Apocalypse Baby - Chapter 35 - Devil's Deal

Without hesitation, Alex drove the dagger into the egg.

The sound of metal against the fragile shell echoed in the cavern.

The cockatrice king flinched, his golden eyes widening as he instinctively took a step forward.

For a moment, terror flickered across his face, fearing the worst.

But Alex had calculated his strike perfectly.

The dagger barely pierced the surface, leaving only a tiny crack that shimmered faintly in the dim light.

“Oh, that was risky,” Alex muttered, half to himself, as he inspected the crack. Then he looked up at Murzok with a cold grin.

“But I think it gets the point across.”

“Have you gone mad!” Murzok roared, his voice reverberating like a thunderclap.

His wings flared wide, making him seem even more imposing.

Alex’s grin widened, his expression almost maniacal.

“Oh, I’ve been mad for a while now.”

He paused, his eyes glinting with a dangerous light:

“But maybe now you’ll understand, I’m dead serious about ending your bloodline.”

The cockatrice king scowled, his feathers bristling.

Every instinct screamed at him to attack, to end this insolent human once and for all.

But the egg—his most precious treasure, his legacy—was in Alex’s grasp, and one wrong move could shatter it completely.

Murzok’s mind raced.

How had it come to this? He regretted not finishing Alex when he had the chance.

The human had been nothing but a nuisance, and now he was standing here, defiant, threatening everything Murzok held dear.

The cockatrice king exhaled sharply, his frustration evident in the way his claws scratched against the rocky floor.

Finally, he let out a reluctant sigh, his pride warring with the need to protect his offspring, the words tasting bitter on his tongue:

“Fine. What do you want?” .

Alex didn’t hesitate, his voice steady and sharp:

“I want your head.”

The cockatrice king twitched at Alex’s demand, his razor-sharp talons scraping against the rocky floor as if ready to strike.

But he held himself back, his blazing golden eyes locked onto Alex with pure hatred.

Alex couldn’t help but chuckle, the sound echoing in the tense silence of the cave:

“Oh, I’d love to take your head right here and now, but I doubt you’d give it to me. So, how about this instead? You let me leave this place unharmed, and I promise your precious egg stays in one piece.”

Murzok paused, his wings folding slightly as he appeared to consider the offer.

But his hateful glare never wavered.

After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, Murzok finally spoke, his voice low and seething with restrained fury:

“Fine. I’ll let you leave. But drop the egg, and you can go.”

Alex raised an eyebrow and shook his head, his smirk widening:

“Nope. I’m taking the egg with me.”

The cockatrice king’s frown deepened.

“You think I’m stupid?” Alex said, his tone casual but with a sharp edge. “The second I put this egg down, you’ll swoop in and tear me apart without a second thought.”

“That’s certainly true,” Murzok admitted his tone cold and measured.

Alex blinked, surprised by the honesty.

But then it clicked.

He thinks I’m bluffing, Alex realized.

Murzok wasn’t taking his threat seriously.

He was simply confident—no, arrogant.

And believed Alex wouldn’t dare truly harm the egg, as in his eyes, the egg was Alex’s lifeline, the only thing keeping him alive.

The cockatrice king saw no scenario where Alex could win.

His sheer power was overwhelming, and the idea that Alex might defeat him wasn’t even on the table.

Murzok’s next words only confirmed it:

“Even though it’s true I’ll rip you apart. You still have to drop the egg.”

Alex furrowed his brow, his grip tightening on the fragile shell:

“Why the hell would I let go of my only bargaining chip?”

Murzok took a slow step forward, the air around him suffocating:

“So you intend to take the egg with you? That, I cannot allow.”

Alex held his ground, his eyes narrowing:

“Don’t worry. Once I’m far enough away, I’ll leave it somewhere safe for you to recover.”

The cockatrice king’s laugh was low and menacing, echoing through the cavern like the rumble of distant thunder:

“You expect me to believe that? You’re either foolish or desperate. Likely both. You could easily leave with the egg… or kill it the moment you escape to devour its essence.”

Alex’s brow furrowed in genuine confusion:

“Devour its essence? What are you even talking about?”

The cockatrice king’s feathers bristled with hostility:

“That’s how your kind grows stronger, is it not? The goddess Gaia told me about you.”

Alex stiffened at the mention of a goddess.

“Gaia?” he echoed, his voice laced with curiosity and caution.

Murzok’s eyes burned with contempt:

“I’m not here to answer your questions, invader. Release the egg now, or face the consequences.”

Alex’s mind raced. Gaia?

He recalled Apollo’s warnings about higher beings in this world.

So this Gaia knew about players—people like him.

Did she share that knowledge with the creatures of this world? If so, it explained why Murzok seemed so well-informed.

This world isn’t as disconnected as I thought, Alex realized.

The creatures might have some kind of link to these higher beings, a way to monitor what was happening.

If that was true, Alex would have to tread carefully moving forward.

Drawing too much attention was a risk he couldn’t afford.

But considering the chaos he’d caused—the dead cockatrices and the generals—it was too late to stay under the radar.

He just hoped this Gaia doesn’t take an interest in him.

Alex sighed deeply, shaking off his thoughts and he said, his voice laced with cold authority:

“You seem to be making a mistake here, Murzok. You don’t make the demands here.”

He leveled a steely glare at the cockatrice king:

“You’re in no position to.”

Murzok’s eyes narrowed at Alex’s arrogant remark, his piercing gaze sharpening as if to dissect the human standing before him.

His feathers quivered, radiating tension and anger.

And he sneered, his voice thick with disdain:

“Oh? And why is that?”

Alex placed a hand on his forehead in mock weariness, letting out a long, exaggerated sigh. Then said with his tone dripping with faux pity:

“Oh, Murzok…you really shouldn’t have asked me that.”

Alex’s lips curled into a sly grin, and slowly he raised his hand, his fingers poised as though ready to snap:

“You’ll regret it.”