༺ Beast Kings ༻
“Mm? Wait.”
The undying tilted his head and came to the room I was hiding in. He flung open the door and looked in, meeting my eyes.
“Teacher. What are you doing here?”
“Ack, I’m caught!”
He found me?
The undying looked dubious to find me skulking around. I put on an awkward smile and crawled out of the room.
“Uh, I was on my way to fetch something from my room, but then I felt something off downstairs. So, I quickly snuck in to hide, only to end up missing the timing to leave and get stuck on standby.”
Completely buying my excuse, he scolded me.
“My friend, you should have tried to intervene if you were watching! The major nearly died, and the boy almost killed her!”
“Wouldn’t I have died if I jumped between them? Then Mr. Shei would’ve evolved from a killer to a serial killer. I’m not an undying like you, Mr. Rasch. My limbs can’t be cut off and stuck back on, nor can I be resurrected with leaves.”
“Mm! I cannot deny that! Honestly though, I was just caught up in the situation myself! I could not stop him! Hahaha!”
The undying laughed heartily, and I followed with another awkward smile. In truth, I had concealed myself here to see what the escape package actually was. There was only one place for Callis to escape the regressor, and realizing this, I sought Tyr’s understanding and moved to hide in advance. If Callis escaped to the surface using that package, I was going to seize the moment to either steal the escape method or find out how it worked.
But little did I expect the escape package to be a getaway-from-life kit. When I first read her mind about the item, I seriously contemplated stealing it. My old habits resurfaced, and seeing that plump pouch in that leather belt, my hands itched to snatch it.
Looking at it now, it was a huge relief that I didn’t. If I pick-pocketed that getaway kit to use for myself, I would’ve made the comics column instead of the obituary.
Whew. A man’s really gotta turn over a new leaf. It’s because I live straight that I got a lucky charm… or just lucky I suppose.
As I sighed in relief, the undying grasped Callis by the shoulders and spoke to her.
“The one who saved you is yourself, Major. I merely provided some assistance! So, it is fine to be proud!”
“…Yehss.”
Callis replied with a woozy slur, drawing a stare from the other. Her face instantly turned as red as her hair.
The undying was puzzled.
“Mm? Major. Your reaction seems somewhat cuter?”
“N-nooh…”
“By the way, without that cap covering half your face, your features are quite evident now! Your eyes are rounder than expected! I always thought they would be sharp as a knife under that cap, but you are cuter than appearances suggested!”
“I, well…”
“Why on Gaia’s green earth did you go around wearing that stiff, wide-brimmed hat? It served no purpose other than flattening your hair! If not for the shadow it cast, I would have known your face much sooner!”
“Because… I don’t… want to be… belittled.”
Callis covered her blushing face and kept trying to duck her head.
My oh my, is this what I think it is?
The bittersweet emotions I faintly sensed were like a drug I couldn’t take my eyes off, even as they made my appendages cringe. I wiped the bottom of my nose with a finger, giving a remark.
“Well now, it was pitiful but still intriguing! No matter how tough the going gets, life is better, isn’t it?”
“…Do you want to die?”
“Huh? You’re still gonna be harsh on me?”
Hey now, undying. Didn’t you say her eyes were round? Still feels cuttingly sharp to me.
She had no uniform or cap, yet her glaring alone had me cowering. Was this fear imprinted on instinct?
Callis shot a look at me before discreetly leaning toward the undying, murmuring to him.
“…I must stay here until the investigation unit arrives. And since they even revoked my authority, I am practically a fellow prisoner.”
“Oh, do not worry too much! You are still not completely imprisoned like we are, Major! And from my experience, this place is quite liveable!”
“Perhaps… you’re right.”
She was totally into him alright. Then again, it was probably natural to harbor good feelings for someone who risked their life to save you.
But what should I do now?
“I have been holding you too long! Now, I shall be on my way. It is best you get some rest first! A good sleep is the way to calm a startled body!”
The undying politely made way to leave, but that wasn’t what Callis wanted. He didn’t save her because she was special. In the first place, even when the jailbreak occurred, he stood up against the culprit of the incident just to protect the laborers… though he suffered a miserable defeat and had his limbs torn off, but still.
In short, that was just how the undying’s personality was like. If you were to ask if Callis was “special” to him, that wouldn’t be correct.
Though well, I didn’t doubt his willingness to get along with her.
“Ugh, she’s got a tough road ahead…”
But as I was mumbling to myself, curious to see what difficulties she’d face…
Suddenly, without any warning, reason, rhyme, or even the tiniest sound, a catkin appeared before my eyes.
“Meow—.”
Everyone was left speechless by the abrupt appearance. As if by a promise, our eyes were stolen by the girl, who paced over softly. Silently, the catkin approached the center of the group, curled her hand, and started licking the back of it.
“… A cat?”
Her tail stood up straight, reaching near her head. She had triangular, pointed cat ears and thick ashen hair flowing down to her back. Unusually, it was dark gray on the outside while almost pure white on the inside, as if painted in contrasting shades.
Four rows of slender and long whiskers adorned her snow-white face. Her gentle footsteps were elegant and so feather-light that if you hadn’t seen her, you wouldn’t even know she was there.
“Meow—.”
