Master of the Elixir of the Sky

A short while earlier, rewinding the clock.

For the first time, Savage Talon realized he could defy the Elixir's words.

"Kreeeeeeeeah!"

He loosed a roar and swept his gaze across the world around him. Everything that entered his sight was burning red, collapsing into ash.

What am I doing?

"Kraaang!"

Then, from far off, a small cry reached him. And with it, the memories came flooding back.

The moment he first found courage. The vow to soar freely through the sky. The memory of sharing meat with a young beast.

They had been vanishingly brief moments in his life—yet only then had Savage Talon truly understood that he existed in this world. He had not merely acted on instinct. For the first time, he had wished for something, and defied the Elixir's command.

So that's it. This is…

Freedom. The moment he had been able to exist fully as Savage Talon.

The moment the strange iron chains bound him, the Elixir he had kept preserved within his body reacted.

Crisis. At this rate, he would die. Swallow me and get out of here—that was what it was telling him.

Swallow the Elixir?

I will give you power. You know my strength, do you not? That was what the Elixir of the Sky was saying.

But…

If he did that, the young beast would be hurt. No—he would surely die.

Savage Talon asked.

Can you control the flames?

I see. Then the answer was already decided.

For the first time, Savage Talon resolved not to rely on the Elixir. Come to think of it, he had always been with it. They had been born together, and the two of them had lived for each other. Savage Talon protected the Elixir, and the Elixir protected Savage Talon.

But had he truly been protecting the Elixir of the Sky?

No. I hadn't.

Only then did Savage Talon understand. All this time, he had not been guarding the Elixir—he had been living under its protection. Leaning on it, refusing to think for himself, he had done nothing but slaughter steeped in wild instinct.

So now it was his turn to show what he could do.

"Kreeeeeeeeah!"

Yes. If only they had met a little earlier. Or if only there had been a little more time. Perhaps fate might have turned out differently. But he had no regrets. This was a judgment made entirely of his own will—and in that moment, he could become not a mere beast, but Savage Talon.

Thud.

"Grrngh, kraaaang!!"

Savage Talon looked at the young beast clinging to him, wailing. You're crying, aren't you. Foolishly refusing to run, staying to the very end to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠try to save me.

"Kreeah…!"

Savage Talon expelled the Elixir he had kept stored within him. This young beast—he could entrust the Elixir to him. Perhaps he would become an even better master than Savage Talon had ever been.

My dream…?

Savage Talon suddenly looked up at the sky. That was right. He had always wanted to fly through that sky. Why had he wanted that?

As his consciousness faded, Savage Talon smiled quietly.

If it was a dream—I've already achieved it.

Freedom. Living not as a mindless beast, but as a being who could stand tall with dignity. That was all he had ever wanted.

"Grrngh…!"

I stared blankly ahead. Right in front of me, Savage Talon lay dead, having spat out the Elixir. Why he had chosen to die in my place—why he had to meet death like this—I couldn't quite grasp it.

But looking at the hole blown clean through his chest, only one thought remained: there was no hope left for him.

Damn it.

How the hell did things end up like this?

I clenched the Elixir of the Sky in my grip and turned my head.

"Kruk."

There stood an old goblin, waving his staff with a look of pure displeasure. The staff was drinking in light once again. Right. Unfortunately, I didn't even have time left to mourn Big Bro Talon.

"Grrrngh!"

Clutching the Elixir of the Sky, I scrambled backward. At the same instant, those familiar iron chains erupted from thin air and came after me. I activated my leg-strength reinforcement and charged straight at the old goblin.

This was the chance Savage Talon had bought with his life. Because he had severed the chains and taken the ice spear in my place, I could run right now.

Damn it. So that means—

I had to kill that old goblin. I had to take revenge.

Uncontrollable fury surged through me, and I felt the wildness boiling up alongside it. From the Elixir of the Sky coiled in my tail, a crimson aura rippled, and a voice reached me.

And with it, a seething bestial roar tore from my throat.

"KRAAAAAAAAH!!"

Thrillzhak's remaining eye flew wide as he sprayed hexes in every direction. Every time his staff flared with light, magic circles etched themselves into the air and spat chains and blades.

Shuk, shuk!

But against the being that had appeared out of nowhere, none of it landed a single blow. The black shadow scattered and re-formed like a phantom without substance. Facing the rage carved into those blood-red pupils, his knees went weak and his lips trembled violently.

Thrillzhak shrieked as if in a fit.

A ghost!… It's only an illusion…!

What the hell was that little beast, that the Elixir would respond to it? That creature wasn't even a sacred guardian that had protected the Elixir!

It was impossible. Resonating with the Elixir and reaching an awakened state? He flung Slowing Hexes as a stopgap, but they had no effect whatsoever. The Binding Curse he had used to capture the awakened Savage Talon couldn't be reused—he no longer had the sacrificial materials.

