518 – Time Of Dogs And Wolves – 6
A wind carrying the scent of soil ran across the vast, unobstructed grassland. Long ago, all beasts were winds that wandered the fields. They flowed, chasing water and grass, stepping on the soil, and competing for life and death in the wilderness. In the vast fields, birth was not splendid, and death was not cruel. No one evaluated life and death and simply melted into the world.
Tia felt free as she ran across the plains. Tia savored her liberation, leaving behind the gazes of the wolves that were after her and the cries of someone who was worried about her. Even the wind could not overtake her as she ran. As Tia walked, enjoying the joy that came from her instincts, someone appeared before her eyes.
A girl wolf. What could be a more fitting word?
The girl stood plumply in the midst of the large wolves. She looked like a shepherd herding sheep. They calmly looked after each other, smelling the scent of blood in the distance.
It is said that there are humans who were raised by wolves. Perhaps that was the case. Did the girl wolf grow up drinking the milk of a mother wolf? When did she realize that she was different from the wolves? Tia spread her imagination on her own…
‘That’s the wolf king. He’s the target I have to lure.’
Cold reason whispered to her. Unfortunately, her pleasant imagination ended there. Tia, who had stopped in front of the wolf pack, smiled and waved her hand with effort.
“Hello. Are you the wolf king?”
The wolves growled, wary of the strange human. As some of the wolves were about to jump out, the girl wolf moved.
The wolves, who had sensed the king’s will, made way for her on their own. The wolf king, who approached with light and graceful steps like a wolf, stared at Tia.
Tia felt a sense of deja vu. The wolf king was definitely someone she was seeing for the first time, but he seemed familiar for some reason. Cold gray fur, piercing blue eyes. A fearful presence that made her hair stand on end just by looking at him.
She would never have forgotten if she had experienced it once. Why did she feel a sense of deja vu? As Tia pondered over her inexplicable feelings, the wolf king opened his mouth.
“You’re violent.”
The moment she heard his voice, Tia realized the source of her deja vu.
It’s the dog king.
The fur color is different. The eyes are different. The atmosphere is different. The dog king is cheerful, kind, and sends goodwill to everything. He has round eyes and a warm smile.
In contrast, the wolf king was sharp, as if he would bite something in front of him right away. If anyone were to be bitten by those teeth, they would probably scold the person who dared to approach the wolf rather than the wolf.
That’s why she noticed it late.
The appearance was so similar to the dog king that it was almost identical.
“Violent? I’m proud to say that I’ve lived a good life.”
“Violent. Like a horse.”
“Oh, a horse? That’s right. I’m a horse person.”
“Why don’t you use your violence for me?”
Tia was taken aback. The opponent was the wolf king. He was not an ordinary beast… but she never thought he would recognize her and try to have a conversation.
Moreover, the conversation was more sophisticated than she had expected. The wolf king had seen through Tia’s true nature.
“You have the violence of a horse inside you. Your legs are for running away. Why are you blocking my way when you should be running away to the ends of the earth to avoid what you hate and fear?”
“Uh… to protect the city?”
“Are you domesticated? To not show violence to humans? In the end, even though you have the violence of a horse, you’re trained to use it for humans?”
If the violence of a horse was running, Tia had certainly used it for humans. She ran, came in first, and waved her hand while receiving everyone’s cheers. The flowers, gifts, and compliments were all for her.
Even so, she had never thought of serving humans. She just ran. Tia retorted.
“I didn’t serve them! I received fair compensation from humans!””You, of course, the most violent, the most tamed horse. You would have been the only survivor.”
“…!”
-But. What about the other racehorses besides her? Did they really get a fair price?
The wolf’s low voice reached her ears as they shook slightly.
“Humans tame beasts. They kill all the untamed beasts. They try to monopolize violence. They pull out teeth, cut claws, put on collars, and pierce nostrils. They try to cut out cruelty and make it their own.”
“Wolf…”
“I am the teeth you have lost. I am the claws you have removed. I am the vast wilderness that you see after breaking us.”
I thought she would bite her tongue and run as soon as she saw it. I thought the wolf king would be cruel and violent without any reason.
“I am the king of violence. The king who reminds you of the violence you have all lost.”
However, the wolf king that Teia saw was cruel and violent… but at the same time, he was sad. He didn’t seem to be just evil.
“Remember the violence. Your horses are beasts that run to the end of the earth. Not something that wears a collar and replaces human feet.”
“…I never thought I’d get a scout.”
It’s not easy to accept. But it was clear what he was saying.
At the same time, I instinctively realized why the wolf king looked exactly like the dog king.
The two are on opposite sides of the mirror. They are the same, but they represent something opposite. The dog, who never harms humans, and the wolf, who shows violence to humans, were as alike as they were different.
Perhaps, if Teia had lived a slightly different life. Or if the time had been different. If she had been at her weakest at some point in the past, she might have been persuaded by the wolf.
However, Ende and the dog king are the ones who have led Teia this far. Ende is a free city, and Teia loves the city.
Now she has decided to side with kindness.
“That may be true. But now I’m running for me. My violence is mine alone.”
And above all.
Teia looked at the wolf king, feeling the instinct squirming inside her.
“More than anything, I want to race you, wolf.”
“…Woof.”
The wolf king’s mouth ripped open and he laughed savagely. The wolves, sensing the king’s emotions, began to howl. As if singing the king’s march, hundreds of wolves spread out and prepared to follow.
