Reborn As An Evolving Monster

184 Princess' Decree

'What to do...?'

Mark lay in the middle of the blizzard, a good distance away from Elisa and Krista.

'I spent all that time fighting to make it outside. But now that I made it...'

He clicked his tongue and slid his arms over the cold snow.

'Nothing to fight or Devour. Huh. That's the kind of Monster I became...'

[Your Title "Evolving Monster" is smiling.]

'Yeah, smile all you want. Tsk.'

The clearly laid out path and future pushed on him inside the Dungeon had been pursued to its conclusion.

Only uncertainty and doubts remained now.

'Follow part of the way with Elisa and Krista. Meet Draconia. Go to Pride. Meet Gaavah? Is that what I'm supposed to do...? Meeting a Demon Lord. Sounds as exciting as it sounds scary. But then...'

Sigh-

[Your Title "Devourer" is looking at you.]

'Got anything to say?'

[Your Title "Devourer" admits that as long as you Devoure, it won't complain.]

'Yeah. I want to do that too...'

Images flashed inside Mark's mind, making his leg twitch.

'Seeing those two before leaving...'

Raven & Zephyr.

'Definitely left a sour aftertaste. Even after finally leaving the Dungeon-'

Mark suddenly jerked himself and sat up.

"Wait... I'm a dumbass, aren't I?" He whispered.

[Your Title "Devourer" nods.]

[Your Title "Evolving Monster" smiles.]

"Nia slowly decreased her involvement with me. At first, I could only use the two of you thanks to her help. She was like a... A moderator or something. But only at first. After that, she slowly stopped doing that. Slowly, she let the two of you do your thing by interacting with me."

[Your Title "Evolving Monster" nods aggressively.]

"But now... Now she isn't involved anymore. She's... Yeah. Nothing links me to her anymore."

[Your Title "Devourer" chuckles.]

"Gaavah's Follower. That's the only Link I have to Pride. To Gaavah. To the Demon Lord. It allowed conversation between me and Nia, but not much else than that. Plus..."

Mark remember words Nia had told him some time ago.

"Follower. The Position that holds the least responsibility. Haha... Maybe... Maybe they can't even check where I am. Maybe they'll just wait. That's right. Raven decided not to act as my Guide, but that seemed to be a decision taken on the spot. There's probably..."

His heart started beating faster.

"A breach between them. Between Raven and Nia. He said that she would wait for me. Mm... If she knew that Raven wasn't going to Guide me there then... She would have come? Would have told me to wait for her instead? Or ordered Zephyr to Guide me, perhaps? Zephyr. He seemed to hold Nia in high regard... He said that she was his General. Then... Then... It must be true."

Mark brought a hand to his face, as if to calm his smiling lips.

"They have no idea where I am. Wait... The map. That blinking spot... It shows my position. No..."

His smile widened ever further.

"It shows the map's position. Maybe... Probably! Could it have been something Raven gave me to keep track of my location? Perhaps. Mm..." Mark whispered as he stood up.

With a hand wrapped around his chin and mouth, he tapped his cheek with a finger.

'The map problem has a simple solution. If this one is special or something, I just need to get a new one and get rid of this one. If it's that simple, would they even use something like that? Oh. Elisa... Elisa... Vampiric Mutant or something? Perhaps he can sense her position after...'

Mark's eyes widened.

'He said that he had saved her for me. Because that's what I would have wanted. If that's how he sees it, then he might assume that I will stay with her. Mm... But the one I'm supposed to meet is Nia, not Raven. They're on the same side but... I get the feeling that Raven didn't really like her. Might just be an impression. Can't base anything on it. They're on the same side, and serve the same Demon Lord. That's what matters. Can they communicate though? Raven and Nia...?'

He had no clear idea of who Nia was.

Mark knew she was a General. That was enough to paint her as someone worse than Zephyr but better than Raven. After all, while he hadn't seen her, he had talked to her multiple times.

'Can they communicate...?' He asked himself.

Mark had once been saved by Raven and brought all the way to Pride.

All the way to the Gaavah's castle.

There, Raven had found Nia and gotten an earful.

Mark had opened his eyes and, for a fraction of a second, caught a glimpse.

