The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 8: The Hour of The Dog and Wolf (1) (Part 2)

Back in the days of the Allied Forces, I trained daily.
But when I was the count’s infamous troublemaker, I hadn’t trained at all—only indulged in debauchery.

‘This must be their first time seeing me like this.’

No wonder the soldiers looked astonished.

I stood up lightly and brushed the dust from my body.

“U-Uwaaaah!!”
“A monster…! He’s a monster…!”

Okay, astonishment was one thing—but calling me a monster? That crossed a line.

I was just about to scold them when—

◆ Driven by Mad Hunger, you begin to see everything as food! ◆

My head reeled in a sudden dizziness.
I hurried to shake it off and focus, but the world had already begun to warp.

The wooden training swords looked like long loaves of bread.
The scarecrow resembled a giant chunk of cheese.

And the soldiers… looked like fresh slabs of meat.

I wanted—no, needed—to sink my fangs into their throats.
To chew through their flesh and silence this gnawing hunger.
To soak my throat in their blood and quench this unbearable thirst.

Thump!

My heart pounded violently.
Veins bulged in my eyes, and madness began to stain my reason crimson.

Predator instinct surged within me at the sight of prey.
It seized control of my body.

I blinked once—

—and suddenly, I was charging toward the soldiers.

My body, torn and reforged through reconstruction, now pulsed with power and speed that far exceeded anything human.

With a kick—

CRACK!

—the ground of the training yard shattered beneath me.

The recoil hurled my body forward.

The soldiers didn’t react.
They couldn’t.

Their minds froze at the sight of me—and that hesitation made it impossible to dodge, let alone respond.

Even if they hadn’t frozen, they wouldn’t have been able to track my movements.

The distance between us shrank in an instant.
Murderous intent flared in my eyes.
I reached out, aiming to seize the neck of the soldier at the front and claim his meat and blood—

Then it happened.

◆ Player’s Will[EX] resists the gnawing hunger! ◆

A translucent message flashed before me.

And in that moment, my mind snapped back to clarity.

I hastily withdrew the hand I had thrust toward the soldier.

But I wasn’t fast enough.

A hand had already reached out to stop me.

Smack—!

A firm grip seized my wrist.
I instinctively tried to shake it off—but I couldn’t.

This was my reconstructed strength.
And yet, I couldn’t break free.

Clatter—!

A dull noise followed.
I glanced down to see a lidded plate lying shattered on the ground, its contents—a roast turkey—scattered into a mess.

It must have been my meal. I’d asked Bernard to prepare it.

But the hand holding my wrist… wasn’t Bernard’s.

Slowly, I raised my head to see who it belonged to.

And there he was—his face twisted like a demon’s.

“What do you think you’re doing…!!”

I knew that face.
I remembered his name clearly.

Even though my memories were clouded with the horror of war, this man stood out.

How could I forget?

“Sir Kai!”

The bastard who had mercilessly slaughtered my comrades in the Allied Forces.

I first met Kai when I was about five years old.

One day, my father returned from the capital with a scruffy, ragged little boy in tow.

He was so small and thin, he looked like he might blow away in the wind.

Father named him Kai, meaning “dog that resembles a tiger.”¹

He also referred to Kai as “a rather useful mutt” whenever he spoke of him to me.

He once told me:

“He’s intelligent but not clever, so he won’t be hard to raise. Once he recognizes you as his master, he’ll never betray you. Train him well, and he’ll serve as your limbs.”

And just like that, Father assigned Kai to me.

He wasn’t wrong.

Kai was a loyal knight—willing to risk his life for my sake without hesitation.

Looking back… things between us were fine when we were younger.

I saw Kai as a brother.
And Kai, I believe, saw me the same way.

We shared more than a vassal-lord bond—we were family.

But at some point…

Our relationship began to fracture.

We could no longer treat each other as brothers.

Along with Serapia’s corruption, things between us spiraled beyond repair.

And now, here in the past—

Kai stood before me again.

He looked like a noble wolf—proud and unyielding, like one born of the snowy wilderness.

He looked more worthy of the name Whitewolf than I did.

But his name meant “a dog resembling a tiger.”

And the difference between dogs and wolves?
Isn’t genetic.

Long ago, it’s said, a few bold wolves cozied up to humans—and that’s how dogs came to be.

On the surface, dogs and wolves look the same.
Their difference lies within.

Loyalty.

A dog wags its tail when it sees a human.
A wolf glares and attacks.

But in the twilight—when dusk colors the land—it’s hard to tell them apart.

“Leave the County at once.”

So now, the Kai standing before me—was he a dog or a wolf?

If he was a dog, he’d wag his tail in greeting.

“If I refuse?”

But if he was a wolf—he’d bare his fangs.

Translatin_Otaku

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