Title: Magical Beasts and Long Live the King #3
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My, my, my grudges and rage…!
The lion, Suka, had a neck that seemed to stretch like a giraffe.
Its red mane flew like a tattered banner soaked in bl**d.
That fearsome grin of its stretched wide enough to make it look like a cartoon character with a toothache.
The red-furred lion was reminiscent of the lion masks I had seen in media from China.
Ding, ding, ding! Clear droplets sounded from its body as if it were a giant bell.
‘So this is how Duoksini comes to life…’
I shivered, realizing I had witnessed one of the secrets of this world.
The fact that I could become like that in my own state of frenzy was beyond creepy and downright horrifying.
Rage… R-rage…
Suka, twisting its body atop Lao-Hoo’s head, continued muttering the same words, like a broken record at maximum volume.
Who knows if it had lost its senses to the rage pouring out of its mouth?
Oh, King…!
Gallum, the black-furred figure, shouted in a panic.
Apparently, Suka’s transformation was not part of their plan.
GRAAH!
Seizing the moment, Mao, who had been caught in Suka’s jaws, wriggled free from its grasp.
Daddy…!
Mao bounced high, approaching Lao-Hoo like a pogo stick on caffeine.
Run, Mao! Stay back! Right now, it’s calm, but soon that black lion will go wild! I can’t protect you then!
Lao-Hoo shouted desperately.
Even though he couldn’t see, he could sense that his daughter was moving towards a dangerous inferno.
Everyone, flee! The festival is over!
With great difficulty, Lao-Hoo got up and shook off Suka, who had been lounging on his head like a lazy cat.
While Suka lay dazed on the ground, Lao-Hoo pinned it down with his massive front paw.
Go! Suka! Pepe! Take Mao and run! Get as far away from here as possible! When the black lion goes berserk, everything will be destroyed!
Lao-Hoo growled at the pinned lion.
‘Is it really so dangerous that he’s warning me?’
I couldn’t tell if the black lion was strong or it was just Duoksini’s newborn ferocity, but one thing was for sure: something was about to go horribly wrong.
T-this tree isn’t safe either! We need to hurry!
Leaf grabbed my arm, tugging me.
Knowing Leaf was a coward, it was odd how Lao-Hoo’s warning combined with the current madness gave it a strange persuasive power.
Gah, no! This thing’s trying to escape!
Lao-Hoo grunted a strained sound.
His front paw slowly lifted, revealing Suka’s violently red fur.
Oh, Daddy!
Bouncing over, Mao quickly neared Lao-Hoo.
Lao-Hoo, noticing his daughter was close, whipped his long tail to push her back.
Stay away! Anyone, take Mao and run!
In response to Lao-Hoo’s shout, a massive harpy swooped down from the sky with a sharp cry.
Salome caught Mao by the scruff of her neck with her feet and made a laborious flap of her wings.
Master, I’ll take care of Lady Mao as ordered.
Yeah, I need you to be out of the way for all my strength to kick in. You’re just in the way, so go!
I’ll see you later!
Salome shot up into the sky like a rocket.
You can’t get hurt! Daddy, you have to be safe!
Mao, caught in her talons, let out a lamenting meow.
As her cries faded to nothing, like grains of sand slipping away, Lao-Hoo finally smiled as if relieved.
How long are you going to lie there? Is that all you’ve got?
GRAAH!
With a roar that could shatter eardrums, Lao-Hoo’s front paw exploded.
Literally, rocks and debris went flying everywhere in an explosion.
Lao-Hoo shook his mangled front paw in agony and frowned.
What brute strength…
A-Ah, Father… I’m sorry…
Suka, emerging from the explosion, was weaving its head like a dizzy cloth.
Have you lost all sanity now?
If, if I wasn’t caught…!
Suka jumped high into the air.
Its paw came crashing down onto Lao-Hoo’s head, sending the massive beast bouncing like a pebble.
GRAAH!
‘Whoa, what kind of power is that?!’
I recalled Ilgast telling me to face Suka.
For someone to make me face a creature like that was definitely not even close to being fair.
Hehehe.
Suka’s mouth stretched wide, revealing jagged fangs like thorny vines.
It had the same sharp teeth as those Duoksini I had seen before.
With a long, crimson tongue, it licked its front paw repetitively.
The paw that had struck Lao-Hoo’s head was now hanging limply, crushed and helpless. It too seemed to have suffered a major injury from the colossal attack.
Yet Suka approached Lao-Hoo, limping, with no sign of pain.
I’ve waited for this day, Lao-Hoo. I’ve lived for this moment. This cursed frenzy cannot overcome my profound yearning.
With ragged breathing, Suka spat bl**d.
But soon, its steps began to slow, finally stopping in place.
Huh?
It suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky.
A shadow cast itself over Suka’s head.
d*mn it!
Suka appeared to realize something, propelling itself away with a curse.
KABOOM!
Something falling like a shooting star whacked Suka on the head.
The ground caved in, and shockwaves – or repercussions, if you will – brought down the trees in the forest.
Dust flew up as the black shadow revealed itself.
“Looks like you’re getting old too, Lao-Hoo. You should have handled this brat easily. Ultimate failure, right?”
It looked like a black, long scarecrow.
The horns protruding from its head like branches made its identity clear.
