Garm Ai

—Ai's Perspective: Definitely a Dog—

For a long time, I continued fighting an enemy I couldn't see.

Whenever one of my companions was swallowed up and came attacking us, or whenever I nearly lost myself,

Each time, I resigned myself to death, yet somehow kept living.

Even so, when I began to see my limits, I looked around and found that our numbers had dwindled considerably. Only a few of us remained.

I wandered through the forest looking for somewhere we could rest, however briefly, and eventually reached a cave.

In a place that must have been made by one of the kings, I huddled with my companions, determined to fight the Evil Eye to the bitter end.

I had no idea how many days had passed when, all at once, a pleasant breeze flowed through the cave.

My consciousness, which had nearly been swallowed up, was freed and suddenly felt light.

What had happened?

I looked around, but I couldn't tell from inside the cave.

I tensed, knowing that even a single change in the forest could lead to something terrifying.

I somehow managed to stand and remained on guard when the breeze flowed through again.

A breeze imbued with magic.

Gentle magic that felt pleasant, as if it were healing every part of my body.

The Evil Eye's power completely disappeared from my body.

The same seemed to be true of my companions, who were startled by how much lighter their bodies felt.

We had lost a great deal of stamina; we could stand, but were barely able to move.

I wanted to find out what had happened to the forest, but decided it was impossible in our current condition.

We agreed that we would check on the forest after we'd recovered a little more.

...

I didn't know how many days had passed since the first change, but our stamina had been drained so badly that we could barely move.

Even so, when we finally managed to check the forest, we found that the Evil Eye's power, which had filled it, was gone.

What's more, we discovered that the magic that had healed us that day was protecting the entire forest.

It might be too soon to assume the threat had passed, but I still felt relieved.

Several of my companions were already nearing their limits.

I wanted to go hunt some prey, but I was still too weak to do so.

For the past few days, healing magic had begun reaching us on the wind.

Thanks to that magic, our stamina was returning, little by little.

Once we recovered a little more stamina, we should at least be able to hunt small prey.

...

We managed to hunt some small prey.

I never expected such a small catch to leave us utterly exhausted, though.

Thank goodness for the healing breeze.

Thanks to it, we healed quickly and regained our strength faster.

We still weren't anywhere near fully recovered, so it was frustrating that I couldn't heal myself.

Several days of rest passed.

A sound came from the cave entrance.

I watched carefully alongside the companions who could move, all of us on guard.

A Fenrir, one of the kings.

Beside it was a Dire Wolf?

Why were creatures of different species together?

...Was that an Almea Renie?

I'd never heard of an Almea Renie that could spin silk, though.

The presence I sensed was that of an Almea Renie.

A human?

Why was a human here?!

Humans are enemies!

When I growled at them, the Fenrir and Dire Wolf openly displayed their anger.

The Dire Wolf's appearance startled me. Had it grown huge?

Although the human had overwhelmed me, everyone here was stronger than us.

I surrendered and waited to see what would happen.

The human approached.

I felt fear and nearly attacked, but the Fenrir sent killing intent at me as if standing guard, pinning me in place.

As I remained unable to move, magic passed through my body four times.

That magic startled me.

It was the same as the healing magic.

Magic has different characteristics depending on its wielder, so no two kinds are exactly alike.

There was no doubt about it: I could sense in this human the same magic that had healed us and driven away the Evil Eye.

Then the physical discomfort that had plagued me vanished all at once.

I see. This human was the one who possessed the magic that had saved us.

A Fenrir served this human, and the Dire Wolf gained the power to break past its limits,

while the human's magic was powerful enough to make an Almea Renie undergo a new evolution.

My tail began to wag of its own accord.