"This is a forbidden technique that calls upon the image of a ferocious Monster and claims its power as your own." Maki's voice carried an eerie echo.
"They say its original creator pictured Kamu Orugaron, but in your case, isn't there a more suitable creature to focus on?"
Altaïr understood.
The terrifying image of the Imperial Conqueror Dragon throwing back its head in a crazed roar rose in his mind. In that instant, the urge to roar surged through him just as it had the night before. This time, Altaïr neither suppressed nor restrained it; he opened his mouth and unleashed a savage howl.
"ROOOAAR!"
Pitch-black flames of fighting spirit engulfed his body. He hunched forward, and two points of eerie crimson light flickered beneath the shadows veiling his face.
Greed, bloodlust, the urge to devour, destruction... Countless dark impulses filled his eyes. He seemed to have lost every trace of human consciousness and become the lingering remnant of that malevolent dragon.
The Arzuros, which had only just managed to scramble back to its feet, abandoned all thought of hunting. It fled in blind panic with its tail between its legs.
Maki could not even be bothered to glance at it. She simply stared at Altaïr, whose condition was clearly abnormal, and clicked her tongue several times. "The kid really pulled it off... But didn't he take that a little too far?"
Before Altaïr could make another move, Maki pushed off the ground and flashed behind him. She swung one hand into the back of his neck.
Once the blow rattled his brain, it did not matter how fiercely his fighting spirit burned. The pitch-black flames guttered out around his conspicuous scars, and Altaïr collapsed face down, unconscious.
"Good thing I brought him outside the village," Maki muttered. "If Mr. Yan and the others find out, I'll be in for quite a scolding, won't I?"
—--
Altaïr came to with a hiss and rubbed the back of his neck.
Why did he keep losing consciousness so often lately?
He sat up, rubbing his neck, which felt as stiff as though he had slept on it wrong. Two or three meters away, Maki tended a campfire and grilled something on skewers.
"You're awake."
"What... happened to me just now?"
Maki had no intention of hiding it. "You successfully activated Beast Soul Possession, but you don't know how to control it yet. I knocked you out before you could hurt yourself.
"The hardest part of this technique isn't activating it, but controlling and maintaining it."
Her expression turned solemn as she looked at Altaïr. "The secret scroll that records the technique includes a maxim from its creator: 'A fool who revels in violence will inevitably degenerate into a beast.' Remember it well."
Altaïr stared at her in silence.
Couldn't she have told him something that important beforehand?
Noticing his reproachful gaze, Maki coughed lightly. She handed him one of the skewers roasting over the fire, apparently as a wordless apology.
Altaïr thanked her, accepted it, and looked down.
What was this thing she had grilled? A cucumber?!
"A Goocumber." Maki picked up her own skewer, blew on it twice, and took a bite. "It's a soft-bodied creature that lives in clear streams. It's highly nutritious and a favorite of Tetranadons. You won't find it anywhere else."
Altaïr took a bite. The gelatinous flesh had little flavor of its own, but it was pleasantly chewy. With a sprinkling of salt, it was not bad at all.
It had no bones, and even the innards were edible. A single one, half again as long as an adult's forearm, was more than filling enough.
"Well? Do you want to return to the village and rest, or keep training?" Maki stood and smiled at him.
"Keep going, of course."
Altaïr did not hesitate for even a second. "I'm still a long way from truly mastering that power. If I don't make the most of my time now, it'll be too late."
"Don't sell yourself short." Maki leaned against a nearby tree. "In a sense, you've already learned Beast Soul Possession. From here, you only need to bring it under control, step by step.
"Think of the total loss of consciousness you experienced earlier as a one-hundred-percent release. You need to learn to hold it between sixty and eighty percent. Once you have complete command of that, you can attempt a full release again.
"Relax. It isn't difficult. You can handle the real thing, so why be afraid of something you merely imagined?"
"There really isn't anything to be afraid of." Altaïr touched the scar peeking above his collar along his shoulder and neck. "I'm only a little worried. Mr. Yan said the scars on my body are fading and that my body will slowly metabolize the Elder Dragon factor that seeped into me.
"Once it's all gone, will I still be able to use this technique?"
Maki stared at him for a moment, then bowed her head and began to chuckle. Altaïr had no idea what she found so amusing, so he simply waited for her to finish.
Maki wiped the corner of one eye. "You don't seriously think a little Elder Dragon blood made you special, do you?
"I already told you, it was only ever a catalyst. The power you brought out just now was entirely your own.
"Imagining a particular Monster simply helps you imitate its ferocity and savagery. It doesn't mean some strange creature has actually taken possession of you.
"You will always be yourself. That is the core principle. Don't forget it."
Altaïr felt a little embarrassed by her words and, remembering some of Mr. Yan's warnings, could not help asking, "When Mr. Yan suggested I come to you, he also warned me not to use power that wasn't my own.
"I assumed he meant the things inside me... So what actually counts as power that isn't your own?"
"That question... Well, there's no harm in telling you." Maki scratched her cheek. "Things such as certain viruses that come from Elder Dragons, or certain parasites.
"I hardly use them anymore. Back then, I didn't have a choice. He's been lecturing me about it for decades, and he still brings it up...
"All right, enough about that. I've taught you the essential principles of Beast Soul Possession and what to watch out for. Give it another try!"
Altaïr nodded. After eating his fill and resting for a while, both his stamina and his spirits had fully recovered.
He steadied his breathing, visualized, activated, controlled...
The pitch-black fighting spirit guttered out before it could even gather, leaving Altaïr frozen in place.
He had failed.
"Let it out! Roar! What are you embarrassed about?" Maki flung her arms up from the sidelines. "You can only control it after you release it. You smothered the first spark of fighting spirit before it even caught. Again!"
"Roar..."
"I can't hear you, not at all! Louder! If you can't even roar with conviction, what sort of malevolent dragon are you trying to imitate?"
Under Maki's merciless taunts, Altaïr gritted his teeth. He closed his eyes and focused on the terror and despair that Elder Dragon had inflicted upon him, then drew a deep breath.
"ROOOAAR!"
The pitch-black fighting spirit exploded outward, and the savage roar once again rang through the forest.
"Ha! Now that's more like it... Wait, why did you go straight to a full release again? Rein it in!"
—--
Meanwhile, in the guest room above Yomogi's Tea Shop, Isis suddenly jerked upright in bed.
Clawdia, who had been curled up on top of her, went flying. Beside them, Sajji yawned and rubbed his eyes.
Isis picked up the note Altaïr had left on the low table beside her. It read, "I've gone to train with the Village Chief."
Isis stared at the note in silence.
The two Felynes were still half asleep, but Isis had already dashed out of the room. After racing around with no idea where to look, she found Nymera.
"Nymera, have you seen Altaïr?"
At home, Nymera seemed to have completely forgotten her usual prim and proper manner of speaking. Her eyes narrowed in a teasing smile. "He left early this morning. What, you can't stand being apart for even this long?"
Isis's expression turned grave. "No, I had a nightmare."
Nymera blinked. "What kind of nightmare?"
"Altaïr's strength soared and he was promoted to High Rank without a hitch, while I was still trapped at the 5★ bottleneck with no chance to break through!
"I can't let that happen! I need to train harder too!"
Nymera could only stare at her.
(Translated by yourtl.app)