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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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A forgotten sense of fear and awe washed over the ancient magical beasts.
The depths of the Demon Realm Forest, a place where only the strong survived, a place of constant struggle for dominance… the apex predators who had ruled that realm were all gone.
Or so they thought.
“The King… lives?”
The oni facing Elise muttered in disbelief.
He wanted to deny the possibility, but the aura emanating from the forest was unmistakably that of the King.
He swatted Elise away and took a deep breath, regaining his composure.
The red serpent, who had been swallowing humans whole, quickly finished digesting its meal and turned towards the forest, its mouth wide open.
“That can’t be Kurika.”
The Mihwang rested his spear on his shoulder, feigning indifference, but his gaze remained fixed on the forest.
All the ancient magical beasts, except for Belton, the demon who was still preoccupied with Eris’s arrows, watched the forest with apprehension.
The sounds of battle – screams, roars, the tearing of flesh – continued to fill the air, but the ancient beasts heard nothing.
They were tense, focused, their senses heightened.
What would emerge from the forest?
They couldn’t look away, but…
In the blink of an eye…
Crack!
The red serpent collapsed, coughing up blood. Its massive body crashed to the ground, the impact shaking the entire battlefield.
The nearby knights, stunned, cheered for the man who had snapped the beast’s neck in an instant.
“Whoa!”
“W-Who is that?”
“He took down the red serpent in one blow!”
While the humans celebrated, the ancient magical beasts froze, slowly turning their gazes away from the forest.
They didn’t want to see, but they had to.
‘I… missed it?’
The Mihwang nervously scratched his head.
‘That speed… as if time had stopped!’
The oni gritted his teeth.
It wasn’t just the death of the red serpent that puzzled them, but also the fact that the King’s aura, which had been emanating from the forest, was now outside.
“I’ve killed a red serpent before.”
The two ancient beasts turned their heads and saw a black-haired boy standing atop the serpent’s corpse, looking down at them with an indifferent expression.
Wolf ears perched atop his head.
Wolf claws extended from his hands, a tail swaying behind him.
And in his hand, he held the Sword of Rest.
“Kurika…”
The Mihwang instinctively uttered the King’s name.
The boy was Kurika, yet he wasn’t.
He was something more.
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“I’ve killed a red serpent before.”
Having hunted a red serpent, an ancient magical beast, in my past life, I knew its weaknesses.
Though I had just realized I could probably cut through it anywhere with the Sword of Rest that Kurika had left me.
He had left me with some truly remarkable gifts.
‘Thrown into battle the moment I regained consciousness.’
Inheriting Kurika’s power had been a difficult process. I had lost and regained consciousness several times before finally integrating his power into my body.
It had taken time, but I had succeeded.
I could feel my departed friend within me, his presence clear and distinct. It felt as though he was smiling, placing his hand on my shoulder, urging me forward.
Go, show them.
Show those who had scrambled for the throne in his absence what a true king was.
The Mihwang was the first to catch my eye, but I didn’t target him.
‘He’s the strongest of the beasts that have emerged, but…’
My target wasn’t the king of the apes.
I turned and leaped forward, propelling myself with surprising speed and height.
I swung my sword at the demon who was struggling to block Eris’s arrows.
While she had been holding him back, it was also a detriment to our side.
Eris, capable of turning the tide of battle with her ranged attacks, was being held back by a single beast.
“G-Get away! If I’m going to die, I’d rather die by the elf’s…!”
The demon struggled to block my attack, but my sword cleaved him in two. Even as he was split in half, he seemed more upset about being killed by a man than about dying.
“I… I wanted to die by the… busty elf’s…!”
Crack!
“You sick bastard.”
I had heard he occasionally spied on the witches, but I hadn’t realized he was this depraved.
I couldn’t help but think that Adriana might have become his target if she had remained in the witches’ village in my past life.
My eyes met Eris’s.
I raised my hand in greeting, and she smiled, relieved, then turned her attention back to the battlefield, raising her bow.
‘Something…’
It felt like seeing an ex-girlfriend. There was a strange tenderness in Eris’s eyes as she looked at me.
‘No, I must be imagining things.’
I nervously scratched the back of my head, a sense of unease creeping over me.
Suddenly…
A soft weight pressed against my back.
Only one person could possess such… ample assets.
“Eve?”
“I… I missed you so much.”
Eve’s voice was choked with tears. I wanted to turn and stroke her hair, but my claws could easily injure her.
I carefully lowered my hands.
Eve looked disappointed, but it couldn’t be helped. My hands were now deadly weapons.
‘This is my life now.’
I didn’t regret inheriting Kurika’s power. He was my friend, and his power allowed me to stand against the ancient magical beasts.
But great power came with a price.
I would have to be careful for the rest of my life, lest I hurt someone with my touch.
With the wolf ears and tail, perhaps living in the beast-kin territory would be more comfortable.
“Ugh!”
A firm grip on my tail surprised me, and I let out an involuntary yelp.
I quickly covered my mouth and turned to see May, a piece of candy in her mouth, grinning mischievously.
“Your tail is your weak spot? Interesting.”
“L-Let go.”
“It’s so soft. And where did you get those animal ears? They’re so cute, I want to bite them.”
She hadn’t changed at all, and I was grateful for her casual acceptance of my transformed appearance.
May lifted my tail and rubbed it against her cheek.
“This would make a perfect pillow.”
“That’s not happening, so let go.”
“You never know.”
May released my tail and shoved her hands in her pockets, grinning.
“Missed me?”
“……Yeah.”
“What happened to your hands? You’ll hurt someone. Can’t you retract them?”
Her motherly concern was slightly awkward, but I answered her questions obediently.
“No, I can’t.”
“They look deadly.”
“He can’t even pet my head because of them.”
Eve pouted, and May examined my hands, nodding in agreement.
Then, with a mischievous smile, she threw her arms around me.
“I don’t care. If you can’t touch me, I’ll touch you.”
“Hey… hey!”
“That’s a great idea!”
Eve joined in, and I was suddenly sandwiched between them.
I wanted to push them away, but I was afraid of hurting them with my claws, so I held my hands up in the air.
“Oh, this is nice. Daniel can’t fight back.”
“So this is what an infighter feels like.”
Just then, an arrow whizzed past my ear.
Eris, the archer, looked at us coldly and waved her hand.
‘It was a mistake.’
She mouthed an apology from a distance.
May and Eve, finally regaining their senses, reluctantly stepped away.
“Let’s clean up this mess first.”
I figured Rin was inside the Demon Realm Forest, probably raiding Kurika’s treasure vault or collecting the bodies of the ancient magical beasts.
‘It doesn’t matter anymore.’
I had the power to stop time, granted by the Goddess of Time, and Kurika’s physical abilities.
“I’ll be back soon.”
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[Your Text Here]
He’s a furry now