37
Chapter 37
Tosuni disappeared beyond the Portal.
Ailee, clutching the Baby Doll tightly, threw herself toward the Portal after Tosuni.
I didn't follow them.
I stood in place and waited for a moment.
It wasn't because I distrusted Tosuni.
I just had one thing I wanted to check.
Swoosh-
Shortly after, the Portal vanished.
Tap, tap.
I approached the White Tree.
Then, carefully reaching out, I placed my hand on the exact spot where Tosuni had touched.
The center of the tree trunk distorted.
Soon, the space twisted, creating a dimensional rift.
Oh, it works when I touch it too?
So anyone could open the Portal.
It wasn't exclusive to the Blood Rabbit species.
Even if the Portal hadn't opened, it wouldn't have mattered.
If that had happened, Tosuni would have noticed I hadn't followed and opened the Portal for me again.
After satisfying my simple curiosity.
I carefully entrusted my body to the Portal, following after Tosuni.
The moment I passed through the Portal.
The space shifted, and a forest with a gloomy aura unfolded before my eyes.
I slowly turned my head.
And slowly took in the scenery of the forest.
The trees making up the forest looked dead, without a single leaf in sight. Both the thick and skeletal branches were bizarrely twisted like tentacles, reaching out in all directions, and an unidentified red light seeping from the ground dyed the entire forest in an ominous hue.
What is this place?
The atmosphere is completely the opposite of where we just were.
There's no sunlight coming in either.
It was daytime before we entered.
Does time flow differently here than on the outside?
Instead of the sun, a massive Full Moon hung in the sky.
Perhaps it wasn't that time flowed differently, but rather a space where the sun never existed in the first place.
It definitely seems like a different world from the outside.
I wondered if this was truly a space like a Dungeon.
"Woong!"
Bonk!
Tosuni, who had been waiting right in front of me, approached and gave me a very light knock on the head.
Was she scolding me for being late?
I'm sorry, Tosuni.
"Woong, woooooong!"
"Bear Baby. Baby Tosuni says to stay alert and follow closely. You'll get lost if you look away."
Nod, nod.
Understood.
I'll follow closely from now on.
Because it feels like it would be genuinely dangerous to get lost here.
Tosuni took the lead and resumed moving.
Following behind her, I subtly glanced back.
The Portal leading outside was still in its place.
It seems that one doesn't disappear and stays open.
***
"At first, I thought it was just a bleak forest, but as I keep looking, it gives off a subtly dreamlike vibe, which isn't bad. The Moonlight is quite intense, so it's not even dark."
While we continued to move.
Ailee shared her thoughts on the forest.
I was actually thinking the exact same thing.
I can't deny that it has a gloomy atmosphere, but the more I look at it, the more this forest exudes a strangely sentimental charm.
It's probably thanks to the Moonlight shining down from the sky.
By the way...
When are we getting there?
Even though we've walked for quite a while, the Rabbit Village is nowhere in sight.
Tosuni.
Don't tell me you're lost?
Just as I was looking at Tosuni's back with suspicion.
Thump-!
Thump-!
Along with the sound of heavy footsteps.
Two giant rabbits appeared from the direction we were heading.
[Guardian Rabbit lv.50]
└ Pw.150
└ Rnk.Superior
[Guardian Rabbit lv.48]
└ Pw.144
└ Rnk.Superior
"Wh-What the?"
Ailee stepped back in sudden alarm.
She kept her guard up against the Guardian Rabbits and asked Tosuni.
"Baby Tosuni, are those rabbits your friends too...?"
"Woong!"
Tosuni nodded her head.
Fortunately, it seemed they weren't enemies.
Only then did Ailee let out a sigh of relief and lower her guard.
"Woong, woooong!"
Tosuni raised her front paw to greet the Guardian Rabbits.
At that, the fierce expressions of the Guardian Rabbits softened in an instant.
The Guardian Rabbits warmly welcomed Tosuni.
"Princess, you have returned."
"We have been waiting. Are those behind you the ones you recently became friends with, Princess?"
"Woong!"
Princess?
Tosuni, you were a Princess?
It was an identity I never could have imagined.
To think our Tosuni was someone of such high status.
Ah, then again......
Since Tosun's Mom is a Max Level rabbit, there's no way her daughter, Tosuni, would be an ordinary rabbit.
Then is Tosun's Mom a Queen?
Hmm. That was highly likely.
When we chatted last time, she mentioned in passing that Tosuni didn't have a father.
Honestly, neither Tosun's Mom nor Tosuni told me such an important fact beforehand.
"Welcome. It is our rule to not accept outsiders into our village festival, but those personally invited by the Princess are an exception. We cannot apply such trivial rules to the friends of the Princess."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, friends of the Princess. We hope you comfortably enjoy the festival."
The Guardian Rabbits bowed politely.
And they stepped back to the left and right, making way.
"Princess, congratulations on succeeding in your Limit Breakthrough once again."
