* * *
<Happy birthday, Emi!!>
My day began with those congratulatory words from Extra-sama!
……Birthday?
Birthday.
Birthday!
Ah, that’s right! It’s my birthday today! In autumn!
<Yes, it’s your birthday, Emi! You’ve lived diligently for a year, grown stronger, and turned 8 years old!>
I see, I see—!
You know……every time my birthday comes around, I feel rather pensive.
I’m truly glad I managed to grow another year older.
Despite my turbulent life, I’ve survived remarkably well.
<Ufufu! From now on, let’s keep growing stronger together, adding 10 years, 20 years, 100 years, 1000 years to our lives!>
Ahaha! That godly perception of yours resurfaced after a while, Extra-sama!
Humans can’t live 1000 years!
At best, maybe a bit over 100 years if we push it!
<……Ufufu>
Now then.
It’s my birthday today.
Even so, my morning routine hasn’t changed.
gugyuuuuuuuurururururu……
Namely, somehow appeasing this rumbling stomach.
In other words, breakfast.
The morning hunt.
<But Emi, what should we do? It feels like we’ve already hunted all the monsters in this area, and we’ve gathered every last kirkree nut too.>
You’re right about that, Extra-sama.
We should probably move from this place soon and head for new hunting grounds.
<Want to pillage Liheid for a change of pace?>
Stop so naturally suggesting the enemy of humanity route!?
I told you before that I still have reservations about eating humans!
<No, I didn’t mean that far. I was thinking we could just plunder their winter food stockpiles or something…>
I don’t want to do that either!!
For now, let’s do this.
Thoroughly check if there really are no prey nearby.
At the very least, there should be some rats around, right?
One rat alone wouldn’t be nearly enough, but still.
suuuu——
I take a deep breath through my nose.
Checking the surroundings through scent alone.
Is there any prey around, anywhere……?
…………Hn?
<What’s wrong? Did you catch something?>
Hmm……?
Let me check from a higher vantage point.
I hop from the kirkree branch I had been sleeping on to an even higher one.
Then using 【Silverfish】, I climb straight up the trunk, ascending higher and higher.
Bursting through the dense canopy of leaves, I poke my head out from the treetop with a rustle, looking down in the direction of the fortress city of Liheid.
The weather is overcast.
A gentle wind blows from the southern plains……from Liheid’s direction.
But.
Hmm……?
Strange?
<What is?>
You see?
That southern wind is mixed with an unfamiliar beastly scent.
Clearly different from the human smell usually wafting over from the town.
What is this?
Yeah, no mistake.
There’s something there.
Quite a lot.
The scent is rather strong too.
<Hah. Despite me sharing your sensory perceptions, I can’t discern anything at all……You mean there are beasts inside Liheid town?>
No……different, different…….
It’s……over there!
I point toward the small forest located east of the fortress city of Liheid.
The source of the scent is coming from there.
For some reason, a massive number of beasts must be lurking in that forest right now!
<No, you’re really amazing, Emi. To be able to discern that well?>
I’ve spent a long time in the wild, you see……
My sense of smell has become a super fantasy sniffer!
Distinguishing scents to this degree is child’s play for me……!
Well, enough of that.
<……Shall we head over immediately?>
Of course!
If there’s meat over there, there’s no reason not to go!
Channeling strength into my legs and infusing mana into the kirkree trunk to reinforce it, I activate 【Grasshopper】 and leap vigorously toward the forest stretching below the mountain!
Wait for me, my meatlings!
I’ll be sure to devour all of you!
Now, let the birthday party begin——!
* * *
The dark magic wolves.
Originally native to the Dark Continent where demons dwell, they are massive gray wolves.
Cunning and cruel by nature, they gleefully assault humans.
Their intelligence is high enough to fully comprehend human language, and due to their ease of taming, domestication, and breeding, they have long been utilized as the Demon Lord’s Army’s main combat force.
The dark magic wolves were also the primary force when demons attacked the hero Torch’s home village Fenoben long ago.
Now then, around 400 of these dark magic wolves were lying in wait within a nameless forest east of the fortress city of Liheid.
They were teleported here by the Demon Lord Army’s middle-ranked commander Deogandai.
Their assigned mission this time was the conquest of the fortress city of Liheid.
