――Application to register legitimate kin Gilbert Loto Amelia in the Subjugation Compendium――Denied.
――Application to provisionally register legitimate kin Gilbert Loto Amelia in the Subjugation Compendium――Granted.
――Within the scope of provisional registration, soul data will be used to apply minute modifications to physical body, psyche, and common sense.
With that strangely mechanical voice serving as a lullaby, I felt my consciousness floating upward from the bottom of a swamp.
When I opened my eyes, I was back inside that cave.
"Hey, Gil, are you all right?!"
Kiji was shaking my entire body.
"Where... am I?"
I shook my muddled head a few times.
"—-?!"
The moment that chillingly vivid scene flashed across my mind, I sprang up and wildly scanned my surroundings.
There, glaring at me with a sullen expression, was the face of the short-haired, redheaded cat woman. It overlapped with the gruesome image of her neck being snapped—
"Tama!"
Leaping to my feet as if launched, I rushed over and threw my arms around her.
"You're okay?! You're not hurt?!"
I patted her down with both hands, frantically confirming she was alive.
"Hwah?!"
For a second, Tama wore a blank, utterly bewildered expression, but her face swiftly flushed crimson, her eyes darting about in a panic.
"Wha-buh-gh-x—!"
Letting out an incoherent shriek, she shoved me away and bolted into the depths of the cave.
At last, I regained enough composure to assess my situation.
What on earth was that?
I checked on things and confirmed that both Chato and Tama were completely unharmed. More importantly, they had completely forgotten taking up ambush positions with me. No, saying they had forgotten wasn't quite right.
—It was as if none of it had ever happened.
That was undoubtedly the explanation that made the most sense.
Right now, we were back several hours before that nightmare, having just returned to the cave and gotten into an argument with Tama. Apparently, I had abruptly collapsed and lost consciousness right in the middle of our spat.
Could it have been a daydream? It had felt far too real for that. Writing it off as a mere dream was simply impossible.
If so, the only other explanation was clairvoyance—or rather, since I had been unconscious, a precognitive dream would be more accurate. I had lost my memories and didn't know my own Gift. It was entirely plausible.
And the trigger had likely been mortal peril. With a deadly crisis imminent, I had been forcibly shown the future. Looking at it that way, everything clicked.
If that was true, we were in catastrophic trouble. We had zero chance of winning against that blue-haired man. In fact, I hadn't even been able to track his movements. As things stood, no matter what we did, the only outcome would be our total slaughter. The only other option was to run, but if we did, Charme would never return. I was sure of it.
"Talk about a dead end..."
As I vigorously scratched my head, Kiji and Chato walked over. Well, we were about to risk our lives in battle. If someone acted this suspiciously, of course they'd be worried.
Chato grabbed me by the collar and dragged me to a private chamber in the back of the cave, with Kiji following behind.
"Gil, what happened? Tell us."
Kiji asked with a grave expression.
They had brought me here to keep the others from overhearing. It was likely Kiji's call, and in this situation, it was entirely justified. Learning that we had to fight an enemy we couldn't possibly defeat would inevitably incite panic.
"Whether you believe me or not is up to you."
Lowering my voice, I told them everything I had seen and felt.
"A precognitive dream, you say. That truly is worst-case."
Kiji muttered quietly.
I was surprised. Was he actually going to believe me? I knew very well how preposterous it sounded. Above all, I was half in doubt myself. I never imagined they would accept it so readily.
"Hold on, Lord Kiji, you're seriously buying this nonsense?"
Frowning, Chato voiced the obvious objection. Though he seemed incredulous, the fact that he wasn't flying into a rage suggested he realized I wasn't joking around.
"I do. That person had a crazy Gift like that, too. More than likely, that dream is a Gift granted to you by the gods of the human race."
"Hold on, does that mean I'm gonna die?"
Chato muttered to himself, his face draining of color.
"Don't worry. I have an idea. Wait a moment."
