Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: The King of the Plains and the Power Thief
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The King of the Plains, Catoblepas, lay majestically alone in the middle of his domain on the grassland, gazing down over his territory.
Even though it had the head of a wild boar and the body of a water buffalo—a look that would make it seem like a mere mob monster in a game—the very thought that it might be weak upon encountering it felt almost blasphemous. Was this the aura of a god?
Even with its eyes covered by a mane like tangled hair, just the sensation of it turning its gaze this way made the fur on my entire body stand on end. If Catoblepas willed it, I was certain that both the unicorn and I would die without even being able to resist.
⚙ TELEPATHY ⚙ [Nice to meet you. I am Catoblepas. King of the hoofed beasts.]
Catoblepas's introduction was concise. But that alone was enough.
Just as a god who has reached perfection has no need to explain everything to a human, that brief greeting conveyed countless things.
⚙ TELEPATHY ⚙ [I pay my respects to the great King of the Plains...!]
In response to Catoblepas's telepathic message, the unicorn immediately thrust its horn into the grass, bowing its head low and groveling to show proper respect.
As a creature that wielded authority itself, did it show such deference to beings of higher authority?
'This bastard that acted like a total asshole to the King of Men...'
Come to think of it, this guy had spouted something like "Virgin Queen!" to Agnes earlier. Was that okay to say to the Empire's Imperial Princess?
Just as expected from a mad horse—there were parts that couldn't be understood with human logic. I decided to just let it slide.
"I pay my respects to the great King of the Plains, Catoblepas."
I offered a greeting with the same level of courtesy I'd shown Teacher Marianne.
I wasn't some beast of the plains, so there was no reason for me to roll over on my back.
⚙ TELEPATHY ⚙ [Human...! Bow down and prostrate yourself at once! You think bowing your head is enough for such a great one?!]
The unicorn nagged from the side, insisting I at least match half the courtesy the knightess had shown earlier. This was the same guy who'd been calling me Arthin just moments ago—why "human" all of a sudden?
⚙ TELEPATHY ⚙ [Human Arthin Ludwig is my guest. Unicorn Unicore, show proper respect.] [Ah! Forgive me, my King...!]
When Catoblepas slowly rebuked it in his languid voice, the unicorn flinched in shock, bowing its head deeply and glancing nervously at the king.
'What an asshole...'
Watching the unicorn frozen in place wasn't bad, but I decided to ask why I'd been summoned here first.
"King of the Plains, may I ask why you invited me?"
I'd come because there was something important, but all the unicorn had told me was that someone had stolen the king's power, and I'd been specifically named as the one to resolve it.
'What did I even do for the King of the Plains to know me and point me out?'
Moreover, who would dare steal a god's power? In the original story, the only one crazy enough for something like that was a Demon King's Legion Commander.
⚙ TELEPATHY ⚙ [Unicore, how far have you explained?] [Yes, my King! That some irreverent fool stole your power, and that you have chosen this human, Arthin Ludwig, as the resolver of this unprecedented blasphemy!]
In response to my question, Catoblepas let out a massive snort and asked slowly, while Unicore replied swiftly in a tense, snappy voice.
It looked pathetic from the sidelines, but I understood. When I'd first met the King of the Plains, I'd been overwhelmed by his presence and floundered too.
'If the King of the Plains is like this, just how strong is the Demon King?'
But the Demon King I'd barely glimpsed in my 4th regression had an even greater presence and power than Catoblepas, even while slumbering under ancient sealing magic.
After seeing that and now looking at Catoblepas again, it felt like viewing a rhino after an elephant—fascinating, but no awe.
⚙ TELEPATHY ⚙ [I see. Then I shall explain about the one who stole my power.]
Catoblepas listened to Unicore's report, fell silent as if lost in thought for a moment, then slowly began explaining to me.
The problem was that he explained so slowly—an explanation that I could have given in three minutes took him over an hour.
Unicore, who had been bowing its head with its nose buried in the ground, stretched its neck out after about thirty minutes, its throat apparently too sore from the tension.
Finally, I seized the moment when Catoblepas paused and spoke up.
"So, to sum up, someone used a Demon King's Legion Commander's power to steal a portion of your authority, Catoblepas—the power of your death gaze? And since that power is felt at the academy, you want me to track it down?"
Catoblepas flinched slightly at my summary, then nodded his massive head ever so subtly. Of course, even that tiny motion kicked up a huge gust of wind, making it impossible not to notice.
⚙ TELEPATHY ⚙ [That is correct. Even if it's just a fragment of my power, wielding it recklessly could unleash a disaster too great to handle. Someone must step up to recover it.]
I had no choice but to nod in agreement with Catoblepas's words.
Catoblepas's main authorities were poison breath and death gaze.
A death gaze that could kill any living being just by staring at it with his eyes, and the ability to infuse mana into his breath to exhale a poison that no creature could survive.
