As she spoke, Nagini seemed determined to prove that her claim of "devoting everything" was no lie.
The black dress on her body slid from her shoulders like melting butter.
Ethan: ?!
—Could it be that Nagini has a hidden map tattoo on her body?
Ethan's eyes lit up, and he watched Nagini's performance with great interest. His gaze was clinical, as if he weren't looking at a beautiful member of the opposite sex, but rather at a slab of pork.
Even Nagini, who was used to the lecherous stares of the circus crowds, felt a bit uncomfortable under such scrutiny. Yet, strangely, it also gave her a slight sense of relief.
Her clothes slid to the floor, piling up like a discarded nest.
"Hiss..."
Appearing before Ethan was a massive, ink-black serpent standing upright.
"It" flicked a blood-red tongue, its body as thick as a sturdy bowl, and its sharp fangs glinted with an ominous purple light. It possessed both the raw power of a python and the lethal toxicity of a venomous snake.
The mixture of the two bestowed a unique beauty upon this terrifying beast, the same way people are drawn to explore the depths of a dark, yawning cave.
Being stared at by those cold, vertical pupils would make even the most experienced Auror's skin crawl.
"Hiss, hiss..."
Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you...
Nagini looked at the silent Ethan and spoke anxiously. But she immediately realized she was speaking Parseltongue, and no one could understand her. Based on past experience, this would likely only backfire.
Thinking this, the image of the boy with the beautiful cobalt-blue eyes began to overlap with the memories of people screaming and recoiling in her past.
[Monster! Get away!]
[Merlin's beard! She is a child of the curse! Born with half the blood of a beast! She's an omen of misfortune!]
—[Slap! Transform for me, now! Remember, it's only out of the goodness of my heart that I'm willing to keep a freak like you! Your only value is providing entertainment for others!!]
Nagini lowered her head in pain, her nictitating membranes quickly covering her pupils. In her snake form, she couldn't even perform the simple act of "closing her eyes."
At the very least, if this hideous body could pique the interest of the high-level being before her...
"Ah, is that it?"
A clear, youthful voice rang out, mingled with the "hissing" of the air.
"I went through all that trouble to suppress the teleportation, and this is all you have to show me?"
Nagini: ?
She lifted her head. Through her keen senses, she felt the blatant disappointment radiating from the boy:
"And here I thought you were going to show me a treasure map or something. Turns out you just turned into a snake."
Nagini froze and blurted out: [You... you're not afraid? You don't find me disgusting?]
Ethan tilted his head, looking at Nagini as if he were looking at a Puffskein.
"Afraid of you? Are you as tall as a mountain? Are you dozens of meters long?"
Nagini: [N-no...]
"Then can you kill someone just by looking at them?"
Nagini: [I... I can't—Wait, wait! You can understand what I'm saying?!]
"Isn't this just Parseltongue?"
Ethan spoke in a tone so casual it was as if he'd just brought home a Cthulhu from the local wet market.
Nagini: Snake-snake stunned.jpg
Ethan: "You're not as big as a mountain, and you don't have the ability to kill with a glance. What's there to be afraid of?"
Ethan patted the snake's head, speaking kindly like an old mentor advising a junior:
"Young lady, don't be so arrogant. Take it one step at a time. Keep it up~"
Nagini: [...]
A feeling she had never experienced before gripped "its" heart. It felt as though a thousand words were stuck in her chest, with no way to voice them.
It was as if she had thought herself a terrifying monster, only to find that the person standing before her was a Moon Goddess.
Snake-brain overloaded.jpg
Nagini stared blankly at Ethan for a long while before finally letting out a "hiss" of realization:
[Ah! You must be comforting me! You deliberately made up a non-existent monster just to put my mind at ease...]
With her nictitating membranes covering her eyes, Nagini lowered her head and whispered:
[You really are a kind person, my Lord.]
Moved-snake for a hundred years.jpg
Ethan: ?
"No, really... that monster—the Basilisk—actually exists. It's right in the basement of Hogwarts."
[Hehe, alright, I believe you.]
Nagini swayed her head and flicked her tongue as if smiling.
Ethan: "..."
Seeing that she clearly didn't believe him, Ethan puffed out his cheeks in annoyance. His gaze flicked toward the floor as dangerous thoughts swirled in his mind.
The audacity! How dare she doubt him! Should he call the Basilisk out right now...?
Before Ethan could move the "Chamber of Secrets Murder Case" forward by several decades, Nagini continued:
[I can feel that my time of clarity is running out... the blood curse is spreading through my body at every moment, and I am powerless to stop it.]
Nagini spoke in a calm, helpless voice.
[I am beyond saving... but Credence is different!]
Nagini shifted back into her human form, picking up her scattered clothes to cover herself. On her exposed arms, jagged black scales were visible.
[I beg of you, if it is possible, please save him! He... he is my only family left...]
—Credence.
Information about that gloomy young man, as well as a glimpse of him in the cemetery, flashed through Ethan's mind. Credence was a host for an Obscurus and carried the bloodline of the Dumbledore family. He was the thread that ran through the entire Fantastic Beasts series.
In the end, I think he resisted Grindelwald's control and died of exhaustion... or maybe he was taken back by Dumbledore's brother.
Ethan thought to himself, feeling largely uninterested. A flicker of inorganic coldness flashed in his cobalt-blue eyes.
He had already finished studying Obscurus energy through Ariana. Following Grindelwald was Credence's own choice; even Nagini couldn't hold him back.
"I'm just a weak, poor, and helpless art student with a few followers. I'm not some grand spiritual mentor~"
And if he were to consider where to even begin "saving" him, it would seem he'd have to go all the way back to Credence's infancy—back to the moment he was switched at birth.
...He didn't have much motivation for that.
Just as Ethan was about to speak, Nagini's gaze hardened, as if she had made a final decision!
Her head suddenly transformed back into a terrifying snake head, lunging forward like a coiled spring!
Ethan raised an eyebrow. Accompanied by a slight sting, a cold sensation rose from his neck.
At the same time, due to the fluctuation of magic, the blinding white light of the Silver Key broke through the barrier and instantly enveloped Ethan!
Amidst the large mass of bubbles gushing out like fish eggs, Nagini's muffled voice drifted through:
[Please, take me to his side...]
The next second.
Swish!
The white light was like an ocean. Ethan plummeted into the bubbles that traversed time and space.
[You have obtained a special mark!]
[Maledictus · Nagini's Mark: Mixed with the aura of a curse, it can confuse the sense of smell and allow you to disguise yourself as a dark creature.]
[Even if her soul is worn away and incomplete, Nagini will be able to recognize this mark.]
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