"We also highly congratulate you on being newly reborn as a species no one has achieved Evolution into before."
"Woong!"
Tosuni took the lead with confident steps, and Ailee followed behind her with a bewildered expression.
It seemed Ailee was also very surprised to learn the fact that Tosuni was a Princess.
I immediately chased after Tosuni as well.
Meanwhile, I briefly took in the sight of the two Guardian Rabbits standing on the left and right.
It seems those two aren't enjoying the festival.
Are they unable to play because they're on duty?
Nod. Nod.
You must be working hard.
Giving a nod of greeting to each side, I quickly passed by.
"You are a very polite Teddy Bear."
"Please stay comfortably during your visit."
***
We arrived at the Rabbit Village.
There were no separate outer walls for the village, and the village was full of wooden buildings with only roofs and no walls.
It seemed there was no such thing as privacy in this village.
The center of the village.
Many residents were gathered in the place called the plaza.
I thought the festival had already started, but they were still in the middle of preparations.
"Kieeeek!!!"
"K-Kieeek!!"
Suddenly, screams echoed out.
Turning my gaze in the direction of the sound, I saw the sight of sturdy rabbits squeezing their prey alive.
The name of the festival held today is the Blood Festival.
And I heard that the blood they are making right now is the main dish of today's festival. Naturally, after squeezing out the blood, they don't throw away the leftover meat but cook and eat it too.
"I didn't know you were a Queen."
"Wooom. It's not really a big deal, so I didn't mention it."
Ailee and Tosun's Mom chatted as they walked side by side.
I looked around here and there in the village, led by Tosuni's hand.
The scale of the village was much larger than I had expected.
"Woooong, woong~"
As soon as we entered the village, Tosuni grabbed my hand tightly and absolutely refused to let go.
As if to show off her friendship with me to the residents.
It seemed she was itching to boast about the friend she made outside.
For reference, there was nothing special just because she was a Princess.
When we entered the village.
It wasn't like they welcomed her cheering, "The Princess has returned!"
Everyone treated Tosuni like an ordinary resident.
Of course.
Since today is a festival for Tosuni, every single resident we encountered sincerely offered their congratulations to Tosuni without exception.
"Congratulations, Princess!"
"Princess, congratulations on your Evolution!"
"I'm jealous... I want to undergo Evolution into a Doll too...."
"Awoong! Awooong!"
"Congratulations, Princess."
"Geobuuuk! Geobubuk!"
"Congratulations on your Limit Breakthrough, and congratulations on becoming a new species!"
A fact I just found out,
in this village, the birth of a previously unseen species is considered a cause for celebration.
It doesn't matter what form the Evolution takes.
No matter how strange the species is, there is no problem, and the Doll Tribe was no exception.
As long as it was a new species, it was unconditionally a festive occasion.
Simply because it was special.
If you were born in this village in the first place, you were treated as kin without discrimination, even if you weren't a rabbit.
As if to prove that point.
Although the village residents are predominantly Blood Rabbits, just looking around a bit revealed non-rabbit species scattered here and there.
Among them was a Turtle.
They said it was a Turtle born from a Blood Rabbit.
In other words, you could consider it a Mutant.
"Geobubuk, geobuwuuk!"
I didn't think it was particularly strange.
A rabbit could give birth to a Turtle, I suppose.
Especially since a living creature can even give birth to a Doll.
On a side note.
I didn't spot a single Iron Rabbit.
Although they are rabbits, it seems they are indeed a species completely unrelated to the Blood Rabbit. Judging from Tosuni's reaction, they might even be hostile.
"Bear Baby! Baby Tosuni! They say the festival is about to start, so come over here!"
When we finished looking around the village and returned to the plaza.
Ailee, who was savoring blood next to Tosun's Mom, waved her hand and called out to us.
Tosuni and I trotted toward Ailee.
That was when it happened.
Swoosh-
Out of nowhere, Moonlight poured down like a waterfall from high up in the sky.
What's this all of a sudden?
Tosuni and I stopped in our tracks.
And simultaneously looked up at the sky.
A mysterious structure made of Moonlight.
A massive bridge connecting the moon and the ground had been formed.
"Wooom! It looks like even the ascended Ancestors are coming down to congratulate our Tosuni!"
Tosun's Mom shouted with joy.
Ascended Ancestors?
I took my eyes off Tosun's Mom and looked up at the sky again, where rabbit-shaped monsters were slowly walking down from the moon along the Moonlight Bridge.
Hmm......
If Tosun's Mom felt like the boss of a Dungeon,
did those Moon Rabbits feel like hidden bosses...?
[Luna Rabbit lv.75]
┗Pw.750
┗Rnk.Unique
[Luna Rabbit lv.70]
┗Pw.700
┗Rnk.Unique
[Luna Rabbit lv.71]
┗Pw.710
┗Rnk.Unique
Whoa.
They're monster rabbits.