Not Deer
Stimulus. “That’s no deer.” In the thick fog of the Green Zone, an adventurer who once faced it left behind those cryptic words before brutally swinging a machete at the lover standing beside him. Of the famous five-man party renowned for their perfect synergy and rapid growth, only the fastest-footed guide survived. A single Pathfinder. After he awoke in the Adventurers’ Guild infirmary and gave his testimony, two unspoken rules spread among adventurers. If, somewhere in the fog-shrouded Green Zone, the sound of countless hooves echoes. If something wearing the shape of a deer reveals itself through the mist. Never, under any circumstances, meet its gaze. And if one of your companions suddenly starts talking about deer, immediately put distance between yourself and that companion, prepare for a surprise attack, and subdue them as quickly as possible. Unless you want to be murdered by the puppet they’ve become.
***
“Hey. Rogue.”
“What is it, nyang?”
“That Not Deer thing—is it talking about those weird-looking deer?”
“...What?”
“Huh?”
“Don’t tell me...?”
Sion, who had been keeping her eyes fixed on the ground, carefully raised her head and looked at Raven.
“...That crazy crow!?”
Sion’s eyes widened in disbelief. Why the hell is that lunatic looking up!? She couldn’t believe her eyes as she watched Raven boldly lift his head when anyone else would have kept theirs down.
“Everyone! Get away from the crow, nyang!”
The moment she heard the words “weird-looking deer” come from Raven’s beak, she tucked Yuri and Hans under her arms and quickly retreated.
Emergency, nyang! Of all people, it had to be that crazy bastard!
If the strongest member of the party, Raven, had been hypnotized... ...This is really bad, nyang.
A cold sweat ran down the spine of the five-year veteran Pathfinder who had seen every kind of danger imaginable. Sion had survived countless battlefields and even encounters with bizarre individuals, but she had never experienced an all-out fight against a high-ranking demon. She had sparred with Raven during the promotion exam, but she knew better than anyone that he hadn’t gone all out. Back then, he hadn’t even used the mad wand that had dyed the White Zone red.
If that lunatic pulls that insane wand out of his chest...
The party’s annihilation would be inevitable. Sion wouldn’t even have time to struggle before they were wiped out.
“Ah?”
“Oof.”
Yuri, still looking confused as she was held in Sion’s arms, and Hans, whose face had turned strangely red. Sion finished her calculations in an instant—whether she could protect these two and escape safely to the White Zone.
Taking everyone together is impossible, nyang.
Raven was the Demon of Terror. Even if he hid his form, he would chase after the faint traces of fear leaking from Yuri and Hans. Sion, who had flown through the sky in his arms, knew exactly how exceptional his mobility was. However—
“...If I stay behind.”
If she kept Raven occupied, if she could buy even a little time, then Yuri and Hans might be able to escape using Kkachi’s wings.
Wait. Kkachi?
Come to think of it, Kkachi was... Isn’t he the crow’s familiar?
A demon’s familiar was practically an extension of the demon itself. It would be heavily influenced by the main body. Realizing this, Sion urgently asked Yuri about Kkachi’s condition.
“Adventurer! Is Kkachi okay right now, nyang?”
“Kkachi-nim, is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable?”
“Kkyu kkyu!”
“Um, he says he’s fine?”
“Whoa! Y-Yuri! There’s a weird bird in your robe?”
“Ah, this is Kkachi-nim, Raven-nim’s familiar.”
“Kkyu!”
“...Kkachi is fine, nyang?”
Why was he fine? If the master had fallen into madness, shouldn’t the familiar have gone mad as well? ...Don’t tell me?
Sion tilted her head along with Kkachi, who was looking at her curiously, then turned back toward where Raven had been standing.
There stood Raven, staring at the flustered Sion with a look of exasperation.
“Crow. Do you even know who we are, nyang?”
“If I say no, are you going to fight me?”
“Stop joking around and answer properly, nyang.”
Faced with Sion’s golden eyes, burning with the ferocity of a starved beast, Raven flinched and answered.
“I know who you are.”
No matter how bad my memory is, I’m not so far gone that I’d forget comrades I’ve only known for less than a week. You noisy cat-eared rogue.
“Seriously, that crazy crow.....”
Worrying people like this... What a pain.Just die already, nyang.
***
Man, this is noisy.
Turning away from Sion’s nyang-nyang nagging about not worrying her, Raven stepped into the fog where blurry shapes could be seen. Then, a single deer emerged from the mist.
However—
It was strange for an ordinary deer. Why are its eyes like that? Herbivores usually have eyes on the sides of their heads to see a wide area. But this bizarre deer in front of me had forward-facing eyes, like a carnivore. In other words, its eyes were positioned just like a human’s. It was staring at me blankly with crossed eyes. It felt incredibly unpleasant.
Unlike a normal deer that should have fled by now, it was slowly approaching me instead. Even as it did so, it never stopped directing its gaze at my face. According to Sion, this was probably an attempt to hypnotize me. The reason it kept getting closer was likely because the intensity of the hypnosis increased with proximity.
