Chapter 30
－Koa's POV, Mistaken for a Wolf－
I look at my master, who is staring at a tree.
Freed from the unpleasant magic-eye spell and given a name.
Koa.
As the Fenrir king, I have a master for the first time.
I have no regrets.
Being near my master feels good; magic power fills the air.
...
The unpleasant magic-eye spell that attacked the entire forest about 200 years ago.
No human could have cast it.
Yet somehow, it attacked the forest.
Even now, remembering it infuriates me.
Purification magic was only temporarily effective, while barriers constantly consumed magic power, so our reserves soon ran dry.
My magic power was strong, so I was not swallowed up quickly, but I continued to be eroded for a long time.
The weaker among my companions had their wills swallowed, attacked their comrades, and died.
The stronger among them, unwilling to be swallowed, ended their own lives.
For 200 years, I watched many of my companions meet their ends.
As my consciousness was swallowed more and more often, I sensed a human presence in the forest.
Anger.
Disgust and anger churned within me at the human's presence.
Even as my consciousness was being swallowed, I hurried toward where the human was.
At that moment, I had only one thought: kill.
I saw a human's back.
The human was simply there, without even a hint of caution.
I tried to pounce in one burst, but my body wavered for an instant.
Our eyes met.
I mustered all my strength, determined to kill the human no matter what, but my limbs would not move.
How frustrating. Had I really grown this weak?
Would I really end like this, unable even to strike down the enemy before me?
Despair assailed me, but I still tried to glare at the human and threaten them to the very end.
The next instant, all strength left my body.
I cursed myself for falling.
I resisted with every fiber of my being, refusing to let my consciousness fade.
The instant I thought, If I am to have my consciousness swallowed...
My body suddenly grew light, and the unpleasant sensation that had clung to me all this time vanished.
Ordinary purification magic only works for an instant.
I braced for the shock of the purification wearing off...?
When no shock came, I was surprised and checked my entire body.
What did the human do?
I stare at the human... The human's magic power is unfathomable.
It is more magic power than a human could possibly contain.
Even I, who stand at the top of the Fenrirs, cannot measure its extent.
As we hold each other's gaze, magic power flows into me from the human.
It seeps through my wounded body, healing me from within.
I quietly approach and submit.
This is the first time the Fenrir king has had a human master.
But this human is worthy of being my master.
Before I knew it, my entire body was clean, as if it had been washed.
My master's magic power is more precise and unfathomable than anything I have ever seen.
The one who stands above the king who appeared in the forest.
...
By the way, Master, something strange is happening to the tree.