I Became an Ancient All-Host Lifeform - Chapter 39

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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039 Unraveling

After slipping free from Malkado’s grasp, I climbed onto a nearby tree by way of the spider silk and settled into its branches.
From that vantage point, I watched the commotion below until Gyusik arrived to collect me.
Sure enough, once Malkado regained control of his body, he sent every guard in the caravan thundering off in the direction Bokgu had fled.
I’d worried briefly for Bokgu as the mercenaries galloped into the forest, but my anxiety proved groundless.
Horses were ill-suited to running through dense woodland, and besides—Bokgu had the Gale Charge skill.
The real problem was the laborers left behind and Malkado himself.
I watched from the tree as thousands of black rats came surging like a tsunami and swallowed the entire caravan whole—a sight that still made my skin crawl in retrospect.
Ugh. Even thinking about it was unsettling.

Still, the mission had gone off spectacularly well.
True, something seemed to have happened to Malkado in the process, but that was hardly my concern.
Your Honor, I’m innocent. I merely retrieved the necklace. I had nothing to do with the rats. Nothing whatsoever, I assure you!
After Gyusik came to fetch me, I rode back to the mansion in Spider Garden and handed the necklace to Belladonna.
For smooth communication, maid Emily had obliged by lending me her body once again.
Belladonna bowed her head to me in gratitude.

“I can’t thank you enough! Finally, I won’t have to watch that bastard drag up my trauma anymore.”

Holding her sister’s necklace in her hands, Belladonna’s expression looked like relief washing over a face that had long ached.
I scratched my head and added a note.

“Well, I’m fairly certain you won’t be seeing him again.”

Belladonna’s eyes narrowed at my words.

“Hm? What’s that supposed to mean? Don’t tell me you killed him?”

I wasn’t about to explain myself for a grudge I didn’t have.
I waved my hand dismissively.

“No! I didn’t kill him myself. I mean… practically speaking, the end result is the same.”

I recounted to her what had happened that day.
As I spoke, something flickered across Belladonna’s face.

“I see. In that situation, it would’ve been hard for him to survive, certainly.”

Strange. I’d expected Belladonna to leap with joy at news of Malkado’s death, but her reaction felt lukewarm. Had something gone wrong?

“Did something go awry because he’s dead?”

She forced a smile and answered my question.

“No, nothing like that. If he’s gone, that’s actually for the best. Don’t worry about it.”

Soon she brightened again and continued.

“Anyway, I’m so grateful you recovered my sister’s necklace! And on top of that, you’ve dealt with that tiresome enemy perfectly. So I’d like to give you something special as thanks….”

A bonus reward?
Well. If Malkado’s disposal counted toward it, I’d say the mission was genuinely exceeded—whether intentional or not.

“Now that I think about it, you probably have no use for money or artifacts and the like, would you? So then….”

Money, maybe not. But artifacts did appeal to me, I had to admit.
But I let the desire pass. There was no way to carry one, and no one in the party could use it anyway. We didn’t have anyone with hands to spare….
Belladonna fell quiet for a moment, then smiled softly.

“Hehe, well then I’ll give you my most treasured collection! With that one by your side, it’ll be a great help to you on your journey ahead!”

Her most treasured collection? Was she really giving me her favorite piece from her collection?

“Oh, are you sure that’s alright?”
“Of course! It’s mine anyway, so it’s my choice. Come along!”

I followed her with swelling anticipation.
Her most treasured collection—what kind of creature could it be?
As I conjured images of various beasts in my mind, we climbed the central staircase of the mansion.
Wait—if she’s giving me a beast as a gift, wouldn’t we go that way instead? Where are we headed?
She walked to the far end of the second-floor corridor.
Before a massive door standing firmly closed.
From the threshold of her private chambers—where a subtle fragrance wafted out—I couldn’t help but pause.
… This is her bedroom, isn’t it?

But Belladonna led me inside without the slightest hesitation.
As the door opened and I stepped through, a large golden cage caught my eye by the expansive window—and within it perched an enormous parrot, its feathers radiating brilliant iridescence, sitting there with unmistakable pride.
Wait—could that one be…?

