Chapter 261

Chapter 261

The foxfolk chieftain, Rami, called for my longtime friend.

“Gargal.”

“Oh, sure.”

The wolffolk chieftain nodded.

“It’s about time we withdraw too.”

“If we transform into beast form, that person will not harm us.”

“Even so, wouldn’t it be better to stay out of the battlefield if possible?”

“You’re right, the children have already gone into the forest.”

“That person’s blessing will give us the strength to withstand the Black Forest’s poison...”

“...It’s not exactly a pleasant feeling.”

Rami’s form soon changed into that of a fox. The red-furred fox gave her body a light shake and looked at Gargal. In response, Gargal also returned to his wolf form and looked down at his friend.

He lay his enormous body down in the castle corridor.

“Everything is... just as that person said.”

“Yes, and that’s what makes it bitter.”

“After all this uproar ends, will peace come here too?”

“Would a god go back on something he has promised?”

“Then we’ll be free.”

“Or we might be discarded.”

“Maybe. Yeah. You’re right.”

The evil god spoke a promise to them.

He said he would mend the ruined land wrought by humans’ greed. That place would one day become the evil god’s final battlefield, and you would borrow that land for a time, and when he met his end, you were to make it your home.

Even so, the beasts cultivating his battlefield was not part of the promise.

“It would be an incredibly foolish thing to do in how one treats a god, but still, I only just started believing and following him...”

“The one who will swallow this battlefield will not be the one we know. Let go of your attachment, Rami.”

“Humans wouldn’t dare kill a god, right? They said even the previous Creator could only abandon this place and leave.”

“Wouldn’t that depend on what kind of mind the god sets himself to?”

The one who was their friend and owner had called a god “fate with will.” So if that will aimed toward its own end, then even a god would not be able to avoid death.

“It’s not as though I’m happy about it either, but...”

Gargal swept his gaze over the empty interior of the castle.

“...Yeah. As you said, it’s bitter.”

“Right?”

“It was always such a noisy place.”

Was it called an amusement park? This enormous castle, the rides of enchanting form, and the luxurious village wrapped around them became a special territory even to them. Always bustling, filled with delight and happiness.

Now, no one remained there. So they would not be swept into war, that person had told them to hide their bodies when the time came. Following that intent, each chieftain had hidden all of his family in the forest.

“...”

“...”

Maybe because of that, it was far too quiet.

“...Was the time of ruin that humans held in their eyes like this?”

“It would have been even worse, not less.”

“No matter what, the end of an era is this silent.”

“If that person hadn’t gathered us up, we would have walked the same road.”

“Honestly, I think this life wasn’t bad either.”

Pleasure within a dream.

“It didn’t feel real at all, but still.”

The long days of pain were still vivid. The anguish of not even being able to nurse newborn pups, of even that being tainted by poison, and having to bury countless descendants in filthy ground. This era felt like compensation for those times.

Then a crow flew in through the window.

“Hey, you two.”

“Ah...”

“Mr. Balf.”

“Why are you still here without moving?”

At the crow chieftain Balf’s question, the fox smiled gently.

“We’re just so reluctant to withdraw like this.”

“Hm, if you were to witness the war directly, it would be a very different story...”

“Our children are already hidden in the forest. There’s no way that person would harm beasts who are his friends, so I’m not worried.”

“Do not judge the evil god’s rage by the paltry judgment of beasts. A god who has received back all rage will have no distinction between friend and foe, so you must not be too at ease.”

“As long as we don’t show our rage directly before him, his gaze won’t reach us, will it? Well, of course, with a single blind wave of his hand or foot, we could be crushed any time...”

“That’s all the more reason you should stay by your children.”

“...That is true, but...”

Rami’s ears drooped far back. Her gently swaying tail stopped.

“...Is this really the end?”

“...Looks like you’ve grown attached.”

“I know it’s foolish, too.”

“That person took human form for a very long time. I understand the feelings you have, too. He lowered himself so that it couldn’t help but be that way.”

“If it’s also his will that I hold feelings like this, do I really have to withdraw into the forest and hide? Can’t a paltry fox help him?”

“If all of this is his will, then it won’t be entirely impossible.”

The crow flapped his great wings and nodded his head beyond the window.

“Look over there.”

“...Huh?”

Gargal, who had been quiet the whole time, looked down beneath the window at something.

“A human...?”

“My, it’s a human?”

“One seems to be the saintess from another dimension the crowfolk were in charge of.”

“She said she serves a god called the Moon.”

“Uh...”

Gargal turned to Balf.

“Are they too an arrangement by the god?”

“Rather than an arrangement, I’d say they’re closer to toys, but in the end, that too would be the god’s will.”

“Then is it also one branch of the god’s will that we speak with them?”

“That, even I don’t know.”

Flap—

The crow flew through the air.

“But it’ll be worth speaking with them, whatever branch it is.”

“Mr. Balf is right.”

The fox scratched hard at the wolf’s big leg. Then her eyes sparkled brightly.

“Gargal, Gargal.”

“You can do this much yourself...”

“I’m small and fragile, so I get hurt easily.”

“Damn it... anyway, you’re a nuisance.”

Gargal bit the fox by the scruff and lifted her up.

“Yip, you’re going to do it anyway.”

“Mmrph, thhhisss mmnrrgh...”

With the fox in his mouth, the wolf planted his feet on the windowsill and jumped down as is. Dangling in midair, the fox flailed and let out a crying sound.

“Yaaah!!”

Thud—!!!

When the wolf hit the ground, the fox cried out.

