The Baby Bear of the Black Fox Mansion - Chapter 61

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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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Episode 61
Demon Beasts.
Creatures bearing toxin, they had appeared in this world at some point—where exactly, no one knew.
Their form could not be called human, nor could it be called animal.
From its head dangled something like a red bulb.
Each time it flashed, the village was drenched in crimson, and an ominous chill deepened.
Shhhhhiiiik—
Moreover, when the red light burst forth, toxin seeped out with it, corroding everything around it.
Tar-like black liquid dripped from its body, and it seemed to be composed entirely of dark, jagged thorny vines.
Its razor-sharp claws were so menacing that a single touch would spell contamination.
“Damn it.”
Zeros Nordic hastily pulled a rod the size of two palms laid side by side from his waist.
As he swung it vigorously through the air twice, the rod stretched and expanded in an instant into a massive Double-Bladed Axe.
A great double-edged blade suffused with pure white light.
The axe, as tall as he was, seemed like it would be exhausting even to lift with both hands, yet Zeros Nordic wielded it in one hand with ease.
The left blade was larger, and the right blade slightly smaller than the left.
Pola Bernier hastily erected a Barrier around himself and another around the Village.
To prevent the contamination from spreading beyond a certain perimeter.
Flash!
The red bulb flashed brilliantly.
Reflexively shutting his eyes and then opening them again—
Shhhhhiiiik—!
The beast was right in front of Zeros Nordic’s face.
“——!”
He reflexively brought the long haft of the axe downward to block the assault.
Sharp claws came to a halt inches from his face.
Screech, screech.
He could feel it trying to tear the axe apart. Not that such a thing would be possible in reality.
“Creator Arke, I beseech your might to purify the corruption that taints this land.”
Whoooosh—!
Light flooded across the Double-Bladed Axe, and soon it glowed pure white.
Flash—!
It blazed once more.
The brightness was so blinding that Zeros Nordic closed his eyes and sharpened his other senses.
‘Left.’
From a subtle shift in the wind, he swung the axe and opened his eyes.
Shrieeeeek—!
The creature whose head was a bulb did not scream, but a ghastly sound erupted from between the severed thorny vines.
“Damn, this thing’s hideously loud.”
He grimaced and retreated.
Shrieeek—
The damaged vines sprouted swiftly, and the creature reformed to its original state in an instant.
“——What in the——”
It had been struck by an axe imbued with Holy Power, and the Demon Beast was recovering?
As if——
“You. You’re the same one who attacked me before, aren’t you?”
The one that had kept him from reaching his wife.
The one that had forced them apart——
“Ha!”
Back then, he’d lost consciousness before falling, so he hadn’t even obtained a sample to analyze what it truly was.
“Well, this is convenient. You’re dead today.”
Zeros Nordic’s eyes gleamed with a cold glint as he assumed his stance.
* * *
Thoooom—!
“Mmm……”
Miel, who had woken early and dozed off again for some time, slowly opened her eyes to the sinister aura she felt from outside.
“Miss!”
“Mm……”
Someone rushed to embrace Miel.
At the same moment——
Crash, bang!
It shattered.
“……!”
Miel’s eyes went wide in an instant at the thunderous sound.
She gasped, her mouth falling open in shock, her bewildered gaze lingering before slowly drifting away.
“W-what……?”
“We need to get out of here!!”
“……What?”
“A Demon Beast!”
A Demon Beast……?
Miel, still trying to make sense of what was happening, caught her breath as the man held her close.
A terrible roar split the air—
Something thrust its face through the half-torn tent. An enormous four-legged creature.
Its gaping maw bristled with countless sharp spines, and a red fluid dripped steadily to the ground.
Its breath was black as pitch, and it reeked of something foul beyond measure.
“…….”
Frozen in terror, Miel grabbed the man’s sleeve with both hands.
‘I’m so scared…….’
Dread flooded her mind, her fingertips and toes going numb with cold.
She was trembling, fighting to breathe, when the man moved.
“We’re leaving this place now.”
He drew the sword from his waist, slashed through the tent, and threw himself through the opening—
Thud, thud, thud—!
The beast’s massive, razor-sharp claws came down in the blink of an eye.
Screech—!
They raked across the man’s back.
“Ngh—!”
