Chick 285
by Cristae285
Mephisto, Bailach, and Lucifer sat huddled in a circle in a secluded hallway.
In the center, a pure white puppy trembled, hunched down in place.
Yurian cast anxious glances at the human and two beasts surrounding him, unable to hide his unease.
He hadn’t expected his own skill to rebound, nor had he imagined he’d end up in this form.
Yurian looked down at his soft, plush paws, studded with pink jelly pads.
Paws like a toy, claws and teeth pitifully weak. The most helpless creature in the world…
At that moment,
“Abandon it.”
Bailach, having heard what happened from Mephisto, finally spoke.
“Bit?!”
“Gyut?!”
Mephisto and Lucifer’s eyes went wide in shock.
To suggest making him a stray—how could anyone say something so cruel and immoral?
Bailach met their astonished gazes with complete composure and continued.
“This dog tried to attack you. If you dump it now, you won’t get attacked again, you won’t have to worry about On Joorim finding out and scolding you, and you won’t get banned from TV either. Clean, right? Just leave it somewhere crowded. Someone will take it.”
Yurian barked fiercely at Bailach, trembling.
“Ruff! Ruff!”
That was a vote in favor.
If they abandoned him, so much the better.
He could go back to his master and demand to be made the master of the Tower in this form. Whether human or not made little difference to him.
But Mephisto looked down at him with mournful eyes, then shook his head gently.
“Ruff?”
The white ball of fur cocked his head.
‘Why is that bird shaking its head?’
“Beep beep—beep beep.” (Gru can turn you back into a human.)
Then, swooping down, Mephisto grabbed Yurian by the scruff and lifted off.
“Ruff! Ruff ruff!”
Yurian barked to be let go, to be left alone, but the difference in species was too great to overcome.
“Ruff!” (You crazy bird!)
He hurled his curses in his cutest voice, but the creature just flew off, oblivious.
Gru lay sprawled on the waiting room sofa, as still as a dried fish, staring up at the ceiling.
Eventually, she opened up the drone’s information again in her arms.
[Mephisto Series mk.3 Support Type (S+)]
“S+!”
Her whole body shivered.
It wasn’t like the time with the parental devotion snack. That one had debuffs included and was never going to be anything outstanding.
This drone was her real achievement, worthy of being shown to the world.
She could still feel a lingering heat in her hands.
Just remembering the moment she crept into enemy lines to land the last hit sent a shiver all over her body.
“Eeee!”
Clutching the chick drone tighter, Gru rolled around on the sofa in delight.
At that very moment, Mephisto, having circled the stadium, landed on the waiting room window with Yurian by his side and tapped on the glass.
Tap tap tap—
Gru’s face lit up as she spotted Mephisto and flung the window open.
“Mephi, where were you!”
“Beep!”
“Did you see Gru’s match? I looked for you after it ended but you weren’t—”
She broke off mid-sentence as her coral-hued eyes drifted to the side.
“You weren’t…”
She trailed off and, blinking, locked eyes with the puppy.
Yurian bared his teeth in warning.
“Grrrrr—”
His little black nose twitched, moist and shiny.
Gru gasped in a whisper.
“So cute…”
“Grrrrr! Ruff! Ruff!”
“Beep beep!”
But what was a puppy doing here? Did Mephi bring it home?
“Mephi, you can’t just bring home strays. Its owner must be worried.”
“Has no owner.”
Bailach, who had trailed in last, answered for him.
Lucifer, nestled in Bailach’s arms, leapt eagerly into Gru’s embrace.
While Gru squeezed Lucifer tight, Bailach nodded toward Yurian.
“That one’s a person.”
“…Huh?”
Gru’s eyebrows arched in a deep frown.
“You used a skill on Mephi? Why?”
“Beep beep—”
Mephisto shook his head as if to say he didn’t know either.
Why? Could it be… because of Dominic, that takoyaki creation?
If that’s it…
‘A friend’s revenge?’
Gru’s eyes darted around.
What should she do? She ought to explain that Dominic tried something bad first, clear up the misunderstandings.
“Ruff!”
But the other party was a puppy.
