Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint-Chapter 521: Time of Dogs and Wolves (9)

Kito’s memories began with a falling chalkboard eraser.

As she opened the door and entered the classroom, she triggered a simple trap, leaving a bright white mark on her head.

For some, Ende’s schoolhouses—where young beastfolk displayed their childlike innocence—were nothing short of hell. Kito, a rare rabbit beastfolk, had been the target of relentless curiosity. Until her ears fell, the attention never ceased.

Something always seemed to fall from somewhere. She tripped over strings, got caught in hanging snares, and found herself dangling in the air more times than she could count.

A beast wouldn’t have understood a trap.

But Kito was human.

And as she kept getting caught, she started to understand—what was the trigger? How did the chain reaction unfold? What resulted in the final effect?

At some point, Kito figured out how to read these sequences. She learned how to stop them before they could activate. The traps meant to catch her started missing by a hair’s breadth or failing entirely.

At first, she thought she had just grown accustomed to them. But soon enough, she realized the truth—

It was magic. Her own, personal Unique Magic.

Overjoyed, she rushed to share her discovery, but the beastfolk who had been tormenting her only laughed.

A magic that only works when traps exist? What a useless power.

A fittingly cowardly ability for a rabbit.

A half-baked ability—completely dependent on the environment.

Kito was devastated.

Even she had to admit it—her Unique Magic was practically useless without traps. Even with them, all she could do was control their timing. She had no idea how to actually use it effectively.

It was still Unique Magic, though. And in Ende, where beastfolk mages were rare, they had created a position just for her—Trapmaker.

But while her abilities were useful, they were nowhere near mystical.

And yet—Unique Magic was still Unique Magic. Given the right situation...

One could become a god.

"Bark! Bark!"

A wolf tumbled down a slope. Its fur was filthy, matted with dirt and dust from the harsh battle. Coughing, it spotted the beastfolk and immediately bared its fangs.

"A wolf! Formation, now!"

Even standing on all fours, the beast was as tall as a man. The guard dogs growled, surrounding it, while the Obeli guards fell into formation, spears poised.

In a flash, the wolf twisted its body, catching a spear shaft in its jaws and yanking it forward.

"Whoa, whoa—!"

The Obeli guard, still gripping his weapon, was dragged along. The moment their formation broke, the wolf lunged like lightning, jaws wide open, aiming for the guard’s throat.

"Where do you think you're going?! Receive divine permission first!"

A massive boulder crashed down onto the wolf’s head.

Before it could sink its fangs into flesh, the rock slammed its jaws shut. The beast yelped, staggering backward—only to step into a bear trap.

Snap!

The steel jaws clamped onto its forepaw.

This was no ordinary wolf—it had been part of Fenrir’s pack. A bear trap alone wouldn’t be enough to neutralize it.

But the Obeli guards ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) had been trained for battle.

The moment the wolf hesitated, they seized their chance.

"Now!"

"Strike!"

Spears flashed. The wolf thrashed, snapping several shafts, but the guards rotated in and out, jabbing relentlessly.

Enveloped in qi, the spearheads punctured its thick hide. Trapped and immobilized, the wolf’s strength gradually faded—until, finally, it collapsed.

A small victory, but a significant one.

If they had faced dozens of such wolves in open terrain, they wouldn’t have stood a chance.

"We won!"

One of the Obeli guards clenched his fist and cheered.

And just as he did—thunk—another small rock dropped onto his head.

Clutching his skull in pain, he barely registered Kito’s triumphant voice.

"We?!"

"Ahem! Not ‘we’—me! Kito’s power!"

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"K-Kito...?"

"Address me properly! It’s Kito-sama*!* The one who holds all the triggers! The one who is essentially—a god!"

Kito puffed out her chest proudly.

As if responding to her declaration, the ground trembled beneath them.

Controlling the triggers meant she could collapse the earth at will, pull vines from the soil, shift the terrain however she pleased.

"Your lives are in my hands! So from now on, ask with a bit more—"

"Shut up!"

"T-Towehhh?!"

If she kept yelling, she’d attract more wolves!

I flicked her forehead between her twitching ears, and Kito yelped, covering her head with both hands.

"Enough. I’ll go get the Obelisk reinforcements. Just hold the line here. If you keep using traps to isolate and pick off the wolves, we’ll win this easily."

"T-Towehhh..."

"Answer properly."

"F-Fine... I got it..."

Good. With this, they’d be safe even without me.

Right now, in a battlefield on the verge of collapse, Kito’s power was godlike.

If only she didn’t have a habit of making things worse.

"You dare to treat me like this? Even after knowing my power?! I am a god! Hmph! Very well, allow me to grant you a taste of the Rabbit God’s wrath!"*

...Tsk.

She needed to be disciplined.

The ceiling above me suddenly shifted—it was about to cave in on my head.

I reached up and pressed my hand against it.

Kito’s magic worked by holding triggers in place. She could then release them at will to activate her traps.

But if I held onto the trigger she tried to release—

Then her magic wouldn’t work.

The smug expression on her face froze as she realized the ceiling wasn’t moving.

"T-Towe...? Why isn’t it working...?"

"Stop messing around."

"Toeeeeng—!"

Kito let out a pitiful groan, lying flat on the ground after another flick to the forehead.

"So you call yourself a god and actually start acting like one. Get a grip. You're useful right now, but you’re not strong enough to wipe out wolves and qi-trained warriors. If you keep playing around, you’ll die."

Even demonic gods could die. Did she think a mage could just run rampant without consequences? Kito sniffled, eyes welling up.

"F-Fine, I got it..."

But you said you’d make me a god! What kind of god gets flicked on the forehead like this?!

Now that I'd given her the stick, it was time to hand out the carrot.

