Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: The Star Cluster in the Night Sky Is Said to Be God's Tears (3)
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The specters wrapped around Pippin's body like a ball and tossed him toward me. Pippin fell my way, having dropped his saw. Before he could hit the ground, I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and hurled him over the gate of death. The gate of death lowered its forelegs and caught Pippin's body steadily.
"Uh.... My saw...."
Pippin stared at me blankly, then shifted his gaze.
Lecrophadas was definitely dead.
However, the hunter wasn't just us.
Two enormous wolves suddenly appeared and sank their teeth into Lecrophadas. The gate of death muttered in a slightly excited voice.
[They're kin.]
"Kin? Where do you see that?"
I looked back and forth between the gate of death and the two wolves. The gate of death blinked its many eyes and drooled greedily. Pippin, finding the drool burdensome, stepped aside slightly and wiped his sweaty palms on his clothes. Pippin's expression as he looked at the gate of death matched mine.
"No matter how monstrous it is, it should have some conscience."
The two wolves that appeared out of nowhere were too magnificent to simply call spirit beasts. Their stiff, lush fur was a pale silver brighter than moonlight. Their eyes were an enigmatic yellow with sharp glints. The fangs they bared threateningly were large and razor-sharp, enough to crush the head of any inferior creature in one bite. Their tails, held high, were fluffy and elongated like a fox's.
They had a sleek and splendid appearance. It was the first time in my life I'd seen a beast of this kind. And it was the first time I'd ever thought a beast was beautiful while looking at one.
My gate of death and these wolves shared nothing in common except being alive.
Unless someone grabbed us by the collar and threatened to kill us if we didn't find commonalities, no one would ever find evidence that they shared genes.
[They're very strong ones.]
"It's dangerous. Step back."
Pippin blocked the way in front of me and the gate of death, retreating backward. We slowly fell back while engaging in a battle of wills with the wolves. Even the slightest rustle of sand at our feet intensified the wolves' threats.
"Master, do you know these wolves?"
"You must have forgotten, but I first came here yesterday."
"Oh, right."
"I'm the one who wants to ask. Are they wolves that live in this forest?"
"I'm not sure."
Pippin craned his neck forward and sniffed toward the wolves. What was this guy doing, sniffing like a dog? I stared at him in bewilderment, and Pippin shook his head with a clueless expression.
"I don't know."
"I didn't expect you to."
They certainly didn't seem like ordinary wolves. If they were going to show up, they should have jumped in before Pippin went through all the trouble of hunting it. Were they aiming for the monster Pippin had practically caught?
"Should we steal it?"
"Steal what?"
"Lecrophadas, I mean. The one you caught earlier. Can you see it properly now?"
"Yes. It looks like... a lizard. A dragon? Good.... It's not human after all."
Pippin couldn't tear his eyes away from Lecrophadas's corpse.
"It's a monster I've never seen before. It looks different from the illustrations in the guidebook. I'll draw it properly and paste it in my notebook again."
"No, don't bother. The nanny pasted notes there for a different reason."
"Yes...."
"Anyway. We went to the trouble of catching it, so it seems a waste to give it to the dogs as feed, doesn't it?"
The excitement of battle had completely faded from Pippin, and he replied in a dazed, hoarse voice.
"It's a shame. But I don't think we can catch it. Those two have a completely different aura from any monsters I've seen so far. If we're not careful, both of us could be in danger."
"Aren't they just big wolves?"
That's how they looked to me. The wolves seemed aware of us as they roughly tore into Lecrophadas's meat. Blood and flesh splattered everywhere, making me grimace.
What was even stranger was that they were chewing up the specters too.
I was still using the Black Eyes skill. So I could see all the monster specters rampaging in this space. The ones slaughtered by Pippin were crawling on the ground in their butchered forms—it was quite a sight.
The wolves moved their muzzles around as if targeting Lecrophadas's meat, eating their fill. But what they were actually chewing was the monster specters. They tore into the specters' flesh as if it had substance, swallowing it down into their bellies. The specters, once caught by the wolves, couldn't twitch and were simply devoured.
No wonder that massive Viridis specter had disappeared since earlier. While I'd been fooled by Lecrophadas's hallucination and forgotten about it, it had vanished completely. There was no way something that big could hide perfectly among the trees. Maybe those two wolves had eaten it.
Wolves that eat specters. Definitely not ordinary beasts.
Even Pippin, who couldn't see specters, seemed to have noticed.
"They seem like monster wolves, not ordinary ones. Is it because of their size? I don't know. But they're definitely dangerous."
"Yeah. If you say so, there's no need to cling to it."
Ah.
Come to think of it, I remembered Dalia telling me to catch a 'dream lizard.'
I looked at the 'dream lizard' disappearing into the wolves' mouths. There was no longer any trace of it being a lizard. The wings had been eaten by my specters, and what was left was quickly sliding into the bellies of the two ravenous wolves.
