Chapter 103: To Neverland
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 103: To Neverland
From outside the building, the sounds of the Regressor and Nabi fighting could still be heard.
The howl of a beast, the roar of a swirling wind, and the crash of nearby objects breaking under the strain.
Tantalus suddenly shook violently. It seemed a blade of Qi unleashed by the Regressor had struck the building's outer wall.
Feeling the tremor, Lieutenant General Ebon muttered.
“Still holding her own against the Cat King? Was she this skilled? Hmm. Perhaps I should have watched the fight myself.”
“I will go check, Lieutenant General,” the Colonel offered, but Lieutenant General Ebon immediately shook his head.
“No. There's no need. If the Cat King has the upper hand, she's just toying with her. If she's at a disadvantage, she'll run away on her own. You just need to do your job properly.”
“Yes, Lieutenant General!”
The Colonel was faithful to his assigned duty. That is, to watch me.
Whenever we passed a place with shadows, the Colonel would stick close to me, glaring around as if ready to blow my head off at a moment's notice. Tyr would then give up and wait for the next opportunity.
Tyr is strong, but she has no talent for fighting defensively. Most vampires are undying; even if their bodies are blown to bits, they regenerate in an instant. Furthermore, with the Progenitor, the source of their Bloodcraft, nearby, they are practically immortal. It’s only natural they would neglect defense.
But with me here—a guy who'd die from a single tap—she can't afford to fight that way. It must be a frustrating situation for Tyr.
Sorry, Tyr. But I've got things to do.
As he continued his search, Lieutenant General Ebon finally spotted Azzy, curled up in a corner. For a moment, the Lieutenant General's eyes shone with a strange light.
‘The Dog King, the being who may be closest to achieving our great desire… At last, she is completely within my grasp.’
Suppressing a strange sense of excitement, Lieutenant General Ebon called out to Azzy.
“There you are, Dog King!”
“Woof?”
Sensing someone nearby, Azzy immediately trotted over. Puzzled by the sudden increase in the number of humans, she glanced at each one of them.
“Cat smell, human! Nice to meet you! Huh?”
In the process, Azzy spotted me tied up with a rope and exclaimed.
“Woof? What’s that? What kind of game is it?”
I answered honestly.
“It's a game called S&M play.”
“Woof! I wanna play too!”
“Ah-ah. Good puppies shouldn't copy this.”
“Woof woof! No fair! Me too!”
The Colonel shot me a terrifying look and yanked me back. Ouch, so stiff. Can’t even take a joke.
Ah, if the Regressor were here, she would've had a pretty interesting reaction. She's a pain when she's around, but I kind of miss her now that she's not.
Lieutenant General Ebon dismissed the others and spoke to Azzy alone.
“Dog King, I have a request. Come with me to the surface.”
“…Woof, again? Another request?”
Azzy let out a sigh like a deflated balloon and muttered with a disappointed face.
“I’m not going.”
It was the response he had expected, so Lieutenant General Ebon was not disappointed. Instead, he asked.
“Why not?”
“Woof. I’m good. I keep promises.”
“You mean the promise you made with the Military State? The one where if you waited here, you would one day honor the covenant and fight alongside them against the Wolf King?”
“Woof!”
Azzy nodded brightly. And Lieutenant General Ebon scolded her.
“Even for a beast, you are endlessly foolish. You believe that? A promise in name only. Do you truly believe the Military State will honor such a promise and fight the Wolf King with you?”
A foolish beast, clinging to an empty promise. Just as Lieutenant General Ebon was about to mock her foolishness to his heart's content, Azzy shook her head vigorously, looked up at Ebon, and spoke bravely.
“I’m going to believe! Woof! If I keep believing, one day, they'll believe me back!”
It was a statement beyond truth or lies, filled with nothing but firm resolve. A promise to trust and rely on humans forever flowed from the Dog King.
Lieutenant General Ebon, who had been preparing a rebuke, lowered his voice for a moment after hearing her words.
