1 Chapter 1 Zerha and a Serpent

-Disclaimer

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

-photo's not mine credits to the rightful owner

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“Hahaha! Is this the one who beat you? Are you kidding me? She’s just a little girl! Hahaha!” The leader of the high school gang approached Zerha.

“Y-yes, it’s not just me. The others were beaten up by her, too.” The boy who was just beaten up answered.

“Huh? Where are the others?”

“There,” the boy pointed to the students who were lying on the ground. After the leader saw

them, his face contorted with fear. “H-how?”

Zerha was about to leave when the gang leader called her.

“Wait! Would you like to join our gang?” He asked.

Zerha turned and looked directly at him. “Why would I join such a lame group?” She responded with a question of her own.

“W-what? L-lame?” The leader suddenly looked annoyed. Zerha remained silent as she merely stared at him with a bored expression, as if she didn’t care that he was angry.

“Looks like you want to get hurt. Boys, get her!” The leader shouted at his gang members, and they all made a move to attack Zerha.

Zerha sighed and murmured, “Looks like I don’t have a choice.” Then she started to fight.

The gang leader received a sudden call. When he hung up, he shifted his attention back to his

members and was shocked by what he saw. With a smug look, Zerha was sitting on top of the students that she had beaten up.

“M-monster,” the leader muttered in fear. However, it was loud enough for Zerha to hear, so she approached the leader and struck his neck, rendering him unconscious.

Zerha yawned. “Gotta get home or Brother will scold me again.” She sighed after saying this.

As Zerha walked down the street, she spotted an old woman holding many things. She

approached the old woman and assisted her in carrying the plastic bags.

“Zerha, it's you. Thank you. You always help me carry my things every time you see me.” The

old woman said gratefully.

“Because you are already weak and old! Tsk.”

“Hahaha! And look at yourself. You're so skinny and yet you easily defeated those boys.”

I shot her a look but did not say anything.

“You are really kind and helpful. I hope you will not change whatever your form is, or even the human race will turn against you.” The old woman continued.

Eh? What is this granny talking about? Man, old people always say the weirdest of things.

“Thank you for helping me again today, Zerha,” the old woman said with a megawatt smile.

“Don’t go around carrying heavy things again, Granny!”

“Hahaha! Don’t worry, I’m still strong! Hahaha!”

“S-strong? Look at your body, Granny!” I sighed. “I gotta go now!”

“Be careful on your way home!” The old woman waved at Zerha, who resumed walking. On

her way home, she saw a little boy playing ball in the street.

“Where are his parents? Don’t they know that it’s dangerous for kids to be playing in the

streets?”

As the kid was playing, the ball rolled onto the road where vehicles were zooming by. The kid

followed the ball, oblivious to the oncoming bus. Zerha saw it coming and shouted at the kid,

though he didn’t hear her. Zerha looked around, and everyone she saw was either on their phones or engaged in conversation.

“Sh*t!” Zerha cursed as she saw that the bus was getting closer. She quickly ran over to the kid and pushed him to the sidewalk, though it was too late for Zerha to get away from the bus. The bus driver attempted to hit the brakes, which suddenly stopped working.

Oi! Oi! Hold on! Am I gonna die here? Tsk. Why did I save that kid, anyway? Sh*t, everything and everyone seems to be moving in slow motion! If this is the end of me, I should be thinking of my precious moments or my family, right? Ahhh! And where is my background music? I always noticed that in movies, music plays in the background when a character is about to die, but where is mine? At least give

me a proper death!

*Now playing Fire by BTS*

Are you making fun of me? Fire by BTS? I’m gonna die! It’s not exactly a suitable song for my situation here! Well, at least my last moment is spent hearing a BTS song. I’m ready to accept my fate.

I feel pain all over my body. Looks like the bus already hit me, huh? I’m lying on the ground, and I see a great amount of blood splattered across the road. So, I’m gonna die here? What a life I had. Sigh.

Zerha was about to close her eyes when she saw the old woman from earlier. She was standing

afar, watching Zerha with a smile on her face.

What in the world? Why is she smiling at me? Is she happy because I’m gonna die? So terrible! After all I’ve done for her? She is taking pleasure in witnessing my death.

“Zerha! Z-Zerha!”

That voice, it’s Zale. Sorry for leaving you so early, Brother. Be sure to take care always.

“Z-Zerha! D-don’t leave me! F*ck*ng idiots! Somebody call an ambulance!” Zale shouted.

Her brother Zale held Zerha’s hand and sobbed.

