Chapter 5: The Will of Life and Death

“Huh?” I looked at Elvira with a strange expression.
“How did it become me? Because I can control those thorns?”

“Not entirely. Besides your ability, the location and scent are also factors in my judgment,” Elvira’s tone was serious.

This is ridiculous.
I’m not from this world.
I’ve lived for over twenty years; you think I don’t know who I am?

Maybe it’s a coincidence?
Like, the place I was reincarnated just happened to be in the church, and Elvira just happened to be looking for it there.

Fate, it works in mysterious ways.

I washed the silk cloth, wrung out the excess water, and returned to Elvira’s side.
I brushed aside the long hair from her forehead and cheeks, but my hand paused as it touched her cheek.

Her skin was fair and translucent, her nose elegant and refined, her eyebrows like a new moon, and her eyes like flowing light.
A single beauty mark at the corner of her left eye was the finishing touch, faintly revealing the aura of a ruler.
Perhaps she would become a queen or something similar in the future.

Such a peerless beauty is right in front of me, at my mercy.
This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Sigh!
Unfortunately, I’m pretty much the same as her, so I can’t do anything… strange.

Forget it.
Great souls are androgynous.
If I have to be a woman, then so be it.
Besides, I’m so beautiful now.

Pushing aside the messy thoughts, I gently caressed Elvira’s cheek with the silk cloth while continuing our previous conversation.

“I don’t think I’m the ‘Seed of Genesis and Extinction’.
By the way, what do you want that thing for?”

“To eat it… it can cure diseases…”

“Eat it? Cure diseases? What kind of disease requires an ancient artifact to cure?”

I don’t know what that artifact does, but it’s called an artifact!
Just from the name, you can tell it’s not simple.
The disease it’s used to cure must be something extraordinary as well.

“To cure… the curse on my body, and other things…”
Elvira’s eyes dimmed, like a candle flame gradually extinguishing in a storm.

“You, really,” I clicked my tongue, feeling like I was scolding a hopeless case.
I emphasized what I had said before,
“Didn’t I say that this curse thing is a lie? If others say you’re a bad omen and you believe them, then I might as well say you’re my destined dragon.”

Hearing this, Elvira grabbed my hand, the flame in her eyes rekindling.
Her golden dragon pupils gazed at me.

“Verona, do you really think so?”

“Why are you suddenly so serious?”
I was truly puzzled by Elvira’s obsessive behavior, but I still gave her a serious answer.
“Look, you were the first person I saw when I woke up, you were the one who flew me away from that hellish place, and you were the one who saved me from mortal danger.”

Wanting to make my words more convincing, I held her cheeks with both hands and curved my lips into what I thought was my most beautiful smile.

“Someone like you, on what grounds are you the ill-omened dragon others speak of? They call you an outcast, so am I not one too, being called a witch?
Come on, say it with me: to hell with their durian-steak-mama’s-kiss¹ curse.”

Elvira’s face instantly turned scarlet, her cheeks growing hot.
She shook her head, freeing herself from my hands, her gaze flickering.
Her red lips opened and closed several times before she finally answered.

“The first part… thank you. But the last sentence is too, too stupid… a bunch of strange nouns, I won’t say it…”

I have to say, Elvira is quite cute when she’s flustered.
The contrast between her half-shy, half-annoyed look and her usual natural authority is just so damn sweet.

Alright, let’s change the subject for her.
I’m afraid the child will turn completely red soon.

“Okay, okay, if you don’t want to say it, you don’t have to.
By the way, what do you plan to do now?
I think the two of us will probably be wanted by that group for a while.”

“That is the Church of Mancius, which dominates this continent. They…”

Growl—

Just as a few syllables escaped her lips, Elvira’s stomach protested, and her face turned even redder.

“Hungry, are we? It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s a human thing. Same for dragons,” I said with a smile.

“I’m… not.”

“Right, right, right, I’m the one who’s hungry. You wait here, I’ll go look for some food nearby.”

I patted my clothes and stood up, leaving Elvira alone while I ventured deeper into the forest to search for something edible.

I am Verona Heratis, and I will show you how to survive in a harsh and challenging other world.

In my past life, I watched a lot of that show with the man who stood at the top of the food chain, evaluating animals by their protein content.
I’ve accumulated a lot of knowledge about wilderness survival.

The laws of victory have been established!

For this wonderful start, please cheer for me, applaud for me.

Should I say, as expected of another world… this forest is really huge.
The smallest trees are at least six stories tall.
The trees are really tree-like, and the flowers are really flower-like.
Everything is beautiful, except…

The survival knowledge from the two worlds is not universal.

I’ve been wandering in the forest for a long time.
I’ve found quite a few wild fruits, but whether they’re edible is another matter.

But these two full mounds on my body are quite useful.
At least I can carry more fruits.

I looked down at the pile of fruits I was holding with my arms crossed against my chest.
How should I put it?
I feel like I’m holding a bunch of plants that can fight zombies.

Bright red tree fruits, dark purple wild berries—they all look like they’re about to explode.

But they’re not tree fruits or wild berries, they just look like them.

I actually saw a few animals, but they were very fast, disappearing into the bushes in a flash.
I had no way of catching them.

If only… I could still control those thorns.

But thinking about it now, my state back then was really terrifying.
Not only did I kill without batting an eye, I actually ripped out that white-robed woman’s heart and lungs…
It was truly cruel.

This isn’t some so-called “holy mother” complex.
I feel nothing about that woman’s death.
She tortured me like that, why should I want her to live?

It’s just… my state at that time…

Frenzied, bloodthirsty, and even a bit irrational.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have forgotten Elvira in the city.
If I hadn’t forgotten her, she might not have been so badly injured.

