Chapter 95: The Vision
"FETCH!" I yelled as I threw the boomerang for the n-th time today, with just enough strength to prevent it from being snapped.
And much to my delight, Garfield did exactly that, catching the boomerang out of the air by using the tree branches as leverage.
"Such a good boy," I petted his mane, but we both knew that that would be far from enough to reward him, "here you go."
I shoved a heavily spiced skewer directly into his mouth, which caused him to only get more excited for the next throw.
'Good thing I switched out from carving it out of wood to Unicorn bone.'
I was about to throw it once again when I stopped, not believing the stupidity of the people of this world.
'Or maybe she's just special.' I shook my head while turning my head to its side, now gazing upon the girl who was desperately trying to hide her presence from me.
Unfortunately for her, I wasn't someone to be tricked twice by the same skill.
"Come out, little one," I spoke as a smile started to take over my face, "are you lost?"
The Dryad knew better than to play games, especially when I was being so nice despite warning her to never see me again.
She was shaking from head to toe, while looking at my best friend from afar, hesitating to come closer.
I rolled my eyes at Garfield's attempts to appear proud and strong in front of the girl and slapped his back, breaking him out of his stare.
"You're ruining my reputation, Garfield," I continued to talk back at him despite his whines of being wronged, "there's no need to be rude in front of someone like that."
I again directed my attention to our new guest, commanding her to come closer.
"Come on, no need to be standing so far away..."
Although she was still scared, she complied, coming closer to the beast as it now lay lazily on the ground, covering his ears with his paws like a child who was just yelled at by his parents.
"Goddamn it, fine, here." I gave in to his little show of sadness and gave him the rest of the cooked meat I had prepared to motivate him to continue.
The Dryad continued to stare at the creature in amazement, surely forgetting the original reason for ever coming here in the first place.
The look on her face reminded me of myself when I first woke up in this strange new world.
"Wanna pet him?"
I asked my question as if it was the most natural thing in the world, only for the Dryad to follow suit, nodding unconsciously at my words before realizing what she was even agreeing to.
Fear was a second too late to catch up to her as I held her hand over Garfield's fur, instructing him to not hurt her.
"Purrr, purrrr."
'Well, at least he's enjoying it.'
"Don't worry, he won't hurt you."
As for why I had dropped my facade of being a great big evil demon king?
'There's no need for it anymore.' I liked playing the villain as much as the next guy, and even at times the fool, but what was the point to continue acting when there was nothing to be gained?
'Plus, what's the reason to act like a villain when I can be the hero?'
Although my effect didn't nearly match that of the Unicorn's, I could tell that something had changed.
It was my Aura, the very essence of which was conveying nobility and surreality. Still, it was just a mask, one that I could 'take off' at any moment without compromising my strength.
"So," I spoke lightly to the girl, without anger or threat, "why did you come back to me?"
[Isabel POV]
'I can't do it.'
The devil had changed, he had evolved, he had transformed.
'It's not gonna work.' I realized it while petting his new companion. The entire logic of our plan to deal with this second monstrosity after it dealt with the first had fallen apart.
'He has a reason to come back.'
The All-mother had spoken to big sister Hizel, enlightening them of the plan to drive away this beast.
It sounded ridiculous but looking back, it was truly the best plan considering his nature.
He was a beast, one who had never stopped hunting since coming to this forest. It had been four days, and yet this was the first time he ever did something else other than constantly 'stalk' his prey.
The only way to get rid of him would be to give him a greater enemy to hunt. Once he was done with the dungeon, we needed him to leave.
His very existence would upset the delicate balance of this forest, which had just gotten its roots off the ground.
'He must leave.'
We needed to drive him away by drawing his attention to an even juicier meal.
I had volunteered to be the one to confront him again, despite my sister's reluctance, with only big sister Hizel agreeing to my request.
It was time to beg—
"It's not to drive me away, is it?"
[Kuzan POV]
The girl's eyes froze in fear of having her mind read, as she grew frenzied by the silence hanging between us as the seconds slowly passed.
However, it was not my purpose to scare the little miscreant this time, especially considering that she was the only one not aware of the conspiracy underfoot.
"Don't worry, Isabel, I'll leave the forest after I'm done with the Basilisk Queen. You and your sisters have nothing to fear."
I had been able to piece things together from her memories, arriving at a conclusion even she herself had never considered.
'Looks like I felt more bad than I realized for treating her that way during our first meeting.' My disgust with my actions had only grown when I had come to realize just how 'young' she truly was in comparison to human years.
'I still have my morals.'
However, whether that was a statement or a question, I did not know.
"I won't even 'take away' the 'prize' of the dungeon." Her eyes flashed at my statement, disregarding how I had come to the knowledge of its presence, and instead being jubilant by my statements.
