The Fox's Arrogance
"Then what exactly do you want me to do?"
A pushover. No, I couldn't let an 'obedient' anomaly like this slip away.
—Why, of course you must kneel and submit to this seat.
An arrogance that transcended reason. Based on what it had said earlier, this anomaly had the right to be this arrogant, but...
'I can't trust it based on words alone.'
Anyone could say anything. Unlike Bianca, I wasn't naive enough to be fooled by a few sentences.
"Then, could I see the great anomaly's true form with my own eyes?"
—Hah, of course.
With a snort, the voice vanished in an instant. At that moment—
Thud—
The forest, the trees, the very earth trembled. As if heralding the arrival of some colossal being, the surroundings began to shake. Before long, a 'presence' slowly emerged from the distance.
—Bow before this seat.
Its head held high in haughty pride, looking down upon the world with supreme arrogance. Its form was as if it had stolen beauty from the heavens themselves. This being was one that could even make gods seem insignificant...
"·····A fox?"
It was a fox cub.
—I-I am no mere fox!
'What the hell...?'
I had a feeling I'd been properly scammed.
***
Anomalies in the Chronicles of Haelan usually possessed twisted and grotesque appearances. They also tended to have enormous bodies that could overwhelm humans at a glance, but the anomaly before me was ridiculously small in comparison.
'No matter how I look at it, it's just a fox cub.'
Its pure white, fluffy fur made me want to pet it at least once. The only unusual thing was its tail.
'It's got three tails?'
A three-tailed fox? It was a yokai species that could only be seen by traveling all the way to the Eastern Continent in the original work. It looked quite similar to the Miho tribe. In the end, this wasn't an anomaly at all—it was clearly just this creature playing a prank.
The Miho tribe usually used illusions and auditory hallucinations to seduce humans and drain their vital energy.
'I don't know how it ended up in the Forest of Nightmares, but this thing is out of luck.'
Thinking about it, how could an anomaly grant the power to face a god in an instant? Once I knew its true nature, my enthusiasm completely evaporated.
"Hey, kid. Just go."
—What? What did you just say?
"You know this place is dangerous too. Don't get in the way for no reason. Let's just go our separate ways."
—Y-You insignificant wretch! How dare you speak such nonsense after witnessing this seat's true form!
'...Huh? Wait a second.'
Leaving the fox squealing behind, a sudden doubt crossed my mind. If this creature hadn't caused the 'tremor' I'd heard earlier, then where had that sound come from?
Thud—
As if answering my question, the tremor echoed once more. The surrounding trees collapsed in an instant. A chilling sensation crept up to the top of my head. My instincts sent a warning so strong my scalp tingled.
'No way...'
Something crawled through the fallen trees.
Twitch, twitch—
What appeared was a massive purple 'hand.' Strangely, it had countless fingers. Each finger was embedded with an eye that restlessly scanned its surroundings.
'Crazy.'
Just as I was about to run, it discovered us and opened a large mouth on the back of its hand.
—KieeeEEEEEEEEEK!
The true anomaly had arrived.
***
—How dare you insult this seat! Even you are no better than an insect right now, yet your mouth still runs wild.
It was a phrase Talian had only heard once in her entire life. As someone born to rule, this was only the second time she had suffered such humiliation. Coincidentally, both times had come from the same person.
—To judge strength by the size of one's physical body. You must have looked down on me quite a bit.
Talian's body had shrunk not only because her level had dropped, but also because she had changed her method of accumulating power compared to before her regression. In the past, she would have devoured everything in sight to increase her physical size, but this time she had focused most of her efforts on 'compressing' her power internally.
The mass and size of one's body only increased raw physical strength. Beings who possessed true 'power' were never grotesquely large. The strong of the future continuously 'condensed' their power to temper themselves. In other words, growing one's body was a waste of power, so she had chosen the path of becoming stronger for the future.
Of course, the current Ian had no way of knowing this.
—KieeeEEEEEEEEK!
Talian paid no attention to the anomaly that had appeared behind them. Why would she feel fear at the appearance of mere 'prey'? In the past, she might have put some effort into devouring it, but to her current self, it was nothing more than low-quality food not even worth a snack.
However...
—You would be in quite a bit of danger right now. Heh, this should be entertaining.
The sight of him, who had reached an 'unfathomable' realm in the future, struggling against an insect was a rare and precious scene.