Soon, Deogandai would commence a diversion from the northern plains at the foot of the Ranrananga mountains alongside the remaining 100 dark magic wolves.
The flare fired then would serve as the signal to begin operations for the wolves waiting in the eastern forest.
Fifteen minutes after that flare signal, once Liheid’s combat forces were sufficiently lured northward, the eastern dark magic wolves would initiate their assault.
“Fugo ga……Fugo ga……”
Waiting together with the dark magic wolves, the massive creature, a huge red boar would be goaded into charging the eastern gate of Liheid to breach it.
The huge red boar was a demon-engineered, brand improvement of what used to be called the Giganto-Boar – an unprecedentedly massive swine.
Its gigantic body, crimson fur, and enormous tusks exuded overwhelming menace, and it could even breathe fire.
While not particularly intelligent, it was easy to control.
At the appointed time, a mere nip to its rear would startle it into charging straight for the eastern gate.
Once that gate was breached, victory would be theirs.
According to Deogandai, he had already carried out some preparations, and by the time the dark magic wolves commenced their attack, the town’s interior would be plunged into chaos by the mushroom and tadpole monsters.
The dark magic wolves would then charge en masse into the chaos, free to slaughter humans as they pleased.
Easy and enjoyable work.
Truly the finest of missions!
The dark magic wolf leader licked its chops with a depraved grin while thinking that.
……It was at that moment!
Zugaaaaaaaaan!!!
An explosive sound resounded throughout the forest clearing where the dark magic wolves were waiting!
Startled, the leader turned toward the source of the sound.
It was right at the center of their pack, billowing smoke rising from there.
After the wind from the south cleared it, a small crater was revealed along with fallen comrades’ corpses……and a lone human girl.
That girl had black hair and black eyes.
Donning tattered rags for clothes, her frame was minuscule compared to the dark magic wolves.
While they had never witnessed such black hair and eyes before, she should have just been another human child for them to toy with and slaughter as usual.
At least, her appearance suggested as much.
……However.
In the next instant!
The girl unleashed in full force the magic power, murderous intent, malice, and ravenous hunger she had been concealing until then!!
“!!!”
Subjected to the overwhelming bloodlust assailing them like a shockwave, the leader realized!
No, this is unwinnable!!
Not an opponent they can defeat!!
That was no mere human in form, but a ferocious monster!!
“Aooooooooooohn!!!”
The leader’s next action was swiftly decisive.
Letting out an instantaneous howl, he issued orders to his pack.
Retreat at full force immediately!!
In this life-threatening crisis, Deogandai’s orders meant nothing anymore!!
Heeding those orders, the pack immediately acted.
The dark magic wolves nearest the girl pounced at her in a suicide charge!
They would serve as vanguards buying time for the others to flee.
“…………”
Without the slightest change in expression, the girl dispatched the suicidal dark magic wolves.
Thrusting her fingertips in knife-hand strikes.
Whirling to deliver kicks.
Movements as graceful as dancing, yet each one lethally devastating.
The comrades struck by the girl’s slender white fingers and feet were torn apart like paper, shattered into dirt clumps.
But that wasn’t all.
There were many comrades too cowed by the girl’s bloodlust to even pounce, hesitating.
Even those who had kept a considerable distance from her!
The instant the girl made a horizontal sweeping motion through empty space!
They were bisected, their lives scattering!
The outer ranks of the pack had already begun fleeing northward toward the fortress city of Liheid at once.
Why north?
They had the instinctive certainty that heading there would bring them to the Ranrananga mountains, increasing their survival chances by escaping into the densely forested slopes. Also because Deogandai was there.
As a demon, Deogandai was stronger than the dark magic wolves.
While uncertain who was more powerful between him and that monster, perhaps having Deogandai confront it could improve the pack’s prospects slightly.
Paan! Pan, Paaaan!
Here, the sound of signal flares resounded.
It seemed Deogandai had commenced his diversion, but they could no longer afford to heed that!!
“Fu, fu, fugogaaaaah!!”
Even the bulky but cowardly huge red boar started fleeing northward alongside the dark magic wolf pack.
The dark magic wolf leader had remained behind as the boss, but now was the time to retreat.
Fortunately, that monster who had effortlessly slaughtered their entire pack in mere seconds showed no signs of pursuing those fleeing.
