Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint-Chapter 534: A Puppy Truly Does Not Fear a Tiger

The mountain lord, who had flattened me into the ground in an instant, turned his body. I couldn’t read the thoughts of animals, but it was clear he thought I was dead. I shouted at his retreating back.

“Hey, tiger. You think you're that good at fighting?”

The mountain lord’s steps came to an abrupt halt. Even though he was in human form, his eyes gleamed ominously as he glanced at me from the side. It was terrifying enough to make my legs tremble.

Wait. I barely survived, and now I have to get ripped apart again? The memory of the pain I had just endured flashed through me, and I quickly averted my gaze.

“Ah. Sorry. You’re a tiger, so of course, you’d be good at fighting. Go on your way.”

But even if they say a tiger appears when spoken of, I’ve never heard of one just walking away. The mountain lord eyed me again, moving diagonally this time. Unlike before, he now seemed slightly wary of my revival.

That was a relief. If he was wary, maybe I wouldn’t die as quickly this time. And surely, even a tiger wouldn’t want to eat something suspicious. He wouldn’t want to get sick from eating something weird.

“Why are you staring like that? So scary. I’ll give you a rice cake, so don’t eat me, alright?”

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to have any intention of eating me. The moment he disappeared from my sight, I felt a menacing presence behind me. As I turned my head, something strong struck me on the back of my head. My vision spun wildly. I lost all sense of my body, of myself, as my neck twisted.

Aaaagh!

It hurt like hell. Death loomed over me before receding again. My body, infused with the demon god’s essence, regenerated, restoring me to my original state.

I won’t die. But that doesn’t mean I’ve suddenly become stronger! I’m just a sandbag with a regeneration function!

“Ghhk. Damn tiger...! Just because you’re strong, you won’t even have a conversation...!”

I was lying on my stomach, groaning, when a foreboding sensation crept over me. I instantly flattened myself against the ground, raising Jizan in front of me. Without a single sound, without even the vibration of a step, the mountain lord descended upon me in an instant.

Boom. The mountain lord’s paw came down onto Jizan. The wind pressure ruffled my bangs wildly. My head nearly burst, but fortunately, even the mountain lord couldn’t budge Jizan.

Curious about what had blocked his attack, he swung his paw at Jizan a few times. Even though he was just testing it, I could feel an overwhelming force behind it. Thankfully, Jizan remained a sturdy barrier between us.

As expected of Jizan. Reliable as always. No, this isn’t the time for that.

“Hey! Tiger! Listen to me! Are you deaf? You took human form so you could understand speech, didn’t you?!”

I was now the closest to the mountain lord, the one who had faced him the longest. Now was the time to talk. Whether he heard me or not, his ears twitched slightly in response.

“Why should I obey the whims of an insignificant creature?”

“You heard me just fine! You were just pretending not to listen all this time!”

“The voices of humans are noisy and filthy. It is better not to retain them.”

“What the....”

Before I could finish speaking, the mountain lord’s head whipped around. Instead of my upper body, which was shielded by Jizan, he bit down on my abdomen. My body was severed at the waist, blood and organs bursting out.

Thankfully, he didn’t seem to have any intention of eating me. A human body wasn’t well-suited for quick consumption anyway. The scattered flesh reassembled and reattached itself to me.

“Pffft. Cough, cough. That damn beast....”

Surviving was great and all, but nothing was changing! At this rate, I was just going to keep losing in a fight I couldn’t win! Suffering endlessly!

Damn it. Wasn’t there some way? At the very least, was there a way to take less pain from the blows?

Oh. There was that.

I pulled out a demon god’s card. In my hand was the Spade 7, Lightning Thief’s Lightning Tangle. Until now, I had only used it to channel electricity through wounds to paralyze my enemies or play with static electricity. But now that my body could be used as a tool...

Lightning Tangle seeped into my body. A searing pain, as if my nerves were being burned from the inside out, shot through me. I gritted my teeth and endured it. The Lightning Tangle settled inside me, coiling tightly.

A moment later, the pain vanished. Along with it, all my senses became sharper and more refined. It felt as though the part of my mind that had been occupied with pain had been repurposed for something else.

