Elden Ring: Atai vows to have a perfect ending

After a night of fighting, he helped his new companion, Letina, bury her wolf cub.

In addition, this secluded cliff is indeed a rare safe place in the border area, so I also went into the dilapidated house and planned to rest for a while.

but······

In the dark, it was as if a huge and cold hand grabbed my whole body, and gradually, it squeezed tighter and tighter.

The scene in the game CG emerged in my mind, where A Tui saw the three fingers of crazy fire and was tightly grasped in the palm of his hand.

——Is this a crisis alert? Am I being targeted by a fire maniac? !

I woke up suddenly, but I didn't expect that this was not a mental crisis warning at all, but a physical one. I was really pinched by someone!

I saw a huge snake, thicker than me, wrapped around my body and circled around it two or three times. Its mouth was big enough to fit my entire head, and it was swallowing saliva right above my head.

"La... Laya, hurry, wake up! Laya!" I was pulled so hard that my breath was stuck in my chest and I couldn't breathe. My arms were also locked. I could only rely on my wrists to exert force and continuously slap Laya's body.

But the big skink was still half asleep and talking in his sleep: "Shhhh~ It's so warm."

——You are warm enough, but I am about to be strangled to death by you!

——It is said that even a hero can be tempted by beautiful women, but this is not the kind of beauty I want!

——Calm down! Calm down!

I thought quickly and said, "La, Laya, eat, eat breakfast!"

"Breakfast?!" The little snake's round eyes suddenly opened.

Although she almost strangled me to death when she was excited, fortunately her body relaxed soon after, allowing me to breathe in deep gulps of fresh air.

"Zero...Zero?" Laya lowered her head and looked at me, seeming a little confused.

And I looked into her eyes somewhat awkwardly: "Hey, good morning, Laya."

"······" Perhaps Laya realized that she was too close to me, she came to her senses, shyly turned around, and quickly stood up.

But I was unlucky again. My entangled body was affected by the irresistible force and was thrown out directly. I hit the door frame of the dilapidated house heavily, and I was terrified.

——Fortunately, Ah Tui has a strong body, otherwise, after all the trouble this morning, I in my original world would probably have been testing the hospital’s WIFI.

"Ah..." Laya's voice was trembling, and she leaned half of her body forward in panic, "Yes, I'm sorry, Ling, are you okay?"

"It's not a big deal." I could only smile bitterly and touch my neck, then stood up. "Forget it, let's get ready for breakfast first."

"Okay!" Laya smiled and followed me as I went to collect firewood. Suddenly, she seemed to have discovered something strange and asked curiously, "Zero, why did you become smaller today?"

——This little... must be very confused. Hasn't he noticed that he forgot to transform and now looks like a snake man, much taller than me?

I couldn't help but laugh: "Didn't you grow bigger today, Laya?"

"Get bigger?" Laya tilted her head, then looked down at her hands, then at her feet. She turned her head in disbelief and looked at the big tail behind her. She swung it deftly, and finally burst out with her loudest high note so far, "Ah——"

I shook my head helplessly.

——Hey, my confused future niece, you are so cute when you are silly, but what if you meet a bad guy?

——Although I was almost killed by her cuteness this morning.

I simply gathered some firewood and turned around, only to find that Laya still hadn't returned to her original appearance. She was still hiding at the threshold of the shabby house like a puppy that had made an error, looking at me cautiously and with tearful eyes.

I walked into the shabby house a little confused, put down the firewood and prepared to make a fire.

And this guy came out through the hole in the house again, still clinging to the door frame and looking at me.

"What's wrong? This is?" I couldn't help laughing.

Laya asked in a low voice: "Zero, you, you are not afraid of me? This way."

"..." I used the "Throw Fire" prayer as if nothing had happened to start a fire. To be honest, I've seen Laya like this a few times in the few weeks I've played the game. Although I was a little shocked at first, now all I can think of is - cute~

But if I were to joke around like this now, I wonder if Laya would not accept it, thinking that I was taking care of her and saying something against my will... By the way, can she think so much?

