Chapter 34
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Eternal Night
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Ye who pursued wisdom.
Have you obtained what you desired?
You made of straw.
Was what you desired wings, or chains?
Scarecrow. Have you been broken?
A description similar to the one I'd seen when encountering the ghost bride.
This thing was like her. No, a boss even stronger than her. I could tell at a glance.
Just as I couldn't see the ghost bride's skills, I couldn't see this one's skills either.
But there were things I could tell from the outside.
The massive scythe in its hand.
No, it was more like a battle axe, a brutal weapon.
A scythe that should have originally been used to harvest crops had been optimized to indiscriminately destroy the surrounding terrain and sever human necks.
A torn mouth and long arms.
If those horrific hands grabbed me, my head would be ripped right off.
My whole body trembled.
I could tell at a glance.
This thing was beyond anything I could challenge right now.
【The True Tragedy of Skarnas Village】
3. You have resolved to join forces with the Sage and the girl to stop the Scarecrow.
Removing the host of Eternal Night won't be easy by any means, but with them, you can see a glimmer of hope that it might somehow be possible.
4. You have discovered an ominous sign.
Dried bloodstains, a rotting stench swarming with flies.
A shocking scene straight out of a crow's wildest dreams unfolds.
Lifting your head, you come face-to-face with the ominous entity twisted at a grotesque angle.
5. You have encountered the Scarecrow.
The host of Eternal Night desires you.
The time has come to choose: fight or flee.
Quest Clear Condition: Defeat the Scarecrow
But I couldn't back down either.
To stop Eternal Night, I had to take this thing down.
Even if I ran now, Eternal Night would still come.
There had to be a reason the Sage warned me and the quest was nudging me to stop it.
Surviving now wouldn't mean much in the long run.
"Kawk... Kak... Prettyyy... blaaack... eaaars...?"
A chilling voice.
The very etymology of Scarecrow was my natural predator.
The one that instilled fear in crows.
That was Scarecrow.
I clenched my beak.
My head grew colder by the second.
In good terms, it was Cold Mind kicking in. In bad terms, it was the birdbrain effect.
Just as that thing wasn't an ordinary scarecrow, I wasn't an ordinary crow either.
The smartest crows even perched on scarecrows made to drive them off, just to rest.
"Kraaak...!"
I would take this thing down.
I shot up into the sky right away.
Shwaaak!
The terrain was rough, and it wasn't all that bright out, so I couldn't fly too high.
Even so, this was about the altitude I'd planned for.
First things first: analyze the enemy.
Up until now, I'd skipped that by peering into their status windows.
I could tell what attacks they'd use, what traits they had.
But it didn't work on strong foes like the ghost bride or Scarecrow.
So I'd have to throw myself into it and gather intel the hard way.
"Kak, kak!"
I cried out like a crow, circling it in a dance-like pattern.
"Kraaak, kak, krrgh!"
A clumsy, horrific attempt to mimic me.
As that goosebump-inducing voice rang out alongside mine, its scythe swung.
Shwaaaaak!
A shabby body, a shabby scythe.
Yet its power was nothing to scoff at.
Craaaaack!
In an instant, the tree behind me split in half.
The mysterious traces I'd seen the day after hunting the Phishing Snake.
Its owner was this thing, after all.
"Krk, kak, krrk..."
The Scarecrow stared at me with exaggerated gestures.
More precisely, at my shimmering feathers.
Shwick!
One feather shot toward it.
Its mouth twisted grotesquely.
My counterattack after dodging must have looked utterly pathetic.
No way a single feather could hurt that monster.
「Shadow Flame LV2」
[Damage scales with target]
But this wasn't just any feather.
Fwoosh.
The feather surging toward it turned into black flames.
"Krk, kraaak!"
Fwoooosh!
A straw body was bound to be vulnerable to fire.
That was why the ghost bride had passed me a fire-related skill.
Fwoooosh!
It burned fiercer than any flame I'd seen before.
I knew its power varied by target, but I hadn't realized it was this effective.
Shadow Flame blazed as if determined to reduce the Scarecrow to ashes.
"Kreeek, kuk, kreeeek!"
Could I really take it down in one go?
I still had one Shadow Feather left. Throw that, and I could finish it for sure, right?
That's the most dangerous thought you can have.
Just as I was sizing it up, it was probably holding back to gauge me.
Shwaaaaak!
The scythe swung diagonally right away.
"Kak!"
I twisted my body just in time to barely dodge, but the tip of a feather got sliced off.
"Kuk... Krrk..."
The Scarecrow chuckled as if disappointed.
And with that, the Shadow Flame flickered out.
I couldn't tell if it had extinguished the fire from the start or if that was Shadow Flame's max power.
What I did know was that one Shadow Flame wouldn't take it down, and even adding the last Shadow Feather wouldn't change that.
Still, it had some effect, so I'd take comfort in that.
"Nuuuumb..."
Letting out an incomprehensible roar, it dragged its scythe and lumbered toward me.
I'd gauged its attack patterns and defenses to some extent.
In my current state, I couldn't beat it.
I needed to create a variable.