“Haha. That was a foolish question. My apologies. Yes, that is the Dog King.”
“Woof! It’s okay! I’m good! Apology, accepted!”
“Then, I have no choice but to drag you by force.”
“Woof?”
Hearing the unexpected words, Azzy tilted her head.
“By force? You can pull me, but I won’t go? I’m not going?”
“No, you will.”
“Woooof?”
Leaving the bewildered Azzy behind, Lieutenant General Ebon shouted to the Colonel.
“Colonel, prepare the chain.”
“Yes, sir!”
The Colonel set down his leather bag and pulled out a coiled chain from within.
It was a level 4 alchemic steel chain with a dark blue sheen. The essence of the Military State's alchemy, stronger even than the doors guarding the underground armory of Tantalus. It seemed the alchemic steel chain had taken up most of the space in the bag; as soon as it was removed, the bag went limp.
While he untangled the chain, the Lieutenant General looked at Callis and spoke.
“Lieutenant Colonel. I believe I told you to try using the chain before the mission. So, have you figured out how to control the Dog King?”
Suddenly addressed, Callis took a moment to recall the memory before answering a couple of beats too late.
“Ah, that, I… I apologize. I was unable to figure it out. Even when I pulled the Dog King with the chain, she did not budge from her spot.”
“How did you pull her with the chain?”
“Like a leash, wrapped around her neck…”
“On whose neck?”
“Pardon?”
For a moment, Callis didn't understand the question and stared back blankly, but she quickly composed herself and answered.
“My apologies. The Dog King’s. I wrapped it around the Dog King’s neck.”
“Hmm. Half the right answer. A pity. I thought a Lieutenant Colonel might figure it out…”
Lieutenant General Ebon’s voice trailed off as he pointed a finger at Azzy. The Colonel nodded and, holding the chain, strode toward her.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Ebon continued his explanation.
“Your direction was wrong, Lieutenant Colonel. Why would you put the chain on the Dog King’s neck? Does that make you as strong as the Dog King? Or does it make the Dog King as weak as you?”
“Then what should I have done?”
“Didn’t I give you enough hints? You should have done the opposite, the opposite.”
Just then, the Colonel finished wrapping the chain around Azzy. He had secured it not around her neck or waist, but around her right front paw.
Her right front paw. Not both paws, just one. On the surface, it didn't seem like much of a problem. Azzy just blinked her eyes, not resisting in the slightest.
However, this chain was never meant to restrain the Dog King’s body.
Lieutenant General Ebon’s voice grew deeper.
“Lieutenant Colonel. Are you still loyal to us?”
It was a question with a predetermined answer. Even if Callis’s heart was in turmoil, the words that came out of her mouth had to be an affirmation.
Callis answered immediately.
“Yes! Of course, sir!”
“Then you must be prepared to faithfully follow our orders.”
“That is correct! I am prepared to follow any order.”
“I commend your resolve. In that case.”
A cold smile on his face, Lieutenant General Ebon issued a command to the Colonel, who held the chain connected to Azzy.
“Colonel. Wrap the chain around the Lieutenant Colonel's neck.”
“…I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you correctly.”
Callis couldn't believe her ears.
A chain around her neck, as if she were some beast? And one connected to the Dog King’s paw, no less…?
Wasn't this just like Azzy holding Callis's leash?
‘Don’t tell me. The opposite he mentioned… did he mean the target was the opposite…?’
It was a personal humiliation. To be led by someone else with a leash around her neck. Callis wanted to deny the situation, but with the Lieutenant General watching and the Colonel approaching, a mere Lieutenant Colonel like her had no way out.
She clamped her mouth shut and stood still until the Colonel had wrapped the chain around her neck.
The heavy weight of the chain settled on her shoulders. The chilling touch of metal coiled around her throat. It wasn't tight yet, but Callis felt her breathing grow heavy.
However, Callis’s ordeal did not end there.
Click. She heard the sound of a lock engaging. When Callis looked up, a heavy, ink-black padlock was fastened to the chain around her neck.
