Chapter 47

- Giant Ant Perspective -

The magic of the evil eye swept through the forest.

At first, it didn't seem particularly threatening.

I continued to live as I had before.

But as the forest began to transform, things changed.

As the forest's appearance gradually altered, the kings of the forest repeatedly counterattacked.

However, their attacks were nullified by some unseen force.

Over a long period, the forest continued to change its form.

Before I knew it, the power of the evil eye had enveloped the entire forest.

The weaker-willed monsters became more aggressive, attacking not only enemies but also allies.

New monsters appeared from nowhere, and the forest was completely transformed.

The kings of the forest faded away, and their magic gradually disappeared from the forest.

As the power of the forest's kings waned, the dark forces grew, and the power of the evil eye magic increased.

In this vicious cycle, I fought to protect my companions.

But eventually, I too would be consumed by the darkness.

However, with my last bit of willpower, I managed to bind myself near the sacred lake.

This would delay the time it took for me to become a destructive force in the forest, even if only for a short while.

After a long time of being submerged in darkness, my consciousness was guided by a light.

This warm light neutralized the evil eye magic that had enveloped me and eradicated the darkness that had nested in my heart.

The first thing I saw was a human.

I was surprised, but when I saw the king of Fenrir standing to protect the human, I was even more astonished.

The king of Fenril protecting a human?

I was confused and checked on the young ones, but their numbers were significantly reduced.

Still, I felt joy that some of them had been saved.

The human approached me and stroked my head.

...I never thought a human would stroke me.

The human continued to stroke me, leaving me at a loss for how to react.

Warm magic flowed into me from the human.

Ah, I understood that this being was the one who had saved us.

I despised humans, but this one was different.

The one protected by the king of Fenrir couldn't be just any human.

Could I become part of this as well?

I led the human, whom I had chosen as my master, to the sacred lake.

The place was in a desolate state.

I felt sad and closed my eyes.

For a moment, a bright light shone before me. When I opened my eyes, ...

The lake had returned to its former appearance.

It seemed that my master had protected this lake.

This lake is the home of the dragon that governs the water of the entire forest.

Though I couldn't see the dragon, I wanted to believe it was somewhere.

When we emerged into the forest, it had returned to its state before the influence of the evil eye magic.

And then... Chuealenié.

The guardian of death, whose appearance always meant certain death.

One of the kings that protect the forest, its presence radiated with killing intent.

At a word from my master, the killing intent from Chuealenié vanished in an instant.

I was amazed, that thing... no, my master must be that powerful.

I never thought there would come a time when I would speak with Chuealenié.