Chapter 10 - When Seduction Fails, Throw A Hissy Fit (Part 1)
"Greetings, traveler."
She walks closer.
"Um, hello. Nice meeting you?"
I smile amicably, although it's anyone's guess if my smile looks good enough or strained. Determined to try going through this predicament without resorting to fighting her, I ignore my negative self-talk.
After all, in the anime, she was portrayed to be this gag character whose role was just to lure Goku with cheap seduction tactics before trying to eat him. Maybe the anime got it wrong. Maybe she can be reasoned with.
Still, I must admit, the anime did not do her justice. She doesn't look as ridiculous as she's portrayed in the show.
She owns her big-hair female rockstar look, and her nose is in the right proportions to complement her delicate demeanor. Even with her blue-green skin wrapped under the contours of her scaly cheongsam so tight like the snake she is, she carries herself like a true goddess the ogres proclaim her to be. Even her lips, slightly parted and tinted with a poisonous green, somehow work in her favor.
"You like what you're seeing, don't you?"
Not really... Okay, I don't like where this is going. Sure, she looks decent enough, but that was just me trying to cultivate positive feelings for her.
I clear my throat. "I'm sorry, Princess Snake, but—
"Your voice... Ah, that baritone is something to die for." Her eyes flutter half-shut. "Deep, smooth, and far too dangerous. Tell me, my boy, how many poor girls have you lured into your chambers with that?"
A coy smirk lifts one side of her face as she lets her fingers trail down the stole curled around her neck, then runs a hand through her orange hair so thick I doubt she could style it with anything less than industrial equipment, let alone her dainty hands.
"Zero." I try to sound stern, changing my approach.
She giggles. "Well, well. Aren't you the gentleman. I don't usually entertain young men like you... but for you, well... Maybe just this once."
She steps closer, now upright, head tilted slightly upward to expose her jawline like she's expecting me to simp for her.
I can't help but smirk at my own thoughts. She should get over herself.
"Goodness me, traveler. You keep looking at me like that, and I might start thinking you actually like me."
Ugh.
She closes her eyes and feels the fabric of her gloves with her face as though savoring the fantasies she's creating. Then they snap open, treating me like eye candy, especially my lips, which I force to keep smiling.
"If smiles could kill, my boy, I'd be a pile of ashes under your feet had I been any more delicate." Her eyes sparkle. "Not that I'd mind. I do so love a man with a dominant streak."
Okay, her advances are getting too much. Is this how kids feels when being groomed? Aren't they more, I don't know, more subtle about this, at least? "Thanks, I guess..."
She steps even closer, her position now a few meters from me. The power from where she stands emanates, almost suffocating. It would have drowned me had I not improved my own strength and remained as strong as I was when I was just starting to run Snake Way.
Feeling her Ki, I can tell she has around the same level of power as mine. Still, no matter how ridiculous she's being, she's the one with experience that only comes with age. For all I know, she could be a thousand years old, having encountered many warriors who dared to tread on Snake Way and won every single time.
"You seem really nice and all..."
Although I'm still under twice Earth's gravity, I still don't want to fight her even without any gravity restrictions. Not when the only battlefield is this narrow road where a single misstep could lead me to some random Hell.
Now that I've made so much progress on this long winding road, greeting the ogres below in Hell doesn't seem appealing to me anymore.
"And don't get me wrong, I think you seem pretty nice and all..."
I can only put on a smile again and play along. For now, that is. Until I'm fully prepared. For when things go south, at least I should put up a fight, right?
So I begin a slow, quiet task: shedding the thin soul Ki layer clinging to my skin. Either the coating is thin enough for it to be easily camouflaged by my blue shirt on my upper body or she's just bad at Ki sensing.
"But you know, I really have to be going..."
I begin gathering the Soul Ki through my hypodermis at my back like peeling old bark, millimeter by millimeter, and distributing them to gather at the center of my back, around the part hiding my kidneys.
"It's nothing personal or anything. I don't think I'm ready for that kind of adventure yet, you see?"
"But won't you come in, traveler? Just for a little while." Princess Snake advances one step, one hip popped in a way that suggests she's either trying to seduce me or battling an undiagnosed case of scoliosis.
Her gloved hand rests on the white fluffs of her stole lining the curve beneath as her arms meet at her belly, as though hiding a delicacy she very much wants me to find.
Ha! Delicacy? Yeah, right.
I'm sure I'm the one who's gonna be the delicacy here, and I don't mean it in a narcissistic way, either.
"Well, I really don't think that's necessary. Thanks for the offer, though."
"I daresay, the road has been cruel to you." Her eyes drag across my torso and then down to my pants.
Most of the Soul Ki has gathered from the space between my shoulder blades down to the base of my spine. Now, even the coating around the back of my neck begins to peel away.
"And yet... how you shine through it all, even managing to still be composed and not have any ounce of desperation in your bones. And that jawline, wow. It could chisel marble. And those eyes. Stormy, secretive. Mmm, I dare say even kings would trade thrones for a single glance."
Heat creeps up my cheeks. I scratch the back of my neck. It's bare now, just as I felt.
"Well, you're not wrong there, I suppose."
She again takes a few steps forward. I keep the distance while keeping an awkward smile. Not only do I have to keep my back hidden from her so she can't see what I'm doing, but I also have to watch my periphery, carefully maneuvering backward. I pivot at the edge of the intersection.
Now I'm back on the main stretch of Snake Way, perpendicular to the short branch leading to her palace, facing the direction of Snake Way's starting point.
"Really, Princess Snake. You don't have to go through the trouble just for me."
She glides up to the intersection, facing me in a straight line, now advancing like a lecherous auntie.
