I Became a Wendigo in a Fantasy World

19 – Episode 19

The Wendigo stared coldly at the dead body. Not only its parasitic nature but also its attitude was utterly senseless.

‘I am not sure if it’s a spirit or demon, but these entities have no respect at all.’

A creature initiated a deal with a curse. No matter how tolerant one might be, its attitude was absurd.

Of course, the Wendigo didn’t reject the deal simply due to its poor attitude. The problem should have been hearing the deal to decide whether to kill it or not.

The reason why Wendigo refused its proposition in one swift cut rested in the mystery this creature held.

A decade-old mystery that smelt like garbage.

No Wendigo would dare to deal with a creature holding a threat so apparent.

The Wendigo believed that its judgment was valid. Even upon the parasite’s death, the mystery did not dissolve.

The fact that it did not dissipate even after its death inferred that the owner of the mystery was not the parasite itself. It was clear that another entity, whether it be its mother or master, was pulling the strings.

‘I wonder if I could figure out something more if I investigate further.’

However, the thought of approaching the disgusting corpse…

While struggling between his revulsion and necessity, Wendigo strolled towards the carcass with a sigh. Once started, one must see it through to the end.

The Wendigo extended its hand slowly towards the corpse, and it did not forget to prepare for any possible dangers by enveloping itself in mystery.

The moment his fingernails touched the corpse, the mystery vested in it stirred. The Wendigo clicked its tongue inwardly.

‘So it is. There’s no way such potent mystery could have been vested here without any reason.’

The corpse’s mouth opened and the mystery, reminiscent of swarm of flies, revealed its form.

About to scatter this mystery instantly, the Wendigo, instilling cold into his fingernails, paused.

In front of it, the mystery squirmed and a grotesque voice began to flow out.

“Is it you? Foolish Sprite who reaped the life of my pitiful offspring without asking for permission.”

“What about permission, would it matter if I asked before killing your offspring? If you’re going to talk nonsense, get lost. If not, state your purpose.”

“…You open your mouth too freely for a Sprite who doesn’t know the fears of the world. You think you could after knowing what I am?”

“If you didn’t like it, you should have revealed your identity from the start. Threatening like an idiot whether you’re a child or a mother.”

The mystery began to rage loudly. The identity isn’t known but the provocation seems quite strong.

‘If I unleash the curses I learned in my past life, it would probably vomit blood.’

Something tearing could be heard beyond the mystery. There must be a lot of teeth, as that sound was extremely rowdy.

“If you wish to know my identity that much, I will tell you.”

The mystery spread wide and began to project something.

Its chitinous-covered body was long like a snake and a hexagonal mouth packed with teeth the size of a human forearm, was menacing.

It flickered its six radiant eyes intriguingly and nimbly fluttered its barb-filled tentacles sprouting from its mouth like tongues.

“I am the one who whispers, Gicas. I am the mother of demons and parasites.”

‘So it’s a parasite, and a somewhat smarter monster.’

Even though Gicas introduced itself in a dignified voice, Wendigo was indifferent. So it’s essentially an useless parasite.

At least it was fortunate that it had a normal name. Otherwise, it would have been troublesome to decide what to call it.

“I know why you’re arrogant. It wouldn’t be strange even if the mystery that makes up your body is steeped for a hundred.. no, two hundred years.”

Wendigo did not argue. Specifically, there was no reason to argue. There was nothing to say when it was pounding its own drum.

Gicas laughed at Wendigo. Because he didn’t refute, it thought that its own words had hit the mark.

“Yes, you must not have feared anything in the world. What should a great sprite, who lived for two hundred years be afraid of? But there’s always someone higher in the world…”

“The preamble is disgustingly long. I wish you’d get to the point and disappear.”

Wendigo regretted speaking it out as soon as the words left its mouth. What it meant to think inside, slipped out instead.

Gicas, whose talk was interrupted and insulted again, opened its mouth wide and bared its teeth.

Each squirming and moving tooth was fairly threatening, but if it were afraid of such things, it would have lived hidden away.

Wendigo chuckled. In response, Kikasu glared at him as if he was going to kill him, coughing harshly.

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“Finish your story promptly if you’re not going to come here.”

“Your arrogance has exceeded its limits! Good. If you have that much confidence, come find me in the mountains.”

When Kikasu shouted these daring words, Wendigo was taken aback. He asked Kikasu with a touch of doubt.

“…You surely can’t mean that your hideout is in the mountains?”

“You’re very skeptical. Or are you scared? Head north, you’ll find the mountains. That’s where my den is, come and find me if you can!”

At Kikasu’s bold declaration, Wendigo was flabbergasted. Who would ever reveal their hideout so easily?

