Revived Memories

Time rewound to shortly after Rosa Kevin woke up. She was sliding her enormous body around, stretching for the first time in three hundred years.

"Creak—creak." Her stiff spine crackled repeatedly.

"So... so comfortable..." Rosa Kevin let out a pleased, relieved moan. "Ah~ After sleeping for so long, my bones felt like they were about to rot. I really don't know why I chose to hibernate in a place like this... With all this cloudy, rainy weather, I felt like my rheumatism was about to flare up again."

"Huh, what are these...?"

Rosa Kevin looked at her bluish-red scales and the debris beneath them, suddenly recalling something. "Hmm?!... I bought a castle from Prince Dracula before, didn't I... So why..."

Rosa Kevin felt that there was nothing above her head. She raised her head and stared blankly at the sky overhead. "Ah~ The azure sky really is beautiful... But where the hell is my castle!!!"

Rosa Kevin cried out and twisted even more frantically. "My castle, my castle!!! The ultra-luxurious, ultra-luxurious VIP retirement castle I bought for 120,000 gold coins..."

Rosa Kevin's cries carried a sobbing tone. "My castle... my fully automatic ultra-luxurious magic massage bathtub... Ah..."

The giant snake rolled her body around like a child. Her massive body shook the earth, and clumps of soil mixed with trees flew into Rosa Kevin's nostrils like dust.

"Ah... ah... ah-choo—"

Rosa Kevin sneezed violently, spraying decaying venom from her mouth. She wiped her snot with her tail. "When will my pollen allergy ever get better... The medicine I got last time seemed completely useless... I wasted more than thirty silver coins for nothing! The next time I see that doctor who sold me fake medicine, I'll teach her a proper lesson!"

At that, Rosa Kevin angrily swung her tail. Her long, winding body shook the entire mountain range; even cities hundreds of kilometers away could feel the tremors.

"Ah~" Rosa Kevin opened her gaping mouth, and fierce toxic gas corroded the ground. "My bad breath seemed a little serious~ Well, I hadn't brushed my teeth in over three hundred years..."

"Warm sunlight." Rosa Kevin stretched her body, preparing to enjoy the rare good weather. Suddenly, a sharp pain came from the back of her tail.

"How strange... Why did it hurt a little?" Rosa Kevin raised her head and looked toward the end of her tail. A small severed section and a large patch of dark green blood entered her view. At the same time, a tiny silver-white insect flew into Rosa Kevin's left eye. A beam of light then shot from her left eye, and a blue-green sphere fell to the ground. Rosa Kevin looked at the sphere with her one remaining eye.

"Why did that eyeball look so familiar..." A breeze blew through the empty socket on Rosa Kevin's left side. Only after a while did she realize the severity of the problem.

"Huh? That's my eye?!!!" Rosa Kevin's wail resounded through heaven and earth. Moments later, she woke from the yellow-green mud.

"God... What a terrifying nightmare..."

"Elder Evil God, you've finally awakened..." the slime monster at her side said respectfully.

"Oh... Talatala..." Rosa Kevin looked at the puddle of unidentified green liquid. "My most loyal servant, when I was at my lowest, only you and your kin remained by my side. I, Rosa Kevin, as one of the first creations of the earth, hereby promise that if I ever regain my strength, I will grant you all the highest honor."

The slime monster Talatala bowed to Rosa Kevin very cooperatively, though Rosa Kevin herself had no idea whether slime monsters even had waists.

"My esteemed Elder Evil God, do you remember our agreement?"

"Uh... what agreement?"

"Huh?"

"I was joking... Don't be so humorless..." Rosa Kevin pulled out a potato from her pocket. "I previously promised that as long as you and your kin were still willing to submit to me, I would grant you inexhaustible food..."

"And then?"

"Believe me! This potato is only the first installment. Once my influence grows, then I'll..."

"Elder Evil God—" Talatala's voice sounded a little strange, perhaps because she was having trouble holding back laughter. "We have already accepted your promise. From now on, we are your servants and are willing to obey your commands."

"Ha... r-really?" Rosa Kevin could hardly believe her ears. "Just one potato..."

"Yes, one potato is enough... After all, this is merely your down payment, which is..." Talatala thought for a long time before finally saying the rest. "A display of how seriously you take your promises. I hope you continue to uphold such a fine virtue~"

"Good! In that case, heed my command and advance toward the nearest city—Canfor!"

"Elder Evil God... food alone won't be enough~" Talatala replied. "If you want soldiers to attack the nearest city, food alone still won't be enough... You must also have military pay~"

"That means you need to pay us—" Talatala's kin, hidden in the mud, said in unison.

"Aren't you slime monsters? What did you need money for?"

