Chick 249
by Cristae249
“You want to rebuild the Tower that destroyed our world?”
Bailach spoke as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“This isn’t our land. I only say it because our world is already gone.”
Dominic continued, his tone as smooth and sly as a fox waving its tail.
“Don’t you think the Earth as it is now is far too restrictive when it comes to hunting prey?”
“……”
“Pi?!”
Mephisto drew a sharp breath when it seemed like Bailach might be considering Dominic’s proposal.
“Let’s regain our true forms together and rebuild the Tower. How about becoming its master and devouring all those who invade our realm?”
“……”
Dominic’s eyes sparkled as Bailach fell silent.
Interpreting the silence as he would, Dominic grinned at Mephisto.
Mephisto sharply turned his head away, narrowing his eyes.
Surely, this zombie glutton isn’t actually tempted by that proposal?
“Pii!” (Say no, quickly!)
“And why should I do that?”
Suddenly, Bailach’s flat, toneless question sent Mephisto fluttering his wings in agitation.
Because… well…
“Pii…” (Groo will be sad if you go…)
Mephisto’s voice dwindled to a murmur.
He couldn’t come up with any other reason.
Mephisto didn’t really know what the Tower was. In truth, whatever effect it might have on this world hardly mattered to him.
But not to Groo. If Bailach left, Groo would surely be heartbroken.
“……”
But even after that plea, Bailach remained silent, causing Mephisto to pout, jutting out his beak.
Was it that he simply didn’t mind, so long as he regained his old body?
That could be. Bailach had wanted to return to his original form, after all. And he did like devouring humans…
At that moment, Dominic spoke again.
“Your Majesty, this time, you could become master of the 99th floor.”
“Pi?!”
“We could create a world of complete freedom.”
Mephisto squawked indignantly that he wanted no part in such a world, but Dominic, undeterred, continued to wag his invisible tail.
Perhaps because his true form was a beast. Even as Bailach found the foxlike manner grating, he fell again into silence as though lost in thought.
‘…?’
Suddenly, Mephisto tilted his head.
How did he know Dominic’s true form was beastly?
It was as if he had drawn out something he had always known, naturally from memory.
“Nonsense.”
At that moment, Bailach ended the argument with a single word.
“Excuse me?”
Dominic, startled, asked again.
Bailach replied with languid indifference.
“The Tower was nothing but a madman’s clownery to test the world. Are you really so foolish as to be manipulated by it again?”
He recalled the second bloodline, driven mad and obsessed with building the Tower.
That wretch, after Mephisto had sealed Shea and the bloodline, turned the rest into floor masters and set out to test the world.
“Bailach, if you take my hand, you can return to your true form. Is that not enough for you?”
Dominic blinked in beseechment.
“I can return in my true form when my master wishes it.”
To be precise, it would be when she’d grown enough to wield his power as she saw fit.
The rest of the thought he swallowed.
Dominic seemed quite shocked by Bailach’s answer.
“Your master?”
“That’s right.”
“You’re not talking about that yellow-haired little girl, are you?”
“You seem to know quite well.”
Dominic’s mouth fell open, as if he’d heard something absurd.
The Bailach he knew would never have lived as anyone’s familiar aside from Shea.
Not even Mephisto’s—let alone as the familiar of a mere earthborn child?
Yet Bailach’s languid, indifferent expression left no room for doubt.
As if to confirm Dominic’s growing suspicion, Bailach added one more thing.
“As you said, my master will worry if I’m gone, so I should leave now.”
“Wait, please!”
As he made to leave, Dominic hurriedly tried to stop him.
Bailach’s annoyance was clear in his tone.
“I have no intention of listening to any more nonsense.”
“Pipi!”
Mephisto, hands on his hips, chimed in for support.
“No. Soon you’ll see this isn’t nonsense. If you’re having trouble deciding, let me help.”
At that, Dominic leapt to his feet.
“What are you doing?”
“Pi?”
While Bailach and Mephisto watched in puzzlement, Dominic extended an arm.
His arm dissolved into smoke.
“The crafting types and kids are to stay outside.”
This was the conclusion Gidan and Sergey arrived at. No need to expose non-combatants and children to something so grim.
Gidan took out earplugs and fit them into Groo’s ears, then moved with Haruna to the warehouse door.
Soon enough, a barrier was set across the warehouse.
Following Haruna outside, Groo cradled the baby rabbit in his arms.
The effect of the item seemed to last a while, as the smoke had yet to clear, while the crowd in the pop-up store continued enjoying themselves undisturbed.
Only Groo wore a sullen expression among all the happiness.
Mephisto and Bailach had been kidnapped by that hentai man, and it seemed like he was the only one unsettled by it.
‘He’ll turn Mephi into stew, and torture Bailach by making him watch movies full of gooey human romance…’
Groo’s worried look made Lucifer’s sprout wilt in sympathy.
But that didn’t last long. Lucifer made a tiny fist with his chubby rabbit paw.
He was the master’s first familiar! Now, with the big brothers in danger, was his time to shine.
He pictured himself making a spectacular rainbow leap—the brave baby rabbit leaping into action.
The baby rabbit would kick like Mephisto and defeat the hentai, Groo would hug Lucifer in delight, and Mephisto and Bailach would give a thumbs-up to their rescuer.
Yes, that’s it!
“Woosh, woosh!”
Lucifer snorted just like Groo, determined.
Just then, smoke began to billow thickly around them.
Sniff, sniff! The scent hit the baby rabbit, eyes going wide.
The sprout perked up. The soft front paw patted Groo’s arm and pointed at the smoke.
“Hm?”
“Gyuu! Gyuu-gyu!”
Lucifer wriggled free of Groo’s arms.
Once on the ground, he flapped his ears like wings and fired off a kick.
“Mephi?”
“Gyuu!”
Then he spun around and, wearing an annoyed expression, collapsed onto his side and mimicked pressing TV remote buttons.
“Bayi?”
“Gyuu!”
With a hop of affirmation, Lucifer pointed once more at the gathering smoke.
He seemed to be saying he could smell the big brothers in the smoke.
‘So Mephi and Bailach are in that smoke?’
[“Why is the smoke coming back?”]
Haruna, bothered by the growing fog, pulled Groo closer.
“Let’s go inside and check.”
She turned on her translator, and Groo nodded and took her hand.
They entered the warehouse together, about to tell the older brothers that this fog was related to the hentai.
At that moment, a hand reached out from the smoke and snatched up Groo.
Dominic’s arm solidified from smoke. In it, he held a child.
Whatever the reason, Bailach had become the familiar of this tiny yellow chick of a child.
The child had a little more magical energy than most humans, but still—just a child.
If he returned to his true form and intimidated the child, things would be easy.
If Bailach had willingly become a familiar, he’d be compelled to obey any command from the master.
That was the plan, anyway…
Bringing the child here had gone exactly as intended, but Dominic unexpectedly froze at the feel of plastic against his temple.
What touched his head was a child’s toy fork.
The child had pressed the fork to Dominic’s head.
Just as he realized this, the child spoke.
“Are you the hentai who kidnapped Groo’s babies?”
At the same time, one by one, chick-shaped drones spilled from Groo’s bag and took flight.
The hand-crafted S-grade chick drones hovered, awaiting their master’s command.