Chapter 120
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: Twilight Storm
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Waiting for the enemy to power up is a kind of virtue.
No matter how wicked the villain, they never interrupt the protagonist's evolution.
But that's just a story from comics.
A certain greedy crow figured that if the chance ever came, he'd go for it someday.
And by coincidence, that opportunity arrived.
Screeeeech!
Craaaack!
The Chicken Talon Kick landed with crisp perfection.
It's called the Chicken Talon Kick, but in terms of raw power, it's one of my top five techniques.
A straightforward physical strike, but one that leverages my size and speed to drive into a single point.
Plus, my talons are sharper than those of any bird of prey—a mere graze would shred its hide.
Surprisingly, the thing had actually tried to evolve.
No, what made it confident enough to evolve right in front of me, a complete stranger?
And why now, of all times?
It had been quaking in fear at the sight of me, then suddenly got dead serious and started evolving.
Had it some kind of epiphany because of me?
From the opponent's standpoint, this was downright unfair.
Hard enough to beat before evolution, and now this?
This was a blatant violation of fair play.
Even I'd never evolve right in someone's face.
So if it broke the code first, surely no harm if I did too.
And my code-breaking move? The Evolution-Canceling Chicken Talon Kick.
Kabooooom!
The cockatrice struck by my kick was blasted a good distance away.
Or more accurately, sent flying.
Part of it was the kick's sheer force, but as a bird itself, the thing was lighter than it looked.
That's why it got hurled that far.
"Huh? W-what's going on?"
The Crested Eagle finally pieced together the situation.
"Caw!"
I swiftly hurled Moona toward her.
Swungswung and I could handle those eyes, but Moona would take lethal damage.
The Crested Eagle too, for that matter.
Her role was done once she got here.
Now all she had to do was protect Moona.
"Guh!"
A minor mishap occurred as she ended up under Moona's rear, but nothing to worry about.
The cockatrice was what mattered now.
"Groooo... Kee-oooook...!"
It let out a groan laced with agony.
I checked its status.
The Chicken Talon Kick had halted its evolution.
Obviously, evolution demands hefty resources and time.
I knew that all too well—that's why I only evolve in spots I deem safe.
The cockatrice's evolution had failed.
"Kooookiooooo!"
Yet unlike before, it screeched with ferocious intensity.
Even a botched evolution hadn't dimmed its savagery one bit.
Petrification and poison.
I had to handle it while wary of those two powers.
Since it wielded demonic eyes, the trigger had to be entering its line of sight.
Which meant blocking those eyes gave me a solid shot at victory.
Night Summoning LV1
Designate territory by offering tribute.
Set the time of day within the territory for a short duration.
Duration and effects depend on the quality and quantity of the tribute.
"Swung!"
On my signal, Swungswung dumped the items from his pouch in a clatter.
A beautiful gem glowing with verdant light.
That was my offering.
"Huh...? Isn't that from our nest...?"
The Crested Eagle, shielding Moona while watching the fight, spoke in a puzzled tone.
"Did you swipe it while we weren't looking?"
Steal? This was merely a relocation.
"Caaaaaw!"
Even so, my conscience pricked me—I picked the smallest green gem.
Jade has become your offering.
Designating your territory.
Your current territory: Cockatrice's Nest.
"Grrk... Kiiik...."
The cockatrice's ferocious momentum faltered for an instant.
It had instinctively realized I'd seized control of the area.
But the hesitation was fleeting.
It barreled toward me through the rocky gaps right away.
Thud, thud!
Rumble rumble rumble!
Even a clueless bird could tell it was priming some extraordinary technique—so it figured it had to take me down first.
But it was already too late.
Its fatal mistake was keeping its eyes shut during my Chicken Talon Kick.
Twilight descends.
Swoooooosh.
The sky was bathed in twilight hues.
"W-what...? How? W-wait a second! The time of day just...!"
The Crested Eagle gasped in shock.
The opponent facing off against the Queen of Birds was faking weather control with water manipulation.
True weather control was something even grand archmages couldn't pull off easily.
Dabih and Vega had merely mimicked it, yet the birds were pushed to the defensive.
What I was demonstrating now was a step beyond that.
The power to manipulate time zones.
Raising the moon in daylight or the sun at night.
As Moona had said, it defied all logic—but I'd been wielding this force for quite some time.
「Twilight Feather LV3」 temporarily transcends its limits.
「Twilight Feather LV10」 activated.
My feathers took on the color of twilight as well.
Steel.
No—harder than steel.
The true worth of this ability lay in controlling every single one of those twilight feathers at will.
Swoooooosh!
I sent countless feathers hovering in the air.
Since I'd offered such fine tribute, the power felt even greater than before.
Each feather aloft gleamed like a razor-sharp masterwork blade.
Like manipulating floating panels. In wuxia terms, one might call it Flying Sword arts.
"Kooookiooooo!"
The cockatrice seemed to hesitate for a moment before charging me ferociously.
"Caaaaaw!"
I unleashed a barrage of feathers at it.
Slaaaaaash!
