A beastperson was cast out from the pack.
It was because of his white hair.
Just being near him made others feel nauseous.
Looking at him alone stirred up murderous intent.
Though no one knows why or for what reason he was born…
One thing is certain: The wolf-beastperson with white hair was called a Cursed Child and shunned.
Thus, this beastperson couldn’t escape discrimination and contempt either.
Perhaps it was fortunate that his parents were the pack Leader.
Thanks to them, he could stay under the pack’s protection until he learned to hunt for himself – but only until then.
That was it.
They taught their white-furred son nothing but how to hunt, without any familial affection.
And on the day he succeeded in his first hunt, they cast him out.
The white beastperson was forcibly dragged away by the Leader.
While the whole village gathered around the fire to prepare a festival celebrating the young ones who succeeded in their first hunts…
One young beastperson who had hunted successfully with them sat quietly sobbing outside the village.
It happened when he was barely ten years old.
All that remained with him back then were the ragged clothes he wore and the single rabbit he’d hunted.
No matter how sparingly the young beastperson ate, the small rabbit disappeared after not long.
Thinking he’d really die of hunger if this continued,
He stepped out of the den despite his trembling legs shaking from cold and fear.
For several weeks after being exiled, it was a continuous cycle of days like these.
After some time passed, his legs no longer trembled.
– If I succeed in hunting, I won’t starve that day.
Nothing but this simple logic remained in my mind, and that’s how my life was too.
-Paf!
“Kgh!”
“Haha! Finally got you, wench!”
Before being caught by the Hunter, I was a thorough Predator.
I only hunted animals weaker than me, and waited until those stronger than me became weak.
The Hunter turned me into Prey.
They set traps under bushes and spread poison along riversides.
I knew how to hunt but had never been hunted before,
And as a Prey that didn’t know how to escape, I could do nothing but wait helplessly to be devoured.
When I came to, I was being taken away by Slave Traders.
They dragged me down underground and threw me into an iron cage.
Somehow, there was a strange rune-engraved chain around my neck, and I couldn’t summon any strength because of it.
It didn’t take long to realize these runes were slave marks.
After all, everyone else around me had the same marks on their necks too.
After that, nothing particularly notable happened.
They showed me off to customers coming to the store.
People of various appearances and attire, regardless of gender or age, came to see me,
But their answers were always the same:
“…This is a bit…”
“Do you really consider something like this a product?”
“I guess you must think I’m stupid enough to buy a cursed wench?”
Of course. Who would pay money for a Cursed Child who was driven out even from his own pack?
As the days stretched on without me being sold, the Slave Traders’ gazes toward me grew harsher.
“This thing’s just a waste of food.”
“Since we’re expecting customers today, let’s deal with it tonight.”
Tonight was the night they’d dispose of me.
“…Hah”
I had no desire to live any longer.
I discarded such thoughts long ago, on the day I was driven out from the pack.
I just… wanted to become peaceful as soon as possible.
Since the slave mark wouldn’t even allow me to end my own life…
Just as I was waiting in the iron cage for death to come,
I heard someone’s voice from afar.
Even though I tried to block it out, a beastperson’s sensitive hearing allowed me to catch every word of their conversation.
“…Is there a wolf with white fur among you?”
“Eh? A white… wolf?”
Their conversation was enough to confuse me.
If they were talking about a wolf with white fur, there was only one.
So… That man was saying he would buy a Cursed Child.
The Slave Trader’s surprise reached me clearly.
‘Does he have a hobby of collecting rare slaves?’
That thought crossed my mind briefly, but I quickly dismissed it as unlikely.
Who would collect Cursed Children, objects of avoidance? It wasn’t even a joke worth making.
I’ve seen a few people whose hobby was collecting slaves, but none of them ever tried to buy me.
‘Then is this man the disposal handler… No, that can’t be right.’
I knew disposal handlers only came after the store closed, having seen a few disposals before.
If he were a disposal handler, he wouldn’t be having a casual conversation like this.
‘What is he then? If he’s really a customer, why is he looking for me?’
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out the reason.
“There’s a white wolf Professor is looking for inside.”
Just as I was pondering his purpose, their voices had already reached the door…
‘What did I just hear?’
Professor.
The Slave Trader called him ‘Professor’.
‘Isn’t a Professor someone affiliated with the Academy?’
The Academy doesn’t permit slavery. That’s something anyone should know.