It was currently greedily devouring the scattered remains littering the area.
Gulping down bones, fur and all into its belly.
Its speed was abnormal – the bodies larger than adult humans were devoured at a pace of less than 10 seconds each.
Yet for some reason, the monster’s belly didn’t seem to bloat at all.
“Kyauun!?”
In the next instant, the dark magic wolf leader inadvertently let out a pup-like yelp of terror he hadn’t made since being a cub.
He had made eye contact with the monster.
Those eyes still blazed with murderous intent, overflowing with malice, eloquently conveying:
This much was still not enough to sate its ravenous appetite.
“Aoooooooooooohn!!!”
Gripping the reins of his sanity on the verge of snapping from sheer terror through his sense of responsibility as leader, the dark magic wolf leader let out a howl to steel himself before fleeing from that place.
Dark magic wolves possessed incredible speed.
In an instant, he dashed through the forest out to the plains, sprinting toward the Ranrananga mountains.
“Kyain!”
“Kyain, kyaain!!”
“Kyaain!!”
Yelping in terror as they ran, the dark magic wolf pack was simply a pitiful gaggle of losers to any outside observer.
There was not a shred of their supposed ferocious, fearsome monster dignity remaining.
Gradually leaving behind the monster’s presence, the wolves at the vanguard began to slowly slacken their pace.
“Aoooooooooooohn!!!”
Witnessing that, the dark magic wolf leader raged.
Don’t let your guard down!
Run, run, run, run, run!!
Having faced that monster the longest, the leader knew its horror beyond any of his packmates!
They had to flee!
Quickly, quickly hide in the mountains!!
Otherwise, otherwise……!!
……It was in the next instant.
Hyun!
With that light sound grazing his ear from behind, something flew past.
That something struck the head of a comrade running ahead.
Splattering it apart.
That comrade was dead.
“!!?”
The leader instinctively turned back in shock.
There, rapidly closing the distance from the forest direction at tremendous speed……was the monster!!
“Kyaiiiiiiiiiiiiihn!!?”
Letting out the most terrified yelp of the day, the leader discarded all sense of boss dignity and began fleeing at full sprint!!
* * *
<Happy birthday, Emi!!>
My day began with those congratulatory words from Extra-sama!
……Birthday?
Birthday.
Birthday!
Ah, that’s right! It’s my birthday today! In autumn!
<Yes, it’s your birthday, Emi! You’ve lived diligently for a year, grown stronger, and turned 8 years old!>
I see, I see—!
You know……every time my birthday comes around, I feel rather pensive.
I’m truly glad I managed to grow another year older.
Despite my turbulent life, I’ve survived remarkably well.
<Ufufu! From now on, let’s keep growing stronger together, adding 10 years, 20 years, 100 years, 1000 years to our lives!>
Ahaha! That godly perception of yours resurfaced after a while, Extra-sama!
Humans can’t live 1000 years!
At best, maybe a bit over 100 years if we push it!
<……Ufufu>
Now then.
It’s my birthday today.
Even so, my morning routine hasn’t changed.
gugyuuuuuuuurururururu……
Namely, somehow appeasing this rumbling stomach.
In other words, breakfast.
The morning hunt.
<But Emi, what should we do? It feels like we’ve already hunted all the monsters in this area, and we’ve gathered every last kirkree nut too.>
You’re right about that, Extra-sama.
We should probably move from this place soon and head for new hunting grounds.
<Want to pillage Liheid for a change of pace?>
Stop so naturally suggesting the enemy of humanity route!?
I told you before that I still have reservations about eating humans!
<No, I didn’t mean that far. I was thinking we could just plunder their winter food stockpiles or something…>
I don’t want to do that either!!
For now, let’s do this.
Thoroughly check if there really are no prey nearby.
At the very least, there should be some rats around, right?
One rat alone wouldn’t be nearly enough, but still.
suuuu——
I take a deep breath through my nose.
Checking the surroundings through scent alone.
Is there any prey around, anywhere……?
…………Hn?
<What’s wrong? Did you catch something?>
Hmm……?
Let me check from a higher vantage point.
I hop from the kirkree branch I had been sleeping on to an even higher one.
Then using 【Silverfish】, I climb straight up the trunk, ascending higher and higher.
