The anomaly doesn’t end there.
"Guu… Uuuu… GAAAAAAAH!!!"
A sharp roar echoed—something unimaginable coming from the usually gentle Snow.
And then, as if witnessing an illusion, Snow’s body began to grow.
She surpassed Aisha’s height, became larger than me…
And kept growing until she was bigger than a house.
"W-what the…?"
"Eh? W-wait… S-Snow!?"
Licorice and I could do nothing but panic at the sudden turn of events.
Aisha and Lyra were stunned speechless.
"GAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
Unaware of our confusion, the transformed Snow howled toward the sky.
The air trembled violently.
The sound was so intense that I instinctively covered my ears with both hands.
"Tch… Snow!"
This isn’t right.
An unknown sense of urgency pushed me to call out her name firmly.
Snow glanced at me for a brief moment.
Her eyes, dyed a deep crimson like blood.
Her fur, as dark as the night itself.
Her fangs and claws, sharp as spears.
She was no longer Snow—she was a monster.
"Grrr!"
Snow averted her gaze and suddenly bolted off somewhere.
With her massive body, even running shook the ground.
"Snow!!!"
I called out to her again, but she didn’t return to her senses.
Still in her transformed, monstrous state, she disappeared toward the center of town.
"What… was that…?"
I stood there in shock, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
Then, Lyra muttered under her breath.
"Could it be… a Divine Beast?"
"Lyra, what did you just say?"
"Huh? Oh, um…"
"If you know anything, please tell us! I’m begging you!"
"W-wait, wait. I don’t know the details either. I’m not certain, but…"
"Even so, please!"
Right now, I needed any information I could get.
Desperate, I fixed my gaze on Lyra, and with a sigh, she gave in.
"Fine, fine. But remember, this is just speculation, okay?"
"Understood."
"I’ve spent my life researching beastkin. Not just them, but anything related to them. And in that process, I learned about the existence of Divine Beasts."
"Divine Beasts…?"
Just from the sound of it, I could tell they were something incredible.
"Divine Beasts are said to be messengers of the goddess, almost like a second deity to beastkin. They’re revered beings of immense power. But it’s just a legend—there’s no proof they ever existed."
"And you think Snow is one of them?"
"I can’t say for sure. But I’ve never seen a creature like that before. If we assume she’s a Divine Beast, everything makes sense."
I have no knowledge of these Divine Beasts.
So, I have no choice but to rely on Lyra’s judgment.
But Lyra isn’t the type to speak on uncertain matters.
If even she is saying this much, then she’s probably right.
"Ahh, Divine Beasts, huh? Oh yeah, I remember now. There was something like that."
"Wait, Licorice, you know about them?"
"Of course. Who do you think I am? The beautiful fairy Licorice, beloved by the goddess herself!"
If she knew, I wish she had told us from the start…
Well, no.
I already know better than to expect that from Licorice.
She had probably just completely forgotten until now.
"If Snow really is a Divine Beast, then why did this happen to her?"
"Sorry, I don’t know. I don’t have that much detailed knowledge about Divine Beasts… I only picked up a bit of information during my research."
So Lyra didn’t have any answers.
But—
"She’s probably gone berserk."
Licorice, on the other hand, seemed to have an idea. Her expression turned serious.
"Berserk?"
"I don’t know all the details either, but… Divine Beasts were created by the goddess. They’re beings close to gods, but they aren’t actually gods. That means they’re not all-powerful. If you put it simply, they’re a lot like humans."
"Meaning…?"
"There are good Divine Beasts and bad Divine Beasts. I don’t know what caused Snow to turn into this, but…"
"So right now, Snow has become… a bad Divine Beast?"
"Exactly."
I had always thought she was just an unusual breed of dog…
But to think she was actually a messenger of the goddess.
And now, she had lost control.
What do I do?
What should I do?
I hesitated—
"…Snow…"
But when I saw Aisha, looking so worried, my doubts immediately disappeared.
"Everyone, we have to go after Snow!"
"And then what?"
"We’ll find a way to bring her back to normal!"
Comments
Post a Comment