Callis’s eyes wavered. She could no longer remove the chain by herself.
Just like an animal.
“My next order, Lieutenant Colonel. Walk. Until the chain chokes you.”
Walk, with a chain around her neck.
Azzy was standing still, with no intention of moving. And the chain, unlike the Abyss, had a finite length.
So if Callis kept walking, the chain would eventually tighten around her neck.
And yet, Lieutenant General Ebon spoke as if that were the goal.
“L-Lieutenant General, sir. By that you mean…”
“Yes. Just as you think. Keep pulling the chain… until you're about to lose consciousness from asphyxiation. With your neck, Lieutenant Colonel.”
As Callis reeled in confusion, Lieutenant General Ebon’s voice echoed in her ears.
“Rest assured. The Dog King cannot harm a human… under any circumstances. If you are on the verge of dying from suffocation, the Dog King, unable to bear the sight, will follow you. She cannot let the chain connected to her own paw kill a person.”
The boundless goodwill a dog has for a human.
Using that as a hostage to control the dog.
The Human Regime.
An organization that controlled the Beast Kings based on their understanding of them.
To control the Dog King, they had put a leash on a human and were now staging a hostage situation, exploiting the Dog King’s goodwill.
Callis did not like beasts. Her father had lost his life to one, and most perpetrators of violent crimes were beastkin.
But now… she couldn't tell who was the beast and who was the human.
‘…Then, what about me? I betrayed them to save my own life… and now I'm faithfully following this order to save it again… What am I?’
Her thoughts deepened, but the order did not wait for her.
“If you weren't here, the Colonel would have done it. I am giving you a chance. A chance to achieve a minimal accomplishment. So follow the order, Lieutenant Colonel.”
It was an ultimatum. If she didn't accept, she would be guilty of insubordination. And considering their true nature, she would most likely be killed.
If she didn't want to die right now, Callis had to follow the command that held her by the leash.
“Callis Kritz. Carrying out… the mission.”
With firm resolve, Callis began to walk in the opposite direction from Azzy. One step, then another, slowly.
At first, Azzy only twitched her ears, but as the chain clanked and lifted off the ground, she shot to her feet, finally understanding what was happening.
“Woof. Don’t do it!”
‘I have to live.’
To live, she had to walk to the brink of death. Because that was the order. Callis took another step.
“Woof! No! Please. Woof, don’t.”
‘I’ve already thrown everything away to save my life. I can’t lose the life I bought so dearly here.’
Clank. Something pulled at her neck. The chain had already reached its limit. Feeling the heavy weight, Callis took another step.
“I-I’m a good puppy. I listen! I don’t want to hurt humans. Woof, please. Woof.”
‘At the very least, if I follow the order here, regain my authority, and go home… I can live like before. Perhaps, as the Human Regime said, I could even become a Level 4.’
It was tightening. The small gap between her neck and the chain was shrinking. As the space disappeared, Callis’s breathing became shallower.
“Woof! Woof woof! Stop, woof!”
‘I have to… live.’
Her instincts screamed a warning. But she couldn't run. The Star of the State, Lieutenant General Ebon, was still staring at her with his cold eyes.
It had been a while since her breath was cut off. Callis felt her vision narrowing… and pulled her body forward even more.
“Awoooooo!”
Just for a moment, right before Callis’s consciousness faded.
Unable to watch any longer, Azzy leaped forward. The chain momentarily slackened, and at the same time, the forgotten sensation of breathing returned. Callis collapsed to the floor, gasping for air.
Beside her stood Azzy, her face etched with infinite sadness.
“Woof…”
‘Leading the Dog King to the surface with a chain around my neck, using my own life as a hostage. This is the only… way… for me… to survive…’
Now Azzy would follow Callis. Because she couldn't let her die.
Lieutenant General Ebon approached Callis and praised her.
“Well done, Lieutenant Colonel. It seems you have what it takes to control the Dog King.”