Bursting through the dense canopy of leaves, I poke my head out from the treetop with a rustle, looking down in the direction of the fortress city of Liheid.
The weather is overcast.
A gentle wind blows from the southern plains……from Liheid’s direction.
But.
Hmm……?
Strange?
<What is?>
You see?
That southern wind is mixed with an unfamiliar beastly scent.
Clearly different from the human smell usually wafting over from the town.
What is this?
Yeah, no mistake.
There’s something there.
Quite a lot.
The scent is rather strong too.
<Hah. Despite me sharing your sensory perceptions, I can’t discern anything at all……You mean there are beasts inside Liheid town?>
No……different, different…….
It’s……over there!
I point toward the small forest located east of the fortress city of Liheid.
The source of the scent is coming from there.
For some reason, a massive number of beasts must be lurking in that forest right now!
<No, you’re really amazing, Emi. To be able to discern that well?>
I’ve spent a long time in the wild, you see……
My sense of smell has become a super fantasy sniffer!
Distinguishing scents to this degree is child’s play for me……!
Well, enough of that.
<……Shall we head over immediately?>
Of course!
If there’s meat over there, there’s no reason not to go!
Channeling strength into my legs and infusing mana into the kirkree trunk to reinforce it, I activate 【Grasshopper】 and leap vigorously toward the forest stretching below the mountain!
Wait for me, my meatlings!
I’ll be sure to devour all of you!
Now, let the birthday party begin——!
* * *
The dark magic wolves.
Originally native to the Dark Continent where demons dwell, they are massive gray wolves.
Cunning and cruel by nature, they gleefully assault humans.
Their intelligence is high enough to fully comprehend human language, and due to their ease of taming, domestication, and breeding, they have long been utilized as the Demon Lord’s Army’s main combat force.
The dark magic wolves were also the primary force when demons attacked the hero Torch’s home village Fenoben long ago.
Now then, around 400 of these dark magic wolves were lying in wait within a nameless forest east of the fortress city of Liheid.
They were teleported here by the Demon Lord Army’s middle-ranked commander Deogandai.
Their assigned mission this time was the conquest of the fortress city of Liheid.
Soon, Deogandai would commence a diversion from the northern plains at the foot of the Ranrananga mountains alongside the remaining 100 dark magic wolves.
The flare fired then would serve as the signal to begin operations for the wolves waiting in the eastern forest.
Fifteen minutes after that flare signal, once Liheid’s combat forces were sufficiently lured northward, the eastern dark magic wolves would initiate their assault.
“Fugo ga……Fugo ga……”
Waiting together with the dark magic wolves, the massive creature, a huge red boar would be goaded into charging the eastern gate of Liheid to breach it.
The huge red boar was a demon-engineered, brand improvement of what used to be called the Giganto-Boar – an unprecedentedly massive swine.
Its gigantic body, crimson fur, and enormous tusks exuded overwhelming menace, and it could even breathe fire.
While not particularly intelligent, it was easy to control.
At the appointed time, a mere nip to its rear would startle it into charging straight for the eastern gate.
Once that gate was breached, victory would be theirs.
According to Deogandai, he had already carried out some preparations, and by the time the dark magic wolves commenced their attack, the town’s interior would be plunged into chaos by the mushroom and tadpole monsters.
The dark magic wolves would then charge en masse into the chaos, free to slaughter humans as they pleased.
Easy and enjoyable work.
Truly the finest of missions!
The dark magic wolf leader licked its chops with a depraved grin while thinking that.
……It was at that moment!
Zugaaaaaaaaan!!!
An explosive sound resounded throughout the forest clearing where the dark magic wolves were waiting!
Startled, the leader turned toward the source of the sound.
It was right at the center of their pack, billowing smoke rising from there.
After the wind from the south cleared it, a small crater was revealed along with fallen comrades’ corpses……and a lone human girl.
That girl had black hair and black eyes.
Donning tattered rags for clothes, her frame was minuscule compared to the dark magic wolves.
While they had never witnessed such black hair and eyes before, she should have just been another human child for them to toy with and slaughter as usual.
At least, her appearance suggested as much.
……However.
In the next instant!
The girl unleashed in full force the magic power, murderous intent, malice, and ravenous hunger she had been concealing until then!!
“!!!”
