Departure (3)
The noble predator atop the snow, the White Gallagon, fixed its gaze upon me.
Just as there is a vast gulf between Blue Gallagons and Green Gallagons, the White Gallagon above them was a far superior existence entirely.
The Galagon Claw Blades carried by the Temple Guard, and the Galagon claw trait Sihyeon Yujin had wielded — every one of them traced back to the White Gallagon.
And it didn't end there.
Monster's Tentacles, a trait that doesn't exist in the game. The ability to fire a Psychic Breath through the tentacles was the White Gallagon's signature power.
Unlike me, it could unleash that breath without limit. My destructive power as a Young Adult might be greater, but I was bound by a firing threshold it didn't have.
'If we fight, I lose. Plain and simple.'
I turned and made for Adhai.
[Bzzzzzzzz (We have to run)]
With her wing broken, Adhai's flight speed had dropped dramatically. I scooped her up, clutched her tight against my chest, and ran like a madman.
｢Big Adult｣ ｢Kin｣ ｢Appeared｣ ｢I｣ ｢Pursuing｣
[Bzz (What?)]
Before the word had even finished, two Green Gallagons materialized in front of me. Unlike the tiny Adhai, they were near ten meters of muscle, and they blocked my path.
I wheeled sideways — and felt an enormous concentration of energy building behind me. A violet heat ray seared the ground inches from where I stood.
｢Ham Ort｣ ｢Speaks｣ ｢Halt｣
I glanced back. The White Gallagon was following at its leisure, its tentacles — once drenched deep violet — slowly fading back to a pale red.
The Psychic Breath had burned nothing but the dirt precisely at my feet. A warning.
'What's its game?'
Adhai was the exception. Gallagons were, by nature, savage creatures. They rarely forgave anyone who trespassed into their territory. It was no accident that the Galagon Nest was classified as one of the highest-difficulty hunting grounds in existence.
Sure enough, the Green Gallagons were already coiling their muscles taut, ready to lunge at any moment.
The only reason they held still was one thing.
The White Gallagon, unnervingly calm.
'It wants something.'
I swept my gaze over the White Gallagon. The horns were comparatively short and the tail thick — a female.
Gallagons were sexually dimorphic. Males were marginally stronger than females, but that distinction meant nothing in this situation.
Its body length, as befit a White Gallagon, was more than double that of a Green. Its wings were folded now, but unfurled they would be magnificent.
Up to that point, it carried every hallmark of a textbook White Gallagon — but there were two differences.
I hadn't noticed at first, but looking again, patches of blackened scales marked its body here and there. Possibly dried blood from some other creature.
'More than that — it's far too thin for a Gallagon.'
Both the Green Gallagons watching us warily and the White Gallagon before me were drastically underweight. You could count ribs along their flanks.
Of course, their starvation didn't mean I could win. I was severely weakened myself.
'Let's try talking first.'
[Bzzzzzz (What do you want?)]
My Monster's Tentacles shivered, producing a wave, and the White Gallagon tilted its head.
｢Strange｣ ｢Kin｣ ｢Speech｣ ｢Possible?｣
[Bzz (Yes)]
｢Strange Kin｣ ｢I｣ ｢Introduce｣ ｢Ham Ort｣
The White Gallagon, having named itself Ham Ort, kept streaming thought-waves at me.
｢Ham Ort｣ ｢Needs｣
[Bzzz Bzzzzzz (Needs what?)]
Instead of answering, it raised a forepaw and pointed at Adhai, cradled against my chest.
｢Daughter of the Shooting Star｣ ｢Special｣ ｢Kin｣ ｢Salvation｣ ｢Needed｣
[Bzzzzzzz (Adhai?)]
｢Ham Ort's Pack｣ ｢Weak｣ ｢Great Oude Grad's Pack｣ ｢Strong｣ ｢Daughter of the Shooting Star｣ ｢Unconditionally｣ ｢Needed｣
The Gallagons' peculiar telepathic syntax made the exact meaning hard to parse, but boiled down, it went something like this:
The White Gallagon Ham Ort's pack was competing against another Gallagon pack.
And it claimed to be at a disadvantage against its rival.
