The Bison Who Became the Master of the Island by Joining Hands with the Devil
A bull must be a warrior who fights for his kin.
A cow must be a mother who serves the warrior.
That was the tradition passed down to the Bison tribe, and now, it was a curse that gnawed away at their own people.
“Hey, did you hear? You know Carrie, who lived next door? They found her body on the beach.”
“What? Really?”
Things like this were common on Bison Island. Perhaps that was why Kau, listening from the side, felt no particular emotion. Her eyes only widened at the fact that the victim was a neighbor she had lived with.
“They say it was an accidental death, but I don’t think so.”
“Don’t tell me... did someone murder Carrie?”
“It looks like it.”
The person who started the conversation confessed with a face that looked as if they had seen something horrific. “There were signs of assault left behind. I was at the scene, and it was truly gruesome.”
“My god.”
“Even after being treated like that, the fact that the case was closed so quickly is extremely suspicious.”
A kin had been murdered. The official cause of death was drowning. The case was closed, and the body was burned right there on the spot. They claimed it was to honor the soul of the deceased, but it was too suspicious for that. Shouldn't they at least hold a proper funeral to honor the soul? Why burn the body on the spot without even doing that? Why try to brush it off despite it being such a grave matter?
The more she dug, the more the suspicions amplified.
“Are we just supposed to watch this with our eyes open? It’s a murder case!”
“It’s murder, but there’s no way around it.”
Yes, it was unavoidable.
“The bulls hold all the power. As long as those bastards are around, a reinvestigation is nothing but a dream.”
“Wait, so you mean those bulls are...”
“Shh, be careful.”
Even when you reach the truth, you must watch your tongue. You could disappear without a trace.
“Someone might be listening, so let’s watch what we say.”
“Got it.”
“Kau, you know that too, right?”
“Yeah, I know.”
Kau answered perfunctorily, but she had no intention of snitching. Kau, too, was deeply dissatisfied with the island’s irrational system.
“Anyway, since the case is connected like that, it’s best not to speak of it carelessly.”
“What bad luck. To be born as a member of the Bison tribe of all things...”
She guessed that the cow named Carrie had been murdered by a bull who tried to force himself on her. She was murdered, yet no one investigated it. She believed the reason was simple: she was just a cow. There were plenty of cows on this island; what did it matter if one died? Let’s not make a fuss and cover it up. The island’s leadership must have concluded as much. Since they were bastards obsessed only with protecting their own power, they were certainly capable of doing exactly that.
Such incidents happened with peculiar frequency on Bison Island.
“Ah, I just want to leave. Can’t we run away secretly?”
“If only we could. The bulls are guarding the coastline like an iron fortress; do you think that’s possible?”
Escaping the island was impossible. Because cows were the property of the bulls, being leaked to the outside was forbidden. In reality, it was to prevent the truth inside the island from being exposed.
Even if they could leave, the next part was the problem.
“Other islands wouldn’t take us in either. There are no beastmen who welcome outsiders.”
“True, there were those who went to Crocodile Island and were repatriated.”
Beastmen hated outsiders settling on their islands. Even if they were the same kind of beastmen. The Beastman Union had been formed to survive against humans, but since they couldn’t even solve the problems within the union, it was nothing but a contradiction.
Because of that belief that everything except their own kin was forbidden, the cows had nowhere to go.
“How about the Elf Island? It’s better than a kingdom that stuffs us like taxidermy, right?”
“It is better. If only we could get there.”
There was only one place they could go, but—
“It’s too far from here. There’s no guarantee we won’t be discovered before we arrive.”
There were too many risk factors to put it into action.
“Tch, so you’re saying we have no choice but to live here until we die?”
This way didn’t work, that way didn’t work. The cows had only one option left.
“Ah, I don’t want to be a breeding tool.”
“There’s no other way. You just have to pray you don’t get murdered like Carrie.”
Becoming a tool for the bulls. That was the only way the cows could choose.
“...I’ll get going first.”
Kau, no longer wanting to hear the conversation, stood up. The basket on her back was filled with more than a pile of medicinal herbs.
“Mm, yeah. Take care.”
“See you tomorrow.”
