"Why didn't you do this earlier?" He couldn't help but ask, sweat dripping down his back, oh so slowly trying to reach for what looked like a chef's cleaver left on a nearby table. "Why now?"
The serpent shrugged.
"It was fun, chasing you around the ship. It brought back nice memories. But if you keep getting away from me then it's only natural that I start taking the game seriously. Who do you think you are? Perseus?"
More squirming forms dragged themselves through the gaps around the door, hissing and spitting and rattling.
"Run, dammit!" This time one of them obeyed, a five year silently crying fat tears and with globs of snot dripping from his nose. He grabbed the hand of another child and started walking. Slowly, carefully, tip-toeing away. "E-every room." Issei's voice was weak even to his own ear. "That must have taken a lot… of snakes." He swallowed. "D-Dusa-Chan!"
His tone was accusatory and almost triumphant, a note of hysteria undercutting the declaration of the monster's name.
Pausing, the serpent tilted its head, Issei took the opportunity to glance behind him, seeing a tearful Joan slip away, baby sucking on a pacifier in her arms, and almost silently close a wooden door behind her as she did.
"Dusa? Is that another spelling of my name? Odd. But your language is hardly proper Greek - never mind the modern nonsense they must speak these days."
Greek?
Issei didn't really know a whole lot about other languages. But the monster lady didn't deny his accusation. More importantly, the fact that she was now using snakes to spy and find people was something that the Villainess Dusa-chan would do in the game.
Maybe other people would struggle to figure out her real identity, but for Issei Hyoudou the answer should have been obvious from the beginning.
This still didn't make things any easier.
In fact, the fact she could look for them with her pet snakes made things even worse.
"What's the matter, boya? Snake got your tongue? No more clever tricks to play? I suppose this is as far as a normal human can go." The serpent hissed out a mocking laugh.
Issei had no time to respond, seeing the serpent begin to wriggle through, so he dashed the two steps to the cleaver and snatched it up.
"Game over!"
Spinning round, he brought the knife up and felt his arm jolt as it smacked off the fangs of the serpent. Somehow the thing, not much bigger around than two of his fingers, sent his arm flying and knocked the blade from his hand. However, cringing back from having smacked its teeth against metal, the serpent didn't simply latch onto the human.
A human that, faced with certain death, made a high pitched whine in the back of his throat and tried to run.
The next strike was for his ankle, a dry bite, he thought, as there was only a sharp pain in his leg - no spreading fire or cold or numbness. Still, he stumbled and started to fall, able to grab a table and drag it down with him.
It came down easily, falling on the snake's head, and put something between Issei and his assailant.
"Ooh, boya, you're rather rude. Dropping things on a lady!"
Using its fangs, the serpent grabbed a hold of the edge of the table, reared back, and brought it down with an almighty crash. He, however, used the three seconds it gave him to run for an exit as fast as possible. And damn the pain in his foot!
"A lady doesn't kill people!"
Issei was sweating.
"A lady doesn't kill my mom and dad!"
Issei was crying angry tears.
"A lady doesn't torture kids just because her boyfriend dumped her!"
That got a roar of anger from all around the ship, Issei managing to just barely close a hatch behind him, as he hoped against hope his insult drew any attention away from the kids.
"And that my plan worked."
Muttering helped distract him from the pain and the wet feeling coming from his left shoe.
"Woah."
Stumbling, unsteady, light headed, he almost fell head first down a staircase.
"Gotta stay focused! Only got one shot at this."
Unsure it would help, he offered up a prayer to God for anything. Issei remembered going to church with some family friends back when he was younger. Some of the words were familiar, comforting, though he was probably horribly botching them.
Well, if He was watching, he'd at least make it a cool dramatic exit.
'Please, let the others make it out okay. Please, please, please. I don't want to die, but if I have to, please let it be worth it.'
Because he had a plan.
A bad plan.
But a plan nonetheless. And he'd need every little bit of help he could get pulling it off.
Limping, he checked over his shoulder every few steps - hoping there'd be nothing there. And so far there hadn't been. It was a small mercy, giving him time to actually try and get out from the guts of the crew section.
Which meant that getting to the upper deck was the first and biggest obstacle Issei had to deal with.
With the snakes on the prowl and Dusa-chan taking their game of hide and seek seriously, it was all he could do to try and avoid her on the way up the stairs or around the hallways. Because they would stay near the staircases and the elevator that the staff used to go back and forth to the lower end of the ship that meant his only shot was a food elevator.
Painfully cramped, but fortunately still working, as a small, localized battery had kept the thing whirring along.
Once he was out, the teenager paused and pulled stuffed paper towels into his sock. Not the greatest bandage in the world, but enough to soak up the blood.
'I should definitely do some yoga when I go home. Or at the very least do more stretches in the morning.'
His hands were unsteady but he managed a small laugh.
Perhaps, he considered, his escape had been possible because she wasn't aware that such a thing as a food elevator existed, or the closed doors meant that the snakes couldn't get inside, but that stroke of luck was what allowed Issei to escape to the upper floors. Still only just barely avoiding a large python that slept by the entrance to the nearby stairwell.
'Okay, step one is done.'
Step two… wasn't any easier.