Volume 6 Chapter 73 Purifier
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Scattered petals laid out like ritual cloth.
Tiny childish fingers groped through the dark.
In the lonely bed of emptiness, they mixed and shaped, the cries of all beings rising and choking out.
First came the curse.
Even blessed light could not reach the abyss.
What it held was a crystal without blessing, cradled in the swollen field of a soul.
A voice rejoiced.
Crawling at their feet, brushing along their back, twisting and writhing, glancing this way and that.
It gripped a crimson fingertip, swayed close, hummed a lullaby.
It melted away, got swallowed down.
It wiped, it fluttered, it poured like sudden rain.
Lonely.
So unbearably lonely.
Next came the curse.
The raised voice rang hollow in the sea of suffering.
Bonds sank into the dark—resentment, malice, pride, prayer, all alike.
The soul dissolved its story into the sea, drifting toward some unknown hermitage.
It thrashed, sobbing, yet not a single wish, not one, came true.
Even though it lit up with hatred, sang curses with all its being.
If the god in the violet sky still listened…
Tears fell.
They were dawn’s light made real.
Like guiding a wavering corpse, the memory of the first Hero filtered down, opening her eyes.
There, she saw the burning gaze of a mother’s eyes.
Last came the curse. To meet again.
Like a newborn crying for milk.
Like the masses seeking salvation from a buddha.
The guiding glow was firefly light.
The hand leading hers was a smiling illusion from a pure land.
Reincarnation stood still.
The drying gutter. The cloudy soul mixed and blended, filtered and hardened, turned into an empty shell.
A hazy body shaped clear eyes, mash became limbs, fins stretched upward to climb the sea.
It circled the farthest edge.
On the cape it stood on tiptoe, reaching out with both hands.
Beyond the chained boundary, seven-colored light shone.
From the sea of the abyss came dazzling brilliance breaking through.
＊ * *
”KuzKuz, good evening.”
”…What.”
When the Fox Princess showed her face, the white catgirl curled her lips and flicked her ears.
Kuzuha, sullen as always. Maybe because her role kept shifting—enemy, ally, neither—her feelings couldn’t keep up.
”ElneElne, have you been well?”
”I’m full of energy! And I’m glad to see you healthy too, Auntie!”
Leaping onto a rooftop, the white cat and the striped tea-colored cat faced each other.
Their mood, at least, was cheerful.
Nearby, the red cat watched the approach with bated breath.
Four beast-girls had gathered here.
Each with her own stance, her own ties, staring one another down.
The golden cat was missing—off on solo duty, sabotaging with her water style.
”Hey, Auntie. How did your talk with Kuro go?”
The white cat princess smiled brightly, hands folded behind her back.
This wasn’t small talk. But words were needed all the same, and she spoke like the princess she was.
”Since Auntie’s kind, of course you’ll choose the path of peace for Elna’s sake… right?”
”…Mm. Well, it’s still under review, nya…”
”Oh? ‘Under review’? Then what was all that fighting just now supposed to be?”
The white cat smiled. The tea cat averted her eyes.
The Fox Princess glared sharp from the side.
Between them, a heavy silence started to creep in.
”W-wait! That doesn’t matter right now, does it? The town’s in danger! Larana’s down!”
The one most stuck in the middle—Mina, the red cat—cut between them.
For her, the Fox Princess was clearly an enemy. But the other two cats were comrades.
If they started fighting, she’d be caught right in the middle, with no way out.
Her allegiance was to Irina, head of the Nyan Law Corps.
But Elna was this country’s princess, the next Emperor of the Hundred Beasts.
Either side was a bad bet.
”Let’s just beat this weird thing together first. We can talk after!”
Sensing the tension, Elna clapped her hands to break it.
Mina sighed in relief. The Fox Princess clicked her tongue.
Kuzuha cut a glare at the tea cat, then turned her eyes skyward.
The twisted red sky.
The black sea. The grotesque beast standing in it.
”…Nya. But it does look familiar.”
A monster that brought disaster to peaceful lands.
Just before enemies-turned-comrades joined hands, the tea cat tilted her head.
”Auntie?”
”That face. The sharp features, the scar on the forehead… it looks a lot like the Wolf King, nya.”
”…The Wolf King? You mean RosRos’s father?”
