Chapter 512: A Promise is Kept
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 512: A Promise is Kept
The easiest way to crush a rebellion is to restore the monarchy. It might be a stretch to compare Obeli's Official to a king, but Grul knew that freeing the Official and the Obelisk would be fatal to Okma.
Okma himself didn't even know his own weakness. He was so obsessed with driving Azzy out that he'd completely forgotten about Obeli and left it neglected. At this point, it was death by natural causes.
He's definitely smarter than Okma. The problem is that's a pretty low bar.
“Weren't you going to find Shei-ssi? I saw some warriors from the Beast Faction earlier.”
“To be precise, I was looking for those who move the Dog King. I received a report that they'd been found, but… for some reason, I felt like waiting here.”
Only Grul can handle a Regressor. So I thought Grul would be the one to go if the Regressor started causing trouble. I guess I was wrong.
But… Grul was also one of the people I needed to meet. I spoke.
“What do you want?”
“Leave for the vassal states.”
Grul’s reply was curt. He didn't seem inclined to explain why, but I did it for him.
“You want me to lure the wolf to the vassal states?”
Grul, his intentions seen through, seemed surprised and paused for a moment.
“…So you know.”
“It's less that I know and more that I guessed. You're not from Ende, and even after the coup succeeded, you made no move to do anything here. Your goal was to protect the Beast Faction from the very beginning. Isn't that right?”
“‘Protect the Beast Faction,’ you say. It makes me sound like some kind of king. I am merely trying to preserve the natural order.”
Deciding there was no point in hiding it now that he’d been found out, Grul crossed his arms and continued.
“Those you call the Beast Faction are a nomadic people who have wandered the wastelands with the water buffalo since ancient times. They are strong and warlike, but… not stable. Floods, droughts, rampaging wild beasts. Whenever a disaster sweeps through the southern plains, their numbers dwindle significantly. But disasters always pass. When better days come, they thrive once more. That is the natural order.”
“And?”
“However… the wolf has lingered in the Enger Plains for too long.”
Grul turned his head and gazed into the distance. South of Ende, a land that is parched for half the year and submerged for the other half. That is why the beasts must constantly be on the move. As must the humans.
“Floods and droughts alike sweep across the plains and move on. But the wolf pack, which should have grown its numbers for a time and then receded, has been there for too long. They've been roaming from the territory of the old Manguo to Ende, killing water buffalo and attacking humans.”
All of this happened because the Dog King, who would fight the Wolf King, had not appeared. Grul looked at Azzy and spoke.
“If the Dog King is here, the Wolf King will undoubtedly advance north. If you go as far as the vassal states, it becomes even more certain. I don't care what it takes, as long as I can get rid of the wolf. It would be better to go all the way to the vassal states and ensure it's dealt with for good.”
From the Beast Faction's perspective, all that mattered was that the wolf disappeared from the Enger Plains. They didn't care what happened to Ende or the vassal states.
For the Obeli guards, this news was like a bolt from the blue.
“You intend to keep the Official locked up…!”
“That's not the issue! The vassal states above, the wolf below! Ende will be in danger!”
Even if the Obelisk and the Official were freed, they couldn't defeat Grul. And now that they were imprisoned, Grul could control Ende as he pleased. The guards' faces darkened. If things continued like this, the dog beastkin who failed in their coup would face even greater persecution.
But one question remained.
“Wait a minute. Then why did you come to Ende? If your goal was to drive out the Wolf King, you had no reason to risk coming here, did you?”
“Because I had to confirm one possibility.”
“A possibility?”
“The possibility that the Wolf King could be defeated here in Ende. The surest way to remove the Wolf King from the Enger Plains… is to kill the Wolf King, is it not?”
It might have been possible if there hadn't been a major problem. But the pig beastkin started a protest, and the Obelisk, unnerved by the commotion, moved to keep the Beast Faction in check. Unable to risk isolation in an unfamiliar city, the Beast Faction sided with the pig beastkin. In a city without the Obelisk, the pig beastkin seized power.
Actually, that part was fine. But the pig beastkin disappointed Grul. Showing no particular leadership or ability, they chose the option of avoiding a fight.
Disappointing, but not a bad outcome for Grul.
“Looking at how things are going, it's already a lost cause. I have no choice but to take the next best option.”
“So in the end, you're just going to wash your hands of it.”
“It's a cold, rational choice. Better than keeping a promise that can't be fulfilled, wouldn't you say?”
No one wants to fight the wolf. There are only those who want to use it, those who want to avoid it, and those who want to ignore it.
Grul was just another one of them, I suppose. Of course, it's not like I had any expectations…
“Awooooooooooo!”
It was then.
A dog let out a great howl. The sudden cry of a beast startled not only the Obeli guards but even Grul.
Me? My ears hurt. Because the howl came from right beside me.
“Woof! Woof woof! Awooo!”
Azzy barked at the sky a few times. It was a howl filled with some distinct emotion that humans couldn't comprehend.
Even someone who claims beasts are emotionless machines would reconsider if they heard it. Azzy's lament was that sorrowful.
“Awooooooo….”
Azzy ignored the earth and barked toward the sky. The Dog King represents all dogs. Furthermore, she took human form to convey her will to humans. The emotion Azzy unleashed stimulated every dog and dog beastkin in Ende.
From all over Ende, the howls of dogs could be heard. The dog beastkin, who had been backing away, also stopped in their tracks.
“The King?”
“Why is she crying…”
“Awoo, awoo.”
After letting out her cry, Azzy raised her head. A pitch-black fracture appeared near her forehead. The incomplete-looking fracture distorted and expanded, then wove itself together like the stems of a plant.