Subjected to the overwhelming bloodlust assailing them like a shockwave, the leader realized!
No, this is unwinnable!!
Not an opponent they can defeat!!
That was no mere human in form, but a ferocious monster!!
“Aooooooooooohn!!!”
The leader’s next action was swiftly decisive.
Letting out an instantaneous howl, he issued orders to his pack.
Retreat at full force immediately!!
In this life-threatening crisis, Deogandai’s orders meant nothing anymore!!
Heeding those orders, the pack immediately acted.
The dark magic wolves nearest the girl pounced at her in a suicide charge!
They would serve as vanguards buying time for the others to flee.
“…………”
Without the slightest change in expression, the girl dispatched the suicidal dark magic wolves.
Thrusting her fingertips in knife-hand strikes.
Whirling to deliver kicks.
Movements as graceful as dancing, yet each one lethally devastating.
The comrades struck by the girl’s slender white fingers and feet were torn apart like paper, shattered into dirt clumps.
But that wasn’t all.
There were many comrades too cowed by the girl’s bloodlust to even pounce, hesitating.
Even those who had kept a considerable distance from her!
The instant the girl made a horizontal sweeping motion through empty space!
They were bisected, their lives scattering!
The outer ranks of the pack had already begun fleeing northward toward the fortress city of Liheid at once.
Why north?
They had the instinctive certainty that heading there would bring them to the Ranrananga mountains, increasing their survival chances by escaping into the densely forested slopes. Also because Deogandai was there.
As a demon, Deogandai was stronger than the dark magic wolves.
While uncertain who was more powerful between him and that monster, perhaps having Deogandai confront it could improve the pack’s prospects slightly.
Paan! Pan, Paaaan!
Here, the sound of signal flares resounded.
It seemed Deogandai had commenced his diversion, but they could no longer afford to heed that!!
“Fu, fu, fugogaaaaah!!”
Even the bulky but cowardly huge red boar started fleeing northward alongside the dark magic wolf pack.
The dark magic wolf leader had remained behind as the boss, but now was the time to retreat.
Fortunately, that monster who had effortlessly slaughtered their entire pack in mere seconds showed no signs of pursuing those fleeing.
It was currently greedily devouring the scattered remains littering the area.
Gulping down bones, fur and all into its belly.
Its speed was abnormal – the bodies larger than adult humans were devoured at a pace of less than 10 seconds each.
Yet for some reason, the monster’s belly didn’t seem to bloat at all.
“Kyauun!?”
In the next instant, the dark magic wolf leader inadvertently let out a pup-like yelp of terror he hadn’t made since being a cub.
He had made eye contact with the monster.
Those eyes still blazed with murderous intent, overflowing with malice, eloquently conveying:
This much was still not enough to sate its ravenous appetite.
“Aoooooooooooohn!!!”
Gripping the reins of his sanity on the verge of snapping from sheer terror through his sense of responsibility as leader, the dark magic wolf leader let out a howl to steel himself before fleeing from that place.
Dark magic wolves possessed incredible speed.
In an instant, he dashed through the forest out to the plains, sprinting toward the Ranrananga mountains.
“Kyain!”
“Kyain, kyaain!!”
“Kyaain!!”
Yelping in terror as they ran, the dark magic wolf pack was simply a pitiful gaggle of losers to any outside observer.
There was not a shred of their supposed ferocious, fearsome monster dignity remaining.
Gradually leaving behind the monster’s presence, the wolves at the vanguard began to slowly slacken their pace.
“Aoooooooooooohn!!!”
Witnessing that, the dark magic wolf leader raged.
Don’t let your guard down!
Run, run, run, run, run!!
Having faced that monster the longest, the leader knew its horror beyond any of his packmates!
They had to flee!
Quickly, quickly hide in the mountains!!
Otherwise, otherwise……!!
……It was in the next instant.
Hyun!
With that light sound grazing his ear from behind, something flew past.
That something struck the head of a comrade running ahead.
Splattering it apart.
That comrade was dead.
“!!?”
The leader instinctively turned back in shock.
There, rapidly closing the distance from the forest direction at tremendous speed……was the monster!!
“Kyaiiiiiiiiiiiiihn!!?”
Letting out the most terrified yelp of the day, the leader discarded all sense of boss dignity and began fleeing at full sprint!!