Once, the Wolfkin had ruled the continent.
Now fallen, scattered. But they once had a king.
Even after the kingdom vanished, the wolf princess’s line never lost its pride.
The last Wolf King fought the Emperor of the Hundred Beasts himself—that was her father.
”You executed him, didn’t you. Cats don’t know mercy.”
”Nya? That’s not true. A king’s useful alive. To rule the Wolfkin, we planned to capture him. But he went missing on the battlefield. We never confirmed his death, nya.”
Keep the king alive, the clan follows.
A simple strategy, ruined when they failed to secure him.
The wolf princess had been thrown into prison not just for rampaging, but because without a king, her revenge was feared.
”…I heard he was executed.”
”That’s false info, nya. Killing him would’ve just turned the Wolfkin into death warriors.”
Wars are fought for food, then land.
But people are just as valuable. And controlling them without revolt is half the battle.
Kuzuha frowned.
It did make sense. If he’d really been executed, his family would’ve been, too. Yet Ribetta and the wolf princess still lived. And leaving the princess locked up for so long… odd indeed.
Something didn’t add up.
”…Then I have something to ask you too. Let’s kill this thing first.”
Her sharp gaze landed on Mina.
The red cat raised her brows, smirked, ready to retort. But a shockwave cut between them.
All four turned their eyes outside the town.
”――”
White fangs ground together.
Countless segments writhed, heaving up black water.
The monster moved.
Lightning spears, fire, black runes and wind flared up as the beast-girls readied themselves.
The warped shape, the eerie motion—it twisted their guts with sheer disgust.
Its movements weren’t just unpredictable. They were wrong.
Even Irina, the unflappable cat matron, scowled.
And so, they were careless.
Under the red moon, standing in the black sea, that beast didn’t even look like a Monster.
Its sluggish bulk, its grotesque form, all screamed danger—but they still tried to measure it by what they knew.
The wolf’s head fixed on a single point.
In an instant it crouched like a predator and lunged.
Black sea burst upward in a massive spray.
”…Fast?!”
”Uoooaaahhh?!”
The catfolk town’s houses exploded into splinters.
Like a giant raging bull had charged, the world ahead of them was smashed apart.
”Don’t come this wayyyy?!!!”
That massive frame—where’d the slowness go?
It shook its head, tore through the town, fast as a storm.
Too fast.
Unnaturally fast. Klock had been far from the wall, but the monster swelled into his sight in seconds.
Kuzuha’s magic was long gone.
Klock’s bare body couldn’t dodge this.
Every trick he had would run dry.
And the monster was headed straight for him.
He bolted sideways.
It turned with him, tracking him like prey.
He dived through a door, nearly kicking it down, into a stone-and-wood rowhouse.
Inside—an inn.
The innkeeper stared. “Get down!” Klock barked.
Then came the booming footsteps.
”――!!”
Destruction tore past.
Weight alone crushed all. The inn split in half.
The monster’s bulk snaked through, caving roof, wall, counter, people, into the ground.
Klock’s eyes went wide.
Someone had just been crushed. Like stomping an ant.
He clapped a hand over his mouth, forcing down his breath.
Too close. One step and he’d have been dead.
From under the bed he’d ducked into, he peeked out.
Blood sprayed across his vision.
He grimaced, looked away.
Those people had only been standing there. Now they were gone.
This was what it meant to be attacked by a monster.
How terrifying this world really was.
”Damn it!”
The doorway was gone.
Vaulting from the ruined house, he ran the other way from the monster.
The mission was gone from his head.
No time to find magicians. Just run. If he slowed even a second, Klock would be pulp.
That thing was hopeless.
Too big, too fast. That alone made it the worst kind of monster.
Nothing like the others he’d faced and somehow escaped.
This wasn’t an enemy. It was a disaster.
A roar thundered behind him.
The town twisted, as if a tornado had struck.
He glanced back—houses were flying.
It wasn’t hard to get.
The monster had swung its body.
Inside the town, a giant beast flailed, tearing homes apart.
Klock froze in shock.
Not to feed, but to kill.
From the corners, he saw people screaming and fleeing.
There were still so many townsfolk who hadn’t escaped.
Plenty had to be trapped inside their homes.
”—What are you doingggg!!!”
The sky and ground crossed paths.