If I picked even the bones and brought them back....
Dalia, shocked, would wail for days. Then the nanny, forgetting all about rank, would beat me senseless.
"Forget it. Let's head back."
I'd get Dalia a lizard doll or something.
I grabbed the gate of death's head and turned around. As I moved, the wolves growled threateningly before returning to their feast.
Pippin followed me a few steps, then stopped. He stared straight at the gate of death, his expression hardening. His face said he had a lot of questions.
[Necromancer. Do we have to go back? I want to eat the monster too.]
"...."
[Necromancer.... Just one bite for me....]
"...."
[Master, Master....]
The gate of death dragged its feet. I gripped its horn and locked eyes with Pippin.
"This thing is a type of garden ogre. Probably. It's kin to the monster that turned your village into a wasteland. If this guy eats a monster and can't handle it, bursting open—that's how we end up with messes like today."
"...."
"What? Grossed out? It's the monster I raised."
"If it's a garden ogre, then it's the monster I saw today?"
I nodded in place of an answer.
The place we were in was no longer filthy. Thanks to the gate of death and my specters cleaning it up—not exactly cleaning. Pippin looked around the spot where the garden ogre had burst, then muttered indifferently.
"I saw a monster for the first time today, and I saw so many at once. They must have a habit of swarming."
"...."
"Yours is the biggest among the ones I saw today, Master. It even has legs. And it drools the most. The ones from earlier were just bleeding. Did you see what color the blood was? It's different for each one. Maybe it depends on what monster they eat...."
"Stop, stop. Enough. Is that all your reaction?"
I recalled Kaku, who had shed tears in front of the mercenaries. I tried to find common ground between the clueless boy in front of me and that frail mercenary.
But I couldn't find any particular agitation on that impassive face.
"My reaction? Well, for meat, it seems tough—the hide is too thick and rough...."
"Enough. That's not what I wanted to hear."
"Then what reaction should I give? Hmm, garden ogres attract monsters. That's, um, really amazing. Ah, a bit scary. Um...."
Pippin pondered for the right answer. I just waved him off.
"Forget it. You don't seem scared at all. Hop on. It'll be our ride instead of a horse."
[Master, I want just one bite of that.... They're eating it. Why can't I? I helped you by eating monsters too. Why do they get to eat? You're a bad master.]
"You ate plenty earlier. Why complain now?"
The gate of death braced its legs. After devouring so many monsters, its size had grown ridiculously, and it had become horrifically heavy. Even with Pippin and me pushing, it wouldn't budge.
Meanwhile, the two wolves finished their meal and shifted into threatening stances with growls.
"They're... looking at us?"
"Shut up and come home already!"
[No!]
"Dismiss! Dismiss! Get in there!"
[No!]
Now it's even resisting. This was maddening.
"Master, the wolves are getting closer."
Pippin stepped forward. His arms were trembling—not from fear, but exhaustion. His palms, which had gripped and swung the saw nonstop, were soaked in blood. Parts of his clothes were stained red; he'd taken quite a beating.
"Pippin, fall back. Let's run."
"You go first, Master. I can fight a bit more."
"Three hours ago, I'd have gratefully run, but my plans have changed."
The wolves crouched low, baring their fangs. Blood dripped from their crimson muzzles.
I wasn't sure if we could win, but fighting ants against them was our only option. If those crazy things hadn't eaten the surrounding specters, I could have captured a few stronger ones.
Escape first. Distract them with fireworks, block the gap with ants when an opening appears, grab Pippin, put him on the gate of death, and run.
"Stop eating already. You ate a lot today. Get greedy, and I'll starve you from now on. We need to go home."
Twisting its horns with both hands seemed to make it listen a bit.
[Eek, let go! Let go! I'm going! I'll go!]
Suddenly, the dirt at the wolves' feet compressed. Pippin's stance lowered further. I could even hear him swallow.
They're about to charge.
The moment the wolves' jaws gaped wide,
"Tayde. Canary."
A soft voice shattered the silence.
The two wolves perked their ears without relaxing their stances. Pippin glanced back at me. I shook my head. I didn't know either.
Then came light footsteps, pattering along, and a not-small figure emerged from the shadows.
"You need to mind your table manners. What a mess."
He resembled the wolves. His near-white silver hair gleamed like a blade. He wore a cloak studded with red gems, his outfit overall extravagant yet giving the feel of practical hunting gear. His eyes had an eerie violet tint, and his expression was a gentle smile on a handsome face.
Anyway, he was a strange guy. Seeing that smile, out of place here, made my grip loosen.
The man strode straight up and stood between the two wolves. Their tails, which had been rising, now wagged like a dog's. The growls turned to panting breaths.
"Pippin. Do you sense any hostility from that man?"
"No. None at all."
Pippin's face paled.
"I can't read any aura from him at all. Nothing."