I Became a Raid Boss-Chapter 244: Wayfarer (5)
Had I ever encountered a dimensional creature that could speak?
Well...
Maybe those creatures had attempted to speak before, producing sounds like “grr-rr-rr” or “k-wah-wah!” but it was never anything close to actual communication.
I could say with certainty that I had never heard a dimensional creature converse or communicate in any meaningful way.
“Why are you acting like this?”
But the creature before me was undoubtedly speaking.
“Are you hurt? ...That would be problematic.”
It wasn’t just mimicking words it had overheard; it spoke with clear intent.
Thunk.
“Don’t come any closer.”
I pointed my sword at the creature, which was subtly trying to act familiar and approach me.
Yeah, it was unsettling for a dimensional creature to speak and try to act friendly with me, as if it were an old acquaintance.
But, so what?
Even though I had never seen a talking dimensional creature, killing an intelligent being capable of speech wasn’t new to me.
Therefore, my objective remained unchanged.
“Being a trespasser and acting all familiar.”
“A trespasser?”
“Do you think I’ll let it slide if you pretend you don’t know?”
I tightened my grip, reinforcing my vigilance.
This was the most dangerous dimensional creature I had ever encountered.
My judgment was based on the earlier exchange between us.
Back in the days when I was less skilled, I might have failed to handle a creature like this, but since I had mastered my sword, there were few enemies that could evade it.
Even the sages avoided direct confrontation with me, but this one had easily evaded and blocked my attacks, raising its threat level significantly.
The creature, observing my blade’s intent, spoke in a somewhat disapproving tone.
“...You’re more violent than I expected.”
“I’ll ask you in return. Is there any reason I should treat a monster who broke into someone else’s home gently?”
“Monster...”
The creature’s gaze seemed distant for a moment.
“Yeah. To you, I’m just a monster.”
“...Are you hurt by that now?”
“No. That’s not it. I know why you think that, and I don’t plan to deny it.”
This creature was truly different from any dimensional creature I had seen before.
It thought like a human, spoke like a human, and expressed emotions like a human.
And the most surprising thing was that it didn’t show any aggression.
Of course, I didn’t let my guard down. It could be a trick.
“Still, won’t you at least introduce yourself?”
“What’s your angle?”
“No angle. I just thought it would be frustrating if I knew you but you didn’t know me.”
“...You know me?”
“Ah... I don’t know you as well as you might think.”
It seemed the creature noticed my caution, as it hurriedly waved its hand.
“Your name is ‘Kanaria,’ and your original world isn’t this one, and...”
“...And?”
“You crossed the boundary between dimensions?”
“...Seems like you know quite a bit.”
“Really? I’m glad to hear that.”
“I’m not glad at all.”
Why was I even having a conversation with a dimensional creature?
I sighed when I heard footsteps from behind.
“Kana, are you okay...?”
“Stay back.”
Just when I thought the situation had calmed down, Da-eun approached again.
I sighed again, almost wanting to complain about her carelessness, but then I realized—
‘...I’m in no position to talk.’
I realized that I too was casually chatting with a dimensional creature.
While I wasn’t lowering my guard, it wasn’t strange for Da-eun to mistakenly think the situation was over.
Without taking my eyes off the creature, Da-eun hesitated and spoke.
“But, well, I thought it’d be fine.”
“On what grounds?”
“My intuition as a woman!”
“....”
“....”
“...It’s a joke, could you please speak now?”
The silence grew too heavy...!
Da-eun said with a slightly trembling voice.
“But really, I didn’t feel like it would harm us.”
“Mm, mm.”
“Why are you agreeing with that?”
I winced at seeing the creature nod in agreement with Da-eun.
“It asked for a chance to introduce itself.”
“Ah, so now you’re interested?”
“Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not that your words make sense, but I thought I might learn something useful.”
“Still, it’s fine. The important thing is that we can finally talk.”
“...Tch.”
As Da-eun had said, despite the ominous energy emanating from the creature, its atmosphere felt strangely mellow.
It looked like it could easily collapse at any moment.
With its round eyes, the creature slowly opened its mouth.
“I am—”
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.
“I know!”
The moment the creature opened its mouth, Da-eun interrupted with a loud declaration.
She confidently shouted.
“That’s definitely a dark version of Kana!”
“...Huh?”
“...What?”
