And his gaze...
His gaze was lofty. Superior.
A strange dignity and majesty almost forced me to salute him...
The gaze of a ruler!
Although he wasn't even looking directly at me, he was. Focused on his wounded son...
His gaze flickering with anger for an instant...
An immense pressure fell.
I felt my fingers sinking into the earth. My whole body spasmed as hot blood rose up my throat!
I was about to pass out with my organs being twisted around, and I would never wake up again...
My consciousness was hanging by a thread...
But just as quickly, the pressure disappeared when my feathered friend sank into the ground, spitting blood on the floor. His muffled squeak caught the ruler's attention.
Hehehe...
I let out a muffled laugh, loving the ruler's reaction.
I spat out the rest of the blood in my mouth, momentarily realizing that my blood wasn't spreading but slowly returning to my body. Strange, but later...
Of course, if there was a later, I would think.
"Hey! You bastard, I think you're smart enough to figure it out, right?" I called out to the big guy with difficulty, despite my deliberately provocative tone.
Come on, Lucca. Don't ruin everything...
Sure, he was smart enough, but he wasn't very good at hiding his emotions. His gray gaze, dignified but nervous, alternated between anger and hesitation between me and his son.
He certainly understood the situation, but something seemed to prevent him from accepting it. Fear? No. Pride? Maybe.
Concern? No. Helplessness? Hehe.
It didn't matter. That was good. He was clearly...
"You're too indecisive to rule, man," I teased him for his delay. I worried for nothing.
Intelligence only made him hesitant and indecisive, it seems.
Using my feathered friend as a hostage was a gamble from the start. After all, they're still animals, but...
Welcome to the club. That's what it means to have "humanity"...
I closed my one eye, satisfied for a moment.
My face contorted the next moment.
Look at that bastard! I spasmed again when the son of a bitch lowered his pressure on me once more.
"Damn it! Don't you get it yet, you cuckhold bastard? If I die, he dies too!" I shouted desperately, feeling something break in my throat. He really tried to kill me now, stopping his son's failed squawks.
That bastard... I gave him the middle finger, glancing quickly at my feathered friend.
The pain seemed to be something totally new to him.
Look at him, squirming over a little scratch. Looking at your father will make all the difference, for sure.
"You still don't believe me?" I asked. Was he really that indecisive? My time is limited!
I don't even know how or why I'm still alive, but it doesn't matter; I had little time to keep the big guy in check anyway. It wouldn't take long for my friend's metabolism to digest me completely; maybe I still had seven or eight minutes at most, or less.
I'll have to hurry things up...
"Look closely then," I smiled, making the big guy focus on me. A hint of fear formed in the depths of his gray iris.
I was about to stick my fingers into the cut on my arm, but unexpectedly he stopped me...
Only to accidentally cut two of my fingers.
"Idiot..." I couldn't say anything else when I saw two deep cuts splitting the chick's wing!
Its horrifying scream of pain made the big guy tremble. Clearly not knowing what to do.
I knew even less. Although I was almost completely numb from the pain, now I was losing blood too.
Well, I should have been losing blood for a while now, anyway...
Three minutes was all I had left, more or less. That bastard.
I didn't even see him coming.
Well... I think I'm asking too much now. See that creature? Let's control our ego, Lucca?
Anyway...
"Now you believe, don't you?" I asked, tapping the big guy's wing lightly.
"If I die, he dies. So what are you waiting for? I only have about three minutes left to live," I smiled, speaking carefree, still tapping his wing.
And I have to say, what soft feathers... A pillow. It would make a great pillow.
... Damn it, let's not think about sleeping, okay, brain?
Without even looking at me, the big guy took flight and disappeared. Yeah, he finally understood... Or rather, accepted it.
Oh dear. How fucked up am I?
Leg useless? Okay.
Amoeba arm? Okay.
Guts spilling out? Okay.
Blood loss? Okay.
Poisoning? Okay.
Deep cuts? Okay.
Missing fingers? Okay.
Eaten eye? Okay.
Pierced ribs? Okay.
At least my lungs are intact... I think.
Maybe a little dissolved by the poison, but okay.
What the fuck, huh? Not to be annoying, but how the fuck am I still alive?
Not that it's not a good thing, but this isn't me.
"It's you, isn't it?"
I asked, looking up at the sky.
[Yes.]
"Got it. Thanks for letting me know."
After that, I stayed quiet, counting the seconds. With about a minute to go, the big guy came back.
He was carrying some shiny stones in his beak...
"Oh, I'm going to cry..."
Why is my luck so shitty? That was condensed mana! It made them evolve so fast, but here I am, trying to rebuild my little body with it...