“What’s all the ruckus?” Kael grumbled. He sat up while rubbing his eyes aggressively.

“What in the Underworld…”

Kael was met with the sight of his faithful hound wagging its tail joyfully. But that was not what he was looking at. What drew his gaze was the familiar scaly figure trapped in its jaws.

The hound just sat still and wagged its tail. It had a strange look in its eyes- rather smug it was.

‘Perhaps it was just another reptile with shiny blue scales that can be seen in the dark…’ He thought.

“Is that…” Kael squinted to try and prove his suspicions wrong, that it was just a normal pest. Just when he was perplexed about his lack of clear vision, he realised.

The room was still dark as the Underworld’s punishment chambers.

‘Goddamn idiot’ he thought as he got up to light one of the lamps. However…

Fsss the flame of the match he lit extinguished in a few seconds.

Zzp Kael tried to light the match again.

Fsss- Zzp.

Fsss- Zzp. Crack.

…The match broke.

Kael clenched his jaw so hard that his teeth were about to break. His left eye was twitching as he played this endless ballad with his arch nemesis.

He could not help but think if he had done anything to offend the Lady of Fire. Lady Luck as well…

Sending Kael’s growing anger, the hound began to lose its smug look and became increasingly worried. After all, its master would turn to it to vent his anger. Being picked up by such an aloof yet punishing master, Lady Luck truly never smiled upon the hound. Upon reaching this epiphany, its ears drooped slightly.

“Little shit!” The words never failed to make the mythic beast shudder. It, too, had learned the habit of clenching its jaw from seeing its master.

This cycle of misfortune reached the poor snake, who was being crushed close to death. Ever since it had the honour of that unfaithful encounter with the Swordmaster, its luck had only decreased by tenfold. It found itself finally recovering from its mental and physical wounds, when the man’s shenanigans had ensnared it once more.

The mild claustrophobia it had developed being trapped in the box as Kael ran and the closing wounds from Kael’s pulverising were worsening from being trapped in the beast’s fangs. It had a whole view of the hound’s mouth as once more, it had been unfortunate enough to be picked up head-first in a frenzy. It was a luxurious view, lavish enough to see the sharp fangs penetrating its scales before it felt the sting in the exact same location the Swordmaster tackled it. If it even dared to squirm, it would only rip open to the closure of its life.

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‘Lady Luck never smiles upon me.’ The snake thought bitterly, crying inside a little.

Kael reached out into the box for another matchstick, only to be met with emptiness. Kael’s expression did not change in the slightest as he flipped the box and shook it to see if any remaining matchstick would come out. Since his endeavours had failed, he calmly clenched the box and threw it out the window with all his might.

However, the window was closed.

CRACK!

The window broke into countless shining shards, illuminating the moonlight. What a beautiful sight, but certainly not worth the fee. Kael felt as if one of those shards had flown into his ears and began digging at his frontal lobe.

To make matters worse, a voice came from downstairs to lodge in another shard.

“You bastard! What in the Unseemly Tyrant’s name are you doing? I let you sleep in my inn and this is what you, do you-” The rest of the words were too hard on both the ears and heart, so Kael drowned it out. The sound was approaching closer, though, and the Swordmaster was out of legal options.

The hound was not surprised, and it knew what to do in situations like this. It immediately dropped the snake. Like an albino steed of the most revered warrior approaching to turn the tides on battle, it assumed a battle stance and took a leap of faith. Where? Out the damn window.

“Awooo!” It let out a valiant battle cry as it landed perfectly on its fours. Then, it did what its kin did best. And this dog, in particular, was a master in this sacred art of the fearsome hounds.

“Arf! Arf! Arf!” It yelped like a ravenous street dog with rabies chasing after a young lad on a bicycle running an errand for his father.

“What the- this son of a-” The innkeeper’s curses were very accurate. The hound was a dog, after all, and so was its mother.

Kael stood in the centre of the room in a night robe with lifeless eyes. A vein was bulging on his neck and his jaw was still clenched.

He looked down at himself and sighed as if grieving.

‘Is the floor going to cave in next?’

As he looked down, he caught wind of a shadow of a figure in his peripheral vision. Before the Swordmaster could dwell upon it, his hands had already caught his prey.

“PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE! I MEAN NO HARM!” The snake cried.

Hisssssss- was all that came out of its mouth. The snake wanted to bang itself against a wall. It forgot that it could not speak the human tongue.

It suddenly felt tired of living.

Kael wasted no time. He took his coin pouch and turned it upside down, dropping the little coins he brought with him- just enough for a room and a meal- and left the coins there as compensation for the window.

He then took the snake and stuffed it into the pouch. He grabbed his coat and swiftly put it on him. The pouch containing the reptile was shoved into the coat pocket.

The snake really could not escape its newfound claustrophobia.

Unhurriedly, Kael opened the door and walked down the stairs out the inn.

He looked out the window by the stairs, only to find the poor innkeeper breaking his back with a frying pan in his hand, chasing after the hound.

“You bitch!” “Arf!”

The sounds were melodious to Kael’s ears, while the snake writhed in pain hearing the noises of two dogs cursing at each other. Every time the snake squirmed, Kael would give it a quick slap with the back of his hand.

Stoically, Kael sauntered down the stairs. Most miscreants in an inn would flee through the window or the chimney at top speed. However, the Swordmaster leisurely made his way towards the lobby and left through the front door. He faced no obstacle in doing so.

As he walked outside, he came across the ferocious dog chasing the pitiful human in circles. He made a mental note to give the dog a treat in the near future. Kael ignored them and just made his way to the streets.

‘The Dog will find its way to me somehow. Let it play for a while.’ Kael disappeared into the sunrise with the poor snake in tow, abandoning his loyal beast for another. His mind had gotten back on track, forgetting his grievances with Lady Luck and focusing on the mystery of the snake and of course…the Spellmaster.

At the same time, the hound delivered its finishing blow with a large bite to the innkeeper’s bare leg. At the moment, two shrill howls erupted in the starry expanse.

“Awooo!” The hound let out its victory cry.

“Owww!” The innkeeper let out a howl of pain.

The hound eagerly trotted back up the stairs to earn a few headpats from its master. However, the room has long been empty.

Stark betrayal cast across the hound’s face. It’s tail and ears drooped as it let out a low growl.

“Grr….” That night, it swore an oath under the rising sun’s beckoning.

The next time he bids for me, will I show? I swear on my honour as a hound I shall not! Even if I get treats!