WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 529: The Pup Truly Fears No Tiger

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The Mountain Lord, who had crushed me in a single blow, turned away. I could not read animals' thoughts, but I could tell it thought I was dead. I shouted at its back.

"Hey, tiger. Are you really that good at fighting?"

The Mountain Lord stopped dead.

It was in human form, but the way it glanced at me from the corner of its eye, its gaze gleaming, was enough to make my knees weak.

Wait. I had barely come back from the dead, and I was about to get torn apart again?

Remembering the pain from before, I quickly looked away.

"Ah, sorry. You're a tiger, so of course you're good at fighting. Go on your way."

People said tigers came when you mentioned them, but I had never heard anyone say they left when mentioned. The Mountain Lord glared at me again and moved sideways. Unlike before, it seemed at least a little wary of my revived self.

That was good. If it was wary, I would probably die more slowly than before. And surely even the Mountain Lord would not want to eat something suspicious. It would not want an upset stomach.

"What are you staring at? You're scary. I'll give you a rice cake, so could you not eat me?"

Fortunately, it did not seem to intend to eat me.

For an instant, it vanished from sight. Then I felt a terrifying presence behind me. I tried to turn my head, but something fierce struck it. My head spun. As my neck snapped, I could not tell where my body was or even what I was.

Aaaagh!

It hurt like hell. Death rushed right up to my nose, then retreated. The body inhabited by the Demon God regenerated, restoring me to normal.

I would not die. But that did not mean I had become incredibly strong!

Was I not just a sandbag with regeneration?

"Ghh... Tiger...! Just because you're strong, you won't even try to talk...!"

As I lay there sobbing, I felt something ominous. I immediately lay flat on the ground and raised Jizan.

As if it had killed even the sound of its footsteps, I heard no noise or vibration, yet the Mountain Lord landed above me in an instant.

Boom.

The Mountain Lord's forepaw came down on the Jizan I held out. The force of the wind violently tousled my bangs. My head nearly burst, but fortunately, even the Mountain Lord could not move Jizan.

Curious about the thing that had stopped its forepaw, the Mountain Lord swung at Jizan two or three times. Even though it was only striking out of curiosity, the force behind those blows was no joke. Still, Jizan remained a solid wall between us.

As expected of Jizan. Reliable as ever.

Ah, this was not the time.

"Hey! Tiger! Listen to me! Are you deaf? You took human form so you could understand speech, didn't you?"

Since the Mountain Lord appeared, this was the closest and longest we had faced each other. This was my chance to get my point across.

Perhaps it had heard me, because the Mountain Lord pricked up its ears slightly and replied.

"Why should I follow something insignificant creatures decided among themselves?"

"You can hear me just fine! Have you been pretending not to hear me this whole time?"

"Human voices are loud and filthy. I do not bother keeping them in my mind."

"What the..."

Before I could finish, the Mountain Lord whipped its head around. Instead of my upper body, which Jizan covered, it tore a huge bite from my stomach.

My body snapped below the waist, blood and entrails spraying out.

Fortunately, it still did not seem to want to eat this suspicious human, and the human body was not shaped for torn-off chunks to be swallowed in one gulp. The scattered pieces of flesh returned and reattached themselves to my body.

"Pwah. Cough, cough. That crazy beast..."

It was good that I had survived, but nothing really changed except that I did not die! At this rate, I would just keep losing an unwinnable battle over and over.

And suffer forever!

Damn it. Was there no way around this? At least, was there a way to get hit with less pain?

Ah.

There was.

I took out a Demon God card. In my hand was the Seven of Spades, the Lightning Thief's Lightning Skein. Until now, I had only used it to send currents through wounds to paralyze people or play cat's cradle with static electricity, but now that I could use my body as a tool...

The Lightning Skein seeped into my body. Agonizing pain raced through me, as if my nerves were being burned directly. I gritted my teeth and endured it until the Lightning Skein completely settled inside me and coiled up.

A moment later, the pain vanished. At the same time, every sensation became clearer and sharper. It felt as though I were using the part of myself once devoted to feeling pain.

Tyr's Demon God let me use even my body as a tool.

