I Grew Horns
Why had I suddenly grown horns on my head? Explain that.
I had absolutely no idea.
This wasn’t some metaphorical nonsense, either. I had really grown horns on my skull.
Two sturdy black horns had sprouted from both of my temples, one on the right and one on the left. I reached up with both hands and felt them over. Then Soho brought me a mirror in its mouth, and when I looked at my reflection, well.
"...They really are horns."
If my face had only ever been a dinosaur’s up until now, then I looked more like one of those dragons you always saw in fantasy stories.
"Now, nice."
"Nyang nyang."
"I can’t really tell since I can’t see, but Soho says they look good too."
They were a little inconvenient, but if they looked good, I figured it wasn’t a bad change. Honestly, I kind of liked them myself.
"Friend."
"Yeah?"
"Would you like to try something?"
I frowned, puzzled. What on earth did Lucy want to try?
"Could everyone step outside for a moment, please?"
We followed behind Lucy as she gave us a meaningful smile.
"What exactly are we trying?"
"Curious."
Lucy led us to the wide open clearing. It was the same place where I had once vomited up the stars during my fight with the True Ancestor. Even though it was noon, the surroundings weren’t all that bright. Thick clouds hung overhead, and the weather was gloomy.
"My master told me something interesting just now. But I thought it might be better if, instead of me telling you directly, my friend figured it out on their own."
I blinked at her. It was still completely meaningless to me.
Figure it out on my own...? What the hell does that even mean?
Then I looked up at the sky.
It was instinctive.
We’re born able to breathe without our parents teaching us. Unless something’s wrong with us, we can move our arms freely, and we can move our legs too.
I understood why horns existed on me.
If the black spines I no longer had could absorb the power of the stars far out in the universe, then the two horns on my head...
Rain began pouring from the dark clouds.
From above, a deep roar rolled through the heavens, like a colossal raptor’s cry.
"Let’s step away from my friend for a moment."
"Eek!"
"Nyaaaang!"
Lucy hurriedly pulled Satania and Soho away from me.
I concentrated.
The sounds of every living thing in the Gehenna Great Forest breathing and living, the faint but countless energies they possessed, all of it reached me through my horns.
If every life in the Great Forest were seen as a single individual, they might seem small and insignificant. But if you viewed them all as the whole of the Great Forest, then they were so vast my monstrous body itself felt flimsy by comparison.
If the black spines had been antennas that received the power of the stars, then the black horns were some kind of receiving device for the power of the Great Forest.
Green lights blossomed throughout the Gehenna Great Forest like flowers.
They were the power of living beings.
Countless blooming flowers of green light rode the wind and flew toward me. My eyes, tinted green, looked down at the rain-slick earth, and when I wished it strongly enough...
Countless bolts of lightning struck down from the sky.
Flash—
The world around me was washed in a white aurora. The grim, overcast surroundings were soon turned into a white night.
The transformed world was utterly silent. Sound and light were both bleached white, and no one could have broken that scene.
Only time itself could restore the world to what it had been.
A moment later, I could hear the rain again.
I blinked.
"Awa-wa-wa...."
Satania and Soho were both too stunned to speak.
"That’s amazing...."
Even Lucy, who had been the one to suggest the test, could only stand there with her mouth open in awe.
Honestly, it was kind of embarrassing to say out loud, but even I thought that just now had been insanely cool.
What exactly had changed in me?
And why had it changed?
Not even Lucy knew the details, so there was no way for me to find out right now. I could only be grateful that I was able to control this power without letting it run wild.
If I were to take this power and decide to kill everyone...
If I were to listen carefully to that devil’s voice I’d heard before...
I had a feeling I could do it without much trouble.
That realization made me a little afraid.
"I think this is a really good change."
"Huh?"
"Even with such a terrifying power, my friend is still a kind person."
Lucy smiled softly.
This blind girl couldn’t see, and yet she understood so much.
I scratched the back of my head.
"Wouldn’t it be more accurate to call it an evolution rather than a change?"
"Maybe. Are you feeling all right now?"
"Yeah. I’m completely better now. Thanks for taking care of me, everyone."
I bowed my head slightly. My friends simply gave me a thumbs-up. By now, giving a thumbs-up when thanking someone had become a trend among us.
As the one who had started the trend, I felt oddly proud in that moment.
"Friend, I have something to say."
"Hm?"
