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Chapter 67: The Magical Beasts and the Return
“Here comes the magical power! The true enemy of the Western Desert!”
Just as Azidahaka’s urgent voice faded away—
BOOM!
A comet or maybe a meteor (who’s counting?) came crashing down from the sky, something incredibly intense diving at high speed from way up high to reach the ground.
KA-BOOM!
The earth trembled with a massive explosion of sand and dust.
Cough, cough… What the heck is happening, meow…
“Something just fell from way up there.”
Could it be…
The band of treasure hunters coughed and rubbed their eyes through the swirling dust. As the haze lifted ever so gradually, they saw a gigantic crater in the sand, and amid that, a man draped in a red cloak slowly rose to his feet.
The griffins surrounding him spread their wings and began to cry out fiercely.
Fwoosh!
“Bow down to the ruler of Olympus, the Mountain of Rock!”
“O great dunes and endless wilds of dawn, kneel before your master!”
“Long live the leader of thunder and storms, Garuda Jupiter!”
As the man rose from the crater, he raised his palm to silence the fervent followers surrounding him.
“That guy is the Jupiter…”
I quickly scanned the approaching man. The red cloak I thought was fabric turned out to be a massive pair of wings on his back. As he spread them wide, a blindingly bright white plate armor was revealed underneath.
His platinum hair shone so brightly I thought I was seeing things. Those eyes matched his hair in brightness, and his face exuded confidence and vigor; calling him handsome was an understatement—it was more like a “dashing young man” vibe.
‘This bold demeanor… He’s strong, alright.’
He might even be stronger than the black sheep Satan perched on Azidahaka’s palm—a dragon blessed from birth and the griffin, a beast that suits him well.
Standing elegant and close enough to bump noses, the man and woman exuded an aura of superiority.
“Pleasure to meet you, Jupiter.”
“Cut the pleasantries. I heard you’ve escaped human shackles, but who knew you’d sneak back into my city? Here again to buy some stone dwarf jewelry? I could have shown you the sights if you’d asked in advance!”
“Pot calling the kettle black, huh?”
Grrrr.
Despite their casual demeanor, the energy between them felt as prickly as a spiky chestnut.
Once, they ruled this vast desert together, and now they glared at each other in silence for what felt like forever.
The griffins watching carefully preened their feathers, looking ready to pounce at any moment.
“I have a feeling there’s about to be a fight, meow…”
“I acknowledge that.”
“It was fine escaping the pyramid, but what do we do now, brother…?”
“Beats me. If it comes to it, we fight.”
Just then, Jupiter, his face contorting in disgust like he just saw a bug, spoke first.
“Let’s discuss the details inside my royal palace, scaly dragon. I have a mountain of things to say to you, but the reason you are before me isn’t you. It’s that guy over there!”
His golden eyes shifted from Azidahaka to me, standing awkwardly off to the side.
“Huh? Me?”
At my question, Jupiter gritted his teeth hard enough for the muscles on his jaw to show.
“So, you’re that Alpha, huh? A thief! How dare you trample over my precious treasure with dirty feet!”
“What are you talking about? I didn’t take a single thing from the pyramid!”
“Don’t play dumb, you little rascal! I’m talking about my daughter… Chino!”
The name “Chino” escaped from Jupiter’s lips like a reluctant sneeze, lighting up the circuitry in my brain.
“Ah.”
“But I am magnanimous. I shall invite you to my palace in Olympus. Of course, refusal isn’t an option.”
—
Olympus.
Wonderfully similar in name to a volcanic country, yet in this world, it refers to the rocky mountain next to Cairo.
More accurately, it represents the steep rocky abode of the griffins and the palace of Jupiter up at its peak.
“So that’s the griffins’ nest.”
I stuck my tongue out from the top of the griffin I was riding. At the summit of the rugged mountain, unlike the desert below, colorful flowers and fruit-bearing trees thrived, triggering a slight bout of nostalgia as though I was seeing the Ancient Nest, the World Tree’s forest.
Rising amidst the flowers, marble and granite pillars and ceilings built in a style similar to Greece’s Parthenon boasted an impressive aura.
“Not bad at all. Hmph.”
Behind me, Azidahaka ached to dismiss it, snapping her mouth shut. It seemed riding a griffin wasn’t her idea of fun, as she’d been grumbling since we flew up.
‘I guess she has her reasons. After all, we’re headed to the home of her rival.’
Azidahaka and I had received an invitation from the griffin king, Jupiter, allowing us to ride on the backs of griffins to his palace.
“Are you comfortable? Is the speed acceptable?”
The griffin beneath me flapped its wings while asking. At first, I was worried these fearsome-looking griffins would scratch or injure me with their beaks and claws, but to my surprise, they showed a kind and friendly side.
“Uncomfortable. Your flying skills leave something to be desired.”
“I wasn’t asking you, Fire Dragon! Though I follow the commands given by Lord Jupiter, letting you ride me will remain a shaming memory for life! Be grateful I haven’t dropped you yet!”
‘Wow, talk about a bad vibe.’
Flap, flap.
The griffin eagerly landed us at the summit of the rocky mountain. Awaiting us were Princess Leaf and Yingyi, who had come to greet me.
“White One!”
“Geez, do you have to yell every time you call me?”
“White One, White One, White One, White One!”
“I said stop yelling…!”
Lifting a front paw, I smacked Leaf on the head.
Smack!
“Eek…”
The girl with pumpkin-colored hair pouted from the hit.
“You dare hit me? I’ve never even been hit by Grandfather!”
