The Time of Departure, the Time of Independence

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"The time... has come for us to part."

That evening, after Emi had whispered those words to Dokugegon.

With the setting sun at her back, she kicked off the ground, leaped from the trunk of a great tree, and... sprinted through the forest at breakneck speed.

I say "great tree," but.

It was a tree of a conventional size.

Having glided from the sheer cliffs that separated the outside world from the Plateau of Behemoths using her 【Black Wings】, she had run relentlessly for three hours since landing.

She was already far away from the plateau where she had spent over half a year.

By her side, the purple bird who manipulated poison was gone.

Emi was alone.

"Migya...?"

And then.

Unluckily for Emi, a Topopolock leaped out from a thicket of shrubs directly in her path.

It was a Topopolock with tiger-like patterns of yellow and black.

A three-eyed, chicken-like monster about one meter long with a row of spikes on its back and no fur.

"............"

Maintaining her ferocious speed, Emi rushed the Topopolock and suddenly seized it by its long neck.

"Mi..."

Then, she gradually slowed down.

From a full sprint, to a jog.

From a jog, to a normal walking pace, and then, a halt.

The moment she came to a complete stop, the Topopolock held by the neck was already dead.

Next, without a moment's hesitation, Emi severed the Topopolock's long neck with a hand-chop, pressed her mouth to the cross-section, and gulped down the blood overflowing from it.

Furthermore, she crushed the flesh of the neck along with the bone and swallowed it.

A wild nutritional supplement... that no ordinary person should ever attempt!

After ingesting a certain amount of blood and meat, Emi tossed the Topopolock's carcass into the air.

Then, she impaled it with a 【Black Tentacle】 extended from her shoulder.

The 【Black Tentacle】 sucked the magic power out of the Topopolock's carcass... turning it into crumbling, black dust.

Almost everything the Topopolock possessed was stolen by Emi.

Emi's soul grew slightly larger... and the world grew slightly smaller.

<My, you've become quite accustomed to giant monsters... seeing a small-sized monster like this actually feels a bit strange, doesn't it!>

As Emi stood still, gazing blankly up at the sky where stars had begun to twinkle faintly, Omake-sama spoke up cheerfully.

"............"

<Regardless, this is good. I can't feel any movement from the Spirit God... it's safe to assume that Emi's existence hasn't been noticed.>

"............"

<Well, it was unexpected that you got involved with the whale, Dokugegon, and other associates of the gods... but... >

"............Sigh."

<Oh, honestly, Emi!>

Facing an Emi who didn't respond to anything... and eventually sighed and looked down, Omake-sama spoke with concern... but with a firmer tone.

<In the first place, you agreed to it, didn't you! That you had to part ways with Dokugegon!>

"Yeah..."

Emi murmured vaguely.

Emi understood as well.

There were several reasons why she had to part with Dokugegon.

First, Dokugegon himself was almost certainly a reincarnator.

She had suspected it due to his high intelligence... but the sudden 【Evolution】 that occurred while he was eating the Land Whale's meat.

And the golden divine aura that erupted at that time...

That fact had given Emi absolute certainty.

Behind reincarnators are the gods who "watch" their lives.

Unreasonable existences that even Emi's current power could not resist.

To avoid being targeted by such troublesome "viewers"... it was best to keep a distance from reincarnators if possible.

And furthermore.

"I can't... drag Dokugegon into any more misfortune..."

This thought welled up the moment she became close to someone.

Black hair and black eyes are the marks of a cursed child who invites misfortune.

Emi was certain that this legend, told throughout the world of Ardyst, was not a mistake.

That was how often... she was caught up in major incidents.

Even the Land Whale they fought this time—that was absolutely not a being that appeared as a villain in the "story" of the reincarnator Dokugegon.

It was far too strong to be merely Dokugegon's enemy.

That Land Whale was a misfortune that Emi herself had invited.

That was what Emi believed.

Therefore.

"...I can't let him be killed. Not a companion, because of me."

With that, Emi fell silent.

Then, she looked forward and resumed her journey without a destination.

She was currently in an open forest with relatively few trees.

Since spring had only just begun, the undergrowth had not yet grown, making movement easy.

She continued to walk, staring intently at her own long, long, jet-black shadow cast by the setting sun.

Not once did she look back.

The bond was already severed.

It had to be severed.

◇ ◇ ◇

"N'eh..."

Before he knew it, the setting sun had dyed the poisonous lake yellow.