The demon god of Tyrkanzyaka allowed me to use even my body as a tool. Normally, a body was something to be protected and nurtured—a vessel for life. But once infused with the demon god, everything became mere tools. Bones, muscles, nerves, blood. They could all be broken, torn, shattered, and then repaired again.

To protect ‘myself,’ I had to use my body as a tool. I let out a dry chuckle at the absurdity of it all.

It felt as if ‘I’ and my body were separate things. Then what was ‘I’? If not my body, then was my mind what defined me? Like that old philosopher said, "I think, therefore I am"?

There was no time for contemplation. As I hesitated to get up, a flash of premonition passed through me. My body, now attuned to death, instinctively raised Jizan. Thud. The mountain lord, launching off Jizan, lunged at my throat. freewēbnoveℓ.com

He was still fast. But unlike before, I could see his form, even if just faintly.

The Lightning Thief’s Lightning Tangle wasn’t about enlightenment regarding lightning. It was about understanding the small lightning coursing through one’s own body and mind. A forbidden knowledge that even its own master feared and tried to hide.

Seeing, feeling, and thinking were not proofs of the soul... but subjects of comprehension.

Of course, a beast would be like this. Maybe the Lightning Thief had been shocked by this realization, but it wasn’t anything new to me. If it was a tool, I just had to use it.

Maybe it was because my thoughts were moving faster, but my body also reacted quicker. I swung Jizan wildly and shouted.

“Tiger bro! ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) I’m your long-lost little brother! Don’t you remember me?!”

There was no response. The tiger pounced again, easily vaulting over Jizan and slamming down on me. My shoulders were forcibly smashed together, compressed like cymbals clashing.

For a moment, my body was on the brink of death, but my mind remained clear. As the mountain lord, unable to control his own strength, skidded forward, I wobbled on my feet and desperately called out to the demon god.

“If you save me, I’ll give you something tasty! How about dried persimmons?”

“Roar.”

It’s not working.

Even if I had an immortal body, even if my reactions had sped up, my opponent was still the Mountain Lord. He was the king of tigers—a beast that even a human king would have to risk his life to face. In this open terrain, I was nothing more than a self-repairing sandbag.

I needed to break the board even more. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t even get the chance to talk.

I turned my head and saw a tree that had been uprooted. It was one of those prairie trees that didn’t even bear fruit, but as soon as I reached out, branches sprouted from the fallen trunk. Flowers bloomed and withered in an instant, leaving behind round fruits that were dyed in vibrant hues, like paint mixing on a palette.

The Demon God of Nebida, the Tree of Origin. Using its power, I harvested a perfectly ripened persimmon from the uprooted acacia and threw it at the Mountain Lord.

“Here! Catch!”

The Mountain Lord finally stopped and caught the persimmon in his mouth. He hesitated for a moment, but since it was already in his mouth, curiosity won over, and he started chewing.

Whew, he finally stopped. I let out a sigh of relief.

“How is it? Tastes good, right?”

“Pfft.”

“Hey, you rude little—don’t spit out what you eat!”

Still, I had achieved my goal. The Mountain Lord, having witnessed me produce fruit, didn’t charge at me immediately. Instead, he curiously circled around me.

I never planned to win from the start. My goal was to spark curiosity, to start a conversation.

“Tiger, listen. There’s no reason for us to fight. The wolves are already gone!”

“...And?”

“What do you mean, ‘and’? There’s no reason to keep the wolves’ promise anymore! So stop acting aggressively towards humans!”

“I refuse. A promise is not made with another—it is made with oneself. Just because the wolves are gone does not mean I can delay its fulfillment.”

What the hell? Why is this beast using words I wouldn’t even use? And why the hell is he so damn honorable? Just break the damn promise already!

“The wolves may not have been my companions, but they were the ones who demonstrated wit in my place. I pitied the wolves. Thus, I shall display my ferocity upon many humans.”

The Mountain Lord growled, his piercing eyes fixed on me.

“If that ferocity is directed at you, human, then it is all the more meaningful.”

“Damn it. You knew all along!”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“Human, had you not already been torn apart by other humans and disappeared from this world? Then I shall do the same. After displaying sufficient ferocity, I will devour you.”

