A Good Omen
‘What did he kill so many of to decorate with?’
Belianus's desk and the walls bore decorations far too gruesome for a child's eyes.
Skulls of demons, their entire heads torn off with horns intact from being exterminated.
Heads of demonized animals, severed and mounted on wooden plaques like trophies, lined up along the wall.
Their expressions captured raw terror, as if they might let out death rattles at any moment.
So vivid it felt like they'd crawled up from the depths of Hell.
Perdikion spoke up.
“I never thought he'd be the type to collect stuff like that as a hobby.”
Belianus, drawing the hatchlings' gazes, looked embarrassed.
“It's not a hobby. Back during the war, these were necessary. It was for boosting the soldiers' morale... but if they've startled you, I apologize.”
Rune, hearing Belianus's words, pieced together the reason for this horrifying interior.
The grotesque demon heads were proof to the elves that their enemies had been vanquished.
‘Of course. Belianus was appointed High Chancellor for his war merits. These weren't mere personal trophies—they were to steel the elves against the demons.’
The war with the demons had been anything but easy.
Belianus, with the strength to behead demons, became an object of admiration, rallying the elves' spirits whenever he took the field.
There exists power to stand against these fearsome demons.
So fear not—be brave.
Any elf entering this room would feel deeper awe for Belianus than dread of the hideous demons he had adorned himself with.
Even as Rune pondered, Belianus busily removed the larger and smaller gruesome heads and skulls, stowing them away.
Only then did Rune lower his paw from Heungmi's eyes.
“Huh? What was it?”
Belianus let out a wry chuckle at Heungmi's question.
“Traces of this old elf's youth. Things I'm ashamed to show a young lady.”
“Uncle Belianus has stuff he's embarrassed about too? That's okay! Heungmi does too—like how I always kick off the blankets at night. One morning, I woke up all rolled up in them and locked eyes with Baekya. It was so embarrassing. Remember, Baekya?”
“Peep!”
Baekya's pink rose-gold eyes sparkled with lively cheer.
Of course, the real reason wasn't so innocent, but no one brought it up.
Rune gazed at Heungmi for a moment, then raised one paw.
“Chirp chirp.”
“Ah! Did Heungmi do something praiseworthy?”
He stroked her head with a black paw, and Heungmi's eyes widened in surprise.
“Chirp.”
[Close enough.]
“Really? That makes me happy.”
Belianus, unable to hear the telepathy, seemed to guess something and smiled silently.
Perdikion watched the exchange for a bit, then shifted back to his human form.
“Night's falling soon. Even if fewer people are out, this form draws eyes. We need a plan.”
If demonic energy pooled enough in the palace moat to be noticeable, the elves inside were likely poisoned by it too.
Yet the palace interior remained eerily quiet, without disturbance.
Rune recalled the elves he'd seen on the carriage ride—the weary ones who'd dozed off to Perdikion's song from exhaustion.
Some sick, some demonizing.
Victims all, but responses would vary depending on who lurked within.
‘The problem is, we don't know the palace's internal situation.’
Silence fell briefly.
Belianus rubbed his chin and spoke.
“I can move about as the reinstated chancellor, but explaining you all is tricky. It'd be ideal to scout discreetly first, but fooling well-trained elves is no easy task.”
‘Elf senses, huh.’
Rune's gaze turned to Heungmi.
Conveniently, she could command spirits familiar to elves.
‘Recon's covered.’
As Rune pulled out the potion vials and Baekya's feather, the group's eyes naturally gathered.
‘Good thing I prepared ahead.’
Rune slipped on his transformation gold bracelet and spoke.
“How about this?”
The group nodded in agreement after hearing his explanation.
Perdikion spoke first.
“Looks solid. That method works whether we run into demonized ones, the sick, or normal elves.”
“Same here.”
Belianus nodded twice.
Heungmi struck a proud pose.
“My spirits say they're ready anytime!”
The bluebird circled slowly from Belianus's shoulder before perching on Rune's.
Meeting its eyes, Rune somehow sensed approval—like it found him commendable.
‘Come to think of it, bluebirds symbolize happiness and luck too. Did he assign this one on purpose?’
Rand's warmth differed from their cynical first meeting.
Suddenly, Rune recalled the bluebird weeping that morning, drunk on liquor and grief.
‘He said he'd never cried like that before. Maybe that changed Rand's heart.’
The former Green Dragon, who'd denied his heritage, using an ancestral scale in the carriage.
His unexpected smiles at the hatchling forms of Rune and Perdikion.
One by one, the memories surfaced.
‘A good omen.’
