Chapter 132: The Egg (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 132: The Egg (2)
The black eye floating in the air had not actually emerged from the Other World.
In the first place, it never appeared unless Alon was using magic.
Nevertheless, the Spirit Dragon was able to perceive the eye because its Status was far superior to that of other living creatures.
The same applied to the Shadow Spirit Dragon, which had been exposed to the blood.
Though it bore the name "Shadow Spirit Dragon," its essence was still that of a Spirit Dragon.
Thus, the Shadow Spirit Dragon caught sight of the eye that should have remained within the Other World.
Having only just been born, it had not yet realized that this was something it was never meant to perceive.
Because of that...
Tremble, tremble, tremble, tremble—
The Shadow Spirit Dragon froze where it stood.
It realized instinctively.
That the eye before it was an existence fundamentally different from itself.
It was an entity so distant that the mere word "Status" could not describe the gap between them.
And that impossible difference in Status restored the wisdom and intellect of the Spirit Dragon, which had vanished upon consuming human blood.
Despite having just been born, the Shadow Spirit Dragon began to think for itself.
It pondered what it must do to survive here.
As black shadows dripped from its form, the first thought that crossed the Shadow Spirit Dragon's mind was, 'Should I fight?'
Even if its wisdom and intellect had returned, its violent nature remained intact.
However, it quickly abandoned that thought.
Even if it fought, if the master who had injected mana into it possessed such a powerful entity... there was no chance of victory.
The Shadow Spirit Dragon continued to rack its brain.
It searched for the method with the highest probability of survival in a situation where it had blatantly come to pick a fight.
That method was submission.
The moment the Shadow Spirit Dragon made its decision, it began to scan its master's office.
Though it was a newborn, it knew that to surrender to an overwhelmingly powerful being, it had to gain that being's favor as much as possible.
The Shadow Spirit Dragon began to roll its dozens of red eyeballs.
Soon, a certain statue sitting on one side of Alon's bedroom desk entered its field of vision.
It was the cat sculpture Alon had received as a gift from the Head of the Pineforest Merchant Guild earlier.
[....]
The Shadow Spirit Dragon's eyes gleamed.
The next morning.
"....?"
The first thing Alon saw when he woke up was a black cat sleeping on top of him.
* * *
A short while later.
"So... you're saying that is the Spirit Dragon?"
"Yes."
The cat—no, the Shadow Spirit Dragon—was wandering around the office with an interested expression.
"....That's a cat, though?"
"It is."
"....In what way does that look like a dragon?"
Doubt was written all over Evan's face.
But after a moment, Evan noticed that the black cat's silhouette was shimmering like a heat haze.
"....It doesn't look ordinary, I'll give you that. But still, no matter how I look at it, it's a cat rather than a dragon. How can that be the Shadow Spirit Dragon?"
"Because the egg is gone."
"....The egg?"
Only then did Evan realize that the black egg that had been behind Alon was completely gone.
"Ah—you're right."
Regardless of whether the two men were paying attention, the Shadow Spirit Dragon wandered around, peering at everything with its red eyes.
"It really does just look like a cat."
"It doesn't look like a normal cat."
"....Well, that's true. Its fur is fluttering like that."
Alon remained expressionless, but he felt a strange sensation deep down.
'....It's definitely the Shadow Spirit Dragon.'
Since the cat's eyes were red, Alon could be certain.
However, the reason he still felt doubt was because of the inherent nature of a 'Shadow Spirit Dragon.'
'....Setting aside the appearance of a cat, it doesn't seem particularly violent.'
From what he knew, a Shadow Spirit Dragon slaughtered every living thing in its vicinity with overwhelming power the moment it was born.
Yet, there was no sign of such behavior from the Shadow Spirit Dragon before his eyes. In fact, quite the opposite.
Tap, tap!
The way it carefully tapped a book tucked into the bottom of the bookshelf with its front paw...
