Chapter 33
Link and Dosol jumped off of the corpse as it began to rise into the air.
Mido and Soldo quickly climbed down a rope into the stomach. Once they were low enough, they dropped the chemical base into the acid, and Mido called out, "What's happening?!"
They could already see that the bioluminescent gohma larvae were swarming towards the ceiling, but to what end, they could not tell.
Dosol reignited his wet torch, illuminating the situation.
The gohma queen's body was now touching the ceiling. The gohma larvae were all stuffing themselves into the cadaver. The corpse swelled and mutated, pulsing with bright teal light.
The queen's front legs with their massive claws changed into the likeness of human arms, strongly muscled and clad in sharp armor. Her long pale abdomen became like a long pale dress. Her eye was now nothing less than a dark glass orb, swirling inside with a strange yellow mist.
Then a woman's face manifested in that glass orb. Her skin was neon green, and her eyes were a vibrant red.
"I am Queen Gohma!" she proclaimed. "Personal servant to the Great Ganondorf! A commanding general who takes orders directly from Lord Ghirahim! And what are you? Nothing! Nothing but miserable morsels that can serve no purpose beyond being food for my troops! You should consider death by my claws an honor, pests!"
As she descended upon the boys, they used their slingshots and crossbows to attack her.
All projectiles deflected harmlessly off of her, no matter where they struck.
Queen Gohma raised her claws to end the children.
Her claws bounced off of a magical barrier Navi hastily created.
"You do not have the authority to kill them!" Navi declared.
Snarling, Queen Gohma assailed the barrier with driving fury, managing to inflict lengthy cracks in its surface, but Navi held strong.
Navi asserted, "You do not have the authority to murder these children, and you do not have the authority to murder the Great Deku Tree! Begone from this place, and return no more!"
The face in the orb faded, but did not vanish.
Wordlessly, she continued her assault on Navi's barrier.
Navi demanded, "Tell me why you have been sent to kill the Great Deku Tree!"
Queen Gohma fumed, "How dare you address me, pest!"
"Tell me!" Navi commanded. "Your station has no pull here! The power given to you by Ghirahim is false and empty!"
"You know nothing!" the queen sneered. "The power Ghirahim grants is as valid as any in this world! Obviously it is so, or else your precious tree wouldn't be dying now!"
Navi claimed, "The Great Deku Tree has done nothing to deserve your wrath!"
"He has earned the wrath of the Great Ganondorf!" the demon declared.
"How?!" Navi inquired.
The demon queen glowered at the fairy. "You don't have the authority to know."
"Don't I?!" Navi challenged. Using magic, she compelled Queen Gohma to answer.
"He's a murderer!" the demon screeched.
"That's a lie!" Navi rebuked.
"Not by deed," Queen Gohma specified. "But by inaction! He refused to grant my Master's people asylum in this land! Without your precious tree's permission, they must wander the desert, and there they suffer and die!"
Navi faltered. "I know nothing of this matter," she admitted.
The queen smirked and raised her claws once again.
"Not so fast!" Navi yelled as she bound Queen Gohma in magical chains. "Punishment should not be administered until the matter has been settled!"
"As if your opinion matters!" the queen jeered, breaking the chains.
Navi maintained the protection spell over the boys, saying, "These children are innocent! You may not harm them!"
Queen Gohma contended, "They're obstructing punishment!"
Navi countered, "Because they believe it is the right thing to do! You may not harm them!"
Enraged, Queen Gohma flew to a wall and began hacking into it. The room quivered and shook.
"Stop!" Navi ordered. "If the Great Deku Tree didn't allow the Gerudos here, he probably had a good reason! Let us speak patiently together, and perhaps we can work on a solution for your people!"
Queen Gohma didn't even pause to consider the offer.
Navi scowled and enfettered the demon again. "You don't even care about the Gerudo people, do you? You're just looking for an excuse to murder the Great Deku Tree!"
Struggling against her chains, Queen Gohma spat, "You are a hypocrite, fairy! You don't care about right and wrong, either! You just want to save your stupid tree!"
Navi argued, "I want to save the Great Deku Tree because it is the right thing to do!"
The demon controverted, "You want to save him because you love him, and love has as little to do with morality as hate! In fact, morality is nothing more than an illusion! Everything is subjective! Everything is anarchy, and in anarchy, raw power dominates all!"
Navi laughed. "Then you've lost. Not just your way, but also this battle. Begone, demon, for I now understand your motive, and it means nothing."
Queen Gohma screamed and sobbed as her physical form was taken from her. Her face disappeared from the glass orb, and her body splashed into the water. Cold blue flames enveloped the body as it quickly dissolved.
Navi sighed with relief.
The curse was broken.