Unfortunately, a Speel cast by Nia made him fall into a slumber.

Once he had woken up, Mark was inside the Dungeon once more, dizzy and confused.

Were he able to remember catching that glimpse, or rather, able to remember that glimpse, he would know.

Nia hadn't expected Raven to bring Mark there.

The two couldn't communicate with each other when separated by large distances.

Something clicked inside Mark's mind.

"You weren't done yet... You weren't done yet..." He repeated those words.

With a finger, Mark tapped his head repeatedly.

"Weren't done yet... That's what Zephyr said after entering Boss Room. He thought the Boss Monster had already been defeated... Mm... Nia... Dungeon Master... The System... Upon the Boss Monster's death, I receive messages... That's how it's been all this time. The Dungeon Master is the one who sends those messages... Probably? Then... Nia has a way of knowing whether or not the Boss Monster has been defeated yet. But Zephyr entered before that. Which means that..."

Breach.

"They can't communicate."

Mark scratched his head for a bit.

"At least Zephyr and Nia can't communicate... Probably. Then can I assume that Raven and Nia can't either?"

He let his body fall to the ground.

"I can't assume that." A wide smile on his face.

Without meaning to, Mark started moving his legs and arms.

A second later, he realized it and sat up.

"Making snow angels? How cheerful. How carefree." Elisa commented, barely visible through the blizzard.

The Moonlit Feline by her side started running and, upon arriving by Mark's side, started stomping aggressively on the piled-up snow.

He looked at the energetic Krista and the smiling Elisa.

The latter walked closer.

"Princess."

"Monster."

Both nodded.

Mark gently grabbed the Moonlit Feline from the nape.

He held it in front of him and stared.

Krista extended her paws towards him.

"There's no Contract but... My Request. You'll listen to it, right?"

"Sure. If you agree to my Request."

"So that's how we're doing this, huh?"

"It is." Elisa smiled. "Princess' decree."

Mark took a short pause.

"So I am to be your Knight, milady?"

Elisa took a long pause.

He turned towards her.

Elisa's eyes were wide open and her body was frozen.

"What-"

"BFAHAHHAHA! What did you... What did you just say? Milady?! Oh. That's so funny. Argh... Aghhahahahaha! My side! It hurts!"

Mark's eyes narrowed. He moved his gaze back to Krista.

Was his body capable of it, he might have blushed.

It was supposed to be a joke, but he found that she was laughing a bit too hard.

She extended her paws as far as she could, but couldn't reach.

Mark let her down.

He felt embarrassed, but was bent on not letting it show.

"Oh... That was funny." Elisa wiped her tears. "I haven't laughed like that in-"

"Are you done?" Mark interrupted, slightly irritated.

"Yes, yes. I am."

"Then?"

Elisa silently took a seat on the snow.

"A Monster for a Knight, huh? Mm..."

She wrapped her arms around her bent knees.

"Sounds good. For a... Fallen Princess. Dethroned?" Elisa continued.

"I think I would make a good Knight."

She chuckled.

"Yeah..." Elisa's gaze moved towards Krista.

The Moonlit Feline was doing its best to move Mark's hand away from the ground.

Probably because it wanted its fur to be stroked.

"Perhaps you would be." She added, absent-mindedly.

"It's still... Well, I'm still not sure about if I will do it or not. But it's now a possibility. So-"

"She's like your little Princess, isn't she?" Elisa whispered suddenly.

"Huh?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing. Nothing. Nevermind. I was just... Uhh... Just... Anyways, it's a possibility, huh? That's good. Really good. Doing half of the way alone would have been pretty difficult."

"Think so? Hasn't been too difficult for now." Mark said as he looked around.

"The area around a Dungeon is usually pretty tame.

"Didn't even get a rematch against the bears..." He whispered.

"Huh? Bears?"

"Yeah. Just..." Mark scratched his head. "It's not important. Think we'll find some Monsters soon?"

"Probably, though I hope not."

"Why not?"

Elisa stared at him for a bit, somewhere between disbelief and confusion.

"Because... We're going somewhere? Why would we want Monsters in our way?"

"Oh. I see your point."

The two remained silent for a bit.

With a finger, Mark gently pushed Krista's head away.