....To anyone watching, it looked more trivial than terrifying.
After pondering for a while, Alon slowly called out to the Shadow Spirit Dragon.
"....Blackie."
[Kyu?]
As soon as Alon called, the Shadow Spirit Dragon turned around and came running toward him in a hurry.
"....Blackie?"
"It's his name."
....Thinking it was an unexpectedly sweet name, Evan looked at him as if seeing him in a new light.
"....Isn't that a bit much for the name of a Shadow Spirit Dragon? And aside from that, the sound it makes.... isn't a cat's."
Evan felt somewhat reluctant, but regardless, Blackie, who was about the size of a kitten, reached Alon.
'....He's quite obedient.'
Alon looked at the Shadow Spirit Dragon with an even more peculiar expression.
No matter how he looked at it, this Shadow Spirit Dragon was behaving completely differently from the descriptions he had found regarding 'Spirit Dragon Eggs' or the information he had heard from Line.
The thought that it might be a different entity, as Evan suggested, briefly crossed his mind, but he soon shook his head.
This cat-like thing was definitely the Shadow Spirit Dragon.
He could confirm its strangeness—or rather, its extraordinariness—right now.
"Hmm."
Alon, who had been quietly observing the Shadow Spirit Dragon, placed both hands under the cat's armpits and lifted it up.
When he did...
The cat's body stretched.
"....Huh???"
Evan's bewildered voice rang out.
It was only natural.
Since Alon had lifted it with his hands, the cat's legs should have left the ground, but they remained firmly planted while only its body length increased.
In an instant, the Shadow Spirit Dragon, which had been the size of a forearm, grew as tall as Alon's waist.
The creature glanced at him and belatedly lifted its paws from the floor.
Sliiiide.
And so, a moment late, the Shadow Spirit Dragon was held aloft in Alon's hands.
When Alon lowered the Shadow Spirit Dragon to the floor and lifted it again, its body stretched once more.
As he repeated this several times, the small creature began to take the hint and retracted its body a little faster each time. Seeing this...
"....It really is the Shadow Spirit Dragon."
"Right?"
"Yes."
The two men were convinced.
[Kyu?]
While being held up, the creature cutely tilted its head to the side.
Alon stared at it for a moment, then set it down and stood up.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to read the letter one more time, just in case. I fell asleep after thinking about its contents for a long while yesterday. I'll go get the letter, so keep an eye on him."
"Yes, sir."
Tap, tap—
[Kyuuu?]
* * *
After Alon left.
Evan looked at the Shadow Spirit Dragon—no, the cat Alon called Blackie—with a strange expression.
Once Alon was gone, the way it looked around with its red eyes and occasionally tapped interesting-looking objects with its front paw piqued the interest of even Evan, who was usually indifferent to pets.
In truth, Blackie's appearance was somewhat suspicious for a cat, but even considering that, it was quite cute.
Thus, Evan approached it and, just like Alon, lifted Blackie up.
"Oh."
He couldn't help but marvel as Blackie's body stretched out long.
As if it could stretch forever, Blackie's body grew nearly twice as long as when the seated Alon had lifted it.
It was a bit bizarre, but the clear, bright eyes staring back at him were cute, so he was purely admiring it when...
"....Huh?"
Evan saw it.
Twitch!
On the long body where there had been nothing just a moment ago, red eyes began to manifest all at once.
That wasn't all.
In the middle of the elongated body covered in dozens of eyes, a massive mouth with sharp teeth appeared.
KREEEEEEEEEEE—!
Evan stared blankly as Blackie suddenly tore its mouth open toward him and let out a grotesque sound.
He then quietly lowered his body and placed Blackie back on the floor.
Pitter-patter.
Blackie began to scan its surroundings with bright eyes, as if nothing had happened.
And immediately after.
"....Why are you doing that?"
Alon, who had returned to the office, stroked Blackie as it approached his feet to rub its head. He looked puzzled at Evan, who remained frozen in a kneeling position.