"Now that you’re healed, I think it’s about time to—"
Ah, right.
There was something I had put off because I’d been sick.
"How’s that bastard’s condition?"
"It would be better if you came quickly."
"What happened?"
"Nothing yet. Still, leaving them like that is a little pitiful...."
Satania shook her head at Lucy’s words.
"Serves them right. Rotten villain. They deserve to die."
"Nyang nyang."
"Honestly, you guys are too soft."
Soft?
"Satania says she wanted to call us softhearted."
"Yeah. Soft! Ridiculously soft! If it were me, I’d have just— crack!"
Satania made a slicing motion across her throat.
To some extent, I agreed.
That guy had been a villain who tried to bring the Great Forest crashing down. In a way, he was even worse than the monsters I’d met until now.
And yet I hadn’t finished him off, and had left him alive.
It was because I’d seen him collapse in a heap, weeping, his body curled up on the floor after being reduced to a miserable wreck. And because he hadn’t been born as pure evil the way those monsters filled with nothing but negativity had.
Was killing him really the right answer?
I remembered the way Lucy had spoken with the humans who had tried to kill her. She had forgiven them, telling them that they should all search together for a better way.
At that moment, the humans’ eyes had definitely changed.
I still couldn’t say for certain whether they had truly repented or regretted what they’d done, but I lowered my claws.
I wanted to confirm that possibility, so I asked Lucy for help. Lucy had looked at me, nodded, and made things go in the direction I wanted.
And as a result, the bastard was currently in Lucy’s cabin.
His power had been sealed by Lucy, and every inch of his body was bound in chains.
Satania had looked visibly displeased when she saw that, but even so, she understood me.
We had never really talked this through properly, but I figured the other demi-humans probably felt the same way she did.
"Then let’s go."
"All right."
"I’m, very, scared, so, I’m, out."
"Nyang...."
And so Soho and Satania parted ways with us, while Lucy and I headed toward the cabin.
The True Ancestor, Blood Tepes, lay on the floor of the cabin and stared up at the ceiling. She blinked vacantly, her expression dazed.
"How pathetic...."
She had lost to Behemoth.
It had been a complete defeat, beyond any doubt.
It was the first time she had been beaten so helplessly since being chosen as a Chosen.
True, she had lost in the past to the Emperor as well, but even then it had been a good match. She had been confident she could beat him if she fought him again.
After all, I’m a vampire chosen by the world itself.
That was what everyone said.
And no one had ever argued with it.
My daughter. Listen carefully. From this moment on, you will become our only hope, our chosen vampire. From now on, no more sadness will come your way. So never let anyone look down on you.
As a ruthless and formidable True Ancestor, that was what she had to become.
But...
"I don’t want to think about anything right now...."
Her power had been sealed by that blond, blind Chosen, and her revenge against the Emperor had slipped beyond her reach.
She had completely lost the chance to clean up the insects that had invaded her territory.
And what made her feel so utterly powerless was the fact that even if she fought Behemoth again in perfect condition, she couldn’t see any way to win.
He was too strong.
The gap in their power was so enormous that no matter what she did, she couldn’t overcome it.
What would happen now?
Since they had kept her alive until now, they must have had something in mind.
"Ha."
The True Ancestor laughed bitterly.
They would probably use her life for propaganda.
It was obvious.
That beast was a godlike existence to the insects of this land. The blond blind Chosen at his side seemed to be cooperating with him, and killing or sealing an opposing Chosen in a public place had long been one of the most efficient ways for rulers to boost the morale and faith of the people they ruled.
They’d probably drag her up onto an execution platform and kill her there, or burn her alive in front of all the gathered insects.
Talking about love and goodness and all that nonsense—he clearly liked being worshiped by people.
"What’s so funny?"
The True Ancestor jumped.
Without a sound, Lucy had come up beside her and was looking down at her.
"... "
The True Ancestor said nothing.
No matter what she said now, it would only sound like an amusing little performance to the one who had defeated her.
"Can you walk?"
Lucy helped the True Ancestor to her feet.
The True Ancestor still didn’t say a word.
"I’ll take that as a yes."
Lucy led her, still bound in chains, out of the cabin.
If Behemoth had seen this scene, he probably would have said it looked like "the police escorting a criminal to court."
The True Ancestor stepped outside the cabin.
The sunset was sinking low.
And in front of her stood Behemoth, much smaller than the last time she had seen him.