A wind carrying the scent of earth runs across the unobstructed plains. Long ago, all beasts were winds wandering the fields. Treading the earth, chasing water and grass, they raced life and death across the wilderness. On the vast plains, birth was not splendid, and death was not cruel. No one judged life or death; they simply melted into the world.
Teia felt freedom as she ran across the plains. Leaving behind the wolves' gazes targeting her and the cries of someone worrying about her, she savored the sense of liberation. Even the wind couldn't overtake her as she ran. As she walked, enjoying the joy welling up from her instincts, someone appeared before her eyes.
Wolf girl. Could there be a more fitting term?
A girl stands alone amidst a pack of giant wolves. She looks like a shepherd herding a flock of sheep. Even smelling the scent of blood carried from afar, they calmly tended to each other.
They say there are humans raised by wolves. It probably looks something like that. Did the wolf girl really grow up drinking a mother wolf's milk? When did she realize she was different from wolves? Teia spread her wings of imagination alone...
'That's the Wolf King. The target I need to lure.'
Cold reason whispered to her. Unfortunately, the joyful imagination ended here. Stopping in front of the wolf pack, Teia forced a smile and waved her hand.
"Hello. Are you the Wolf King?"
The wolves growled, wary of the unfamiliar human. Just as some wolves were about to leap out, the wolf girl moved.
Sensing the king's will, the wolves naturally opened a path. Approaching with light, wolf-like steps, the Wolf King stared intently at Teia.
Teia felt a sense of déjà vu. The Wolf King—she was definitely seeing it for the first time, yet somehow it felt familiar. Cold gray fur, deep blue eyes containing a chilling cold. A fearsome presence that made her fur stand on end just by looking at it.
If she had experienced it even once, she surely wouldn't have forgotten. Why did she feel this déjà vu? While Teia was agonizing over this inexplicable feeling, the Wolf King opened its mouth.
"You, violent."
The moment she heard the voice, Teia realized the source of her déjà vu.
It's the Dog King.
The fur color is different. The eyes are different. The atmosphere is different. The Dog King is bright, shows goodwill to everything, and is gentle. It shows a warm smile with round eyes.
In contrast, the Wolf King was sharp, as if it would immediately tear apart whatever was in front of it. Even if someone was bitten by those fangs, it felt like one should scold the person who dared to approach the wolf rather than the wolf itself.
That's why she was late to notice.
That its appearance wasn't just similar to the Dog King, but exactly the same.
"Violent? I-I take pride in living quite kindly."
"Violent. Like a horse."
"Ah, horse? Right, I'm a horse demi-human."
"Why don't you use your violence for yourself?"
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Teia was startled. The opponent was the Wolf King. It wasn't a being like an ordinary beast, but... she hadn't expected it to recognize her and attempt a conversation.
Furthermore, the conversation was more high-level than she thought. The Wolf King had seen through Teia's essence.
"Inside you is the violence of a horse. Your legs are meant to run away. You, who must run away to the ends of the earth to avoid the hateful and terrifying things, why do you block my path?"
"Uh... T-To protect the city?"
"Tamed? So you can't show violence to humans? In the end, even though you possess the violence of a horse, you were tamed to use it for humans?"
If the violence of a horse is running, Teia had definitely exerted it for humans. Racing, taking first place, waving her hand amidst everyone's cheers. The flowers, gifts, and praises were all for her.
It turned out that way, but she had never thought of serving humans. She just ran. Teia retorted.
"I didn't serve! I received a fair price from humans!"
"'You' might think so, the most violent, and therefore the most tamed, horse. Only you must have survived."
"...!"
-But. What about the other racehorses besides her? Did they really receive a fair price?
To her momentarily shaking ears, the wolf's low voice was heard.
"Humans tame beasts. Killing all the beasts that won't be tamed. They try to monopolize violence. Pulling fangs, cutting claws, putting on reins, piercing noses. They try to cut out cruelty and make it their nourishment."
"Wolves..."
"I am the fangs you lost. The claws you tore off. The vast wilderness visible after destroying us."
She thought it would stick out its tongue and leap at her the moment it saw her. She thought the Wolf King would be cruel and violent without any reason.
"I am the King of Violence. The king who reminds you of the violence you all have lost."
But the Wolf King Teia saw, while cruel and violent... also possessed sorrow. It didn't seem like a simply evil existence.
"Remember the violence. You horses are beasts that run to the ends of the earth. Not things that wear reins and serve as substitutes for human feet."
"...I didn't expect to be scouted."
She couldn't easily accept it. But she clearly understood what it was saying.
At the same time, she instinctively realized why the Wolf King looked exactly like the Dog King.
The two were on opposite sides of a mirror. They looked the same but represented completely opposite things. The dog that would never harm humans and the wolf that advocated showing violence to humans were as similar as they were different.
Perhaps, if Teia had lived a slightly different life. Or if the timing was different. If it was her at her weakest point in the past, she might have been persuaded by the wolf.
However, what brought Teia this far was Endé and the Dog King. Endé was a free city, and Teia loved the city.
Now, she had decided to stand on the side of gentleness.
"That might be true. But now I run for myself. My violence is mine alone."
And above all.
Teia looked at the Wolf King, feeling the instinct writhing within her.
"Above all, I want to race with you, wolf."
"...Kuh."
The Wolf King's mouth tore wide open and it laughed fiercely. Sensing the king's emotions, the wolves began to howl. As if singing of the king's departure, hundreds of wolves spread out wide and prepared to follow.
At that moment, a shadow suddenly rose beside the Wolf King. Approaching the Wolf King, the shadow wearing a pitch-black robe spoke.
