Chapter 534: A Puppy Truly Knows No Fear of the Tiger
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 534: A Puppy Truly Knows No Fear of the Tiger
Having crushed me in a single blow, San'gun turned away. I couldn't read the animal's thoughts, but it clearly seemed to think I was dead. I shouted at San'gun's back.
“Hey, tiger. You think you're so tough?”
San'gun stopped dead in its tracks. Though it was in human form, the way it glanced back at me, its eyes flashing with a feral light, was so terrifying my knees went weak.
Wait. I just barely came back from the dead, and I have to get torn apart again? Recalling the earlier pain, I quickly averted my gaze.
“Ah. Sorry. You're a tiger, so of course you're a good fighter. Just go on your way.”
But while I'd heard the saying 'speak of the tiger and he shall appear,' I'd never heard one about him just leaving. San'gun glared at me again and began to circle. Unlike before, it seemed a little wary of the fact that I'd come back to life.
Good. If it's wary, I'll probably die a little slower than last time. And surely, even San'gun wouldn't want to eat something this suspicious. It wouldn't want to get an upset stomach.
“Hey, what are you staring at? It's creepy. How about I give you a rice cake if you promise not to eat me?”
Fortunately, it didn't seem to have any intention of eating me. One moment it vanished from my sight, and the next, I felt a terrifying presence behind me. As I tried to turn my head, something powerful struck me. My head spun round and round. Unaware of where my body was or even what I was, my neck snapped.
Gyaaaaaaah!
It hurt like hell. Death rushed up to my doorstep, then receded. My body, imbued with the Divine, regenerated, returning me to my original state.
I don't die. But it's not like I've gotten incredibly stronger, either! Am I just a punching bag with a regeneration feature?!
“Kuhhh... Tiger...! Just because you're strong, you won't even try to talk...!”
As I sobbed facedown, I felt an ominous sensation. I immediately threw myself on my back and raised Jizan. As if it had silenced its own footsteps, there was no sound or vibration, but San'gun dropped on top of me in an instant.
CRUNCH. San'gun's paw landed on the Jizan I held up. The sheer pressure of the air violently ruffled my bangs. My head nearly exploded, but thankfully, not even San'gun could move Jizan.
Curious about the object that blocked its paw, San'gun swiped at Jizan a couple of times. Even though they were just curious taps, the force behind them was immense. Thankfully, Jizan remained a sturdy barrier between me and San'gun.
That's Jizan for you. So reliable. Ah, this is no time for that.
“Hey! Tiger! Listen to me! Are you deaf? You took a human form so you could understand speech, didn't you?!”
This was the closest and longest I'd faced San'gun since its appearance. Now was the time to talk. As if it heard me, San'gun's ears twitched slightly as it replied.
“Why should I deign to follow the arbitrary rules of a lowly creature?”
“You can hear me just fine! Were you just pretending not to hear me this whole time?!”
“The voices of humans are loud and filthy. I prefer not to retain them.”
“What the...”
Before I could finish, San'gun's head whipped around. Instead of my upper body, which was shielded by Jizan, it bit down hard on my stomach. My body was severed below the waist as blood and entrails gushed out.
Thankfully, it didn't seem to want to eat this suspicious human, and the human body isn't exactly structured for swallowing what you've just ripped off. The scattered pieces of flesh flew back and reattached themselves to my body.
“Ptooey. Cough, cough, cough. That crazy beast...”
It's great that I survived, but nothing's changed except that I can't die! At this rate, I'm just going to keep losing an unwinnable fight! Suffering for all eternity!
Dammit. Isn't there anything I can do? Is there at least a way to get hit that hurts a little less?
Ah. There was that.
I took out a Divine's card. In my hand was the Seven of Spades, the Lightning Thief's Lightning Spool. Until now, I'd only used it to paralyze enemies by running a current through their wounds or to play cat's cradle with static electricity, but now that I could use my own body as a 'tool'...
The Lightning Spool seeped into my body. An agonizing pain, as if my nerves were being directly burned, shot through my entire body. I gritted my teeth and endured it. The Lightning Spool settled completely inside me, coiling up.
A moment later, the pain vanished. Along with it, all my senses became sharper and more acute. It was as if the part of me allocated to feeling pain had been repurposed for this.
