The Cat's Feast
The Gulping Show 022. The next match didn't start for a long while. Word spread that some bouts had dragged on for a full three hours. Once defeat became inevitable, plenty of users chose to stall for time, running and hiding instead of facing the end. 'Well, they're desperate…' It was annoying, but I understood. The real issue was the Summoning Rights. If I lost [Deep Well Boots], what would happen to Boots, who had come in as Shinnip? There was a clause about reviving the dead, but it probably didn't cover having the base item confiscated. Watching real-time eliminations made the unfairness of this place hit harder than ever. I'd been dragged here from a nightmare, so I could at least say I was relatively satisfied. Most of the others, though, had been yanked out of peaceful lives and thrown into this mess. They wouldn't find it all fun and exciting. The more someone had built on Earth, the less they'd like this so-called fresh start. In the end, everything circled back to the same fundamental question. Were the patrons truly humanity's allies? On the surface, their actions looked friendly enough. But unlike the other users, I knew the truth: Earth was still intact. The world we'd slipped out of was still turning without us. When we eventually returned… would the patrons welcome us home?
The moment the room opened, people flooded in. Chat messages shot up instantly.
'Insane.' I closed the chat window. It already felt like the weirdest users from an already strange community had been hand-picked and dumped here. Bak's aggro must have summoned every lunatic in the vicinity straight into this room.
"This is dizzying…"
'No…' Cat had returned right on schedule. According to her, the one called the Captain had formally lodged a complaint with 'Heaven.' Heaven's Snake had clearly interfered in Stage 3 as well. Still, Cat seemed far from satisfied, huffing as she munched on her snacks.
"Cat, you can look forward to this next fight."
'That's kind of funny.' Snakes didn't really have noses to begin with. Yet strangely, the mythical women shaped like snakes always had high-bridged noses. Did Heaven's Snake have a high nose? Somehow I doubted Cat's did. 'I'll find out eventually.'
"Cat, I'm not just talking about the fight."
"You'll see."
The battlefield materialized soon after. This map was a forest thick with low grass. Just like the first match, the lists appeared on both scoreboards. When I saw the items, I smiled inwardly. They matched exactly what Bak had bragged about on the community boards. I'd wondered if some of it was a smokescreen, but the guy was apparently a pure, 100% idiot. 'So this is the current state of Stage 3.'
I summoned Baengnae. The moment Cat saw her outfit, she burst out laughing.
"Do you like it?"
During the fight against the Ratman summoner, I'd noticed something important. The Ratmen's clothes weren't items. That meant objects from the city could be brought into the tournament field without issue. So I'd changed Baengnae's outfit a little. Two triangular pads inside the hood. A tail sewn onto the back of the cloak. And two cat-paw gloves slipped over her hands. Thus, Baengnae was summoned into the forest wearing the full Cat Set.
Baengnae raised both paws and shouted.
"Baengnae is a catty! Nyaa!"
She scratched at the air with her front paws. She even turned around so her tail showed clearly and gave her hips a little shake. Then she recited the lines I'd taught her beforehand.
"Catty gulps food! That's nature's law! Baengnae will nom-nom it all! Gulp!"
She popped the snake jerky I'd prepared as dessert straight into her mouth. Nom nom. A cat that ate snakes had appeared in the forest.
"Hehe. Tasty."
Cat completely lost it, laughing so hard the entire city seemed to shake.
'I-is this okay?'
Cat's mood had clearly improved. Ever since she'd arrived, an eerie darkness had hung over the city even though it was daytime. But after watching Baengnae's performance, the world brightened. She really was an easy patron to read. 'Glad her mood lifted.'
This operation might have looked like a prank, but it had been planned after deep thought. A show staged for my ultimate safety. Patrons were powerful beings. Even if every high-ranker gathered, they couldn't touch them. And I'd already earned Heaven's Snake's hatred. Honestly, Cat wasn't the most reliable person. Her power was formidable, but her cat-like behavior meant reliability wasn't her strong suit. Would she watch over me twenty-four hours a day? That was why this show was happening. While Cat was enjoying it the most, this little performance was ultimately aimed at someone else. Heaven's Snake. From what Cat had said, her "headquarters" had planned this tournament. But the snake had also used the word "headquarters." In other words, this tournament was a massive joint event organized by at least two major corporations. The audience wasn't just users. If a mere summoner managed to make a patron look like a fool in a place like this, what would happen? It would become an issue. Attention would gather, and the more eyes watched, the less Heaven's Snake would be able to harm me. Above all, I was under Death's patronage. If she tried to hurt me amid the spotlight, it would no longer be a personal matter—it would mean Heaven had ignored Death. Heaven's Snake would be placed under surveillance by her own headquarters, 'Heaven.' 'Ugh, I never did this kind of politicking on Earth, and now I'm doing it here. If I want to survive, I have no choice…'
I grinned at Cat's message.
"Please take care of me, Cat. If I die, remember I died protecting your honor."
Of course, about thirty percent of it really was for Cat. Calling a fool a fool wasn't something an outsider should do. Heaven's Snake didn't have that right.
A low hum sounded. Three Lizardmen were summoned from the enemy side. They looked furious, spitting curses the moment they appeared. Their eyes gleamed; they were definitely angry reptiles.
"How dare you! You! How dare you! I'll kill you!"
"We'll tear you to pieces!"
"You vulgar… just kill yourself."
The last line came from Olivia. Unlike the 1.5-meter male Lizardmen, she stood two meters tall—thanks to Bak dumping every enhancement potion into her. Ding— The barrier separating the field vanished. As always, Olivia stood with arms crossed, leaning against a tree and yawning. Menial work was for males, apparently. 'Tsk tsk. Bad habits really stick.' How spoiled had she been to act like that on the battlefield? If Baengnae behaved that way, she'd be sentenced to twenty-four hours of squats on the spot. Bad habits needed correcting early.
