“What… is that?”
The opponents that the goats and owls were fighting looked somewhat like cats.
It was about the size of Daru, or maybe closer to a lion or a tiger.
However, what was different from a cat was that its entire body was silver and melting, almost like a large cat statue made of mercury.
Its four eyes, like blue gemstones, were large, and its mouth was split wider than a real cat’s, with long, sharp fangs. It was a strange creature—no, I’m not sure if I should even call it a creature.
Kuro shouted loudly.
“That’s the curse bearer! But the numbers…”
“Ki-shaaa!”
Despite the significant distance, the curse bearers, who had been fighting with the owls, turned to face us in response to Kuro’s voice. And they tried to charge toward us in an instant, but were stopped by the goats, owls, and hawks.
It was a fierce battle.
The goats were each facing about ten curse bearers. While the curse bearers were smaller than the goats, they were numerous and quick. The goats were struggling as well.
The owls and hawks were fighting curse bearers that were several times their size, in support of the goats.
While fighting, the owls and hawks shouted,
“Ho-hooo!” “Piiiii!”
It was a warning.
In the next moment, another curse bearer, resembling the mercury cat-like creature, pounced on us from the right.
Kuro, who was on the far right, screamed.
She tried to dodge, but she was in motion, charging toward the curse bearer at full speed. Her body was a moment too slow to turn.
“No!”
I instinctively turned my palm toward the pouncing curse bearer. I didn’t think I could do anything, but I acted without conscious thought in a reflex.
“Gishaaa!”
But the curse bearer, who was charging toward us with tremendous force, suddenly swerved its head and stopped, as though it had been struck by a fast-moving stone.
“Ko-kooo!”
Korko shot out like an arrow, grabbing the cursed creature’s head and dragging it to the ground.
Then, the mercury-like skin of the curse bearer changed into sharp needles, much like a porcupine.
As Korko tried to claw at the creature’s face with its beak to gouge out its eyes, the curse bearer tried to impale Korko with its needles.
“Korko, be careful!”
“Kokou!”
Despite the threat, Korko remained unfazed. But if this continued, Korko wouldn’t escape unharmed.
Daru charged straight at the curse bearer. Daru, completely uninterested in the sharp needles, bit down on the curse bearer’s neck and swung it around.
“Gau-gau-gau-gau-gau-gau!”
It was like swinging a wooden stick during sword practice. The curse bearer was slammed into surrounding trees and the ground, its mercury-like body scattering around.
“From above!”
Kuro shouted just as a curse bearer the size of a regular cat fell from above.
“First—”
I didn’t react immediately, but
“Kyuul!”
Carro jumped onto my head, biting down on the curse bearer’s neck.
“Gyaaah!”
The cursed creature let out a scream as it was slammed to the ground.
“Gau-gau-gau-gau-gau!”
Daru, swinging the curse bearer that had pounced on us, slashed at the one that fell to the ground with his claws.
Once the curse bearers were dealt with, Carro and Korko quickly returned to Daru’s back.
“Impressive as always, Daru.”
Kuro, trembling in fear, whispered while clinging to my stomach.
“Daru, Carro , Korko, thanks for saving us.”
“Wuff,” “Kyu,” “Ko.”
“Did the curse bearers die?”
“Yes, they’re dead. But…”
The owls and hawks were still engaged in fierce combat.
However, if we keep defeating them one by one, we can manage! I thought, and then—
—Gijaaaah!
A horrific scream came from beyond where the goats and owls were fighting.
“What is that?”
A huge curse bearer, at least one size bigger than the goats, appeared.
Its body was the same mercury-like silver as the other curse bearers, with a large, gaping mouth, walking on all fours. The difference was that it had large wings on its back.
“Is it going to fly?”
“I… I don’t know…”
The presence of this giant curse bearer was entirely different from the others. It opened its mouth wide and devoured a nearby curse bearer.
“…It’s eating.”
