The ground collapsing was less of a disaster than all the fuss suggested. It had not become a bottomless pit, and a drop of merely a few dozen meters was not enough to inflict fatal injuries on the beastfolk or wolves. Falling rocks were the only real danger, but now that the collapse had been halted by some mysterious force, very few had been killed or wounded purely by the aftermath of the groundfall.
And to the Beast King, drops and boulders were no different from the furrows or pebbles one might encounter while walking. Whether Jizan fell, the earth sank, or shattered stones came raining down and pelted him—in the eyes of the Beast King, it was no more than getting one’s clothes damp in a light drizzle.
Thus, Azi and Fenrir fought even as the earth collapsed around them, treating it as nothing more than a passing shower. They leaped from chunks of crumbling earth, and helped one another smash each other into the ground.
When Azi fell amid the clouds of dust, a shadow pounced on him. Azi tried to dodge, but in the end Fenrir sank his teeth into Azi’s arm.
“Awoooooooooo!”
“Yelp! Whine. Yip!”
No matter how desperately Azi struggled, Fenrir had no intention of opening his jaws. Azi struck Fenrir’s head and twisted his body, but the teeth only dug more fiercely into his forearm.
Wolves did not let go of what they had bitten without good reason. Knowing this, Azi did not try to pry him off. Instead, he bared his teeth and went for Fenrir’s nape. The instant Fenrir sensed him and shifted aside, Azi struck him hard across the cheek.
If Fenrir had been in a wolf’s body, he would not have let go just because his face had been struck. But the Beast King wore the shape of a human. Fortunately, the human oral structure was not designed to hold on forever once it had bitten something. Thanks to the discrepancy between essence and form, the wolf’s teeth slid free.
That did not mean Azi was unharmed. A long gash had opened across his arm, and blood streamed from the torn flesh. Despite the pain etched across his face, Azi stubbornly raised his arm.
“Beasts can do anything.”
Baring his teeth, Fenrir growled at Azi, who was covered in blood and dust.
“If you’re afraid, run. If you can’t, tear them apart. Scratch, bite, dig holes, bark, threaten.”
“Woof….”
“Protect humans? Woof. Yes. You can let humans into your pack. You can keep them beside you and protect them!”
Fenrir directed his hatred toward the presence behind Azi. Humans buried beneath the earth, and groups approaching the wreckage. Some of them were searching for humans with dogs leading the way. They ran through the mounds of dirt, distinguishing humans from wolves and reporting their findings.
Those creatures had originally been beasts like the wolves, yet now they devoted themselves to humans. Even at the cost of their own lives.
“Awoooo! But we can’t abandon our own to protect humans!”
Fenrir howled loudly. When the king roared, cries rose from heaven and earth. The wolves answered their king’s fury and charged the humans once more.
“The ferocity will continue. It will not disappear! Humans will torment you, kill you, abandon you, and neglect you! For that day, dogs must be able to become wolves!”
Fenrir shouted on behalf of all ferocity. Compared to the powerful and savage Fenrir, Azi, battered and wounded, answered in a feeble voice.
“…I don’t like being hurt.”
“Then fight back!”
“I don’t want to fight. I don’t want to kill. I don’t want to be abandoned. Woof, I’ll be good.”
“That isn’t for you to choose, dog!”
“Choose, no. Woof, fighting won’t work.”
Azi was kind and gentle. For some reason, he had become unable to attack humans, but even if he could attack them, it probably would not have made much difference.
He was friendly toward humans, and accepted other beasts into his own pack. Unlike the other Beast Kings, who were wary by nature, Azi was always among humans.
“Even if I bare my teeth. Even if I growl and bark. Even if I bite. If I hurt them, they become afraid of me. They say I’m bad. Woof. I’m good. If I stay good… they won’t be afraid of me. Woof. I like that.”
“Even if they use you, abandon you, and work you to death? Even if they ignore you?”
Azi had fought at the very front even in his battle against the wolves, becoming covered in blood, yet he still did not run. Because humans stood behind him.
“Even so, someday they’ll like me more. If I keep my promises and protect humans. Someday, they’ll cherish me and protect me too.”
“Grrr. That’s just grass-eating talk.”
The two stood at opposite poles. Their words merely represented their opinions; there was no chance either would accept the other’s. In the end, what settled the matter was strength, and the result was written in corpses.
The peace Azi desired ultimately had to be achieved through ferocity. Unfortunately, he could never achieve it alone. Most of Azi’s ferocity had been taken by Fenrir.
“A collar isn’t a promise, it’s domination! Humans don’t keep their promises! Just like they aren’t helping you now!”
“That isn’t necessarily true.”
Well, if they had devised the strategy properly, then it was a good strategy. There were humans who could fight in my place. The problem was that one of them happened to be me.
“That’s true. I think I need a little respect too. Emotionally speaking, I agree with you, wolf.”
My only weapon was Jizan. I had only a few weak demon gods at my disposal. My opponent was the king of wolves.
If the circumstances had not been this favorable, I never would have stepped forward. Grumbling inwardly, I gripped Jizan and stood before Fenrir.
“Woof…?”
Azi looked at me. His expression showed that he could hardly believe I had appeared, but his tail wagged vigorously, unable to hide his delight.
“Why did you come?”
“To keep my promise.”
“Woof? You’re not weak?”
“I’m strong enough to help you. As you said, I’ll fight while keeping you in front.”
That was what I said. But this place was genuinely dangerous.
The king of wolves had the form of a human, but he was still a beast. We could communicate, but mind-reading did not work on him. Even my sole advantage—reading murderous intent and moving one step ahead—was gone.