Both the creature and I, as if we had prearranged it, reacted with the same confusion.
...To think I’d be in sync with a dimensional creature’s thoughts.
Living this long, I never thought I’d experience this.
“Look!”
Regardless, an excited Da-eun pointed at the creature.
“It looks just like Kana, but with dark hair and eyes. A lighter personality. A story behind the words... It’s clear this is Kana from a parallel dimension, a dark version of him!”
“Eh?”
“What?”
“Even the reaction is the same! They’re exactly alike!”
“...No.”
How should I explain this?
I grabbed my throbbing head and finally spoke.
“Have you ever considered that Da-eun’s words are so absurd, that’s why we’re reacting this way?”
“I haven’t thought about it?”
“Then maybe you should.”
The creature and I were responding in a perfectly ordinary way.
Anyone else would have reacted the same, at least 8 out of 10 times.
As Da-eun mumbled that it couldn’t possibly be true, she lifted her head.
“Aha, is it °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the expression ‘dark version’ that’s the problem? Should I call it ‘Kana Alter’? Hmm, but that’s too old-fashioned... Oh! How about ‘Kana Terror’?”
“...What’s with the ‘Terror’?”
A nonsensical cascade of words.
If this is how Da-eun and I are feeling, I wonder how the creature must feel...
Judging by the expression it made, I had an idea.
“The issue isn’t the expression, it’s everything.”
The creature wasn’t from a parallel dimension, and it certainly wasn’t from a dimension where I existed either.
While Da-eun and I bickered, the creature casually spoke up.
“You’re quite an amusing person.”
“I agree you’re amusing, but.”
Swish.
“Don’t look at Da-eun.”
Your opponent is me, not Da-eun.
As I said that, the creature grinned and stepped back.
“I don’t plan on harming you, so don’t be too wary.”
“Hmph.”
“By the way, I was about to introduce myself.”
How should I introduce myself?
The creature raised its hand to its lips, then suddenly froze, trembling in shock.
“...?”
“Oh... Sorry. It’s been so long since I had a real body.”
Before I could ask what it meant, the creature spoke.
“‘The first offspring and most loyal servant of ‘The Master.’”
No.
The creature’s lips curled into a smile.
“‘The most loyal servant’ should be the right phrasing.”
“...Were you a priest?”
“Sort of... But you can think of it that way if you want.”
“Fine. That’s not important right now, what did you say earlier?”
“What?”
“You said you were the first offspring of someone.”
“...Ah. It’s been so long since I introduced myself to anyone, I made a mistake.”
The creature looked at me cautiously.
“Would it be too much to ask you to forget it?”
“Would it?”
It was an unconscious slip of the tongue, and that meant it was an important slip.
I wasn’t about to let go of the evidence I had.
“...Fine. Anyway, this will all tie into what I have to tell you.”
The creature chose to speak rather than remain silent.
Though it showed clear reluctance, it continued.
“The world I was from is called ‘Pandemonium.’ To make it easier for you to understand, it’s where ‘dimensional creatures began to emerge.’”
“...!”
I heard a sharp intake of breath from behind.
I wasn’t as surprised as Da-eun, since I had already guessed its identity, but...
“....”
It wasn’t that I wasn’t shocked at all.
Edel had said that the worlds invaded by dimensional creatures had fallen into the same fate as the creatures themselves.
They had lost their reason, wisdom, and knowledge, and had become mindless beasts chasing only instincts.
So, even though I didn’t expect to know the full story, the creature broke my expectations, revealing that the world it came from was the true source of all the chaos.
“...Tell me more.”
“Now you’re really interested, huh?”
The creature smiled at me, its face looking so much like mine.
“Not long ago, a god set foot in ‘Pandemonium.’ I thought you might have heard about it, am I right?”
“...I’ve heard that you and your kind ate the god who created you. I’ve also heard that your souls were destroyed as a result of that sin.”
“Sin... Yeah. We committed sins. I’ll take back what I said about you not knowing anything about me.”
The smile that appeared on the creature’s lips carried a deeper meaning, something more than just one emotion.
One thing was clear, though—the smile wasn’t simple. It was a melting pot of complex, intertwined emotions.
“You couldn’t hear my words because of that.”
The creature opened its palm.
What was it about to do?
I watched the creature warily when something began to dance on its palm.
A familiar yet different energy...
A feeling of ominousness.