Why, why had everything gone so wrong!

"Kruk! Krwara!!"

Thrillzhak swung his staff, sweat pouring down his face. He opened the parchment scrolls he had hoarded like his own life and used Frenzy to drive the goblins into a berserk rampage.

But then—

"Grrrrrrr!"

A mind-numbing wave of Fear crashed over everything, and the surroundings plunged into darkness in a single instant.

Puhak!

The first thing he heard was a bone-chilling sound of severing. Screams erupted from every direction, and something thick and wet splattered across his face.

Puguk—to the right. Puhak!!

This time, the left. From every corner of the space, goblins burst apart one after another. Every time that densely writhing shadow roared, every ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time those claws swept through the air, hexes shattered and goblins were scythed down in clumps.

"H-how!"

This couldn't be happening. Just what, just what was the identity of that monster!

"Krwaaaaaah!"

Thrillzhak unleashed his final hex at the pitch-black beast hurtling toward him.

Mind Domination. The curse that had allowed him to unite the Rotclaw Tribe and become its chieftain. A hex that pitted not physical strength but the power of the spirit—and against primitive monsters, it was all the more lethal.

Even in that final moment, Thrillzhak never doubted. How could a mere monster before his eyes possibly possess a stronger will than his?

Thrillzhak was certain of his victory.

And then—

"Khuk!"

The moment he cast Mind Domination, scarlet blood streamed from Thrillzhak's eye. He coughed up black, dead blood and looked up at the presence that had already closed the distance to arm's reach.

"Grrrr…!"

"G-gueeerk, gueuk!"

Thrillzhak couldn't even meet its gaze. He dropped to his knees.

Th-this can't be…!

A monster that Mind Domination couldn't touch. A being of a rank far, far above his own.

C-could it be—!

Only then did Thrillzhak understand what stood before him.

I… I was a fool.

Shring.

Staring at those claws gleaming with a dreadful light, Thrillzhak felt death settle over him. In his final ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moment, he raised a crystal orb and transmitted a message to the goblin tribes.

Puhak!

With a sound of flesh being pierced through, Thrillzhak's headless body crumpled emptily to the ground.

Clatter-rattle.

As the faintly glowing mana of the crystal scattered—

"Kruk!"

—goblin chieftains across every region who received his final words cried out as one.

"Ha-hatchling! Kill, that thing!"

"Find, the young one! We must!"

In a forest where darkness had settled. On red earth thick with the stench of blood, a young beast sat before a great hawk.

Damn it.

Ever since I'd dreamed of becoming a novelist, I'd thought about what a protagonist's growth really meant. And every time, I'd decided that the death of a "mentor" figure who appears early on was a cliché—tired by now, but rock-solid. That the protagonist would hurt, and grow from it.

Without even knowing what death was. Without even knowing what it meant to lose something. Arrogantly, that was how I'd thought.

I looked at Savage Talon with sunken eyes.

…I got your revenge, you know.

I'd gripped the Elixir he left behind and grown stronger. With that power, I'd taken spectacular, overwhelming revenge.

And yet—

I'm not happy about it at all.

Revenge. Catharsis. That was definitely how it felt when I was the one writing it. Apparently that wasn't how it worked.

At the end of revenge, there was no salvation and no satisfaction of any kind.

I looked at the Elixir of the Sky and spoke. I don't need any of that crap.

Give me back my Savage Talon.

Fuck. This is my fault.

.

.

.

Please.

And then—

The Elixir of the Sky resting on Big Bro Talon's body began to glow crimson. I rubbed my blurred vision with a forepaw and hurriedly read the text that floated up.

Karma? All it needs is Karma?

"Grrngh!"

I nodded hard—and felt the levels I'd gained from killing the old goblin drain away, strength leaving my body. A wave of exhaustion washed over me, but right now I couldn't care less about that.

Because an unbelievable miracle was unfolding right before my eyes.

Whoosh!

The Elixir of the Sky flushed crimson and began to burn with fierce intensity. The flames that had swallowed the Elixir soon spread to Savage Talon's body as well. Fire surged upward in a violent column, climbing high into the heavens. Before long, the shape of a bird was etched across the night sky.

I stared blankly at that burning bird, then slowly lowered my head. Where the warm flames had risen and faded, an egg remained—wreathed in a lingering red aura.

With a trembling paw pad, I pressed down gently on the egg.

Thump.

I could feel it. The life nestled inside.

"Grrngh."

I shed tears in silence, drop after drop.

.

.

.

They were tears of joy.

I'm freaking out!!

Big Bro Savage Talon evolved into a phoenix!

Scream with me!!

"Grrngh!!"

.

.

.

I read the messages cascading one after another and grinned wide.

There's still one more left!

I gave the old goblin's corpse a solid thwack and laughed. Looking pretty good there, huh? You're not getting off that easy.

"Clap clap clap!"

Yeah~ your skill was pretty insane~