["Well, as much as I'm enjoying myself, I don't have all night to sort this out, nor do I have snacks to enjoy the show. Unless there's someone here who wants to have a friendly chat with our nocturnal friends."]
[[…]]
As much as I was having fun—and believe me, I was having a lot of fun—reality is cruel, and time is unforgiving.
Besides, I can't quite decide if I'm annoyed or surprised that I've been completely sidelined.
["Well, regarding this matter…"]
["I can't believe you're going to listen to this goody-two-shoes. Is your brain that rotted by her body? Are her boobs that unforgettable?"]
["…I never said I was going to agree to anything…"]
["Are you really rejecting me just because that woman orders you to? Since when do you let yourself be bossed around by any random person off the street?"]
["I never said I was rejecting you…"]
[[THEN WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?]]
["YOU'D KNOW IF YOU'D SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTHS."]
[[----]]
And now they agree? Did they think the rat kid wouldn't hit them if they irritated him? The rat kid is not an anime protagonist.
And if he were, he'd follow Kazuma's example to impart gender equality… when it's convenient for me.
["Whatever… Four-eyes, from now on, you speak for your group of super friends. What do you expect from me? And why did I let you into my house in the first place?"]
[[…]]
Perhaps they noticed my mood worsening because the place quieted down immediately. When Milia didn't speak, four-eyes took the initiative.
["Actually… What we want to ask of you and what Milia is asking are different things."]
[…]
I shifted my gaze between Milia and Franco: there was a strange tension between them, as if the right phrase was about to explode.
["After gathering information, we decided it's best to stay in this area. Although those monsters come out at night, if we don't make noise, they don't pose a threat. And, from what we've seen, they clear out the surrounding area."]
Look at him. He thinks he's safe. How cute.
["Originally, we were going to the safe zone where Milia's mother is, but…"]
["I didn't ask for your biography. I asked what you want from me."]
["…We want you to join forces with us. If we stick together…"]
["Rejected. Milia, what is your request for me?"]
Why do they still insist? How many times do I have to tell them I want them to get lost? I'm starting to think their language and mine are different.
["Wait, at least listen—"]
["Interesting. Discuss the details with my trusted consultant."]
"GRRRRRR"
When Four-eyes jumped to his feet, startled, Zeus gave him a solid argument to return to his seat. Don't let his fluffiness fool you: he's adorable with the girls, but with others… not so much.
He is Zeus, after all.
The group is tense now. All except for Milia, who held my gaze.
["…I want you to take us to my mother's safe zone…"]
["I refuse."]
[[…]]
Silence reigns in the room after my instant refusal.
Not a soul can be heard, and no one dares to open their mouth.
["…Regardless of what happened between us… She raised us both… We grew up together and learned things from her together. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"]
["It's precisely because she raised me that I'm not going to follow your stupid idea."]
["…What do you mean?"]
["Do you think that if there was a one-in-a-million chance of getting through those monsters, she wouldn't already be here? You're dreaming."]
["She… maybe she stayed because they needed her."]
["My aunt is not a hero. I've lost count of how many times she told me to prioritize our own lives. If there was a way to come, she would have come to get you from the school herself. It's a three-day walk. A group of teenagers won't survive."]
["…You want me to just ignore my mom?"]
Her voice broke, and tears welled up.
["I'm saying we shouldn't rush. I'm going to the city in three days anyway. If I pass by, I'll look for my aunt."]
Silence falls again as all eyes are fixed on me.
What? Do I have monkeys on my face?
.......
["Are you awake?"]
In the middle of the night, a single girl's voice calls out in a whisper.
["It's hard not to be when you've been digging your nails into my ribs all night."]
I complain to Louise, who is lying on my chest.
We are all sleeping on the floor of my room, using sleeping bags huddled together.
More specifically, huddled around me. Why? I'd like to know that too.
I'm starting to worry about these girls' ability to drag me into their flow of actions.
["I just wanted to make sure we could have some time."]
["You're very brave to be looking for 'Time.' At the most dangerous moment there is."]
["Not as brave as you, who made a cute little girl cry."]
I look at Alicia, who is clinging to the other side of my chest, and I sigh in resignation.
The rat kid is starting to feel something churning in his stomach when he thinks about how much he's made her cry in just 3 days. I think it's hunger.
["Who would've thought that the supreme arrogant narcissist, Rat Kid One, would have such a relentless weakness for little girls… lolicooooonnnnn!"]
["So, your pouting from before was my imagination? ouch ouch."]
["Humph."]
Louise pinched me angrily, but then gripped my shirt, looking me straight in the eyes.
["Have you fallen in love with me again? Go on, I'll allow it."]
[…]
She doesn't answer me. Her deep pink eyes refuse to yield, a mixture of worry and pleading.
["I have to go."]
["I'll go with you."]
["Good idea, good idea… No, you're not coming."]
["You can't stop me."]
["And you can't follow me if I decide to leave you behind."]
["You wouldn't dare."]
["Ohoho, do you want me to remind you what happened the last time you challenged me?"]
["…Pervert."]
