Kkachi Joins the Party
Kkachi Joins. —Shweeeeeek! A jet-black sword surged forward at blinding speed. Its target was none other than Yuri—herself.
“Eh?” Yuri couldn’t make sense of the situation at all. Why was it suddenly trying to attack her? She had never heard of a demon attacking its own contractor. Besides, wasn’t this a direct violation of their contract? How could it move so freely like this?
But there was no time to dwell on questions. Death was already staring her in the face. With her mouth slightly agape, she could only repeat the same thought in that frozen instant as the blade drew closer. ‘Why?’
“You insane demon bastard!!!”
Meanwhile, Sion—her usual nyang-nyang speech forgotten—couldn’t hide her shock at Raven’s sudden outburst. She lunged forward with the knife she had been holding, desperately trying to block the sword, but her guard had slipped while she was distracted by Raven’s antics. Her reaction came a split second too late.
Shweeeeeek!!!
In that life-or-death moment, the mad demon’s thick murderous intent bore down on the human like a storm.
“Kkyu!”
‘Kkachi-nim?’
—Chwarururuk!!!
With the sturdy cry of a small creature, a fierce wind exploded beside Yuri. She squeezed her eyes shut on instinct as the sharp gust brushed past her ears.
—Kang!
The metallic clash of blades rang out, followed by a powerful shockwave that sent her bangs whipping wildly. Her body slid backward three steps across the ash-gray floor, scraping away patches of white moss.
....
After the brief impact, an suffocating silence fell. Yuri slowly opened her eyes to assess the situation.
“Ah?”
Right in front of her, the jet-black sword had stopped dead. Blocking it was a trembling black tendril. It twitched.
‘No, that’s not a branch. A tentacle…?’
The cylindrical pillar pulsed slowly, swelling and shrinking as though it were alive. Yuri’s gaze followed it upward in a trance. At the end of the thickening tendril…
‘Why is something like this attached to me?’
…was herself. More precisely, it seemed to be extending from the robe on her back. Strangely, despite the thick, long appendage being connected to the robe, the fabric didn’t sag or feel any heavier.
Just as Yuri’s mind began to throb from the endless stream of incomprehensible events, Raven—who had already sheathed his sword—looked at the black tentacle and nodded in satisfaction.
“Well, thief? With this level of ability, it should be more than enough to pull its weight in the Green Zone, don’t you think?”
“....”
“....”
....
Veins bulged faintly on Yuri’s and Sion’s foreheads. Even the black tentacle swaying gently from Yuri’s shoulder seemed to wrinkle slightly in displeasure. The mad demon had no idea what he had done wrong. That was why he could spout such nonsense.
If Croma Ira had been there, she would have rated the even-tempered anger radiating from the two humans and one creature as “Hmm~ Not bad, actually edible~?”
The party members’ burning yet icy reactions made the crow tilt its head in confusion, and they began to seethe.
“Don’t tell me you attacked the adventurer just to show off Kkachi’s abilities…? Is the crow actually out of its mind, nyang?”
“Raven-nim, I’m sorry to say this, but do demons get sick too?”
“Kkyu kkyu kkyu!”
“...Hm?”
Startled by the party’s heated yet frigid response, Raven quickly continued, realizing there had been a misunderstanding.
“Wait, I think there’s a misunderstanding. I wasn’t actually trying to attack my contractor. I was only pretending to attack to demonstrate Kkachi’s abilities.”
‘That’s why I warned you beforehand,’ Raven added. Yuri and Sion’s heads tilted at an angle, as if to say, ‘Was that what happened~?’
As their heads leaned left, their memories rewound. In the replayed scene, the demon’s calm voice echoed after creating a black blade in midair.
“Don’t be afraid. I have no intention of hurting you.”
What exactly had he warned them about? This insane demon. Sion and Yuri were furious.
....
Kkachi tried to join in their anger, but it couldn’t bring itself to betray its father, so it quietly closed its beak. Not that anyone would understand it even if it spoke.
“Don’t talk nonsense, nyang! Did the crow learn how to speak from an actual crow, nyang? How are we supposed to understand you if you say it like that, nyang!”
“...Raven-nim, from what I can see, this isn’t the time to be exploring the dungeon. You should head straight to a hospital. Sion-nim, is there a hospital that specializes in treating demons?”
“Don’t worry, nyang. Adventurer. There’s no demon-only hospital in Bastion, but there is one place that locks up demons when they go crazy and calms them down, nyang!”
“Oh. Where is that?”
“The underground prison of the Magic Tower, nyang! If you lock them up there for about a week, demons come out surprisingly docile, nyang! There’s not a single demon in Bastion that hasn’t been to the Magic Tower’s underground prison, nyang! It’s a place every demon has to experience at least once, nyang!”
“...I’ll have to remember that.”
As she spoke, Yuri glanced at Raven. He was already on his knees with both hands raised high. The very picture of a repentant demon—the master of kneeling, or rather, a pitiful sight that would make even Bodhidharma weep.
‘Honestly....’
Yuri had wanted to stay angry a little longer, but his utterly un-demon-like pathetic appearance drained all her momentum.
“To think that’s the Demon of Terror… Seriously, how ridiculous, nyang.”
Sion seemed to feel the same. Meanwhile, Raven, who was already imagining the inedible prison food he might be forced to eat, lifted his strategically bowed head and offered an apology to defuse the situation.
“...I’m sorry, Contractor. I must have… lost my mind for a moment. So please, at least reconsider the underground prison....”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Crow, why are you only apologizing to the adventurer, nyang? This body was shocked too, nyang!”
