time."

"I don’t have a good food source for my babies. If I lay eggs now... they’ll starve..." When she says this, I shiver a little. After all, it’s the same as that damn spider girl. The lack of food makes it hard to lay eggs, so you have to stock up first.

"W-Well, good luck with that..." I turn to leave. I don’t want to become the egg incubator for a harpy girl or whatever this half-bird girl is.

"...Ghmmm! A-Ahh..." She grabs my shoulder, and her claws are so sharp they pierce the muscles of my back even though it wasn’t an attack. It wasn’t even that she pierced the Mana armor. She’s so strong she literally shattered it just with that weak touch, making me groan in pain.

"Don’t leave. You are suspicious... Still deciding what to do with you, outsider." She pulls her claw back, and I see the hole her claw left in my back and the scratch it made on my chest.

’Damn bird...’ The wound closes quickly, but still, being wounded so easily shows that this damn little bird is too strong and could easily kill me.

"How about an exchange?" I try to at least gain something and distract her. Leaving her alone to think about what to do with me is a recipe for disaster.

"Exchange?"

"Yes, an exchange. I do something for you, and in return, you give me knowledge! Answer my questions about the abyss. You seem powerful and majestic. I’m sure you’re very smart and know a lot."

"..."

"Exchange..." She seems to think about it deeply.

"Help... yes... I need help... I can’t organize my house, nor my Hall of the Dead Collection... My claws aren’t good for that... You do it for me, and in return, I teach you things." She nods in agreement with a very simple request, but one that makes sense.

"Seems like a fair trade." It really does seem like a good trade. And not just because I don’t want to fight her, but because if she’s the city chief, her knowledge is probably among the highest in the city.

’She said the former chief was my mother’s servant, so she must know quite a bit about them, too...’

"Come with me. Let’s go to my... house." She still holds the book while her wings actually function slightly like arms, holding it forward. It’s kind of cute and funny because she has no arms to hold it with.