Surviving a Shounen Manga

He Wasn’t Any Worse

I did think it was odd.

To be honest, Coocoo, too, was a really cute guy.

Aside from the fact that cats were more human-friendly, I honestly didn’t think that Nero had any special advantage in terms of beauty.

Even if a victor and a loser had to be decided between the two, it’d at most be due to a difference in ‘aesthetics’.

So I didn’t really understand it. Why was this kid so scared of the cat? The two of them should’ve been equally matched in power, by all rights.

‘That bridle…’

Something wasn’t right.

The Bridle of Submission.

I didn’t know how it actually worked. It could be the unique ability of the mental dominator from animal farm side, or it could be the effect of some artifact. Or it could be part of some curse.

However, there was only one piece of information that came to mind when I heard about how to break that yoke.

‘Evolutionary disease.’

Of course, this wasn’t directly related to this ‘Bridle of Submission’.

The reason ‘evolutionary disease’ came to mind was because the way to treat it was quite similar to how one would escape that yoke. Moreover, it was the Southland Animal Farm where the arc of the original manga related to this ‘evolutionary disease’ had taken place.

Evolutionary disease.

Divine beasts basically have a setting called ‘evolution’, which is at its core a power-up element. When a divine beast evolves, its appearance transforms, and its power is magnified, from several times to several tens or hundreds of times.

Evolution is the factor that makes the divine beasts so strong, but on the other hand, it’s also the main factor behind their deaths.

If a divine beast can’t evolve in time, it suffers from a disease called the ‘evolutionary disease’, which means that the body cannot transform to keep up with the expanding internal force, and eventually collapses.

It was this disease that Leo’s teammate had been suffering from in the original.

While carrying out a quest in Westland, they accidentally met a new divine beast, and the party soon found out that he was suffering from the ‘evolutionary disease’. Then, following Yan’s guidance, they travelled across the sea to the southern continent to heal him. This was the opening scene of the Southland arc.

Perhaps it was a coincidence, but the solution proposed by that animal farm to cure the evolutionary diseases at the time was very similar to how to escape this ‘Bridle of Submission’.

You have to change yourself, by yourself.

You have to face the fears that have held back your evolution.

And the method I was going to try now, was exactly what Kiriko had used against their friend, the divine beast, at the time.

I took Coocoo out of my coat, on my hands, and looked straight into his eyes.

"Coocoo."

"…"

"Hey, kid, don’t take your eyes off me."

"…"

"Can you see him sharpening those claws? If you don’t stop him, they’re gonna stab right through me."

Nero was indeed grinding one claw on the other.

Snikt–.

Clang–. Clang–.

The moonlight reflected on the metallic claws, creating a strange sight. Somehow it felt like a reaper in the form of a black leopard sharpening his sickle.

Coocoo took one glance at him and shuddered.

"Don’t do anything crazy… you idiot. If you don’t dodge, he’ll stab you, and even if I block him, he’ll still be able to stab you."

It was a very reasonable inference.

But,

"Coocoo, why do you think you can’t stop him?"

There was one thing this kid didn’t know.

"No, naturally I can’t… hell, I’m in a sealed state right now, even my true body is sealed. If I try to block him now, both your body and mine will be chopped to pieces…"

"What’s natural about it? And don’t sweat the little details. You just need to think of the core issue."

"… And that is?"

"Heh, that you look just as cute as him. Have confidence."

"No, what does that even…"

"Alright, I told you clearly. Don’t let me die."

In this type of ordeal, it doesn’t really matter whether or not you can actually block the attack.

What is required is the will to resist, and the courage to face the fear that is holding you back.

It’s simple. You just have to face it. You just need to express your will. That’s enough to make that anklet, harder than steel, to scatter like dust.

I shouted at Nero.

"Okay, ready!"

Then,

"Ugh! What the hell, you crazy, Squatjaw!"

I immediately threw Coocoo over the bushes into the distance with all my might.

Whooosh–.

There wasn’t any great reason to. It was just so he didn’t have the time to think. Pushing him into a situation where he’d have to make an instantaneous judgment.

Obviously, all of this must’ve come very suddenly for him. He’d get confused, and wonder what was eve happening.

But it couldn’t be helped. If you have to show your courage, you can’t do it slowly and take your time.

He just needed to get back to me.

Without thinking, just fly back over to me. And just block it.

The rest, I’d figure it out.

Then,

"I will do my best."

Nero stood before me.

His shiny steel claws caught my eye first. Looking at them, it felt like he’d amassed more and more power during our discussion.

"Yeah, seeing your character does make me feel a little hesitant… But it wouldn’t be good if you escaped. I can’t leave behind any regrets for no reason, and I can take care of that pigeon as I originally planned afterwards."

"What’s there to regret? We’re simply walking the paths we’ve chosen."

"Yeah, got it."