And I wasn't without one I'd prepared.
"Kak!"
I immediately prepared to flee.
The ghost bride's mansion.
It had a maze to block intruders and silver traps.
Even if nothing else worked, the silver that affected the ghost bride should deal massive damage to this negative entity.
And with Moona and Swingy there, I could get backup.
Forget Kiwi—even my combo with Swingy had leveled up to reliable status.
"Yaaangcheor-eol, kaaaangtooong..."
While it growled grotesquely.
The perfect time to run, when it's raring to fight.
Fwosh!
I flapped over it in one leap.
"Saaaah... Krrk, jaaaah..."
Its voice faded into the distance.
I thought it'd chase, but was it just letting me go?
This was fine too.
I could share the situation with Moona and borrow her wisdom.
I still had to deal with it quickly, but—
"Kuk, Do-ro... shi? Krrk, kreeek..."
Now its voice was completely drowned out.
Escape successful.
Regroup and prepare...
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
The Scarecrow charging with mad momentum.
The moment I thought the distance was safe, it closed in at overwhelming speed.
Using its legs and the hand not holding the scythe for a three-limbed crawl—it was grotesque beyond terrifying.
"DOOOOROOSHIII!"
Its sharp claws flew at me like they’d shred me to bits.
Shwaaaak!
I panicked a bit, but it wasn't unmanageable.
Pumpkin-colored feathers flashed.
Craaaang!
A blinding light stole its vision in an instant.
"Dooo, kreeeuk..."
Shwiiiick!
Even so, its hand didn't stop, but I slipped into the shadows to evade.
"Dooorooshi... where...?"
Unable to grab me, it faltered momentarily.
Thump!
I burst from the shadows and took flight again.
I couldn't let my guard down just because it hesitated.
With how it charged like a maniac earlier, it'd...
"Krrk, kreeeek!"
Come at me like this again.
It leaped right into the air after me.
Clang!
Tzzzzzt...
I dove back into the shadows immediately.
"Kreeeek! Kuk, kraaak!"
Kraka-raka-rak!
Unable to catch me repeatedly, it flew into a rage, utterly devastating the terrain.
It probably didn't have any skills that could hit me in the shadows.
Did that mean I had the advantage?
Not at all.
With its superhuman physical prowess, it was targeting the split-second I emerged from the shadows.
Shwiiiick!
It lunged again.
Tzzzzzt.
I turned my body into shadow itself, letting it pass right through.
"Kk, kuk..."
This wasn't good.
My eyes twitched, my body wouldn't muster strength.
Once or twice was fine, but spamming the skill like this was too much for my body.
But I couldn't afford not to use it.
Shwaaaak!
"Krrk, DOOOOROOSHIII!"
Without Shadow Form, I couldn't dodge that attack.
It kept barreling toward me, and I kept activating Shadow Form to pull away somehow.
The mansion was in sight now.
I could maybe use Shadow Form three more times at best.
Get inside somehow, then lead with silver to take it down.
Shwiiiick!
I dodged the massive scythe swinging from the side.
"Kreeek, kuk!"
A charge baring sharp teeth.
Dodged that too without much trouble.
Its long-reaching arms.
Dodge this, and I could head straight into the mansion.
This exhausting chase would finally end.
I shifted my body into shadow.
Or tried to.
But my body wouldn't obey.
Strength drained away, head spun.
...Had I miscalculated?
I'd never pushed Shadow Form to its limit, so I didn't know about side effects like this.
I'd relied solely on it without thinking of other dodges.
So when Shadow Form failed now, I had no way to evade its claws.
It drew closer.
Its hand. My death.
No way even I could tank that.
Plop.
Something plump shoved me aside.
A welcome face appeared.
Brown body, tiny black eyes, long beak.
"The wind always comes back around."
A speech pattern I still couldn't get used to, but a welcome voice.
But I couldn't be happy.
Because it stood right where I'd been.
Gazing at me with that same wistful face as always.
"Little wind. Don't worry about me..."
Kwaaaaang!
Its hand slammed the ground, green juice splattering everywhere.
How was this guy so weird right to the end?
"Shwooo! Shwoong, shuuuung!"
Suddenly, Swingy burst from the mansion, grabbing my wing and dragging me somewhere.
Run, obviously.
Yeah, this was clearly my last chance to escape.
The Scarecrow was fixated on the kiwi juice on its hand, not me.
"Piii...! Fresh piii!"
It greedily licked up the kiwi juice.
And in that moment, pitch blackness descended.
The moon and stars stopped shining, and the sounds of profane entities echoed from all sides.
I knew instinctively.
This was the true Eternal Night.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
It accelerates with human blood, they said, but it completes with kiwi juice?
If that's all it takes for Eternal Night, might as well chug some wine.
Even the Sage doesn't always speak perfectly, it seems.
Wrong about Eternal Night's conditions too.
And made the call to save me.
Should've just run with Swingy.
At least two of us could've survived.
I lifted my head.
Staring straight at the grinning Scarecrow.
Eternal Night had come.
...
......
So, in other words... it was night.
「Feather of Night LV1」