“W-why? Zerha, you’re the only family I have, and now you’re l-leaving m-me? Please don’t give up on me! P-please.”

I’m sorry.

Zerha closed her eyes as a tear fell on her face.

“We’re very sorry, sir. She didn’t make it.” The man said after he checked Zerha’s heart to find that it had stopped beating.

“Nooo! Ahhh! Zerha!” Zale screamed in grief, while people were staring at him sympathetically.

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Zerha opened her eyes slowly, not knowing yet that she was in a different time and place.

Hm? Didn’t I just get hit by a bus? Did I survive? She asked herself, though she noticed that the ceiling above her is not that of a hospital room.

What is this place? The first thing I see when I open my eyes is a dark place. Sh*t! Don’t tell me I’m in hell! I feel kinda hot, too! No! No! No! I’m really in hell! Ahhh! Zerha panicked and stood up quickly, stepping on her own dress in the process.

Huh? Why am I wearing this? A red dress with a black cape? What’s going on?

Her eyes swept over the room.

Huh? This isn’t hell. It looks like I’m in a cave. But why am I in a cave? Shouldn’t I be in a hospital bed?

Aw, my head hurts!

Zerha brought her hand to her throbbing head. Then she suddenly screamed when she touched

something.

“AHHH! W-what the hell is this? And who the hell dyed my hair? White with red highlights?”

She quickly searched for something that she could use as a reflection. Though there was no

mirror-like object in the cave.

“Oi! Oi! Oi! I need a mirror! Hold on.”

Zerha lifted her hands to feel the object on her head. “Ahhh! I-is t-this a-a h-ho-horn?” She yelled to no one in particular.

Why? Huhuhu! Why do I have a horn? And what is this place? If I’m not in hell, am I in heaven? I’m already dead, right? I understand if Heaven didn’t accept me, but why didn’t Hell accept me either? Am I too devilish for them? What? I’m not a bad person! Why did both places reject me? Huhu Nandi?

When Zerha realized that neither Heaven nor Hell accepted her, she started trudging around

mindlessly. While she was walking, her eyes lit up when she spotted tons of gemstones.

“Waaah, this is my first time seeing a lot of gems! I’m gonna get them all, but where should I put them? I hope I have a bag.”

After Zerha mouthed the word ‘bag’, a backpack materialized out of nowhere. She was

astonished that the backpack that she pictured in her mind was exactly the same backpack that

she just received.

“H-how? I don’t know how you appeared and where you came from but hahaha! I’ll get all of the gemstones! I’ll sell all of them, Brother, and I will get rich! Oh yeah, maybe I’ll give Granny a little. Wahaha! Gemstones, you are all mine!”

Zerha didn’t care about the origin of the backpack and forgot that she had a horn on her head. All that she was focused on at that moment was getting all of the gems.

She immediately opened the backpack and poured all of the gemstones that she picked up into the bag.

“Emerald!”

“Waaah, a ruby!”

“There are all kinds of gemstones here! Don’t worry, I’ll get all of you! Wahaha!”

Zerha was so preoccupied with picking up all of the gemstones that she didn’t notice three

monsters lurking in the place. A serpent, a spider, and a dragon.

When the big, black serpent started to hiss, Zerha heard it and looked around to find where the sound came from. When her eyes landed on the source of the sound, her eyes widened and she screamed.

“Ahhh! A s-snake! I’m not afraid of snakes, but that is too big for a snake! Ahhh!"

She quickly grabbed her backpack and started running while screaming at the top of her lungs.

“Ahhh! I didn’t know that kind of snake existed! Ahhh!”

Zerha glanced over her shoulder at the serpent. When she saw the creature open its mouth, she

quickly moved to the side to avoid the drops of venom. She looked at the boulder that was

struck by the venom, and it melted in an instant.

T-the boulder melted? What kind of venom is that? If I failed to dodge the venom, I would’ve been jelly!

The serpent kept spitting venom in Zerha’s direction, though she managed to avoid every single drop. The serpent grew desperate and started releasing venom at a faster pace. Zerha tried her best to dodge every attack, though several drops of the venom hit her face, and she grew furious. Zerha stopped in her tracks and wheeled around to face the serpent.

“How dare you harm my beautiful face!”

She shouted at the serpent, who suddenly trembled in fear. Zerha was carrying a different aura at that moment.

“You know what I hate the most? When my beautiful face is wounded! Die, you f*ck*ing

snake!” Zerha yelled in anger.

In the blink of an eye, the serpent turned into ashes.

To say that Zerha was shocked by what she just witnessed was an understatement. How did the

serpent die all of a sudden?

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