After formally saying goodbye to her two friends, Kau headed to the manager. After confirming how many herbs she had picked and receiving the corresponding pay, Kau left the field. Usually, she would return home, but Kau headed to the beach. Since it was a beach without the surveillance of the bulls, she could rest for a while.
“Haa...”
All the way there, Kau sighed as if the ground would collapse.
“I want to leave.”
She had a preference for strong men, but she declined being murdered at the drop of a hat. Why were the men here so violent? If they weren’t violent, she would have done anything for them. If it weren’t for this chronic disease of a society, she would have accepted the fate of becoming a breeding tool. She wouldn’t have even thought about running away like her two friends.
“When I was young, they said I was bright, so I thought I could do anything...”
When she was young, Kau often heard that she was smart. She was so smart that her parents lamented that it would have been better if she had been born a boy instead of a girl. Kau, who didn’t understand why they said such things, realized it as she grew older. And then, she fell into despair.
‘What would it have been like if I had been born as a different beastman?’
Kau often thought about that. They said other beastmen had less discrimination; if she could become a different beastman, would her situation have been better than it was now? Would she have needed to worry like this?
“Hm?”
Kau, who was pessimistic about her situation, saw something.
“Th-this is...?”
Bodies were strewn across the beach she used as a resting place. They were the bulls who guarded the coastline. Without exception, all of their heads were crushed. The fine sandy beach was dyed a crimson blood color.
“Hm, did someone come again?”
The culprit who made it that way was right in front of her.
“Don’t run. You know what happens if you run, right?”
A black-haired man in an old military uniform, Grid, tapped the head of a dead bull with a blood-stained hammer.
“H-how, why...”
Kau was flustered by the sudden appearance of the intruder, but naturally, she had no choice.
“You, become my slave.”
After hearing the irrational truth of Bison Island from Kau, Grid said that. “Become my slave and be a breeding tool for the rest of your life.” He spat the same words as the other bulls right in front of Kau’s face.
“...I can’t right now.”
Kau said that. Currently, she was a prisoner. Dragged to a nearby cave, she was interrogated by Grid. Normally, it would be the right thing to refuse, but Kau couldn’t do that. Because—
“If I get pregnant, I’ll be suspected.”
“If they suspect you, just kill them all; what’s the problem?”
“No, even so...”
“I didn’t give you permission to ask questions.”
Yes, it was because of this attitude. If something didn’t please him, he aimed his blood-stained hammer at her. As if to show that he could crack her skull at any moment. Thinking she might really die, Kau had no choice but to nod her head, saying yes, yes, unconditionally.
If things went wrong—
“Hiiik, I was wrong. I was wrong. I was wrong!”
She had to bow her head like this.
“If you were wrong, should I kill you?”
“...”
Since he said he had no intention of forgiving her even if she bowed, where was she supposed to match his pace? Why did a notorious pirate come here of all places? Kau was too confused.
“If you truly repent for your sins, obey my words.”
“...”
“Answer.”
“Y-yes, yes! I will do so!”
When she answered like that, Grid put down the hammer.
‘Th-this crazy bastard!’
This guy, is he a sociopath or what? Does he think killing people is a game? Kau was terrified by Grid’s ruthlessness, but—
‘St-still, maybe a man like this would be nice...’
...She even felt an attraction to him to the point of thinking that.
“Then I’ll give you an order.”
To the cow he met for the first time, Grid gave an order. “Become the master of this island.”
“B-become the leader of Bison Island?”
“Yes, I plan to conquer this island.”
Kau was horrified by the word conquer. And, she even thought that perhaps this man might be the one to get rid of the evil customs of this island.
“I’ll send my subordinates. They are very excellent, so becoming the leader will be a matter of time.”
Saying such things, Grid fondled Kau’s breasts.
“Hiiik?”
She wanted to shout, don’t touch me. But she couldn’t do that at all. Not only because she didn’t want to be split by the hammer again for annoying him, but—
“Haa-eung, heu-eung...”
She thought it wouldn’t be bad to be touched by a man like this. Except for the fact that he was a sociopath, she felt it would be okay to fall for him.
“Hm, not bad.”
Grid, who had teased her breasts like that, asked, “So, will you follow me?”
