***
“…I’ll kill every last one of you!!”
The Togūdo could not comprehend human speech.
Naturally, they had no way to understand what this small human that suddenly appeared was saying.
However, that thing was dangerous.
Its true nature unfathomable.
They fully grasped that much simply from witnessing how swiftly it had slaughtered several of their own with those thrown stones – that 【Stone Throw】 alone.
“Hohohohhogaggaaah!!”
The Togūdo Commander immediately issued orders to its subordinates.
Fortify your defenses!
“Hogaaaaah!!”
The Togūdo cried out in unison, activating 【Air Protect】.
Channeling even more magic power than before, they formed sturdier wind barrier shields.
Byun!!
The very next instant, more projectiles came hurtling their way!
The targeted Togūdo reflexively shut its eyes, but the pebbles were deflected by the 【Air Protect】, merely striking its face with a dull thunk after losing momentum.
A narrow escape!
Though relieved cold sweat, the Togūdo quickly regained its composure, assured of their defensive superiority.
An unsightly black pest crawling on the ground.
For such a lowly creature to defy us, the supreme rulers of the sky, was the height of insolence! Insolence!! INSOLENCE!!!
We shall torment it to death!!
…Originally lacking many natural enemies due to their immense size, Togūdo lacked much inherent caution and grew overconfident easily.
But this time, their foe was one where letting their guard down for even a moment could prove fatal.
“!?”
The Togūdo glanced back down and startled.
There was only that silver-haired human they had been tormenting earlier on the ground.
The small new human’s figure had vanished.
All that remained where it had stood were cracks in the earth and a dissipating dust cloud scattered by the sea winds.
“Hogah! Hogaah!”
Their circling comrades issued warning cries towards them.
At the same moment, they became aware of an unsettling sensation.
An unpleasant feeling like tiny insects crawling across their body’s surface – the first time experiencing such an awareness.
But by the time they realized it, it was already too late.
The next instant, their vision began spinning violently as they plummeted groundward.
Wh-What!?
What happened!?
Their body, they couldn’t move it!?
Unable to comprehend their predicament through the disorientation, their head struck a tumbling boulder with a sickening crunch before they hit the earth.
***
The Togūdo’s circling comrades were left aghast.
They had keenly observed exactly what had just happened to their fallen ally.
First, an impossibility occurred.
That small human suddenly appeared.
It crouched for a moment, then leapt with tremendous leg strength.
…All the way up into the sky they were soaring through!
And then it seemed to latch onto one of their numbers, scuttling across that Togūdo’s body like an insect before heading straight for its neck area!
“!?”
“Hogah! Hogaah!”
“Hogah! Hogaah!”
Their frantic warning cries came too late.
Having reached their comrade’s neck, the small human raised its right arm with fingers extended overhead, then swung it down in an arcing motion towards their ally’s throat.
…And once more, the impossible occurred.
The thick neck of the mighty Togūdo.
Was severed by that small human’s slender arm.
Clean off.
The detached head plummeted to be smashed on the ground below.
The remaining body gradually lost the magic-assisted power of flight, beginning its own bloody descent earthward.
“!?”
It was then that this Togūdo noticed the anomaly.
The small human that had just killed their comrade had vanished from sight!
“Hogaah! Hogaaaaah!!”
But its disappearance was soon made starkly apparent.
By the screams of another ally.
After decapitating the previous one, the small human had leapt onto yet another Togūdo!
“Hogaaaaah!!”
The new victim shrieked and thrashed wildly in a futile attempt to dislodge its assailant, but the human clung on undeterred.
Like a flea.
It scurried across their body, severing their neck as well.
And then…the human turned to face them.
Its eyes met theirs.
They instinctively stared back intently.
The cloth wrapped around its head blew off in the strong winds, revealing streaming beautiful black hair.
And equally black, deeply black eyes.
Within those eyes dwelled murderous intent.
Hostility.
Abhorrence.
A formidable, tyrannical will.
No.
Stop.
Don’t come.
No no no.
No no no no no!
Ah, aah, aaaaaaaaaaaah!!
Hastily trying to wheel away and flee, but it was too late.
