But I could never bring myself to kill a person.
Killing a human with the body of a Gryphon means tearing them apart with my claws and beak.
And of course, I’d feel every bit of that sensation. My feet are one thing, but my beak, although hard on the outside, felt like it was wired to my nerves.
So, I decided to just hold on for now.
I’m a Gryphon, after all. I thought that if I just tough it out, this time would eventually pass.
As a result, the nickname I earned was “Coward” and “Useless.”
“You brought this kind of thing here…!”
Your buddy died, huh?
I don’t know how that went down. I have no idea how Gryphons breed, but whether you stole a cub, an egg, or a pregnant Gryphon, if you were going to steal, you should’ve prepared for what would come next.
I heard that Gryphons aren’t exactly common animals. Of course, I hadn’t read it myself, just heard tidbits while passing by.
They say I’d be made to use magic, but seriously, what kind of idiot thinks animals can use magic? A creature that can’t even cast spells is going to use magic? It sounds like the religious nuts have really lost their grip on reality.
Well, those who throw themselves into religion in fantasy worlds often are quite eccentric, anyway.
“Eek… Eek…!”
Anyway, I had no intention of killing someone I just met today, especially not someone I didn’t want to take down.
Thump, thump, I hear sounds of strikes against me. It’s only natural that it hurts, since I was kicked while wearing iron greaves…
But I made a grand show of yawning loudly.
The first year was tough as nails. I was practically shaking in fear every time I saw those guys.
But, the Gryphon grew at an astonishing speed.
I have no idea what the lifespan of a Gryphon is, but the growth rate seems similar to that of a large dog. Look how big it got in just a year!
While I don’t know if it will grow more than this, there’s a massive advantage to growing that fast.
My endurance also increased in tandem.
The first few weeks, every hit was painful. Not just painful, but almost unbearably so; it hurt enough to make movement difficult. So much so you’d think I was developing a trauma.
But as time passed, the pain lessened.
At first, I thought maybe I was just getting used to the pain, but seeing how it became easier to bear, it sure seemed like my body was getting tougher.
I could even properly ignore the ones hitting me now.
It wasn’t just ignoring; I wondered if I might actually be immune to physical attacks, considering I’m not a familiar anymore.
At first, they struck me with their hands and feet, but once I didn’t even blink, they went and brought whips or knives with metal shards attached.
Of course, when I saw those for the first time, I freaked out—
But funny enough, no matter how many times they hit me, all that fell off were feathers.
Hitting my eyes was pointless. If I just close them, it’s all good.
Because of this, I realized clearly why they were sacrificing so many to get just one little cub out.
Surely, there are ways to kill a Gryphon. They must have been able to steal it somehow.
But if they used those methods, I’d probably end up dead myself. Or at the very least, become ‘useless.’ So, even when they were high on their drugs, they couldn’t do anything to me.
And I simply lay there, like a log.
I didn’t care whether I was starved or not. As long as I kept holding on, there was no way they’d send me to kill a human in the arena.
If things continued like this, wouldn’t they eventually just give up?
The chains binding me were still massive, unable to be easily broken. Even the grown Gryphon could do nothing about that.
So, for a long while, this deadlock continued until—
“…Today will be the last of such days.”
Seeing the high priest who came to visit me regularly grin malevolently, I realized something was off that day. The knight who looked like he’d pop a vein every time he saw me seemed particularly imposing that day.
Plus, there was a strange light emanating from the necklace hanging around the priest’s neck.
That better not be an LED light.
“If we weaken you, we can definitely take control.”
A debuff type of magic, perhaps?
As soon as I heard that, I tried to rise with all my might, but of course, the chains made that impossible.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
As the priest yelled that, the light from the necklace shone intensely—
—Just as the priest had confidently stated, it happened.
*
I was conscious.
I could resist somewhat.
But with every struggle, my body creaked.
It seems that weakening my body meant something like this. It made me susceptible to illness, made injuries easier to inflict, and let them fester.
At first, I thought they were trying to control me through pain, but that wasn’t it.
Did physical injuries really weaken the mind? At some point, my body followed the enemy’s commands like it was under hypnosis. Is there such magic, I wonder?
I tried my best to move my body according to my own will against how it was moving under the influence of that light, but it wasn’t easy.
Even if they took control for a moment, the moment they focused a little, I’d lose command of my own body again.
And then they kept inflicting damage on me, making me fester, and as that repeated, my resistance became meaningless.
Eventually, the chains on my body fell away.
I should be grateful that I wasn’t able to soar in the sky or use magic as they wished.
As long as I managed to endure with all my strength, I could attempt to resist in some way. I couldn’t move my body the way I wanted, and ultimately, I ended up moving exactly as the enemy desired, albeit with my claws being swung in a way that wouldn’t kill anyone.
I could make it so that only my claws would deal injuries and not penetrate deeply, and I could swing my beak without opening my mouth.
…And, in the end, I was treated like garbage.
A broken creature that didn’t move as they wished, no matter how they desired.
But the silver lining was, there was no more violence.
My body was in a state where it wouldn’t be weird if I died at any moment.
Eventually, I, who was supposed to soar through the skies and trample enemies, ended up trapped in some ruins. Given the lack of sunlight, it seemed to be underground. Through the process of getting here, I was too dazed to determine what kind of place it was.
“Damn it, damn it, damn it…!”
The knight who had worked hard to torment me finally fell into despair like this.
How delightful.
It was satisfying, yet somewhat absurd.
They captured me on a whim, locked me up without care, made me do this and that, and then got disappointed for no reason.
The victim is me.
But still, when I thought of their useless friends that bit the dust, I felt good.
After all, they became useless because of me, right?
Who’s the trash now?
*
“…Is this all you’re good for?”
The priest looked up at me.
How long has it been since I ended up like this?
My body had grown increasingly frail. Now even thinking about moving freely was unrealistic over there. Though, I was relieved that it was easier for me this way.
“I just hope there’s some use in you. Please show a glimpse of the Gryphon’s majesty, even just a tiny bit in front of the Fanggriffon.”
Fanggriffon?
What the heck is that? Some sub-species of Gryphon?
I wish they would just start teaching me something or shut up already.
You obnoxious jerk.
As if on cue, the necklace hanging around that obnoxious jerk’s neck glowed, and once again, I found myself unable to move my body as I wished.
My creaking body sprang up against my will. In a state where even standing was difficult, I stretched my neck up for a ‘majestic’ pose and stared at the massive door before me.
Knights appeared from every direction and took their positions.
It looked like I was being made to command them or something.
While I didn’t want to kill anyone, ah, if only I could scratch those bastard’s backs with my claws just once.
The one who always beat me up was nowhere to be seen.
He’s probably somewhere on the second floor.
Is the enemy coming this way?
If that’s the case, I only pray they’re competent enough to take them down in my stead.
Well, if they’re that capable, I’d probably die too.
Living in this state would be even more horrifying.
Due to my awkwardly held head, the door ahead came into view.
That massive door was slowly opening. The opponents should undoubtedly be strong enough to deal with those heretics head-on. Something like the magic binding me wouldn’t matter—
—It doesn’t look that way to me?
What I saw were kids who hadn’t even reached adulthood yet.
And out of those, there were only two boys; the rest were girls.
…Those are kids I could probably take down all at once with my weakened claws.
The one at the front at least seemed to be wearing something like armor beneath a cape.
She was a girl with a strikingly beautiful face; too precious to be subjected to my claws.
…Looks like they’re definitely the villains here.
Who’d look at them and not see them as the protagonists?
You may also like Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy
