Tamed Monster - Chapter 131

Did he really need to answer? He needed to get out of here quickly. Ideally, he’d ‘accidentally’ fall into the pond and wash off the stale stench of corpses clinging to him. He considered ignoring the creature altogether, but instead tossed out a reply as if tossing alms.

[Can’t you tell? I’m a monster. Same as you.]

Their circumstances were worlds apart, but their roots were the same. Kuinan explained it carelessly in that sense. The monster narrowed its wide eyes, then began to laugh—low, rattling, wet with blood. It wasn’t pleasant to hear.

[Same as me… a monster…]

It muttered hatred under its breath, hatred aimed at no one in particular. Kuinan couldn’t understand most of what it was saying. Though it spoke in his native tongue, the words came out broken and disordered, choked through blood.

“Speak clearly,” Kuinan said, frowning.

[I’m busy. Whether you die here or not, I need to leave.]

The life of a single monster, unless it was the leader, meant little. The dying creature knew it. Kuinan knew it too. And Kuinan himself, rare among their kind, was a leader of considerable value, though on the verge of exile.

[I don’t feel like cutting those chains off you and leaving evidence behind—]

[Did I ask… you to save me? Krrk… You’re… ‘Kuinan,’ aren’t you?]

Kuinan was genuinely startled at having his identity guessed so quickly. It showed only as the faintest twitch at the corner of his right eye, but for him, that was a significant shift. Not an affected expression but an instinctive reaction.

In that sense, the monster had accomplished something remarkable.

How had a creature that hadn’t even come from the swamp recognized him? Intrigued, Kuinan turned fully toward it.

“How did you know?”

[…What?]

[Ah. I asked how you knew. You can’t understand human speech, can you?]

Most monsters didn’t speak human language. More accurately, they chose not to. Just as humans refused to acknowledge the culture and civilization built by monsters, monsters refused to recognize humanity’s achievements. Language being one of the most obvious examples.

[Heh… the rumors spread everywhere. I was dragged here only three days ago.]

The stories of Kuinan had traveled far beyond the swamp, throughout the territories under monster control—what schemes the swamp monsters were plotting, how far along they were. The fact that a complete stranger knew such detailed information unsettled Kuinan more than it impressed him.

‘If I don’t handle this properly… it won’t just be the swamp monsters turning on me.’

That would be troublesome. If he couldn’t settle back into the swamp, he had intended to take his mate elsewhere—another monster-controlled region—and live quietly together. But instead of finding a place to belong, he might end up hunted forever.

He could always wipe out the monsters there if it came to that, but the process would be tiresome.

And Sylvia would loathe him even more.

As Kuinan fell silent, face tightening, the monster coughed up a mouthful of blood and spoke in a voice already fading.

[Will you… do it?]

The question sounded truly desperate.

Kuinan’s conscience didn’t ache, but he did feel a faint twinge of pity. What if he dismissed this creature the way he had dismissed the swamp monsters earlier? This powerless being couldn’t harm him, but it would surely wail in despair. Perhaps even take its own life.

[…Hmm.]

[…Hmm?]

[Well. I intend to. I’ll do my best. I’d rather eliminate anything that could threaten me before I leave.]

The Emperor wasn’t the only enemy of monsters. All of humanity that was armed with that lethal poison was their true adversary. Remove that weapon, and humans would no longer pose the same threat. Perhaps the monsters could even reclaim lost territory… perhaps even conquer more.

[Are you… serious?]

The dying monster seemed doubtful, as though it had heard rumors of Kuinan’s laziness and irresponsibility. Tears born of agony gathered in its swollen eyes.

If Sylvia saw one of her own kind lying at her feet like this, broken and mutilated, wouldn’t her eyes fill the same way? Before he fed her his blood, she certainly would have reacted like that. Even now, she wasn’t inherently cruel.

If she bore a child, she’d grow even more sentimental and more temperamental. After all, half of her would remain human forever.

Not long ago, he had promised her he wouldn’t get her pregnant. Yet shamelessly, he now imagined her belly swollen with his child in vivid detail.

…Hm.

At that very moment, Kuinan made up his mind.

Not only would he return Hector’s arm, he would complete every mission entrusted to him, perfectly.

This wretched, blood-soaked fellow monster had unexpectedly given him the push he needed. For a brief, indifferent moment, Kuinan considered whether he should save him.