But for some reason, its hypnosis wasn’t working on me. I didn’t think the Plague Doctor Mask had any function to block hypnosis. I couldn’t figure out why. Well, no complaints here.
While I was awkwardly making eye contact with the deer that seemed intent on staring me down, I heard my companions’ voices from afar. Every single one of them was speaking with their heads lowered to the ground. It was pretty funny.
“Raven-nim! Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
As expected of a high-ranking demon who governs fear. Impressive, O Terror!
“Sword, weren’t you saying we were all going to die just a moment ago?”
“Haa, this body doesn’t know anymore, nyang. Crow, those things disappear naturally once the fog clears anyway, so don’t provoke them for no reason and come here, nyang.”
“Understood.”
When the veteran gives an order, you follow. Besides, I’m not interested in having a staring contest with this ugly deer either. For some reason, the longer I look at it, the worse I feel and the angrier I get. So, bye-bye. Bad Eye Deer.
I gave the slowly approaching deer a small wave and turned to head back toward my party members. But—
“...What the hell?”
“....”
I had no choice but to stop when a bipedal deer suddenly appeared and blocked my path.
“...?”
“....”
When I tried to move around the deer that was stretching its neck out like a mantis with its forelegs folded, staring directly into my eyes, another deer appeared from somewhere and blocked my way again.
“Huh?”
While I was dumbfounded by the deer’s persistent attempts to capture my gaze, I realized I had already been surrounded.
A deer with twisted joints. A deer with multiple joints. A deer with only one eye. A deer with extremely thin, long legs. A deer with half its snout cut off. A deer with a child’s hands instead of hooves. A deer whose mouth was torn open as if it were smiling. Deer. Deer. Deer. Deer. Deer. Death. Deer.
Mental Disturbance, Resisted.
Mental Disturbance, Resisted.
Mental Disturbance, Resisted.
Mental Disturbance, Resisted.
Mental Disturbance, ■ed.
—Zzt zzt.
“...Hmm.”
Maybe because of the deer’s obsessive, burning stares, my head suddenly felt warm.
“....”
“....”
When I lowered my head to avoid eye contact, I met the gaze of a deer lying in a bizarre posture, its head poking up between my legs. Ah, I almost stepped on it and burst it open. What are you doing down there? That’s dangerous.
“You lot are really something else.”
“Raven-nim?”
“Raven, are you sure you’re okay?”
“Crow. What’s going on, nyang?”
“I’m fine.”
Of course I am. Grabbing the annoying Plague Doctor Mask, I pushed aside the deer that kept shoving their heads toward me and headed toward my party members. They kept ramming their heads against my feet like they wanted to be stepped on, making it hard to move.
“Tsk.”
I quickened my pace, avoiding the deer carpet and pushing away the ones trying to shove their heads at me. They’re really clinging on disgustingly. Whether in Terraforming or here, I don’t know why these kinds of things are the only ones that take an interest in me. Suddenly, the world felt hateful.
“....”
As I swallowed my irritation and walked, I suddenly felt an unpleasant foreign sensation on my back.
“...Now what?”
When I turned my head, what I saw was—
Grin. A deer with a torn mouth, shamelessly biting the hem of my coat without any sense of its place.
—Zzt zzt.
■tal Disturbance, Res■ed.
“....”
I stopped dead. For a moment, I almost smashed its head in, but somehow managed to stop my fist right in front of its skull. Yeah, hold back. I have to hold back. I’m not the kind of person who gets played by things like this.
Riiip.
“...Ow?”
I tried to carefully pull the deer’s snout away from my long coat that had been with me for decades, but before I could, the deer tore the coat first.
Chomp chomp.
“....”
The deer chewed diligently on my precious coat and my flesh with a very unpleasant smile. How amusing. After feeling pain for the first time in a long while, the corner of my mouth twisted slightly beneath the Plague Doctor Mask.
Grin. The deer smiled back at me. Inside its wide-open mouth, I could see the tattered black scraps.
—Zzt zzt.
■■ Disturbance, ■■■■■■.
“Hmm.”
This won’t do.
Riiip. Riiip.
The deer, apparently having developed a taste for my flesh, bit into the coat a couple more times. Each time its front teeth dug into the fabric, an unfamiliar pain carved itself into my spine and mind.
“....”
I quietly watched the deer before turning my head at the sound of Sion’s voice.
“Crow! Come here already. What are you doing over there, nyang?”
Yeah. What am I doing right now?
While stroking the head of the deer that was giving me that wretched eye-smile, I growled in a low voice.
“Rogue.”
“H-Huh? What is it, nyang?”
“I don’t think this is going to work.”
“...What do you mean it’s not going to work, nyang?”
“These things.”
I don’t think I can leave them alive any longer. So—
“Everyone, step back for a moment.”
It’ll be over soon.
—Click.