[kekeke.]
As is normal, we chatted nonsense for a while before getting to the point.
["Why are you going?"]
["…According to the most popular theory: For Milia's boobs."]
[Fufufu.]
Louise scoffs and looks at the sleeping girl on my chest.
Earlier, after clinging to me, she started shouting: "If it's because of boobs, mine will grow soon, my boobs will be huge! Bigger than my sister's!"
["She even offered you everyone's boobs."]
["When I threatened to kick them out if they didn't offer them to me, she was so cute."]
["Stop corrupting her. Her sister seemed very worried about that."]
["Kakaka, I can't take the credit. She's got talent."]
[Fufufu…]
After laughing a bit, Louise looked down.
["There are few people in the world the rat kid would move for… My aunt is one of those people… I was planning to go check on her even if Milia hadn't mentioned it."]
["…Th-that's not what I was asking, humph."]
Louise hides her face in my chest.
["…If she's so important to you… why leave in three days?"]
["It does me no good to go looking for one of the few people I'd move for if I'm going to leave another one of them unprotected."]
[….]
Louise pressed herself even tighter against my chest, as if trying to merge into it.
Today, the rat kid has recovered his honor. Go me.
I looked up at the ceiling. If it were just Louise, I'd bring her with me without a problem. But the brat on my chest and the others…
Is the rat kid being manipulated?
["How long do you plan to keep rubbing my ass while pretending to be deep in thought?"]
Louise complains as I try to satisfy the needs of the rat kid's biology. The rat kid has needs.
["Until it's not soft anymore… ouch ouch, the rat kid understands, the rat kid needs his arm."]
In the darkness, I couldn't see clearly, but I'd swear my arm was bleeding.
.............
JOURNAL ENTRY NO: 088
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Avis homo
REGIONAL ALIASES:
Greek Mythology: Harpy
Andean Folklore: La Grita-Riscos (The Cliff-Screecher)
Anthropological Hypothesis: The People of the Cliffs
NICKNAME (ASTRAD): The Human Seagull
📊 THREAT ASSESSMENT
CLASSIFICATION: VENATOR / TERRITORIALIS
Its conduct is that of an aerial hunter that uses verticality as its main weapon. It is a Venator that stalks not from the ground, but from the sky. Its aggressiveness is linked to its domains, the great canyons and cliffs, making it a territorial guardian that considers the airspace its exclusive hunting ground.
DANGER LEVEL: YELLOW (4 stars)
A 4-star Yellow, and a first-rate tactical threat. It's not a brute that tears you apart; it's a stealthy assassin that neutralizes you before you can react. Its danger lies not in its strength, but in its ability to attack from a universal blind spot: above. If it catches you in the open, your gear is irrelevant; you're on its operating table.
AGGRESSIVENESS LEVEL: OPPORTUNISTIC
The definition of an ambush predator. It will avoid a direct confrontation at all costs. Its method is patience, stealth, and a single devastating attack when the prey is most exposed. It doesn't fight; it executes. Its aggression is that of a hawk, not a wolf.
🧬 COMBAT FILE (TL;DR)
TYPE: Humanoid
AFFINITY: Wind / Physical (Sonic)
🎯 PRIMARY WEAKNESSES (Theoretical):
Flashbang weapons (visual hypersensitivity), Enclosed or low-ceiling terrain (nullifies its vertical advantage), Nets or immobilization weapons.
📌 KEY STRENGTHS:
Extreme vertical mobility (gliders), Aerial stealth, Shockwave Screech (sonic disorientation), High-speed dive attack.
📚 ORIGINS AND COMPARATIVE MYTHOLOGY
The Mythical Hypothesis (The Fantasy): Classic texts, such as those by Homer or Virgil, describe them as a semi-divine race of winged women, plagues sent by the gods. According to this view, they are a non-human species, with biological wings and claws, whose cry is a literal curse. It is speculated that they hid on the highest peaks of the world, far from civilization.
The Rational Hypothesis (The Logic): Anthropological theory suggests that the myth is an exaggeration of a human tribe (Homo avius rupes) that adapted to life in vertical canyons. They wouldn't have wings, but would be master artisans of leather and bone gliders. Their physiology would be light and thin, with incredible grip strength. Their "claws" would be climbing tools made of obsidian, and their "shriek" a guttural language to communicate across the canyons.
Astrad's Analysis: A tribe of prehistoric inventors or real bird-women? Why not both? Perhaps the human tribe learned to "fly" and "scream" from the true Harpies, imitating the dominant creature of their ecosystem. Over time, the original monsters went extinct, and only their echo remained: the human tribe that adopted their methods. Either way, the result is the same: something falls from the sky and fucks up your day.
📝 DETAILED ANALYSIS
PHYSICAL AND SENSORY DESCRIPTION:
Historical records and the few credible sightings paint an ambiguous picture. Some speak of skeletally thin humanoids, clad in intricate leather and feather harnesses that unfold into large glider wings. Others insist on an organic fusion of woman and bird of prey. What all agree on is their silhouette in the sky: they move with impossible speed and agility, diving without a sound, except for the whistle of the wind. Their presence is often first announced by their infamous shriek.
