Finding the escaped Rantori wasn't difficult.
Boom!! Crash!! Crackle!!
The once-quiet remote forest echoed with nonstop thunderous sounds.
Following the noise, I found Rantori and Renya, who had been creating the commotion together.
'Why is the tension so thick?'
I alternated my gaze between Renya and Rantori, who were confronting each other at a distance.
It was a sight that would have made even the now-extinct Rakshasa faint in shock.
A flying squirrel, displaying an arrogance even greater than Kancho's, was facing off one-on-one against that demon, Renya.
What's more, Rantori seemed even more relaxed than Renya.
Whether he was being glared at or not, Rantori lay on the ground, wiggling his short legs.
On the other hand, thick veins bulged on Renya's forehead, a man who usually never showed emotion.
"Ahem!"
I cleared my throat and walked over to where Renya stood.
Rantori opened one eye to look at me.
His face said, 'One or two, come at me, I don't care.'
As I stood beside him, Renya spoke.
"Master. Can I blow that thing up?"
"Probably not. We need to catch it intact."
Renya took a slow, deep breath.
Since the master had given the order, he needed to calm this anger a little... Pfft.
Rantori farted in Renya's direction, then covered his mouth and giggled.
No matter how you looked at it, it was a mocking gesture.
The veins Renya had barely managed to calm bulged even thicker.
"It's no good. I'll have to kill it."
"Just hold on a little longer. It'll be caught soon."
With Renya, I drew Rantori's attention while surveying the area beyond.
Elia was hiding in the bushes alongside Leon.
Receiving Jinhyuk's signal, Elia looked around.
He said he'd be here soon, so why wasn't he coming?
Just then, a chubby head popped up between Leon and Elia.
"Grandma, what are you doing hiding here!"
"We're playing a game of catch-the-flying-squirrel! But you look a mess, Chubby."
Her clothes and hair were a complete disaster, as if she'd just come from a battle.
"Listen carefully, Chubby? This is an important role."
"Momo loves important roles!"
Elia continued, pressing down on Momo's head as she beamed.
"That flying squirrel has incredibly sensitive senses, you see? So how do you think we catch something like that?"
"Sneak up and grab it!"
"As expected of my Chubby! You can't even make a sound when you breathe, okay?"
"Momo is great at holding her breath! I always win when I have diving contests with Kancho!"
Elia swallowed dryly.
She had witnessed it many times.
Momo's play style, the queen of fouls, who would pull Kancho's pointy ears or dropkick him underwater when she was about to lose.
But well, it should be fine, right?
"You have to grab it tight with both hands, okay?"
"Mhm! I understand perfectly!"
"I'm nervous, but let's go."
"Let's go!"
Momo took a huge breath, made a *hup* sound, and held it.
Leon's eyes widened as he watched Momo creep towards Rantori.
"Incredible. She's gotten closer than I ever managed to."
"Heheh. You've finally seen the power of our Chubby, haven't you? Her presence is like a grain of sand, you see?"
Leon looked at Elia.
It sounded like a compliment, but also kind of an insult. It was confusing.
Anyway, he turned his gaze back to the two, who were getting closer.
"But, Elf-nim."
"That's a nice title. What is it?"
"Is it really okay to let that chubby friend catch it? Rantori is fast, but he's also quite strong."
"Eheh. What do you take the journal I personally wrote for?"
Elia opened a thick book.
In the records, written who knows when, it clearly stated:
To catch Rantori, you must suppress your energy to near perfection, and once you grab hold, he can't move a muscle.
"See? Now Chubby is going to capture that cheeky flying squirrel."
The Great Mother Emperor crept right up behind Rantori and reached out her hand.
Leon clenched his fist.
Finally, Rantori was going to be caught.
*Grab!*
"Momo caught..."
The moment she lifted the captured Rantori.
*BOOM!*
Energy exploded, and Momo went flying *whoosh* into the forest far beyond.
"MOMOOOOO!!!"
While Jinhyuk ran to retrieve Momo.
This time, sensing the danger, Rantori activated his emergency escape sequence.
With a *thud*, Rantori flew off to another location.
"I knew I should have just blown it up."
Renya, now radiating killing intent, began the chase again.
Leon slowly turned his head to look at Elia, who had been speaking so confidently.
She was frozen solid, sweating cold bullets.
"Th-this is strange? It said once you catch it, it's over... Ah?"
*Rip.*
Something felt thick, and it turned out to be two pages stuck together as if they were one.
"Well, it has been over two thousand years, so it's possible, you see?"
After rationalizing, Elia read the missed page.
"'Rantori is a spirit beast with a mysterious power. He can see the unique world of the person who touches him. If that world does not please him, he releases an unbearable shockwave. The stronger the person, the harder it is to suppress their energy, making it impossible to hold Rantori. Those weak enough to hold him are thrown back the moment they grab him. Therefore, this damned flying squirrel can never be caught. As it has been until now, and as it will be for all eternity.' That's what it says, you see?"
Having realized the truth, Elia nodded.
Chubby's world was probably round, soft, and squishy.
There was no way it would please that cheeky flying squirrel.
"Well, well, it was impossible from the start, you see!"
Leon swallowed dryly.
This woman had skipped the most important part entirely and was acting so cheerful.
"Grandma!"
"Is that you, Chubby?"
"Momo's nose is bleeding because of you, Grandma!"
"It's good to make it bleed sometimes for blood circulation, you see?"
"What!? Is that so?"
"Of course it is. Have you ever seen me say something wrong?"