This, too, was a question with a predetermined answer. Callis, breathing heavily, told a lie.
“Thank… you.”
“As I thought, my judgment was not mistaken. You are a truly excellent asset, Lieutenant Colonel! Good! Now all we have to do is go up!”
He had the Dog King, and the means to move her. All that was left was to return to the surface.
Just as Lieutenant General Ebon clapped his hands in delight, a voice cried out.
“Nya-!”
At that moment, Nabi rushed into the building. Hopping as if she’d been burned, Nabi clung to Lieutenant General Ebon and whined.
“Nyanyanyang! Nya nya! It hurts, nya! It stings, nya!”
The whimpering Nabi was a mess. Several strands of her hair had been cut, leaving it uneven, and her arms and legs were covered in scratches. A small amount of blood was flowing as well.
Nabi licked the wound on her hand repeatedly, making crying sounds.
“Nabi. What happened?”
“Nya, I hate that thing, nya! I can’t even see it and it just stings and stings, nya!”
‘That thing’ undoubtedly referred to the Regressor she had been fighting just moments ago. What on earth had she done to make the Cat King flee in terror?
Lieutenant General Ebon examined Nabi’s wounds, lost in thought.
‘…These attacks weren't aimed for a fatal blow, but to inflict pain. Cats hate pain, so she attacked only the sensitive spots to make her run away…?’
The Beast Kings are powerful, but at their core, they are still beasts. And beasts that faithfully follow their survival instincts do not take risks.
Since ancient times, the best way to deal with beasts was to scare them. Unless it was a special case like the Wolf King, their survival instinct was stronger than their hunting instinct, so humans would drive away the Beast Kings by preparing sharp spike traps or lighting fires.
‘Does she have experience fighting a Beast King? She’s skilled. Now that the Cat King has lost her will to fight, I must step in.’
Having reached a conclusion, Ebon picked up his weapon, a pair of claws, and rose to his feet.
“That must hurt, Nabi.”
“Nyanya! I hate it, nya. It’s like a thorny vine, nya!”
“I understand. Then I will dispose of her for you.”
“Nyan! Teach her a lesson, nya! I could have won! I almost had her! I just left her for you, nya!”
Her words weren't entirely a bluff, as the Regressor who followed her in was also in a sorry state. A trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth, and three scratches marred her face. The tattered sleeve of her clothes was soaked red with blood.
‘She looks half-dead. Well, the Beast King is no easy opponent.’
It seemed all he had to do was deliver the finishing blow.
Lieutenant General Ebon picked up the claws and fitted them onto his hands.
One on the right, and one on the left. Click. The sound of the mechanism locking onto his body echoed.
His battle preparations complete, the Lieutenant General issued his orders.
“Nabi, lead them to the rooftop with the Colonel. And Colonel, with Nabi by your side, you have nothing to fear from the Progenitor. Do not take your eyes off the hostage and head to the roof.”
“Understood!”
The Colonel’s vigorous reply rang out. Lieutenant General Ebon savored the feel of steel in his grasp as he faced the Regressor.
Meanwhile, the Regressor…
“Hey! I'm putting my life on the line here, so why have you been dicking around this whole time?!”
…was shouting hysterically at me. She was so worked up her face was bright red.
Dicking around? Can’t she see my hands are tied?
When I casually raised my hands, the Regressor’s eyes went wide as she screamed.
“Stop messing around and do something, quick! If we let them get away…!”
“Who are you talking to, you menace?”
In a flash, Ebon closed the distance to the Regressor. She spotted him a beat too late and hastily defended with Chun-aeng.
“Hup!”
Clang, clang. The claws moved in a dizzying blur, assailing the Regressor from all sides. She gritted her teeth and parried the strikes with Chun-aeng. As she deflected the final attack, she switched from defense to offense and swung Chun-aeng horizontally.
A weightless sword, Chun-aeng’s greatest advantage was its speed. It allowed for an instantaneous switch between offense and defense, regardless of stance. A high-speed slash that flowed from defense to attack with zero delay.