Not only had he become Dominic’s nemesis, but he was also now turned into a dog!
‘I should change him back and explain everything from the start.’
Maybe then he’d understand.
Alright. Gru made up her mind, took a deep breath, and summoned her magic.
Mephisto watched nervously. Bailach simply shook his head, as if to say it wouldn’t work anyway.
‘Gru can do it. I’ll turn him back into a human…! Gru, S+ owner!’
[Activating skill: ‘Mold and Shape’.]
[Target has high magical resistance. The skill is resisted.]
[Skill ‘Mold and Shape’ failed.]
[Skill ‘Mold and Shape’ failed.]
[Skill ‘Mold and Shape’ failed.]
.
.
.
“Boo…”
“Beep?”
Mephisto blinked with sad eyes, as if to ask if she really couldn’t do it.
Gru shook her head vigorously.
“I-it’s possible, just give me some time… If we get to the snowy plains later…”
Yes, if she had some time, she might be able to do it with her magic fully replenished in the snowfields.
Of course, until then, she’d have to keep the puppy herself…
But before that, one giant mountain remained.
“What should I tell Dad…?”
The waiting room fell silent.
Mephisto, Bailach, Lucifer—all were lost in thought, searching for an answer.
The first option:
Just tell Dad the truth—that he was a person, so naturally he should be turned back.
“…”
Gru stared blindly at the ceiling, her eyes cloudy.
Today was a historic day, a landmark in her five years of life.
She’d finally made an S+; people cheered, Dad seemed happy.
She thought only praise awaited her now…
Thinking of her father fuming with horns sprouting from his head, Gru shook her own head in despair.
She really, truly didn’t want to get scolded today.
Then, the second option…
Just a dog. An abandoned puppy Mephisto brought home.
“…”
Gru narrowed her eyes and looked at Yurian.
“If it’s a good dog, Dad might let me keep it.”
“Bit?”
Was it possible? Mephisto, seeing a sliver of hope, spread his wings and extended one to her.
“Beep!” (Paw!)
“Ruff!”
Yurian snapped and bit Mephisto’s wing with sharp defiance.
“Beep eek—!”
“Ahh!”
Gru hurriedly pulled Yurian away from Mephisto.
“Wh-what should I do?”
Gru’s mouth formed a perfect O.
This dog wasn’t the least bit well-behaved!
Of course, what else would you expect? Turned from human to dog in an instant, even the gentlest soul might snap.
“Grrrr! Ruff! Ruff!”
Yurian was still growling fiercely when—
Creeeak—
The waiting room door slowly opened and Joorim appeared.
Behind him, Gidan, Lee Taemin, and Sergey filed in one after another, fresh from their interviews.
Gru, still holding Yurian, broke out in cold sweat as she saw them.
“Oh, a puppy.”
“What? Whose dog is that? It’s cute.”
Gidan and Taemin scampered over to inspect the dog, while Joorim, closing the door behind Sergey, asked,
“Whose dog?”
Everyone turned to Gru.
Even Sergey, who slumped into a nearby sofa looking exhausted, turned his head to hear the answer.
Gulp. Gru met their gazes and swallowed.
“I, I picked it up…”
“Again?”
At Joorim’s sour look, Gru quickly went on.
“Mephi said he saw the owner abandon it. It’s pitiful. Gru wants to take care of it.”
Gidan and Taemin, hearing the story, chimed in with sympathy, but Joorim held his ground.
“If it’s a stray, you could just take it to the shelter. How many animals do we have at home now?”
“Are they animals?”
Gidan’s question gave Joorim pause. Technically, not all of them could truly be called animals…
Meanwhile, Gru stuck out her lower lip and mumbled,
“But it’s nice… right?”
“Grrrrr—”
Yurian bared his teeth. Then, when Gidan tried to pet his head, he bit Gidan’s hand.
Gidan swung his hand, now bearing a tenacious puppy hanging from it.
Joorim, watching this, asked gently,
“Is it nice?”
“Yeah, a little.”
“…”
Gru hugged Yurian tightly to her chest.
Joorim watched the puppy—Yurian—bare its teeth at him, and kept his silence.