Chapter 28
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[Call Out] [Class Exclusive]
Summons your faithful Assistant.
-Summon.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
-Whoosh!
Suddenly, the chest where I had shoved my hand began to swell like a black Balloon.
"Meow!!!"
"Uh-oh!!?"
"...?"
Thump!
The Heart that had vanished from my fingertips beat wildly.
But it wasn't mine.
Thump!
A new life was conceived.
Right inside my chest!
"Eh?"
"Meow...?"
"...."
The Contractor and Shion lost their words in shock after seeing my chest swollen like a Pregnant Woman's belly.
I hated myself for savoring the faint fear lingering in my mouth amidst all this.
-Swoosh...!
The chest that was inflating endlessly stopped at some point and began to shrink rapidly like a deflating Balloon.
It wasn't just shrinking; I felt a bizarre sensation as if whatever had settled inside me was sucking out my life force.
[MP: 31,622,259]
[MP: 31,620,049]
[MP: 31,610,585]
[MP: 31,600,158]
[MP: 31,541,381]
[MP: 30,222,044]
As the size of my chest decreased, the elasticity of the thing in my hand increased.
It initially felt like a Glutinous Rice Cake, but now it had the bounciness of a Bouncy Ball.
'This is driving me crazy....'
It was hard to keep my wits about me due to the bumpy yet firm, soft, and chewy unknown sensation.
'What the heck is this?'
-Swish....
As if to answer my question, my hand slowly slipped out from my pitch-black chest.
It seemed this damned Skill motion was finally over.
"Ugh...."
"Meow...."
The wrinkled gazes of the Middle Schooler and the Cat, looking as if they had seen something they shouldn't have, gathered at my fingertips.
Right then.
-Plop!
My hand came completely out of my chest with a pointlessly cheerful sound.
In it.
"An egg?"
"Is that really an egg, meow?"
"...."
I was holding a black egg about the size of a Korean Melon.
It was completely pitch-black, without even a hint of gloss.
Its surface was incredibly bumpy, unlike a normal egg.
It had a strange appearance, looking like some kind of alien egg.
The problem was that I was the one who laid(?) it.
Is this a child born from my chest or what?
'Ah.'
I felt like something inside me had broken.
"Raven...?"
"...Crow."
"...."
As I quietly despaired over the unbelievable reality of suddenly having a responsibility (egg) without the pleasure, Shion and the Contractor began to look at me with expressions demanding an explanation.
Just then.
Twitch!
Before I could even open my mouth to say anything, a slight movement occurred in the mysterious black egg.
"That just moved, meow."
"I saw it too...."
The expressions of my Party Members grew even more bizarre.
Their gazes stung.
No, it wasn't just stinging; it hurt.
Twitch!
Twitch!
Twitch!
The egg in my hand must have felt their intense stares scratching its surface, as it began to tremble violently!
And then.
Crinkle!
"Uh-oh!?"
"It looks like it's going to hatch, meow!"
"...."
Suddenly, the black egg cracked with a sound like crumpling plastic.
Well, honestly, it was so black I couldn't really tell if it had cracked.
It just felt that way based on the sound.
Crinkle! Crinkle!
A few more crispy sounds rang out.
Rustle!
Eventually, the outer Shell of the black egg shattered and scattered into black dust.
Tilt?
Through the gap, a small Bird covered in damp, pitch-black feathers revealed itself to the world.
"A baby Raven?"
"A Crow gave birth to a Crow, meow!"
"No."
Its entire body is black, but it doesn't look like a Crow.
It had an alien appearance, as if a Bird's Shadow had crawled out from the second dimension into the third.
It was looking around, tilting its Head as if fascinated by the world.
"Wow. I've never seen a Bird hatch before."
"This is my first time seeing an egg pop out of a Demon's chest and hatch, meow."
"...."
Before I knew it, the wonder of life filled the space.
However, as the one who birthed that life, I only felt burdened.
Is this what it feels like to become a Father?
I didn't particularly want to know.
But then.
'Why is it so familiar?'
It was definitely a kind of Bird I had never seen before in my life.
Yet, it didn't feel unfamiliar.
'No, wait.'
Now that I look at it, that Bird looks exactly like....
"...Magpie?"
A single word I unconsciously blurted out, one that was so familiar I was almost sick of it.
"...!"
And the small, black creature reacting violently to it.
Sitting quietly on my Palm with its Head tilted, it suddenly snapped its Head towards me! and hurriedly stood up.
Thin legs hidden in its fur were revealed, and a pair of pitch-black wings that didn't even show a seam spread out to the sides, revealing a fatal Presence.
Eventually.
"Chirrrrrp!!!"
"Meow!"
"Huh."
"Oh...."
The cry of a seemingly very excited small animal echoed through the Head of the 10th floor of the White Zone.
'...So this is what my faithful Assistant is.'
Magpie, it was you?
You adorable little punk.
It's nice to see you in person like this. Hey.
"Chirp!"
