“Uh... w-well, you see...”

My tongue felt frozen, and the words refused to come out.

Just like before my wives, my breath grew short, and my throat burned.

Cold sweat streamed down my back in sheets. That same suffocating déjà vu—the feeling of being crushed under invisible pressure—returned.

It was the same kind of feeling I’d had when explaining things to my wives.

That sensation of cold sweat flowing down my spine like the waves of the Yangtze, and, even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, feeling guilty under their gaze.

Nervousness and dread seized me.

I had long known that Yo-hwa and Ranghu liked me.

But that “like” had long since passed beyond the bounds of a simple affection—it was something that transcended species.

Now that I thought about it, Sister Jeokwol and the others weren’t any different.

During my wedding with Hwa-eun, hadn’t they all quietly settled in the back as if attending?

Most likely, that was because of the Beast-Heart Technique.

Wait—no, Yo-hwa and Ranghu were like that even before that, weren’t they? Damn it...

Come to think of it, Yo-hwa had been like that even before the Beast-Heart pact, and Ranghu hadn’t even been registered but still was.

If Jeokwol and the others could be explained away by the Beast-Heart Technique, those two definitely couldn’t.

The cold sweat down my back intensified.

It meant their love was genuine.

And up until now, I’d been dodging or suppressing their feelings with all sorts of reasons and excuses—but now it felt like that dam was about to burst.

Still, Cheongwol wasn’t as bad as Yo-hwa or Ranghu. To think she’s joining that group now...

And Hwayang too—don’t tell me he just got swept up in the mood again like at the wedding?

While I was thinking that, Cho, Hyang, and Bini appeared, asking what was going on.

— Tsrrr. 『Sisters, what are you doing?』

— Tsrrt. 『What’s happening?』

The three tilted their heads as they arrived behind the older ones.

Sister Jeokwol turned to them and explained.

— Chiiiii. 『That female Zimjo said she wanted to make a baby with So-ryong. I heard her myself. So I was asking So-ryong what she meant by that.』

— Tsrrt? 『A baby? Aunt said babies are born when a male and a female who love each other get married, didn’t she?』

Wait—when had Sister started giving them sex education?

The cold sweat down my back thickened even more.

If before it had been the Yangtze during the dry season, now it was the Yangtze during the monsoon.

Sweat was pouring down so heavily it drenched my clothes—enough to make a flood.

— Tsrrr. 『Then does that mean that lady from earlier also got married to Daddy?』

— Tsrrt. 『We didn’t see any wedding, so maybe they just did the love part? Aunt said weddings are done in front of lots of people with blessings.』

— Tsst!? 『I-is that really okay, Sister Cho?』

— Tsrrr. 『If it were okay, the sisters wouldn’t be acting like this, right?』

All of them turned their gazes toward me at once.

Those eyes pressed down on me with the weight of a thousand catties.

— Step.

They all stepped forward together.

The pressure was overwhelming.

I actually flinched and took a step back.

Then Yo-hwa and Cheongwol spoke again, voices rising in unison.

— Kishishi. 『Brother, it’s not what Yo-hwa thinks, right?』

— Krrng. 『What exactly did that female say? Tell us, So-ryong. I’m curious.』

— Bwoooong!

— Biii! 『Baaap!』

Under that immense pressure, only one thought came to mind.

I’d just pretend it was nothing.

Because technically—it really was nothing, wasn’t it?

Right, all I did was give her venom, after all.

The best thing was to act natural.

There was no reason for me to panic first.

“A-ah, Zimjo said she couldn’t lay eggs unless she had venom...”

But even as I spoke, it hit me—no matter how I explained it, it would end up just like with my wives.

No matter what I said, they wouldn’t understand.

Haa... damn it.

Not knowing what kind of explosion my words might cause, I spoke in a trembling voice.

“When I was dissolving in Zimjo’s venom earlier, inside the mental realm she said she wouldn’t form the connection unless I made her my wife... sniff.”

Honestly, maybe fish have it easier. At least they do external fertilization.

A silence fell as I braced for the coming backlash.

Hard and cold.

No—it should’ve been hard and cold, yet the sensations I felt around me were oddly warm.

Then gentle voices followed.

— Chii. 『So that’s what happened?』

— Bwoong.

— Biiii! 『Baaap!』

— Krrng. 『So that’s what it was?』

When I lowered the hand covering my teary eyes, the girls were patting me gently.

With their huge bodies, they were being very careful, touching me softly.

“Girls...”

Did they actually understand my hopeless situation?

Well, honestly, if it came down to me dying or taking Zimjo as a wife, my girls would definitely choose the latter.

Since things were already like this, maybe I should just accept it as inevitable.

But then, with worried expressions, they spoke.

— Krrrng. 『So-ryong has been hurt badly and just recovered, so go rest inside.』

— Chii. 『Yes, So-ryong, go rest now.』

“Sh-should I?”

Come to think of it, my body had only just recovered, and I was tired.

Above all, after everything that had happened, the mental exhaustion was enormous.

I really just wanted to lie down somewhere and rest.

