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chapter 55
Sarang was commanded by their owner’s friend.
Go to the remnants of the curse and bite that master.
Upon hearing this, Sarang was happy.
“Grrrr…”
Sarang’s true nature was Fenrir—a wolf.
A wolf that tears the throat of its prey.
Perhaps because of this instinct, Sarang willingly accepted the command.
Therefore, Sarang intended to faithfully carry out the orders given by their owner’s friend.
But…
“(What’s with that wolf? Is it a monster? All of a sudden?)”
“(A variable. Deal with it quickly.)”
“(I hope it’s not being controlled by the target…)”
For some reason, the prey was drawing the attention of others.
And Sarang recalled that the command they heard wasn’t simply to bite the prey’s neck.
[Then go and bite while avoiding the eyes of others.]
Bite while avoiding the eyes of others.
In other words, bite the prey where there are no witnesses.
And the simplest way to deal with witnesses…
“Auuuuu…!”
…was to eliminate them.
Of course, Sarang had been taught not to kill people recklessly, but the ones standing before Sarang now were no ordinary humans.
They were people steeped in the scent of blood.
Sarang had also accompanied a doll belonging to Han Geon-woo, an artist, and remembered how Han Geon-woo dealt with those steeped in the scent of blood.
Extermination.
That was how Han Geon-woo handled things, and it was also the method Sarang decided was best for dealing with witnesses.
“(Guh?!)”
“(Ugh?!)”
“(What….)”
At Sarang’s howling, the mercenaries who had tried to pounce on the shrine maiden all covered their ears.
“(What is this… the sound itself is an attack?!)”
Sarang had often followed Lee Ha-eun, observing Han Geon-woo as he practiced his techniques.
Han Geon-woo tested his martial arts using various skills, including sound techniques.
Like the saying, “Even a temple dog will learn poetry in three years,” Sarang imitated the sound technique.
Sarang was not just a simple dog, but a Fenrir with intelligence comparable to—or exceeding—that of a human.
However, their skill level was low.
“(Everyone, block your ears with aura or magic! That way you can resist it a little!)”
Unlike Han Geon-woo, who could blast, crush, and destroy with sound, Sarang’s sound technique only caused confusion in the target.
Or rather, you could say the mercenaries were skilled enough to maintain their minds even while facing the presence and sound technique of a Fenrir.
“(I’ll go left.)”
“(Then I’ll go right.)”
“(Damn! That means I have to go straight ahead!)”
Each mercenary moved while communicating only minimally.
Their movements were efficient and pre-calculated.
Even the one who complained about going straight knew it was the most efficient path and charged directly at Sarang.
“Kyahoo…!”
Sarang swung a forepaw at the mercenary charging straight ahead.
Even the forepaw carried internal energy…
Shkrrk…!
“(Uh…?)”
The mercenary who rushed forward to block Sarang’s attack was split apart.
As one ally fell so effortlessly, the mercenaries began to waver one by one.
“(Crazy… Was that aura just now?)”
“(A monster using aura… a variant?)”
“(Everyone, shut your mouths and surround it. Unless you want to die as pointlessly as Takashima just did.)”
Although these mercenaries were mostly specialized in fighting humans, they were not unaccustomed to facing monsters.
Some had faced strong individuals, though none as strong as Sarang.
“(Kill it!)”
Thus, their hesitation was brief. They quickly took positions and prepared to hunt Sarang.
Each drew their own weapon and attacked Sarang: swords, spears, blunt weapons like maces, the rare scythe, bows, guns, and magic.
They attacked using various weapons, but there was no room to dodge.
Sarang’s size was the biggest factor.
Thus…
Fshhh…!
“(What….)”
Sarang shrank into the form of a normal dog and dodged the mercenaries’ attacks.
Naturally, the mercenaries’ attacks aimed at a large target missed entirely.
“(Kyaa?!)”
One shrine maiden, hiding behind Sarang, was exposed to an attack as Sarang shrank, but no one paid attention.
Neither Sarang nor the mercenaries cared about her survival.
She did manage to defend herself with a talisman, but…
“Kraang…!”
“(Kyaaah?!)”
“(Gah…!)”
Sarang, having easily evaded the attacks, grew large again and struck the nearby mercenaries.