Elder, cut me some slack. Unlike you, I’m just a blind beast. A hefty cat that’s buckling under the weight of a crown that’s too big for me.
“Seeing you whine, I guess it’s about time for me to go too.”
The demon stag, Ilgast, broke into a hearty laugh.
Beneath his palm, Suka squirmed, pinned down.
GRAAH! GRAAH!
“I felt the energy of a great ghost and came out from the cave, but I have no idea why this happened to this brat. Where’s Alpha?
If you’re talking about that white-furred one, I reckon he’s made a run for it. He seems smarter than he looks.
“Yeah, I did not anticipate that it would turn out like this. Everything has gone entirely off my calculations.”
The moment Ilgast was caught in self-mockery, the ground trembled violently, twisting the landscape as if it were in a blender.
CRACK! CRACK!
With sounds of breaking and tearing, something enormous burst forth from the ground.
It was one massive—
‘…tree root?’
What had emerged was a giant tree root.
One of its thick roots rose from the ground like a tree trunk.
“Did Mother World Tree finally notice me? I had hidden for so long…”
CRACK! CRACK!
The gigantic tree root bore everything from the earth into its embrace.
Ilgast, so you were a father after all! Gah! Are you planning to forfeit the immortality you just obtained?
The roots wrapped around Lao-Hoo like tentacles from a monstrous octopus.
“I was getting quite tired of a life where I had to stay cooped up.”
Ilgast raised his head high and shouted.
“Alpha! I can feel your energy! I know you’re hiding somewhere around here! Watch this whole spectacle closely!”
The monstrous stag was wrapped tightly by the tree roots, restraining it.
Ilgast was being dragged down into the deep earth, as if imprisoned by the roots.
“This is a dismal fate for the fruit thief! UGH…!”
Like a boa constrictor, the roots tightened their grip on Ilgast, pulling him down into the ground.
He struggled against it as if trying to resist, but the pressure from the enormous roots was overpowering, pulling him down beneath the crumbled terrain.
“Oh, oh please, Mother World Tree—”
It seemed Ilgast was trying to utter something, but soon the sound of wood snapping drowned out all noise.
The earth that swallowed Ilgast smoothed itself out as if nothing had happened.
Where there were once giant tree roots, talking stags, massive tigers, and a lion turned into a monster, now there was only silence settling over the wide garden as if the festival of madness had been nothing but a dream.
Leaf, what the heck did I just see?
I-I have no idea!
If Leaf, who knew a lot about a lot, shook his head in confusion, it was definitely something unusual.
I blinked as if awakening from a midsummer night’s dream.
Are you going down? It’s dangerous!
Leaf shouted, seeing me moving toward the tree.
I felt as though I was drawn to something as my feet touched the ground.
‘What on earth was that?’
Still dazed, I touched the soil.
The ground beneath my paw was littered with animal bones, teeth, and claws, spilling away like sand.
I laid flat on the ground, pressing my ear to the earth.
…
Aside from the loud thump of my own heartbeat, there wasn’t a sound to be heard.
‘What happened to Lao-Hoo and Ilgast?’
The image of those two being wrapped by tree roots and dragged into the ground was akin to sailors being devoured by a colossal kraken.
‘The more I know, the stranger this world becomes.’
Especially, the words Ilgast had yelled at me stuck in my mind.
The phrase “fruit thief” simply didn’t sit right.
‘There’s still so much here I don’t understand.’
With sand stuck to my paw, I tightened my fist.
‘Everyone was counting on me for something. They wanted to tell me something. What was I supposed to do?’
I seriously began to ponder why I had been reborn as the magical beast Behemoth.
A legendary beast thought to be extinct in this world.
There must be some kind of destiny at play in my rebirth as one.
Till now, I had treated it lightly, brushing it aside, but experiencing such a monumental event made it impossible not to reflect on my existence.
I was a mere bystander in this incident.
Just a tourist who witnessed the fireworks of the festival.
Lao-Hoo, Ilgast, and the mad ghost Suka, along with the giant roots, were issues far beyond my previous expectations.
‘Where did those roots come from? If I got caught up in that, I wouldn’t have come out alive either.’
There was no guarantee such events wouldn’t happen again in the future.
While I hoped to survive like this if it happened again, the future is always uncertain.
‘I need to get stronger.’
What may lie ahead, and what I might encounter is unknown, but I defined that the simplest way to prepare was to amass power.
I thought back to various words that had come to my mind.
From messages about gaining experience to achieving achievements and acquiring skills, and even leveling up!
For someone like me who loved games, leveling up was as urgent as a life-or-d*ath situation.
I need to level up.
It might be a logical leap to call it a theory, but in my tangled head, it seemed to be the only clear answer.
Are, are you okay? Is everything alright?!
I heard Leaf’s voice from the tree above, looking down at me.
I stood up and let the sand I held in my paw scatter into the air.
The fine sand drifted away in the strong wind, disappearing entirely.
It’s hot.
I randomly muttered to Raccoon Leaf.
Leaf landed, tapped the ground with its paw, and cautiously approached me.
Of course, it’s hot. Summer is officially beginning now.
Summer, huh. Summer.
I breathed out the word “summer” as if sighing it out loud.
Looking up, the burning sun appeared ready to roast everything.
It was so blinding that I squinted hard.
Letters sparkled like mirages next to the radiant sun.
Laplace is smiling.