If he was lying, that would be another thing. Yet, of all the things Kikasu had said, this seemed the most truthful. It was like a solitary flower blooming amidst sewer sludge. Unless he was an utter fool, he must have had a strategy…

‘But he does seem like a complete fool, doesn’t he?’

While it was Kikasu who had initially called Wendigo arrogant, Wendigo found Kikasu to be even more arrogant.

Otherwise, why on earth would he reveal his hiding place? Even if he had traps set up, since he was inviting him over…

Wendigo wondered if there was anything more he could dig out, but alas, he couldn’t put his thoughts to practice. Kikasu’s mystique dissipated and faded away.

‘I thought I could glean more from such a fool. It’s a shame.’

Nevertheless, as he was dealing with a fool, it didn’t take long to formulate a plan. Eyes gleaming, Wendigo hoisted up the corpse.

…

Kikasu, the whisperer, boasted of an immense size, contrary to being the mother of parasites.

His gigantic body, large enough to take down a bear whole, was unnatural, and with the unnatural, there was a cause.

Kikasu’s size was the result of repeated molting. As a mythical beast born with a mystery, he was able to cast off the shackles of lifespan.

His ability to hide with such patience was largely influenced by his nature.

‘How long has he been waiting for this day!’

Kikasu, born a parasite, was neither a bear, nor a wolf, not even a cat.

Having stolen the bodies of other creatures and ripped their knowledge, Kikasu learned of his own frailty.

No matter how much you can take over another’s body, if the strength of the host is meager, death is never a surprise. That’s why Gikas grew stronger in the cave, devouring the medicinal herbs. He waited in the dark cave to surpass the limits of being a parasite, holding his breath and biding his time.

Swallowing the victims that his offspring brought him, he grew stronger, like a deadly poison, for three hundred years. Finally, Gikas was certain that his time had come.

‘Now no one can stop me!’

His shell was hard as rock, his fangs sharp enough to tear steel, and his muscle-bound body could kill a bear with one thrash. This made him reveal the location of his nest to the Wendigo, but it wasn’t simply a display of arrogance due to his immense strength. He had his own calculations and provocations. If he were stupid, he wouldn’t have acknowledged the limits of his species and sought a solution.

What Gikas believed in was the foolishness of humans.

‘Just like stupid spirits. They have such a great power, but don’t know how to dominate humans.’

Consider how many people Gikas had devoured in secret over three hundred years. He firmly believed that he perfectly understood humans.

Initially, trying to persuade humans was a foolish act. It might be understandable if he ruled by overwhelming power, but trying to integrate them with words!

Humans are foolish. When shown goodwill, they underestimate the other and think they can wield any tribe.

Unlike his own offspring, humans can’t even unite their opinions, instead they continuously doubt and oppose each other.

Can a spirit convincingly persuade such creatures?

‘Impossible.’

The prejudiced humans wouldn’t easily believe that spirits are coming to warn them of danger. How could they believe him, when he had been hiding his existence for three hundred years?

Naturally, humans would continue doubting and eventually they would surely offend the spirit.

‘Then it’s over. That’s fine if they fight humans in anger, or give up the uphill battle.’

If either of these succeeded, there would be no chance for the spirit to win against his army. Anger gives way to annoyance, and it was fine if the spirit succumbed to his nature.

The only possible way for the spirit to gain an advantage was to understand the human heart and shake their shallow minds…

“There’s no way that could be possible. The arrogance of the spirits can never be fixed.”

It was inconceivable that a spirit could understand a human. How could a spirit understand, when it has devoured dozens of humans to build its knowledge?

Worrying about such a possibility was foolish.

Gikas shifted his body position. The eggs Gikas had laid in a corner of the cave jiggled due to the movement.

The eggs contained more than a hundred babies.

If just one more day passed, they would hatch. Gikas gnashed his teeth in enjoyable contemplation.

Which creatures should he turn his babies into?

“Beasts are fine, but maybe I should increase the number of monsters? No. Since it would take at least five days for a spirit to get here, I should choose humans instead…”

“Master! There’s trouble!”

“What is it? Are we running low on food? If that’s the case, I told you to kill the fattest one and use it as food.”

Gikas, who had been indulging in pleasant imagination, spat out his irritation at the sight of the human puppet entering the cave.

The human puppet hastily shook his head. It wasn’t such a trivial problem.

“The spirit has appeared leading warriors! At least two hundred warriors are heading this way!”

“!? That’s impossible. They couldn’t bring so many warriors by the time they arrive!”

Gikas shuddered in shock. One of the eggs broke because of it, but he didn’t have time to care.

How on earth?!