Naturally. The leader of a Gallagon pack was always a Black Gallagon. The only instance of anything else leading a pack was the raid event where a Red Gallagon appeared as a boss.
'A White Gallagon would be mid-to-lower tier among APEX.'
Far stronger than an Ice Horror, but weaker than a Black Gallagon. With strength like that, it couldn't shield its kin from the other monsters eyeing the Dragon's Nest.
'Then it's even stranger.'
A pack led by a White Gallagon was inevitably weaker than a Black Gallagon's pack. Would one more member really change that?
'Is there something special about Adhai?'
I'd watched her all this time, and aside from being unusually sharp, nothing stood out.
If anything, the only oddity was that while she'd been apart from me, she had grown from a Blue Gallagon into a Green. But I didn't understand how Gallagons matured, so I had no way to judge whether that was special or not.
'...What do I do?'
Refuse, and nine times out of ten the next words would be then we take her by force. That was what Gallagons were. A Gallagon politely requesting a conversation, as it was doing now, was essentially unheard of.
But handing Adhai over like this didn't sit right either.
Because I couldn't fathom why creatures who despised the weak would suddenly need her — a runt they'd cast out over a crippled body, no less.
'Worse, if they mean to spend her in a war between packs, that's doubly dangerous.'
Adhai was precious to me — my companion through everything. Until I knew exactly what these creatures intended, I could not give her up.
As if it had read my mind, the timing of its next thought-wave was impeccable.
｢Ham Ort｣ ｢Speaks｣ ｢Daughter of the Shooting Star｣ ｢Precious｣ ｢Life｣ ｢Protects｣
[Bzzzzzz (Protects her?)]
｢Yes｣ ｢My Child｣ ｢I｣ ｢Child｣ ｢Protects｣
'What?'
There was information in that thought-wave I could not simply let pass. I looked down at Adhai in my arms.
[Bzz Bzzz Bzzzzzzz (Is that true?)]
Adhai hesitated, then gave a small nod.
｢Kin｣ ｢Parent｣ ｢Correct｣
｢Great Oude Grad｣ ｢Pack Leader｣ ｢Daughter of the Shooting Star｣ ｢Exiled｣ ｢I｣ ｢Could Not Stop｣
Ham Ort said it briefly. There seemed to be some deeper history behind those words, but the creature offered no explanation.
It had laid its cards on the table, clearly hoping I would now hand Adhai over — but I couldn't.
Because the reaction Adhai showed was nothing like the reaction of someone reuniting with her mother.
The way her body trembled in intermittent spasms wasn't merely from the cold.
Something must have happened when she was exiled. Something terrible.
[Bzzz Bzz Bzzzzzzz Bzz Bzzzzz (They threw her away once. What's stopping them from doing it twice?)]
｢Ham Ort｣ ｢Swears｣ ｢Daughter of the Shooting Star｣ ｢Life｣ ｢Protects｣
[Bzz Bzzzz Bzzzz (And if she says she doesn't want to go?)]
｢I｣ ｢Strange Kin｣ ｢Spared｣ ｢Reason Exists｣ ｢You｣ ｢Daughter of the Shooting Star｣ ｢Guardian｣ ｢Ham Ort｣ ｢Grateful｣ ｢But｣
The creature bent its long neck until its head hovered a hair's breadth from my snout. At a distance of barely a sheet of paper, it spoke.
｢Ham Ort｣ ｢Battle｣ ｢Does Not Avoid｣ ｢What Is Wanted｣ ｢Seizes｣
Those amethyst eyes, glowing like precious stones, flashed with threat. Behind us, the Green Gallagons began growling restlessly.
Reading its response, it seemed there was only one road to survival: hand over Adhai.
The old me wouldn't have hesitated. I'd have done exactly that — better yet, I'd have bartered Adhai as leverage and bought myself friendly relations with the Gallagons.
'But.'
Some strange, nameless emotion refused to permit it. My head filled with nothing but the thought that I didn't want to send her away like this.
It made no sense. Emotion should never outrank the survival instinct, and I couldn't understand why this was happening.
'...I've lost my mind.'
Maybe it was a side effect of the Avatar of the Hunt, or maybe my brain was shutting down from energy starvation.
The cause was unclear, but one thing was certain: I was insane.