Some were bitten, some were struck with forepaws, some torn with claws.
The mercenaries who got too close were killed in an instant.
“(What is that movement!)”
The mercenaries were veterans and could read Sarang’s moves, but…
“(Not extremely fast, but precise.)”
Sarang had grown up observing Han Geon-woo, Yeon Mi-rae, and occasionally Arthur.
All three were strong, even called aura masters.
Sarang learned from their movements.
Though a bipedal human and a quadrupedal wolf differ, there was much to imitate.
Though Sarang’s skill was below theirs, there was no mercenary here who could suppress them.
“(Crazy…!)”
After subduing the nearby mercenaries, Sarang charged forward.
The movements observed from Han Geon-woo, Yeon Mi-rae, and Arthur weren’t just about swinging weapons.
They included light-footed techniques.
Sarang could mimic them, providing enough speed to break through the encirclement, though not impossible to counter.
“(Damn…!)”
“(We have to escape…!)”
“(Hah… so pointless….)”
The mercenaries trapped in the broken formation were killed one by one by Sarang.
They tried to resist, but they couldn’t even scratch Sarang.
All they could do was attempt to flee or pray for a merciful death.
“(Wow…)”
The shrine maiden watched in stunned silence.
Her eyes couldn’t fully track Sarang, but one thing was clear: because of this one wolf, all the mercenaries in the hotel were being killed.
‘(…thank goodness….)’
Though events didn’t go exactly as she expected, the important thing was that the mercenaries’ planned terror failed.
If the mercenaries’ corpses were found, all students on the math trip would be unable to enjoy it, but it was better than being caught in the attack.
She breathed a sigh of relief that nothing catastrophic had happened.
‘(Moreover, those mercenaries… didn’t hide the evidence well, so maybe the mastermind can be traced.)’
The results were even better than she had expected.
Then…
“Grrrr…”
“(Uh…?)”
Sarang returned after dealing with all the mercenaries and growled at the shrine maiden.
…Seeing this, the shrine maiden realized something was wrong.
‘(Wait… my fortune said mixed luck….)’
A fortune of both good and bad events.
She had assumed the good would be the powerful allies helping her and the bad would be the mercenaries’ attack.
But the attack hadn’t happened.
‘(…Or had it?)’
Then what was the remaining bad luck?
Seeing the wolf that killed all the mercenaries growling before her…
‘(Does the bad luck mean… my death…?)’
Sweat ran down her spine.
Yes. Mixed fortune meant that the good and bad were inseparable.
If the wolf was the source of the good, then the bad must also come from the wolf.
Thinking this, she saw Sarang open its mouth wide as if to devour her.
Feeling its teeth near her, she thought:
‘(Ah… Father, Mother… a young girl departs before her time….)’
At that moment, she had resigned herself.
“Woof!”
“(…Woof?)”
Sarang returned to a puppy form, not as Fenrir.
“(…You won’t kill me…?)”
“Kiiing…?”
Not understanding Japanese, Sarang simply brought her a stick.
It was the scabbard from the sword a mercenary had used. The shrine maiden wondered what it meant.
‘(…Could it be?)’
She threw the scabbard as far as possible.
Sarang immediately ran after it, grabbed it, and returned it to her.
“Woof!”
“(Ah… ahahaha….)”
She survived.
For some reason, the wolf strong enough to kill all the mercenaries did not kill her.
Instead, it seemed to demand she play with it.
Realizing this, she relaxed. She threw the scabbard again, letting Sarang play.
‘(…At least I’m not dead.)’
The shrine maiden played with Sarang until it was satisfied.
For context…
[Sarang. Can you feel the remaining traces of this curse?]
[Then go bite while avoiding the eyes of others.]
[Ah, don’t kill… just play with it like a toy.]
Sarang had simply followed Han Geon-woo’s orders.
…Which meant the shrine maiden had become Sarang’s toy.
“(…My arms hurt….)”
“Grrrr…”
“(Eek?!)”
Sarang would not tolerate its toy resisting, so the shrine maiden had no choice but to play with it all night until it was satisfied.
The next morning, it wasn’t until the teacher noticed the shrine maiden missing and the hotel cleaners came across her and the corpses that the police were alerted.
