A sense of forgotten fear and awe began to swell within the bodies of the Ancient Beasts once more.
In the depths of the Forest of the Demon Realm, where only the strong could survive, all those who had once seated themselves at the peak had vanished.
But then…
“The Emperor is alive?”
The Goblin facing Elise muttered in a confused voice. Even though it seemed impossible, the energy felt coming from deeper within the forest was unmistakably that of the Emperor.
The Goblin swatted Elise away and took a deep breath to steady himself.
The red serpent, known for devouring people whole, also opened its mouth wide after quickly digesting its meal, directed toward the forest.
“It can’t be Kurika.”
King Mihu shrugged his shoulders and scoffed, but his gaze remained fixed on the forest.
In the end, aside from Demon Belton, who was straining to fend off Eris’s arrows, all the Ancient Beasts were anxiously watching the forest.
Sure, the battlefield was still filled with screams and the sounds of carnage—flesh being torn, and such brutal noises—yet for some strange reason, none of these sounds reached the ears of the Ancient Beasts.
They were so tense that the surroundings felt eerily silent, completely focused on what might emerge.
“What could be coming out?”
They couldn’t take their eyes off it, but ironically, in the brief moment they blinked…
Crack!
The red serpent fell to the ground, spewing blood. Its massive body sprawled out, shaking the entire battlefield. The knights nearby, bewildered, cheered for the man who had swiftly twisted the monster’s neck.
“Whoa!”
“Who, who the heck is that?”
“He took down that red serpent in one blow!”
If the humans were in a festive mood, the opposing side could only be in disarray.
Especially the Ancient Beasts, their bodies frozen in shock as they slowly turned their eyes away from the forest. Deep down, they didn’t want to see it, but…
They had to confirm it.
‘Did I really miss him?’
King Mihu scratched his head nervously.
‘It was as if… time had stopped!’
The Goblin was clicking his teeth in disbelief.
It wasn’t just that the red serpent was dead; the very presence of the Emperor that had been so thick inside the forest moments ago was now outside.
That was the biggest mystery.
“I’ve killed the red serpent before.”
The two Ancient Beasts forced themselves to turn their heads toward the scene.
A black-haired boy was standing atop the massive carcass of the red serpent, impassively looking down at them.
Wolf ears were poking out from the top of his head.
Wolf claws protruded from his hands like knuckles, and a tail was swishing behind him.
And in his hand was the Sword of Rest.
“Kurika…”
King Mihu instinctively spoke the Emperor’s name. The boy was Kurika, but he was also something more than Kurika.
Something beyond that.
*
“I’ve killed the red serpent before.”
In my past life, I had hunted the Ancient Beast known as the red serpent, so I could easily exploit its weaknesses.
In truth, I had just realized that, even without that, with the Sword of Rest Kurika left me, I could just slice through anything anywhere.
Kurika certainly left behind some incredible things.
‘Right after regaining my senses, I had to adapt my body for real combat.’
Receiving Kurika’s power was no easy feat, even for me. I had repeatedly fainted and woken up, forcing myself to channel his strength into my body.
It took some time, but ultimately, I succeeded.
The feeling of my departed friend distinctly remaining with me. Right now, it felt like he was smiling and giving a little push on my shoulder.
“Go and show them.”
Those who were vying for the throne in my brief absence.
Show them what a true Emperor is.
Right in front of my eyes was King Mihu, but I wasn’t going after him first.
‘Among the beasts that came out, the strongest is King Mihu, but…’
What I was truly fighting against wasn’t just the king of monkeys.
I twisted my body, focusing my strength into my legs and jumped. I was surprised by how fast and high I could leap.
I swung my sword at the Demon who was desperately trying to fend off Eris’s barrage of arrows.
In a way, you could say Eris was holding him off, but it could be seen the other way too.
Eris, who could influence the entire battlefield through her attacks, being stuck dealing with a single beast was a loss for our side.
“Get lost! If I’m going to die, I’d rather die at the hands of an elf…!”