“There you are. Meet my most treasured collection—Dito!”

The moment my gaze landed on him, he bobbed his head and offered a fluent greeting.

“Hello! Hello!”

Oh, the bird’s certainly friendly.
At first glance, the gleaming feathers made it clear this was a high-value beast.
Moreover, his pronunciation was so precise it wouldn’t be out of place coming from a human mouth.
And those head-bobbing motions, that clear, crystalline voice—quite charming, actually.
Total YouTube-star parrot vibes. If he’d been born on Earth, he’d probably have gone viral.

“Wow… you speak really well, don’t you?”

Upon hearing my praise, Dito tilted his head and suddenly snapped at me.

“You meeting me for the first time? Stupid maid! Stupid maid!”

The creature was sharp—he’d realized I was borrowing Emily’s body and assumed she couldn’t remember him.

“No, I’m not Emily.”
“Don’t even know your own name. Stupid maid! Stupid maid!”

I understood why he was acting that way, but being insulted repeatedly was starting to grate on me.
At that moment, reading my expression, Belladonna moved to silence him.

“Enough, Dito. Like they said, it’s not Emily inside Emily right now.”

Yet Dito’s heckling didn’t stop.

“Stupid maid! Stupid Belladonna! Stupid spiders!”
“That’s enough, Dito! Hush!”
“Stupid spiders! Stupid spiders!”

What is this strange feeling creeping over me?
I’m getting a picture forming in my head…
A spoiled child who’s cute and has beautiful plumage and speaks well when young, indulged without limits, but then grows up with terrible habits and becomes completely uncontrollable…
And that’s why she’s trying to quietly “gift” it to me now?
With reasonable suspicion, I fixed her with a long stare and asked.

“…It’s a gift, right? You’re not just dumping it on me because you can’t handle it yourself, are you?”

She laughed nervously and denied my reasonable suspicion.

“O-of course! Haha…. You know how you usually can’t say what you want to say freely. I’m borrowing Emily’s body right now, after all.”
“Well, I suppose that’s true….”

As my words trailed off, Belladonna began sweating profusely and started making a pitch for Dito.

“I thought he was exactly what you needed, so I wanted to give him to you. Don’t misunderstand. Besides, our Dito is such a good boy usually. Right now he’s just being stubborn, but he’s normally very well-behaved. And… oh! Our Dito’s Mimicry skill is absolutely extraordinary. Dito, show them what you can do.”

The moment Belladonna finished speaking, Dito repeated her words exactly.

“Show them what you can do! Show them what you can do!”

Wait? This wasn’t just similar—it was her exact voice!
My jaw dropped without my even realizing it. His Mimicry skill was genuinely astounding.
It was literally like copy and paste made manifest.

“Wow. What? I got chills for a moment.”

Satisfied that I was impressed, Belladonna’s spirits lifted once more.

“See? Completely identical, right? And that little fellow’s actually quite skilled at fighting too. Once you head into the rough Black Forest, he’ll be incredibly useful to you!”

Now that I heard her explanation, Dito really did seem like exactly what I needed.
Lost in her fairly convincing sales pitch, I found myself nodding along—when suddenly Dito, who’d been listening quietly, asked out of nowhere.

“Bella, you selling me?”
“Huh?”

In that instant, a heavy silence fell over the bedroom.
Belladonna waved her hand frantically, breaking into a cold sweat.

“N-no, no. Haha…. I’m not selling you, Dito. I’m just… just introducing you to a good friend.”

Oh no. This had disaster written all over it.

“Stupid Bella! Stupid Bella! Stupid spider! Stupid spider!”

As I suspected, my bad feeling hadn’t let me down.
From that moment on, Dito began thrashing his feet wildly and shrieking at the top of his lungs.

“Stupid maid! Stupid Bella! Stupid spiders!”

No matter how much I tried to stop him, Dito—now with his buttons properly pushed—wouldn’t relent.
His tantrum continued for quite some time.

