#62

 

“Ugh…!”

In an instant, Zakari was on top of me, his hands tightly gripping my throat.

Thankfully, due to the pheromone barrier Zerakiel had put around me, there was no pain.

“Grrrr…”

A beastly growl escaped from Zakari as he realized he wasn’t in control. His glowing, blood-red golden eyes seemed devoid of free will.

Or so I thought—until I saw it. A faint glimmer of gold within the red of his eyes.

The moment I noticed it, courage welled up inside me.

‘I can do this!’

I reached out and grabbed Zakari’s face with both hands.

Even if this was a reckless move, I had to do it. I couldn’t bear to watch Zerakiel die like that.

To prevent that, Zakari needed to survive, long enough for Zerakiel to reach his full maturity safely, at the proper time.

“Snap out of it, Father!”

At my first use of the word “Father,” Zakari flinched. Encouraged by that slight reaction, I unleashed all the pheromones within me upon him.

It was my first time consciously using my own pheromones.

Whoosh―!

A brilliant white light enveloped both Zakari and me. Then, silver chains began to bind Zakari tightly.

 

* * *

Having seen Chichi leave the banquet hall, Hiscleif instinctively followed her.

Even as he trailed her, he couldn’t understand why he was doing it again.

Perhaps it was the strange sense of déjà vu he had felt when he first saw her.

But now, she was the mate of the Black Lion. He knew full well he shouldn’t get any closer, yet his body didn’t listen.

As he was following her, it happened.

“Ah!”

He bumped into someone rounding the corner. The force of the collision sent the other person stumbling backward.

Without thinking, Hiscleif reached out and caught the person, stopping them from falling. As a result, the hood the person had been wearing fell off, revealing curly pink hair that scattered into his view.

Pink hair and blue eyes. There was nothing particularly special about the person’s appearance, yet Hiscleif’s heart sank for a moment, as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.

The girl in front of him looked like a herbivore beastman at a glance—fragile, like someone who couldn’t even bite anyone, let alone harm them.

Moreover, he couldn’t sense any pheromones from her. It was only after noticing the priestly robes of Hebel that Hiscleif realized who she was. It was the girl he had encountered earlier.

The girl, startled by the sudden collision, stared at him wide-eyed. Then she mumbled absentmindedly.

“Hi-His…?”

Her tone was familiar, as if she knew him. Hiscleif’s expression stiffened as the unfamiliar beastman addressed him with a nickname.

“Who are you?”

“Ah…”

“Why are you calling me that?”

The girl faltered at Hiscleif’s cold attitude, her lips moving but no words coming out.

“Well, that’s….”

Hiscleif’s face grew even more frigid the more she hesitated. Her face had been familiar to him from the first moment they met.

What if it wasn’t just a vague sense of déjà vu?

The moment I suspected the girl might be a spy snooping around me, my wariness spiked. Hiscleif placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and muttered coldly.

“Suspicious.”

Startled, the girl lowered her head and mumbled.

“I-I’m sorry. I mistook you for someone else…”

“It’s not common for a rabbit beastman to run into a hyena beastman.”

“There are many kinds of beastmen in Hebel.”

The girl explained calmly, glancing at him nervously. She was trembling, clearly scared.

Hiscleif clicked his tongue and removed his hand from the sword. There was no way such a young, timid beastman could be a spy.

But why did he feel so on edge? Still frowning, Hiscleif continued to stare at the girl.

It was right after he took his hand off the sword that the girl let out a sigh of relief, and suddenly, her rabbit ears popped out.

“Ah.”

Some beastmen, especially those not skilled in transforming, couldn’t hide their ears or tails when startled. While there were some who deliberately flaunted their beast traits as a matter of taste, the girl before him didn’t seem to be one of them.

From her shocked expression, it was clear this was an unexpected mistake.

“I-I’m sorry!”

She hurriedly covered her ears with her hood, avoiding his gaze. Her flushed face was as clear and innocent as her pink hair.

The way she kept stealing glances at him while blushing made Hiscleif feel as if he had done something wrong. Just as he was about to say something, the girl quickly bid him farewell as if trying to escape.

“W-well then, I’ll be going…”

“Stop.”

Hiscleif blocked her path with his sword hilt. His cold voice pierced her ears. The girl gave him a resentful look while gripping her hood tightly.

Even though she was the one who had bumped into him, Hiscleif felt as though he was the one bullying her.

“I don’t recall saying you could leave.”

“…”

“Tell me which part of Hebel you’re from and your name. And who did you mistake me for?”

His interrogative tone only made the girl tremble more. He wasn’t usually so persistent about such trivial matters, so even he found his behavior strange.

Just as the uncomfortable tension stretched on—

KWA-BOOM!

A massive explosion resounded, and a black pillar shot up in the distance, surrounding Jabis Castle.

“What is that…?”

As Hiscleif turned to look at the unexpected pillar, the girl’s pale face twisted in panic, and without giving him a chance to react, she shifted into her beast form and bolted away.

“Wait!”

Despite Hiscleif’s shout, the pink rabbit didn’t stop.

Watching her retreating figure, Hiscleif suddenly felt a headache coming on, as if he had seen this scene somewhere before.

 

‘You’re sticking around only because of this power, aren’t you?’

 

A strange voice echoed in his mind. Hiscleif instinctively touched his head, letting out a low sigh.

“Damn it.”

He had completely lost the rabbit girl. It was obvious that chasing her now would be pointless.

Hiscleif glared in the direction where she had disappeared.

But he didn’t have time to dwell on it. The area around Jabis Castle was being engulfed in darkness, the black pillar spreading like a veil over the land.

“What on earth is that?”

It was a phenomenon he had never seen before. He could feel the growing commotion from the banquet hall behind him.

The sight of the black pillar darkening the sky was eerie, as if night was devouring day.

Just then, Rudy finally found Hiscleif and shouted.

“Young master! There you are.”

“Rudy.”

“You need to leave! There’s no time to waste!”

Rudy grabbed Hiscleif and started pulling him towards the carriages. Hiscleif, following reluctantly, asked with a puzzled expression.

“What’s going on?”

“It seems like the Jabis family is rampaging! The elder beastmen who survived the Great Chaos are foaming at the mouth, saying it’s the same as back then!”

“…What?”

“There’s no time! We need to get out of here, now!”

Rudy tugged at Hiscleif repeatedly. If the Jabis family was indeed rampaging, it was best to leave immediately. Any delay, and they might not be able to escape beyond the barrier.

But Hiscleif dug his heels in and resisted.

“Did you find out who’s rampaging?”

“Does it even matter? Whoever it is, it’s one of the two! There are only two Jabis family members left!”

Rudy snapped impatiently, but Hiscleif shook him off with a determined expression.

“I can’t leave just like that. I need to see for myself.”

“Young master!”

“It could be dangerous.”