The Demon flailed desperately to block my sword, but ultimately, he was sliced in half by my blade. Even though he was cut in two, he looked incredibly frustrated to be killed by a mere man and shed tears while struggling in anger.
“I wanted to die while… being with a busty elf…!”
Crack!
“What a crazy guy.”
I heard tales of some keeping an eye on witches, but I would have never imagined he would be like this. If Adriana had stayed in the witch’s village during my past life, she might have become his target.
Just then, I locked eyes with Eris, who was looking this way.
I raised my hand slightly to greet her, and Eris flashed me a relieved smile before turning her gaze back to the battlefield and raising her bow again.
‘Something… feels like…’
I felt as if I was looking at an ex-girlfriend. In Eris’s eyes, there was a peculiar kind of longing.
‘Eh, it must be my imagination.’
Even as I convinced myself, I scratched my head at the rising anxiety.
Hug!
A warm, snug sensation enveloped me from behind.
I felt really sorry for realizing this so late, but there was only one person who could give me this kind of volume.
“Eve?”
“I really… really missed you.”
Eve, calling my name while choking up with tears. I turned my body to pat her head, but with the claws that had grown on my hands, I was careful not to hurt her.
I gently lowered my hand.
Eve made a disappointed face, but there was nothing that could be done about it. If I so much as grazed her, it could lead to fatalities.
‘Looks like I’m living like this for the rest of my life.’
I didn’t regret receiving Kurika’s power. He was my friend and thanks to the strength he passed on to me, I was in no way outmatched by the Ancient Beasts.
However, with great power comes a great cost.
I would have to be extremely careful with my hands from now on.
Thinking about the wolf ears perched atop my head or my tail made me wonder if living among the Beastmen would be more comfortable.
“Ugh!”
Suddenly feeling a strong grip on my tail made me squeak unintentionally. I quickly covered my mouth and looked back to see May, grinning mischievously with candy in her mouth.
“Is your tail a weak point? That’s nice!”
“Release…!”
“I like the softness! Where did you get these animal ears? I really want to bite them, you’re so cute.”
I thought she was still the same, but that made me oddly grateful. She didn’t seem to be burdened at all by my transformation.
May naturally brought my tail up to her cheek and rubbed it against her face.
“Wow, this would be perfect for snuggling.”
“That’s not happening, let it go.”
“You never know.”
As May released my tail, she stuck her hands deep in her pockets and smiled at me.
“Isn’t it nice to see each other?”
“…Yeah.”
“What’s with your hands? Someone’s going to get hurt. Can’t you put them away?”
It was a little awkward being asked one by one, as if she were my mom, but oddly enough, I found myself answering her questions.
“U-uh, I can’t put them away.”
“You could kill someone if you touch them wrong!”
“Because of this, I can’t even stroke your head.”
Eve spoke up with a pout. May inspected my hands for a moment, then nodded, but…
With a playful smile, she leaped into my arms.
“It doesn’t matter. As much as you can’t touch me, I can touch you.”
“Hey…! Hey!”
“That’s a brilliant idea!”
Just then, Eve rushed from behind. Suddenly caught between the two of them, I wanted to separate them, but with my claws, I had my hands raised high to avoid hurting either of them.
“Oh, this is nice! Daniel can’t resist at all.”
“Is this what they call an in-fighter?”
As I stood there in despair, an arrow slashed through the air, skimming past my ear. The owner of the arrow, Eris, coldly waved her hand towards us.
‘It was a mistake.’
She mouthed an apology, realizing the distance between us.
Both May and Eve seemed to snap out of their daze, looking regretful as they pulled away from me.
“First, let’s clean things up around here.”
I expected Rin would be somewhere deeper inside the Forest of the Demon Realm. She was probably either raiding Kurika’s treasure trove or collecting the remains of the Ancient Beasts.
‘It’s no longer any concern for me.’
With the ability to stop time given by the Goddess of Time and Kurika’s physical capabilities, I said,
“I’ll be back soon.”