Tyr's Divine allows me to use even my own body as a tool. Normally, the body is something to be protected and cared for, a vessel for one's life, but once imbued with Tyr's Divine, it all becomes nothing more than a tool. Bones, muscles, nerves, blood—all of it transformed into a tool that could be broken, damaged, or shattered, only to be fixed again.
To think I have to use my body like a tool just to protect 'myself'. I let out a hollow laugh at the absurd reality.
It's as if 'I' and my body are two different things. Then what am I? If not my body, is it my thoughts that define me? Like that old philosopher said, 'I think, therefore I am'?
There was no time to get lost in thought. As I staggered to my feet, a sense of déjà vu washed over me. My body, now sensitive to death, thrust Jizan forward on its own. Thump. Using Jizan as a springboard, San'gun leaped up and lunged for my throat.
It was still fast. But if there was one difference from before, it was that I could now faintly make out San'gun's form.
The Lightning Thief's Lightning Spool isn't an enlightenment about lightning. It's an enlightenment about the tiny bolts of lightning that flow through the body and mind. Forbidden knowledge that the thief himself feared to discover, and so hid away.
He realized that seeing, feeling, and even thinking were not proof of a soul... but objects to be understood.
A beast is a beast. I don't know how the Lightning Thief felt, but it's not that shocking to me. If it's a tool, I just have to use it well.
Perhaps because my thoughts had quickened, my body moved faster too. I swung Jizan around and shouted.
“Brother Tiger! I'm your long-lost little brother! Don't you remember me?!”
There was no reply. The tiger seemed to charge, then leaped clean over Jizan and pounced on me. My shoulders were forced together, crushed as if caught between cymbals.
For a moment, my body neared death, but my thoughts didn't stop. As San'gun slid forward, unable to control its own momentum, I staggered and barely managed to call upon the Divine.
“If you let me live, I'll give you something delicious to eat! How about a dried persimmon? A persimmon?”
“Grrrrowl.”
That's not working either.
Even with an immortal body and faster reflexes, my opponent was San'gun. The King of Tigers, a being that even a true King of Humans would have to risk his life to fight. On flat ground like this, I was nothing more than a self-repairing punching bag.
I have to mess up the board more. Break the game. Otherwise, I can't even get a word in.
Turning my head, I saw an uprooted tree. It was a prairie tree that bore no fruit, but when I reached out my hand, branches grew from the uprooted trunk. Flowers bloomed and withered in an instant, replaced by a round fruit that ripened into a vibrant color, as if paint had been mixed on a palette.
Nevida's Divine, the Tree of Genesis. Using it, I harvested a ripe persimmon from the uprooted acacia tree and threw it at San'gun.
“Here! Catch!”
San'gun finally stopped and snatched the persimmon out of the air with its mouth. It seemed to hesitate for a moment, but since it was already in its mouth, it crunched down on the persimmon, curious.
Phew, it finally stopped. I let out a sigh of relief.
“How is it? Delicious, right?”
“Spat.”
“That... that ill-mannered beast! Spitting out food!”
Still, I had achieved my initial goal. Having seen me create the fruit, San'gun didn't charge immediately. Instead, it began to circle me slowly, showing its curiosity.
I never intended to win from the start. My goal was just to pique its curiosity enough to have a conversation.
“Tiger. How about it? There's no reason for us to fight. The wolf is already gone!”
“...And?”
“What do you mean, 'and?' You don't need to keep a promise to a wolf that's gone! So stop showing your savagery to humans!”
“I refuse. A promise is made not with the other party, but with oneself. The wolf's absence is no reason to delay its fulfillment.”
What kind of beast uses fancy words I don't even use? And why are you so trustworthy? Just break the promise!
“Though the wolf was no friend of mine, it was a wild beast that showed cunning in my stead, acting as a proxy for my savagery. Out of pity for the wolf, I shall show my savagery to all humans.”
San'gun glared at me with terrifying eyes and growled.
“And if that savagery is directed at you, human, then it is all the more worthwhile.”
“Dammit. You knew!”
“Human, were you not devoured by other humans and erased from the world? Then I shall choose the same method. After showing sufficient savagery, I will devour you.”