That furious voice rang sharp, and in Klock’s mind flashed the image of a pure white girl.
Looking up, he saw her raise a massive thunder spear, rage burning in her hand.
The strike fell. A bolt bigger than all the rest.
With thunder, lightning scattered in every direction.
”—Whoa.”
Thunder roared. The air between buildings lit with discharge.
It was a storm, Elna’s rage given form.
Waves of heat blasted, scorched air stinking as they rushed out.
The princess’s wrath for her ruined town.
The monster fell, buried in the town square.
For one instant, silence fell beneath the red sky.
Was it dead? That thought lasted only a breath. The centipede’s body screeched as it lifted again.
”…It’s not weak to lightning?”
The wolf’s head rose once more.
It shook like a dog, then sniffed the air.
No sign of pain.
Klock knew how deadly Elna’s power was—any normal thing would be fried in a flash.
But both the earlier strikes and this one had done nothing.
In fact—
”…What?”
Its eyes met his.
The wolf’s sharp gaze locked onto Klock.
No mistake. That horrific giant really singled out one human.
”――”
It shrieked, a scream so loud even flying cats covered their ears.
Then the wolf-centipede spun around—toward him.
”…Huh?”
That scarred face, handsome in its own way, charged at him.
Its gait was wrong, footsteps too loud, smashing houses aside as it barreled toward Klock.
Why? Why him?
No time for questions. He ran.
He shouldn’t have stopped—should’ve run right away.
Same regret as always.
Thunder boomed behind, but he didn’t look.
The monster’s footsteps hadn’t stopped—Elna’s attack hadn’t worked.
If even she couldn’t halt it, this was the worst enemy possible.
Klock’s legs couldn’t carry him far.
The beast was far faster. When he hit the blind spot of a building, he darted inside again.
A house.
This time he wouldn’t leave. He’d wait it out until it passed.
No one home—the residents had already fled.
”Damn it. Why’s it coming after me?”
First time he thought it was chance.
Second time, no—this monster was after him.
He had no clue why.
It wasn’t like he’d glared at it, or flirted.
If it’d been a woman charging like a beast, maybe. But a stranger monster? No way.
”Don’t tell me it thinks I’m good-looking by monster standards. Please no.”
So handsome even kids cried out in heat.
If so, being chased made sense.
That horrific body crushing stone walls in a love-charge—no thanks.
Not happening. Not biologically, not psychologically.
Klock’s type was at least humanoid. And under a weight class that didn’t shake the ground each step.
He crouched, back to the wall.
Outside, blasts rang, then silence.
Maybe Elna had realized random attacks didn’t work.
No footsteps.
Had it gone another way?
He couldn’t risk checking the window. If it saw him up close, it was over.
He covered his mouth, stifling even breath.
…All sound stopped.
Gone?
Not silent, but quiet.
Most townsfolk had fled. Distant noise drifted in.
But no crashes, no fighting nearby.
It must’ve turned aside.
Klock slumped down.
Holy crap, that was scary.
The Beast Continent really was hell.
He sighed, but couldn’t make himself step outside yet.
What if it came again?
He strained his ears, searching for proof it was gone.
If it had looked normal, maybe he wouldn’t be this shaken.
But that twisted form, that wrongness—it fused disgust with fear.
If he had booze, he’d drink until he forgot.
If he had cigarettes, he’d light his first right now.
Hand to forehead, eyes shut, trying to calm down.
It’s fine. I’m used to this.
But the words meant nothing.
Heart still racing, thoughts scrambled.
His left hand stayed in his pocket, ready to trigger magic any second.
”…H-help…”
A voice.
Illusion? He snapped his head up, listening hard.
”…Somebody help…”
A child’s voice. This time, certain.
Someone was out there.
…Seriously? I gotta go out?
Probably a family crushed in the beast’s rampage.
He groaned inside—but he couldn’t ignore it now.
Klock wasn’t a saint.
He could cut and run if he had to.
But if someone begged for help, and he could, his conscience wouldn’t let him leave.
He scratched his head hard, clicked his tongue, and stood.
Slowly crept to the door. Opened it just a crack.
The sky red with blood, the town in ruins.
He peeked out, crouched low, slid outside.
”…Where? Who’s there?”
He called softly.
