Selina's Tale: The Primordial Beasts' Awakening
Two weeks had already passed since we left Tarnass Ice Plains. After that makeshift return ceremony as the fake Hero, Selina and I hadn't exchanged a single meaningful word.
Unlike our Hero Party days, when we'd chatter endlessly at every opportunity with the other comrades, we'd simply maintained a heavy silence as we pressed toward our destination.
And now, at last, the border of Talian—the sole gateway into the only kingdom of beastkin—had come into view in the distance.
"…I never imagined I'd be bringing you here like this again."
Selina, who had been staring out the window as if her neck muscles were locked in place, finally turned to me.
"Well, back then we were just rushing to test if your power worked on the Swelling Fallbirth curse… So yeah, you could say this is practically my first time here."
"…Enough chit-chat. Have you pinpointed where the curse's core has taken root?"
"…Yeah. I've already checked."
With that, a shadow fell over her face.
Of course, it was none of my concern. I glanced once more at Leysila's peaceful sleeping face beside me, then shifted my gaze out the opposite window to the forests of Talian—now an even greater hellscape than the last time I'd seen them.
'…Demons never fail to rub me the wrong way, right to the bitter end.'
About two hours after crossing the border, we arrived before the Eunmyeong Altar—the sacred site where the founding heroes of Talian, known in the human world as the primordial five beastkin, lay buried.
As the carriage came to a full stop, I stepped out and silently scanned the entrance to the altar, shrouded in thick, black miasma.
"…So the core's rooted here?"
Selina followed me out, naturally falling into step beside me. Her eyes, too, were fixed on the altar's unsettlingly rippling entrance.
"Yeah."
Selina's silver tail hung limply toward the ground.
"Looks like the Busung Eclipse Lord wanted to revive even these primordial five beastkin and fold them into his army."
She seemed deeply unsettled; at some point, blood began dripping from her tightly clenched fist.
"Of course, those heroes lived their lives with unyielding pride right up to the end, and thanks to you slaying the Lord, they've held out this long… But who knows when they'll succumb to the Busung's power and rise."
She steadied her breathing as best she could and stepped ahead of me.
"I'll guide you quickly."
"Right."
I gave a curt nod, adjusted my hold on the deeply sleeping Leysila to keep from waking her, and followed Selina into the dim interior of the altar.
How long had we walked? The altar's interior was so grand and ornate it could pass for a massive temple. As I trailed behind Selina, I soon spotted several strikingly unique statues.
"…Those statues are the primordial beastkin?"
Unable to contain my curiosity, I asked in a flat tone. Selina glanced at the ones I indicated and nodded slightly.
"Yeah. Their forms are pretty unique, right?"
"Yeah. Never imagined I'd see a tiger beastkin with four arms."
"I was shocked the first time I saw them too… But according to the ancient myths passed down in the kingdom, in the primordial era, to survive against far stronger Out-species tribes and humans, they evolved in these somewhat grotesque ways."
"Evolved… Kinda like the Talpi Eclipse Lord's molting?"
Not the best example, but Selina mulled it over silently for a moment before responding with a faint, soft smile.
"You could see it that way. But Talpi evolved through their own will, continuously. These ones' changes came from mutations in the genetics of earlier beastkin generations."
"…I see."
I'd started the small talk hoping to glean some useful info on Talian… but it felt like a mistake.
It was this uncomfortable, faintly repulsive.
'I thought I'd buried it a little deeper, but the hatred's still burning hotter than two years ago, deep in my heart…'
After that, we exchanged a few more forced, meaningless words in the awkward atmosphere and hurried onward.
Fortunately, the narrow passage soon ended, revealing a massive dome-shaped cavern ahead.
But the moment we reached it, we halted in unison, as if by prior agreement.
"……."
"……W-Wait, what? Why is that…?"
At the cavern's center squatted the Swelling Fallbirth curse—a silhouette I'd glimpsed from afar about three years ago.
But this time, it had taken the form of a gigantic cocoon. Hundreds of red eyes studded its surface, blinking furiously, while the entire mass pulsed and throbbed like a living heart, swelling and contracting grotesquely.
"Th-This isn't good…?"
Selina seemed flustered, as if this was different from the norm. In that instant, my instincts screamed that something was gravely wrong.
The hundreds of red eyes embedded in the cocoon all whipped toward one direction, writhing wildly—until they locked onto me.
The moment they recognized me—
Tssssk—!
——!—!!!
The entire cocoon convulsed as if in shock. Then, its center split vertically with a ripping sound, like jaws tearing open.
From the gash, massive shapes drenched in red bodily fluids began crawling out.
"Grrr…."
"Kraaaagh!!"
"No way…."
The monsters were the primordial five beastkin we'd seen as statues at the entrance.
But their forms were twisted beyond recognition, stripped of any former majesty. The four-armed tiger beastkin writhed, its body bloated with swelling as if ready to burst.
The lion, wolf, massive bear, and panther beastkin writhed too, grotesque veins and tentacles squirming beneath their skin as they unleashed eerie howls toward us.
"…Hah."
I let out a short sigh and glanced sideways.
"You said they were holding out. What the hell is this?"
Selina bit her lip hard at my indifferent question. She hung her head like someone at a loss for words, gripping the hilts of her twin swords tightly.
"Sorry. But… I'll definitely take two—no, four of them."