The catkin meowed alluringly, observing the others with indifference. I instinctively tried to get a read on the newcomer. Or tried to, at least.
But I couldn’t. I mean, I could read something, but the thoughts didn’t connect coherently. It was like reading a book of cave hieroglyphics, translated into our language. You could read it aloud, but the context was indecipherable.
I wasn’t flustered though as I had already experienced this once. I was just surprised.
“The Cat King?”
Dammit, it wasn’t like there was anything to eat here. Why would a Beast King come?
No, this was a bit strange. The Dog King was one thing, coming to the abyss on human orders, but the Cat King? Did I have the address right here? Was this actually a zoo? I couldn’t sense any other thoughts nearby for the moment, which meant she was alone.
Guess I have no choice but to ask directly.
Although I couldn’t read the memories of Beast Kings, I could still tell their name. I just had to read it as it sounded.
I called out to Nabi, who was still licking the back of her hand.
“Hey Nabi. Why’d you come to our place?”
“Mew?”
Nabi briefly paused her licking to haughtily reply.
“Mew took an offering and came to grant a wish.”
“You received an offering?”
“Mew is the only King to make equal contract with humans. Mew servant gave offering for mew to catch a rat squeaking in its hole. So mewself has descended.”
Contract. Rat. Offering. I probably wasn’t imagining the sense of foreboding I was getting. Especially after all the talk about the Human Regime earlier.
“Oh! Miss Cat!”
At that moment, the undying strode over to Nabi like the death-immune—therefore danger-oblivious—immortal he was.
“It is my lucky year! To meet two such rare animal ladies! What an amazing adventure. I can already see my brothers fainting in shock when I return to our village!”
“Meow?”
“Pleased to meet you! I am Rasch, Miss Cat!”
As the undying reached out for a handshake, Nabi stared at him… and swiped her front paw in an attack.
Her paw seemed to engulf space as it gouged out the fabric of dimension itself. The undying’s attachable arm was instantly torn off and sent flying across the corridor. It didn’t touch down until it reached the other side.
The undying’s eyes went wide.
“Oh!”
It was a power akin to Azzy’s. No, even greater.
Unlike Azzy, whose hostility would be dampened by merely facing someone with a humanoid form, the exceedingly wary Cat King didn’t hold back. She would have attacked the same way, even if it weren’t Rasch the undying.
Even if I were the one to have attempted the handshake.
A chill ran down my spine as the smell of death began to creep into my nose. The Cat King was a relatively friendly beast to humans… but in the first place, it was better to keep away from Beast Kings, as beasts were whimsical and unpredictable in their behavior.
Azzy’s complete goodwill was an exceptional case. After all… beasts had been ingrained as symbols of fear and danger since time immemorial.
After nonchalantly knocking off a man’s arm, Nabi licked at the same paw she had just attacked with.
The undying scratched his head with his remaining hand, remarking on her attitude.
“As expected of a cat! Unmatched in feistiness! Lately, I have been rather lonely with only fierce women around! Haha! Everyone, I think it best not to rashly approach Miss Cat! Unless you are undying like myself, that is!”
Seeing his right arm gone below the elbow, Callis asked him worriedly.
“Rasch, are you… alright?”
“I am fine. Losing my right arm is a daily occurrence now! Nowadays, it feels more awkward when it is attached, so sometimes I take it off and use it as a pillow to sleep! It is an arm pillow in the truest sense!”
“…But it’s only been a day since you’ve awoken?”
“Is that so? Then, I will start sleeping that way from today!”
The undying’s silly joke eased the tension somewhat. As for the right arm, it only landed after hitting the wall on the opposite end, after which it propped itself up on two fingers and scuttled back over.
Nabi was captivated by the extraordinary sight of an autonomous arm.
“Meow? The arm is meowving.”
“It is my prided arm! Never has it betrayed me to this day! As reliable as most companion—”
“Meow.”
As the right arm passed by Nabi, she swatted it with her front paw. It was just a swat, yet the concrete floor caved in with a crunch, leaving a paw-shaped mark. The arm crumpled like mashed fruit, scattering flesh everywhere.
The undying’s expression clearly showed he hadn’t seen this one coming as he muttered in response.
“Uh, this is not so fine.”
Callis shouted urgently.
“Rasch!”
“Hush! Do not go near. It is still all right! My right arm is a vessel offered to Mother Earth. No matter how damaged, it will regenerate eventually, so…”
Nabi observed curiously as the right arm continuously regenerated. Every time it was fully healed and tried to run, she would give it a swat, causing it to quiver in pain.
Her torment was driven by pure curiosity without any malice. The scene was gruesome, yet there was something transfixing about the cruelty.
The peculiar confrontation continued as we did nothing but silently watch Nabi play. Truthfully, there was nothing else we could do.
Then, at one point…
“Mee-ow! Just when are they coming?!”
The right arm’s regenerative ability was waning and could only twitch at this point. Losing interest, Nabi started yowling in annoyance. Right after, something landed on the prison rooftop with a thud, followed by the flapping of a parachute.
Ears pricking up, Nabi whipped her head around and yelled.
“Meow! Hurry up!”
A voice replied.
“We are on our way.”
Then, two officers descended from the rooftop stairs.
TLN:
100 Chapters!
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