'He'll ask this body for help if he doesn't want to die anyway.'
What kind of feeling would it give her to have him beneath her feet? Talian felt a pleasure so intense it made her shudder just imagining it.
Just as the anomaly was about to charge, Ian began running straight toward her direction.
—Hm? Is he running away? No, that doesn't seem right...
Ian, who had rushed over, immediately snatched Talian's body and held her in his arms.
—W-What are you doing! How dare you lay hands on this seat's noble body... Mmph.
Forcibly covering the flustered and panicked Talian's mouth, he carefully spoke.
"Shh. I'll try to draw its attention somehow, so you run away first."
Though she seemed to have complaints, letting out muffled sounds as she glared at Ian, she found herself nodding unconsciously, overwhelmed by his serious gaze.
'This guy... he hasn't regained his memories, has he?'
For a brief moment, his eyes had resembled those from before.
'In this life, he has no connection to this seat, yet he risks his life to save me. Hah, really. He still hasn't gotten rid of that foolish nature of his.'
Those who reached transcendence gradually moved away from the mindset of short-lived species as time passed. Like most long-lived species, their emotions gradually faded and dried up, turning them into extremely selfish beings.
But he was different. Despite his strength, he was weak to sentiment to the point of frailty and never hesitated to give. That was why he had safely sent off his companions who departed just before the end.
At the time, Talian had seen his soft personality as his only 'flaw.' But now that she was receiving that compassion in this life... for some reason, she felt a ticklish sensation in her chest.
—Hmm.
She, who had been an overwhelming powerhouse and ruler, had never once stood in the position of the 'weak.' This was completely different from the worship and fear she had grown sick of receiving.
The feeling of 'concern'—subtle yet warm—created ripples in her heart.
—Well, I'll look after you a bit more.
Though Talian didn't realize it, her tail was wagging happily.
***
The anomaly that had appeared in the form of a giant 'hand.' Its characteristics were so distinct that I was able to identify it immediately. It was an anomaly that had appeared in the original work as well, one that had given the protagonist quite a bit of trouble.
The Hand-Mouth Monster, Kehol.
Surprisingly, Kehol had once been human before mutating into an anomaly for some reason.
Thudududududu—
The sight of it running on dozens, hundreds of fingers as 'feet' was truly grotesque. Fortunately, its speed wasn't as fast as I'd feared. At least it wasn't fast enough to catch up immediately.
—KieeeEEEEEEEEK!
Of course, the psychological pressure was immense.
'...If I hadn't received Bianca's buff, I would've been caught long ago.'
But I didn't know when this buff would disappear.
'Did that thing manage to escape?'
Even though I myself was in danger right now, my damn meddlesome nature had kicked in and made me save it without thinking.
'Anyway, I wonder if I'm going the right way.'
Since the anomaly's range of movement was limited to within the Forest of Nightmares, escaping the forest would allow me to get away safely. For now, I was running while trying to maintain a specific direction, but with nothing but trees around me, I couldn't be sure I was heading the right way.
Just as I continued running—
Crack—
Kehol's movements stopped in an instant. No, to be precise, it hadn't stopped—it seemed to be 'preparing' something.
Press—
Its fingers curled one by one. A stance ready to explode forward at any moment.
'...Shit?'
Whoosh—
With overwhelming leaping power, Kehol's massive body launched into the air and fell toward me. Without even time to react, I could only stare blankly at the scene.
"W-Wait..."
Crunch—
***
Unreasonable rules. Rules that no living being could violate all became 'restrictions' and flew toward the man. It was as if the entire world was cursing him.
This scene resembled the man's life. Having suddenly fallen into hell, he had been given nothing. No matter how much he struggled, the enemies blocking his path showed no mercy to his circumstances.
The world was originally unreasonable and unfair. He knew this better than anyone.
But even so...
"...Even so, I can't just stay still."
Rather than cursing his fate, he tried to fight against it. Though he had been given nothing, he tried to build something. Rather than giving up and sitting down, he kept moving forward.
That was the man's life, his will. Even the gods could not stop it.
The man held a 'sword.'
A sword that didn't actually exist, rising from his mind. Mind Sword.
The man who had reached the highest realm stopped thinking at this moment. He didn't imagine gripping the sword and swinging it at his opponent.
Because the moment the sword was formed, he had already cut.
Slash—
The anomaly domain split in two.