GalaxyTL
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Author’s note: Arc 11 begins.
It’s a shorter one.
—
“Guh! Aaaahh!!”
Crying out from the sharp pain shooting through his left arm, the hunter Gonpeter inadvertently stumbled and tumbled to the ground.
His large frame, now covered in wounds, was caked in dirt, making him look even more wretched.
“Ah, hah……hah, hah……”
Panting heavily, Gonpeter desperately tried to rise and flee once more.
“Chiwawawawa……Chiwawawawa……!”
Observing his plight with an odd, lecherous snickering was a monster.
This monster was the very culprit that had driven Gonpeter into this desperate state!
A small, flat face!
Ears pricked up in a triangular shape!
Constantly moist, large, round eyes!
If a human reincarnated or transported from Earth saw this monster’s face, they would undoubtedly conclude:
“Ah, it’s a Chihuahua!”
However, this monster was not a Chihuahua.
It was a Chiwanwan.
More precisely, it was an Assault Chiwanwan, a subspecies of Chiwanwan.
Normally, Chiwanwans rank at the very bottom of the combat capability hierarchy in this world.
For instance, if a Chiwanwan encountered a stray dog, without even fighting, it would cower just from being growled at, potentially dying of fright in the worst case.
If it tripped over weeds, it could die of shock.
That’s how weak these creatures are.
The phrase “Being killed by a Chiwanwan” has even become a common insult for the feeble.
However, such frailty does not apply to this Assault Chiwanwan!
Behold!
That musclebound physique easily exceeding two meters in height!
Its shoulders and back muscles, disproportionately developed compared to its small face, bulge out like mountains!
While its waist is slender like an ant’s, its hindquarters are encased in muscular armor, powerfully swollen!
And those sturdy forelegs and hind legs are like thick clubs!
Truly a beast born for battle –
That is the Assault Chiwanwan…!!
However, this Assault Chiwanwan’s terrifying nature does not stem solely from its formidable combat ability.
It is the devilishly sadistic disposition that all of their species share in common!
That is the very origin of their name, “Mountain Demons”!
“Chiwawawaaaaah!!!”
“Aaaaaaaaaahhh!!!”
The Assault Chiwanwan pounced on Gonpeter again, wounding his body with its sharp claws, but carefully avoiding fatal injuries!
He could still flee!
He might just be able to escape!
Allowing its prey to cling to that delusion, taking time to torture and kill –
That was the Assault Chiwanwan’s way of hunting.
The slowly despairing expression on its prey’s face –
That was the greatest delicacy to the Assault Chiwanwan!!
“Ah……ugh……ah……”
And this prey had considerably weakened.
Tumbling again, somehow struggling to rise, only for his limbs to slip in the mud, failing.
Slipping in the mud’s momentum caused him to roll partway down the mountain slope.
Gorogoro, he rolled onto the lingering patches of snow in the shade.
The snow became defiled by his blood and mud.
Blooming beside it were the Fukujaa flowers, the iconic harbingers of spring in these Nanga Mountains.
The snow stained with blood and mud, and the humble yellow blossoms stretching their small bodies to their fullest, seeking the spring sunlight.
Death and life.
Seeming polar opposites, yet two sides of the same coin.
Death and life both unceremoniously strewn underfoot in the magic boundary Ranrananga Mountain Range, in these Nanga Mountains.
(Seems this is as far as I go…)
Roughly exhaling, the hunter Gonpeter lay on his back atop the cold snow, gazing up at the azure sky peeking through the gaps in the branches of trees just sprouting new buds.
“Beyond the village lies a half-dark realm” was a saying passed down in Gonpeter’s home of Yamaok Village.
Yamaok Village was located at the Nanga Mountain pass, right within the magic boundary – an uncommon location on the Golden Continent.
Step outside the village, and it was the magic boundary.
A world where humans could not dwell, always brushing against death.
A world where life held no guarantees.
The villagers of Yamaok had expressed and passed down that concept using the unique phrasing “a half-dark realm.”
As a hunter, part of Gonpeter’s job involved venturing into that “half-dark realm” to procure meat, naturally carrying the readiness that he could die at any moment.
(But for the timing to be now…Oyukipa, I am so sorry…)
Oyukipa was the 9-year-old, adorable daughter of Gonpeter’s close friend Sabrown.
This time, Gonpeter had a particular reason and desperately needed meat for Oyukipa’s sake.
Unfortunately, being unable to obtain satisfactory results within his usual hunting grounds, he strayed far beyond his normal range, leading to his current predicament of being pursued by the Assault Chiwanwan.
“Chiwawawawa……!”
Having exhausted his stamina and unable to move sufficiently, that sinister, delighted demon’s voice reached Gonpeter’s ears.
Glancing to the side, he saw the Assault Chiwanwan drooling as it leered into his face.
Then, with a satisfied grin, the demon deftly rose onto its hind legs before raising its powerful right foreleg.
Jah! Making that sound, the raised foreleg’s claws extended outward.
Leaning into that striking motion, it prepared to rake those sharp claws across Gonpeter’s throat.
The Assault Chiwanwan seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed this human hunt.
It was likely going to finish him off now.
“……!!”
Gonpeter opened his eyes wide, gritting his teeth as he desperately resisted the terror of death!
Dying in the mountains –
That was something he as a hunter from Yamaok Village had always been prepared for.
He at least wanted to die with the pride of a Yamaok Village hunter, as an honorable man.
But then, the next instant!!
Dogon!!!
With that dull impact sound, the Assault Chiwanwan’s body went flying!
Something the size of a child had charged the demon’s massive frame at tremendous speed, crashing bodily into it!
Dosa!
Gok!
“Chiwah……!!”
Goki!
Those sounds rang out beyond Gonpeter’s field of view, then silence fell over the area.
……No.
Crunch.
Crunchcrunch.
Munch, Munch.
Munchmunchmunch.
Munch munch, munch munch.
Next, the quiet sounds of something being torn and chewed drifted over.
Somehow raising his body, Gonpeter turned his face toward those noises.
What was being consumed there was the Assault Chiwanwan’s corpse.
The mountain demon that had just been tormenting and pursuing Gonpeter seemed to have had its neck violently wrenched with tremendous force.
Its lifeless eyes vacantly gazed in an impossible direction.
The reason its twisted neck twitched slightly was because the existence that had effortlessly slaughtered the Assault Chiwanwan had hoisted its corpse and continued feasting, sinking its mountainous back muscles into the meat.
At first, Gonpeter thought a new breed of monster had appeared and ambushed the overly complacent Assault Chiwanwan, killing it.
However, the truth was different.
Staring intently at the devourer’s form, Gonpeter was aghast.
It was a young girl.
Clad in a bloodstained fur pelt, that girl appeared around Oyukipa’s age from her small stature.
Yet from that little body emanated unimaginable strength as she easily cradled the Assault Chiwanwan’s weighty flesh, greedily gorging on it raw.
With her ominous features of jet-black hair and black eyes, she exuded ferocity.
Gonpeter felt revulsion and terror.
And yet.
The bare skin not covered by her fur pelt was snow-white.
And the features of her expressionless face were tremendously, breathtakingly beautiful.
To Gonpeter, who had lived only in the narrow world of Yamaok Village, her beauty was something he had never witnessed before, stirring a sense of sacredness within him.
A ferocity that made one want to avert their eyes, and a beauty one wished to gaze upon endlessly.
Containing those contradictory traits without issue, Gonpeter was rendered utterly stupefied before that girl, unable to move a muscle.
Confused, uncertain what to do, he could only gape dumbfounded as he continued watching the girl’s feast.