EP.108 Beast, King of Beasts, Human - 4
I read the wind.
Quietly, when reading someone's heart with the flowing mind-reading technique, someone's wind lingers within me before vanishing, leaving only a fading echo. Most winds merely pass by like that.
Occasionally, however, some winds swirl fiercely within me before slipping through the window.
Whether wicked, dangerous, or presumptuous. The earnest wind cannot be ignored even if one wishes to—such is the fate of a mind-reader.
It cannot be helped. I read thoughts, after all.
When the wind turns the pages, the rustling text beneath fills the blank spaces. What appears disorderly at first glance, yet continues in precarious balance, always leaves me with a solemn heart.
Denser than bricks stacked one upon another, more intricate than interlocking gears, a beautiful epic that completes itself as a whole while each individual character carries its own subtle meaning—
If such a thing lies before one's eyes, it is only natural to anticipate what will be written in those blank spaces.
And always.
Sentences yearning to continue, books gazing beyond the period—these shine the brightest.
Seeking to end, seeking to conclude. Books searching for the most perfect period ironically prepare only the worst of endings.
Because there is no perfect life in this world, and to feign perfection, they become riddled with falsehoods and contradictions.
That is why I hate glaring lies. Especially when they are lies that deceive even oneself.
A clamorous noise came from outside. It was the sound of the regressor and the suddenly intruding butterfly engaging in battle.
They must have been fighting quite close by, for the regressor's flustered voice could be heard clearly.
"This! Holding a magic herb in the severed right hand...!"
Lieutenant General Ebon, who had charged at the regressor pretending to be consumed by madness, sacrificed his right arm instead of attacking. The right arm severed and sent flying helplessly by the regressor's counterattack.
Taking advantage of the regressor's momentary panic, he fled at a fierce speed. Before the regressor, who pursued belatedly, the severed right hand unfurled.
Within the grasp was a magic herb. With sparks clinging to it, the magic herb emitting rough billowing smoke was scattered toward the regressor.
At the same time, Lieutenant General Ebon exhaled the smoke of the magic herb he had filled his mouth with as he fled. If it were magic herb wrapped in paper, that would be one thing, but the smoke produced by burning with its intense fragrance was enough to stimulate the butterfly.
The butterfly, with only instinct remaining, emerged following the scent and encountered the regressor.
The two entered battle as fluidly as flowing water.
From the moment he revealed his weakness as a beastkin to feign continuing the fight and lure his opponent into letting their guard down.
To the point of deliberately keeping the magic herb, which could simply be smoked, trapped in his mouth while enduring the pain and setting it alight.
A thriller meticulously designed from the very bottom of the bottom.
If this had been an effort toward life, I would have given a standing ovation.
However.
If all of this is the thrashing of someone trying to deceive themselves, if what I am reading is merely the self-consolation of someone running toward a false goal.
The more fiercely it has been built up, the more deflating its meaninglessness becomes.
"The King of Cats is here! Stop him from doing anything!"
The regressor's shout came from afar, but he had already done something.
And now he was about to do something more.
The Claw that had longitudinally bisected Callis from back to belly silently dripped only blood.
"The King of Dogs... does not emit a fierce roar. Because the wolf took all the ferocity."
Lieutenant General Ebon released the Claw. In his hand hung a chain. It was the chain Callis had discarded.
He was a cat beastkin, and he knew how to approach his prey stealthily. Callis, whose attention was captivated by the immortal's appearance, did not notice his approach. But even if she had noticed, the outcome would not have changed.
Whatever the case, the opponent was a star of the military nation. Even at the rank of lieutenant colonel, the gap was enormous.
Ebon wrapped the chain around the Claw's handle and tied it firmly. The Claw was the anchor, and the chain the rope.
Having excavated Callis with that, Ebon muttered ominously.
"But there are times when even the King of Dogs emits a fierce roar. That is not when he himself is in mortal peril. It's... when he kills a person. When, by the King of Dogs' actions, a human loses their life. The King of Dogs roars."
Ebon's gaze followed the chain. At the other end was Azi.
Azi's forelegs were still bound by the chain.
Callis had unwound the chain from her neck, but Azi, who had been fighting the butterfly, had no time to do so.
"Even if it was not of one's own will..."
Because it is not that dogs do not kill people, but that not killing people is what makes a dog a dog.
When a dog kills, when a human makes the King of Dogs kill a human.
The ancient pact shared between dog and human wavers, and the boundary between wolf and dog blurs.
That is why Azi cannot intervene even while humans kill humans. Because someone must not die as a result of his actions.
Closing his eyes, blocking his ears, shutting himself in that corner.
"Attacking our ally? What are you trying to do...? Huh?"
While Tir, unable to keep up with the sudden turn of events, was in shock, Ebon charged at Azi. Azi, who held only goodwill toward humans. Approaching the non-resistant Azi, he sharpened his claws, grabbed Azi by the hair, and—
Lieutenant General Ebon ran straight ahead.
"Gyaeng! Woof!"
Azi's pupils widened as he was dragged along by his hair.
Not because it hurt. Because he understood what would happen because of this.