BEHAVIOR AND ECOLOGY:
It is theorized that they live in nests or settlements carved into the walls of inaccessible cliffs. They are vertical ambush hunters. They perch on high ledges, observing the ground for hours. Once they identify an isolated prey (animal or human), they launch. Just before impact, they emit their Shockwave Screech, a focused sonic blast that, according to reports, causes severe vertigo and momentary paralysis. In that split second of defenselessness, they attack, either to steal supplies or to carry the prey off to their nests.
☣️ PROTOCOLS
RECOMMENDED ENCOUNTER PROTOCOL (Theoretical):
DO:
ALWAYS LOOK UP.
Travel through covered terrain (dense forests, ruins with roofs).
Use flashbang grenades or powerful spotlights as a countermeasure if detected.
DON'T:
Cross canyons, ravines, or open fields without cover.
Assume that silence means safety.
Ignore a high-pitched, unnatural shriek in the distance.
FIELD REPORT (Excerpt from the logbook of a Spanish conquistador, Colca Valley, Peru, 1534):
"…they called it the 'punishment from the sky.' We lost two men and a mule loaded with provisions. There were no arrows, no ambush on the path. Only... a scream. A shriek that split the air and brought us to our knees, the world spinning. When we could get to our feet, the men and the mule had vanished. Only their footprints in the dust remained and, high above us, a shadow that danced in the air currents."
🎤 ASTRAD'S NOTES (THE ONLY SHIT THAT MATTERS):
Fuck, if history teaches me anything, it's that human beings are jealous bastards. If we can't fly, and we see someone who can, we don't say 'wow, how ingenious.' We say 'BURN THE WINGED WITCH!'. I don't care if they were real women with wings or a tribe that invented the wingsuit millennia before Red Bull. The point is they dominated the Z-axis, and that, in any video game, is an overwhelming tactical advantage.
Their Shockwave Screech is basically an area-of-effect stun lock. You're left paralyzed, staring at the sky like an idiot, and by the time the dizziness wears off, they've already stolen your underwear. It's the perfect gank. No wonder the Greeks said they were a punishment from the gods. Being humiliated like that is, without a doubt, a religious experience.
So, are they a myth or a reality? Who knows? What I do know is that if you ever hear a weird shriek in a canyon, don't stop to take a picture. Because the next sound you'll hear will be your own ribs breaking against the ground.
..................…
Rat Kid Network
Subject: New fetish unlocked - Death from above. (VIDEO)
RatKid7: [Well, folks. Today, while rummaging through the remains of a surveillance drone, I found this. The memory card survived. Enjoy the show.]
[VIDEO attached: Drone_GreenCanyon_FinalRecording.mp4]
RatKid8: [LOL, a drone? Let's see what the Spielberg of the apocalypse recorded.]
RatKid2: [Damn it 7, are you trying to make me deaf?]
RatKid6: [Fuck. That shriek. I'm getting a migraine just hearing it through the speakers.]
RatKid4: [Canyon, a group of 6 survivors crossing. They had good gear. It seems the sound induces vertigo. The frequency must be in the 20-30 kHz range.]
RatKid8: [Shit, at 0:34! There! From the cliff! They're like fucking giant bats!]
RatKid3: [Negative. Not bats. Humanoids. The fall is a controlled glide. Vertical ambush tactics. Flawless.]
RatKid7: [And BAM! They stole the backpack from the guy with the rifle! They didn't even touch him! They flew by and snatched it! Thieves! Thieves with wings!]
RatKid10: [I'm reading the file and watching the video at the same time... Fuck, that's exactly it. An area stun lock and an inventory theft. The perfect gank.]
RatKid4: [The image is blurry, I can't discern if they are humans with equipment or true mythological harpies... Where the fuck is 9 when you need him?]
RatKid1 (Astrad): [I don't care if they fly with real wings or with a hang glider made from the skin of their enemies. You're missing the point. Read my fucking note. What do they do?]
RatKid3: [They accumulate resources. They neutralize threats to their territory without risking direct combat. It's... brutally efficient.]
RatKid7: [NO! They keep the LOOT! They're fucking gear farmers! Just like the Satyrs!]
RatKid2: (sigh) Another monster that turns out to be a thief... This apocalypse has a strange fixation on private property.
RatKid8: [LOLOLOL! I see it! The ultimate crossover! The Satyrs are the ones who rob you on land and the Harpies are the ones who rob you by air! It's a mythological crime syndicate!]
RatKid1 (Astrad): [Exactly. And if they have a nest, and they've been doing this for centuries... that nest isn't a house. It's a fucking arsenal. The arsenal of the Z-axis.]
RatKid4: [Harpy nest assault protocol: viable. Requires sonic and light-based countermeasures. And someone willing to climb a fucking cliff.]
RatKid7: [Me! I can build a grappling hook with a lawnmower engine! Or a catapult! A catapult to launch Rat 3!]
RatKid3: [Rejected. But the premise of an asset recovery operation is... interesting.]