“Wolf, defeat.”
A crown, split in half, floated above Azzy's head.
The symbol of a Beast King. A crown that I, having lost my power, do not possess. But… Azzy wore it. Exactly half of it.
Half? Wait. Why half? Where's the rest?
“Promise, keep. Fight with me, in a pack. Wolf, defeat. We can do.”
Words spoken while wearing the crown are a proclamation. Azzy was now speaking on behalf of all dogs.
“Fight with me. If human keeps promise, I will protect human too.”
Grul is a beastkin, too. Like any other, he holds a certain reverence for a Beast King.
But he was still human, and he was the great chief responsible for the Beast Faction. He spoke, looking troubled.
“Even if you say that…”
“It won't work, will it? I'm sorry. My Azzy has made an unreasonable request.”
You tried, Azzy. But your sincerity won't move a human. That one isn't a dog or a pig; he's just a human.
I'll handle the human.
“In the end, you're just a piggy like Okma, so what's the point in asking? Fine. I'll go along with your plan.”
“…Okma?”
At the mention of his disappointing kinsman, Grul's eyebrow twitched. Having succeeded in my provocation, I shrugged and replied.
“Okma's plan was to use Azzy as a scapegoat and run away because he thought he'd lose if he fought. You claim to be disappointed in people like that, yet here you are, trying to use Ende as a scapegoat and run away. You're exactly the same.”
“To prove I'm not the same, I suppose I'll have to fight the wolf.”
He hit the nail on the head. But I can't be too happy that he's sharp. A sharp person will try to read my intentions, too.
Grul muttered, then spoke with a strange expression.
“How curious, magician.”
“What is?”
“You helped Okma bring down the Official. Then you put the pig beastkin in the highest position and laughed as they brought about their own downfall.”
…I thought he didn't know the situation in Ende, but it seems he gathered quite a bit of information while staying in Obeli. He didn't hide his wariness of me as he spoke.
“And yet now, you're provoking me into fighting the Wolf King. What is your true motive? If you wanted to fight the wolf, you shouldn't have helped Okma in the first place.”
Suddenly hitting upon a hypothesis, he asked sharply.
“Is all you want simply chaos?”
This is why I hate sharp people. I didn't expect him to turn the tables and question my motives here.
But for Azzy's sake, I have to answer this. Grul has reached the Axiom. Li (離) is the power to complete one's own world and realize it. He will only move if his own heart is convinced.
I answered with relative honesty.
“I don't believe anything in this world should be taken for granted. The lack of animal ears is no reason to rule. The idea that all humans are equal is no reason to snatch away what others have enjoyed. That's nothing more than using ‘the way things should be’ as a weapon to satisfy one's own desires.”
The Official who acted high and mighty with no power, the pig beastkin who reveled in authority with no ability. They all realized their own weakness and foolishness. Peel back a layer, and in the end, they were all just beasts and humans.
I wanted to know that. And I confirmed that I was right.
“The only thing that's a given is a beast's desire. Now that I've confirmed everything, it's time to do what needs to be done.”
“And that ‘what needs to be done’ is helping the Dog King save humans? Of all things?”
Grul looked intrigued. I asked, annoyed.
“What's the problem?”
“The Dog King is the Beast King, yet her purpose is more noble than that of any human.”
That's just because Azzy is weird. In the first place, it makes no sense for a beast to ‘unconditionally’ not attack humans. Think of how many dogs bite people.
But a promise is a promise, so I have to keep it. This is why you should never get bitten. Not by an animal, not by a contract.
“Then again, they say the devil who tests humanity is, in fact, the one most desperately searching for God. In that sense, I suppose you're the same.”
Why is he bringing the bible into this? Just stop talking and give me an answer.
“You're the same. Don't make me out to be the mastermind here. You're the one who gave the pig beastkin their chance.”
You proposed to that piggy boy the moment you arrived, and you helped Okma as soon as you heard about the coup. This isn't the time to be interrogating me, is it? You should be interrogating yourself.
“If you wanted to be so noble, you should have kept your distance from Ende from the start. The pig beastkin protested because you came, they succeeded in their revolution thanks to you, and they enjoyed their power because of your strength. The most important thing for Okma was that you subdued the Obelisk. The one who moved the pieces on this board was you, Grul.”
“So in the end, I was also being tested, is that what you're saying?”
Called out in turn, Grul chuckled in self-mockery.
“…Yes. I suppose I was placing my own selfish expectations on my kinsmen.”
“Stop expecting things from others and do it yourself. Before you wish for your people to be impressive, you need to be impressive first. Be the example, is what I'm saying.”
Grul uncrossed his arms. He was the one who had marched the Beast Faction into Ende. He'd had more than enough will to fight from the beginning.
He may have lost his motivation seeing the state of the city, but motivation is something that comes and goes as it pleases.
“…The Dog King will fight even without me, won't she?”
“She's been fighting since before you were born.”
“Make no mistake. I'm not fighting for my people, nor for honor. I'm fighting because the Wolf King seems like a worthy opponent. I have no interest in a dog's death—no, a pig's death.”
Grul turned and strode away. Before him was the prison where the Obelisk was confined. Gazing at the building, which was quite luxurious for a prison, Grul asked Azzy and me.
“Can we win?”
A promise is kept. Her will confirmed, Azzy shouted with a confident expression.
“Win!”
“In that case.”
Grul grabbed the prison door and pulled. The large, thick iron door—the only part of the luxurious prison that actually looked like a prison—tore apart like paper.