Then, a shadow suddenly rose beside the wolf king. The shadow in the black robe approached the wolf king and said.
“Fenrir. That’s a decoy…”
“Shut up, human. You couldn’t tame me.”
Quaddruck. The shadow that had suddenly risen up was shattered into blood in an instant. A human who had been controlled by someone lost his life in an instant. The wolf king, with blood on his lips, didn’t even look at him and glared at Teia.
“I welcome your violence, horse. Run away.”
Teia realized now that the wolf king had spared her. The wolf king, who had bared his teeth and unleashed his violence, was terrifying. Every cell in her body was screaming to run away right now. Her pounding heart seemed to be running away before her body.
‘It’s dangerous. It’s dangerous, dangerous. This is not a joke. Unlike the races I’ve run so far, if I get caught this time… I’ll really die.’
At the same time, Teia felt a tingling excitement gradually filling her body. Teia smiled dangerously in the rising heat.
There is no jockey, no s*x, no proof. A race for life, with no other intention, was about to begin.
Teia exhaled. She prepared to kick off her feet hard for the upcoming race, and Teia pulled up her whole body’s energy and put it into her legs.
The wind from the meadow caresses Teia’s cheek. The wolf king’s fur flutters softly. The two beasts, holding violence, took a last breath before starting the hunt.Teia muttered.
“Let’s fight, Fenrir.”
The wind that had been blowing endlessly stopped. As a signal, the two beasts charged at each other with all their might.
They’re incredibly fast. I was going to bring them to you, but I got lost in my thoughts and ran far away. It’s like they’re living in a world that’s several times faster than ours.
I urged the Obely guards and the Suin special forces.
“Run faster. We can’t let the wolves block Teia’s path.”
“We’re already running fast enough! How can we keep up with a horse on foot?”
The rabbit magician, Kito, who had been panting and answering my horse, suddenly stopped. We were surrounded by wolves, separated from the main force. No matter how powerful the Obely guards were, they were far inferior to the Obelisk or the Beast Warriors.
Kito, who realized the situation a little late, asked with a trembling voice.
“D, did we go too far…??”
“Yes, and we need to go further.”
“W, what? We’re going to be eaten by wolves! There’s no one around to help us!”
“We’re here.”
“You’re weak!”
Kito, who had shouted weakly, quickly looked around. The Obely guards, about a hundred of them, were advancing in formation, and the wolves were not attacking them, but were just circling around them. I guess that’s because the wolves are scouts, but even wolves of that level are opponents that the Obely guards have to fight for their lives.
If the main force led by the wolf king attacks, they will simply die.
“What if we lure them away…? Aren’t we going to be wolf food?”
“I don’t intend to be wolf food, but the wolves will definitely think of us as food.”
“…Goodbye!”
“Where are you going?”
I grabbed Kito’s ear as he tried to run away. Rabbit ears are long, so I guess they can be held in one hand. Kito cried, flailing his arms and legs.
“Ouch! Let go! Let go!”
“Why? You’re a city trap designer. You have to give your life to protect the city.”
“I don’t want to give up my life! That damn city. I’m sick of humans and Suin!”
Was it because of the fear of the wolves? Kito poured out the bitterness in his heart.
“They’re the only Suin? I’m a Suin too! They ignore, reject, and ostracize me because there are so few rabbit Suin! The cats are so mean and vicious that they don’t bother me much. Rabbits are weak and timid, so they just beat and tease them! Ende should have been beaten up once!”
The Obely guards were taken aback by the sudden confession. Anyway, Kito continued to vent his anger by jumping around.
“The pig Suin are the same! What’s the matter with them bullying me? The pigs were discriminated against? So you’re going to enjoy the power you haven’t had until now? If so, make me king! I’ve suffered the most and I’ve been the most hurt! Toeee!”
“After you awakened your unique magic, you received the city’s green, didn’t you?”
“Well said! Do you know how I awakened my unique magic? Because those pig dogs set rabbit traps everywhere! They set traps on the path I walk on and laugh at me when I cry! I awakened it while trying to find a way to avoid the traps!”
The city’s karma is deep. No matter how good Kito’s reaction is, the traps have crossed the line. If you just touch them, you can wrap them up as if you were harassing a little girl, but if you set traps or snares, it’s just hunting, right?
“I’m a coward… I’m weak and pitiful… Why, how, why should I risk my life to protect the city…?”
Kito cried. Certainly, her desire is not to protect the city. The reason she took the position of trap designer was just a small revenge. Her pleasure was to ignore the guys who had bullied her from a high position.
She is filled with a sense of victimization that cannot be compared to that of the pig Suin. Unlike the pig Suin, the rabbit Suin, who are few in number, have far fewer means of expressing themselves.However, I am not someone who forces people to do things they don’t want to do.
“Don’t misunderstand. I am trying to create an opportunity to fulfill your wish.”
“Hiccup. My wish…?”
Kito’s wish stems from her sense of victimhood. She wants revenge, but at the same time, she also has a desire to succeed. She has a desire to build a solid foundation so that she will never be ignored again.
I, or rather, the regressor, plan to create that situation.
“I will make you a hero.”
“A, a hero…?”
“No, a hero. It would be discouraging to say this to you, who is not interested in saving the city.”
From Noble mtl dot com
Let’s see. What would be good? Ah, that would be good.
After pausing for a moment, I promised Kito.
“I will make you a god.”