Her capacity to adapt to the situation was truly something fun to behold. One second she was scared stiff, the next she was practically jumping from joy.
"Now, how about you take care of Garfield over here until I come back from my expedition?"
Again she jumped from one emotion to the next, this time emulating dread mixed with a little bit of expectation.
'How fun.'
"Don't worry, I've told him to not hurt you...", I pulled up the beast's flapping ear from his side as he was pretending to sleep and screamed into his ear, "you hear that Garfield, or no more food for you."
"Grrr..." It let out a low grunt, being a little annoyed at having to wait here, but accepted nonetheless considering the identity of his new company. After all, forest spirits weren't really 'a creature' that the beast considered hunting. They were more like trees to them, a part of nature that was necessary but not appreciated.
"Stop being like that, I'll give you some good food when I come back, how does that sound?"
Although it might be my 'pet,' I wasn't someone who didn't understand how to give my 'partner' his due respect, especially considering his status in the jungle.
If I went too far, it might start being disobedient to try and push boundaries. Thus, I had to give it its due 'treats' in return for its good behavior.
"Go, Garfield," my words prickling his ears, causing them to stand up in expectation, "have some fun."
Although having a personal chef to cook for him was probably the best, even Garfield wanted to stretch his legs from time to time.
[Narrator POV]
It is a well-known trait of cats to hunt small birds and rodents and bring them back to their owners.
Although the reactions are varied, with some being horrified by their animal's 'animalistic' behavior, while others are proud and happy of their little kitty's catch, it is undoubtedly a common occurrence.
Why do these creatures bring back such spoils of victory to their home?
It is a common myth that they are trying to look out for their humans, by teaching them how to hunt. But in truth, it is simply a matter of cats being cats, with these ferocious little animals, even in their demotivated forms wanting to stretch out their paws and bring back their meals home, to eat them in the comfort of their homes.
[Kuzan POV]
I was interested to see, just what type of meal he would bring back for me.
But just to make sure he didn't go too far...
"You can't hurt her, you got it? Also, the more you follow her, the more treats I'll give you when I return, deal?"
We came to an agreement as I took his now extended front paw as we 'shook hands,' finalizing our deal.
Our actions, of course, left the Dryad wide-eyed.
[Isabel POV]
The Dryad was shaken by their interaction.
She had heard of the tales, of the destruction and devastation that devils could cause, speaking into the hearts of men to lead them astray.
But never had she considered a devil who was able to make deals with beasts.
'He's a Primordial existence, I'm sure of it.'
There was no other explanation that the Dryad's mind could conceive.
Her mind wandered back to one of the conversations she had with her eldest sister.
[A few hours ago...]
"Why do we need to convince him to leave? Won't he just leave on his own?" I had been the only one to question her decision, being driven to ask as the youngest of the group.
I was somehow the only one confused, as my sisters surely thought of something I didn't.
"We must, Isabel," they responded in unison, "for the forest."
"Why?"
"Because," my sister's voice cut off the rest, "we speak for the forest, Isabel."
My eldest sister sweetly explained her decision, not getting annoyed at having her decision questioned by me.
Instead, she was patient in her words, as always.
"Does the All-mother not like him?"
My sister profusely shook her head at my question.
"NO."
She had been steadfast in her refusal, even yelling her answer which surprised us all considering her usual attitude.
"Then why, what's the harm that he's causing?"
I wasn't playing devil's advocate but was rather trying to save my sisters from angering that demon.
'It's simply not worth it to try and interact with him.'
We liked peace, while that devil was the very definition of trouble.
"We speak for the forest, Isabel, as it is incapable of words."
"However that 'thing'..." my sister's voice cracked as she started to tremble, "it speaks for the beasts."
Her words seemed to take the life out of her as she started to fall.
All five of us were absolutely shocked by her behavior as she started to collapse while standing at the head of the altar.
We all ran to her, holding her back up, preventing her from falling.
"Just what did the All-mother reveal to you?"
The All-mother's visions were once in a century with Dryads taking great pride in being able to receive her word, however this...
For our sister, who had never so much as faltered, to have such an expression of horror leaking out of her face...
"What did she foresee?"
However, our sister remained tight-lipped, not sharing her vision with the rest of us despite our insistence.
We knew it was to protect us, but we couldn't remain still, just what had she seen?
"We have a right to know, Hizel," my second eldest sister Neiphm demanded, for it was against our nature to keep the All-mother's gift to ourselves.
Hizel turned her head, being bound by her title as the leader of this forest but holding profound love in her heart for her sisters, only replying with enough words to fulfill her duty.
Her eyes grew hazy as she could feel her life draining from her, remembering the picture that she saw unfold.
A future impossible to avoid.
"A war, Neiphm."
"A war."
"Where we are his instruments, and he..."
Her lip quivered.
"He's the conductor."
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