“Interesting... How very interesting...”
The dazed mutterings of a wolfkin went unheard, given the deafening sounds all around him.
Bit by bit, everyone began to drift towards two figures – whose argent aura shone brilliantly under the light – before the entire crowd surged forward as one, sobbing and cheering every step of the way.
“THE MESSIAHS!!!”
“WE’RE SAVED!!!”
“PRAISE BE TO THE GODDESS!!! SHE HAS SENT US OUR SAVIORS!!!”
The wolfkin couldn’t help but chuckle, even as crazed zealots kept shoving him by the shoulder in their attempt to gravitate toward the miraculous siblings.
“I see... So, you have foreseen this, haven’t you?”
Not so far away, one “seer” was being surrounded by a sea of sheep – with two particularly strong lambs gushing over him.
It came as no surprise to the wolfkin when said charlatan had already turned his gaze on him, with eyes as hard as stone.
“You... will... regret this...”
The charlatan’s final words seemed to echo in the air. Such an insignificant remark – thought to be a dying man’s desperate bravado towards his executioner – now held a completely different meaning.
It was a warning to the “wolfkin”, after all.
“Riveting, indeed~”
The wolfkin smirked.
His right hand curled into a fist, causing the charlatan’s glare to harden.
A spear-like artifact manifested in the wolfkin’s hold, carrying with it the taint of some w̶̤̻̃a̶̠͕̚l̷̲̘̂̌l̵̯͗...
One bubbling laughter threatened to explode, especially given the shocked expression of the “seer”.
“Didn’t see this coming, did you?”
The wolfkin raised his right hand high into the sky, holding the artifact for all to see.
No one reacted to it.
None from the priesthood could detect any ill intentions, even as the weapon got aimed at a kind, old archpriest.
In fact, not a single person seemed to recognize the item’s very existence, aside from the “seer” and the wolfkin themselves.
“Your move, my curious henchman...”
As the charlatan frantically looked left and right at the crowd’s ignorance, finally realizing the misstep he’d made, the wolfkin couldn’t help but shake his head in mirth.
It wasn’t a bad plan – the seer’s gamble, that was.
Realizing the boss could bypass miracles was a good starting point.
Recruiting an experienced beastman to sniff out hidden bloodlust sounded good on paper.
Then, once everything failed, revealing the hidden potential of two lost lambs – which turned out to be divine dogs – should have scared the big bad wolf away.
... That was, if the beast in question only had a single life, of course.
Hahahah!!!
Hahah.
Hah...
...
That said.
Right this moment, the wolfkin wasn’t sure if he could survive against those miraculous siblings, either.
If they attacked him with their overpowered ridiculousness, it would be anyone’s guess as to how things might end...
Funny.
How utterly hilarious.
Similar to the charlatan, the wolfkin now had to decide if he wanted to flip the coin of fate as well...
“Please. Don’t do it.”
A quiet whisper caused the wolfkin to blink.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
He looked at the “seer”, who showed quite an amusing mix of emotions.
Fear.
Bubbling dread.
Simmering anger.
Yet, above all, pleading desperation.
Hm...
What to do, what to do~
While the wolfkin had always known that his two “proteges” would one day stab him in the back – the same way he would do to them – this was still quite the dilem-
Ahhh, who was he kidding?
The wolfkin shadow hated taking unsure bets anyway.
It would let the pawn have this triumph today – in the form of a favor for it to collect later.
Yes...
This was a reasonable development.
No point in taking unnecessary risks, after all.
“Our dear pawn will need to be disciplined, though...”
“Agreed. The little pup is certainly forgetting his place, isn’t he~?”
With that, the shadow dragged its meat puppet into a nearby alley’s dark corners, smirking at the sound of some seer’s sigh of relief all the while.
[ | | ]
“Thank god it’s over...”
Upon seeing the snake’s fading back, I couldn’t help but let out a deep breath, as if a huge weight had finally been lifted off my shoulder.
Then, after a slight shake of the head, I wiggled free from Mary and Gary’s painful clutches. With a speech long at the ready, the star siblings’ protest went ignored as my joyous scream drew everyone’s attention once more.
“O HAPPY DAY, O HAPPY DAY!!! Everyone, listen to what this one has to say!”
“Oh come on! What’s it now!?
“I don’t think I can take any more surprises. My poor heart will go poof at this rate...”
“Let’s just ignore the damn seer. This is like the third time he acts up already. I bet that bastard doesn’t have the balls to actually-”
“On this day, it’s declared... THE WILD SHALL JOIN HANDS WITH TWO BLINDING LIGHTS, AS WE SMITE THE EVIL THAT ALL DESPISE!!!”