A dog’s kindness is directed toward humans, and a wolf’s ferocity is also directed at humans. The Mountain Lord was following his promise to the wolves—to hunt humans.

And I was the king of humans. There was no better target to display ferocity upon than me!

Checkmate. If I got eaten like this, I might actually die for good. But I had no other options. If I wanted to live, I had to fight—even if it meant turning everything into a tool.

“You think you’re the only one who’s ferocious? I’m ferocious too! Don’t think you can eat me so easily!”

“Roar.”

The Mountain Lord bared his fangs, scoffing at me. Though he wore a flowing robe, the moment he moved, he vanished from sight. My heightened senses barely managed to detect him leaping over the rocks, but knowing the attack was coming and being able to stop it were two different things.

I gripped Jizan tightly, bracing myself. Ferocity wasn’t just about defeating the enemy—it was about protecting myself. If I couldn’t block him, I’d have to make sure I hurt him enough that he wouldn’t want to touch me again.

...But how? I had no idea. Should I just grab onto him and drag him down with me?

As I entertained my foolish thought, the Mountain Lord leaped. He raised his paw, ready to crush me like a mountain collapsing. I couldn’t dodge, and I couldn’t block. I prepared to take the hit, steeling myself for the pain.

Just then, Azzy came charging in with a loud bark.

“Woof!”

Even though reinforcements had arrived, I wasn’t exactly thrilled. Azzy showing up wouldn’t change anything.

Azzy stepped in front of me and swung her paw at the Mountain Lord. The Mountain Lord, now faced with an unexpected opponent, brought his paw down to meet her attack.

The clash of their paws echoed through the air with an explosive impact that was far too powerful to be the sound of mere footfalls. A shockwave erupted, sending both beast kings flying in opposite directions. The Mountain Lord grimaced as he looked at the intruding Azzy.

“A wolf?”

Landing on the ground, the Mountain Lord cautiously approached, scrutinizing Azzy from head to toe.

“No... a dog. A domesticated beast.”

Azzy, who had skidded back from the impact, wagged her tail and greeted him excitedly.

“Hello! Nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you? I have come to fulfill the wolves’ will and display ferocity upon humans.”

“Woof? Don’t!”

“The wolves did this. I am merely here to uphold the promise.”

“The wolves... aren’t wolves anymore! They’re dogs! Ferocity and kindness together! The promise is invalid! Stop fighting!”

Azzy was... actually trying to persuade him? That was surprising enough, but the fact that it was working was even more shocking. The Mountain Lord relaxed his fur slightly and responded to Azzy.

“I understand. My ferocity no longer has a successor. However, that is only a reason I am no longer bound to the promise—it is not a reason to abandon its fulfillment.”

“Fighting hurts. Pain is bad. Whether you’re human, wolf, or tiger. Fighting is bad. Coexisting is good!”

“To eat, one must display ferocity.”

“Are you hungry?”

Azzy asked the question so casually. It was completely out of nowhere, but the Mountain Lord took it with utmost seriousness and answered solemnly.

“One day.”

“Woof! Humans share food! They’re kind!”

“That is domestication. It is entrusting your ferocity to another. I am ferocious, so I cannot do that. The wolves had nothing but their ferocity. They were weaker than me, but they were more ferocious than anyone. That is why I promised to carry on their ferocity.”

“But... it’s not just ferocity.”

Even before the tiger king, Azzy did not shrink back.

“I can be ferocious. But I can also be tame. I can eat and play. I can be safe. I can be warm. I like that. And you like it too.”

“I am powerful and fierce. I cannot be tamed like you wolves.”

“You were big and fierce, living alone in the mountains. That’s fine. But that’s not all you are.”

Azzy smiled with unwavering certainty. At that moment, something began to appear above her head. It resembled the crown of a beast king, yet its shape was softer, rounder, and pure white.

It wasn’t a crown. It was more like... a halo.

“To embrace, to lick, to run, to play. Your fur is meant to wrap around others warmly. Your tongue is meant to lick wounds and heal them. You are big and fierce, so you lived alone on a mountain. But if there is enough food, you can live with humans too.”

Azzy, having reached a new realm—a saint among beasts—extended her paw, radiating a gentle light.

“If the wolves carried on your ferocity, then I will carry on your kindness. Let’s be friends.”