No answer. Sweat trickled down his forehead.
Run. But what about the kid?
Was it dead? Was it one of the kitten squad?
Was anyone else alive? Or buried?
Thoughts flooded his skull.
”…He—re…”
Teeth grinding, he stepped out.
Door still ajar, he rushed into the street.
The voice had come from behind.
Safe after all? He spun. Couldn’t see—then froze.
”…Huh?”
It was laughing.
From the roof of the house he’d just hidden in.
A huge shadow loomed.
Under the red moon, it drooled and laughed.
”Hee—heh, hehahaha—”
A child’s voice.
But the wolf’s face twisted in evil glee.
’Ah, must be a Stray Cat. They’re clever Monsters, be careful.’
Her warning echoed in his mind.
’They pretend to be strays. Lure you out, trick you, fool humans and beasts alike.’
The monster laughed.
Like a prank gone perfect.
Drool poured down from its muzzle, breath heavy.
”Heehee—hyaahhahahahaha?!!”
”…You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
Hand to his waist, he triggered his magic.
Light wrapped him, body accelerating. He kicked off the ground with all his strength.
Disgusting!! Grossgross, nasty!!
Screw you—!!
His brain nearly broke at the trap.
A monster with trickery, with guile.
That stench, like rot, turned his guts inside out.
I’m dead. This is vile. Over. Disgusting. Deadly.
He ran harder than ever in his life.
Streets flew by.
Finally instinct told him—hide. He dove between houses.
”――!!!”
The laughter rang.
He peeked around—there it was, still laughing where it stood.
Its bulk pounded the town.
Houses crushed, shells of buildings shattered.
Its armored body turned the whole street to rubble.
”…What is this thing. What the hell is this thing.”
A monster, in the truest sense.
Dragons were different.
The sea dragon, monstrous body but noble inside.
The volcano dragon, dangerous only when angered, usually calm.
But this wolf-centipede—
Inside and out, pure monster.
It wrecked for fun, tricked for laughs, utterly beyond reason.
”Hey, you scum! Even Monsters aren’t safe from your flirting?!”
Black hair fluttered before him.
He jolted—then saw the fox ears.
”As if! Big butts only for me!”
”Then why are you fighting it? You winked at it, didn’t you? Idiot, hitting on everyone!”
”Like hell I did!”
He snapped back—then a blast wave rolled in.
Flames shot up, wind whipped into a tornado.
Fire legs, supported by wind style.
A burning cyclone wrapped the beast.
For a moment it was trapped in fire.
Then light rained down—arrows.
Beastkin archers stood on the rooftops, loosing in unison.
”…That’s not hurting it.”
”…Doesn’t look like it.”
He squinted—then felt a tug.
Kuzuha dragged him by the sleeve, half pulling him along.
Her thin robe swayed, her hips ahead of him.
If he had to hit on someone, way better her than that monster.
”Hey. That monster moved like it was aiming for something. Why were you standing right where it looked?”
”Hah? Dumb luck, that’s all! I just happened to be there at the worst damn time!!”
Don! The ground shook.
While running, Klock caught sight through gaps between houses.
Again, the buildings around them were flying into the sky.
The monster ignored tornadoes of flame, volleys of arrows, all of it. Like mowing a field, it turned people’s homes into bare earth.
The Fox Princess muttered something.
Heat spread from the hand clutching Klock’s arm.
”――Hey.”
She called to him as they ran.
And he knew right away what she meant.
The monster’s wolf head turned, scanning all around—then fixed its gaze on one spot.
And the direction it looked was clearly—
”――Liar!!”
”It’s just after your fat ass! Not me!!”
The monster’s legs rippled, carrying it forward again.
And of course, its path was straight for Klock and Kuzuha.
At this point there was no denying it.
Its target was Klock, no question.
The thing moved terrifyingly fast.
What looked like hundreds of meters vanished in just a few seconds.
Any mage would need more time to respond.
And emergency Unique Skills? Meaningless—fire hadn’t worked, so nothing else would.
”――Jump!!”
Stacking acceleration from his pocket with Kuzuha’s spell, Klock launched.
He didn’t know how long the boost would last. No time to count.
But it worked—he snatched up the Fox Princess and leapt skyward.
The ground below was swept away like a landslide.
