Chapter 74 The secret that only you know, utterly destroyed...
The half-demon was absolutely certain that he survived by feeding on the negative emotions of humans.
After all, the more people hate, the sharper their claws become; the more people fear, the greater their strength. Contempt, jealousy, greed, pain... many kinds of poisons are complexly refined into hormones, which are injected into the infant's abdominal cavity, frantically forcing him into a weak beast.
Just like it is now.
"puff!"
Mainkuhn watched as human fingers swiftly and sharply pierced the paper, tearing the fibers in circles with a ripping sound, revealing the character "人" (person). Funina opened her mouth, soaked the ink and fragments together, and swallowed them into her stomach.
"......"
Then, look down at the tattered paper.
Hello, Funina
"mouth"
I am a cat
"...Ah, it looks much cuter now, like the beginning of a fairy tale, haha."
The false god, lifted up by fate, laughed twice before falling silent. She slowly lowered her head, her heterochromatic eyes meeting the gaze of the fake cat on the desk.
Do you really think so?
"!!"
Mainkun felt he was getting stronger again.
A tidal wave of energy surged through the cat's body, causing its bones and tendons to ache. Just a second before the cat was about to cry out in pain, the waves suddenly ceased, transforming into a desolate, dead sea.
"...Meow?"
[...Furina?]
The beautiful maiden smiled quietly, watching him without moving, as flawless as a pearl protected by a white shell for millions of years, and as holy as a statue of a god invited out by a stone carver on his knees.
"Meow!"
[Hey! Furina!]
But cats can hear, cats can see.
The human's chest rises and falls almost imperceptibly, breathing slows to the point of near cessation, muscles stiffen like a real sculpture, eyes vacant as they stare into the distance, and the scent of fear quietly permeates the air.
"Mimi! Mimi!"
[Frinina! Frinina!]
The cat jumped off the table, meowing anxiously, circling around the girl's feet, occasionally reaching out its paw to gently pat her calf, but received no response.
In extreme terror, her soul fled into the darkness to hide, freezing only a smile as her instinctive response to the world.
[Furina—tsk! She's actually that scared. I went out of my way to emphasize I'm a cat!]
Mainkuhn quickly grasped the situation; he was no stranger to this kind of reaction.
[Human stress response... what's it called again, a wooden paddle? A wooden river? Anyway, she was terrified, God! Luckily I didn't use harsh interrogation methods, or she would have been scared to death!]
Stress, stress, I've seen human stress many times. Ugh, it's been a long time since I've reviewed. How do I soothe someone?
Oh right, first and foremost, we need to ensure safety by separating family members from Kujavina. In the current situation, that means...
The cat looked around and finally decided to jump up, snatch the printed paper from Funina's hand, and tear it to shreds.
[Never mind if I didn't say hello—you're not human, you're not human, okay? God, this damn doomsday prophecy, it doesn't even let people be human!]
"......"
Funina didn't react, like a smiling female corpse.
...Okay, I remember to reduce environmental stimuli, such as bright light and noise.
[...]
After tearing more than a dozen slits in the expensive fabric with his cat claws, Mainkuen finally drew the curtains, then stood on his hind legs and locked the door securely.
Fortunately, most of the guards did somersaults.
The cat quickly ran back and stretched its head to sniff Funina's scent, wanting to see if she was feeling better.
No.
He stood there stiffly, terrified.
In the Mo Mang Palace, in the rooftop belonging to the gods, no matter what the cat did or what it changed, Fu Ningna could hardly feel at ease.
[...What should we do?]
Mainkuhn had a vague sense of this.
[Generally speaking, we used to offer the silent companionship of a trusted person to a frightened family member; sometimes it was me, sometimes it was Clementine... but this is Frynn.]
Does she have anyone she can trust?
In the dimly lit study, the cat wagged its short tail, staring at the girl's face, desperately trying to recall.
Does Vilette count? I don't think so. My demonic power always increases a little bit every now and then when the two of them are talking.
What about other acquaintances? Parents? Family? Friends?
It seems there's no one there; she can't find anyone to comfort her.
“.
Mainkuhn considers himself to be a rather reclusive person.
It seems there really is always something beyond our reach.
The cat had no choice but to curl up at the girl's feet and quietly keep her company for more than ten minutes. The girl stood there quietly, but she still didn't get better.
"Lady Funina, you're right, we really can't defeat the Cat God."
During this time, the usually straightforward and somewhat stunned head guard returned to his post and dejectedly reported at the door:
"But please don't lose faith in us, we will definitely practice hard..."
He rambled on and on, but Mainkun didn't remember any of it. He only knew that he hadn't heard a response from the god, so he assumed that Funina was disappointed, sad, and continued to stand guard at the door.
In the dimly lit room, dappled sunlight shone through the gaps in the curtains. Morning had passed, and the sun was high in the sky. The cat twitched its ears and could hear the cheerful sound of charcoal burning, as the people of Fontaine prepared lunch for their gods.
No, that won't work.
They should be here soon.
The silver-gray Maine duck lay at the girl's feet, genuinely feeling a pang of regret.