Talatala said, "Then we need food. What did you mean by bringing just one potato?"

Rosa Kevin said, "..."

"Esteemed Elder Evil God~ Five giant dragons live on the mountain peaks not far from here. They possess tens of thousands in wealth. As long as we seize that wealth from them, we will have enough startup funds... Then we can recruit troops and purchase mounts, and quickly rebuild your former golden age~"

"But... I only woke up recently... Challenging dragons at a time like this..."

"Great Elder Evil God Rosa Kevin, how could you fear a mere five dragons? At the height of your power, dragons of every color were your food... Whether it was the Ralierman Dragon born from flames, the Lulolinge Divine Dragon that swam through the Sacred Sea, or the Pipilra Dragon, mount of the gods, all feared your mighty name. How could five mere Common Dragons dare defy your will now?"

Rosa Kevin said, "Uh... well... wouldn't that be a little bad... They didn't provoke me, after all... It wouldn't make sense emotionally or logically... This is an age of civilization. We should be reasonable and civilized..."

Talatala said, "After you were defeated by the Hero, some of the treasures you had hidden in the mountains were stolen by those dragons. Strictly speaking, the dragons' treasure should have been yours."

"Ha... huh??? What the hell was that Nushashaer doing? I paid him eight hundred Kralimaya Gold Coins every month, and this was how he managed my money?!!"

"Give it a rest... After you were defeated by the Hero, he immediately betrayed you and joined the Northern Old Gods. Most of the assets you had amassed through all that plundering were offered to the Northern Old Gods as tribute by that bastard."

"Damn it, that treacherous bastard, I XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXX!"

"Watch your manners, Elder Evil God. We are superior creations."

"Ahem... Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue. Just pretend nothing happened. Let's continue."

"Understood..." Talatala continued. "If those dragons truly dare defy your wishes and refuse to obediently hand over their ill-gotten gains, then let them experience the might of the Elder Evil God and show those ignorant worms what true power is!"

"Well said..." Rosa Kevin nodded. "If those dragons were willing to submit to me and return their ill-gotten gains, I would also be more than willing to forgive them." With that, Rosa Kevin wrapped her clothes around her body and headed toward the other side of the mountain.

"Elder Evil God... you went the wrong way... The dragons' nest is over there..." Talatala said.

"Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue..." Rosa Kevin covered her face and walked in another direction.

After Rosa Kevin had gone far away, Talatala's kin gathered around. The jelly-like low-level monsters spoke in clumsy language.

"Lord Talatala... Was that witch really the ancient Elder Evil God? We couldn't sense any powerful strength from her..."

"That's normal..." Talatala said. "Ever since she was defeated by the Hero ten years ago, her power has greatly diminished. It was only natural that she would degenerate into her current state."

"If that's the case, what was the point of serving her? What difference was there between an ancient god with no evil power and a wilderness witch?"

"There is one—" Talatala vomited out the potato Rosa Kevin had given her earlier. "As long as she rises again, our kin will prosper under her protection!"

"Rise again?"

"That's right!" Talatala twisted her body into a sheet of writing, which recorded every time Rosa Kevin had slept and awakened, along with the disasters she had brought upon the Mortal Realm, the Heavenly Realm, and the Divine Realm afterward.

"Elder Evil God Rosa Kevin was born before the Northern Old Gods had even emerged. As the daughter of the earth, what she has experienced is beyond our imagination. She had already grown and prospered before the era when our ancestors first appeared. Every period of sleep was to accumulate greater strength. Watch... This Elder Evil God who has lived through hundreds of eras will once again lead this world toward its end!"

"Uh... Was this writing style really left behind by our ancestors?" Talatala's kin said. "It felt so cringe..."

Talatala said, "Well... I don't know either... Anyway, when I was born, this kind of magic format was already inside my body. I once suspected that Rosa Kevin wrote it herself. Stop reading! Reading too much of such embarrassing writing can make you sick."

"Agreed—" Talatala's kin said in unison.

The slime monster family led by Talatala was one of the Four Heavenly Kings loyal to Demon King Rosa Kevin, and Talatala was the only offspring of Tatapila, the King of Rotten Mud. Back when Rosa Kevin was being subjugated by the allied forces of the Hero, the Northern Old Gods, and the Mind Divine Realm, Tatapila took the lead in battle and was beaten until not even a trace remained.

Talatala was the product of Tatapila's mitotic division before her death. Because her parent was Rosa Kevin's creation, Talatala possessed a special affinity for Rosa Kevin and the Decaying Energy represented by Rosa Kevin. Although Talatala did not know Rosa Kevin's true appearance, she and her kin still knew who Rosa Kevin was.

It was precisely because of this that the already decayed Elrina Forest became a safe haven for Talatala and her kin.