The Birth of Kkachi
Familiar — [Call Out] [Job Exclusive]
Summons your faithful assistant.
— Summon.
—Fwoooosh!
Suddenly, the hand Raven had thrust into his own chest began to swell like a black balloon.
“Nyanyaaang!!!”
“Whoa!?”
“...?”
Thump! The heart that had vanished from his fingertips began to pound. But it wasn’t his.
Thump! A new life had been conceived. And it was happening inside his own chest!
“Eh?”
“Nyang...?”
“....”
Yuri and Sion stared in stunned silence at Raven’s chest, now swollen like a pregnant woman’s belly. Raven himself hated the faint sense of dread he felt lingering on his tongue.
—Shrrrrrk...!
The chest that had been swelling without end suddenly stopped, then rapidly began to shrink like a deflating balloon. It wasn’t just the size decreasing; Raven felt a strange sensation, as if something inside him was sucking away his life force.
[MP: 31,622,259]
[MP: 31,620,049]
[MP: 31,610,585]
[MP: 31,600,158]
[MP: 31,541,381]
[MP: 30,222,044]
The smaller his chest became, the more elastic the thing in his hand grew. What had started out like sticky rice cake now felt like a rubber ball.
‘This is insane....’
The bumpy yet springy, chewy sensation made it hard to stay focused.
‘What the hell is this?’
—Srrrk....
As if answering his question, his hand slowly emerged from the pitch-black chest. The ridiculous skill motion finally seemed to be over.
“Ugh....”
“Nya....”
The middle-schooler and the cat stared at Raven’s hand with expressions that said they had seen something they shouldn’t have. Then—
—Pop!
With an unnecessarily cheerful sound, his hand came free. In it was—
“An egg?”
“Is that seriously an egg, nyang?”
“....”
A single jet-black egg, roughly the size of a melon. Its surface was completely matte, without even a hint of gloss, and covered in bumpy ridges unlike any normal egg. It looked like some kind of alien egg.
The problem was that Raven had apparently “laid” it. Was this supposed to be his child?
‘Ah.’
He felt like something inside him had broken.
“Raven...?”
“...A crow.”
“....”
While Raven quietly despaired at the unbelievable reality of having gained a child (an egg) with no pleasure involved, Sion and Yuri began looking at him expectantly, clearly wanting an explanation. Just then—
Twitch!
Before Raven could open his mouth, a faint movement stirred inside the mysterious black egg.
“That thing just moved, nyang.”
“I saw it too....”
The party members’ expressions grew even more bizarre. Their gazes were sharp—painfully so.
Twitch! Twitch! Twitch!
The egg in his hand seemed to feel the burning stares and began trembling violently!
And then—
Crack!
“Whoa!?”
“It’s hatching, nyang!”
“....”
In an instant, a sound like crumpling plastic rang out, and a crack appeared on the black egg. Well, it was so pitch-black that Raven couldn’t actually see the crack—he just heard the sound.
Crack! Crack!
Several more crisp sounds echoed, followed by—
Shhhk!
The outer shell shattered, scattering as black powder. Tilting its head curiously, a small bird covered in damp, jet-black feathers emerged into the world.
“Baby Raven?”
“A crow gave birth to a crow, nyang!”
“No.”
Though its entire body was black, it didn’t look like a crow. It had an alien appearance, as if a bird’s shadow had crawled out from two dimensions into three. The creature looked around, tilting its head as if the world itself was fascinating.
“Wow. I’ve never seen a bird hatch before.”
“Me neither. First time seeing an egg hatch from the Demon of Terror’s chest, nyang.”
“....”
A sense of wonder at new life filled the space. But the one who had brought that life into the world only felt burdened. So this is what it feels like to be a father? He didn’t particularly want to know.
Yet—
‘Why does this feel so familiar?’
It was clearly a type of bird he had never seen in his life, yet it didn’t feel unfamiliar at all.
‘Wait a second.’
That bird... now that he looked closer, it looked exactly like—
“...Kkachi?”
The word slipped out unconsciously, familiar to the point of being tiresome.
“...!”
The small black creature reacted violently. It had been sitting quietly on his palm, tilting its head, but suddenly whipped its head toward him and scrambled to its feet. Thin legs hidden beneath its feathers appeared, and a pair of pitch-black wings that had seemed seamless spread wide, radiating a lethal presence.
Then—
“Kkyurururururuk!!!”
“Nyanyaaang!”
“Huh.”
“Oh....”
The excited cry of the small creature echoed through the tenth floor of the White Zone.
‘So that’s what “faithful assistant” meant.’
It was Kkachi, wasn’t it? This adorable little thing. Seeing it in person like this made him genuinely glad.