— Krrng. 『Yes, So-ryong. Let’s go rest. I’ll carry you. Get on.』

I climbed onto Cheongwol’s back, and she carried me straight back to my quarters.

***

Below, the red, ant-like things were crawling in a sluggish mass.

Even though it was night, they were rushing their march.

That made it the fifth group already.

They were surely heading toward where he was.

No other clusters could be sensed, so these must be the °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° last.

[ Tsk. How vexing that such worthless things delayed me so long. ]

Zihwa (Zimjo) was, frankly, irritated.

She’d thought it would take forever if she left it to him, so she’d come to do it herself—but the wretched creatures were scattered everywhere, and that made it drag out.

She had expected them to be gathered like before, when she’d first met him—that was her mistake.

Still, she had promised to handle it personally, and a promise must be kept.

Even if one fell from grace, the words of exalted beings like Zihwa carried immense weight.

Staring down at them in silence, she suddenly dove straight toward the leading group like a purple comet.

A streak of violet light pierced through the darkness and struck above the leader’s head.

Her purple silk-like wings spread wide, swallowing the moonlight.

Not a sound.

Her wings unfurled silently, blotting out the moon.

Darkness descended upon the heads of the red-clad soldiers.

“Huh? Clouds?”

The leading warrior glanced up—and in that instant, Zihwa swept gracefully above their ranks.

She glided through the sky like a swimmer, emotionless, as light as wind.

The moment her wings passed over them, violet-black poison mist bloomed upon the earth.

— Chiiiiik.

Then came the sounds of flesh melting, the smell of burning bone, the scent of boiling blood.

The noises of dying life rose and burst into the night.

Though countless sounds and smells spread under the silent night sky, the purple-black miasma allowed only one outcome—death.

No screams.

Nearly five thousand people dissolved in an instant, and not a single scream was heard.

— Flap-flap.

Their bodies, ignited by the violet poison, vanished without trace.

Zimjo had completely erased five thousand red soldiers from the world below, and she turned toward the direction she had come from.

Her work was finished, and the fulfillment of her wish was near—she had to hurry.

“I must go quickly. He’ll be waiting.”

Erasing her irritation, Zihwa spoke with an excited tone.

In the lower realm, it was difficult to find venom potent enough.

To bear a child?

For Zihwa, who lived on venom, even gathering enough for survival was a challenge.

So to live, she usually devoured snakes and other poisonous creatures, and when death fell somewhere and corpse poison rose, she absorbed it to sustain herself.

That was how she had survived.

Recently, thanks to those red ones creating death everywhere, she’d finally managed to gather just enough venom to conceive—and then he had appeared.

She had intended to wait until after the battle, to collect the miasma of dead insects—but suddenly, she’d sensed an incredibly pure venom.

Zihwa had flown straight toward it.

What entered her sight was a beautiful white poison—a purity that could only exist in the heavenly realm.

The moment she inhaled it, her venom reserves had filled to thirty percent in an instant.

And within that brilliance, a man had appeared.

She remembered the light radiating from him.

As she tried to recall what happened after that, her eyes fell on the river flowing below.

Zihwa looked down at the current, thought for a moment, and said,

[ Hmm. I suppose I should purify myself first. ]

It was a sacred act—conceiving a child—so it felt proper to cleanse her body.

She had told the man to purify himself, too, so naturally, she must do the same.

[ I shall go down. ]

Zihwa swiftly descended to the riverside, and under the moonlight, she immersed her body in the water. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

— Splash.

Carefully, she washed herself.

As she did, she thought about the venom that had taken root within her and allowed herself a happy daydream.

[ Will I be able to give birth today? ]

She had no intention of mixing the venom she had gathered so far with his.

Mixed venoms rarely produced good offspring.

She could have birthed one, but the child’s quality would have been low.

Even if she replaced the venom within her, poor-quality venom could not yield excellent venom progeny.

At first, she had been ready to settle for that—but now, with him possessing such pure venom, she could bear a child of exceptional quality.

By blending his venom and her own—half and half—she could finally give birth to one of truly superior lineage.

Although her poison burned away all filth and made washing unnecessary, she still took great care to clean herself thoroughly.

[ This should be enough. ]

Once she was spotless, Zihwa rose from the riverbank again.

She turned toward the direction where she felt the man’s presence.

Since their connection had been established, she could sense his position without searching.

A short while later, she arrived before a pavilion. Just as she alighted—

— Flap-flap.

A spider spirit emerged from beside the entrance.

Then, from the shadows, appeared a massive scorpion, a blazing toad, a golden wasp, a crimson centipede, and a sky-blue centipede.

The Snake King crowned in gold.

Every one of them—beautiful, graceful spirit beasts—appeared as though waiting for her.

She had briefly glimpsed that blood-red centipede earlier, and the sky-blue one from afar.

But she hadn’t been introduced.

He had said he only had three wives, and she had already met them and received their acknowledgment.

Zihwa tilted her head.

They were clearly connected to him, yet she couldn’t tell in what way.

Then, one of the Golden Spider tribe spoke up.

— Kishit. 『Excuse me. Could we have a word with you?』

It was not a good feeling.