Anyway, I chose a more relaxed answer: "I was a little surprised, especially when you strangled me this morning."

“Ahhh… Yes, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Laya apologized repeatedly, “Because, because the nights here are too cold, I, I thought I was hugging a big warm pillow, but no, I didn’t expect it to be, it would be zero.”

"It's okay. I don't mean to blame you, Laya." I took out a piece of meat from the blessing backpack and roasted it next to the campfire. I patted the seat next to me and smiled as I asked Laya to come and sit over.

But Laya still didn't dare.

I could only continue to comfort her, "Actually, you don't have to worry about your appearance. Even though you've turned into a snake, you're still the Laya I know, and that won't change easily... Besides, if you're going to be afraid, I think there are many more terrifying guys at the border than you... By the way, have you heard of Greg the Limb-Transplanter?"

"Greck from Storm City?"

"Yes, that's him. That guy cut off his own hands and feet, turned into a pupa, and then connected them to the body of a mountain goblin giant. After that, he connected many arms and legs, and killed many faded ones for this. He... is the most terrifying and strongest monster I have ever seen." I saw that a piece of meat was almost roasted, so I picked it up, walked in front of Laya, and handed the meat to her while smiling, "Compared to him, Laya is ten thousand... No, she is one hundred million times cuter. So, do you want to have breakfast first?"

“······Yes!” Laya finally relaxed her guard and followed me back to sit by the campfire obediently.

However, I was also a little curious: "By the way, Laya, does your magic lose its effect every time you wake up?"

"Hmm?" Laya shook her head. "Because many people would hate or be afraid of me when they see me like this, and they would not want to listen to me anymore. So, in order to help Lady Tanis recruit more heroes and warriors, I have mastered that magic very well!"

"Then... I just won't do that."

——So, was it just a simple mistake this morning?

Laya recalled: "When I came here last night, I smelled a very fragrant smell and fell asleep unknowingly. So...so I was too relaxed, just like returning to my own room, so I changed back to normal."

——It turned out to be Torina Water Lily who caused the trouble.

“But…” Laya blinked and looked at me, “Except for Lady Tanis, Zero is the first person who is still willing to talk to me after seeing my true appearance! He is indeed a Faded One with true heroic qualities!”

I felt a little embarrassed by the compliments: "I'm not that great."

Laya shook her head: "No, Zero, please listen to me... I, I don't actually hate this appearance of mine, because this is the appearance of my mother, Lady Tanis, who was favored by the great king. It is a symbol of her joy and my glory. But in order to better complete the mission, I can only recruit heroes with that false face... You recognize me as a snake, which really, really makes me very happy! If you are willing, I can take you to the Atan Plateau and to Lady Tanis's volcano residence now."

"Um... Although I really want to visit your house, but now..."

"Yes, I know. Zero, there are still many things to do. All I can do now is to witness your fight as a hero!" The little snake Laya's eyes regained their spirits. "The promise just now can take effect at any time! As long as you open your mouth, Zero, it can be realized."

——In this case, if Latan’s plan goes well, I can indeed go directly to the Atan Plateau with the help of Laya.

——Will it be easier to travel the map if you start from the Volcano Residence?

I thought about it for a moment, and when I came to my senses, I quickly thanked Laya: "Thank you, Laya."

"You're welcome... Oh! Oh, there's one more thing." Laya suddenly stood up and bowed to me solemnly. "I'm sorry for deceiving Zero with a false identity... My real name is Zelayas. From now on, I will no longer hide anything from you, Zero. So, I beg Zero to allow me to continue to be a witness to every one of your battles and travel with you."

"No problem at all."

"Great~" Laya clapped her hands happily, then she thought of something and said quickly, "By the way, can this be a secret between us? Zero."

“······” For the time being, I could only nod solemnly.

——After all, I’m not the only one here.

——Melina and Letina who are with me in Atei's body probably also know your little secret, Laya.