Of All Things, I Became a Crow

*3^rd person POV

As the emperor's words fell, two men walked out of each end of the arena. Karmeut and Luwellin were the people who walked out. They were wearing light clothing, not armor.

Luwellin threw a sharp glare at Karmeut, but Karmeut ignored that gaze and fixed his own gaze on the emperor.

"You are my proud sons. Both of you are not short of being my successor. But there can only be one emperor, so please prove your abilities here."

"At the risk of your lives."

The expression on the emperor's face when he said that was too cruel to be called a father. But at those words, neither Karmeut nor Luwellin was perturbed.

They just nodded briefly and said, "Understood". Then they looked at each other and slowly made some distance from each other.

"Then let's start 'Bozcourt' now! It won't end until either one of them surrenders or die!"

As soon as the emperor's words that signaled the start of Bozcourt were finished, the princes changed into wolves and ran toward each other.

The two wolves collided with a heavy sound. There was a difference in size between the golden wolf and the murky-golden wolf, who both roared fiercely and fought head to head.

Was it because the golden wolf, whose fur gleamed like gold threads, was about half size bigger? The murky-golden wolf was pushed back a little.

Without missing the opportunity, the golden wolf suddenly retreated slightly. When the balance of power suddenly collapsed, Luwellin, who had changed into the murky-golden wolf, lost his balance as he was staggering slightly.

Without missing that gap, the golden wolf, or Karmeut, swung his front paw and tried to slash Luwellin. However, Luwellin immediately retreated and avoided the attack.

Although it was surprising that his reaction was different from their previous encounter, Karmeut remained cautious. He lowered his stance.

Luwellin revealed his teeth, growled, and ran at Karmeut right away.

"...!!"

Kamut was startled. It was because he was momentarily stunned at Luwellin’s sudden change of speed that was different than previous times. Seizing the opportunity, Luwellin ran to his side, then jumped up, and bit Karmeut's side.

"Grrrrhhh...!!"

Karmeut growled wildly and rolled on his side. Luwellin, who was suddenly crushed by Karmeut, opened his mouth to scream. Karmeut quickly got up and opened his mouth, biting Luwellin's front foot.

"Kaung!"

Luwellin struggled for a moment, letting out a scream. His eyes flashed and he tried to bite Karmeut's forefoot. But Karmeut, who was looking at Luwellin with a sidelong glance, was able to avoid being bitten as he quickly stepped back before that.

Luwellin, who had been growling while glaring, ran towards Karmeut again. Seeing Luwellin rushing forward without limping or slowing down despite bleeding from his forelimb because of the bite, Karmeut stiffened for a moment and began to move to block the attack.

Galenos and Namuel, who were watching this scene from their seats, frowned. The restless crow flapped her wings anxiously as she went back and forth on the laps of Namuel and Galenos was also blatantly express their anxiousness.

"It's strange."

"What do you mean, Sir Windster? Isn't it natural for both the First Prince and theThird Prince to desperately attack the opponent?"

"That's true, but..."

Namuel's words were not wrong, so Galenos didn’t finish his sentence. However, he did feel a sense of incongruity within Luwellin's actions.

"Caaw..."

Did she agree with Galenos? The crow cawed as if she was anxious.

The crow thought: ‘I didn't know how exhausted I was trying to calm myself while making a loud cry when Karmeut was bitten!’

The crow that sat on Galenos's lap was trembling with her beak clattering. A necklace was twinkling around her neck.

Her eyes which were as pretty as violets fall on the wolves. Blood was dripping from the murky-golden wolf's skin who was going to attack, while the golden wolf didn’t move, which meant that he would defend himself against Luwellin's attack.

With his eyes gleaming cautiously, he took a stance where all his vitals were thoroughly defended. Karmeut’s crouching action made Luwellin sharply growl and raise his tail as he prepared to jump.