“Kkyu kkyu!”
“Yeah, I’m sorry to everyone.”
Thus, the second rampage of the Demon of Terror quietly came to an end with Raven’s sincere(?) apology.
***
—Chwarururuk!!!
With an ominous whoosh, a swarm of jet-black tentacles sliced through the air and surged toward Sion.
“Kuh!”
Sion jerked her head aside just in time. One black tendril grazed her gray hair by a hair’s breadth.
Twitch twitch!
The tentacles writhed unpleasantly as they whipped toward her, sometimes stabbing sharply from blind angles. They were horrifying enough to make anyone’s skin crawl just by looking at them, yet Sion’s eyes remained steady and calm.
【Courage】 —Does not easily succumb to fear.
Her golden pupils darted rapidly, tracking the erratic movements of the tentacles.
‘I can’t predict their movements.’
However—
【Evasion】 —Not easily hit.
They were easier to dodge than expected. Compared to the madman who had chased her with killing intent earlier, these were so slow they made her want to yawn.
Tap! Tatatat! Taptap!
Sion lightly stepped on her toes, weaving between the tentacles that came at her from all directions—left, right, front, and back—with razor-thin margins. Her fluid movements, which allowed not a single clean hit, clearly demonstrated why she was a 5-tier adventurer.
However....
“How long are you planning to keep attacking, nyang!!! Are you trying to make me collapse from exhaustion, nyang!!!”
Sion’s urgent cry burst out as she desperately backed away from the tentacles.
“Hm? Is the test already over?”
At Raven’s leisurely pretense of ignorance, Sion raised her voice in frustration.
“Of course it is, nyang!!! Can’t you tell just by looking, nyang! So hurry up and tell Kkachi to get rid of these disgusting tentacles, nyang!”
“My contractor says so.”
“I wanted to observe Sion-nim’s magnificent movements a little longer. It’s a bit disappointing. Kkachi-nim. Please stop now.”
“Kkyu.”
Thud.
The moment Yuri’s command fell, the black tentacles halted instantly. Srrrrk. The tentacles that had been constricting Sion from all sides rapidly shrank and were absorbed back into her robe, vanishing without a trace.
“Nyaang. I really thought I was going to die from exhaustion, nyang.....”
Thud.
Exhausted, Sion collapsed face-first onto the soft white moss. Raven and Yuri walked over to her, offering praise without holding back.
“That was an excellent evasion maneuver, thief. Your dodging skills are definitely on the level of a pro.”
“Is the crow being sarcastic right now, nyang?”
“It was a compliment.”
“Your movements were truly amazing, Sion-nim.”
“Thanks, nyang! As expected, only the adventurer gets it, nyang! Crow, just go rot back in the demon realm, nyang!”
“This is demon discrimination.”
“It’s not demon discrimination. It’s crow discrimination, nyang!”
“Quite the hurtful thing to say.”
The group grew lively. Though they had only known each other for less than two days, the shared madness (mostly caused by Raven) had brought the two humans and one creature much closer. They leaned their backs against a moss-covered rock, chatting while keeping a casual watch on their surroundings.
The topic, naturally, was Kkachi—the familiar (not really) of the Demon of Terror (not really) who had made a 5-tier adventurer break a sweat.
“So, thief. What do you think of Kkachi after testing it yourself?”
“Hmmnyang....”
Sion rested her chin between her index finger and thumb in an odd pose, her sharp jawline on full display as she organized her thoughts. Then she spoke with unnecessary seriousness.
“From what this body can see, Kkachi is about on the same level as a 5-tier like me. It’s more than enough for the Green Zone, and with that level of skill, it could probably perform well even in the Red Zone, nyang!”
“That’s good to hear.”
“Oh. As expected of Raven-nim’s familiar, it’s really impressive.”
“Kkyu!”
Flap flap!
Kkachi, pleased by the praise, popped out from Yuri’s shoulder and fluttered its wings lightly.
‘So soft....’
Every time Kkachi’s jet-black, chewy wing brushed against her pale cheek, Yuri’s lips twitched as if they might curl upward.
Gulp.
Sssssk....
Wanting to feel Kkachi’s texture more, Yuri cautiously leaned her cheek closer.
“Kkyu?”
She had moved as slowly as possible to avoid being noticed, but Kkachi’s sharp senses caught her anyway.
‘Hm? Does the Savior wish to get closer to me? If so, why move so slowly?’
Kkachi tilted its head while watching Yuri approach stealthily, then hopped sideways and pressed its body against her cheek. It couldn’t stand how much slower she was than even a mutant with missing legs. Kkachi had inherited its master’s impatience.
Meanwhile, Yuri—who had finally achieved the contact with Kkachi she had so desperately wanted—
“!!!”
‘Squishy...!’
The sensation was cool yet soft, smooth yet springy—far more satisfying than she had imagined—and a smile automatically formed on her face.
Rub rub.
With her eyes closed, Yuri quietly rubbed her cheek against Kkachi’s side wing, fully savoring the happiness of a pet owner. Sion and Raven watched the pair with warm, parental smiles.
‘Cute.’
‘Good times, nyang.’
In a corner of the dungeon filled with the unknown and danger, they had found a small moment of happiness and peace. At its center, Yuri whispered softly to Kkachi while pressing her cheek against it.
“Please take care of me from now on, Kkachi-nim.”
“Kkyu!”
Kkachi joins the party.