WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 517: Hour of the Dog and the Wolf - 10

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For all the fuss, the ground collapsing was not that serious. It had not become an Abyss, and a fall of only a few dozen meters would not be fatal to beastkin or wolves. Falling rocks were the real danger, but now that some unknown power had stopped the collapse, only a handful had been killed or injured by the collapse itself.

To a Beast King, a drop or a chunk of rock was no different from a ditch or pebble encountered while walking. Whether Jizan fell, the ground gave way, or shattered rocks rained down on them, it was like getting caught in a light drizzle.

That was why Azzy and Fenrir kept fighting through the collapse, treating it as no more than a drizzle. They leaped from crumbling ground and slammed each other into the earth, helping break it apart.

When Azzy fell amid the dust, a shadow pounced on her. Azzy tried to dodge, but Fenrir still bit down on her arm.

"Awooooo!"

"Yelp! Whine. Yip!"

No matter how much Azzy struggled, Fenrir showed no sign of opening her mouth. Azzy struck Fenrir's head and twisted her body, but Fenrir's teeth only dug deeper into her forearm.

Wolves did not easily let go once they bit something. Knowing that, Azzy bared her teeth at Fenrir's neck instead of trying to pull away. Fenrir noticed and shifted aside slightly, and Azzy immediately slapped her across the cheek.

If Fenrir had been in wolf form, a blow to the face would not have made her release her bite. But Beast Kings took human form. Fortunately, the human mouth was not built to hold onto what it had bitten forever. The gap between Fenrir's nature and form made her teeth slide free.

Azzy was not unharmed, though. A long wound ran along her arm, blood streaming from the torn flesh. Even with pain written across her face, she forced her arm up.

"Beasts can do anything."

Fenrir bared her teeth and growled at Azzy, who was covered in blood and dust.

"If you're scared, run. If you can't run, bite. Scratch, bite, dig holes, bark, threaten them."

"Woof..."

"Protect humans? Bark. Fine. You can let humans into your pack. You can keep them close and protect them!"

Fenrir's hatred turned toward the presences behind Azzy. Humans buried beneath the ground. Groups approaching the wreckage. Some had dogs leading them as they searched for survivors. The dogs raced between piles of dirt, distinguishing wolves from humans for them.

They had originally been beasts like wolves too, yet now they were devoted to humans, even risking their lives for them.

"Awooo! But you can't abandon us just to protect humans!"

Fenrir let out a great howl. When the king roared, howls rose from heaven and earth. Wolves answered their king's anger and charged at the humans again.

"The savagery will continue. It won't disappear! Humans will torment you, kill you, abandon you, and neglect you! Even for that day, dogs need to be able to become wolves!"

Fenrir shouted on behalf of all savagery. Compared to powerful, violent Fenrir, wounded and bleeding Azzy answered in a weak voice.

"...I don't like being hurt."

"Then fight back!"

"I don't want to fight. I don't want to kill. I don't want to be abandoned. Woof, I'll be good."

"That's not your choice, dog!"

"It's not a choice. Woof, fighting won't work."

Azzy was kind and gentle. For some reason, she had become unable to attack humans, but even if she could, it probably would not have changed much.

She was friendly toward humans and accepted other beasts into her pack. Unlike the other wary Beast Kings, Azzy had always lived among humans.

"Even if I bare my teeth. Even if I growl and bark. Even if I bite. If I hurt them, they'll fear me. They'll say I'm bad. Woof. I'm good. If I stay good... they won't be afraid of me. I like that."

"Even if they use you, abandon you, and work you to death? Even if they look down on you?"

Azzy had fought at the front against the wolves until she was drenched in blood, yet she still did not run. Humans stood behind her.

"Even then, someday they'll like me more. If I keep my promise, if I protect humans, someday they'll cherish and protect me too."

"Grr. Grass-chewing nonsense."

The two stood at opposite ends. Their words only represented their own views, and neither would accept the other's. In the end, they would settle it with strength, and the result would remain written in corpses.

The peace Azzy wanted could only be achieved through savagery. Sadly, Azzy could never accomplish it alone. Fenrir had taken most of Azzy's savagery.

"A collar isn't a promise. It's control! Humans don't keep promises! Just like they aren't helping you now!"

"That's not always true."

Well, it was a well-made strategy, if nothing else. She had a human to fight for her. The problem was that it happened to be me.

"Right. I also think some respect is needed. Emotionally, I agree with you, wolf."

I had only Jizan as a weapon. A few weak Demon Gods. My opponent was the King of Wolves.

I never would have stepped in if the situation had not lined up this well. Grumbling inwardly, I gripped Jizan and stood before Fenrir.

"Woof...?"

Azzy looked at me. She seemed unable to believe I had appeared, but her tail wagged furiously, unable to hide how happy she was.

"Why did you come?"

"To keep my promise."

"Woof? Aren't you weak?"

"I'm strong enough to help you. Like you said, I'm having you fight at the front anyway."

That was what I said, but this place was truly dangerous.

The King of Wolves had human form, but she was still a beast. We could communicate, but mind reading did not work. Even my sole advantage, reading murderous intent and moving a step ahead, had vanished.

