"What?! What is this?! What does it mean?!"
Melt’s startled cry rang through the barn of the sequestered ranch.
Her shock was only natural. Fee and Anhel looked equally stunned as they watched Skull, who had shifted from a skeleton into a black horse the moment they stepped out of the light and into the barn.
"How?! He was nothing but bones a moment ago! I mean, which one is his true form?!"
"He looked like this when I met him last night," Yugo said. "I’d bet this is his original appearance."
"Night… does that mean the transformation is triggered by exposure to strong light?" Fee asked.
"I think so. It’s still early afternoon, after all..."
Based on the evidence before them and Yugo’s account, the group began to piece it together.
A monster known as a Skeleton Horse, or the black horse standing right in front of them—they didn't know which was his "true" self. Or rather, it was likely that both were now equally a part of him.
"But why is this even happening? I don't get it at all..." Melt voiced the fundamental question, a metaphorical question mark practically floating over her head.
Why did Skull have two forms? Watching him now, it didn't seem like he—or rather, the horse—was consciously switching between them.
As Melt and the others wondered if even Skull himself knew the reason, Yugo turned to Fee with a question.
"Hey, Fee. Skull isn’t a Magic Armor Beast; he’s a monster called a Skeleton Horse, right?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. That’s right."
"And to put it simply, that’s just a horse version of a Skeleton monster?"
"Yeah, basically..."
"...If you don’t mind, tell me how Skeleton monsters are born. Just tell me what you know."
Yugo sought information about Skeletons—the skeletal monsters that were staple enemies in games and manga, and which truly existed in this world.
Fee nodded and searched the archives of his memory, pulling out the information his brother needed.
"Well... regarding the birth of Skeletons, if I remember correctly—"
Skeletons were monsters belonging to the classification known as Undead-types. Unlike biological monsters like Goblins, they weren't born through reproduction.
When a corpse turned into white-bleached bones without being properly laid to rest, it could be inhabited by the corruption or grudges of the land. The result was a Skeleton—a monster consisting only of bones stripped of flesh.
In short, they were monsters born from the fusion of a corpse and a powerful negative aura. After listening to Fee’s explanation, Yugo thought for a moment before speaking.
"Just a hypothetical... but is it possible for a grudge with that kind of negative aura to inhabit the body it originally belonged to?"
"Wait... oh!"
Fee’s initial look of confusion vanished instantly as he grasped the implication. He turned his gaze toward Skull. Following Fee’s lead, Anhel also reached the same conclusion Yugo had and murmured it aloud.
"The horses that were killed near here a while ago... are you saying Skull was one of them?"
"A lot of things fall into place if you look at it that way. Don’t you think so, Ann?"
Anhel considered the possibility, her thoughts deepening as she weighed the theory.
Skull possessed two forms because he had only just been reincarnated as a monster. In the darkness of night, his living form surfaced, while under strong light, his monstrous nature was illuminated.
Unlike typical Skeletons, which were produced after corruption and grudges accumulated over a long period, Skull had likely allowed his own soul to inhabit his remains, reincarnating as a monster shortly after his death.
The fact that his reason and physical flesh remained made sense if one assumed he hadn't yet been completely consumed by his existence as a monster.
Furthermore, the answer to what powerful negative emotion had triggered his resurrection was easily found. It all lay within the tragedy that had occurred a short time ago.
"...Revenge, then. This guy came back to life to take down whoever killed him."
Skull had been one of the horses in the group discovered dead a few days prior. After his life and the lives of his companions were taken by an unknown assailant, his hatred and resentment toward the attacker grew so intense that it anchored his soul to his dead body, bringing him back as a Skeleton Horse.
And now, he had returned to these plains in search of that killer.
Anhel felt she had found the answers to their questions, but Yugo shook his head, disagreeing with part of her conclusion.
He looked from Anhel to Skull, then spoke to his friends in a voice barely above a whisper.
"That’s not quite it. It’s true that Skull is hunting the culprit for revenge. But it isn't revenge for himself."
As he spoke, Yugo gently stroked Skull’s neck, where the spectral flames were flickering. Touching the horse with empathy and kindness, he gave voice to the creature’s true purpose.
"Skull... you're trying to avenge your friends, aren't you?"