* * *

Bern was crouched low in the forest, carefully examining the animal tracks left on the ground.
Clear wolf paw prints were visible in the dirt.
The Mage standing beside him asked cautiously.

“Have you discovered some clue?”

Bern answered with certainty in his voice.

“Yes. These wolf tracks are heading precisely northward. But that’s completely opposite to the wolves’ territory. That’s odd. It’s not winter when prey is scarce, so wolves strictly guard their own territory. And wolves hunt rigorously in packs—yet I see no other wolf prints in the surrounding area.”
“Then…?”

As the Mage’s eyes brightened with anticipation, Bern slowly pushed himself to his feet.
He brushed the dust from his palms and spoke.

“I’d say there’s a very good chance these are the ones we’re after.”
“Excellent! We’ve finally uncovered a real lead!”

After their long search, the Subjugation Team had at last found a genuine clue, and their spirits rekindled with fresh purpose.
From that point on, they began tracking the wolf’s prints.
As they ventured deeper into the forest along that trail,

“Help! Someone help us!”
“Ahhhhh!”

Desperate, anguished voices echoed from ahead.

“Hold.”

Bern lowered his stance and brought the group to a halt.
They each placed a hand on their weapons, bracing for whatever might come, then moved cautiously toward the sound, holding their breath.

“Ahhhhh!”

Moments later, dirt-covered men came into view.
They were porters from the Malkado Caravan, who had barely escaped an assault by a swarm of Forest Rats.
Confirming that the porters were unarmed, the Knight exhaled softly and called them over to stop.

“You there—what in the world happened?”
“Ah, people…! Oh! Thank the gods above. We’re alive….”

Upon spotting the Subjugation Team, the porters’ tension broke and they collapsed where they stood.
Then they began speaking all at once, their words tumbling over each other.

“We’re porters from the caravan, and suddenly this black swarm of rats came pouring in and devoured everything—people, goods, all of it—in an instant! I thought we were done for.”
“We’d just finished a safe transaction at Spider Garden and thought it was all over, but we had to abandon every last thing and escape with our lives.”
“And before that, a wolf jumped out at us. The caravan master panicked and hurled a necklace away, but the wolf grabbed it and ran off with it, so now he’s trained it like some kind of dog, trying to fetch it back….”

As the word “wolf” emerged from their incoherent account, Bern’s gaze sharpened.
He stepped closer to the porter who had mentioned the wolf and asked,

“A wolf? What did it look like?”
“A wolf, you say? Well… the one that jumped out then, I didn’t get a good look since it all happened so fast, but it was pretty large.”
“And there was no small rat nearby with a jewel embedded in its forehead?”

The porter waved his hand dismissively, clearly disgusted.

“Ugh! Don’t even mention rats anymore! I’ve seen a lifetime’s worth of rats today, I swear. With so many of them swarming around, how would I know if one had a jewel in its head? I was just trying to stay alive!”
“I see. That makes sense.”

After further questioning, they gathered additional information, though nothing particularly useful emerged.
Once they finished their inquiry, they provided the porters with spare weapons and dried rations to ensure they could safely reach the village.

“Thank you! Thank you so much! May fortune bless your journey!”

The porters bowed repeatedly and departed toward the south.
Once their figures vanished completely beyond the underbrush, Bern opened his mouth.

“From what we’ve seen—charming people and commanding beasts—it does seem these are indeed the ones we’re hunting. But what a strange pattern: mushroom monsters last time, and now a rat swarm…!”

At his words, the Knight clenched his teeth, his face darkening with fury.

“Curse it all! They’ve already preyed on the villagers, and now they’re targeting the Caravan too! These vile beasts are beyond reason!”
“We must capture them before the damage spreads further. You said they were near the Spider Garden, yes? We should go at once!”

The Mage was right—they couldn’t afford to let more innocent victims fall.
With resolve hardened, the Subjugation Team quickened their pace toward the Spider Garden.
To strike down those dreadful creatures that ensnared men and commanded beasts!
To protect the peace and safety of the 3rd Magic Tower Territory!

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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