Yet, this human calling himself ‘Professor’ came here to buy slaves.
‘So either that title is a fake used as a disguise…’
Or this man is someone who can ignore the Academy’s rules.
Either way, I felt my end wouldn’t be pleasant.
Soon after, the wall began vibrating and splitting open.
“Kuh…!”
Because I’d been locked in a pitch-black place for days, I squinted my eyes momentarily.
Once adjusted, the Professor I saw through my bright-adjusted eyes emitted a suspicious aura fitting of someone seeking a Cursed Child.
His faint magical power indicated he was indeed a Magician.
But his magic felt slightly different.
The sticky and ominous sensation of his magic… I’d felt it somewhere before.
It was the magic of black magicians.
‘If this Magician is seeking a Cursed Child… There can’t be any other explanation.’
If he’s a black magician, both his strange atmosphere and his reason for wanting me make sense.
After all, believing in unclean deities usually involves offering special sacrifices to gain greater power.
“…”
“…”
Just as I concluded he was a black magician,
Our eyes met through the iron bars.
“…”
For how long did we remain like that? The Slave Trader finally spoke up to the Professor.
“Well, how about it, Professor? Here’s your white wolf.”
As if waiting for those words, the Professor opened his mouth.
“Could you let me take him out for a moment?”
Like a child asking permission to unwrap their birthday present.
An excited voice.
Of course, it didn’t feel that way to me, who had already seen through his true nature.
‘Does he want to check the condition of the sacrifice he’ll use in the ritual? So blatant about it?’
“Feel free to pet him as much as you like.”
Even though anyone should be able to judge that someone wanting to buy a Cursed Child isn’t normal,
The Slave Trader seemed completely filled with the thought of selling off scrap goods.
He approached to unlock the cage willingly.
That dimwitted guy probably has no idea what kind of person this ‘Professor’ really is.
‘Hmph. If he had any sense, he wouldn’t be doing this here, would he?’
Some visitors here would rape or torture the slaves they bought or intended to buy right on the spot.
The Professor probably looked like one of those kinds of people to him.
‘Maybe his very simplicity is what helped him survive in this business.’
-Kiiik
As the lock of the iron cage started to open,
That’s where my thoughts ended.
I instinctively realized I had to make a decision now.
An opponent whose power level I couldn’t gauge – a black magician.
Me – a weakened beastperson who’s been locked up for years in this place.
It was a battle with an obvious outcome, but I wasn’t the type to just sit around and wait to become a sacrifice.
-Kiiik!
The moment the cage opened, I lunged at the Professor.
Trying to increase my slim chances of victory even slightly.
Even if I couldn’t win, aiming to leave behind wounds that wouldn’t heal easily.
Also, because I thought dying while fighting him would be less painful than becoming a sacrifice.
By the time the Slave Trader belatedly activated the slave mark, I was already in front of the Professor.
‘I should be able to kill a magician from this close range, even in my weakened state.’
Thinking to bite straight into his neck to prevent him from casting spells…
-Kang!
‘Wha… What is this?! Is this even human?! Someone who I, who can bite through iron bars, can’t even sink my teeth into?!’
In the midst of encountering something unprecedented, I froze in shock while biting onto the Professor’s neck.
Then the belated activation of the slave mark began to inflict pain on me.
“Guh…! Khaaaak!”
Unable to even scream from the searing pain spreading throughout my body starting from my neck.
The Professor asked the Slave Trader about the price while listening to my pained groans.
Throughout the transaction, his face stayed turned toward me.
Even while enduring the pain from the slave mark, he smiled as he watched my distorted face.
Only after the transaction was complete did the pain from the slave mark subside.
“So, I didn’t expect someone as renowned in the empire to be interested in something like this.”
“Rather, precisely because I am a Professor, I couldn’t help but be interested. As I mentioned earlier, the stress from the Academy is quite overwhelming.”
After finishing the transaction, the Professor threw me back into the cage.
He seemed to continue chatting with the Slave Trader during this process,
But I couldn’t hear anything through the lingering pain from the slave mark.
Soon after, he pulled out a scroll from his pocket and tore it open.
My vision flickered for a moment, and I felt my body float upward.
We had finally arrived.
At the slaughterhouse that would end my life.
At the repulsive ritual site they had meticulously prepared.
“Damn it!”
He looked at me trapped in the iron cage and laughed.
It seemed like he was enjoying imagining how powerful he would become after sacrificing the Cursed Child.