We were lucky this time, but what about next time?
Or what if Elvira isn’t by my side?
Or what if, in that state, I did something to Elvira…

I dare not think further…

It was like a mad killer.
What’s even more terrifying is that I’m not sure if that state will frequently appear, until I completely become an out-and-out lunatic…

I don’t want to be a lunatic…

I hope that day will never come.

Walking through the bushes, the sunlight seemed to take on a shape.
It pierced through the clouds and leaves, casting down strips of white ribbon, dyeing everything with vibrant colors of life.

Looking left and right, I searched for anything that looked edible.
Suddenly, a bush not far away rustled and shook.

Something is in there?!

Could it be an animal…

I pulled one arm from my chest and picked up a stick as thick as my forearm from the ground.
I slowly approached the bush, holding the stick high, waiting intently for the animal inside to come out.

It didn’t make me wait long!

A grayish-white head suddenly popped out.
The stick in my hand came down in a flash!
It whistled towards the head with unstoppable force!

Bonk—

“Awooo—”

I hit it!

A joyful smile appeared on my face.
My mood was excellent.
After working so hard for so long, I finally got a decent reward.
I was extremely happy!

The owner of the head was also extremely happy…

Look, it’s baring its sharp teeth and smiling at me.

One head of the grayish-white giant wolf in the bush was shaking non-stop, while the other stared at me fiercely.

This thing… if I kill it, it should drop a circle that I can absorb, right…²

My left eyebrow twitched, a chill ran down my spine, and a few large drops of cold sweat slid down my forehead.
I gave a dry laugh and tried to communicate with the two-headed giant wolf.

“Haha… Yo~ you two brothers, making a freak show, huh?
Well, I won’t disturb you. I’ll be on my way now, got a dragon at home waiting for dinner~”

But the giant wolf didn’t care about any of that and just opened its mouth to bite.

I shoved the stick into its mouth, temporarily blocking the bite.
Without thinking, I threw all the wild fruits in my arms at it, then turned around and ran for my life.

“Elvira!! Help!!”
I shouted to the sky, praying that the little black dragon could hear me, while running as fast as I could, not daring to look back.

Why have I been running for my life ever since I was reincarnated!
And this time, I’m up against a four-wheel-drive, dual-core processor!
What can I, a two-wheel-drive, single-core, do to win?!

I ran through the forest without a care for my image, the giant wolf in hot pursuit.
Its heavy breathing never stopped and was getting closer and closer.

This moment is just like that other moment.
In a book called The Dog and the Dragon Fruit³, there was a story about a great master who had raised dogs for three generations.
How I wish he could appear before me now!

After running for a short while, a coppery taste filled my mouth.
I started to pant heavily.
This body’s stamina seems to be quite poor.
Plus, I hadn’t fully recovered from escaping Norn City, so I couldn’t run anymore.

My foot stumbled, as if I had tripped on something.
My body suddenly lost balance and fell to the ground, which was exactly what the giant wolf behind me wanted to see.

I quickly turned my head.
Two gaping, bloody maws rapidly enlarged in my vision.
I could even smell the foul stench.
For a moment, I thought I might become the most tragic transmigrator ever, bar none…

But the next moment!

A streak of black lightning suddenly arrived, lashing out like a dragon’s tail, like a steel whip, hitting the giant wolf in the waist.
The slender black figure then turned and kicked out with a side kick.
The giant wolf crashed into a distant tree trunk.
Finally, crimson lightning flashed in Elvira’s hand.
With a raise of her delicate hand, a two-meter-long lightning spear instantly formed and shot towards the giant wolf!

After a series of crackling electrical sounds, the giant wolf, which had been so arrogant just a moment ago, now lay motionless.

“Are you okay,” Elvira asked worriedly, clutching her right arm.

“I’m fine,” I said, panting as I propped myself up.
With a dark expression, I walked over to the giant wolf’s corpse and kicked its head resentfully, over and over again.

“Banana you, you bara⁴! You like chasing people, don’t you! You like biting people?
You think you’re so tough with two heads? Huh? Speak!”

This whole display left Elvira stunned.
After venting my frustration, I turned to Elvira with a proud look on my face, pointed at the giant wolf, and said.

“There, food. Found it.”

Footnote:

¹ 榴莲牛排妈妈吻 (liúlián niúpái māmā wěn – durian-steak-mama’s-kiss): Similar to the previous curse, this is another string of nonsensical, random words used for humorous effect instead of actual profanity. The translation preserves the absurd nature of the phrase.

² 打死了应该会爆出一个能让人吸收的圈圈吧 (dǎ sǐle yīnggāi huì bào chū yīgè néng ràng rén xīshōu de quān quān ba – if I kill it, it should drop a circle that I can absorb, right): This is a meta-reference to video games, particularly MMORPGs or soulslike games, where defeating enemies causes them to drop items, experience, or souls (often depicted as glowing orbs or circles) that the player character can absorb to become stronger.

³ 《狗与火龙果》(Gǒu yǔ huǒlóngguǒ – The Dog and the Dragon Fruit): This is a humorous and nonsensical reference, likely to an internet meme or inside joke from the original Chinese web novel community. The “three generations of dog raising” and the specific title are meant to be absurd, creating a moment of levity in a tense situation. It’s not a real book.

⁴ 香蕉你个芭拉 (xiāngjiāo nǐ gè bā lā – Banana you, you bara): Another example of a nonsensical, humorous curse. “Bara” is a loanword from Japanese, referring to a genre of manga featuring masculine, often muscular, men in homoerotic relationships. The combination of “banana” and “bara” is intentionally random and comical, serving as a substitute for actual swear words.