The monster’s snapping jaws missed them by inches, its massive bulk sliding past.
”――tch!”
They landed on what was left of the street. Pain stabbed Klock’s ankle.
Too high a jump.
But without it, they’d have been eaten. Worth it.
Still, two people landing together made it brutal.
”――Kun wa chi.”
Quick-thinking Kuzuha cast a spell.
Likely healing magic. She really could do everything.
But it wouldn’t work instantly.
If the monster struck again now, they wouldn’t keep up.
”Wind Style: Raging Gale Wave!!”
”Flame Fan Dance!!”
From behind the stumbling monster came the counterattack.
A whirlwind wrapped fireballs, turning into blazing blades of wind that struck its shell.
The tea-striped and red cats landed on the rubble of a ruined house.
Kuzuha stepped in front of Klock, shielding him, as more joined in—black cloth was summoned, slashing through the gaps in the monster’s body.
The cloth lashed around it, binding the monster tight.
It wrapped and wrapped, pinning the thing down.
But the magic couldn’t last.
The centipede’s bulk thrashed, and the bindings ripped apart with ease.
”Totally useless, nya!”
”Ugh, what even is this thing!!”
Its glossy black body was revealed.
Not a scratch. Lightning, fire, blades of wind—it had taken them all, yet no burns, no wounds.
A bug’s body, but tough as steel. And fireproof, apparently.
”No way!”
”…Hah?”
”No waaay!! Let’s mix! Let’s mix together!!”
For a second, no one knew whose voice it was.
The monster’s. Childish, almost baby-like.
It stomped the ground with countless legs.
Like a child throwing a tantrum, thrashing, smashing houses.
Its whole body squirmed in a grotesque sulk.
”Mix with me! Melt together! Stir and knead until we’re one――”
The voice of a child, but speaking in real words.
Broken words, warping into different tones.
”――Stir, fuse, stir, fuse――”
The horror of it made Irina and Mina leap back.
Kuzuha and Klock shared a grimace.
Was the monster glitching? Malfunctioning?
It kept chanting, again and again—
”Ah… ahh, ahh, aaaaAAAAHHH!!”
Its body began to creak and groan.
From all over its centipede segments, lumps bubbled up as if boiling from inside.
”It’s hot! Help me! No, I don’t wanna die! Glory to the Emperor of the Hundred Beasts! Have the cats no hearts?! I told you, those forest people were dangerous! Forgive me, I couldn’t stop it! I never wanted to betray Lady Kuzuha! Damn it, how could proud Demonkin be treated like this! I want my mama! I hate the dark, just kill me quick! No… I just got to be with him, and now… Is Crimson Spire trying to use the Abyss? It hurts, it hurts, it huuurts, stop, don’t eat me! Filthy forest scum, the Wolfkin will never fall! Save me! Damn it, what is that old sorcerer plotting now! Wait, I didn’t see anything! So it was your mist after all… I won’t die eaten by bugs! Please, at least spare Kuzuha! I don’t know your plan, but I can’t ignore this! Impossible… such a foolish choice…”
Faces.
From everywhere, faces.
The centipede’s body segments swelled with countless human faces, all speaking at once.
”W-what the hell is this thing…”
The wolf head twisted back.
A dog’s face—but its lips curled like a man’s.
Its body bent in ways no normal creature’s could, flipping over itself, as it spoke:
”Purifier.”
With a cruel grin, it named itself.
Notes:
• Elna – Female. A young apprentice mage. Her appearance is that of a child with white hair reaching her shoulders. She wears a black hooded mantle with strange patterns. Her relationship is as an apprentice to Hermine, the Great Mage. Her power involves advanced magic, including spatial teleportation. Her combat style is magical, and she is described as childish and easily provoked.
• Larana – Her white hair contrasts with an aggressive seductress attitude, as she entices with her body and a calculated air, once the gold coins appear.
• Mina – The red-haired cat girl is a hostess who leans in closely, her blushing cheeks indicating her interest, but she plays hard to get.
• Irina – She introduced herself as the innkeeper’s name, a 32-year-old with a youthful appearance, who enjoys being sexually satisfied by Klock. A beastkin cat.
• Zol – An adventurer and drinking buddy of Klock. He appears with Heysl to intervene in the confrontation between Klock and Sylvia.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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