[I knew perfectly well she was afraid of her human identity being discovered, yet I still revealed it.]
[I'm also afraid of my human identity being discovered; I know how painful that panic is... I'm so bad.]
The cat, filled with guilt, stayed by the stove until the fire went out and the humans were laughing and chatting.
The last dessert is almost done baking.
'The Water Goddess will definitely love the little cakes I made, hehe~ I'm going to invite her myself later! Our lovely and gorgeous Lady Funina~'
They expect divine mercy, unaware that the gods need mercy more than they do.
[......well. ]
[So what if I'm bad? My purpose was to save others.]
As noon approached, the cat stopped waiting and slowly walked towards the girl.
[To protect something, you must either hurt others or give up something of equal value. Isn't this a universal truth? Aren't we all raised this way?]
With each step it takes forward, its size grows larger.
[That's all I can do.]
[Only by minimizing the suffering of the victims.]
When the beast approached the deity, it had to strain to bow its head in order to lick the girl's upturned hair.
"Meow".
So the cat gently and carefully lay down on its side in the now cramped study.
"......"
Funina's eyes were vacant, as if she were a born blind person and could not see the giant beast in front of her.
[Hope this helps.]
Mainkuhn harbored unrealistic fantasies.
The cat stretched out its huge, pink paws and slowly nudged the god's shoulder.
With a whoosh, like a leaf falling from a branch, Funina floated forward and fell straight into the big cat's soft, thick fur.
[Hope this helps.]
Mainkun prayed again without hope, while curling up and using his spacious belly instead of a blanket to embrace the small, pitiful idol.
"Gurgle."
The giant beast let out a deep growl to soothe the frightened bird in its embrace.
I'm sorry, I really can't find anyone you trust. And this world is so cruel that it doesn't allow people to rest properly, not even for a moment.
So here I offer you this fur, which you seem to like, as a token of your trust.
"Gurgle—"
Let me emphasize again, I am a cat, not a person, and I will not hurt you.
"Gurgle."
Therefore, as a human being, you should be more confident.
"Lady Funina, Lady Funina, it's almost lunchtime!"
A diligent waiter suddenly came to call her, her tone friendly and full of affection.
"!"
As soon as the giant cat stopped purring, it anxiously stuck out its thin tongue and licked the back of Funina's head, which resembled that of a kitten.
Wake up! Wake up! I don't know how to explain this to your people!
"Hurry up and come out, there's a surprise cake!"
"......"
Funina buried herself completely in the fur, not uttering a sound.
"Lady Funina?"
Even the head guard began to have doubts:
"Why aren't you enthusiastic about the cake?"
"This doesn't fit his character at all; something must have happened."
Splash!
"Let me look for the key."
Wait, Funina, why is the key in someone else's hand?! This lock is completely useless! Ahhhhh, the door's about to open!
Mainkun was in a panic and completely lost his composure. He shook his head, which was bigger than a lion, and tried to pick up Funina and put her on a chair to pose as if she were working—do gods work?
The giant cat had already taken the girl's arm into its mouth.
Click, the key was inserted into the lock.
"go out."
The familiar female voice finally rang out amidst the fluffy surroundings, "I have something important to do now."
"...Lady Funina?"
"go out."
"Okay, okay."
"The same to you."
She lowered her voice and spoke to the half-demon:
"Spit out your arm."
[!]
Okay, okay!
Amidst the sudden halt of the unlocking sound, the giant cat felt something small and fragile struggling to stretch out its arms from its broad belly, like a toddler trying to tame its limbs.
"Cat God".
After a long while, Funina finally regained control of her stiff fingers. She grabbed the snow-white fur on the cat's belly, stood up bravely, and stared at the giant cat.
"You really scared me."
Mimi...
Before Mainkuhn could respond, she suddenly tilted her head and complained in a light, airy voice.
"It's so cold."
She fell forward.
"Let me hug you a little longer."
*
My head is spinning, and my chest feels tight.
Funina lay on the giant beast's body, like a sheep lying on a green meadow.
Only the green grass wouldn't emit such a heavy, powerful heartbeat, stirring the blood and making one restless.
"What exactly are you?"
The human girl rested her head on the big cat's belly, adjusting her weak breathing in sync with her heartbeat.
"Are you a demon, a fairy, or some kind of spirit I don't know about?"
“...”
The giant beast remained silent, lying motionless on its side, allowing the weary birds to rest within it.
What is the significance of your presence?
"Where will you take Fontaine?"
But the bird refused to rest, stubbornly singing in its thin, hoarse throat.
"Hell or heaven, death or rebirth, or the best of times, nothing has changed in the human world."
"......"
Mainkuhn couldn't understand what she was saying.
He just thought that Funina must be extremely thirsty, because her voice had become hoarse.
Then he stretched out his tiger-like forelimbs and pulled out a naturally curved knife from its claw sheath.
"Mimi".
The giant cat used its curved knife to hook the teapot off the desk and placed it on its belly, next to Funina's hand.
Give.
"......"
Fool.
The gods suddenly relented and looked at their future accomplices.
"Is there anything you want to ask me?"
"I'll answer depending on the situation."
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