The reason I told him to do his best was because I thought he might not be able to meet the conditions for ‘breaking the bridle’.

Usually, the difficulty of such tasks isn’t simply up to the will of the challenger. The hurdle of the obstacle itself is also included in the requirement.

In other words,

1. Facing the intangible fear,

2. A real life-threatening attack.

Only when these two essential prerequisites are met, can we meet the unlocking conditions.

So, I had no choice but to specifically ask Nero. Because this guy had always been showing signs of dissatisfaction with something.

"Whoo…"

I was also a little nervous.

Now it was already spilled milk. The situation was no longer in my hands.

‘Lil’ Coocoo, please don’t be afraid and come. There’re many eyes on this scene.’

What if Coocoo blocked the attack in front of me? I could continue my act without any fuss.

But what if Coocoo didn’t come forward?

I’d have to face Nero’s attack without moving. If I avoided or prevented him, this lying life of mine would end from the curses of the Nero fans.

And then –

"Hey, you fucking squat-jawed bastard!"

There was a pigeon, flying over here.

It was hard to describe, but he had a very desperate look on his face.

‘Great.’

At the same time, I pushed out my chest.

"Come!"

At that instant –

Poof–.

Nero disappeared from sight.

And,

"Hey, damn it! You really will die! Y-, you fucking bastard!!!"

Coocoo flew towards me like lightning.

And then,

…

The act was over.

"Whew…"

I gently stroked the little ball of feathers in front of me.

"Well done."

He’d successfully resisted. The bridle was released.

Coocoo’s anklet was cut off.

"… You fucking bastard. You didn’t even mean to die anyway…"

Coocoo fainted at the end of those words.

It seemed that the psychological trauma and the shock from a while ago had become too much for his body to bear.

"What are you talking about? If you hadn’t flown right in front of me, I really wouldn’t have stopped him. Right?"

"…"

I let go of Nero’s paw, which I’d been holding until then.

Nero took a few steps back without a word.

That’s what happened a little while ago.

I really left my chest defenceless. But I kept my guard up. Because Nero’s attack mustn’t reach Coocoo, who would be blocking his way.

And just as Nero’s claw was about to dig into Coocoo’s body, I’d grabbed his paw like lightning.

It was really a fleeting moment.

If either Coocoo or I had been late, neither of us would’ve been able to survive.

Well done. You did good.

I put the fainted Coocoo aside for a moment. I also covered him with some leaves because it was cold.

And then,

"… Did you believe in him?"

Nero spoke as he watched me.

"Uh, pretty much, yeah."

"I know it’s been a short while that you’ve been together. You must’ve bought him at the Nanma Market."

"Why does that matter? It’s not like you have to spend a long time with someone to become friends. We’re colleagues already."

"…"

After a while, Nero turned back.

"I will go."

"Okay. That was the promise."

"Don’t give me a reason to chase you in the future."

"Yeah, yeah. Have a safe trip."

"…"

He hesitated for a moment, as if he still had something to say, but then quietly disappeared into the darkness. He also seemed to have been quite impressed with today’s meeting.

Well, so was I.

‘I have no regrets. I’ll see you again anyway.’

As I watched the guy’s thin back, I suddenly came to my senses.

"Ehh! Wait, isn’t this too late?"

At some point, I had completely forgotten about the princess.

I had to hurry back. If something really happened by random chance, it’d be no end of trouble.

Also, I’d told her to go first if I was late, but honestly, I didn’t want to the extra work of finding her trail with my pathfinding eyes.

So, while I was about turn back in a hurry –

I saw a soft light shining very nearby.

Its origin was –

"… Coocoo?"

A white dove buried under the fallen leaves.

I just stared at the scene.

Thoughts of the princess did pop into my head, but I had no choice but to watch. Because the soft brilliance emanating from his body was that beautiful.

Our author… was really good with special effects.

Soon after,

"Hey…"

Poof–.

As the light dissolved, a white silhouette slowly emerged.

It had the shape of a bird. It was half the size of a human, and its wings and tail feathers had a splendid long span.

"Yo. You’ve gotten a little taller, huh? The colour’s improved, too. Did something good happen?"

A hawk white as snow with eyes as black as obsidian was staring at me.

Didn’t I already say? He wasn’t any worse.

Fortunately, the princess was unharmed.

She was waiting for me at the same place.

"I was just about to leave, but then saw a light in the distance. So I waited a little longer."

"Great job."

"Is everything all right? But what about Coocoo? I hope… he didn’t get stolen, right?"

"No, no. He said he was going to fly for a while because he was feeling good."

"… Feeling good?"

"You’ll see soon. It’s all been taken care of, so don’t worry."

The princess nodded her head at my words.

"Anyway, so nothing happened?"

"Nothing at all."

"Nobody approached you?"

"None at all."

