Melissa’s tail was, to borrow her own phrase, ‘Interesting.’
After returning from the Temple of Artemis, my siblings spent a week at the Quilz Castle until the birthday party was held.
During that time, I observed the habits and ‘traits’ of my siblings.
First and foremost, I was intrigued by Melissa’s nine tails, which I had always found fascinating.
Her tails moved when she used magic. I remember one tail moving when she unleashed a fire arrow that set my room on fire, and two tails moving when we were on the Abyss fighting against demons.
Though I had witnessed it several times, it made me wonder if the potency of magic might vary depending on the number of tails used.
It was truly a chilling thought.
She had slaughtered dozens of demons with just two tails.
If she used three, four, or all nine tails, how powerful could her magic be?
There were many other interesting points as well.
Even with my telepathy, I couldn’t discern the emotions of the twins as precisely as others could.
However, Melissa could discern emotions through the actions of her tails.
Cats and dogs, they say, express emotions through their tails.
Just like animals!
Meliss loved to eat.
Whenever I ordered a special dish from the chef, she would appear out of nowhere and snatch the food.
Melissa’s tail would sway like a dog enjoying a treat when she ate something delicious.
The emotions of her tail became more pronounced when we ventured out of Melissa’s cabin to ‘experiment.’
It happened when I was with Melissa for an experiment about reading ‘demonic language’ with my eyes. Melissa’s tail vigorously wagged each time I read the demonic language. After finishing the experiment, her tail would sometimes droop.
“Interesting.”
In one experiment, Melissa even asked me slyly how much of herself I could see with my eyes. When she asked the question, she had a strange expression. It was as if she faced something repulsive.
I calmly replied that I could see her tail.
Then, her tail showed a reaction it hadn’t before. It seemed as if all nine tails were trying to hide, curling inward.
“Don’t look ahead.”
“What?”
“Don’t look.”
“But I can see it; how can I not look?”
Melissa scolded me to practice hard to make her tail invisible.
There was no such forcefulness.
There was no experiment that day.
Come to think of it, Melissa’s nine tails might be her biggest weakness.
When I fell from the Abyss, I grabbed Melissa’s tail.
In response, she kicked me away without hesitation.
I thought because she wanted to secure the treasure first, but maybe she simply disliked having her tail touched.
I gained valuable information.
Among my siblings, the one who required the most observation was Wooshas.
Wooshas carried out ‘Acts of Mercy’ in the remote village of the Quilz Territory.
This world is abundant with mysterious powers.
The power of vampires, the power of mages, the power of masters, and all sorts of unknown, peculiar powers flowing from the land of the Ain.
However, there was one power considered miraculous even in the Kynakhan Empire.
The healing power of Wooshas.
Countless believers gathered in the mountainous village.
All of them gathered to receive Wooshas’s baptism.
Wooshas, surrounded by the healthy and the sick, held each of their hands one by one. She regarded everyone equally.
Occasionally, there were seemingly wealthy nouveau, or minor nobles, from somewhere. However, without exception, to meet Wooshas, one had to join the long line of devotees.
Watching, I felt a chill down my spine.
Wooshas was their messiah.
But in my eyes, they seemed pitiful souls swayed by the whisper of demons.
It is widely known that after the Great War, the power of the Church, which grew rapidly with the revelation of the existence of demons, now overwhelms the Kynakhan Imperial Family.
Originally, the Church was said to severely restrict Reinberg. They even tried to designate the power of Spirit User and Magic as heresy. But now, we had a strange symbiotic relationship. Azhibita Religion considered Wooshas a Saint.
I pondered what Wooshas could achieve with her title as the Saint.
“World domination, perhaps?”
The political landscape of this world was peculiar compared to Earth.
Human society strictly adheres to the hierarchy of the strong.
The individual’s might overwhelms the masses. So, the ‘Four Pillars’ of the Kynakhan Empire, the lords of the Duke family, were each considered the strongest in their respective domains.
The Emperor is just a façade.
Even now, in the Quilz Territory, there is no one calling the Emperor. In fact, the Duchy operates more like an independent nation.
In that regard, the value of Wooshas’s peculiar ability is immeasurable.
“The blessing descends upon the people.”
Wooshas’s leadership was fearsome to my eyes.
Just touching it would heal wounds.
More frightening than the power of a master who could cut mountains with a single sword.
It felt like mocking the value of life.
“Huh?”
Am I mistaken?
No, my Heavenly Sky Eye doesn’t make mistakes.
As Wooshas, who was performing healing and baptism, turned away, for a moment, I saw white wings on her back.
It was a fleeting moment, but my Heavenly Sky Eye doesn’t lie.
If others saw what I just saw, she would be called an ‘Angel.’
“God is always with us.”
With those commonplace words, Wooshas concluded her mercy activity.
Many who did not receive the baptism were disappointed, but Wooshas turned away with a tired face.
Wooshas’s ability also had its limits.
Fortunately, it wasn’t an infinitely usable power.