"Either way, right now, you hold the lives of everyone inside this trap. You may not be the god of the world, but in this battlefield, you're holding Ende's fate in your hands."

"Their lives...!"

Ah. There it was. That gleam in her eyes—the same one you saw in anyone from Ende when they grasped real power. A hunger that flickered to life, shifting her demeanor in an instant.

Well, maybe it wasn’t just Ende folk. It was probably just a human thing.

At any rate, this issue was settled. Now I just needed to fetch the Obelisk soldiers and have them guard Kito.

She had to stay alive if I wanted to keep using Miss Goldberg.

"Alright, I’ll be going now."

"Wait. Magician! How are you even getting out of here—"

No need to explain. I was in a hurry.

I lightly pushed the earth with geomancy, turning a solid wall into cards before slipping through. With Kito’s Unique Magic holding the collapse at bay, I wasn’t worried about getting buried.

The wolves, though.

I still couldn't read their thoughts. That was a little concerning.

"Oh. Found it."

After sliding down a long slope in the darkness, I spotted something lodged deep into a massive boulder.

A brown club, half-buried in stone.

I grasped the handle, feeling its immense weight. Though heavy, it wasn’t difficult to lift once I applied force.

The regressor had thrown Jizan away earlier, saying it’d be difficult to retrieve immediately.

Well, then—I’ll just borrow it for a bit.

"My apologies, but I’ll be needing this."

I didn’t have the qi reserves to use Jizan’s full capabilities.

But a club that carried the weight of a mountain was already an absurdly lethal weapon.

I gave it a test swing.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The ground above me split like tofu, crumbling away.

And along with the falling rubble—came a wolf.

Buried beneath the debris, it shook itself off, shedding the dust from its coat.

Our eyes met.

"Well, since we've run into each other down here, how about we set aside our differences and look for an exit together?"

"Grrr..."

"Come. Be my dog again—like you once were."

"Growl—!"

The wolf instantly bared its fangs and charged.

So we’re fighting, then. I was a little slow to react since I couldn’t read its thoughts. As I stepped back, I thrust Jizan forward.

Seeing a stick thrust at its face, the wolf instinctively clamped its jaws around it, attempting to bite through it as it lunged forward.

"You think this is a chew toy? Fine. Chew to your heart’s content."

But Jizan wasn’t something a mere wolf could overpower.

As it realized the sheer weight in its mouth, the wolf’s eyes widened.

Its body recoiled—like it had bitten into an iron beam instead of a wooden club.

I quickly grabbed Jizan with both hands and twisted.

The wolf’s neck twisted along with it.

The moment it realized its mistake, it tried to release its grip—but before it could, I shoved Jizan in deeper.

"Once you've bitten down, there's no returning it."

Crack—!

A terrible crunch echoed.

The wolf's teeth shattered.

It let out a strangled yelp, writhing in agony.

I yanked Jizan back and slammed the wolf onto the ground.

I nearly smashed it entirely—but at the last moment, it displayed incredible agility and slipped away.

"Tsk. You really should be more careful about what you eat. Not that you have a choice anymore, since your teeth are gone."

"Awooooo—!"

"You’re a bad dog. I don’t play with bad dogs."

I activated Miss Goldberg.

With Kito’s Unique Magic in my grasp, I searched for the trigger points beneath the earth.

Jizan fit perfectly into a crevice—I twisted it, widening the cracks.

The ground beneath the wolf collapsed.

"Goodbye. Let’s meet under better circumstances next time."

The toothless wolf plummeted into the depths, buried under dirt and rubble.

Could it climb back up? Probably. But a wolf with no fangs digging through solid rock just to get to me?

If it managed that, I’d respect it.

Having dealt with that, I cast Mind Reading.

Beneath the earth, hundreds were still trapped—Obelisk soldiers, Beast Faction warriors, and even the humans who had sided with the Wolf King.

Thousands of fragmented thoughts and wishes flooded my mind.

I gauged my direction, checking for dangers.

Then I swung Jizan in the direction I needed to go.

Do I have a grand technique for this? A legendary martial art?

Nope.

I was just swinging as hard as I could.

What I lacked in power, Jizan made up for.

Even clumsy swings shattered boulders, sent tremors through the earth, and carved a tunnel ahead.

I could dig my way forward without worrying about a collapse.

After what felt like ages, I finally spotted light filtering through the cracks.

Extending Jizan toward the gap, I gave it one final push.

A boulder the size of a house was sent flying like a toy.

And beyond it—the sky opened up before me.

Sunlight.

It felt like it had been ages since I’d seen it.

As I stepped out of the tunnel, a peculiar sight greeted me.

Obelisk soldiers and beastfolk screaming as they dove onto the ground.

Come on.

A guy barely makes it out of an underground deathtrap and this is how he’s welcomed?

The commander, Sapien, was the first to regain his composure. He stormed toward me, eyes blazing.

"You—! Magician!"

"Wow. You have no idea how happy I am to see a familiar face after crawling through literal hell."

Apparently, he wasn’t happy to see me.

Sapien reached out, looking like he was about to grab me by the collar.

"Do you have any idea who you used as BAIT?! Do you know what’ll happen if Teia is injured?!"

"Then stop wasting time yelling at me and follow that tunnel. The ground is on the verge of collapse. You’re the only one who can save them."

"Stop talking and lead the way!"

"I can’t. I have something more important to do."

"More important?"

If it was so important, then why not leave the imperial noble in his hands?

There was something else I had to take care of.

Even as the battlefield remained buried in the aftermath, even as humans and wolves were swallowed by the rubble—

There was still one place where the noise continued.

Where the fight had not yet ended.

I turned toward it and started walking.

"I have a promise to keep."