“What the heck are you saying? It looks like your guts have grown while I was gone.”
Clank, clank.
At Leaf’s growl, the armored knights guarding her reached for their sword hilts.
Just as I was about to deliver another smack, I backed down, eyes wide open, startled by the knights’ fierce stares.
It wouldn’t be wise to stir up trouble now.
‘She’s a princess now, after all.’
Leaf had always been quick to adapt. It seemed her short time living as a princess had inflated her confidence, adding a rather spoiled brat vibe to her character.
‘That old king Solomon must’ve pampered her rotten.’
Leaf, who everyone thought had perished, miraculously returned, making Solomon’s position understandable. But I firmly believed some proper discipline was necessary in education.
After all, my parents had raised me quite strictly, and when it came to establishing hierarchy with my younger sister, I had gone through strict battles.
“You’d better watch it, or you’ll get a serious beating soon. You’ve forgotten everything after so long, haven’t you?”
“Eek…”
I bared my fangs, growling softly, making Leaf cringe and cover her head with her arms. It seemed that fear of me was rearing its head again.
“Ha ha, what good friends you are.”
Watching this, Azidahaka chuckled softly into her sleeve.
“Human princess, and the Chilli raccoon who lived in the Ancient Nest, right? Though I dislike humans, you smell of my homeland, so I feel a sense of kinship.”
“Don’t act like we’re friends, you goofy idiot!”
“Ha ha, you’re fiercer than I heard from White One. You look quite cute, though.”
“Don’t call me cute! I’m a noble princess! Say I’m beautiful…!”
With such a commanding attitude from Leaf, she only appeared awkward, like a kid wearings clothes too big for her.
In any other situation, the little brat would be trembling and unable to meet anyone’s eyes, but her brief time as a princess seemed to have inflated her confidence.
“Ha ha ha.”
As Leaf growled, Azidahaka found it amusing and smiled.
No lion would be distressed or angered by a tiny hamster baring its teeth, and in this case, we had a raccoon and a dragon instead.
In any case, Azidahaka would see the cute little girl Leaf as a non-threatening figure.
“Yay!”
Yingyi, clinging to Leaf’s arm, chimed in. I nodded in agreement.
“Right, enough of this. Let’s head inside. I hear they’ve prepared a banquet for us.”
—
The interior of the palace, resembling a temple, was a lavish space filled with smooth marble and statues.
“I’ll escort you to the dining hall inside.”
A maids or chamberlain—dressed in a silky, ethereal outfit—bowed and graciously led me onward.
With the red feathers adorning her head and back, I suspected she might be a griffin’s transformation into a human.
Seeing such women moving around in the palace made me shudder slightly.
“There are so many women. They’re all women.”
“Jupiter is notorious for his flirtatious ways. All the female griffins here are his wives.”
“Goodness.”
Now it made sense why this rocky mountain carried the name Olympus, the realm of the gods. It was a paradise crafted by a single man.
“Hehe, your tail.”
But Leaf didn’t care a bit about that, pulling my tail this way and that, playing with it.
“Your tail swishes, hehe.”
Even after gorging myself on rich meals for a month or two and donning all sorts of jewels and dresses, deep down, I remained just a Chilli raccoon.
Greeeeeak!
The heavy wooden double doors of the banquet hall swung open.
“Welcome to the banquet hall. Feel free to enjoy your meal. As per Lord Jupiter’s orders, please summon any nearby griffins if you need anything. The food has been sourced directly from Cairo…”
The maid continued to chatter, but her words faded to the floor as my eyes fell on the vast expanse of the hall filled with mountains of food.
My stomach roared in response, drooling at the sight.
“Oh, when was the last time I feasted?”
The days of scavenging in the desert, eating sand grain, flashed before my eyes, filling me with overwhelming emotion.
“Hey, brother, you’ve arrived.”
“We were about to start munching without you, meow.”
“Delicious!”
The treasure hunter crew that had arrived earlier waved their plates piled high with food toward me. It felt less like a seated meal and more like a cocktail party where guests wandered around munching.
‘What should I eat first?’
Lost in a happy dilemma, I was interrupted by Azidahaka’s scoff from beside me.
“Jupiter merely made a show of it; there’s hardly anything here.”
“Are you kidding? There must be hundreds of types of food! This is not ‘hardly anything’!”
Azidahaka’s snappiness was almost comical at this point. Before she could react, Leaf, who was hugging Yingyi, chimed in.
“At the palace in Jerusalem, they serve this level of cuisine daily! Come back to the human kingdom with me! I’ll feed you this every day! They all bow down to my word!”
“That sounds tempting, but I’ll pass.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“Because that place has Batus. That guy’s curse on me… Wait, is Batus not here?”
“That uncle went far north to the magical realm. He won’t be back for a while.”
“Good to know.”
I breathed a sigh of relief, nodding. Having become an adult and fought against various magical beasts and spiritual creatures now,
I deeply felt how troublesome a creature like Batus, a skilled hunter and ancient being, could be.
‘He’s not chasing me for now. I can relax for a bit.’
Grrrr.
My growling stomach reminded me to hurry and fill it.
‘It’s disrespectful to ponder when food’s right in front of you.’
So, I made my move towards the mountain of dishes before me.
“Excuse me, Alpha. The dining area for you is not here.”
A chambermaid from Olympus bowed while informing me of a new detail.
“Huh? Where then am I supposed to eat?”
“A special meal has been prepared just for you by Lord Jupiter. This way…”
—
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