I Am the Slayer of the Forest's Ruler, the Sickly Butterfly (2)

This actually looks doable.

That was my impression upon seeing the beast that had, for some reason, completely lost its mind.

Its sheer size and presence were undoubtedly intimidating.

However, the way it blindly rampaged, losing all self-control, completely ruined its menacing aura.

It definitely seems to be looking for me.

Whatever it was—a bear or a magic beast—I was definitely its target.

It had utterly shredded the spot where the blood I'd spat during my hunt had dried.

Since it wasn't after the blood itself, it had to be looking for me.

But why? Is the smell of my blood really that bad?

I mean, it's packed with poison and acid, so of course it wouldn't smell great, but I didn't think it smelled like much of anything.

What should I do?

"Kweeeek."

If I waited a bit longer for it to drive itself completely mad and evolved in the meantime, I could definitely take it down.

It would be even easier with Tree's help.

If it had kept its wits, I would have run away without looking back.

But right now, it was so blind with rage that it couldn't even control its own body properly.

If anything, this was my golden opportunity to slay it.

Besides, if I kill that thing, I'll probably be able to evolve again right away. And if I eat it, I might get some awesome skills.

Opportunities to hunt a beast comparable to a D-rank magic beast were rare.

In the first place, it was highly unusual for a normal animal to grow so massive and threatening without becoming a magic beast.

Of course, because it wasn't a true magic beast, its raw combat power would be weaker than a real D-rank.

That made it the perfect prey.

What do you think, Tree?

"Kweek?"

If Tree refused, I was prepared to do it alone, but having its help would make things much easier.

I looked at Tree, hoping we were on the same page.

Tree was already staring intently at the spot where the beast had vanished.

It didn't have a face, so I couldn't be entirely sure, but that was the distinct impression I got.

Was it because our souls were linked?

—Let's run away. We shouldn't stay anywhere near a monster like that.

Wait, let me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠go!

"Kweek!"

Tree grabbed me with its branches and flew in the exact opposite direction of the beast.

I wanted to hunt it, but Tree clearly had other plans.

I could feel its branches trembling slightly, a clear sign of its fear.

But why?

It was certainly intimidating, but there was no need to be this terrified.

It didn't even seem to have any special abilities.

—Ah! What are you doing? I told you, we have to run! It's definitely looking for us.

I bit down on Tree's branch to force it to a halt, then dropped to the ground.

From there, I began crawling in the direction the beast had gone.

I could still hear the distant sounds of the forest being pulverized, so tracking it wouldn't be hard.

—Why are you doing this?! Let's just run!

No.

I shook my head firmly at the retreating Tree.

If I didn't take this chance, I might never get to hunt a beast like this again.

I wasn't going to run.

Even my instincts weren't telling me to flee; they were screaming at me to devour it.

That meant I definitely had a shot at winning.

In the end, I had to hunt and consume enemies larger than myself.

If I couldn't even hunt a beast like this, becoming a true magic beast would remain nothing but a pipe dream.

—That thing is definitely the ruler of this forest! Even if we're magic beasts, we can't afford to underestimate it!

Oh, so it's the ruler of the forest? In that case, maybe I can aim for a double evolution!

—Ugh! Why won't you stop?! Do ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you want to die?

Tree didn't abandon me.

Instead, it followed close behind, desperately trying to persuade me.

Even though we'd known each other for less than a day, I was deeply touched by its concern. But I couldn't give up on the hunt.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Let's hunt that thing together.

"Kweeeek."

I spoke to the following Tree.

Just as I could feel our connection growing stronger, Tree must have felt it too.

It would surely understand what I meant.

—Hunt it together? Are you insane? I told you, it's the ruler of the forest! It's definitely devoured countless young magic beasts like us!

Yep, it understood me perfectly.

And since it wasn't leaving, that meant Tree was agreeing to the hunt, right?

Time to prepare!

I needed to evolve quickly so I could start using magic.

Ignoring Tree's protests, I kept moving forward.

Tree kept grumbling that this was a terrible idea, but it still followed me.

I knew I could count on it.

It's time to break free from this tedious half-butterfly state. I am going to become a complete butterfly.

