The golden bull, Behemoth.
When I first met Thunder Imperial Prince Indra, he took a liking to me and "transferred" it.
Now, the scenery around me had become identical to that moment.
A space with neither heaven nor earth, filled only with overflowing light.
Within that expanse, I stood face-to-face with the golden bull, Behemoth.
"It has been a long time since we met in this form. What happened?"
"Dost thou desire power?"
"...What are you talking about?"
"Dost thou desire power?"
Behemoth repeated the exact same words.
I hesitated.
What on earth did that mean?
What was it referring to?
"Didst thou not call upon me?"
"I called you?"
Puzzled, I wondered more and more what this was about.
"I was once known as the 'Perfect Beast,' revered by all beasts."
"—-!"
My confusion instantly gave way to utter shock.
"The one revered by all beasts," recorded in merely a single sentence in the history books.
To think it had been right beside me all along.
"I ask thee, dost thou desire my power?"
"...Yeah, I want it."
"Then call my name. My true name."
"...Lend me your strength. Behemoth!"
My hesitation lasted only an instant.
The one revered by all beasts—I spoke the name of Behemoth.
In that moment, the body of Behemoth turned into light, overflowing and enveloping me completely.
I squeezed my eyes shut against the brilliance, but the light subsided quickly.
When I opened them, Jerry stood right in front of me, and I was back where I started.
I looked around.
It was the same desolate backyard as before, completely unchanged.
"What's the matter, Boss?"
"...No, it's nothing."
Jerry only looked puzzled by my sudden stillness.
The exchange with Behemoth must have taken well over a minute.
Normally, Jerry would have asked why I froze, why I was dazed, or where I had drifted off to.
The fact that he didn't meant that, just like back when I was with Indra, the conversation with Behemoth had been a momentary event within a spiritual world.
It was something that could easily have been dismissed as a dream or a daydream—except it wasn't.
There was a massive change in the status visible in the corner of my vision.
――――――――――――
Name: Noah Ararat
Emperor of the Empire
Gender: Male
Level: 17 + 1 / ∞
HP: C+A Fire: E+S+S MP: D+B Water: C+SSS Strength: C+SS Wind: E+C Stamina: D+B Earth: E+C Intelligence: D+S Light: E+S Spirit: E+A Dark: E+B Speed: E+A Dexterity: E+A Luck: D+B
―――――――――――
Just like with Leviathan and Bahamut.
Thanks to welcoming Behemoth under its true name, my light boost had risen to S.
"...Jerry, is there someone here who can use status magic?"
"Huh? Er, please wait a moment."
Jerry looked thoroughly bewildered, but without asking further questions, he went off to fetch a magician.
Before long, he returned with a young magician in tow.
After I whispered a firm warning into his ear, the young male magician cast a spell on me with a tense expression.
It was the Status Open spell.
When cast, it displayed a status screen visible to others as well, not just the private one only I could see.
That public status lacked the "+" symbols.
However, it reflected the combined total of everything, including the "+" values visible to me.
"—-!"
The magician gasped.
Wondering what had startled him, I saw that his eyes were glued to the title "Emperor of the Empire" on my status.
"As I told you a moment ago, not a word of this to anyone. If you breathe a whisper, I'll skin you alive and mince you to pieces."
"Y-Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Good. Dismissed."
"Yes, sir!"
As if granted a pardon from execution, the magician scrambled away.
Jerry then took another look at my status.
"That's the first time you've shown me your status, Master, and man... this is insane."
"Come to think of it, this is your first time seeing it, isn't it?"
"Sure is."
"Indeed."
I nodded.
Ever since ascending the throne as Emperor, I rarely showed my status to others anymore.
I could always see it myself anyway.
Ever since I was reincarnated as an infant named Noah up to this very day, it had constantly lingered in the corner of my sight.
Its presence felt completely natural; in fact, it would have felt bizarre if it vanished.
Setting that aside—my light status had risen by three whole ranks thanks to Behemoth's boost.
Of course, since it was Jerry's first time seeing it, he had no way of knowing and said nothing about it.
"Try mastering this power."
