Chapter 100: The Beast Kings
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 100: The Beast Kings
“Hmm? Wait a second.”
The Undying tilted his head and walked toward the room where I was hiding. He promptly opened the door and peered inside.
And our eyes met.
“Teacher. What are you doing here?”
“Ah, busted!”
He actually found me.
The Undying stared suspiciously at me, hiding in such a shady manner.
I crawled out of the room with an awkward smile.
“Well, I was heading to my room to grab something when I noticed the atmosphere downstairs felt strange. So I quickly ducked in here to hide, but then I missed my chance to come out and was just on standby.”
The Undying, accepting my excuse at face value, chided me.
“Hey, if you were watching, you should have tried to stop them! The Lieutenant Colonel almost died, and the boy almost killed someone!”
“If I'd jumped in the middle of that, wouldn't I have died and Shei-ssi would have evolved from a murderer to a serial killer? Unlike you, Mr. Rasch, I'm not undying. If my arm gets cut off, I can't just stick it back on, and I don't resurrect from a blade of grass when I die.”
“Hmm! Can't argue with that! To be honest, I just got caught up in it myself and couldn't stop them either! Hahaha!”
The Undying laughed heartily. I followed his lead with an awkward smile of my own.
In truth, I had been hiding here to see the true nature of the escape packet.
There was only one place Callis could run to escape the Regressor. Realizing this, I had asked for Tyr’s understanding and rushed ahead to hide here. If Callis used the escape packet to get to the surface, I planned to seize that moment to either steal or figure out her method of escape.
But who would have thought the escape packet was actually a getaway-from-life kit?
When I first read her thoughts about the packet, I seriously considered pickpocketing it. Old habits die hard, and seeing that plump leather pouch on her belt made my fingers itch, almost making me lunge for it without thinking.
Looking back, it's a huge relief I didn't. If I'd pickpocketed the getaway-from-life kit and used it, I would've ended up in the humor section instead of the obituaries.
Phew. It really pays to turn over a new leaf. Living a good life brings… not a protective charm, but good fortune.
Just as I was letting out a sigh of relief, the Undying gripped Callis’s shoulder firmly and said, “You saved yourself, Lieutenant Colonel. I merely lent a hand! So you should be proud, Lieutenant Colonel!”
“…Heheh.”
A sound like she'd bitten her tongue could be heard. The Undying and I both looked at Callis. In an instant, her face turned as red as her hair.
The Undying looked puzzled.
“Hmm? Lieutenant Colonel. Your reactions seem to have gotten cuter, haven't they?”
“N-No, they haven't...”
“By the way, without that hat covering half your eyes, I can see your face clearly now! Your eyes are rounder than I thought! I only ever saw them under your hat, so I assumed they were sharp as blades, but you're actually quite cute!”
“Th-That’s…”
“Why on earth did you wear that stiff, wide-brimmed hat anyway? It’s utterly useless for anything other than pressing down on your head! If it weren't for the shadow of that brim, I would have seen your real face much sooner!”
“Didn't... want... to look... ridiculous.”
Hiding her flushed face, Callis kept lowering her head.
Well, well. So that’s how it is.
The faint, bittersweet emotion in the air was like a drug—cringey enough to make my hands and feet curl, yet impossible to look away from. I wiped under my nose and said, “Wow. That was pathetic, but still interesting! No matter how tough life gets, it's still good to be alive, right?”
“…Do you want to die?”
“Oh? Still sharp with me, are you?”
Hey, Undying. You said her eyes were soft? When she looks at me, they’re still sharp enough to cut.
Even without her uniform or hat, her glare alone is enough to make me shrink back. Is this fear imprinted on my instincts?
Callis shot me a sharp look, then leaned subtly toward the Undying and muttered, “…I must remain here until the investigation team arrives. Since my authority has been suspended, I’m no different from a prisoner.”
“Hey, don't you worry so much! You're not completely trapped like the rest of us! And from my experience living here, this place is surprisingly livable!”
“Perhaps… you’re right.”
She’s completely fallen for him. Well, it’s only natural to develop feelings for someone who threw themselves in harm’s way to save you.
But what to do about this?
“I’ve held you for too long! Well, I’ll be on my way now. You should probably get some sleep! The best way to calm a startled body is to sleep soundly!”
The Undying, ever polite, tried to give her some space. That wasn't what Callis wanted.
He didn't save her because she was special. After all, the Undying has a history of standing up to the ringleaders of the prison break just to protect mere laborers. Even though he was miserably defeated and torn limb from limb.
In other words, that’s just his personality. If you were to ask if Callis was ‘special’ to him, the answer would be no.
Though, I’m sure she’d like to think so.
“Sigh. A path of hardship has opened…”
I muttered to myself, wondering what new difficulties lay ahead.
Without the slightest warning.
Without any context.
Without a single sound.
A catkin appeared before our eyes.
“Nyaa~.”
Everyone was struck speechless by her sudden appearance. As if by silent agreement, all eyes were captivated by the girl walking with light, graceful steps.
Walking quietly into the center of the group, the catkin curled her hands into fists and began to lick their backs.
“…A cat?”
Her tail, standing straight up, reached nearly to the top of her head. She had triangular, pointed cat ears and a thick mane of ash-gray hair that flowed down her back. Curiously, the outer layer of her hair was dark gray, while the inside was nearly pure white, as if the two sides had been painted differently.
Four long, thin whiskers adorned her snow-white face. Her steps were so elegant and light, like a feather, that if you hadn't seen her, you wouldn't have even known she was there.