Dokugegon, who had been floating blankly on his back, drifting on the lake surface that covered the darkness with a sparkling glow, finally twisted his body and began to move.

"N'eh..."

Then, moving a portion of the poisonous liquid filling the lake like a tentacle... he lifted his body high, high up.

Spreading across his vision was the vast forest of the Plateau of Behemoths.

It was so wide it felt as if it continued forever.

Emi had told him there were cliffs at the edge of the plateau, but those cliffs were too far away to be seen.

Emi... had surely already gone much further than the invisible edge of the plateau.

"N'eh..."

Thinking of this, he felt lonely... and Dokugegon let the poisonous tentacle wither, splashing back down onto the lake surface.

"The time... has come for us to part."

The owner's words echoed repeatedly in his head—abrupt and unilateral, as always.

Dokugegon had protested.

He had flapped his wings, screamed, and protested with every fiber of his being.

No matter how poorly his words were conveyed, there was no way his feelings wouldn't reach her after all that.

Emi had watched his great rampage intently... opening and closing her mouth, opening and closing it... as if she were choosing her words.

After a while, finally.

"Because you... you've grown recently, and you're starting to look delicious, aren't you...?"

She had said.

...As for whether that was a joke or her true feelings... while she said it jokingly, Dokugegon thought there was some truth to it.

After all, Emi's appetite was abnormal.

Even the meat of that giant Land Whale... though it had shriveled and shrunk, there was still a considerable amount.

Dokugegon had pecked at it too, but this humanoid monster had devoured almost all of it alone.

Having witnessed that, Dokugegon felt an unwelcome persuasiveness in her words that she had begun to view him as "meat."

At the same time.

Because of that, she wanted to part.

He also strongly felt the kindness of Emi for saying so.

...Dokugegon found himself unable to say anything.

He simply looked down and trembled, shedding tears drop by drop.

"............"

Emi placed both hands on his cheeks, gently kneading them.

Then, Dokugegon's tears fell onto Emi's hands... and the spots where they landed swelled up red.

"............!"

Her self-healing power was tremendous, and the swelling subsided immediately... but.

Emi remained expressionless... yet she stared intently at her swollen hand.

"You've become strong, Dokugegon."

Saying so, she hugged his now-larger head tightly.

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◇ ◇ ◇

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After that, Emi departed.

There were no further words.

She simply waved her palm twice in front of her chest.

And in the next instant.

With a thud and a small crater left behind, Emi was gone.

The idea of chasing after her because he hated being apart... that was physically impossible.

Emi's isolated physical abilities would not allow it.

Since he couldn't even track her movement with his eyes, there was no way he could catch up.

Unilaterally declaring "it's time to part" and vanishing without allowing a word.

Truly, until the very end, she was a selfish owner who never listened.

(...The end?)

And here.

Gazing at the sinking sunset, Dokugegon suddenly wondered.

(Who decided that we can't meet again?)

It was Emi.

Emi had decided.

If he were still the person he was.

If he were Haruma Jou.

He would have been hurt by being "abandoned," closed himself off in a shell of his heart, and remained sulky forever.

But now, he was Dokugegon.

The pet bird of Emi—the selfish, willful, and violent owner.

(Why should I obey such words!)

He had "changed."

I won't go so far as to say he "grew."

But without a doubt, in order to "survive" in this world, he had changed.

For better or worse.

The one who changed him was Emi.

...Would the pet of such an owner become a good boy who obediently follows orders?

Of course not!

(In the first place, abandoning a pet you've kept! Emi doesn't understand how much that hurts the pet, or what a foolish act it is to destroy the ecosystem!)

Finally, here, anger even began to boil up within Dokugegon's heart!

In synchronization with that anger, the lake surface around him rippled even without wind, and bubbles popped frantically!

Wave crashed against wave, and poisonous liquid danced in the air as spray from the bursting bubbles!

And then!

(...I'm going to become even stronger.)

The lake surface, which had been raging, suddenly became still.

...Strong enough to mow down giant beasts just like Emi.

Making his poison so strong that Emi wouldn't even think of "eating" him.

Acquiring perfect control of poison so as not to soil his surroundings.

(And then... I'll go see Emi again!)

The eyes of Dokugegon, gazing at the deep red sunset sinking at the edge of the forest, were no longer wet with poison.

This parting was not a severance.

Even if their bodies were far apart.

Surely, from now on, Dokugegon's heart would remain by Emi's side.

Bonds are not so easily severed.

They are not things that can be severed.