Confrontation

19. Confrontation

—I'm going to be eaten!!

Shia dodged instinctively, and the Serpent snapped at empty air.

Whether it had forcibly peeled away the shallow frozen layer at the top or simply torn its own skin in the process, the creature's obsession with targeting Shia was evident in its shredded flesh. For a moment, she was stunned by the sheer ferocity of it, but there was no time to be dazed.

Having missed Shia, the Serpent shifted its target.

And Tori was currently standing with his back turned.

(Tori's in danger!)

Without a second thought, Shia bolted.

Extending her claws, she lunged at the Serpent as it closed in on Tori's back, delivering a strike directly into the torn skin.

The Serpent writhed in agony, trying to shake her off. But Shia refused to let it escape; keeping her claws dug deep into its flesh, she scrambled up toward the Serpent's head and, this time, drove her fingertips into one of its massive golden eyes.

A scream that should have shaken the heavens—

Had the creature possessed a voice, that would have been the case, but unfortunately, Serpents have no vocal cords. Instead, it thrashed violently, slamming its own body against the Tochka. It intended to crush Shia.

Sensing the danger, she leaped away from the Serpent's body to avoid being caught in the impact.

"...Shia!?"

Tori finally realized the situation and called her name. But Shia's focus remained entirely on the rampaging Serpent.

The creature glared at her, its remaining eye glowing with malice. Since its lower body was still encased in ice, its mobility was limited, giving Shia the upper hand in agility.

(The heart is one mut below the neck!)

Whether it was instinct or intuition, she read the weakness and crouched low.

Her goal had shifted from simply saving Tori to defeating the Serpent before her.

—That was the nature of the beastkin.

Tori, watching from the side, found himself impressed, wondering if Shia was a carnivorous type of beastkin. Realizing that intervening now would only be a hindrance, he put his night-vision goggles back on and loaded his gun.

Meanwhile, with a light leap, Shia lunged at the Serpent again, circling around the blind spot of the crushed eye and diving beneath its belly. The heart she sought was right there.

She dipped her body low once, using the momentum to spring upward.

Normally, a Serpent's heart would be protected by thick layers of muscle, far beyond the reach of Shia's claws. However, by forcibly breaking the icy restraints, the Serpent had exposed its own vital weakness.

Shia's claws sank deep into the Serpent's body, ripping through the flesh. Bright red blood—no different from their own—sprayed out. But—

Perhaps because Shia was too light, the blow failed to be fatal.

As Shia shifted her posture in mid-air to land, a wide-open maw snapped shut around her.

"Shia!!"

Tori immediately fired a flare into the spot where Shia had landed her strike, then reloaded and shot the exact same location with precision.

The first shot exploded on impact; the second tore through the slightly remaining connection of the torso and detonated in the air.

Amidst the bright light, the severed limb fell to the ground with a heavy thud, while the remaining body hung limply from the Tochka.

"—Shia...!"

Tori threw aside his gun, ripped off his night-vision goggles, and rushed forward, immediately dragging Shia's body out from the slack, open mouth.

Shia was unconscious, but her body was emitting a faint light, which gradually contracted and vanished near her chest. The amulet's effect had likely activated. Thanks to that, a quick glance showed she had no injuries.

Tori let out a short breath and lightly tapped Shia's cheek.

"Nn... mmm...? ...Tori?"

Shia opened her eyes slightly, blinked a few times as she looked up at Tori, and then suddenly bolted upright.

"—T-The Serpent!?"

"Right there."

He pointed toward the completely lifeless remains of the Serpent.

Shia blinked again.

"Did we beat it?"

"Yeah. It was all thanks to you, Shia."

"...Nn-nn, it wasn't Shia..."

Shia shook her head, her ears drooping slightly.

Her attack had been shallow and couldn't have been fatal. Therefore, she didn't deserve the credit.

Besides, the smell of gunpowder was clearly drifting through the air. Coming from Tori.

"Tori beat the Serpent?"

"...Yeah, well, I did deliver the finishing blow with the gun, but you're the one who showed me where to hit."

"......Then, was Shia helpful...?"

"Yeah, very."

Seeing Tori nod emphatically, her drooping ears popped back up, and her tail wagged inside her robe. Tori let out a wry smile, but then his face clouded slightly.

"But, you can't be so reckless."

"Reckless? ...I wasn't...?"

"I bet. You probably weren't aware of it, Shia, but my heart nearly stopped several times watching you."

"Heart stopped... ...Is Tori hurt?"

"No, I'm unscathed. But that's not what I meant—"

"Hehe! Shia protected Tori! I was helpful!"