This was a bit surprising.

It wasn’t that I wanted something big to happen, I’d just expected things to be a bit more troublesome.

‘Is this because we’re still in the early stages?’

Of course, I didn’t think this was a good thing. This could be interpreted to mean that there was a place along the path that was even better than here as an ambush point.

Either way, I couldn’t drop my guard.

Then, while I was about to stretch out and sit down –

"Huh? what are you doing?"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Do you really have the time to sit?"

I was a little perplexed.

"Uh… I just came?"

"So?"

"Uh… I should eat something and take a break…?"

"Do you really have the time to rest?"

The princess said fiercely.

Then,

"Can’t you see, over there?"

She pointed to one side of the dark space in the distance. It was in the direction of the forest that I’d visited a while ago.

"What? That forest?"

"No, behind it."

"Behind?"

"Please. Look closely."

The princess pointed to the middle of the meadow we had crossed at lunch time, a long way away.

To my surprise, there was something moving there, dark, large, and monstrously wide. Although it was moving quite slowly.

"It’s dust. A dust trail."

"Dust?"

"Don’t you know? The latecomer group who’ve been chasing us are over there. If it’s that big… it should be well over a thousand people, I’d think?"

"Ah…"

I’d forgotten.

The fact that all of the latecomers, whom I’d been underestimating, were several ranks above me in terms of horsemanship.

"But… how could so many competitors get along like that?"

"Maybe they’ve taken some kind of oath of alliance. While the advance squad is still ahead, let’s not spill blood among ourselves first. Or maybe…"

"Maybe?"

"Maybe a leader has already emerged among them."

"…"

After all, it’s not possible to judge an individual’s ability only by simple power. Even if it’s not within the advance squad, ‘monsters’ can exist anywhere.

But either way –

‘I don’t know if they can catch up…?’

That thought started running through my mind.

Besides –

"That old man said so. That he doesn’t know what the second hurdle of the finals is, but if the destination is a mountain? Then, it’s most likely a ‘war of conquest’. If that’s the case, the key is to grab a seat first and establish a position."

The princess seemed to have thought the same.

"Wait, why say this only now?"

"Hey, it’s been awhile since I heard it. Anyway, you know there’s no time to rest, right?"

The princess smiled and pointed to one side.

There –

"Shouldn’t you pick him up? He won’t want to run in the desert."

A horse was lying loosely spread out.

"… Haah."

It felt like I was back in reality.

I kicked him with my foot.

"Wake up, you lazy bastard."

Then I immediately lifted him on my back.

Whinny–!

Startled, he struggled a bit, but I calmed him down by tightening my grip.

"I just went to take care of a few wildcats, you know? If you don’t want to be gnawed in the butt, let’s go quietly."

Whinny–!

We started crossing the desert.

The fatty said a word to the thin man, who was scanning the ground with a serious face.

"Isn’t it better to aim for the princess?"

"…"

"Of course, it’s a bit odd to say this now, but…"

"I remember that we decided together to follow the Tamers."

"That’s right, but… I said it when Squatjaw appeared alone, didn’t I? Won’t the princess be by herself…?"

The thin man didn’t respond to the fatty’s words.

There was nothing to say. He’d insisted on constantly observing Squatjaw.

At that time, the fatty was immersed in one concern.

Maybe because the thin man had set his goals differently than him.

Instead of the princess, maybe he was aiming for that Squatjaw.

He’d been showing a tendency to focus on that man for a while. That monster they absolutely shouldn’t touch.

Even though he knew his advice wouldn’t be listened to, the fatty buoyed himself up and tried to mention it again. Even if just for form’s sake.

That was then.

"I didn’t aim at the wrong target. I was just trying to get information on what would be the biggest obstacle. Our goal is still to assassinate the princess."

The thin man said softly as if he had guessed his compatriot’s mind.

Then,

"I’ve come to understand him to some extent."

He sounded crazy.

"We can’t handle him. He’s a monster. No matter how hard we try, we can’t handle this guy. His strength is also a problem, but more than that, there’s no way that we can stand up to his unique ability. As long as he’s protecting her, we can’t touch a single hair of the princess."

It wasn’t funny. Was he acknowledging that only now?

However, what shone within the thin man’s eyes was not the light of resignation.

"So, what are we going to do?"

"All our plans so far are to be discarded. Instead, we have no choice but to use the last resort."

"… The last resort?"

"I confirmed it through the informants in the royal palace as well as by the side of the first and fourth princes. Looks like he’s gone crazy again. He’s on this road now."

"’He’? By that you mean… no, you can’t mean… wait."

The thin man’s words left the fatty frozen like a statue.

"We’ll use him. The Khan."

To make the current emperor of the Skull Empire, who was secretly participating in the Warrior’s Path, clash with Squatjaw. That sloppy, messy plan was the only one they had left.

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.