š Scene ā A Black Lake and Hidden Threats
Lilith and Medusa were taking the little girl on a peaceful outing, walking between dark trees and jagged rocks until a strange black lake appeared before them nearby.
The moment the child saw the lake, her eyes lit up with overwhelming excitement. She began waving her hands and feet enthusiastically while in Lilith's arms, then shouted happily:
"I want to go! I want to go!"
Lilith laughed softly, then gently set her down on the ground and said with a smile:
"But don't wander too far away, alright?"
The child nodded quicklyā
But before she could even say goodbye to her mother, the instant her feet touched the ground, she sprinted with all her strength toward the nearby black lake.
Lilith watched her with a faint smile, then turned toward Medusa and said in a low voice, though loud enough for her to hear:
"How can such a beautiful child be the daughter of a Medusa with neither manners nor intelligence?"
Medusa looked at Lilith coldly, then shifted her gaze toward her daughter. When she saw the child busy throwing small stones into the lakeā
She immediately seized the opportunity.
Moving with frightening speed, she grabbed Lilith by the neck while a dark and ominous aura gathered in her other hand.
In a terrifyingly low voice, she said:
"If you go near my daughter again, you wretchā¦ you'll see what I'll do to you."
Lilith looked shockedā¦
Or at least, she tried to.
But the smile curling at her lips completely betrayed her.
Medusa stared at her in irritation and asked sharply:
"What's so funny about what I said?"
Lilith couldn't stop laughing. Between amused chuckles, she replied:
"I haven't seen you this angry in agesā¦ not since that fool beat you."
Medusa paused for a moment.
The dark memories Lilith had mentioned resurfaced in her mind. Her expression shifted slightly, and she slowly removed her hand from Lilith's neck before saying irritably:
"Don't tell my daughter anything about thatā¦ understood?"
Lilith gave her a broad grin and nodded in an exaggerated manner.
"Of course, of course."
Medusa relaxed slightly after hearing thatā¦
But Lilith's next words shattered that calm instantly.
With obvious mischief, she said:
"But naturallyā¦ I'll have to tell her everything once she grows up. She should avenge her mother, shouldn't she?"
Medusa's eyes widened with fury, and she was about to lunge at her againā
But at that momentā
The child suddenly screamed.
Lilith and Medusa vanished from where they stood and instantly appeared beside the girl with terrifying speed.
Lilith quickly knelt down and began checking the child anxiously.
"What happened, little one? Did something happen? Are you hurt?"
Before the child could answer, Medusa shook her head slightly while carefully scanning the surroundings, then said:
"I neither saw nor sensed anything strange hereā¦"
She then knelt before her daughter, looking at her with genuine concern and unmistakable maternal warmth.
"What happened, my little one? Did something hurt you?"
But before the child could respondā
Lilith shook her head confidently and said:
"She's completely fineā¦ not even a scratch."
The moment Medusa heard Lilith's words, she relaxed slightly. Then both she and Lilith looked at the child in confusion and asked at the same time:
"Why did you scream?"
The child looked at them with obvious annoyance, puffing out her cheeks angrily while the little snakes on her head bared their fangs in irritation. She grumbled:
"You weren't even listening to me! You just kept talking and answering each otherā¦ so I won't say anything now! Hmph!"
She turned her face away from them in childish anger, though every few seconds she glanced up toward the sky, as if watching something.
Lilith noticed this. She frowned and looked up as wellā¦
And thereā
She saw a strange-looking raven flying high above the lake.
The moment she saw it, she immediately understood what was happening.
She vanished from her spot and shot into the sky at terrifying speed, grabbing the raven before it could even comprehend what was happening.
Moments later, she returned to the ground with the raven in her hands. Waving it playfully before the child, she said in a fake, comical voice:
"Oh no, I'm sorry! Oh, I'm so weak!"
The child stared at the raven in surprise, then looked at Lilith. Her anger disappeared instantly, and the snakes on her head calmed immediately.
She approached Lilith with eyes full of sympathy and asked softly:
"Auntieā¦ can I hold him?"
Lilith laughed lightly, then glanced toward Medusa, who now understood what was happening. Medusa looked at her with both irritation and reluctant admiration at the same time.
Lilith then handed the raven to the child and said:
"Here you go, little oneā¦ this cute little thing is yours."
The child took the raven excitedly and began staring at it happily before laughing and saying:
"Oh! It's him! It's him!"
The raven remained silent in her hands while she observed him with immense curiosity.
Then suddenlyā
The child plucked a small feather from one of his wings.
The raven cried out in pain and flapped his wings wildly, trying to escape, but the child quickly hugged him to her chest and said worriedly:
"Ah! I'm sorry! I won't do it again, little one!"
Lilith and Medusa watched the scene with surprise. After a few moments, Lilith chuckled softly and said:
"She takes after you in thisā¦ she likes new toys."
Medusa turned toward her angrily and snapped:
"You ruined her manners in a single day, you wretchā¦ I'll never forgive you."
Lilith and Medusa continued their petty argument, bickering over who was better at taking care of the childāand which of them was corrupting her moreā¦
But while they were distractedā
Neither of them realized that giving the raven to the little girlā¦
Was no different from willingly bringing the enemy directly into their den.
(Author's Note):
Hello everyone! Thank you for your continuous support of this novel; your comments and interactions mean the world to me.
Stepping away from our story here for a moment, I wanted to share another project I've been working on with great passion. I have started publishing a webtoon (comic) on the Webtoon platform titled "Me and the Wolf."
It is a [Comedy / Fantasy] story about a miserable young man and a cunning wolf who is constantly getting him into trouble! If you enjoy my writing style and the way I build scenarios, I promise you're going to love this comic.
I would be so grateful if you could go check it out, subscribe to the series, and let me know what you think in the comments there!
š Search on the Webtoon app for: [Me and the Wolf]