Using their fallen comrades’ corpses as stepping stones, the small human leapt towards them.
Seizing fistfuls of feathers, it clung to their body.
Scuttling across their surface, migrating.
Towards their neck.
And then…and then.
…It was at this point that this Togūdo’s consciousness faded.
Overwhelmed by terror, it passed out before being decapitated.
And then died, without any further awareness of fear or pain.
***
The small human…Emi continued methodically severing the Togūdo’s necks one by one.
In a short span, over 10 Togūdo had already fallen victim, and with no countermeasures, the flock’s annihilation became a real possibility.
Naturally, as their leader, the Togūdo Commander could not allow such a dire situation to continue unchecked.
Any further loss of its subordinates would render it helpless.
These were the leaderless flock it had finally discovered after wandering far and wide.
To build a grand Togūdo colony and rule the skies as their sovereign.
It would not allow that long-cherished dream to be obstructed any further!
“Hohohoggaah! Hohohoggaah!”
At last, its orders for the subordinates to disperse and maintain distance began reaching them.
Thanks to them spreading out, that human’s rampage was halted.
Unlike on solid ground, it seemed unable to cover such distances in those unstable airborne leaps from one subordinate to the next.
…The fools’ panicked disarray had delayed their evasive actions, resulting in needless casualties.
Utterly vexing.
However, they were meant to be commanded from birth.
Compared to the innate rulers like itself, their bodies, intelligence, and magic power were all vastly inferior in every way.
It could not be helped.
“Hohohohohoggaah!”
“Hogah!?”
And so the Togūdo Commander issued a ruthless command to a nearby subordinate.
That subordinate cried out in shocked protest, but a single glare from the Commander cowed it into silence.
The dimwitted Togūdo were simply incapable of defying the superior existence that was their Commander.
It was their intrinsic nature.
“Ho…Hogaaaaah!!”
With an anguished screech, the subordinate launched into a dive.
Its target was, of course, that small human.
Or more precisely, the Togūdo that human was currently clinging to.
The Commander’s directive was clear – a suicide dive.
It would smash both the grappled subordinate and the diving sacrificial pawn into the sea, taking that human down with them.
Dogon!!!
The dull impact of Togūdo slamming into Togūdo resounded through the air.
Bleeding from the collision, the stricken Togūdo began plummeting downward with shattered, grotesquely twisted bodies.
But the Togūdo Commander felt no qualms at such gruesome sights.
That human who had so casually slaughtered its subordinates clearly had no way to recover from such a fall into the sea with no nearby footholds.
It would sink along with the Togūdo corpses, serving it right!
Begone, vile human! Wretched pest!
Become nothing more than sea scum!!
“Hohohohohohohohohoh!”
The Togūdo Commander sneered derisively.
It watched as the human tried kicking off the fallen Togūdo to leap for the cliffs, but lacked the range.
It plummeted towards the sea upside-down.
“Hoholhoh! Hoholholhoh!”
The other subordinates joined in screeching triumphant laughter.
After all, it was merely a lowly insect crawling on the ground!
To defy their kind was the height of absurdity!
Be smashed against the sea’s surface and die!
Already having forgotten the terror from before…no, pretending to forget so they could actually forget, they jeered and mocked.
However, their raucous laughter did not last long.
“O wind, blow it away! 【Storm】!”
Even through the roaring sea winds, the Togūdo heard that incantation reach their ears.
It was spoken by that silver-haired human they had been tormenting earlier.
That wind magic…ordinarily meant for attacking foes, yet it blew the falling small human back towards the cliffside instead.
To reiterate, it was fundamentally an offensive spell.
The blown back small human slammed hard into the cliff top earth, tumbling over several times before lying face-down, unmoving.
The silver-haired human hurriedly rushed over.
Struck with such force, there was no way it could still be alive!
His attempt at rescue had merely delivered the finishing blow instead!
The Togūdo Commander prepared to let out another derisive laugh, but the chance never came.
Despite being smashed into the ground with such tremendous force…that small human immediately stood back up.
Groggily rising.
…Quite normally, in fact.
