Chapter 40: The tragedy of Sasaki Aya

"I guess it is about time..."

I have become strong.

I am the No.3 in strength within the big family of the Lamias.

I am confident that I wouldn't lose to the monsters in this underground lake area one-on-one.

My sisters of the same age are now independent enough.

They can properly hunt now.

Mother-sama seems to be thinking about giving birth to the next children.

When that happens, I will be an older sister.

If I get little sisters, I will definitely grow attached and won't be able to leave.

The next time I go out alone, let's leave.

That's what I secretly decided.

◇◇

"This is bad! The little sisters are being attacked by an Ice Tiger!"

That notice was sudden.

That day wasn't a day where I had a turn in hunting.

By the time I hurriedly ran there, there were already several of my sisters dead.

Ice Tigers are tigers with blue fur that do an attack called Ice Breath.

Whenever the Ice Tiger exhales white breath, I could feel my body growing duller.

"What's with this?!"

I punch the Ice Tiger flying with anger and wrath.

The Ice Tigers that saw their comrade die in one hit ran away.

"Everyone..."

I stagger my way to the corpses of my sisters.

It was horrible.

Their insides were devoured, their arms torn apart...

The sisters that were okay were all in tatters.

"Why...Why..."

"Ice Tigers are our natural enemy. The breath they exhale cool the air, and dull the movements of us Lamias."

Elder Sister-sama mutters this mortified.

Those words made me snap.

"Why did you not tell me faster?!"

"You know the law of hunting. It is better not to run your imagination wild until actually seeing the enemy. Acquire experience and become stronger."

"That's not what I mean! If you told me about the Ice Tigers faster, they wouldn't have died!"

"Are you saying I am the one in the wrong?!"

"That's right! You are wrong, Elder Sister-sama!"

I went against Elder Sister-sama for the first time.

I was probably not in a correct state of mind because of my first time witnessing the death of my sisters.

Even though I could have protected them if I had been there!

"You don't understand anything at all!"

"You blockhead Elder Sister-sama! You killed them all!"

"Are you saying you would have done better?!"

"Better than you !"

Normally, Elder Sister-sama would just push it aside saying 'good grief', but right now she was making a truly angered face.

"You...!"

She punched me.

"What are you doing?!"

I punched her back.

From there on, it turned into a grand fist fight.

"""W-Wait."""

The older sisters and the surviving little sisters try to get in between us to stop us, but no one can stop a fight between the No.2 and No.3.

Elder Sister-sama is strong.

I don't know her age, but she was born far before us, and has been leading the Lamias for a long time.

If I were to compare her to the crazy flashy beauty that is Mother-sama, she would be the slightly cold, long, slender, and well-proportioned beauty.

That Elder Sister-sama had a big scowl on her beautiful face, grabbing my hair, and swinging her fist.

Compared to that, I am a little bit older than 1 year, and my body had only matured recently.

Normally, it shouldn't be possible for me to win in a fight against Elder Sister-sama, but maybe thanks to these so called skills, we were on par.

Elder Sister-sama and I pulled each other's hair, coiled around each other's body, and continued punching each other.

At the moment when my consciousness was about to fly away, Elder Sister-sama lost consciousness completely.

"I won..."

After that, I also fainted.

"Haah, what are you doing?"

"..."

"..."

Later, we were reprimanded by Mother-sama a whole lot.

Elder Sister-sama and I didn't meet eye to eye.

Elder Sister-sama also doesn't look over here.

"Hey now, you girls are the center of this family. Get along with each other."

Mother-sama who doesn't worry about the small stuff was exasperated at us. In the end, the two of us didn't say a single word, and finished the preaching.

◇◇

Since the fight with Elder Sister-sama, factions were made in our family.

The first one was the Elder Sister-sama group.

The other one was a group with me as the center.

The group of Elder SIster-sama continued with the method of having the young ones be the center and have the older ones join to follow up if needed.

On the other hand, our method was for me to stand at the front when hunting.

At first, I thought our group was the better one because, even if we were attacked by enemies, we didn't have much casualties.

But that wasn't the case.

The hunting method of Elder Sister-sama helped them grow individually.

My group was relying solely on me.

(I messed up...)

I am happy that they rely on me, but that's not good.

I can't leave anymore.

