Chapter 47
－Giant Ant's Perspective－
The Evil Eye Magic that attacked the forest.
At first, it did not seem like much of a threat.
I simply spent my time as I had before.
That changed when the forest began to transform.
As the forest gradually changed, the kings of the forest repeatedly launched counterattacks.
But something blocked them, and the kings' attacks were nullified.
The forest continued changing over a long period of time.
Before I knew it, the Evil Eye's power had grown strong enough to cover the entire forest.
Weak-willed monsters became ferocious, attacking not only their enemies but their allies as well.
New monsters appeared from nowhere, and the forest changed completely.
The kings of the forest disappeared, and their magical power gradually faded from the forest.
As the power of the forest kings was lost, the darkness grew stronger, increasing the potency of the Evil Eye Magic.
The forest was caught in that vicious cycle.
I fought to protect my companions.
But before I knew it, my own will had sunk into the darkness as well.
With one last act of defiance, I managed to bind myself near the sacred lake.
This at least allowed me to delay the time when I would become something that destroyed the forest.
I knew it would only buy time.
My consciousness, long submerged in darkness, was guided by light.
The warm light nullified the Evil Eye Magic clinging to me.
It erased the darkness that had taken root even in my heart.
The first thing I saw was a human.
I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw the king of the Fenrirs standing as if to protect a human.
The king of the Fenrirs protecting a human...
I was confused and checked on my children, but there were very few of them.
Even so, I was happy that some of my children had survived.
The human approached me and stroked my head.
...To think there was a human who would stroke me.
The human continued petting me as I stood frozen.
I had no idea how to react.
The warm magic I had sensed from the human earlier flowed into me.
Ah, so this was the one who had saved us.
A human I despised—but this one was different.
Someone protected by the king of the Fenrirs couldn't possibly be an ordinary human.
Could I become one of them as well?
I took the human I had chosen as my master to the sacred lake.
The place was in a terribly ruined state.
I felt sad and closed my eyes.
For an instant, everything before my eyes shone white. When I opened them to see what had happened...
The lake had returned to its former state.
It seemed my master had protected this lake.
This lake is home to the dragon that governs all the water in this forest.
I couldn't see the dragon, but I wanted to believe it was out there somewhere.
When we emerged into the forest, it had returned to the way it was before being affected by the Evil Eye Magic.
And then... Chuearenie.
The guardian of death, said to kill anyone who sees its form.
It was also one of the kings who protected the forest.
Its form radiated killing intent.
At a single word from my master, the killing intent vanished from Chuearenie in an instant.
I was astonished. That being... No, my master must truly be an extraordinary being.
To think the day would come when I could speak with Chuearenie.