Magpie says it's nice to meet me too.
***
Flap flap!
"Chirp!"
It hadn't even been three minutes since it hatched from the egg, but Magpie flew around perfectly well.
"Chirp chirp!"
Perhaps overjoyed at having its own body after living inside mine for decades, it couldn't stay still for a single moment.
The Party Members stared blankly at Magpie flying frantically over my Head.
Shion just looked dumbfounded, and the Contractor was fidgeting, seemingly wanting to pet Magpie.
'The Contractor is weak to cute things, huh?'
An unexpected gain.
"...Are you saying this tiny, mouse-sized black bird is a Crow's Kin, meow?"
"That's right. Its name is Magpie."
"It looks kind of cute."
"It does, meow. It looks way too flimsy to be the Kin that the Demon of Fear carries around, meow."
"Chirp?"
Magpie landed on my Shoulder and tilted its Head, as if knowing we were talking about it.
"Chirrrrr...."
Because it looked so cute, I gently scratched under its chin, and it rubbed its chin against my Finger continuously as if it felt good.
I had always wanted to raise a pet since I was a Child.
It feels like a dream come true.
"Um... So, is the Crow suggesting we count 'that' as a Party Member now, meow?"
"...."
Shion's words dragged my mind down from the soft and fluffy world back into the damp Dungeon.
That's right. We were just talking about whether to go to the Green Zone or not.
Shion's condition for going to the Green Zone was to find one Party Member who could pull their own weight.
Which meant, Magpie had to show us something right here.
"...."
Tilt tilt?
Small. Cute. Insignificant.
I didn't think a Magpie like this could pull its own weight.
But, even so, I call for Magpie.
Just as I always have.
'Magpie.'
"Chirp?"
Even though Magpie was apart from me, it read my thoughts and reacted just as it always had.
'Can you protect that Child?'
Magpie's tiny beak followed my gaze.
Magpie looked at the Contractor, tilted its Head once, and then looked back at me.
As if double-checking if that was the right person.
Nod.
I nodded in response to Magpie's question.
"...."
Magpie then lowered its Head, seemingly lost in thought for a moment.
After a little time passed.
"Chirp!"
Having made up its mind, Magpie abruptly raised its Head, looked at me once, and flew off towards the Contractor!
Flutter!
And.
Plop!
"Uwaah!?"
"Wha-what, meow!? Crow! The Magpie went into Mr. Adventurer, meow!"
"...?"
The Magpie melted into the Contractor's Robe.
Just like a Shadow....
***
"I don't want to die...."
The first thing 'it' heard upon waking was none other than those words.
A desire as precarious and faint as a candle before the wind, yet for that very reason, more intense than anything else.
Even though it had just been born and couldn't understand the words.
It understood.
From the desperate gesture of pushing spilling innards back in with terrified eyes.
From the urgent movement of squeezing eyes shut and thrusting something long and sharp into its own body, despite trembling in fear.
"Cough...!"
Desperation.
The struggle of the living trying to prolong their life.
He was crying out for life while vomiting blood.
...!
The moment it witnessed that primal thirst for life and fully felt his pain, it became completely aware of itself.
It was 'Survival'.
An entity existing by virtue of being alive and not dead.
An entity struggling not to die while alive.
-Ding!
Along with the manifestation of its ego, a whisper flowed in from a half-broken window and engraved itself onto its will.
[Q. Survive.]
Engage in Predation, achieve Evolution, and survive to the end.
No, make him survive.
For the pitiful yet lovely Father who birthed you into this World full of pain.
For the only family who will spend eternity with you.
....
It....
...!
It understood!
It was an entity existing for the survival of its 'Father'!
It was the one who had survived alongside its 'Father'!
It was....
A 'Survivor' of the destroyed World!
...!!!
The Survivor rejoiced at the realization crashing down upon it!
Father had come!
The gracious Father who birthed and raised it had personally descended into its humble body!
...!
It was joyful!
And.
It was sad.
"Haa... Haa.... Ugh!"
....
It was so heartbreaking to see Father in pain.
The sight of its Creator wounded, trembling while shedding blood and tears, hurt so much.
Even though it couldn't particularly feel pain itself.
So.
....
It thought.
And.
....
It made a decision.
From now on, it.
...!
Would become a 'Protector'!
Yes.
From this destroyed World.
From this cruel World.
...!
It would protect Father with all its might!
Until the day true salvation arrives.
.
.
.
'Can you protect that Child?'
At the end of Father's gaze was a small, black Human Child.
That is....
Ah!
That is the second most precious being to it, the one who saved Father.
The one Father calls the Contractor.
....
It was a shame to leave Father's side, but.
Protecting the one who might become its future Mother, or second Father, is a fairly important task.
Its mind was made up.
From now on, it is the Protector of the Savior.
If anyone dares to threaten the Savior.
"Chirp!"
It will absolutely not let them live.
Read more at https://noveldex.io/series/novel/i-became-the-demon-of-terror-in-the-dungeon-city