The noise around the stadium-like place started getting louder and louder. It was because the nobles who watched were letting out excited or worried exclamations little by little in the situation where Luwellin seemed to gain an advantage.

"...!! Caaaw!"

Did she discover something? The crow let out a high-pitched cry. Then she pulled Galenos' and Namuel's lapels alternately.

The crow's actions narrowed the gap between the two. Namuel knew that Karmeut's pet crow had extraordinary intelligence, and Galenos knew that she could turn into a human.

...So, the two of them, presuming that there must be some reason for the crow to do this, watched the crow's actions.

The crow fluttered one of her wings and pointed to Luwellin. Then she walked with a limp as she dragged one of her feet. The crow cawed as she tilted her head before limping around once again.

The two men kept quiet as they watched the crow's action. Slowly, they opened their mouth.

"---Does she mean that it's strange that His Highness Luwellin is so fine?"

"As expected, it is that...?"

"What do you mean by ‘that’, Sir Windster?"

"Look over there."

Namuel turned his gaze to where Galenus was pointing. One of Luwellin's forelegs was dripping with blood as he was about to bite off Karmeut’s side while Karmeut tried to bite him on the nape of his neck.

"It's not a serious wound, but it's normal to limp when the bleeding is like that. This is a life-threatening situation, so does Prince Luwellin endure the pain and move on the offense like it was nothing at all?"

"...Well, nociception¹ is a warning from the body. It's a sign that the body will be more harmed if you overdo it. Ignoring that and moving normally is definitely abnormal. Besides, as long as the blood doesn't stop, although he seemed fine right now, his stamina would drop due to excessive bleeding and it would be life-threatening."

Muttering "Then, why...", Galenos furrowed his eyebrows and then shook his head as he thought,

‘---I don’t know the reason behind that, but it was His Highness Karmeut, not Prince Luwellin, who had the advantage in the present situation. If he continued to defend without allowing effective attacks to land on him, it was clear that Luwellin's fighting power would drop rapidly due to the excessive bleeding.’

However, what Galenos could not understand was Luwellin’s speed and aggression that showed no sign of depletion despite being wounded.

Galenos: ‘No matter how much you put up with it, there is a limit. But his movements... it’s like he’s not injured at all...’

"Perhaps..."

At the sound of Namuel's muttering, Galenos’ and the crow's eyes focused on him. His brows furrowed as he mumbled something, then he moved his fingers slightly before he murmured again,

"No, but... I don’t think that something like that can possibly be done in Bozcourt... But, still, it’s better to check it..."

The eyes of Namuel, who had been muttering to himself as if he could not feel the other man’s and the crow’s gaze, gleamed strangely. Then, as if to confirm something, his gaze that was now fixed on Luwellin’s wolf form was sharp.

*Karmeut’s POV

Karmeut growled lowly and looked at Luwellin, who launched an onslaught. He had triumphant eyes and confident movements.

And unlike before, when I went to look for Rainelle, his movements increased in strength and speed.

There is something. Other than that, this situation cannot be explained. The wound on his leg itself isn't that big, but the blood should flow continuously from his violent movements. What it could be is...

Either a healer blessed him, or a mage cast a secondary spell.

"Grrrhhh!!"

When Luwellin bite the skin near his ribs, Karmeut turned his head, revealing his teeth and tried to bite him.

However, Luwellin's movements were agile. The golden eyes that looked at Luwellin narrowed.

Is he learning in the midst of all this? The gaps in Luwellin's movements get fewer and fewer, although only little by little. Karmeut's eyes sharpened when he thought that he might be wrong in thinking that Luwellin would get tired by himself from his injury.

I may be the first to go down if I just defend like this.

Just because he defended, it didn't mean he didn't suffer. His stamina also slowly dropped. On the other hand, although Karmeut had only guessed it, the opponent had received secondary magic or a blessing.