"Fenrir. That is a lure..."
"Shut up, human. You failed to tame me."
Crunch. The suddenly emerged shadow shattered into a pool of blood in an instant. The human who was being controlled by someone lost their life in an instant. The Wolf King, with blood smeared around its mouth, didn't even spare it a glance and glared at Teia.
"I welcome your violence, horse. Try to run away."
Teia finally realized that the Wolf King had been considerate of her. Baring its fangs and releasing its violence, the Wolf King was terrifyingly frightening. Every single cell was screaming to run away right now. Her racing heart seemed to want to run away before her body did.
'Dangerous. Dangerous, dangerous. This isn't a joke. Unlike the races I've run before, if I get caught this time... I will really die.'
At the same time, Teia felt a thrilling excitement gradually filling her body. With the rising heat, Teia smiled a precarious smile.
No betting slips, no records, no proof. Without any other intention, a race purely for life was about to begin.
Teia exhaled. Planting her feet firmly and preparing to leap out for the upcoming race, Teia pulled up the qi throughout her entire body and infused it into her legs.
The wind of the plains caressed Teia's cheek. The Wolf King's fur softly fluttered. The two beasts, each harboring violence, took their last breaths right before starting the hunt.
Teia muttered.
"It's a match, Fenrir."
The endlessly blowing wind suddenly stopped. Taking that as a signal, the two beasts leaped forward with all their might, targeting each other.
She's outrageously fast. I was trying to escort her, but she got lost in her own thoughts and ran way over there. It feels like she lives in a world several times faster than everyone else.
I urged the Obeli guard dogs and the demi-human special task force.
"Run faster. We can't let the wolves block Teia's path."
"We're already running enough! How do you catch up to a horse with rabbit steps!"
Panting as she retorted to my words, the rabbit magician, Kito, suddenly stopped walking. Surrounded only by wolves, we had marched separated from the main force. No matter how much of a combat group the Obeli guard dogs were, they were far lacking compared to the Obelisk or Beast Faction warriors.
Kito, who realized the situation a bit late, trembled and asked.
"M-more than that, aren't we... coming in too deep...?"
"That's right. And we have to go even deeper."
"H-hieeek? We're going to get bitten by wolves! There's no one around to help us!"
"We have us."
"We're weak!"
Screaming at the top of her lungs, Kito quickly looked around. As a little over a hundred Obeli guard dogs advanced in formation, the wolves didn't attack and just circled around them. That was probably because those wolves were a scouting party, but even wolves of that level were opponents the Obeli guard dogs had to risk their lives to fight.
If the main force led by the Wolf King ambushed them, it would only mean death.
"What if we're lured...? Aren't we just going to become wolf food?"
"I have no intention of becoming wolf food, but the wolves will certainly perceive us as food."
"...Goodbyeee!"
"Where are you going."
I grabbed Kito's ear tightly as she tried to run away. Maybe because rabbit ears are long, it fit perfectly in one hand. Kito flailed her limbs and cried.
"Ahh! It's slipping! It's slipping right out!"
"Why are you like this? You're the city's trap designer. You should sacrifice yourself to protect the city."
"I have no desire to sacrifice my life! That damn city. I'm sick and tired of humans and demi-humans alike!"
Perhaps out of fear of the wolves, Kito poured out all the resentment in her heart.
"Are they the only demi-humans? I'm a demi-human too! Just because there are few rabbit demi-humans, they ignore, ostracize, and reject me! Even though they don't mess with the cats because they're prickly and fierce. Since rabbits are weak and timid, they just beat us and mock us! Endé should have been taught a lesson at least once!"
The Obeli guard dogs were bewildered by the sudden confession of her true feelings. Regardless, Kito kept jumping around and venting her anger.
"It's the same for the pig demi-humans! When they were the ones who tormented me more, what? Pigs were discriminated against? So they're going to enjoy the power they haven't been able to enjoy until now? If that's the case, make me the king! I had the hardest time and suffered the most! Waaaah!"
"Still, you received the city's pay after awakening your Unique Demon Path, right."
"Well said! Do you know how I awakened my Unique Demon Path? Because those dog-pigs set up rabbit traps everywhere! They set traps on the paths I took and laughed out loud seeing me cry! I awakened it while trying to find a way to avoid the traps!"
The city's karma is deep. No matter how good Kito's reactions were, the traps crossed the line. Let's just dress it up as teasing a girl they like by lightly poking at her, but setting up traps or snares is just hunting, isn't it?
"I'm a coward... I'm weak and pitiful... Why, how, and for what reason should someone like me risk my life to protect the city..."
Kito bawled. Certainly, her wish wasn't to protect the city. Taking the position of trap designer was just a petty revenge. Secretly looking down on the guys who ruled from high positions and tormented her was her pleasure.
Her heart was filled with a victim mentality incomparable to the pig demi-humans. Unlike the pig demi-humans, the small number of rabbit demi-humans simply had far fewer means to express it.
But I'm not someone who forces people to do things they don't want to do.
"Don't misunderstand. I'm trying to create an opportunity for your wish to come true."
*Hiccup*. My... wish...?
Kito's wish stems from her victim mentality. She wants revenge, but at the same time, she also has a desire for success. She has a desire to build a solid position so that no one can ever look down on her again.
I—strictly speaking, the regressor and I—plan to create that situation.
"I'll make you a hero."
"A, A hero...?"
"No, a hero. Telling this to someone who has no interest in saving the city won't spark any motivation."
Let's see. What would be good? Ah, that would work.
Pausing my words for a moment, I promised Kito.
"I'll make you a god."