On top of that, he was stronger than Azi. If I fought relying on nothing but Jizan, I would die like vermin. It was only thanks to Azi that I had any hope at all.
Fenrir’s brow twitched at the sight of a human. Just as he was about to unleash his murderous intent, he seemed to sense something and approached me, sniffing the air. Tense, Azi stepped in front of Fenrir. Fenrir furrowed his brow and spoke.
“…Woof? What are you?”
“Hello. I’m an ordinary human.”
I answered evasively, wondering if he recognized me, but Fenrir’s next words rendered my concern meaningless.
“Was your… ferocity stolen too?”
Was it because he sensed a kinship? Or because the Beast King was an existence akin to the King of Dogs? Fenrir saw through my identity at once.
He also seemed to have roughly realized what had happened to me.
“Looks that way. Unlike Azi, I’m quite dissatisfied with my situation, though.”
Azi and Fenrir had been divided according to opposing traits. One was a dog who protected humans, the other a wolf who opposed them, and they fought one another.
I had simply been cast down, powerless. And apparently, in a future I knew nothing about, the King of Sin would be born and attempt to destroy the world.
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Anyone who failed to sense a connection here would be an idiot. Unfortunately, I was not Azi. Ah, ignorance would have been a blessing.
“Your teeth and claws were stolen? But you’re human. How could they be stolen from you when you’re human?”
“Because I’m human, I was probably easier to change. It’s difficult to make the decision, but once you’ve made up your mind, pulling out your own claws and teeth is easier, like that.”
This had clearly been unexpected even from Fenrir’s perspective. Grinding his teeth as if outraged, Fenrir asked,
“Human, what in the world are you trying to do?”
“I don’t know. I’m a victim just like you, so why ask me?”
I pretended not to know, but… I had a rough idea.
Azi was the King of Dogs. He could never harm humans and devoted himself to their sake. He was, in the truest sense, humanity’s ideal protector. Of course, because of the limitations inherent to the species of dog, he could not prevent dogs from harming one another.
If someone had attempted something similar with humans, what would they have wanted me to become? What else could it be? They must have intended to create humanity’s guardian in the form of the King of Humans. Somehow, things had gone awry, and the King of Sin seemed to have appeared first.
“Human. Are you truly all right with this? Is it acceptable to be used after your ferocity has vanished?!”
“Of course not. I’m the King of Humans, too. Beasts can do anything, and human ferocity belongs to me as well.”
That was why I agreed with the wolf emotionally. Even if I became the King of Humans, I could never become humanity’s protector.
But human ferocity meant turning everything else into tools for the sake of one’s objective. Turning dogs into tools to fight wolves was also an expression of human ferocity.
“However, the fact that I’m opposing you here doesn’t mean I’m giving up my ferocity. Humans simply like dogs more than wolves.”
“…”
Because of the conceptual separation that had taken place, Azi had become sensitive to human emotions, while Fenrir could sense the ferocity of beasts. He could probably sense human ferocity as well.
Fenrir stared intently at me. He sniffed several times. After mulling something over, Fenrir spoke quietly.
“I am the ferocity that beasts have lost. But you haven’t lost your ferocity. You’ve lost the teeth and claws with which to display it.”
“Yes. I know my place and keep my head down.”
“Human ferocity is the vile act of turning everything else into tools. You are ferocious. More than enough.”
“Thank you for acknowledging that, but if you’re going to call it something, could you say cleverness instead of vileness?”
Fenrir’s ferocity collided with human ferocity. That was why Fenrir had no choice but to attack humans. The calamity I had witnessed in the regressor’s past had probably been Fenrir after becoming more complete than he was now.
I entered Fenrir’s field of vision. Until then, the wolf’s hatred had been directed solely at Azi, but now he clearly recognized me.
“…Even with your teeth gone, you’ve come to keep an old promise. Woof. Unexpected.”
“Woof! Unexpected, no! Promise, duty!”
“Well, there are circumstances in which you can’t keep a promise. But in quite a lot of cases, keeping one is advantageous.”
That was right. Unless the regressor solved everything on his own, I could not let Azi die. And it would do me no good to let Fenrir rampage either.
If Fenrir was the calamity that would summon the King of Sin, then I had to stop him. It was not as though the King of Sin would leave me alone.
I drew Jizan and swung it through the air twice. Fenrir might not understand exactly what kind of weapon this club was, but he would instinctively know how powerful it was.
“Here. I brought a special club just for you. What do you think? Scared? Won’t you retreat like a proper beast?”
If the wolf had been an ordinary Beast King, he might have retreated. But—
“Awoooo—”
Like Azi and me, the wolf was bound to something, and had no intention of retreating. Fenrir stretched out his neck and let loose a full-throated howl toward the sky.
The wolf’s howl spread far, far away. Having poured out his pent-up emotions, Fenrir glared at me, his gray fur rippling.
“Let us pit our ferocity against each other, shepherd.”
Me? Against you? I would die. Most likely, I would.
Overcome by the wolf’s terrifying gaze, I lowered my eyes and took a small step backward.
“No. You should fight Azi. I’ll support you from behind.”
“Woof woof! Human weak! Don’t bite!”
“No, Azi. Why would you tell him outright that I’m weak?”
“Woof? Human strong! Bite!”
“No. You don’t have to tell me to bite, either.”
Fenrir probably had a rough idea that I was weak anyway. I needed to stay as far away from the fight as possible.
…Although the wolf did not seem to have any intention of letting me.