For beings of equal rank or those resistant to such powers, it might not seem that impressive. But unleashed on an indiscriminate crowd, it became a weapon of mass destruction more vicious than any real-world poison gas.
And for someone carrying even a fragment of that to sneak into the academy, where talents who could stand against the Demon King's Army gathered?
'This is a bigger deal than I thought...?'
It wasn't the full power, but even swinging around a sliver of it could kill hundreds or thousands of students in a massive incident.
'Did taking out Rexton Wise, who was executive candidate material, cause this? The replacement villain is on a whole other scale of crazy.'
This world had a sort of "villain preservation law." During the period classified as one episode, three to six villains would appear.
Of course, some were fixed to appear, while others became villains fluidly based on events and causality. If you preemptively dealt with the fixed main villains?
It was completely random. If there were enough villains, no replacements; if short, substitutes or other baddies would show up.
But there was no guarantee the later ones were worse than the originals preemptively removed. Often they were smaller scale or easier to handle, so I'd preferred taking out the real nasty ones early.
This time, though, I'd drawn the short straw. Not content with stealing a god's power, this one had contracted with a Demon King's Legion Commander?
"King of the Plains, I understand the importance of the matter, but I still don't know why I was chosen."
And the biggest question was why me.
The protagonist Kaiyen Silversword, Student Council President Richard Ermengarde the Crown Prince, Teacher Marianne the kingdom's top contender, even Lin Shaomei or Agnes—they were all far stronger than me right now.
⚙ TELEPATHY ⚙ [The reason I chose you is simple.]
To my question, Catoblepas narrowed his previously all-encompassing telepathic projection to a whisper just for me.
⚙ TELEPATHY ⚙ [Because you have already saved us once before.]
"...What?"
Catoblepas stated the shocking fact calmly, and I fell into shock upon hearing it.
⚙ TELEPATHY ⚙ [...What is it? Why has the conversation suddenly stopped?]
Unicore, watching from the side without hearing the exchange, looked around in confusion, but no one explained the situation to it.
**
Back at the academy, I furrowed my brow, lost in thought.
"Where should I start investigating... Do I have time to make a detector?"
I needed to move immediately since I didn't know when disaster might strike, but that shocking revelation had my head spinning.
-[I do not know how you obtained such power, but some of we transcendent beings exist beyond time.] -[The authority you have gained is mighty, but it will affect causality as much. Beware the Demon King.]- 'Not memory regression, but higher beings close to gods can perceive changes in the timeline...'
I'd initially thought it nonsense, but I recalled a similar scene from that old movie "Doctor StrXng" or whatever. The final boss, transcending time, could always detect the protagonist's regressions no matter how many. In the end, the protagonist exploited that to banish it.
'Ultimately, it's a different case from memory regression. No reference value...'
First, calm down. My plan was to find clues to memory regression and take out villains.
This villain had simply entered my sights. If I failed, it was regression time anyway.
"Human! How long do you intend to stand there like an idiot?! This exalted one wishes to return to its true form posthaste—escort me to quarters befitting me!"
At that moment, a woman with white hair embedded with sparkling starlight—like jewels—berated me harshly from my side.
Of course, anyone could guess from the flow: the mysterious beauty who appeared was Unicore in human form.
"My room's too small for horse living quarters."
"What nonsense is that?! Surely you're not telling this exalted one to remain in this stifling form?!"
"Then get out!! I don't wanna live with you either, you virgin freak!!"
"Wh-what?! Did you just call this exalted one a virgin freak?! How dare a mere human!"
Unable to shed its horse instincts, it stamped the ground furiously. I really didn't want to get tangled up with this one. My 2nd regression entanglement had been enough torture.
-[Unicore, you shall take human form and accompany the human.] -[What?! My King, what do you mean?! To have a noble divine beast like me polymorphe and play human-sitter?!] -[The human cannot handle my power alone. With you at his side, will you not recover my power?]-
The groveling deference to Catoblepas was gone; even as Unicore brazenly argued, Catoblepas explained patiently without anger.
In the end, Unicore transformed into human form and ended up following me around, tracking the villain for a while.
"To travel with one who lusts after non-virgins and deflowered women—if not for the king's command, this exalted one would gladly impale you on my horn!"
Her voice was beautifully resonant, like jade beads rolling, but so gratingly shrill it felt like it'd give me that K-disease called hwa-byeong that didn't exist in this world.
"Ah... I fucking hate this for real..."
"Did you just say you hate this exalted one?! Cherish this honor for your family generations, you insolent wretch!"
I ignored the noisy assassin from Zootopia and trudged toward my dorm.
The evening sunset was already fading.
"H-hey! Where do you think you're going without this exalted one?! Show proper respect!!"
Unicore shrieked and scurried after me, still chattering noisily without end.
'Regression feels so tempting... For real...'