Kiji hurried out of the room and returned carrying a long, narrow wooden box.
"Here it is!"
Opening the lid revealed three stake-like objects resting inside.
"What are those?"
"Ability-suppressing stakes given to me by a hunter in the past."
"Ah, the same hunter who gave Charme that pendant?"
"That's right. He told me to use these only when we were backed into an absolute corner. Supposedly, if you trap the target within the area enclosed by the three stakes and channel magic power into them, they'll activate. Unfortunately, none of us of the sheep cat tribe can manipulate magic power except for Charme. But this time, we have you. Can you use these?"
I picked up a stake and examined it closely. The inscriptions were definitely ancient script. Without a doubt, this was an ancient artifact excavated from ruins. Relics possessed power that defied common sense, treated everywhere as national treasures. As long as it functioned properly, it could certainly be expected to work on that monster. In all likelihood, this was our only hope of victory.
"Yeah. This is our only shot. But the biggest problem is whether that guy will patiently wait around for the artifact to activate."
I hadn't been able to perceive his movements in the slightest. There was no way that monster would stay docile and still until it went off.
"Is he really that fast?"
"He's fast. I couldn't see him at all."
Before I had even realized it, he had been right behind me. To a monster like that, we were no different from sluggish slimes. I couldn't imagine this succeeding as things stood.
"Is there no way to keep him pinned in one spot for a moment?"
"I told you. I couldn't perceive him at all. Stalling him is—"
No, wait. What had he said back then?
—Oh dear, I went and killed her. The females were supposed to be captured alive, weren't they?
Right. That's what he had said. Perhaps if Chato and I hadn't been armed, Tama would have been left unharmed.
"Anything is fine! I'm begging you! The future of our village is on the line!"
Kiji grabbed both of my shoulders, pleading with desperate intensity. Hiding it would only foster distrust and accomplish nothing. Kiji would surely understand why it was too dangerous.
"I remembered that in the dream, they mentioned they weren't supposed to kill the females."
"But Tama got killed anyway, didn't she?"
"If his words were true, killing Tama was an accident. But just as Chato said, he still killed her without hesitation, so it's far from guaranteed. We can't risk something so reckless."
"I see... You're right. We'll just have to find another way..."
Just as Kiji's shoulders slumped—
"I'll be the decoy!"
The door flew open, and the short-haired, redheaded cat woman—Tama—stepped inside, declaring her intent with hands planted firmly on her hips. She had clearly been eavesdropping outside.
"You can't. It's far too dangerous—"
"Outsiders stay out of this!"
Tama snapped at me, then turned to Kiji and bowed her head.
"Lord Kiji, please let me be the decoy!"
"I forbid it! Gil just explained how dangerous it is!"
Kiji shook his head adamantly.
"If that human is truly that strong, we won't be able to escape anyway. If we're caught, it's either slavery or death. If that's the case, even if it's dangerous, I want to fight for our village!"
She poured out her feelings with a fierce expression, as if confronting destiny itself.
"Lord Kiji, this time I agree with Tama. If the guy's speed is that abnormal, we're just dead weight. We won't even serve as decoys before getting slaughtered instantly. But if it's Tama, he might actually hesitate to kill a woman. If that happens, we've got our chance!"
"Chato, that's why I'm saying it's too dangerous—!"
"Gil! Tama said it too, didn't she?! Those bastards aren't like you! They don't look at us as living beings with wills of our own! That's exactly why this plan will work! Am I wrong?!"
Biting his lower lip, Chato roared at me.
He wasn't wrong. As long as that man viewed the sheep cats as mere livestock, he wouldn't bother speaking to them. If she offered no resistance, he would only pause to appraise her value as merchandise. That was our sole opening to win this battle.
"Understood. I will follow Kiji's decision."
Kiji closed his eyes tightly for a brief moment, but then—
"Let's do it! We will protect the village!"
He squeezed out the words with fierce resolve.