CHAPTER 36
“Where have I heard that sound before…?”
A sense of unease stirred within me as I traced the familiar feeling.
The sound of small bells jingling grew louder.
“Hehe… no answer. So I can come in, right? Huh? No answer, so I can come in, right? Eve… Eve, Eeeve…!”
A thin female voice split and tore through the air.
It was the kind of voice that made you instinctively frown.
“I remember now… that’s the Duokshini.”
Only after hearing that unpleasant laughter did I realize the source of the bell sounds.
The Duokshini was the bizarre creature I had encountered in the night forest while traveling with Leaf toward the Yan-Meat cave.
Even recalling its appearance made a wave of discomfort crawl up my chest.
Cracking and snapping sounds, like bones breaking, echoed from outside the cabin.
Unknown beasts howled, their cries blending with the jingling bells.
“Then I’ll come in, Eve. Finally, you’re inviting us in.”
The wooden hatch in the floor of Eve’s cabin rattled violently.
I didn’t fully understand the situation, but one thing was clear: if the monster under the house entered the cabin, nothing good would come of it for me.
I locked the wooden door and shoved tables and furniture against it, trying to create a makeshift barricade.
Bang, bang—the pounding on the door continued relentlessly.
I didn’t know how long my improvised barricade would hold.
I paced inside the cabin, thinking furiously.
“What do I do? How did this happen all of a sudden?”
My anxious gaze flicked around the room until it landed on Eve, lying on the floor.
“Get up! Get up, quickly!”
“Ugh… th-the magic… is overflowing…”
I tapped her cheeks repeatedly, but she only twitched her eyebrows, still unable to move from the effects of her earlier exhaustion.
The pounding on the door gradually faded. Soon, the jingling bells and the beasts’ cries vanished, leaving a tense, eerie silence in the cabin.
“Is it over?”
I stopped moving and sharpened my hearing, trying to catch any sign of movement outside.
“I can’t hear anything.”
I approached the only window in the cabin. Through the glass, the outside was shrouded in deep, impenetrable darkness.
“What… why can’t I see anything? Was it always this dark?”
As I looked around, the darkness outside shifted like curtains being pulled aside, revealing a massive eye staring straight at me.
“So you were here, Eve.”
The thing I had thought was simply darkness was actually a mass of black hair.
As it parted, glowing red eyes and a gaping, torn mouth came into view—a visage so terrifying it could only be called a demon.
“Ah, shit, that scared me!”
The creature’s ghostly appearance sent shivers down my spine, like a monster straight out of a horror film.
With a shattering crash, the Duokshini forced its way through the narrow window.
“Eve… Eeeve! Come join us! Hehehe…”
Its long, serpentine neck extended into the cabin.
It was clear the creature was aiming for the prone Eve on the floor.
Watching its head approach, a sense of dread and urgency surged through me.
If I let it reach Eve, something terrible would happen—I could feel it instinctively, even if I couldn’t imagine the exact outcome.
I sharpened my claws.
Just like the time the tracker Yan-Meat had fought this creature, a well-placed physical attack could injure it. Fortunately, it hadn’t noticed me yet, fully focused on Eve.
I leapt at its serpentine neck, claws raking downward.
“Gyaaa! Gwaaaah!”
Its screams, a mix of eerie feminine and deep masculine tones, reminded me of the injured snake El-Gasa.
The creature’s torn mouth shifted as it looked into my eyes.
“White fur… strong magical aura… horns… Baltope…?”
A multitude of voices came from its mouth—female, male, even childlike. Clearly, this being defied normal logic.
I couldn’t even call it a normal creature—but judging by the greenish fluid leaking from its wounds, I knew it could be defeated.
“Eat it… kill it… tender flesh… potent magic…”
The voices seemed to confer, then it lunged at me with a massive maw.
Its spiky, unnatural teeth looked like shards more than fangs, capable of tearing even my thick hide.
I found myself cornered in the cabin, pressed against the walls, with nowhere to retreat.
“Kraaah!”
The Duokshini’s massive mouth closed in. I had no choice but to use its momentum against it. My quills jabbed mercilessly into its upper palate as it clamped down.
The creature shrieked, spewing a greenish fluid from its mouth.
It hesitated, clearly wary of my spines. Its expression twisted in frustration.
“This is more manageable than I expected.”
In a wide-open space, I could have used my agility to gain a clear advantage, but the cabin’s tight quarters limited me.
I braced on all fours, raising my fur and spines, preparing for the next strike.
“Eve… you tricked us! Releasing this monster in the cabin… unforgivable!”
The Duokshini’s head twisted unnaturally, gnashing and contorting as it turned its attention back to Eve.
“I’ll swallow you whole, Eve!”
It had clearly shifted its target.
I leapt, striking the back of its neck with all my strength. My claws tore into its flesh, greenish fluid spilling down its elongated neck.
“Gaaaah!”
The creature thrashed wildly, nearly unseating me, but I held firm, digging my teeth and claws into its nape.
The cabin creaked ominously under the struggle, and the more it resisted, the harder I bit down. The fluid was bitter and acrid, not the iron-rich blood of ordinary beasts.
But I couldn’t afford to let go—the opportunity to strike was too rare.
“Stay back, lowly beast!”
The Duokshini’s head slammed around, colliding with the walls and furniture. Each impact only fueled my strength, and I continued tearing into its neck.
Meanwhile, Eve slowly regained consciousness from the chaos.
She recalled the events, noting that the Duokshini had breached the cabin while she had been incapacitated.
“It’s a Duokshini…”
Its massive, pale face and jagged teeth were unmistakable—a cursed creature.
She cautiously moved, raising her dress slightly to maneuver around, hearing the sinister sounds of the creature’s movements.
Then she spotted a white-furred beast biting the Duokshini’s nape fiercely.
“Don’t eat it… you’ll corrupt your mind!”
Eve extended her hand slowly toward the young, intelligent Behemoth. Its fur bristled, fangs bared in excitement.
The young Behemoth hissed, but Eve calmly stroked its head.
“It’s okay… you’re safe…”
Gradually, the beast calmed, lowering its spines and releasing Eve’s hand.
“Grape flavor… Wildling? Is there a Wildling here?”
“Are you conscious now?” Eve asked.
“Huh… Eve? What… what happened?”
The Behemoth blinked and began assessing both Eve and the Duokshini, now fully aware of the situation.
Eve realized that the Duokshini’s blood had caused temporary delirium, and by separating the Behemoth from the creature, it would recover its senses.
The young Behemoth, a true creation of the gods, would need guidance to control its instincts.