"Mhm! I understand completely! Momo loves having a nosebleed!"
'She's a devil.'
Leon shook his head.
Lying to that chubby friend without even changing her expression... it wasn't a skill you develop overnight.
"Hmm."
Jinhyuk, who had retrieved Momo, rubbed his chin.
He had engraved Momo's unique trait, Energy Suppression, on her last time.
Even with that, plus his own energy control, Rantori had still detected him.
He didn't want to use rough methods because the creature looked cute, but he had no choice... *CRASH!*
Something smashed through rocks and trees, flying in from the side.
RENYAAAA?!
Renya stood up as if nothing had happened and spoke.
"That bastard seems to be out of stamina. He's not moving. But—"
*CRACK!*
Before he could finish, Dark, hit by Rantori's shockwave, came flying in.
So their worlds didn't please him either!?
"Is Seira our only hope?"
"That brutish knight got dunked in the water before I did."
"Yes!?"
"Don't call me a brutish knight, you chain-wielder whose only boast is that you don't die."
Seira walked over, completely soaked.
"I'm sorry, Master. I couldn't catch him."
"Don't apologize. Dry yourself off."
I took a towel from my bag and handed it to her.
She wiped the water off and let out a low hum.
"It's a peculiar power. My body is forcibly pushed back, but I can't grasp the principle."
Even Seira, the pinnacle of raw power, was being pushed back.
It was no wonder he had never been caught before.
"But it's fine. I can catch him now."
Seira smiled as she handed back the towel.
"Oh? Do you have a clever plan?"
"Yes. You just need to go and catch him now, Master."
"That is a clever plan, isn't it?"
"There's no need to worry. Master can catch him. Ah, perfect timing."
With a *swoosh*, Rantori landed on the lakeshore where we were gathered.
He exaggeratedly yawned, lay down, and scratched his belly.
Seeing that all our attempts had failed, he must have decided there was no need to run.
Seira placed a hand on my shoulder and nodded.
"Trust in yourself, as I trust in you."
"For a knight who lives on bluster and bravado, you sure spout cheesy lines without batting an eye."
"Then go, Master. I'll be cleaning up the trash in the meantime."
*BOOM!!*
The two of them started pounding each other like mad.
I deliberately turned away and walked off.
Seira said I could do it, so I'd go and try to catch him.
*Squeak squeak squeak squeak.*
Rantori was covering his mouth and laughing.
I could see why Renya was so pissed off.
This guy was a master at messing with people.
As I got close, he even puffed out his chest as if to say, 'Go ahead, try to catch me.'
With that level of swagger, wasn't it almost a talent?
*Gulp!*
Ready to be sent flying, I reached out my hand.
*Grab!*
Rantori let himself be caught obediently, as if to say, 'I'll just send you flying right away.'
Leon, watching from the bushes, squeezed his eyes shut.
He didn't know exactly where they were all coming from, but he instinctively knew.
The strongest person among those who had just been there was the black knight.
And Rantori had even thrown that knight off.
His friend Jinhyuk would soon meet the same fate.
How much time passed with that thought?
Sensing the prolonged silence, Leon opened his eyes.
"!?"
What had happened?
Rantori, who had been arrogantly acting like he owned the sky, was covering his eyes with both hands.
He was even trembling so violently that Leon could see it from here.
Forget the shockwave, he looked like he was about to burst into tears at any moment.
'What is he seeing...?'
Trembling like an aspen leaf, Rantori then collapsed to the ground with a *thud*.
"Squeak... squeak."
Rantori barely lifted his trembling eyes.
A world of darkness, filled with pitch-black shadows.
A place so dense that just entering it made it hard to breathe.
He had moved forward, as he always did. Forward, and forward again.
Beyond the boundary, the steps of the spirit beast Rantori were never ordinary.
Each step was a leap across space and dimensions.
Yet, even after walking for eons with those steps, he had never reached it.
No, he couldn't even see it.
The end of this world.
And soon, he realized.
It wasn't that he had done something wrong, different from usual.
The world itself was wrong.
It wasn't that he couldn't reach it.
The concept of 'reaching' only makes sense when the concept of an 'end' exists.
It meant that the proposition of 'reaching' could never be established in a world that had no end from the very beginning.
*Whoooosh...!*
When Jinhyuk let go, the world that had swallowed Rantori receded.
Even though he was free, Rantori didn't run away.
Instead, he shuffled forward and bowed his head deeply.
"You okay? I didn't even do anything, why are you trembling so much? Anyone would think I bullied you badly. You're not planning to pretend to bow and then make a run for it, are you?"
"Squeak! Squeak!"
Rantori shook his head, insisting it wasn't that.
He didn't want to run away.
More precisely, he absolutely refused to.
To be chased by a being with such an absurd world.
"Alright, alright."
Jinhyuk, very satisfied that he hadn't been thrown back, smiled.
At that moment.
*Ding!*
A cheerful notification sound was heard.
[You have captured Rantori, the divine beast that had never been caught since its birth!]
[Player Yoo Jinhyuk, who has gone beyond simply catching Rantori to completely subjugating him!]
[Rantori, the Observer of Unique Worlds, ability 'Understanding of Unique Worlds' has been inscribed in the Divine Beast Bestiary!]
*Beep!*
[Understanding of Unique Worlds is a power that cannot be combined with other abilities!]
[It is recognized as a single, complete ability, and a 'Unique Trait Box' has been generated in the Divine Beast Bestiary!]
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T/N:
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