"Don't be shy, my boy. All warriors need some rest, especially with the long stretch you've been running. And I just happen to be an excellent masseuse."
I try hard not to wince from how desperate she's being. She really can't take no for an answer, can she? Doesn't she have any ounce of self respect?
"Wow, Snake Princess. That's... very nice of you. Thank you. But you see, well, I think I'm good. Really. You don't have to."
She stops taking another step, putting on a pout. "But won't you spare this delicate damsel some of your time? It's been a thousand years since I've been in the presence of a man, especially someone as strong as you."
I suppress a sigh. She sure can't take rejection well. What a psycho—and not even the cute Yandere type.
"Princess Snake, I don't think I'm as strong as you think I am. I mean, look at me." I raise my arms forward. "I'm not buff or anything."
I curl my biceps. "Just look at them. My muscles aren't that big, are they? I can't even do bench presses to save my life."
She pauses, probably considering what I'm saying. I take the opportunity to speed up the redistribution of Ki behind me. Those on my thighs down to the back of my toes and my scalp, I gather them. I compress them all into a tiny ball I can only assume to be the size of a small softball.
What's left is the Soul Ki coating at my front. But I can't remove them. Not now, at least.
She hides her mouth behind her gloved palm, obviously smiling while acting like she's trying hard not to laugh. Not her trying to act all cute. Ugh.
"You sure love to jest, don't you, my boy? Not anyone can come here if they're not strong enough."
"I, uh..." Just a little more. Almost all the Soul Ki at my back is compressed into a single point. "Maybe. But I'm pretty sure you'd go for someone way more jacked than me, right? You and King Yemma would make a great couple!"
Sorry, King Yemma. It had to be done for the greater good. I swear I'll repay you in the future!
Her head tilts to the side, fingers lifting her chin as though recalling the past. She sighs with... longing? Yikes.
While she's busy reminiscing, I quietly guide the ball of Soul Ki to sink just beneath us, hovering below Snake Way's underside. Perfect. Now I can turn around without exposing anything suspicious.
She doesn't seem to notice.
"Ah, the good old days," she says. "I was still a young gal when we were an item. We had such chemistry, it seeped through the palace halls and right through the walls of my maids' chambers, if you catch my drift."
She winks at me.
"But," she continues, tone dropping an octave, "all good things must come to an end."
Her red eyes meet mine. Her face is suddenly serious, radiating an air of dominance. I stop breathing.
Did she notice?
"King Yemma, that jerk..."
Guess not.
"He divorced me. I might not look like it, but I don't beg for men who don't see my worth. He came crawling back decades later, of course. But only fools let themselves be disrespected twice."
Really, now?
"I'm really sorry that happened," I say, "but... aren't you kind of begging me to sleep with you right now?"
She blushes. "Oh, you... I'm sure you're nothing like him. Playing hard-to-get to make me want you more, I reckon?"
This conversation is not going anywhere!
Time for a move she won't expect. If I strike first, maybe I can turn the tables and escape.
I focus my thoughts. The orb of Soul Ki below us darts off away from us in a straight line beneath the path, far and fast. The farther it goes, the more mental effort it takes to maintain the link.
"I'm not really sure about that," I say, focusing on my link with the Soul Ki orb stretching thinner and thinner.
Her gaze traces over me, toe to crown. "You're... special, aren't you? That aura. So dazzling. So bright."
So she has noticed!
She closes her eyes and sniffs the air. "Mmm... is it just me, or are we even more compatible than we realize?"
Her footsteps quicken. She's closing the distance fast. I flinch—almost—before catching myself. The strain on my mental link with the Soul Ki orb wavers dangerously.
Is she doing this on purpose?
Now we're just a few feet apart. She leans in close, eyes gleaming like a cat eyeing a new toy she's just found. My skin crawls.
I can't help but lean back, just a little.
"You know," she says, voice sultry, "King Yemma was like that too. A hulking brute, stone cold... until he finally dropped the act." Her eyes narrow slightly. "Do you know what he told me the day after?"
I really don't want to know.
But that doesn't stop her. She leans in closer, lips near my ear.
"He said I gave him the time of his life while hugging me, together sprawled naked on the sheets." She winks again.
My jaw tightens on instinct. Great. Just what I needed—a mental picture.
I redirect my focus to the orb. I've got it hovering just above the road now, perfectly aligned. If I pull it back hard enough, it could punch clean through her chest. Best case scenario: right through the heart.
Well, blast at best, anyway. Trying to spin the orb at high velocity to penetrate through skin upon impact is harder than I thought.
Still, a plan already on my mind, a distraction is all I need to start.
"That's—Sorry, Princess Snake." I bite down the hesitation in my voice while narrowing my focus. The orb wavers. I adjust its position. Just a little more...
On second thought, controlling the orb already eats up almost all of my concentration at its distance. It drifts closer at my command.
On second thought, keeping the orb that far away spreads my focus too thin. It's like a rubber band. Pulling it back builds up the force, but unlike the usual kind, I can steer this one mid-flight.
The catch is, the farther the starting point, the harder it is to guide. It slips from precision, like trying to curve a shot you launched from too far away. But now, as I draw it closer at my command—
"What are you sorry for, my boy?" Princess Snake purrs, leaning forward, her head tilted just enough to meet my eyes with a teasing pout.
—The orb finally settles at the sweet spot: far enough to strike unseen, but close enough to let me snap it back fast. And guide it straight where I need it.
I'm about to let it snap back when she giggles. And smirks.
My heart thuds.
"You're not really really planning on doing that, are you?" She stands straight. My head has to bend down a little to scrutinize her expression.
Power Levels:
Carson - (under 2G) - 612
Carson (half of Soul Ki removed) - 765
Princess Snake - 900