Corax Takes Flight
Jinwoo savored the taut tension radiating from the women as he glanced down at Corax, perched on his shoulder.
[That bitch down there, with her little birdbrain curiosity about what it can do.]
[It's her first hunt. Best to show that arrogant bitch of a hound—and soon, the world's vermin—what your power has manifested as, clear as day.]
Jinwoo nodded silently. Sensing his intent, the Magic Grimoire began explaining Corax's three talents, its voice like a proud professor introducing a prized protégé. Only Jinwoo and the attentive crow on his shoulder could hear it.
First talent: [Transformation]
[Its essence is foremost 'change.']
In response, Corax flared its red eyes and puffed up slightly on its master's shoulder.
[Right now, it's just a pathetic fledgling crow to fool mortal eyes. But at your will, it can freely alter its mass and form. When you desire the skies, it will unfurl wings vast enough to eclipse the moon, its steel feathers hard as jet fighter armor, its talons ripping tank plating like paper—an airborne fortress to bear you aloft.]
[And when cunninger hunts or bait are needed... it draws on the harpy's inherited 'deception.' For instance, in nightmares, as a lost maiden in pristine white dress, weeping in terror. Fools drawn by that false fragility will be shredded by the abyss claws hidden beneath the illusion.]
Second talent: [Feathers of Ruin]
[Its wings are no mere flight organs. They are a mobile arsenal.]
Elation laced the Magic Grimoire's voice.
[At your command, Corax will shake its wings violently once. In that instant, hundreds, thousands of jet-black feathers— no longer mere plumage but steel shards hardened with your destructive mana and the harpy's curse, sharper than razors—will launch forth. Like a steel rain blotting the skies, pouring down upon the earth. Wherever that feather storm sweeps, no lifeform retains its form: a vast slaughterhouse. In one-against-many battles, it alone can overturn the field—a perfect AoE annihilation weapon.]
Third talent: [Psychic Shock]
[And last... this is the harpy's most wicked, most useful legacy.]
The Magic Grimoire whispered.
[Corax sings no song from its beak. It blasts its voice straight into foes' minds. No sound for ears, but a silent scream for the soul.]
[Exposed to that scream, the weak-willed trap themselves in their worst nightmares. Wills shatter, morale scatters like dust. Bravest warriors drop arms, wailing like babes for their mothers; tightest comrades see each other as horrors, tearing flesh and gouging eyes like beasts. The harpy's cursed song reforged as pure psy-war weapon—the most efficient, cruelest tool of mental destruction.]
With the explanation done, Jinwoo gazed at the small crow on his shoulder. Corax blinked its red eyes in reverent worship, fully comprehending. Satisfied, Jinwoo nodded and exited the basement, followed silently by fully armed Chiharu and the three other bitches. Their destination lay beyond: the mansion's back door.
The expansive Japanese garden stretched out—manicured lawns, jagged rocks, a serene pond—all bathed in early morning sun.
"No gate today," Jinwoo said, eyes on the clear blue sky. "The hunt's a ways off. We'll fly straight there."
He commanded lowly to the crow on his shoulder. " Corax. Show thy true form."
"Caw."
It was no fledgling's peep—a dignified cry, like an ancient being unshackling itself.
Corax launched from his shoulder, hovering above the garden. Then the transformation began.
"Grrrrowl..."
Its tiny body swelled with grotesque cracking of bones. Black feathers writhed like living shadows, expanding exponentially; the small beak hardened to steel, elongating sharply. In moments, it outgrew a compact car, becoming the size of a small fighter jet.
No baby crow remained. There loomed a jet-black demon bird dominating the skies, backlit by morning sun, vast wings spread. Each feather gleamed like honed obsidian daggers; red eyes blazed like twin suns in the dark.
The massive Corax descended silently, majestically onto the lawn. Despite its bulk, not a blade of grass bent—perfect gravity control.
The four women reacted differently to the overwhelming sight.
Aki mixed awe with matronly calculation. 'What to feed that behemoth to sustain it? Food costs... won't be cheap.'
Koharu clasped hands in religious ecstasy. "Ahh... the Holy One's... true form...!" To her, no monster, but a living miracle of divine power.
And Sea: sheer terror nearly buckled her legs. She realized this 'family' she'd joined was a den of monsters beyond human ken.
But Chiharu's emotions churned most complexly. She stared unyieldingly at the giant form. '...Big.' Gripping her magic bow tighter. Could her strongest arrow pierce those steel feathers? Rivalry shifted to warrior's fire: respect for a wall to surpass.
'The skies are yours... but guarding Master's back falls to me, feet planted firm on this earth.'
Jinwoo mounted Corax's back lightly. Feathers beneath molded softly to his form, forming a perfect saddle. He turned, extending a hand to Chiharu.
"Mount, hound."
Without hesitation, she grasped it, climbing aboard and pressing fully against his back. Firm back against her ample breasts. His scent. The thrill of being closer to him than anyone this moment surged superior delight.
"Go."
At the curt order, Corax beat its vast wings once.
'Fwooooom—!'
Storm winds ravaged the garden. Aki, Koharu, Sea crouched desperately against the gale.
The colossal black shadow rocketed vertically skyward. Flight still novice, it wobbled at first, then steadied with powerful flaps, vanishing silently as a black speck into the blue dawn.
The three left in the garden stared blankly at the sky long after.
Their god and new valkyrie had departed for the next hunt.
On old Earth, magic had nearly died out. So why, in the heart of the 21st century, did the 'Crow Mage' Jinwoo wield such overwhelming power? Why were modern weapons powerless before him?
The answer lay in the uniqueness of the Eternal Nightmare.
Modern armies were mighty. A K2 tank's 120mm smoothbore could pierce any monster hide; an F-35 stealth fighter dominated all that flew. But the issue: you couldn't bring them into the Eternal Nightmare.
It wasn't physical translocation. It was abduction of mind and soul. Victims were hurled in mid-sleep, mid-stride, even mid-shit—naked or in pajamas, straight to nightmare heart.
And earthly horrors didn't just spawn to fight. They corrupted entire regions upon descent. Like a nuclear sub useless in desert or sky.
Tanks sank in mires, fighters lost in warped space. This new battlefield favored only personal power: magic, or magic-touched artifacts.
And on that long-forgotten stage, Jinwoo stood nearly alone.
Most crucially, Eternal Nightmares weren't mere monster spawns. They slowly, surely rewrote Earth's physical laws.
Billions worldwide now knew, feared, spoke of them. That vast collective unconscious terror and stress birthed spiritual energy, seeping into the world. Thinning barriers 'twixt reality and beyond, cracking science's monopoly for magic and mystery to seep back.
A world easier for outer gods to rampage. A world where magic grew stronger.
Earth regressed to a new age of magic.
At its turbulent heart, wielding the mightiest Magic Grimoire, first to adapt and grow—that was the Crow Mage, Jinwoo.