Dozens of master blades hurtled toward it.
Rumble rumble.
Whoosh!
In a blink, it vaulted into the sky.
A cockatrice with a chicken's body couldn't possibly fly.
Its build resembled flightless birds from the start.
Its wings were far too stubby for flight, in fact.
But its leg power was nothing to scoff at.
A mere leap rivaled true flight.
The dozens of feathers merely stabbed the ground where it'd stood—it had dodged flawlessly, seizing the initiative.
Its flightless foe was airborne.
A situation where taking the lead should've been impossible, yet its traits made it feasible.
I could tell with the naked eye.
It was about to unleash its demonic eye.
Flaaash!
Violet light erupted, petrification power pouring forth.
One touch, and it'd turn to stone.
Of course, only if I entered its sight.
Craaaackle!
Its beam transformed the target to stone in an instant.
Thud thud.
My feathers, now stone, plummeted to the earth.
"Kiiik...?"
That's right—it hadn't petrified me.
The twilight feathers had blocked its gaze.
By maneuvering countless feathers, I'd sealed its vision.
Petrification thwarted, and now it plummeted back to earth.
The attack turn was obvious whose it was.
Shraaaaaash!
I manipulated the feathers to whirl around me.
Twilight feathers spinning in a perfect circle with me at the center.
A bona fide Twilight Storm, rotating at blinding speed, primed to mercilessly shred anything in range.
Tatata tatata!
I charged it swiftly.
With feathers in use, flying was tricky.
But that was fine.
My leg strength yielded to no one.
Spluuuurt!
The whirling twilight feathers carved wounds across its body.
"Kiiik...!"
Not to be outdone, the cockatrice hastily unleashed venom and petrification demonic eyes at once.
Fiiiissh...
Feathers caught in its sight withered and rotted.
Craaaackle!
Those hit by the petrifying gaze turned to stone and dropped.
This battle's outcome hinged on whether its demonic eyes reached me.
If it neutralized every feather, I'd have no way to evade its attacks.
But I needn't worry about that.
"Kheek... Kiiik...."
Fatigue was already creeping in.
It couldn't spam those eyes indefinitely.
Slaaaaaash!
I pressed the assault with my feathers.
Ranged attacks carried less risk, but that left Moona and the Crested Eagle exposed.
And given its traits, distance might even play against me.
Thus, I opted to maintain the Twilight Storm and overwhelm it up close.
"Kieeeeeek!"
Realizing its demonic eyes weren't landing, it swung its massive talons at me.
Craaaaaack!
I countered its upward rake with a downward thrust of my own talons.
Grrrrrrumble...
It had the size advantage and the high ground to boot.
Yet I wasn't getting overwhelmingly pushed.
Strain built up in my body, but we held at deadlock.
And if the stalemate dragged on, the winner was obvious.
Shrrrrrash!
Spluuuurt!
Feathers grazed by, spraying its blood.
"Kieeek!"
It retracted its talons and fell back.
As if I'd let it escape.
Rumble rumble!
I pursued relentlessly, keeping up the pressure.
"Kooookioooooo!"
The cockatrice unleashed its Command Roar once more.
I felt its power surge briefly.
Having pulled that, what came next was a given.
Demonic eyes.
Petrification, no doubt.
I instantly veiled its eyes with feathers.
No chance of its gaze reaching me—I moved to target its thigh.
Craaaaack!
My talon turned to stone.
What in the world?
I'd blocked its vision clean—how was I hit?
The answer came swiftly.
"Hiiiiss..."
A snake's head adorned the cockatrice's tail.
I'd dismissed it as mere anatomy since it hadn't stirred.
I'd assumed the demonic eyes were just the pair in its chicken head.
Wrong.
That snake head had demonic eyes too.
Distract with the chicken head, petrify with the snake.
It had caught me flat-footed with the unexpected tactic.
"Kik... Kekeke!"
Struck by feathers, it issued a grotesque chuckle.
Figured it'd won now that I was petrified.
Indeed, I felt the power spreading.
From talon to ankle.
Ankle to thigh.
Upward still.
The petrifying energy crept higher.
Then it reversed—from thigh to ankle.
Ankle to talon.
It flowed back down naturally, vanishing without a trace.
"...Caw?"
Its petrification had seemed to turn my lower half to stone, only to disperse abruptly.
"...Kkok?"
It made a sound much like mine.
A look of utter bewilderment.
I was just as baffled.
What happened?
Why did the petrification lift?
I frantically recalled cockatrice lore.
Legends told of how its petrification failed against lizards and reptiles, leaving it prey to them.
But I was an avian.
Nothing in my traits granted resistance to its petrification.
So why...?
...Hold on.
A spark flashed in my mind.
Unlike other creatures, I lacked innate traits.
Instead, I equipped shining feathers to borrow theirs.
And one of the traits I currently had equipped was...
「Pheromone Manipulation」
I'd slotted it on hoping to counter its poison or exploit openings via pheromones.
Its original owner? The Fishing Snake.
A reptile, in other words.
...No way. Did it register me as a reptile because I carry a reptilian trait?