Originally, the body was something to protect and care for, a vessel that held my life. But once Tyr's Demon God dwelled within it, everything became nothing more than a tool. Bones, muscles, nerves, blood. Even if they were damaged, wounded, or broken, they became tools that only needed to be repaired.

To protect myself, I had to use my body like a tool.

I gave a hollow laugh at that absurd reality.

It was as if my body and I were separate things. Then what was I? If I was not my body, did my thoughts define me? Like the old philosopher's words, I think, therefore I am?

I did not have time to lose myself in thought. As I hesitated and tried to stand, a sense of déjà vu brushed past me. My body, now sensitive to death, instinctively raised Jizan.

Thump.

The Mountain Lord stepped on Jizan and sprang up, rushing in to tear out my throat.

It was still fast. The only difference from before was that I could faintly see its outline.

The Lightning Thief's Lightning Skein was not enlightenment about lightning itself. It was enlightenment about the tiny lightning flowing through body and mind. Forbidden knowledge that even its discoverer had feared finding, so they hid it away.

Seeing, feeling, and even thinking were not proof of spirituality, but things that could be understood.

Figures. A beast would be a beast. The Lightning Thief might have been shocked, but it was not all that shocking to me. If it was a tool, I should make good use of it.

Perhaps because my thoughts had sped up, my body moved quickly too. I swung Jizan around and shouted.

"Big brother Tiger! I'm your long-lost little brother! Don't you remember me?!"

There was no answer.

Just as the tiger seemed to charge, it leaped clean over Jizan and pounced on me. My shoulders were forced together, crushing me as though I had been caught between cymbals.

That lasted only a moment. Though my body neared death, my thoughts did not stop. As the Mountain Lord lost control of its strength and slid away, I staggered to my feet and barely called upon the Demon God.

"If you save me, I'll let you eat something delicious! How about dried persimmons? Dried persimmons?"

"Roar."

That did not work either.

Even if I had an immortal body, even if my reactions had become faster, my opponent was the Mountain Lord. It was the King of Tigers, someone even a complete King of Humanity would need to stake their life to fight. On this open plain, I was nothing more than a self-repairing sandbag.

I had to mess things up even more. Otherwise, I could not even start a conversation with it.

When I turned my head, I saw a tree that had been uprooted. It was a grassland tree that did not bear fruit, but when I reached out, branches sprouted from the uprooted tree. Flowers bloomed and withered in an instant, round fruits formed in their place, and their colors deepened as though paints were mixing on a palette.

Nevida's Demon God, the Tree of Origin.

Using it, I harvested ripe persimmons from the uprooted acacia tree and threw one straight at the Mountain Lord.

"Here! Catch!"

The Mountain Lord finally stopped and snatched the persimmon I threw in its mouth. It seemed to consider it for a moment, but perhaps it was curious now that it was in its mouth, because it crunched down on it.

Whew. It had finally stopped.

I let out a sigh of relief.

"How is it? Tasty, right?"

"Ptooey."

"You rude little brat! Don't spit out food!"

Still, I had achieved my goal. Having seen me create fruit, the Mountain Lord showed curiosity instead of immediately charging at me, slowly circling around me.

I had never intended to beat it. My goal was to catch its interest and have a conversation.

"Tiger. Look, there is no reason for us to fight. The wolf is already gone!"

"...So?"

"What do you mean, so? You don't need to keep a promise made to a wolf that's gone! So stop showing your ferocity toward humans!"

"I refuse. A promise is made not with another, but with oneself. The wolf's disappearance is no reason to delay fulfilling it."

What kind of beast used words more difficult than I did? And why was its sense of honor so good? Just ignore the promise!

"Even if the wolf was not my friend, it was a wild beast that showed ingenuity in bearing my ferocity for me. I pity the wolf, so I shall show my ferocity to all humans."

The Mountain Lord glared at me with terrifying eyes and growled.

"If it is directed toward you, human, that ferocity will be all the more valuable."

"Damn it. You knew all along!"

"Human, were you not torn apart and eaten by another human before vanishing from the world? Then I shall choose the same method. After showing you sufficient ferocity, I shall eat you."