Just as a dog's kindness is directed at humans, a wolf's savagery is also primarily directed at humans. That's why San'gun intends to kill humans, to keep its promise to the wolf.
And I am the King of Humans. There's no better human to show savagery to than me!
Checkmate. If I get eaten like this, I might die for good. But there's no other way. To live, I have to fight. Even if it means using everything else as a tool.
“You think you're the only savage one? I'm savage too! Don't think you can eat me so easily!”
“Grrrrowl.”
San'gun bared its teeth as if in mockery. Despite wearing a flowing jeogori [a traditional Korean upper garment], the moment it moved, it vanished from my sight. With my heightened senses, I barely managed to spot San'gun leaping over a rock and charging, but it was only the difference between knowing you're about to be hit and not knowing.
I gripped Jizan tightly and steeled myself. Savagery isn't for defeating the enemy, it's for protecting myself. I'll make it hurt so much it won't dare to touch me again.
…How? I have no idea. Should I just grab it and fall with it?
While I was lost in that stupid thought, San'gun leaped. It raised its paw with enough force to crush a great mountain. I couldn't dodge it or block it anyway. Resigned to taking the blow, I waited for San'gun's attack.
Just then, Azzy came running, barking bravely.
“Woof!”
Even though reinforcements had arrived, I wasn't particularly happy. I didn't think Azzy's arrival would change much.
Azzy blocked my path and extended a paw toward San'gun. San'gun also slammed its paw down at the enemy that had interfered. The two Beast Kings clashed.
A sound far too intense and destructive to have come from paws echoed through the air. A shockwave erupted, sending the two kings flying in opposite directions. San'gun frowned upon seeing the intruder, Azzy.
“Wolf?”
Landing on the ground, San'gun studied Azzy from head to toe as it slowly approached.
“No, a dog. A tamed beast.”
Azzy, who had been pushed back, greeted San'gun cheerfully.
“Hello. Nice to meet you!”
“Nice to meet me? I have come to show savagery to humans, in accordance with the wolf's will.”
“Woof? Don't show it!”
“It is what the wolf did. I am merely here to keep a promise.”
“The wolf isn't the wolf anymore! It's the Wolf! It's savagery and gentleness together! Promise is invalid! Stop fighting!”
So Azzy can persuade people. That's surprising, but what's more surprising is that it's working. San'gun's fur settled down as it spoke to Azzy.
“I know. No one acts as a proxy for my savagery anymore. However, that is a reason not to be bound by the promise, not a reason to fail to fulfill it.”
“Fighting, hurts. Hurts, bad. Humans, or wolves. Or tigers. Fighting, bad. Coexist, good!”
“To eat, one must show savagery.”
“Are you hungry?”
Azzy asked nonchalantly. It was a random question, but San'gun answered with the gravity of one discussing a very important matter.
“Eventually.”
“Woof! Humans, share food! They're kind!”
“That is being tamed. It is entrusting your savagery to another. I am savage, so I cannot do that. The wolf had nothing but savagery. It was weaker than I, but more savage than any other. Thus, I promised to add to the wolf's savagery.”
“But, you're not just savagery.”
Azzy wasn't the least bit intimidated, even looking at San'gun, the King of Tigers.
“You can be savage. But you can also be tamed. You can eat and play. It's safe. It's warm. I like that. And you like that, too.”
“I am powerful and savage. I cannot be tamed like you wolves.”
“You are large and fierce, so you stayed on a single mountain, living in solitude. You can be that, but that's not all you are.”
Azzy spoke with a firm smile. At the same time, something began to materialize above Azzy's head. It looked similar to the crown of a Beast King, but in contrast, it was white, round, and smooth. Its appearance was less like a crown and more like... yes, a halo.
“Embrace, lick, run, and play. Your fur is for wrapping others in warmth, and your tongue is for licking wounds. You are large and fierce, so you have no choice but to live alone on a mountain, but if there is plenty of prey, you can live alongside humans.”
Azzy, who had pioneered a new state of being—beyond saint and saintess to Saintly Dog—extended a paw, scattering brilliant light.
“If the wolf was the proxy for your savagery, then I will be the proxy for your gentleness. Let's be friends.”