Crash, bang, bang—!
Miel tumbled through the air and rolled across the ground, while the man crumpled to the earth.
The beast raised its massive foreleg above him.
“……Ah.”
Miel froze solid at the sight.
“Ugh…….”
Nível Holbard let out a low grunt, even as he quickly repositioned himself.
The Demon Beast’s speed was faster than he’d anticipated—his back was scraped, but it wasn’t a fatal wound.
‘The poison must have spread.’
Thinking this, he quickly seized the fallen sword and adjusted his stance.
Glancing back, he was relieved to see the girl hadn’t taken serious damage.
“A Demon Beast showing up so suddenly, out of nowhere…….”
Not that it was impossible.
Still, it was unsettling.
The poison had been contained within the Barrier, so it shouldn’t have been able to affect anything nearby—yet here it was, manifesting out of nowhere.
The Demon Beast roared—
A piercing cry tore through the night.
Clang—!
Sword met claws laden with deadly venom. Nível Holbard planted his feet firmly against the tremendous force.
Crack, crackle.
Ears sprouted from the creature’s head. Its claws hardened and sharpened, its swollen muscles bulging as its entire body grew larger.
“…….”
Miel stood frozen, unable to breathe, watching their deadly exchange unfold.
Terror kept her rooted to the spot. This was different from when the ghost had appeared.
A tingling sensation shot through her, and Miel rose shakily to her feet, tears welling up.
“Hic, hic!”
The shock was so great she burst into hiccups.
Miel clenched her trembling hands into fists.
‘What do I do? What do I do…?’
What could she possibly do?
Faced with something she’d never encountered before, Miel stamped her feet in place.
“Ugh…….”
At the sound of a groan from somewhere, Miel slowly turned her head.
“……!”
The knights who had given Miel Honey Sweets yesterday, built her a tent, and called her “little half-moon bear boss” were groaning on the ground.
Red liquid soaked the floor completely. To Miel’s sensitive nose, the metallic stench of blood hung heavy in the air.
Her eyes met those of one of the groaning knights.
He widened his eyes at the sight of her, then reached out his hand.
“Baby, run…….”
“Hic, hic… hic…….”
Miel tried to suppress her hiccupping sobs.
“A mon…….”
A monster…….
No, it wasn’t a monster.
“We must flee from here.”
“……Pardon?”
“It’s a Demon Beast.”
A Demon Beast, she said.
A Demon Beast.
A word Miel had heard somewhere before.
‘When was it? When was that?’
Miel squeezed her eyes shut tight.
Remember, Miel!
The brave little bear could even defeat monsters, they said.
“Come to think of it, you’ll encounter a Demon Beast someday.”
“A demon finish?”
“Yes. Those creatures can be rather tricky, but for you, Miss, it shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“Mmm?”
“I’ll show you how.”
“Show me?”
“Yes, the core that connects This World and That World. Purify that alone, and the Demon Beast disappears. But ordinary people cannot see that core, so they have no choice but to defeat it through physical means.”
Miel, who had been squeezing her fists tight with her eyes clenched shut, snapped them open.
‘A core!’
There was a core, they said.
Miel focused her eyes and looked at the Demon Beast.
……, she quickly squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away.
‘Scary…….’
It tingled and terrified her.
The jagged teeth looked like they would devour Miel at any moment.
But…….
‘I have to try.’
With trembling breath, Miel slowly opened her eyes. After all, she was a brave little bear who even ate terribly bitter grass.
Miel raised her head and looked at the Demon Beast.
‘Core… core…….’
Where in the world was the core?!
Come to think of it, Miel didn’t even know what a core looked like!
Clang, clang-clang!
Sword and sharp claws clashed, producing an awful metallic screech.
Miel stared hard at the rapidly moving four-legged creature.
“Core…….”
Hic, hic…!
The sharp sounds and groans made Miel’s body tremble.
Miel examined the beast slowly, starting from its terrifyingly shaped head.
‘Nothing.’
There was nothing that looked like a core. Not on the front legs, not on the back legs.
Miel dashed forward and went around to the back of the Demon Beast. Nothing on the haunches either.
‘Where is it, where could it be….’
Miel rushed forward again.
And in that moment.
A glimmer.
Something gleamed.

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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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