"Eh, ah... yeah, I suppose so, but..."

Shia's mind was entirely focused on that one point; it was a conversation that sounded like it was clicking but was actually completely misaligned. Looking at her beaming smile, Tori couldn't bring himself to say anything more and let out a small sigh.

It seemed he would have to find a way to increase Shia's own defensive capabilities from now on.

Tori helped Shia up and stood as well, just as the sound of galloping horses and small lights approached from the distance. It was likely Ronar.

Ronar arrived and let out a sigh of relief upon finding the two of them safe.

"Ah, thank goodness... Three flares went up, so I thought something had happened. ...Still, you actually took down a Serpent."

Ronar dismounted and held up his light, staring intently at the Serpent's carcass. Tori spoke.

"I'll leave the rest to you, Ronar-san."

"Eh!?"

Ronar spun around, startled by the voice.

"Eh... leave it to me...?"

"Why, this Serpent, of course."

"No... no, no, no, this thing is worth a considerable amount of money, you know?"

"I know. Even so, we're travelers; we can't carry something this large."

"Then we can transport it to town and butcher it there—"

"I'd rather not go to town."

As Tori's voice dropped slightly, Ronar let out a small "Ah..." and closed his mouth awkwardly.

It was only natural. In that town were the people who had hurt Tori—no, the people who had conspired to kill him.

Noticing Shia scowling with her brows knit tight, Ronar's gaze wandered.

He likely felt he had no ground to stand on, but considering what had happened, it was only natural. However, since Ronar had done his best to make amends after that, he was forgivable. But the other humans were absolutely unforgivable.

Besides, he felt that the current Shia could find those people and punish them as much as she liked.

As if to dampen that rising energy, a hand patted the space between her pricked-up ears.

Shia looked up in surprise to see Tori narrowing his eyes and shaking his head slowly. Then he spoke to Ronar.

"So, we'll be leaving now. And, if possible, we'd like to borrow the horses."

"A-Ah... yeah, I brought those specifically for you two anyway."

"Then we'll gratefully borrow them until we reach the border town."

"Yeah..."

The three of them did some light cleanup, and once Tori and Shia were mounted, Ronar called out in a hesitant voice, "—Uhm."

"Ah... that is... I'm sorry for everything. ...And, ...thank you."

Ronar spoke in broken fragments.

In terms of her feelings, Shia didn't think she would ever come to this town again. However.

"Ronar-san, see... you."

As she gave a small wave, Ronar blinked, and then immediately broke into a crinkled smile.

"Well, let's go."

At Tori's voice, the horses galloped west.

The wind ruffled Shia's hair. She looked back from the dim forward view toward the brightening rear, where Ronar was still standing still. To the hand she waved once more over Tori's shoulder, a large arm waved back.

"...Is there any way to tell the difference between a good person and a bad one?"

Tori's voice responded to her quiet mutter.

"That would be difficult. Humans possess both good and evil, and it's something decided by the observer's subjectivity."

"...? What does that mean?"

"In short, it's about whether they are an ally to you or not."

"Ally..."

"Hmm, let's see. Shia, you decided that Ronar-san isn't a bad person, right?"

Shia looked up at Tori and nodded slightly.

"That's partly intuition, but I think you also considered that he brought you here and helped you. However... ...listen carefully, okay?"

"......?"

"To the people who tried to get rid of me, Ronar-san, who helped us, is a traitor. In other words, he becomes a bad person... right?"

"That's not fair! They're definitely the bad ones!"

"Yeah, that's exactly my point."

"......!"

Despite being told to stay calm, she had accidentally become excited. And she understood what Tori was trying to say.

That was why she fell silent with an indescribable expression, letting out a small "Muu..." Tori laughed amusedly and gave the horse's belly a light kick.

As they accelerated, he continued.

"You don't have to think about it so deeply. Your own judgment is enough, Shia. As long as you don't let yourself be swayed by others and judge for yourself each time. .........If... if you're betrayed because of that, then it's probably your own fault..."

"—Eh?"

The wind swept away the last part, and when she asked for clarification, Tori gave a small laugh and shook his head. "It's nothing."

The sky in the direction they were heading gradually brightened, and the stars scattered across the pale purple sky vanished into the morning sun after one final flicker. And so, a new day began.

The heavy air of the night was replaced by the cool air of the morning, and Shia gave her ears a little shake.

Now—I wonder what kind of day today will turn out to be?

〜 The Meaning of Claws and Fangs 〜 End

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※ One mut = one meter

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