“Yes, yes, I will follow. But...” Kau asked, “Why did you choose me? I’m nothing but a simple cow.”
“That’s because...” Grid whispered into Kau’s ear. “Because you have ambition.”
“...”
“Because things work out well when you join hands with someone who has ambition. That’s the only reason I chose you.”
“...”
“You don’t want to live and die as a breeding tool for the bulls like a fool, do you?”
At those words, Kau’s expression hardened.
“You said it yourself earlier. This island is irrational. It’s so irrational that you want to leave. You want to leave, but you can’t.”
“...”
“Are you going to give up the opportunity to get rid of that irrationality?”
“Is it possible?” Kau asked. “Can you really make it like that?”
“Whether you believe it or not is your freedom. However...” Grid replied, “I made you my slave. And, I gave you an opportunity.”
“...”
“But those bastards didn’t even give you an opportunity.”
“...”
“Then whose words would you want to believe?”
The monster in front of her wants to make her his slave. At the same time, he says he will give her an opportunity to succeed. Conversely, the trash on this island won’t even give her an opportunity to succeed. Then, isn’t it obvious where she should go? As if demanding an answer, Grid grabbed Kau’s chin with one hand.
“Now, choose.”
“...I.”
“...So I accepted his kiss.”
Stroking the hair of the soundly sleeping Kang-rim, Kau said that. “Thanks to him, I became the leader, and I was able to kill all those dirty bulls.”
Thanks to the subordinates Grid sent, Kau was able to dispose of all the bulls, and she was also able to capture all the cows who resisted Grid’s invasion.
“I heard people saying the Bison tribe might go extinct because I killed them all.”
Kau smiled brightly. “But it’s okay. Because he said he would solve everything.”
“You say such things...” Sua criticized with a trembling voice. “Do you think I’ll sympathize with you? You traitorous bitch!”
For Kau, it must have been an opportunity. Kau must not have been able to throw away the opportunity to overturn everything. That was why she must have chosen the path of joining hands with Grid. Of course, since the Gumiho tribe had fallen into slavery to Grid because of that opportunity, no matter how nicely Kau packaged it, Sua could never accept it.
“Aren’t you afraid of divine retribution? Do you think you can survive after committing such acts!”
“Divine retribution...” Kau responded calmly. “I joined hands with my master to kill the bad guys. Is that something to be punished by heaven for?”
“Because of you bastards, my entire kin became slaves!”
“Yes, that’s right. To you, the master must be an enemy. But...” Kau glared fiercely. “This person is my benefactor.”
She glared at Sua with eyes that said she would kill her if she really did it. “I won’t forgive you if you harm my master.”
“You son of a bitch...”
“So, obey.”
Kau spoke of a fate that would never change. “Swear loyalty to the master. Then maybe things will get better than they are now.”
“Th-that kind of thing!”
“And...”
“Ha-euk?”
Kau poked Sua’s chest with her finger. As soon as she poked her, Sua let out a moan. Breast milk flowed down from her nipples, tracing the apricot-colored hills.
“Why are you rejecting it so much when you’re already addicted to sex with the master?”
“No, I don’t enjoy it!”
“No, you are enjoying it.”
The finger that poked her went lower and lower. “Your body has already surrendered to the master. Your soul is the same.”
The finger that went down stopped at her bulging belly. “So, don’t look away.”
“...”
“Don’t ignore the answer that will save you.”
“...”
Salvation? Following this guy is salvation? Becoming a dog for trash like this? She wanted to argue right away, but no words came out of Sua’s mouth. She just kept her mouth shut and bowed her head.
‘What, what should I do...’
In fact, Sua also knew what answer she had to choose. The assassination of Grid had failed, such an opportunity would never come again, and her kin had become livestock. And, Sua herself was also being tamed as livestock. Isn’t she unable to come to her senses right now from the smell of her enemy’s cock, the smell of his semen? In this state, what was the best answer?
Sua knew. It was just that she was afraid of what would happen if she chose that answer. That was why she chose the option of resisting stubbornly. Even though it was a futile resistance.
‘I hate it, I don’t want to surrender to him. I don’t want to lose to a guy like this...’
Sua continued to deny it, but her heart was already breaking.