“-well, I'll be damned... This is certainly unexpected..."
“What... war hawk sayin? We work together? But why not agree earlier?”
“Shh! Pretty angel and wood knight not strong earlier. Now too strong! War hawk joinin stronger pack. Me joins too! Better chance to survive!!!”
“Is that heretic jesting...? There’s no way the Church will let this all be swept under the rug, especially after those beastmen just attempted a bloody coup-”
“Well said, Mr. Joe! Now is not the time to fight among ourselves, but to unite against the common foe. If you have extended the hand of friendship, then both I and my brother can only accept it with all our heart!”
“Wait… We do?”
*Whack*
“Ouch! Ok, ok. We do…”
“Yayyyy!!!”
.
.
.
The rest of the morning - not that anyone could tell, given the magical light above shining all day long - passed in a flash.
Vows were exchanged. Compromises were made. Unruly folks were intimidated into submission.
That last part was actually less of a headache than I imagined. In fact, most zealots from the Church and the local militia just instantly folded, especially once it was made clear their two messiahs wouldn’t give up on “redeeming the wild ones”.
As for the “radical” followers of mine... Well, let’s just say most still remained in body bags like a certain lionkin, while those that didn’t make a move for my head now knew better than to try anything funny.
Sadly, once I ordered my horde to donate all the “artifacts” they’d brought for the coup – which was why the beastmen were confident enough to fight against those with infinite resurrection in the first place – it was then that the dam broke.
Quite a few left with curses and swears of vengeance, as expected.
D’a W’eenes – my second-in-command, as well as the only reason any beastman still followed my lead – affirmed his loyalty…
To be honest, I still had no idea why he chose to follow me, or if I even deserved such a blind devotion in the first place... Yet, it was clear that I needed to reward his allegiance soon, if only out of principle.
On the bright side...
Despite the stern glare archpriest Kyne gave me throughout my pep talk - not knowing that I had saved him from a potential, permanent death earlier - said kind old man had become much more receptive once all the thralls devoured at the beginning of the coup were revived thanks to Mary, then given freedom and a chance to join the fight by yours truly.
Hey, what could I say? Now that the star siblings could buff wildkins far better than any temporary boost gained from “power snacks”, this felt like the only natural course of action, no~?
Plus, given the extra benefit of not needing to convert to a bloody, dogmatic faith - since the duo insisted on forging their own path - it came as no surprise that my suggestion quickly gained a cult following.
The Shining Stars’ Claws and Fangs, our new “knightly” order would be called.
Wildkins – both reformed beastmen and volunteered members – shall now champion its cause.
And I – as Mary and Gary’s trusted benefactor that supported them from the very beginning – had become its “herald”...
Heh.
With this, I should have gained enough alibi to meddle with the catkins and their notorious trade...
Still, that would be a problem for the future.
Let’s just enjoy the calm before the storm, for now.
[ | | ]
It wasn’t until long after noon that the masses began to disperse.
D’a W’eenes had taken my advice to gather the horde and “introduce” them to knightly acts seriously, which was a plus.
Mary and Gary insisted on escorting me back, though I simply waved off the offer by reminding them of their new duties.
Or, in other words, I just pointed towards the departing band of beastmen that was just raring to get themselves into trouble, before telling the duo to look after their new followers first.
Thus, after some spirited goodbyes - as well as a promise to not get into another mess - I was finally allowed to go free.
Joy!
.
.
.
*BONG*
Despite the constant shine of magic far above one’s head, a melodious chime from the nearby clock tower let all know that, indeed, time had passed.
After confirming no other problem would occur, most lawmen and those from the militia finally began to move onto other tasks. Soon enough, only the priesthood - as well as some rare loiterers - remained.
*Tap*
*Splash*
*Tap*Tap*
*SPLASH*
The pitter-patter of boots walking on cobblestone seemed to mix with gory sounds from a never-ending harvest, before freely echoing itself across the vast, empty town square.
I peeked out of the alley and could barely stomach the sight. All butchered beasts of burden still looked so at peace, despite such a horror being inflicted upon-
No...
It wasn’t my place to judge.
I – as well as every citizen of Folen Frontier – only managed to survive thanks to this source of never-ending supplies, provided by the priesthood.
Thus, whatever opinion I had of this bloody practice should simply be kept to myself...
*Tap*Tap*Tap*
And so, with a sigh, I left the alleyway to come face to face with two figures – whose presence was long overdue.
“Joe Yammington, mad prophet.” The older, stronger, meaner looking of said duo spoke up, barely hiding his contempt for me. “Our guild master requests your presence at the adventurers’ keep. You will follow us, now.”
Out of the frying pan and into the fire, as expected, indeed...