"...I see."
The moment I finished checking my status, Behemoth urged me on.
The tone and cadence weren't much different from before.
It was as if the deep, mature voice had shifted into that of the same person as a youth—a fair-faced boy.
The details of Behemoth's power and how to wield it flowed directly into my mind, just like the first time I held Leviathan in my hands.
"This is going to take a bit of effort... Well, no matter."
"Huh? What will?"
"Open that cage for me."
"Huh?"
Jerry's eyes went wide.
Immediately afterward, he began to panic.
"Whoa, whoa, hold on, Master, this thing's deadly! It took a bunch of men just to haul it in—"
"I don't mind. Do it."
"—-...Understood."
Cut off mid-sentence, Jerry stared at me for a beat before giving a firm nod.
He approached the cage, pulled a key from his breast pocket, and slotted it into the massive, heavy padlock.
He was remarkably well-prepared, I thought, though I kept it to myself.
Unlike the status magic, the very fact that he brought me here meant he had probably anticipated that the cage might need to be opened.
Factoring in his panicked reaction just now, I was reminded once again that Jerry was quite the actor.
"...Here goes."
"Indeed."
At my nod, Jerry unlocked the cage and instantly leaped back.
The padlock fell away.
Unlike a human, the rabbit couldn't comprehend the latch mechanism to open it right away, but with the lock gone, its wild thrashing naturally forced the door open.
Through the opened entrance, the rabbit crouched low and crept out.
Then, it bared its hostility.
Bristling its sharp, dull-colored fur and exposing its dagger-like fangs, it hissed a vicious threat.
"Master."
"Watch."
First, I drew Leviathan.
The Magic Sword of Water, Leviathan.
The moment I took my stance, the rabbit lunged, snapping its jaws.
I caught the strike on the blade of the magic sword.
Though it bit down with its razor fangs, the sharp crack of the rabbit's own teeth shattering echoed through the yard instead.
Startled, the beast leaped back.
"Too slow."
Stepping forward in pursuit, I unleashed a horizontal sweep.
Trailing an azure afterglow, the clean slash tore straight across the rabbit's chest.
A torrent of blood sprayed out.
"Incredible!"
With Jerry's cheer at my back, I pressed the advantage.
I launched a relentless flurry of strikes with Leviathan.
Every single slash landed true, carving into the rabbit's flesh.
Blood sprayed with every blow, and the rabbit roared, reduced to a desperate, wounded beast.
Eventually, the sheer weight of the damage took its toll. Gasping for breath, the rabbit flattened itself against the ground, curling inward.
As I closed in—
"Look out!"
Jerry shouted in alarm.
As if making a desperate final gambit, the rabbit's eyes snapped wide, and it pounced forward with terrifying ferocity.
If this had been a few minutes ago, I would have dodged, but now there was no need.
I met the charge head-on.
Instead of using Leviathan in my right hand, however, I pulled back my lightly clenched left fist.
Radiating a brilliant golden glow, my fist drove upward into the rabbit's gut with a devastating body blow.
The rabbit's torso bent sharply into a brutal "V." An instant later, all strength drained from its body, and it hit the dirt with a heavy thud.
The fight was over. Seeing this, Jerry moved past short cheers and found his voice.
"Amazing, truly amazing, Master! You took it down all by yourself! And this monster tore through several grown men!"
"It was certainly tough. Probably because it was wild; it proved far stronger than most monsters managed by the Empire."
"Man, you really are something else."
Jerry looked thoroughly awestruck.
That there was still a touch of theater in his admiration became obvious in the very next instant.
The rabbit sluggishly pulled itself back up.
Jerry flinched and fell into a defensive stance, but I simply sheathed Leviathan and stood my ground.
Then, its bloodshot glare replaced by eyes as clear as polished glass beads, the rabbit lowered its head and gently nuzzled its cheek against me.
"Th-This is..."
"It says it will obey me from now on."
"What...?! Taming a monster all on your own...?! Incredible..."
This time, Jerry was genuinely struck dumb with awe.
As for me, I was entirely satisfied with Behemoth's new power.