At the other end of the chain caught on his forelegs was the Claw embedded in Callis's body. If Azi were dragged like this, the chain would pull, and the Claw, with its curved blade like a hook, would tear through all of Callis's muscles and organs.
She was already mortally wounded—if she were pulled as well... Callis would die instantly.
Even if it wasn't Azi's power, a person would die because of Azi.
Since Azi didn't kill a person entirely with his own power, the foundation of the pact wouldn't be shaken, but now even going on a rampage with a fierce roar was dangerous. This was an isolated abyss.
If he shattered the ground, everyone would fall below.
"Woof! Woof woof! Let go! Arf!"
Azi thrashed desperately. Even while being dragged, he dug his claws in, scratched at the ground and walls, and resisted with all his might.
But Azi's body weight itself wasn't that heavy, and the lieutenant general was a strong fighter who could use qi techniques. Above all, the concrete walls and floor were too weak to fully withstand that force.
There was only one way to escape.
"Struggle all you want, King of Dogs! But if you want to stop me even with your power, you'll have to kill me! That would be fine too!"
"Grrrr...!"
That was an even more impossible method.
The distance remaining until death was about 15 meters. Azi was driving his claws into the ground and resisting desperately, but the time bought was at most a matter of seconds.
If this continued, Callis would die, and Azi would go on a rampage. Even if he didn't try to kill humans, to protect this land, they would have to subdue Azi.
A tremendous obsession, and a chilling malice billowed forth.
No one other than me could read that scheme. Well, who could even imagine it? Taking one's own life hostage to place the burden of death upon another.
But I read it.
And the moment I read it, I ran.
Callis was dying, and she would soon die. The moment this chain reached its end.
The moment the Claw pierced her abdomen, she sensed death.
'I wanted... to live. I guess it was too much. Well, I made too many wrong choices. And it was too late.'
The conclusion reached after thrashing about. At that end, what Callis felt was relief.
She had done everything she could, and with her meager power, she had achieved at least a small result. There was regret about not having acted sooner, but that was something everyone commonly felt.
'...I hate beasts. Even before my father passed away, I hated beasts. Filthy, unclean things. Creatures that live comfortably without making any effort. Dying... is the same...'
Having knowledge of the King of Dogs from her affiliation with the Lord of All Creation, she could roughly guess what Ebon would do as her consciousness faded.
The fact that she would become the sacrifice for the King of Dogs' rampage.
'...Even if I die, I won't die to a dog or anything.'
Callis reached her trembling hand behind her and grabbed the Claw's handle. Then she tried to pull it out with force.
Far away, she could see Rash running toward her. Callis thought it was fortunate she could see him in her final moments.
It would probably be the last nobility she, full of mistakes, could show before dying...
"I prefer this side of the story. Even if both are desperate, if one side's desperate resolve consists of childish lies... it feels rather hollow, you see."
I am one who listens to the wind.
To those who seek an ending, a perfect conclusion.
To those who seek continuation, more blank space to write upon.
The impossible remains impossible.
But what is possible, I make possible.
'That laborer! When did he get there!'
I heard Lieutenant General Ebon's thoughts. When? Ever since I read your thoughts, I was already running. While you weren't paying attention to me.
I stood behind Callis's back, then curled and extended my fingers one by one, placing them on the chain knot.
As expected, escape magic requires an assistant.
"Just wait a moment! I'll untie it for you! I'm someone who used to pick locks and such back in the day!"
It was when I, shouting confidently, pulled at the chain knot.
Click, click.
The chain clicked in vain. Only the sound of metal came from the knot. After fiddling with the chain knot for a while, I let out a flustered sound.
"Huh? Huh? W-why won't it come undone? That's strange..."
'You fool! That's a knot twisted by force in a Level 4 Refined Steel chain! Do you think it can be untied in a short time!'
Lieutenant General Ebon sneered at me and reached the chain's maximum length. Azi's claws carved long marks in the concrete, and the chain, which had lacked tension, gradually pulled taut.
'If I just pull the King of Dogs like this! The lieutenant colonel dies because of the King of Dogs!'
"Ah! Th-this! Wait a moment! It needs to work!"
Click, click. The metallic sound of something not quite engaging remained. The lieutenant general sensed success and tensed his entire body.
'Now, sink into the abyss below! Until I return to collect those corpses!'
Just as he yanked Azi's hair, and Azi was about to let out a terrible scream—
The chain pulled taut. The lieutenant general's power traveled through Azi, transmitted through the iron chain, and reached the Claw's handle, and then—
Slip.
The Claw's handle detached.
That is to say, only the handle, excluding the blade-like portion.
Ting, ting.
The handle, still bound by the chain, uselessly bounced on the ground.
There was no sound of a body being torn open. No terrible scream. The Claw remained embedded in Callis's abdomen, blocking the blood that was leaking out.
Only the 'handle' of the Claw, bound by the chain, rolled across the concrete floor.
In that instant, everyone's expectations went awry, and the thoughts of those who couldn't grasp the situation were bleached white.
As expected.
I love this silence, this pure white void that follows the end of a magic trick, so very much. Unable to contain the surging delight, I spread both arms wide and shouted:
"Sur~prise! Ta-da! Escape, success!"