But it didn't connect with Ebon.
With astonishing flexibility, Lieutenant General Ebon dodged the horizontal slash and charged, scraping his claws on the ground. It was a leap like that of a four-legged beast. The Regressor had allowed him to get too close. Lieutenant General Ebon slammed his shoulder into her body. A pained groan reached his ears.
“Now, it’s a bit crowded here. Let’s fight somewhere more spacious.”
A statement clearly intended to stall for time. Understanding his opponent's intentions, the Regressor gritted her teeth.
“Tch…!”
‘At this crucial moment… to think I have to rely on… him…!’
And with that, the Star of the State and the Regressor were thrown outside.
Intentions intersect.
Wishes, hopes, desires, and wills are transmitted through people.
The stage is set. Now, all that's left is the performance.
I pulled out the finger. The one I had secretly pocketed when the Undying shattered into pieces. The largest of the pieces that had made up his right arm: the thumb. It was subtly pushed forward.
In that moment, I had six fingers on my right hand.
Now, let’s think. A moment ago, the Colonel tied my wrists with a rope.
But my hand held the right arm of the Undying, specifically its largest finger, the thumb. The fingers I showed when being tied were not my own.
What does this mean?
Why, it means a most delightful magic show is about to begin!
“We’re leaving! Lieutenant Colonel, move out…!”
Just as the Colonel, having received the Lieutenant General’s order, hastily lifted the leather bag…
Thump.
A square paper packet fell through a tear in the leather bag. It hit the ground and burst open, scattering mana herbs made with catnip everywhere.
“Ah!”
The Colonel was flustered. Not just because the mana herbs were important, but because he foresaw what would happen next.
In that instant, Nabi, who had been groaning in pain, her eyes lit up.
“Nya-!”
It was a reflexive movement. Nabi threw herself at the mana herbs, sweeping them up with her front paws.
A small mat made of ten mana herbs was formed. Nabi settled on top of it and began to roll around ecstatically.
The Colonel shouted in alarm.
“Just a moment, Nabi, please endure it!”
“Nyaaah~! Nya, nyaha, hah…”
“Ugh! Why did this fall out?”
Why, you ask?
That's what you get for using a leather bag. Me? I can slice open the belly of a leather bag with my foot.
I split it open to tell you not to use it, but you went ahead anyway. Tsk, tsk. Don’t you read the news?
Even if they were cultivating a World Tree, mana herbs capable of controlling the Cat King were extremely valuable. The Colonel quickly bent down to retrieve the precious herbs.
Right now, I am not in his consciousness. Which means he won't notice whatever I do.
From above the Colonel’s head, I smiled a magician’s smile.
“Ta-da.”
First, the left hand.
“Ta-daah.”
Then the right.
“And… ta-daaaah.”
I slipped them from the rope. Gracefully and naturally, I pulled them out.
The knot that seemed so tight melted away like water. The design itself was flawed—or rather, I had made it flawed—so it came undone in an instant.
Escape artistry is a fundamental skill for a magician. Nothing to brag about, really.
But when your audience is a military officer, it's a different story, isn't it?
This is why when you tie a man's wrists, you have to check if all his fingers are actually his.
Otherwise, he might just be distracting you with a fake finger while secretly slipping his thumb into a gap in the knot.
Just then, my eyes met Callis’s. How fortunate. It’s more fun to have an audience for this historic moment, isn’t it? I bowed to her and, while I was at it, tossed her the Undying’s finger.
Alright. Now that the escape is a success, shall we move on to the next step?
I’ve escaped, Colonel. Now it's your turn to try and escape.
I held the untied rope in both hands. A special rope made by the Military State, resistant to high temperatures and blades. It wouldn't break easily.
Gripping both ends of the rope tightly…
I tiptoed behind the Colonel, who was picking up mana herbs from the floor.
As naturally as flowing water, I looped the rope around his neck and pulled.