"Nyaa. Baengnae is a catty."
Baengnae swayed her tail as she walked through the forest. She soon encountered the males. One Lizardman drew his saw-bladed sword and lunged, hurling his entire body forward.
"Kyaaak! Die!"
The saw-blade swung wide. Baengnae extended her own sword. The instant the weapons were about to meet, she twisted hers slightly. The saw-blade tore a long gash across Baengnae's arm and shoulder. Her sword drove straight into the Lizardman's eye.
"Kerek! What kind of stupid—!"
The wounded Lizardman leapt back, clutching his eye socket. The next Lizardman immediately swung a longsword. Baengnae switched hands and precisely deflected it. Clang— Both stepped back. The Lizardman with the longsword sneered as if victory were already his.
"How foolish."
Instead of answering, Baengnae licked the blood on her sword tip. She grimaced.
"Yuck… you taste awful."
At that moment, the Lizardman who'd taken the eye wound shouted.
"Poison! It's poison!"
While the one in front was distracted by the word "poison," Baengnae lunged. The longsword Lizardman reflexively thrust his weapon. Baengnae offered her own abdomen and drove her blade deep into his chest. Slash— The Lizardman coughed blood and leapt backward using their escape skill, [Hop]. Baengnae also crouched, pressing her cat-paw glove over the wound in her stomach. Her cloak hid most of her body.
"Antidote! Get the antidote!"
"Is there anything in the stuff we brought?!"
Assuming Baengnae had taken heavy damage and collapsed, the males frantically rummaged through their backpacks. Then they slumped to the ground. Olivia, watching from a distance, pressed a hand to her forehead.
"Ha! Seriously. Annoying."
With an exasperated expression, she picked up her massive saw-blade and began walking. She moved like she was on a runway—elegant steps carrying her toward the place where the stupid males lay. Thud— Thud— Olivia kicked the fallen males with her foot. They didn't move; they were already dead.
"Seriously. Useless."
Olivia lost interest in the corpses and turned to Baengnae. There was no notification that the battle had ended. That meant the creature was still alive in that state. Olivia gripped her saw-blade at full length. She'd already caught the cat. No reason to get poisoned for nothing. Baengnae slowly raised her head. Olivia grinned. Baengnae smiled back.
"Hehe. Idiot."
When Baengnae moved her cat-paw glove aside, the wound in her stomach was gone. The arm that had clearly been cut moved perfectly. And silently, the two corpses from the earlier fight lifted their heads.
"Hi-hi. You're next."
Thud— Thud— The saw-blade and longsword tore into Olivia's back.
"What—!"
Olivia instinctively swung her tail, sending the enemies behind her flying. The massive difference in size sent the two zombified Lizardmen rolling across the ground.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
The corpses gave no answer. Only then did Olivia begin to realize something was wrong. Pain struck again. Baengnae had used [Leap] to drive her sword into Olivia's thigh.
"Kyaaaaah!"
Olivia screamed, knocked Baengnae away with her tail, and hacked the traitors apart with her saw-blade. From her perspective, males daring to point weapons at her was unforgivable. While she did so, the poison spread through her body. By the time she'd turned the males into chunks of meat, Olivia finally dropped to one knee—the same leg Baengnae had stabbed. She shouted at the cat laughing a short distance away.
"Y-you cowardly bitch!"
"Hi-hi. Idiot."
Olivia's furious glare suddenly calmed. She changed her tone, speaking softly.
"So… this is how I end up looking ugly too?"
She was referring to the males who had become zombies. Tears welled in her eyes as she pleaded.
"I don't suit that kind of appearance. Please… end my life before the poison spreads completely. Let me die as a warrior… This is my final request."
Baengnae approached, tail swaying, sword raised to point at Olivia's neck.
"Yes… Thank you. You are someone who understands honor. So—don't you dare look down on me!"
With those words, Olivia's jaws stretched like a snake's and lunged at Baengnae. It was the effect of her Soul Engraving, [Swallowing Predator]—the trump card that had made Olivia strong. Anyone swallowed would be paralyzed and dissolved into nutrients. It was the same ability that had saved Olivia many times. Her opponent had walked straight into the predator's maw like an idiot. Kyaaa— But Baengnae had expected it. She twisted lightly, dodging, then sliced off the lower part of Olivia's snout. Slash— Thud— "Guh…?" She drove the sword, empowered, straight into Olivia's heart. Twitch— Twitch— "H-how…?" "Idiot." That was the end of Bak's Olivia Observation Log—the final moments of a lizard with an idiot master. Baengnae picked up the fallen lower jaw with both hands and shouted so everyone could hear.
"Catty does it! Gulp!"
She hurriedly stuffed Olivia's jaw meat into her mouth. Baengnae was in more of a rush than anyone. Once Olivia died, the stage would disappear, and so would the meat. She had to eat as much as possible before that happened. Nom nom— Nom nom— After finishing the jaw, Baengnae turned to the rest of Olivia and cut off a hand. Nom nom— Olivia watched the monster gnawing on her with growing terror, like prey before a predator.
"Hii… Hiiii…"
Baengnae drew her sword and swung it horizontally. Olivia was about to die. Before that, she had to eat the tastiest part. Slice— The cat had opened the can. The cute cat buried her face in the food bowl and happily shoved the feast into her mouth. Chomp chomp— Crunch crunch. Chomp chomp— Crunch crunch. "Hi-hi, tasty!" Watching the little cat eat, Cat also cried out.
The sweet melody of the meal. It was a gift I had sent to Heaven's Snake.