“Couldn’t you handle me a little more gently?!”

“Ptui!!”

“Yip!!”

“Even this is gentle enough—what more do you want!!”

“Seriously, wolves are so barbaric, we can’t get along...!!”

Woof, woof-woof!!

Yap, yip yap!!

Leaving the two bickering with their mouths, the crow swooped down.

“...Ignore them for now.”

“...Ah, yes.”

The human man, Ather, who had been watching the beasts with strange eyes, nodded.

“...My name is Ather. Before humanity perished, I was undeservedly called a hero, and I once participated in sealing the Demon King. By the ruins’ mystery and the evil god’s mercy, I have clung to life.”

“Nice to meet you, sir. I’m Aram. I’m an insignificant youngest daughter who serves my teacher, the Moon. To use a move against this evil god’s invasion, I joined hands here with Mr. Ather.”

At the two’s information being fed in as if they had been waiting, the crow flapped his wings.

“I am Balf, chieftain of the crows. It’s surprising that a descendant of humans, whom we thought wiped out, remains, and it’s also surprising that a guest who came to the amusement park still hasn’t been able to return home.”

The crow tilted his head.

“What proposal do you wish to make to us?”

“Before that, I have a question.”

Aram, who had been the amusement park’s guest, asked.

“Are you subordinates of the evil god, friends, or family?”

“All three.”

“Of those, what is the value you would rank as foremost?”

“I would say family.”

When the crow looked back, the fox, who had stopped bickering at some point, blinked.

“Me?”

“Who else would it be?”

“...I think we’re subordinates. His loyal servants.”

“Why don’t you say what you usually say too.”

“And we’re also beasts who receive his greatest favor!”

The fox, without hesitation, boasted of her rich fur and thick tail. The wolf, who looked at the fox posing as if she were a statue with a scornful gaze, answered next.

“Friends.”

“So taciturn.”

“...I think we’re friends.”

“Hmph. Seriously, no development at all.”

“Don’t pick a fight even at a time like this, Rami...”

“I was stating a fact.”

And then Aram asked again.

“Then do you love your master?”

“That’s such an embarrassing thing to say.”

“We also saw and felt what kind of existence Argio, who took human form, is. We received his mercy, and we thought that in itself cannot be called an evil god.”

“...It’s the same for us as well, our master’s guest.”

“I have so much I want to say, and I want to treat you with more care, but unfortunately, we don’t have that much time. I’ll ask directly.”

The saintess called the god’s family asked.

“If you could ruin this war, what would you do?”

“...That’s...”

The wolf grinned.

“That sounds quite interesting.”

And so the beasts joined the will of the saintess and the hero.

* * *

The first subjugation force that could enter the amusement park was not the Moon Lady Religion, but Justitia.

“See? It’s not hard.”

“Looking at the Moon Lady Religion’s situation, it seems especially like we’re entering more easily.”

“Anyway, what matters is that anyone can enter.”

Seo Seohui, the guildmaster serving as leader of Justitia’s subjugation force, looked around.

“...It’s quieter than I expected.”

He asked a guild member who had visited this place before.

“Was it originally like this, like a closed amusement park and all that?”

“Um, no, of course not. I think I sent you the report...”

“I’m asking in case my memory is wrong.”

“I was just saying it on a whim. But it wasn’t like this before. It was much noisier and there were lots of people. And they assigned one guide each, like a crow.”

“Right now, it seems hard to find such guides.”

“I think so too.”

With a calm face, the guild member assessed the situation.

“It seems we weren’t the only ones preparing.”

There were no kind guides, no delicious food scents tickling the nose, no glittering lights that dazzled the eyes. With all the lights out, and not a speck of dust, the amusement park was oddly eerie.

“Just like you said, Guildmaster—it really feels like a closed amusement park.”

“I’ve never even been to an amusement park, yet I feel bitter for no reason.”

Seo Seohui laughed.

“Alright, then...”

He lifted his head and looked down into the underground.

“Shall we take a look at the homeowner’s face.”

“There’s vibration, Guildmaster.”

“Something is coming up from below.”

“Yeah, he’ll be here soon.”

Grrrk,

Krrrrrk, tkt. Tk!

Kwaaaak...!!!

“Oh.”

The first thing that came into view was a long, enormous arm.

Next was the tail of some red, long beast. Next, the arms and legs that suited it. And the grotesque wings covering that huge body, and...

“A painful state.”

Human shapes stitched in between, in dense patches.

『—Ah, ahh... aaaaagh...! Aaaaaaagh!!』

Screams rang out.

『Eternal rage for me! Eternal insult from you to me!!』

『Hey, my friend. Have you come to find me? Have you come to find me? Have you come to see me?』

『Let’s dance and sing happily and spill blood.』

Its voice was not loud, yet it reached Justitia’s guild members very clearly. It was not because their physical abilities were excellent. It was because the ‘human’ voice echoed inside their heads.

One of the guild members scratched hard at his ear.

“It’s been a while since I felt like this.”

“We haven’t had to contend with divinity for a while.”

“An evil god is an evil god, huh...”

Even just having that voice touch them made them maddeningly itchy and painful. It was vivid, like an actor’s singing voice in a theater echoing through the brain. That thing rotted life and made it suffer merely by existing.

Looking at that radiant being covered in every sort of golden treasure and bright red feathers, Seo Seohui muttered.

“...A dragon.”

An evil god who was once a dragon.

“...”

Seo Seohui grasped its essence.

It was a terrible, bitter thing.

(To be continued in the next part)