Hey.
“Kkyu!”
Kkachi said it was glad too.
***
Flap flap!
“Kkyu!”
Less than three minutes had passed since hatching, yet Kkachi was already flying around just fine.
“Kkyu kkyu!”
After spending decades inside Raven’s body, it seemed overjoyed to finally have a body of its own and couldn’t stay still for even a second. The party members stared blankly as Kkachi flew frantically above Raven’s head. Sion looked utterly exasperated, while Yuri fidgeted as if desperate to touch the bird.
‘So Yuri’s weak to cute things?’
An unexpected discovery.
“...You’re saying this tiny black bird the size of a mouse’s eyeball is the Demon’s familiar, nyang?”
“Correct. Its name is Kkachi.”
“It looks kind of cute.”
“Yeah, nyang. Way too pathetic-looking to be the familiar of the Demon of Terror.”
“Kkyu?”
As if it knew they were talking about it, Kkachi landed on Raven’s shoulder and tilted its head.
“Kkyurururu....”
When Raven gently scratched under its chin, it seemed to enjoy it and rubbed its beak against his finger repeatedly. He had wanted a pet since he was young. It felt like his dream had come true.
“Um... so, Raven, you’re saying we should count that as a proper party member now, nyang?”
“....”
Sion’s words dragged Raven’s mind back from the soft, fluffy world into the damp dungeon. Right. They had just been discussing whether to head to the Green Zone. Sion’s condition for going was finding one more party member who could pull their weight. In other words, Kkachi needed to prove itself here.
“....”
Head tilt? Small. Cute. Pathetic. It was hard to imagine Kkachi pulling its weight. Even so, Raven had summoned it. Just like always.
‘Kkachi.’
“Kkyu?”
Even though they were apart, Kkachi read his thoughts and responded, just like always.
‘Can you protect that kid?’
Kkachi’s tiny beak followed Raven’s gaze. It looked at Yuri, tilted its head once, then looked back at Raven—as if double-checking whether that was the right person.
Nod.
Raven nodded in answer.
“....”
Kkachi lowered its head, seeming to think for a moment. After a short while—
“Kkyu!”
As if it had made up its mind, Kkachi lifted its head sharply, glanced at Raven once, then flew straight toward Yuri!
Flap!
And then—
Splash!
“Wha—!?”
“Wh-what, nyang!? Crow! Kkachi just went inside the adventurer, nyang!”
“...?”
Kkachi melted into Yuri’s robe. As if it were a shadow....
***
“I don’t want to die.......”
Those were the first words ‘it’ heard upon waking. Fragile and faint like a candle in the wind, yet all the more intense because of it. Though it had only just been born and couldn’t understand words, it understood. From the terrified eyes, from the frantic hands trying to shove spilled entrails back inside. From the desperate movements of someone trembling with fear yet squeezing their eyes shut and driving something sharp and long into their own body.
“Kuh...!”
Struggle. The thrashing of a living being trying to prolong its life. It was crying out for life while vomiting blood.
...!
The moment it witnessed that primal longing for life and fully experienced its pain, it became fully aware of itself. It was ‘survival.’ A being that existed in not dying. A being that struggled not to die while being alive.
—Ding!
Along with the manifestation of its ego, a whisper flowed in through the half-broken window and engraved itself upon its will.
Survive.
📍 Objective: Devour, evolve, and survive to the end.
🎁 Purpose: For the pitiful yet beloved father who brought you into this pain-filled world. For the only family who will share eternity with you.
......
It understood.
...!
It existed to ensure ‘Father’s’ survival! It was someone who would survive together with ‘Father’! It was...... a ‘survivor’ of the ruined world!
...!!!
The survivor rejoiced at the realization that came crashing down upon it. Father had come! The gracious father who had given birth to it and raised it had personally descended into its humble body!
...!
It was happy! And... sad.
“Haa... haa.... Ugh!”
.... Seeing Father in pain was unbearably heartbreaking. The sight of its creator wounded, shedding blood and tears while trembling, hurt so much. Even though it itself felt no pain. So...... it thought. And...... it decided. From now on, it would become a ‘protector.’ Yes. From this cruel, ruined world...... it would protect Father with everything it had! Until the day true salvation arrived.
. . .
‘Can you protect that kid?’
At the end of Father’s gaze was a single small, black human child. That was.... Ah! That was the second most precious existence to the one who had saved Father. The one Father called his contractor.
.... Leaving Father’s side was regrettable, but protecting the one who might become its future mother—or second father—was an extremely important task. Its mind was made up. From this moment on, it was the protector of the savior. If anyone threatened the savior—
“Kkyu!”
It would never let them live.