I was actually contemplating channeling my dwindling reserves into God's Whip.
Negotiation collapsing, both sides a heartbeat from lunging — and then Adhai suddenly wriggled free of my arms. On her broken forelegs, she dragged herself to stand before Ham Ort.
｢I｣ ｢Big Adult｣ ｢Contract Fulfilled｣ ｢I｣ ｢Mother｣ ｢Kin｣ ｢Returning｣
[Bzzzzzz (Adhai?)]
Trembling all over, yet unbowed.
Ham Ort gazed down at her for a long moment, then gave a small nod.
｢Daughter of the Shooting Star｣ ｢Judgment｣ ｢Wise｣
The creature gripped Adhai with its forepaw. Not a crushing hold, but a careful one, the way one touches a treasure. With Adhai resting in its palm, it lifted her onto its back and spread its wings wide.
Brilliant white light flooded the tangle of branches in the forest. Ham Ort, wings blazing like a second sun, vanished with Adhai in its wake. The Green Gallagons slipped out through the gap Ham Ort had torn open.
Where they had stood, snowflakes began to fall, one by one.
'......'
Adhai never once looked back at me.
But just before Ham Ort departed—
A thought-wave as faint as a falling snowflake brushed against my tentacles.
'...Goodbye?'
Her parting words were nothing more — and nothing less — than a farewell.
The contract to carry her to the Galagon Nest was fulfilled, so she would return to her kin.
'...And here I thought she was smart. What an idiot.'
If she thought I'd just shrug and say oh, is that so, she was gravely mistaken.
She'd chosen to follow the Gallagons because she believed it was the best option. If she hadn't, not only I but everyone else hiding in this forest would have been in danger too.
I trudged back the way I had come, hauling the Green Gallagon carcasses and the Scrapers' remains to our makeshift shelter.
｢Big Baby! Something awful happened!｣
｢What's going on? Adhai suddenly bolted, and the Green Gallagons were... huh?｣
When I returned to the nest, No. 26 and Mother of the Sky came to greet me. PS-111, drained of energy, had slipped into dormancy.
[Bzzzz Bzzzzzz Bzz (Eat this first)]
｢Big Baby, where did Little Baby go?｣
｢...Don't tell me.｣
[Bzzzzzz Bzz Bzz Bzz (Adhai went away for a little while)]
｢Away?｣
[Bzzzzzz Bzzzz (Her family came for her)]
｢.......｣
｢So she's not traveling with us anymore?｣
I shook my head, firm and certain.
[Bzz Bzzzz Bzzzzzz Bzz (No. That will never happen)]
If Adhai had chosen to leave, there'd be nothing more I could do. And if it hadn't been just any Gallagon, but her own mother who came to take her — all the more so.
But I remembered.
I remembered her saying she wanted to stay with us, even after the contract was done.
It didn't matter how the other Gallagons treated her. If she wanted to be with us, then honoring that wish was my responsibility.
'And for that, recovery comes first.'
I split the Green Gallagon's belly open with my combat arm, tore out the half-cooled entrails, and tossed them to Mother of the Sky.
[Bzzzz Bzzzzzz Bzz Bzzzzzz Bzz Bzzz Bzzz (Your beak's broken, so eating will be rough. This should go down easier)]
｢...Right.｣
Mother of the Sky stared at me for a moment, then silently began tearing into the entrails. Beside her, No. 26, who had been watching hesitantly, cautiously ripped off a piece of the Gallagon's wing.
'...Still, thanks to talking with that thing, I gained something crucial.'
The leader of a Gallagon pack wielded enormous authority. Usually the eldest Gallagon took the position, but not always.
If a younger but more powerful Gallagon emerged within the pack, it could challenge the leader for the throne. In other words, a pack's leadership could be replaced at any time.
'Assuming the challenger wins, that is.'
And Ham Ort had called me a Strange Kin.
If these creatures perceived me as something akin to a Gallagon, then there was only one answer.
Become their leader.
'This time, I prepare thoroughly.'
Being crushed helplessly like today was something I'd endure only once. When every piece was in place — that was when I would go and bring Adhai home.
I chewed through the Gallagon's foreleg, bone and all, and made my vow.