Evan...
"Marquis."
"?"
"....I think that thing really is a Shadow Spirit Dragon."
"....Why all of a sudden?"
"It was... very, very scary."
He replied, looking dazed.
Alon looked at Blackie, wondering what on earth he was talking about.
[Kyu?]
Blackie merely tilted its head, looking up at Alon with eyes slightly larger than those of a normal cat.
* * *
After some time had passed.
Alon ultimately decided to postpone deciding what to do with Blackie.
There were two main reasons. First, Blackie was unexpectedly gentle and followed Alon well.
Of course, Evan seemed to avoid going anywhere near Blackie from a certain point onward.
And second, it was because of a note near the end of the letter Line had sent, saying that if he managed to subdue the Shadow Spirit Dragon and form a bond, there was no need to get rid of it.
"...."
Alon looked down at Blackie, who was napping on his lap, and then looked at the tiny drawing etched below his right wrist.
A pattern that hadn't been there before the Shadow Spirit Dragon was born.
This, which had appeared immediately after Blackie's birth, was undoubtedly a Submission Brand.
In other words, the possibility of Blackie becoming a threat to Alon had vanished.
But.
'....When did he do it?'
Alon himself had no idea when this brand had been created.
Whether from his knowledge of the game or the magic knowledge he had acquired in this world, he knew that a certain amount of preparation was always required for a Submission Brand.
However, Alon soon pushed that concern to the back of his mind, as he often did.
The point was that Blackie was no longer a threat to him.
As for the brand, it wasn't something he could figure out just by thinking about it anyway.
'....I'll have to ask Line about this when I stop by the border.'
Having organized his thoughts, Alon spoke.
"Evan."
"Yes, Marquis."
"Let's move out now."
"Ah, to the border?"
"Yes. All the work here is finished."
As he spoke to Evan...
"That's true. But didn't you say you wanted to research the Shadow Spirit Dragon a bit more? You know, the magic."
"I can look into it while we travel."
"Then I'll get things ready."
Alon watched Evan leave the room and then lowered his gaze.
Blackie was still sleeping.
'....Union of Shadow and Light, huh. I wonder what it is.'
Alon recalled the sentence written when he first obtained the Spirit Dragon's Egg and felt a quiet sense of intrigue.
* * *
Around the time Alon was about to leave for the border.
Yuna, who had finally joined the meeting of the Blue Moon she had dreamed of, felt a surge of anticipation while suddenly thinking of Hidan.
Specifically, she remembered the words of her irreplaceable friend and comrade-in-arms, who had been active as a member of the Blue Moon with her for over ten years: 'Don't expect too much.'
'....What did he mean?'
Hidan had certainly been full of admiration at first. Hadn't he bragged excitedly about being able to attend the meetings?
But after briefly recalling Hidan's weary, jaded gaze from the last time she saw him, Yuna entered the meeting on time.
There.
The Five Moons, whom anyone belonging to the Blue Moon would admire, were all sitting with noble dignity.
The atmosphere was heavy.
Though nervous, Yuna felt the atmosphere of the meeting she had envisioned and bowed her head.
'Why did he tell me not to expect much? It's exactly as I imagined.'
She felt puzzled as she looked at Hidan, who sat in a corner with a stoic expression.
About thirty minutes passed like that.
[....Rejected. We cannot build a statue.]
[Why not?]
[If we had saved them from a crisis like in the Merkillan Territory, it would be one thing, but if we just build them haphazardly like that, it'll be too obvious, won't it?]
[Then it's fine as long as they are saved by the Great Moon when they are in a crisis, just like the Merkillan Territory. Hidan, how many Abyss Bodies have you recovered?]
[What are you planning?]
[I'll hold onto them for now, and then create the probability—]
As she watched the Purple Moon start casually spouting nonsense...
[....??]
She realized that something was very wrong.