She was even stronger than Azzy. If I relied on Jizan alone and fought her, I would die like a bug. At least Azzy was here.

Fenrir's brow twitched at the sight of a human. She was about to release killing intent when she sensed something. Sniffing, she approached me. Azzy tensed and stepped in front of her. Fenrir furrowed her brow and spoke.

"...Woof? What are you?"

"Hello. I'm an ordinary human."

I brushed it off, wondering whether she recognized me, but Fenrir's next words made my concern pointless.

"You too... had your savagery taken away?"

Was it because she felt a sense of kinship? Or because the King of Wolves was an existence like the King of Dogs? Fenrir immediately saw through me.

She also seemed to have roughly realized what had happened to me.

"Seems like it. Unlike Azzy, though, I'm pretty unhappy with my situation."

Azzy and Fenrir had been divided into opposite traits. One was a dog that protected humans, while the other was a wolf hostile to them, and they fought each other.

I had been left behind after losing my strength. Then, in a future I did not know, the King of Sin would be born and try to destroy the world.

Anyone who did not see the connection was an idiot. Sadly, I was not Azzy. Ah, ignorance really was bliss.

"Your teeth and claws were taken? You're human. How could a human like you be stripped of them?"

"Maybe because I'm human, I was easier to change. Making up your mind is hard, but once you're ready, it's easier to pull out your own claws and teeth."

This was clearly unexpected from Fenrir's perspective. As if indignant, she ground her teeth and asked,

"What on earth are humans trying to do?"

"I don't know. I'm a victim like you, so why ask me?"

I pretended not to know, but I had a rough guess.

Azzy was the King of Dogs. She could never harm humans and devoted herself to them. She was humanity's ideal protector. Of course, because of the limitations of being a dog, she could not stop humans from hurting each other.

If they had tried something similar with humans, what had they hoped I would become? It was obvious. They had meant to make humanity's protector through the King of Humanity. Somehow, it seemed things had gone wrong and the King of Sin appeared first.

"Human. Are you really fine with that? Are you fine being used after your savagery is gone?!"

"Of course I'm not. I'm a Beast King too. Beasts can do anything, and humanity's savagery is mine as well."

That was why I emotionally agreed with the wolf. Even as the King of Humanity, I could not become humanity's protector.

But humanity's savagery was the tendency to turn everything else into a tool for its purpose. Turning dogs into tools to fight wolves was humanity's savagery too.

"Still, opposing you here doesn't mean I'm giving up my savagery. Humans like dogs more than wolves."

"..."

Because of the conceptual split, Azzy had become sensitive to human emotions, while Fenrir felt the savagery of beasts. She probably felt humanity's savagery too.

Fenrir stared at me. She sniffed me over and over. After mulling something over for a while, she spoke quietly.

"I am the savagery beasts lost. But you didn't lose your savagery. You lost the teeth and claws to show it."

"Yeah. I'm keeping my head down because I know my place."

"Humanity's savagery is the baseness of turning everything else into a tool. You are savage. Savage enough."

"Thanks for recognizing that, but if you're going to say it, could you call it cleverness instead of baseness?"

Fenrir's savagery clashed with humanity's. That was why Fenrir had no choice but to attack humans. The disaster I had seen in the regressor's past was probably a more complete Fenrir than this.

I entered Fenrir's sight. Until now, the wolf's hatred had only been directed at Azzy, but she clearly recognized me now.

"...Coming to keep an old promise when you've lost your teeth. Bark. That's unexpected."

"Woof! Not unexpected! Promise, duty!"

"Well, there are circumstances where I might not keep one. Still, keeping promises is beneficial pretty often."

Right. Unless the regressor resolved this herself, I could not let Azzy die, and Fenrir running wild would not be good either.

If Fenrir was the disaster that summoned the King of Sin, I had to stop her. The King of Sin did not seem likely to leave me alone.

I took out Jizan and swung it through the air a few times. Fenrir might not understand exactly what this club was, but she would instinctively know how powerful it was.

"Here. I brought a special club just for you. What do you think? Scary, right? Why not retreat like a beast?"

If the wolf had been an ordinary Beast King, she might have retreated. But she was not.

"Awooo-."

Like Azzy and me, the wolf was bound by something and had no intention of retreating. Fenrir stretched out her neck and let out a clear howl toward the sky.

Her howl spread far, far away. Fenrir vented her pent-up emotions, her gray fur swaying as she glared at me.

"Let's test our savagery, shepherd."

Me? Against you? Someone would die. Most likely me.

Her gaze suddenly became too frightening, and I lowered my eyes as I took a small step back.

"No. You should fight Azzy. I'll support her from behind."

"Woof woof! Human, weak! Don't bite!"

"No, Azzy. Why would you tell her I'm weak so directly?"

"Woof? Human, strong! Bite!"

"No. Telling her to bite me isn't great either."

Fenrir probably already had a rough idea that I was weak anyway. I needed to stay as far from the fight as possible.

...Though the wolf did not seem to have any intention of allowing that.

Footnotes:

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