Since the morning sun had finally risen, I immediately chose to evolve.

Not into a moth—which had somehow become locked anyway—but into a butterfly.

Oh! Legs! Actual legs! And that cramped feeling in my wings is gone!

The evolution happened in an instant.

Like shedding a skin, my caterpillar body split open, and my new butterfly form emerged.

I now possessed multiple pairs of legs that could walk and run properly, and beautiful wings that unfurled gracefully. This was my new body.

A magnificent evolution. Are my new skills Blood Scales and Flight?

Flight was self-explanatory, but what was Blood Scales?

I knew that the powder covering a butterfly's wings was called scales, but...

So they weren't just powder, but actual scales?

I didn't know butterflies had scales.

Could I evolve into some kind of dragon later on?

Plus, I could use them to attack.

This must be like those magical powders fairies scatter to heal or attack.

But wait, why aren't my wings crimson?

Unless my eyes are playing tricks on me, they're a translucent white with a bluish tint. Isn't that the exact opposite of crimson?

Even when I was a caterpillar magic beast, my body was white instead of the usual black.

But honestly, I preferred this wing color.

People would immediately suspect a butterfly with blood-red wings, but they'd just see me as a beautiful creature with wings like these.

I felt a sudden wave of gratitude for whatever mutation had caused my birth.

—What? Why did my status suddenly rise...?

While I was checking my status, Tree was muttering strange things and frantically feeling its own body.

Hearing it repeat that its "status" had risen, it seemed Tree's rank had gone up in tandem with my evolution.

As I thought, Tree and I shared a similar level of existence.

Seeing how it grew alongside me, would we continue to grow together in the future?

Once I became a fairy, it would be amazing if Tree became a World Tree or a Home Tree—a sanctuary to protect all fairies.

This is all thanks to you meeting an amazing contractor like me. No need to thank me.

"Kweeeek."

—This makes absolutely no sense. How can a status rise so easily? We didn't even do anything! Stop lying to me.

Instead of listening to me, Tree was lost in its own world, completely in denial.

But the rise in status was already a reality.

Looking at it, Tree had clearly evolved too.

It had grown slightly larger, and its leaves looked much more vibrant and fresh.

One more evolution, and it looked ready to bloom.

I'll just leave it be. It can't understand me anyway.

—No, seriously, this is impossible! A status only rises when you achieve a great feat...! What on earth did you do?

Leaving the still-denying Tree to its own devices, I resumed practicing my mana control to cast magic.

Surely I could learn it before the ruler of the forest completely lost its mind.

There was no way I couldn't do something even low-intelligence magic beasts managed.

Now, just as Tree said, I needed to feel the mana filling ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my body.

There was so much of it.

I just needed to grasp a single thread!

—Roaaar!!

A roar echoed through the forest.

It was still overwhelmingly powerful, but completely devoid of any reason.

Hearing it, I opened my eyes, which had been closed in concentration, and headed toward the sound.

—Even for you, the ruler of the forest is not an opponent to be taken lightly. You must be careful.

Tree followed me, nagging with worry.

I had spent the last few days persuading it.

After I promised to flee immediately if things got dangerous, and pointed out that escaping would be easy now that I could fly, it had finally sighed and joined me.

Perhaps because its status had risen so easily thanks to me, it seemed to trust my words a bit more.

After all, according to Tree, a status was normally incredibly difficult to raise.

Though it seemed easy enough for me.

—I'll do my best to hold the ruler of the forest down, so make sure your attack counts.

Don't worry.

"Kweeeek."

I had practiced so much.

I couldn't even begin to describe how hard I'd worked to improve my accuracy.

It had been grueling.

—It would be nice if you could use magic, but I suppose we can't do anything about a lack of talent.

Tree was, of course, referring to the accuracy of my blood spit.

Forget using magic; I had utterly failed to even control my mana.

Who would've thought I'd have zero talent for magic?

It told me to feel the mana flowing through my body, but how was I supposed to do that?

I didn't even know how my own butterfly blood circulated yet!

But it doesn't matter. The ruler of the forest dies today.

"Kwek."

It was time to hunt a bear.