The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 9. The Hour of the Dog and Wolf (2) (Part 2)

That is the man now standing before me—
the knight who struck fear into the Allied Forces.
The one who must die, along with Serapia.

“What is your purpose?”

Kai, Commander of the Frost Legion.

* * *

Adrian, gripped tightly in Kai’s hand.

Kai recalled the moment just before.

Adrian’s eyes—
glowing red, devoid of all reason, utterly monstrous—
those were not the eyes of a man.

Kai had seen it.

The hunger reflected in Adrian’s gaze.
A primal, ravenous hunger.

One of humanity’s most basic instincts—
but one that must never be directed toward another human.

This wasn’t a misunderstanding.

Adrian would have undoubtedly killed soldiers to commit cannibalism.

Kai had drawn his rapier at once, intending to sever Adrian’s neck.
Restraint wasn’t even a consideration.
Every fiber of his being screamed that Adrian had to die.

But then—
Serapia arrived behind him.

Her voice snapped him back to reason.

“Sir Kai…!”

Serapia considered Adrian a precious family member.
He may have been nothing more than the scoundrel of the House of Whitewolf, but he was still her one and only brother, and she cherished him.

To kill Adrian, therefore, would be a betrayal of Kai’s loyalty to Serapia.

Kai barely managed to sheath his sword.
Then, with a quick reach, he just managed to grab Adrian’s wrist.

But—

Crack!!
The strength with which Adrian tried to shake Kai’s hand off was unnatural. It was impossible to believe it came from a human.

This was strength no scoundrel of the House of Whitewolf should ever possess.

Kai instinctively drew upon the power of Aura.
Had he not done so, he would’ve lost his grip completely.
Even then, all he could do was barely hold on.
Restraint was out of the question.
That meant Adrian’s strength was on par with Kai’s Aura-enhanced might.

Kai’s pupils trembled.
Fortunately, Adrian wasn’t looking at him.

Adrian looked at the turkey roast that had fallen to the ground, then slowly raised his gaze.

His eyes, lifted upward—
Were red. Like blood.
And ominous like blood as well, though the earlier gleam was gone.

But now, Adrian’s eyes were clearly focused.

And through that focused gaze, Kai saw something lurking within Adrian’s soul.

Something ferocious, coiled up inside a giant frame.

It was currently suppressed by an unknown force and unable to rise.
But with the right trigger, it felt like that dreadful thing would be unleashed.

When faced with it—

What Kai felt was fear.

Not the kind of fear one feels toward another human.
Kai was someone ready to die for Serapia at any moment.
Fear from another human meant nothing to him.

Which is why the being dwelling inside Adrian—Adrian himself—
Could never be called human.

He was a natural enemy of mankind.
Perhaps something meant to rule above all living things.

A primal terror that comes only when facing such an ultimate existence.

It only lasted for a moment—

But Kai realized he had been completely overwhelmed.

“Leave the County at once.”

Kai shouted by instinct.
Adrian’s crimson eyes locked onto his.

“What if I don’t?”

Adrian forcefully shook Kai’s hand off.
And this time, Kai couldn’t stop him.

…Because for just that moment, he had been overwhelmed.

Freed from Kai’s grip, Adrian took a few steps back.

“What are you after?”

Kai asked, but Adrian didn’t respond.
He simply rotated his wrist, checking its condition.

“I asked what your purpose is.”

Only after Kai raised his voice did Adrian finally shift his gaze.
But he showed no sign of being flustered or intimidated.
Even in the face of such a commanding tone.

Even trained soldiers couldn’t easily withstand pressure like this.
Let alone a scoundrel of the House of Whitewolf.

And yet, Adrian didn’t even blink.
He instead pushed back with his own force, pressing into Kai.

“Since when does a mere knight get to give orders to a Lord?”

“You are not the Lord of this County—”

“You know full well that I still retain the authority of the acting Lord.”

“……”

Kai stayed silent.
Because it wasn’t a lie.

But that didn’t mean he had to accept it.

Kai’s blue eyes met Adrian’s red ones.
Neither backed down.
Their auras clashed.
Tension surged between them like a drawn bowstring.
The air around the Trial Grounds of Frost grew cold.
A calm before the storm.

Suddenly—

Adrian let out a faint chuckle.

“We brought in a stray mutt and raised him among wolves… and now he thinks he’s one of us.”

“……”

“Don’t delude yourself, Kai.”

You’re still just a stray mutt, no matter what.

“It was the House of Whitewolf that picked you up and raised you. The one you owe your loyalty to is the House of Whitewolf.”

Not that detestable Serapia.

With those final words, Adrian walked past Kai.

Kai didn’t move from where he stood.
No—he couldn’t move.

Had he moved even slightly here…
Had Serapia not been present…

Crack!!!

He likely would’ve killed Adrian on the spot.

It happened just after I left the Trial Grounds of Frost.

◆ Kai’s favorability toward you is taking the express carriage to rock bottom!
◆ Kai’s favorability has shifted to [Hatred]!
◆ Characters afflicted by [Hatred] possess a strong, violent urge to kill or destroy you!

◆ Given the right trigger, Kai will absolutely try to kill you!

◆ Unlike [Anger], which fades over time, [Hatred] grows stronger the longer it’s left unaddressed!
◆ If you don’t want to die, raise Kai’s favorability immediately!!

Lines of translucent text filled my vision.
And then—WEEE-OOOH! WEEE-OOOH!
Alarms blared from all directions.

“So noisy.”

It was like a full-on emergency drill.
Especially that dreadful WEEE-OOOH! WEEE-OOOH!
Blasting nonstop like the world was ending—it was driving me mad.

Well, judging from that…

It seemed I’d really gotten under Kai’s skin.

I waved my hand like swatting away gnats, scattering the text windows.
Then—ZAP!
I winced at the jolt of pain.
The wrist Kai had grabbed.
Upon inspection, the bone was fractured.

“That monster of a bastard…”

Seriously, he was a damn monster.
I wouldn’t be able to use this wrist for weeks at least.
Though thankfully, regeneration would fix it—
At the moment, my body was completely drained of nutrients.

“…Guess I’ll head to the dining hall and eat something.”

Just as I turned to go—

◆ Favorability Quest [Don’t Get It Twisted—This Alliance Is a One-Time Thing] has begun.

“A favorability quest?”

…What now?

Translatin_Otaku

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