“Nyaa~.”
The catkin let out a bewitching cry and glanced over us with an indifferent air.
I reflexively tried to read the thoughts of the newcomer. Or rather, I attempted to.
I couldn't read them.
No, I could read something, but the meaning didn't connect. It was like reading a Korean transliteration of hieroglyphs from a cave wall—a book where you can sound out the words but can't grasp their meaning.
I wasn't flustered, as I had experienced this before. I was just surprised.
“The Cat King?”
Are you kidding me? What business does a Beast King have here?
No, this is strange. The Dog King came because a human ordered her to, but why would the Cat King come to the Abyss? Is this the Abyss or a zoo?
I couldn't sense any other thoughts nearby, which meant she was alone. I guess I had no choice but to ask her directly.
I couldn't read the memories of a Beast King, but I could know their name. All I had to do was read it as it sounded.
I spoke to the girl, who was busy licking the back of her hand.
“Nabi. Why have you come to our house?”
“Nya?”
Nabi paused her licking for a moment and spoke haughtily.
“I have come to accept an offering and grant a wish, nya.”
“Accept an offering?”
“I am the only king who makes contracts with humans as an equal, nya. My servant made an offering and wished for me to catch a squeaking rat in its hole, nya. That is why I have graced this place with my presence, nya.”
Contract. Rat. Offering.
The ominous feeling creeping up on me was probably not just my imagination.
Especially not after all the recent talk about the Human Regime.
“Oh! A cat lady!”
At that moment, the Undying, who lacked any sense of danger due to his immortality, strode toward Nabi, just as you’d expect.
“I'm overflowing with good fortune this year! To think I'd get to meet two of the rarely seen beastkin ladies! What a grand adventure. I can just picture the shocked faces of the folks back in my village when I return!”
“Nyaa?”
“A pleasure to meet you! My name is Rasch, Miss Cat!”
The Undying reached his hand out to Nabi.
Nabi, who had been staring blankly, swatted the Undying with her front paw.
Space itself was gouged out. The cat's paw swallowed the space in darkness, and the Undying's arm, torn off in an instant, flew across the corridor. His detachable right arm didn't touch the ground once as it soared to the other end.
The Undying’s eyes widened.
“Oh!”
It was a power similar to Azzy's—no, even greater.
Unlike Azzy, whose hostility lessens just by being in a human-like form, the wary Cat King showed no mercy. She would have struck just as hard even if Rasch hadn't been undying.
Which means, she would have done the same if I had been the one to reach out my hand.
A cold sweat ran down my spine. The scent of death was beginning to linger in my nostrils.
Even if she was the Cat King, a beast relatively friendly to humans… it was best not to get close to any Beast King. Beasts are capricious and can turn on you at any moment.
Azzy, with her complete goodwill, is the anomaly. Fundamentally, beasts... have been symbols of fear and danger since ancient times.
Nabi, having casually sent a man’s arm flying, began to lick the paw she had just swung.
The Undying scratched his head with his left arm and said, “Just like a cat! The prickliest of them all! I'm a bit lonely these days, surrounded by nothing but prickly women! Haha! Everyone, it's best not to approach the cat lady so carelessly! Unless you're undying like me, that is!”
Seeing his right arm gone from the elbow down, Callis asked with concern, “Rasch, are you… alright?”
“I’m fine. Losing my right arm is a daily occurrence now! It feels more awkward when it’s attached these days. Sometimes I even detach my right arm and use it as a pillow! A literal arm pillow!”
“…You only woke up a day ago, though?”
“Is that so? Then I’ll start sleeping like that from tonight!”
The Undying’s silly joke eased the tension somewhat.
The right arm, which only fell to the ground after hitting the opposite wall, propped itself up on two fingers and began to scuttle over.
At this peculiar sight, Nabi stared at the self-moving arm with eyes full of curiosity.
“Nya? The arm is moving, nya.”
“That’s my proud arm! It’s never betrayed me! As reliable as any companion…”
“Nya.”
Just as the right arm passed in front of Nabi…
CRUNCH.
Nabi crushed the right arm with her paw. It was a simple stomp, yet the floor indented in the shape of a cat's paw pad. Smashed between Nabi's paw and the concrete floor, the right arm was pulverized like a piece of fruit, its flesh scattering in all directions.
The Undying muttered, looking as if he’d been sucker-punched.
“Oh, this is not so okay, actually.”
Callis cried out urgently, “Rasch!”
“Shh! Don’t get any closer. It’s still alright! The right arm is a body part I offered to Mother Earth. No matter how damaged it gets, it will eventually regenerate…”
Nabi watched the constantly regenerating arm with fascination, stomping on it with her paw whenever it fully recovered and tried to escape. Each time, the right arm would tremble painfully.
The sight of her tormenting the arm, not out of malice but pure curiosity, was grotesque. Yet there was a cruel sort of something to it that made it hard to look away.
A strange standoff continued for a moment. We all watched Nabi play without a word.
In truth, there was nothing else we could do.
Then, at a certain point…
“Nyaaa! When are they going to get here, nya!”
The right arm’s regeneration was starting to slow. Nabi, having lost interest in the arm that could now only twitch, cried out in annoyance.
Immediately after, a thud sounded from the roof as something landed. It was followed by the flapping of a parachute.
Nabi’s ears perked up. She whipped her head around and shouted, “Nyaa! Hurry up, nya!”
“We're on our way.”
After the voice was heard, two officers descended from the rooftop staircase.