If there were no limits, people would have called her a god.
It was when Wooshas returned with a staggering gait.
Suddenly, an elderly man with a twisted appearance rushed towards Wooshas.
He was a one-armed cripple. In his remaining hand, there was a sharp dagger used to extract sap from trees.
Wooshas, who had no escort, helplessly got stabbed in the shoulder by the old man’s dagger. The pure white priestly robe was stained red. The man, with a face tainted by madness, yelled as he trembled.
“Why! Why! Give me back my arm!”
In an instant, the village filled with screams.
Burly men rushed in anger to kill the man.
But Wooshas, nonchalantly moving her bleeding arm, placed her hand on the head of the one-armed man.
“God will forgive ‘us.'”
The expression of the man consumed by madness was contorted. Tears welled up on his face. He discarded the spear, dropped to his knees, and begged for forgiveness.
Wooshas pardoned his sins with a merciful expression.
“Damn.”
The events that had just unfolded terrified me greatly.
Indeed, among my siblings, the most fearsome was the wicked Wooshas.
What forgiveness?
The blood-drenched shoulders meant nothing to her.
“It’s just an act.”
I saw it in my eyes.
Something thick and smelly was oozing from the sinister man.
Amidst the crowd, it was probably only me who noticed.
The two of them had known each other from the beginning.
He would either receive a sack of gold or perhaps die without a sound.
The treachery made my body tremble.
Damn…
Even Dalbi, apparently, found it terrifying as she clung to me, trembling.
* * *
That Ranista guy liked cats.
I like cats too, but the fact that Ranista liked them was somewhat disgusting.
All the cats freely leaping around the Quilz Castle belonged to Ranista.
In short, he was a Cat Daddy.
Maybe if he raised a lion it would suit him more, but after seeing him playfully interacting with a cat, I was shocked.
To the point that I though my eyes came out of my eyes sockets.
* * *
“Dalbi, they say you’re an amazing spirit.”
I secretly went to the training ground at night.
I wanted to know Dalbi’s power.
Spirits possess the power of nature. Father’s Blue Wolf Mac can create a huge water puddle in an instant, that’s how powerful it is.
Creating such a pond in a place without water?
That’s the level. Other spirits also have their own attributes related to nature.
The Earth Spirit have the power to change the land, hence they are called Earth Spirit.
In addition, spirits can do many things depending on the power of their Spirit User.
They can promote plant growth, share energy, make rain fall from a dry sky, and even become a shield to block external attacks.
However, after spending a few days, I couldn’t figure out what kind of spirit Dalbi was.
“Use your power, Dalbi.”
Dalbi just happily jumped around, looking at the bright full moon. I kept persuading her. But Dalbi just tilted her head and didn’t show any power.
“What can you do?”
Crazy?
“Other than swearing.”
Crazy! Crazy!
Damn.
I stroked Dalbi’s neck. The little deer closed its eyes and leaned its head against my hand, as if feeling good. Even if this little deer was an amazing spirit, I couldn’t bring up its power. Although saving her had become a bond between me and her, I was not a Spirit User like my father.
“Being cute is enough.”
Crazy!
I got up without leaving any regrets.
“Let’s go, Dalbi.”
It was when we were passing through the hill road heading from the training ground to the mansion.
Boom!
Suddenly, a loud explosion echoed, and I quickly turned around.
Smoke was rising from the training ground.
Dalbi was gone.
I hurriedly ran to the training ground.
Dalbi was playing with something with his own horns in the training ground.
In the center of the training ground, traces of an explosion were visible. A deep crater had been created.
Da!
I picked it up and examined it closely.
It was a stone.
An ugly white stone.
I picked up the stone and walked slowly towards the crater.
There was no one on the battlefield.
I descended into the crater and surveyed the surroundings.
The center of the crater was deeply excavated.
The traces became fainter as I moved from the center to the outskirts.
These traces were unmistakable to anyone…
I stupidly looked up at the sky.
The full moon hung low in the sky.
“Do you want this?”
I asked Dalbi , bouncing around and pleading for the stone.
I threw the stone, and she, like a crazy dog, hopped around and caught it.
“Hey, what is this?”
It was a night when I could somewhat understand my father’s fussiness.
***
Until I was ten, ‘it’ was the greatest festival I worshiped.
In recent years, ‘it’ was a desperate excuse for me.
My father said he would throw the biggest and most magnificent party ever this year and that I could look forward to what would happen that day.
Finally, it came this year too.
The 14th birthday party.
In Rainberg, it is a tradition (from our generation onward) for siblings to celebrate birthdays by preparing gifts themselves. I did the same until I was nine. With clumsy skills, I gave shabby presents. But this year…
I asked my siblings subtly what they wanted.
“Leviathan skin from the Sea of the South.”
“There’s an interesting rumor in the Land of the Ains. They say there’s a bird that spreads thunder; I wonder how a swords made from its beak would be.”
Damn, the difficulty level of the gifts is absurd.