***
“…I’ll kill every last one of you!!”
The Togūdo could not comprehend human speech.
Naturally, they had no way to understand what this small human that suddenly appeared was saying.
However, that thing was dangerous.
Its true nature unfathomable.
They fully grasped that much simply from witnessing how swiftly it had slaughtered several of their own with those thrown stones – that 【Stone Throw】 alone.
“Hohohohhogaggaaah!!”
The Togūdo Commander immediately issued orders to its subordinates.
Fortify your defenses!
“Hogaaaaah!!”
The Togūdo cried out in unison, activating 【Air Protect】.
Channeling even more magic power than before, they formed sturdier wind barrier shields.
Byun!!
The very next instant, more projectiles came hurtling their way!
The targeted Togūdo reflexively shut its eyes, but the pebbles were deflected by the 【Air Protect】, merely striking its face with a dull thunk after losing momentum.
A narrow escape!
Though relieved cold sweat, the Togūdo quickly regained its composure, assured of their defensive superiority.
An unsightly black pest crawling on the ground.
For such a lowly creature to defy us, the supreme rulers of the sky, was the height of insolence! Insolence!! INSOLENCE!!!
We shall torment it to death!!
…Originally lacking many natural enemies due to their immense size, Togūdo lacked much inherent caution and grew overconfident easily.
But this time, their foe was one where letting their guard down for even a moment could prove fatal.
“!?”
The Togūdo glanced back down and startled.
There was only that silver-haired human they had been tormenting earlier on the ground.
The small new human’s figure had vanished.
All that remained where it had stood were cracks in the earth and a dissipating dust cloud scattered by the sea winds.
“Hogah! Hogaah!”
Their circling comrades issued warning cries towards them.
At the same moment, they became aware of an unsettling sensation.
An unpleasant feeling like tiny insects crawling across their body’s surface – the first time experiencing such an awareness.
But by the time they realized it, it was already too late.
The next instant, their vision began spinning violently as they plummeted groundward.
Wh-What!?
What happened!?
Their body, they couldn’t move it!?
Unable to comprehend their predicament through the disorientation, their head struck a tumbling boulder with a sickening crunch before they hit the earth.
***
The Togūdo’s circling comrades were left aghast.
They had keenly observed exactly what had just happened to their fallen ally.
First, an impossibility occurred.
That small human suddenly appeared.
It crouched for a moment, then leapt with tremendous leg strength.
…All the way up into the sky they were soaring through!
And then it seemed to latch onto one of their numbers, scuttling across that Togūdo’s body like an insect before heading straight for its neck area!
“!?”
“Hogah! Hogaah!”
“Hogah! Hogaah!”
Their frantic warning cries came too late.
Having reached their comrade’s neck, the small human raised its right arm with fingers extended overhead, then swung it down in an arcing motion towards their ally’s throat.
…And once more, the impossible occurred.
The thick neck of the mighty Togūdo.
Was severed by that small human’s slender arm.
Clean off.
The detached head plummeted to be smashed on the ground below.
The remaining body gradually lost the magic-assisted power of flight, beginning its own bloody descent earthward.
“!?”
It was then that this Togūdo noticed the anomaly.
The small human that had just killed their comrade had vanished from sight!
“Hogaah! Hogaaaaah!!”
But its disappearance was soon made starkly apparent.
By the screams of another ally.
After decapitating the previous one, the small human had leapt onto yet another Togūdo!
“Hogaaaaah!!”
The new victim shrieked and thrashed wildly in a futile attempt to dislodge its assailant, but the human clung on undeterred.
Like a flea.
It scurried across their body, severing their neck as well.
And then…the human turned to face them.
Its eyes met theirs.
They instinctively stared back intently.
The cloth wrapped around its head blew off in the strong winds, revealing streaming beautiful black hair.
And equally black, deeply black eyes.
Within those eyes dwelled murderous intent.
Hostility.
Abhorrence.
A formidable, tyrannical will.
No.
Stop.
Don’t come.
No no no.
No no no no no!
Ah, aah, aaaaaaaaaaaah!!
Hastily trying to wheel away and flee, but it was too late.
