The dark, foul miasma of the Demon King had barely dissolved before a new presence swept in swiftly from the east. This time it carried no stench of evil spirits—instead it was the damp, heavy smell of river mist laced with a mysterious metallic tang, like gold pulled from deep water. The wind threading through the treetops brought with it a strange, biting chill. The sky above shifted and churned, enormous clouds like puffed white cotton dyed in alternating gold and deep violet, stranger-looking than anything seen on an ordinary day.
Diamond Axe Kid came trotting out of the dense jungle with a spring in his step, moving quick and light as a sparrow on the wing. He cut across the grassland in no time flat and pulled up short at the bank of a great river—wide enough that you could barely see the far shore, its water clear as a giant mirror reflecting the sky. But right now that mirror was anything but calm. Waves rolled and churned in one surge after another, rocking the villagers' moored fishing boats so hard they knocked together with a loud—
CLUNK CLUNK!
"Whoa! This river is absolutely massive!" The little kid leaned out over the bank and scooped up a handful of water to splash on his face, grinning the whole time. "It's so clear I can see the bellies of the minnows down there!"
Then those bright, deer-like eyes of his caught sight of a large crowd of villagers and merchants packed together along the bank, every face tight with worry, like each one was carrying a mountain on their shoulders.
At the center of the crowd stood a middle-aged man dressed in fine clothes—a rich purple wrap, gold rings studded with glittering gemstones on every single finger. He was pointing and barking orders at the villagers in a booming voice.
"Listen up, all of you! The naga lord in this river is furious—because your merit-making has been completely inadequate! That is why the earth shakes and the water runs wild! My trading vessels cannot cross to sell their goods!" The heavyset merchant bellowed, hoisting an enormous golden offering tray above his head. "If you want the water to calm down and go back to normal, bring your jewelry, your silver, your gold—pile it all in this tray! As the appointed Representative of Divine Command, I will use these offerings to cast a golden naga statue and lower it into the middle of the river to ward off disaster!"
The poor villagers, people who lived hand to mouth, broke into tears. One by one they pulled off their small silver earrings or surrendered their last measure of rice, laying it on the tray out of superstition and sheer terror.
"Oh, sir… I was saving this money to buy seed for next year's planting." An old woman with tears streaming down her wrinkled cheeks held out a few small coins. "But if I don't give it—if my merit isn't enough—the naga lord will flood my house and ruin me, won't he?"
"Absolutely! The Black Shaman himself has declared it: in this age, gold is what buys safety. The more you give, the more the naga loves you!" The merchant slapped his belly and laughed with greedy delight, his smile so wide it nearly reached his ears.
Diamond Axe Kid waddled right into the middle of the crowd, circled the ten-ringed merchant once, and tilted his head with perfectly innocent curiosity. "Hey, mister—are you seriously saying the naga lord likes gold? Up in the Heavens I've seen naga lords in the Himaphan Forest and in the underwater palace—the Crystal City of King Naga Sri Suttho. His scales are seven-colored jewels, shining brighter than all your gold put together. So why would he want some lumpy little gold statue from you? He'd just get a crick in his neck sleeping on it."
Every person on that riverbank went dead silent. They all turned to stare at the small boy with the topknot and the bright red wrapped trousers. The wealthy merchant's eyebrow twitched. He glared at the kid, face going red with fury. "You little brat! Who are your parents? How dare you come here talking nonsense and disrespecting a sacred ceremony! Do you have any idea who I am? I am the most powerful merchant in this entire region. When I speak, it is law!"
"I don't have a father, mister," the little kid said with a cheerful smile. "The Celestial Jewel Fairy sent me down here, and Sage Fireye is my teacher. And my Master told me that people who make a living off of poor folks' fear—who squeeze and exploit those who can't fight back—are just mistaking a millstone for a lotus. In the end, that kind of greed becomes the chain that drags you straight to the bottom of the abyss."
"Why, you little—still wet behind the ears and you're talking back to me like that?!" The merchant's face turned purple as a mangosteen. He jabbed a finger at two burly workers. "Grab that kid and throw him in the river as an offering to the naga right now!"
The two workers lunged at the boy instantly. But Diamond Axe Kid sidestepped them in midair, smooth as you please, then gave a little wiggle of his round backside—just enough to clip both men in the thighs. They lost their footing and went sliding headfirst into the muddy bank—
SPLAT!
—faces plastered with mud, looking for all the world like catfish buried in silt.
"Oh my gosh! Why do grown-ups always do that—send a whole elephant to catch a grasshopper—and then trip over their own feet?" Diamond Axe Kid burst out laughing and clapped his hands in delight.
The big merchant saw which way the wind was blowing and made a grab for the golden tray, scrambling to flee to his trading vessel. But at that exact moment, the clear water behind him exploded with a thunderous roar—
BOOM!
—and out surged the form of a Black Serpent Demon, a mysterious creature that had been lurking beneath the surface. Its body was that of a massive snake with gleaming black scales, amber eyes burning with malice. It shot upward and snatched both the golden tray and the greedy merchant, dragging them both down into the river!
"Help! The naga's going to eat me! Somebody help me!" the merchant screamed, thrashing and flailing in the churning current.
"Uh, that's not a naga lord, mister!" Diamond Axe Kid called out. "That's a fake Black Serpent Demon!" But the water was already twisting into a massive whirlpool, and it was becoming very clear that something genuinely dangerous was hiding in the depths below.
The young divine kid didn't waste another second. The mischief in his eyes snapped into sharp, unwavering resolve. He reached back and drew the Diamond Axe from behind him—the Diamond Axe's righteous radiance blazed out in a brilliant flash, its light cutting across the churning water like a streak of lightning.
"Okay, everyone—stand back!" he shouted. "I'm going down to see just how tough whatever's down there really is!"
And without another word, Diamond Axe Kid leaped and plunged straight into the heart of the terrifying whirlpool. His small body disappeared beneath the surface, leaving behind only hope—and the glittering radiance of the Diamond Axe, shining bright and steady deep beneath the clear water.
*Moral of the chapter: Those who use power and greed to exploit the suffering and the superstitious will find, in the end, that wealth gained through wrongdoing becomes their greatest danger—pulling them down to ruin like a stone sinking to the riverbed, with no one left to save them.*