Karmeut could neither die nor lose on this occasion. Surrendering did not mean that he could keep his life. If it was Luwellin, he would definitely want to get rid of Karmeut, and vice versa. Luwellin would do so for the sake of his own life and the emperor's seat. The same was true for Karmeut, but for him, it was also for Rainelle.

He can't protect Rainelle unless he wins against Luwellin and inherit the throne.

For Rainelle who has allowed me to have a life like this---!!

"Grrrhhh!!"

With a growl full of bloodlust, Karmeut changed his stance and ran forward. Then, suddenly moved to grab Luwellin, who had momentarily stopped, on the back and shook him vigorously.

"Kaung, kaung!"

His golden eyes blazed even more when Luwellin was waving his feet around while screaming.

Does it matter if Luwellin was blessed or has been given a secondary spell? When was the last time he let the enemy do as they liked? There was a rule in Bozcourt that there must be no intervention, but was it certain that no one had not broken it so far?

Karmeut violently threw Luwellin to the ground. Luwellin, who was thrown so violently to the floor, was unable to control his body for a moment and groaned. Aiming for that opportunity, the golden wolf jumped at the wolf who could not properly control his body with his teeth exposed.

"Grawrrr!!"

"Grrh!! "

However, Luwellin got up in the middle and also lunged at Karmeut, so Karmeut struck Luwellin with his front paw. Luwellin's teeth were able to reach Karmeut’s forefoot and pierce through the skin.

Karmeut frowned as a stinging pain climbed up his leg. The golden wolf opened his mouth wide and bit the nape of Luwellin’s neck with much strength when he saw that the murky-golden wolf had no intention of letting his venomous teeth off from his front paw.

As Luwellin opened his mouth with a gagging and choking sound that sounded unbearable, Karmeut locked his opponent’s head with his injured foot.

Now is the chance! I must not miss this time and end him...!!

"...!!"

The golden wolf's body staggered. As his eyes suddenly flashed and his strength drained, Karmeut stumbled and had to apply strength to his four legs in order not to fall. A sensation that was close to a shock can be felt in his mouth-

Damn...! I can’t believe he uses electricity...!

"Krgghh...!"

Karmeut's eyes widened at the feeling of suffocation. The feeling of tearing running through the back of his neck was eerie. It was clear that Luwellin had bitten his neck amid his staggering from the electric shock.

With the instinct that told him that he couldn't die like this, Karmeut shook his body violently and tried to remove Luwellin. But the more he did that, the more his skin was torn and his neck got wetter. Karmeut gasped a little.

But he couldn't stop resisting. Therefore, Karmeut began to move towards the wall with a dangling Luwellin who still clamping down with his teeth. Karmeut thought that there was a possibility that if he crushed him hard against the wall, Luwellin would not be able to stand it and would open his mouth.

However, Karmeut's physical condition was not very good. It was because of the electric shock. In addition, a lot of blood was flowing from his neck. The difficulty was even greater because Luwellin was also trying to prevent him from moving by using his four legs.

C’mon, hurry! If I don't remove Luwellin...!

"Wait a minute!"

At the sudden loud voice, everyone and the wolves in the area flinched. Because it was a magically amplified voice, it spread to every corner of the stadium-like place, but it was certainly not something that should be heard in the middle of Bozcourt.

"What's going on, Marquis Namuel? Interfering with the holy Bozcourt, you must have a good reason."

At the Emperor's action, who slowly rose from his seat and raised his hand to stop Bozcourt, Luwellin growled as if he was not willing, but let go by opening his mouth anyway. Karmeut gasped and licked the blood that made the white fur of his chest red. Still, his golden eyes were observing.

It was quiet, but the nobles who realized that the emotion reflected in those three pairs of eyes were anger held their breath. But Namuel, who had raised his voice earlier, did not waver and, with a crow on his shoulder, got up then walked forward so that he could be seen clearly by the Emperor.

***

Notes:

1 The sensory nervous system’s process of receiving pain from physical damage^↩