(Elder Sister-sama might have been right...)

"..."

"..."

Even when we Elder Sister-sama and I pass by each other every now and then, we haven't spoken to each other for days.

Even though in the past, we were sisters that got along with each other.

I am trying to get the timing right so that we can be together alone, but that chance didn't come.

Elder Sister-sama is always together with someone lately...

I had no other choice but to forcefully get closer to Elder Sister-sama and whisper to her.

"Hey, I have something to talk to you about alone. Come to the back of the waterfall."

"?! W-What's with you? Shouldn't it be fine right now?"

No.

There's no way I can do something as unsightly as lowering my head in front of everyone.

"Tonight, okay?"

"...Got it."

Alright alright, let's end this sibling fight with this.

◇◇

I went back to my bed and waited for the time when I had to meet with Elder Sister-sama.

Just that, because of the hunts I have been doing every day, I ended up dozing off.

(Oh, crap! I hope I didn't oversleep.)

I hurriedly tried to wake up...

But I noticed an abnormality.

(The air is cold?)

Because the lair of the Lamias is close to some Lava Cave or whatever, the temperature is on the high side.

We are weak to cold after all.

"Everyone! Older Sisters! Mother-sama!"

I look around to tell them about this abnormality.

"Eh?"

And a nightmare was present there.

My older sisters, my siblings, their bodies were pale white and collapsed on the ground.

It doesn't look like they are breathing.

The ones who were breathing were being attacked by harpies.

"You...! From where did they...?!"

Our lair has an entrance that cannot be opened unless a member of the family opens it from the inside.

There's no way enemies can enter!

"Kyahahahahahaha!"

The harpies laugh with an ear-ringing voice.

"Damn it!"

I tried to fight just like always, but my body was heavy like lead.

My body was raising a cry from the cold.

"Mother-sama!"

I can't do anything.

Mother-sama, save us!

But at the throne where my mother is always sitting on, there's an unknown blonde woman.

That beauty had as much impact as mother.

And the one collapsed below the feet of that woman is mother!

"Mother-sama!"

I tried to run to where she is, but the surrounding harpies held me down.

"Get off me!", I struggle.

"Hoh? Are you the young snake girl that I have heard has been bullying my family?"

"Who are you...?"

"I am the mother of the Harpies. We have been fighting the Lamias for 300 years, and finally, I can now finish off this annoying woman."

"Uuuh..."

The woman that calls herself the boss of the harpies kicks Mother-sama, and she lets out a groan.

"M-Mother-sama!"

"It is you, huh... Run away."

"Ahahahaha! Watch. The last moments of your mother."

After saying this, she screwed her hand into the chest of my mother, and yanked out her heart.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

Mother-sama raises a scream.

STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!

"What a beautiful color."

Is what she said, as the woman that called herself the mother of the harpies swallowed the heart!

Mother-sama stopped moving.

"YOU!! I WILL KILL YOU!!"

"Now then, only you remain."

"Eh?"

I look around.

Older Sisters.

Siblings.

Everyone.

They are all dead.

"No way."

"Even so, what unbelievable lifeforce. Even though you are still a young monster. Are you a variant monster?"

The enemy boss is saying something.

What am I doing?

I have to defeat the enemy.

"Right! Elder Sister-sama! Elder Sister-sama, save us!"

The No.2 that our family can rely on.

What are you doing at a time like this?!

"The eldest sister of your family was the one who invited us in."

That woman...what did she say just now?

"Even though Lamias are supposed to be a race that has a strong family bond."

She looks at me with a gaze of pity.

There's no way that's true.

Elder Sister-sama wouldn't do something like that.

"She told us to please kill the lively youngest child, you see. With sisters killing each other, the Lamias are done for."

When I heard those words, I lost all sense of reason, and struggled.

I sent the harpies who were restraining me flying.

And lunged towards the enemy boss.

The enemy wasn't agitated at all.

"Hey, there's not enough cold."

At the place where the mother of the harpies spoke to...

"Human?!"

"We are not good with magic, you see. That must be the case for you guys too though."

Being hit by the magic of a human mage, I couldn't move at all.

"Now then, bye... Last of the Lamias."

Those were the last words I could pick up.

The sharp claws of the harpy boss tore me up.

I died.

It was irritating that my second life would end within cold ice.

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