Rune gently scratched under the bluebird's beak with a claw.
The bluebird glanced at him, then tilted its head back loosely.
“Alright, let's hurry with preparations.”
Belianus smiled encouragingly.
Heungmi held up a red ruby mana stone and whispered playfully.
“Come out, guys! You've got work to do!”
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Five salamanders in fire lizard form lined up neatly before Heungmi.
These fire spirits showed they'd been well-fed at a glance.
Larger than when first seen, with glossy sheen.
Even the flames rising from their bodies burned fiercely.
‘Those guys are about to evolve to mid-grade, aren't they?’
As Rune admired inwardly, Heungmi planted a hand on her hip.
“Listen up—we need to check who's in this palace! And find the way to the kitchen too. You can do it, right?”
Nod!
Nod!
Nod!
Nod!
Nod!
The small fox beastkin girl and vibrant fire lizards exchanged solemn nods.
Christina would have found the sight utterly adorable.
Watching Heungmi communicate masterfully with her fire spirits, Rune pulled a feather from Baekya out of his subspace pouch.
“Feed them this. It'll protect against demonic corruption.”
Heungmi took the five feathers and replied.
“Got it! One each, guys!”
The salamanders each nibbled and swallowed a white feather from Baekya.
Fwoosh!
Flames erupted confidently from their faces.
With purification and detoxification powers added, the salamanders' auras were impressive.
“Heehee. Good! Il-sik, I-sik, Sam-sik, Sa-sik, O-sik—off you go!”
The fire lizards vanished out the door at Heungmi's command.
Spirit users were common among elves, so even if spotted, they wouldn't raise much alarm.
‘With Baekya's feather absorbed, no risk of demonic taint now. Just wait.’
In the brief lull, Belianus asked.
“Those spirit names are unique—who came up with them?”
“Lord Rune!”
Perdikion glanced at Rune.
“You came up with them? You've got a more unique sense than I thought.”
“……”
Rune gazed wistfully at Heungmi in silence.
‘I never thought she'd actually name them that.’
It was one day at Christina's Lair, enjoying a meal and dessert together.
Heungmi approached with a waffle laden with sweet honey, vanilla syrup, and cream, seeking input.
“Lord Rune! I want to name my spirits—got any good ideas?”
“You'd be better off asking someone else.”
“Hiiing!”
Heungmi pouted in disappointment, but nothing came to Rune's mind.
“For real. The best I could do is something like Il-sik, I-sik, Sam-sik.”
“Il-sik...? Hmm, what does that mean?”
Truth be told, he'd just blurted it out.
But telling the girl eager to name her beloved spirits that he'd put no thought into it felt too half-hearted.
After a brief think, Rune shared a story from his previous from his past life.
“‘Sik’ means a meal. Add a number before it, and it implies something you'd want to share every meal with.”
“Wow!”
Heungmi's eyes sparkled, mouth agape in unexpected awe.
Rune, however, attached no deep meaning and forked the last large slice of strawberry cake into his mouth.
That was when it happened.
Heungmi's eyes hardened with resolve.
“Perfect! I want to be with my guys all the time too! Even if it means five meals a day!”
“What?”
“Come out, guys!”
Rune sensed trouble as she summoned them and tried to intervene.
But with his mouth full of cake, he couldn't speak before Heungmi declared.
“From now on, you live with me and share tasty meals! Nice to meet you, Il-sik, I-sik, Sam-sik, Sa-sik, O-sik!”
“Hey, wait— *cough, hack*!”
In his panic, Rune choked on fluffy cake and strawberry chunks, coughing violently.
Meanwhile, the newly named spirits proudly straightened their tails, beaming with pride.
Snapping back, Rune felt a pang of regret.
‘Yeah... If that cake hadn't gotten stuck in my throat, I could've stopped those names at least.’
Meanwhile, Heungmi, linked in real-time with her spirits, explained to the group.
“Hmm~ Il-sik confirmed the corridor's empty where we are. I-sik tunneled through the floor and heard groaning from inside a room! Sam-sik says meals are being prepped in the kitchen... Oh, Sa-sik picked up some bread 'cause he's hungry!”
Meals being prepared meant elves who could eat them existed.
The group knew from Belianus's son Aquir that demonized elves craved bloody raw meat over simple elven fare.
“O-sik... Uh, not sure about this.”
Heungmi furrowed her brow, eyes closed, head tilted.
“Ah... O-sik says he can't go farther. It's underground—stinky, with growling noises. And... a bad feeling, skin-crawling, creepy-looking elves.”
“!”
Rune, Perdikion, and Belianus exchanged glances simultaneously.