"…I'm the sinner for starting to trust you again, even a little. Hah."
With that, Selina and I kicked off the ground and charged.
BOOM—!
As Selina clashed with two of the beastkin, I first carefully laid Leysila against a relatively safe wall in the cavern's corner.
I wove a faint barrier of White Breath energy around my still-deeply-sleeping sister to ward off approaches, then slowly turned.
"Kraaaagh!!!"
Crash—!
The panther beastkin shattered the floor first, leaping with claws aimed at my nape.
'…Going for the carotid, huh.'
I casually tilted my head aside to dodge the lethal strike, drew my sword from my waist, and severed all its front toes.
Splatter—!
Dark red blood infused with Busung's power sprayed across the floor.
"Kraaagh!"
As the panther clutched its mangled foot and howled, I moved to finish it—only for the tiger and bear beastkin to seize the opening, clamping down from both flanks with their massive bulks.
"Die… Huh…!!"
"Grraaah!!"
The four-armed tiger swung its freakish bone swords wildly, while the bear slammed down its swollen fist.
'…Raw physical power's unbeatable, as expected.'
I considered deflecting the fist with my blade and slipping away safely, but after nearly two years off, I doubted I could manage it easily.
Instead, I took light steps, twisted my ankle slightly, and leaped backward.
BOOM—!!
A massive explosion shattered the stone where I'd stood beneath the bear's fist. Amid the flying debris, I wrapped White Breath around my blade.
'This is turning out more annoying than expected.'
The power gap far exceeded that of an ordinary human versus beastkin. Fitting for corpses from the primordial era, their adaptation to demonic energy was on another level.
Of course, that didn't mean I'd despair. I was the fake Hero who'd slain the Demon King, after all.
Clang—!
Clang-clang—!
My sword clashed endlessly with the tiger beastkin's bone blades. Each block sent bone-rattling shocks straight to my wrists.
"Ngh…."
I regulated my breathing and retreated half a step. As the bear roared and charged again, I unleashed the White Breath gathered in my soles.
Thwack—!
A pure white slash pierced the bear beastkin's chest precisely. The black clumps clinging from the swelling crumbled with a sizzling burn at the purifying energy's touch.
"Grrrh…!"
Leaping off the staggering bear, the panther struck again. I arched my back sharply to evade the claws, gripped my sword in reverse, and plunged it deep into the panther's heart.
Another burst of White Breath swept through its body; it scattered into black ash without even a scream.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Selina was holding her own against the lion and wolf beastkin, breathing raggedly.
"Hah… Hah…."
Her silver short hair was matted with sweat and dirt. She'd been rolling across the floor to dodge the lion's virulent Busung gas, barely crossing her twin swords to block the wolf's fangs in the gap.
Crunch—!
"Ngh…!"
Selina gritted her teeth and shoved the wolf back with effort. A deep gash already wept red blood from one shoulder.
Yet she didn't retreat. She kicked up dirt to blind the wolf, crouched low, and dove into its blind spot.
Slash—!
Her twin swords severed the wolf beastkin's knee joints cleanly. As it toppled off-balance, she thrust unhesitatingly up under its jaw.
Stab—!
"Guh, guhhek…!"
Though Busung-tainted blood splashed her cheek, Selina didn't blink. She yanked her swords free and launched herself at the lion.
"Enough…! We great Talian…!!!"
The lion, with relatively intact memories, muttered something and began spewing Busung poison from its maw.
But Selina didn't dodge—she took it full in the face and swung her twin blades.
A desperate melee, gnawing at her own life to grant her kin's corpse peace.
Finally, her sword buried deep in the lion's nape, severing its breath.
Only then did Selina's knees buckle, and she collapsed to the floor.
"Cough…!"
Even as she hacked up black blood from the inhaled poison, she trembled, using her twin swords as crutches to rise again.
"……."
I watched her briefly, then turned back to my remaining foes: the tiger and the bear, which had healed its wounds and risen.
Ignoring their comrades' deaths, they swelled even larger and lunged at me.
'…My old comrades pulled something like this once.'
For some reason, their forms overlapped with my former comrades' as I summoned White Breath once more and plunged straight into the flailing four-armed tiger's embrace.
"Why… us… exactly!!!"
I deflected the two bone swords stabbing down from above with my blade's flat, stomped and blocked the lower two thrusts with my foot, then drove my sword into the tiger beastkin's chest and slashed upward diagonally.
Slash.
A clean cleaving sound split its torso in two. Before purifying flames could consume the corpse completely, I twisted toward the bear.
Its massive fist cast a shadow over my head, plummeting down.
No thought of dodging. Or rather, no need anymore. I'd regained my sense.
I gripped my sword two-handed and met the fist head-on.
BOOM—!
A colossal shockwave erupted outward. My feet sank deep into the floor, but I didn't yield to its power.
"Strong… human…."
"I acknowledge it. You possessed skill enough to hold your own against the Eclipse Lord."
With that, I detonated the rippling White Breath along my blade like an explosion.
Flash—!
Dazzling pure white energy surged everywhere, swallowing the bear beastkin's huge frame in an instant.
"Kraaaagh!!"
And at last, a stifling silence descended upon the vast cavern.
I shook the blood from my sword and gazed at the curse's core, offering silent solace to the souls that had suffered under Swelling Fallbirth for at least decades, if not centuries.