Once it finished eating, it seemed like the cursed power it emitted grew stronger.
“This curse has gone too far…”
“Kuro? What’s going on?”
“That creature is a cursed guardian beast that got turned into a curse bearer.”
It looked like the child, who could only be seen by the curse bearer, was the result of a cursed guardian beast.
“It looks just like a curse bearer though?”
“They were force-fed the core of the curse and transformed into a curse bearer.”
“Is there a way to break the curse?”
“It’s probably too late… Sadly, the only option is to defeat it.”
Kuro’s voice was filled with sorrow.
“Baaaah!”
At that moment, one of the goats shook off a curse bearer and charged at the cursed guardian beast, headbutting it.
—Ginyaaah!
The cursed guardian beast screamed, scattering its mercury-like body around, and unleashed a wind blade magic in all directions.
The goats didn’t dodge, taking the attack, and while blood splattered, it didn’t seem to be fatal. The smaller owls, who could have been fatally wounded, nimbly avoided the attack.
The wind blades also came toward me.
“First!”
I reflexively turned my palm toward the incoming wind blade, just like when a stone is unexpectedly thrown at me, and I instinctively shield myself.
—Bashun!
The wind blade aimed at me dispersed mysteriously. At the same time, I thought I heard voices saying, “It hurts, it hurts, help, it’s so painful…”
“…Kuro, that child is still alive, right? They haven’t fully turned into a curse bearer yet?”
“Eh? Yes, but it’s only a matter of time. It’s impossible to heal them now!”
“That’s not true!”
Kuro said that, but I was certain I could break the curse.
I don’t know why I was certain, maybe it was just a feeling, or an instinctive intuition.
But I knew I could break the curse.
“Daru! Run toward that child!”
“Bau!”
“Get close quickly and lift the curse!”
“Bau-bau!”
Daru charged forward. The curse bearers swarmed to try and stop us.
There were so many of them around, it was impossible to count. There were dozens, possibly over a hundred.
It seemed that many more curse bearers were in this area than the ones fighting the goats.
“Lady Luria , you should retreat for now.”
“Run away?”
“It’s the safest option for your safety.”
“But if we run away, we won’t make it in time.”
“That’s true, but… it’s probably already too late.”
Kuro said this with a complicated expression, uncertain whether we could make it in time.
“Kuro, don’t worry. We’ll make it.”
“Why can you be so sure?”
“Instinct!”
At that moment, curse bearers from all directions charged at us.
“Don’t come!”
I raised my hand and shouted at the nearest curse bearer.
I wasn’t sure if it would work or not, but it had worked earlier when I tried it.
The mechanism and the reason were unclear, but I decided to try again.
“Gishaaa!”
Once again, the curse bearer was blown away.
“Hm?”
“L-Lady Luria , wait, maybe…”
“What’s wrong, Kuro?”
“Explanation later! Try thinking really hard that the curse bearers should vanish!”
“Got it.”
Since Kuro said so, it was worth a try.
“Vanish!”
I shouted while concentrating with all my might.
The next moment, I felt an overwhelming loss of strength, as if all the energy left my body.
The strength slipped from my hand, which had been gripping Daru’s fur, and I almost fell off.
“Ah, ah. That was close…”
“Wuff?”
“It’s okay, Daru knows.”
Somehow, I gripped Daru’s fur again, steadying myself.
For a moment, Daru slowed down, but then sped up again, heading toward the owls.
Just then, Kuro shouted.
“We did it!”
“Hmm? What happened?”
“The curse bearers… they’re gone!”
“Eh? How?”
I looked around in confusion.
“Wuff?”
Daru, too, seemed confused and slowed down to a walk.
All the curse bearers fighting the goats and owls had disappeared. The unpleasant presence of the curse bearers, which had been suffocating, was almost gone.
“Kuro, what does this mean?”
“Wuff wuff?”
In my confusion, I spoke in Kuro’s tone.
Even Daru seemed puzzled.