Using their fallen comrades’ corpses as stepping stones, the small human leapt towards them.
Seizing fistfuls of feathers, it clung to their body.
Scuttling across their surface, migrating.
Towards their neck.
And then…and then.
…It was at this point that this Togūdo’s consciousness faded.
Overwhelmed by terror, it passed out before being decapitated.
And then died, without any further awareness of fear or pain.
***
The small human…Emi continued methodically severing the Togūdo’s necks one by one.
In a short span, over 10 Togūdo had already fallen victim, and with no countermeasures, the flock’s annihilation became a real possibility.
Naturally, as their leader, the Togūdo Commander could not allow such a dire situation to continue unchecked.
Any further loss of its subordinates would render it helpless.
These were the leaderless flock it had finally discovered after wandering far and wide.
To build a grand Togūdo colony and rule the skies as their sovereign.
It would not allow that long-cherished dream to be obstructed any further!
“Hohohoggaah! Hohohoggaah!”
At last, its orders for the subordinates to disperse and maintain distance began reaching them.
Thanks to them spreading out, that human’s rampage was halted.
Unlike on solid ground, it seemed unable to cover such distances in those unstable airborne leaps from one subordinate to the next.
…The fools’ panicked disarray had delayed their evasive actions, resulting in needless casualties.
Utterly vexing.
However, they were meant to be commanded from birth.
Compared to the innate rulers like itself, their bodies, intelligence, and magic power were all vastly inferior in every way.
It could not be helped.
“Hohohohohoggaah!”
“Hogah!?”
And so the Togūdo Commander issued a ruthless command to a nearby subordinate.
That subordinate cried out in shocked protest, but a single glare from the Commander cowed it into silence.
The dimwitted Togūdo were simply incapable of defying the superior existence that was their Commander.
It was their intrinsic nature.
“Ho…Hogaaaaah!!”
With an anguished screech, the subordinate launched into a dive.
Its target was, of course, that small human.
Or more precisely, the Togūdo that human was currently clinging to.
The Commander’s directive was clear – a suicide dive.
It would smash both the grappled subordinate and the diving sacrificial pawn into the sea, taking that human down with them.
Dogon!!!
The dull impact of Togūdo slamming into Togūdo resounded through the air.
Bleeding from the collision, the stricken Togūdo began plummeting downward with shattered, grotesquely twisted bodies.
But the Togūdo Commander felt no qualms at such gruesome sights.
That human who had so casually slaughtered its subordinates clearly had no way to recover from such a fall into the sea with no nearby footholds.
It would sink along with the Togūdo corpses, serving it right!
Begone, vile human! Wretched pest!
Become nothing more than sea scum!!
“Hohohohohohohohohoh!”
The Togūdo Commander sneered derisively.
It watched as the human tried kicking off the fallen Togūdo to leap for the cliffs, but lacked the range.
It plummeted towards the sea upside-down.
“Hoholhoh! Hoholholhoh!”
The other subordinates joined in screeching triumphant laughter.
After all, it was merely a lowly insect crawling on the ground!
To defy their kind was the height of absurdity!
Be smashed against the sea’s surface and die!
Already having forgotten the terror from before…no, pretending to forget so they could actually forget, they jeered and mocked.
However, their raucous laughter did not last long.
“O wind, blow it away! 【Storm】!”
Even through the roaring sea winds, the Togūdo heard that incantation reach their ears.
It was spoken by that silver-haired human they had been tormenting earlier.
That wind magic…ordinarily meant for attacking foes, yet it blew the falling small human back towards the cliffside instead.
To reiterate, it was fundamentally an offensive spell.
The blown back small human slammed hard into the cliff top earth, tumbling over several times before lying face-down, unmoving.
The silver-haired human hurriedly rushed over.
Struck with such force, there was no way it could still be alive!
His attempt at rescue had merely delivered the finishing blow instead!
The Togūdo Commander prepared to let out another derisive laugh, but the chance never came.
Despite being smashed into the ground with such tremendous force…that small human immediately stood back up.
Groggily rising.
…Quite normally, in fact.
