đźź Chapter 30 :
I was trapped between the dogs and couldn't get past. Wherever I moved, they blocked the way.
There were three of them at first-two Dobermans and a bulldog. Then another bulldog ran off, barking as it disappeared down the street.
A few minutes later, it came back with its owner-a fat man in a torn black coat who looked as if he hadn't bathed in a year.
He came up to me and lifted me up. I tried to run, but to no avail.
"So this is what you called me for, Dogi — a meat-filled rooster. Perfect for dinner. Good boy, Dogi."
The dogs seemed pleased by their owner's words; their eyes turned sly. They looked at me hungrily, eager for me to be their meal.
"Let me go, you fat man — I'm not a rooster. Leave me alone!" I cried.
The dogs jeered at me for fluttering.
"Look at him — the poor thing's trying to run. No use, rooster. Accept it."
The man patted my head as if soothing me.
"It's okay, rooster. You won't feel much — it'll be quick. Life's short, you know; you should accept it."
What a disaster. I couldn't move. No matter how I flapped, I couldn't escape his grip. He took me to his house, put me into a small shed in the yard, and left me among his dogs so I couldn't run. They stared at me with nasty grins, excited at the thought of eating me.
"Don't worry, rooster. Our owner's a skilled butcher — he'll finish it quickly."
"You don't understand — I'm not a rooster. I'm human!" I shouted.
"Stop pretending you're human, you stupid rooster," one of them sneered.
Their drool started to drip heavily.
At that moment the man returned with slaughtering tools. He grabbed me and laid me on a table.
The instant his hand tightened on my neck, the instinct to survive flared up; I flapped like crazy, struggling to break free. My feathers scattered everywhere.
For a second, memories of eating fried chicken flashed through my head - how tasty it had been.
What a horrible irony: I'd never considered the chickens' feelings back then, and now I was about to suffer it firsthand.
Wait - why am I thinking about that? I have to escape!
The man struggled to hold me, but eventually he had me pinned.
"You're a persistent rooster. Better not move too much so it'll be quick and painless," he said.
This felt like one of those last-second rescue moments I kept hoping for — but not like Haizen would magically know I was in trouble. I looked at the dogs one final time and said,
"I hope I taste bitter in your mouths."
They mocked me again. Just as the man brought his knife toward my neck—
—the entire wooden wall shattered. The same horse I'd seen earlier burst through. Its eyes gleamed; it immediately kicked the man in the gut. The man flew and smashed into the wall like an empty sack of potatoes.
The knife clattered away. The dogs, startled, tried to attack the horse, but were kicked aside and lost consciousness. I stared at the horse in disbelief.
"Wow—rescued at the last minute… by a horse," I muttered.
The horse approached and said,
"You stupid rooster—you owe me your life."
I was still trembling as I sighed,
"I never expected to say this…but horse… you're my hero."
The horse's expression turned serious, like it was about to say something important.
"Listen, rooster. Ever since I saw you, I've had this suspicion. You walk in front of people like you're wandering—something about you isn't natural."
He had a point, but this coming from a horse felt absurd.
"Look at yourself, horse. You're standing on two legs — how are you even doing that?" I said.
The horse looked down at himself, puzzled.
"Sorry — I forget sometimes that I'm a horse," he said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm not really a horse. The reason I saved you is because I suspect you're not really a rooster."
So things were taking a new turn — a horse that's actually human? I decided to ask directly:
"Then are you human?"
"And what else would I be, you idiot — a giraffe?" the horse replied.
"A giraffe doesn't stand on its hind legs," I said.
"Oops — I forgot again."
Great. I'm human trapped in a rooster's body and you're human in a horse's body… what next? Will we meet a mouse who was a king? the horse waved a hoof dismissively.
"Don't rule it out."
We left the butcher's house and hid in a dark alley so no one would notice us. As we walked, I asked how he'd ended up like that — maybe it was the same thing that happened to me.
"How did you end up as a horse?" I asked.
"It was because of a color-blind old man," he said. "Two days ago my hunting party and I came to kill monsters in the nearby dungeon. On our way here we ran into an old man who asked us to carry his things. He warned us about an item in his sack that was red so we wouldn't touch it. As we reached his house, a yellow item with a button fell out. My team and I are obsessed with pressing buttons, so, of course, we pushed it. Then the old man told us he planned to repaint his red door — but it was yellow. We realized he's color-blind, and the item we touched was the one he'd warned about. That's how we ended up like this — animals."
This was crazy — it mirrored my own story, just with different colors. It was like the scenario with Ren in the prison. This old man smelled suspiciously like a new version of Boral. But he hadn't been alone; he was with companions. The horse asked me how I became a rooster.
"Same as you — except swap red and yellow for blue and green," I said.
"Really? So… this old man's color vision is awful."
"No, you idiot — the old man is suspicious."
"Oh, right. Sorry."
Anyway, had he found his companions yet? I asked, "Did you find your friends?"
"Yes — I found them. I was in the stable and the horse owner raised a group of rabbits; one of my comrades turned out to be one of them. I took her, and we escaped. On the way we found children playing with a turtle — that turtle was my other comrade."
"Did you rescue him?" I asked.
"Unfortunately not. The turtle was among the villagers, so I couldn't save him unlike you, since your rescue happened in a more secluded spot. That's why I need your help."
Uh-oh. So he'd saved me, but with strings attached. I retracted my previous praise of him as a hero. Suddenly a rabbit hopped out before us — the horse greeted it.
"Carrotou! Hey, how's it going?" the horse said.
Carrotou? Was that the rabbit's name? Without introductions, the rabbit delivered a report as if giving a military briefing.
"Situation's the same as yesterday. Argos is still being played with by the children."
Argos — the turtle? I looked at the rabbit in confusion. The rabbit then turned to me and asked bluntly,
"Anyway, who's that rooster? Did you bring him for us to eat?"
"What insolence. I'm human just like you!" I protested.
The horse tried to introduce me.
"Carrotou, meet our new companion. Wait—what's your name?"
What name should I give them…?
"Koko. My name is Koko," I said.
"Alright, Koko. I'm Viteco, and this is Carrotou."
Weird names. These two had dragged me into a ridiculous mess — I didn't even know what purpose I served here. After introductions, we moved toward where their other companion was. The kids were still playing with him; we were hiding in a dark alley. Viteco turned to us to explain the plan.
"Okay, folks — we'll attack at night and—"
Carrotou cut him off, pointing upward.
"Hey, look."
A hawk swooped down toward the children — or rather, toward the turtle Argos. At that moment the hawk snatched Argos away. Could this hawk be human too?