A dog's kindness was directed toward humans, so a wolf's ferocity was also mainly directed toward humans. That was why the Mountain Lord intended to kill humans according to its promise with the wolf.

And I was the King of Humanity.

There was no human better suited to receive ferocity than me.

I was cornered. If I got eaten like this, I might really die for good. Still, I had no choice. To live, I had to fight, even if I had to turn everything else into a tool.

"You think you're the only violent one? I'm violent too! Don't think you'll be able to eat me easily!"

"Roar."

The Mountain Lord bared its teeth as if laughing at me. It was clearly wearing a fluttering jacket, yet the moment it moved its foot, it vanished from sight. My sharpened senses barely caught it leaping over a boulder and rushing toward me, but knowing I was about to get hit did not change anything.

I gripped Jizan tightly and steeled myself.

Ferocity was not for defeating an enemy. It was for protecting myself. I would hurt it enough that it would not dare lay a hand on me again.

...How?

I did not know that either. Should I hold onto it and fall with it or something?

While I was having that stupid thought, the Mountain Lord leaped. It raised its forepaw with enough force to crush Mount Tai. I could not dodge or block it anyway. Ready to accept one strike, I waited for its attack.

Then Azzy came running over, barking bravely.

"Woof!"

Even with reinforcements here, I was not particularly happy. I did not think Azzy's arrival would change much.

Azzy stood in front of me and reached out a forepaw toward the Mountain Lord. The Mountain Lord also brought down its forepaw at the enemy that had stepped in front of it.

The two Beast Kings collided.

A sound far too intense and destructive to come from paw pads rang through the air. A shockwave exploded, launching the two Beast Kings in opposite directions. Seeing Azzy's sudden intervention, the Mountain Lord frowned.

"A wolf?"

The Mountain Lord landed on the ground, looked Azzy over from every angle, then slowly approached.

"No. A dog. A tamed beast."

Azzy, who had slid back, cheerfully greeted the Mountain Lord.

"Hello. Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you? I have come to show ferocity toward humans in accordance with the wolf's will."

"Woof? Don't show it!"

"It was what the wolf did. I only came to keep my promise."

"Wolf not just wolf now! Dog and wolf together! Ferocity, kindness, all together! Promise invalid! Stop fighting!"

Azzy could persuade people too.

That was surprising enough, but it was even more surprising that it seemed to be working. The Mountain Lord smoothed its fur and spoke to Azzy.

"I know. No one bears my ferocity for me now. Yet that only means the promise no longer binds me. It is no reason not to fulfill it."

"Fighting hurts. Hurting bad. Humans, wolves, tigers too. Fighting bad. Living together good!"

"To eat, one must show ferocity."

"Are you hungry?"

Azzy asked casually.

It was an unexpected question, but the Mountain Lord answered seriously, as though they were discussing a matter of great importance.

"Someday."

"Woof! Humans share food! Kind!"

"That is taming. You entrust your ferocity to it. I am ferocious, so I cannot do that. The wolf had nothing but ferocity. It was weaker than I, but more ferocious than anyone. So I promised to add to the wolf's ferocity as well."

"But you do not only have ferocity."

Azzy was not intimidated even as she faced the Mountain Lord, the King of Tigers.

"You can be ferocious. But you can be tamed too. Eat food and play. Safe. Warm. I like that. And you like that too."

"I am strong and ferocious. I cannot be tamed like you wolves."

"You were big and fierce, so you stayed alone on a mountain and lived in loneliness. That can happen, but it is not all you are."

Azzy spoke with a firm smile.

At the same time, something began to rise above Azzy's head. It looked like the crown possessed by Beast Kings, but it was white, round, and smooth, the opposite of a crown.

Rather than a crown...

Yes, it resembled a halo.

"Hold, lick, run, play. Your fur is meant to wrap others warmly, and your tongue is meant to lick wounds. You are big and fierce, so you had no choice but to live alone on a mountain, but if there is plenty of prey, you can live alongside humans too."

Azzy, who had pioneered the new realm of Holy Hounds alongside Saints and Holy Maidens, scattered radiance and held out her forepaw.

"If the wolf took on your ferocity, I will take on your kindness. Let us be friends."

Footnotes:

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