Black Killer Whale Baby [EN]: Chapter 67

Chapter 67

I was confident I wouldn’t die.

After all the lives I’d lived and the crises I’d overcome in previous iterations.

I’d faced far worse situations in past lives.

A young child running away from home and surviving alone wasn’t an easy feat.

Well, I was older than three back then, though.

‘Ideally, they’d give up and leave while I’m waiting here.’

Unfortunately, that’s unlikely. This isn’t a place where I can hide for long.

“Find her quickly! I sense an unusual presence over there!”

“My… comrade… is dead….”

“Damn it, who cares if one jellyfish is dead? My comrade is dead too!”

Fortunately, the assassins seemed to be splitting up and moving away, perhaps to search elsewhere.

I waited until their presence had completely disappeared before raising my head.

‘I can walk without much trouble, but combat will be difficult.’

I could probably handle a brief encounter…

‘But a prolonged fight is out of the question.’

And of course, walking for long periods would be tough too.

‘I need to find shelter.’

I need to find a place to hide.

I have to move. Staying here for too long is just asking to be discovered.

I moved, carefully observing my surroundings for any signs of the assassins.

I was moving in the opposite direction from where they had disappeared, so I should have some time.

The deeper I can go, the better.

A suitable tree hollow or cave… but not somewhere too obvious.

I was considering my options as I walked when—

Squish.

I stepped on something and quickly steadied myself.

What was that just now?

Bwee-!

At the same time, I heard a strange sound, like a whistle or the cry of a baby bird.

‘A sound!’

I quickly grabbed whatever it was and covered its mouth.

“…What is this? A snake?”

It was a snake. But to call it just a snake…

“An earthworm, maybe?”

Bweep!

I quickly muffled the sound that was trying to escape again.

“Okay, I won’t call you an earthworm, just be quiet. There’s a murderous Suin [animal-human hybrid] in this forest who’s killing everything he sees. If you stay with me, you’ll die too, understand?”

I realized in that moment that this creature was a Suin, or at least intelligent.

Because it fell silent as if it understood.

“Good, you’re listening well.”

I quickly examined it, then tilted my head.

“But what kind of snake has horns?”

Do snakes with horns even exist?

Since I had become a water-dwelling animal Suin, I was only really familiar with aquatic creatures.

‘And its scales are blue….’

I couldn’t think of any Suin it could be, so I was curious about its identity.

But this was no time to be thinking about that.

I was in a dire situation myself. I should just think of it as a snake for now.

“I don’t have time, so listen carefully. You seem intelligent, so you understand everything I’m saying, right? I’m going to let you go, so be quiet and go far away. A battle is about to happen here.”

I put the snake down and started walking again.

Soon, I found a suitable place.

A small cave that even my small frame could barely fit into.

And if I covered the entrance with branches, it would be perfectly hidden.

‘This reminds me of the old days. When I ran away from home in my third life and lived in the forest, I used to gather things like this.’

Ugh, I never thought I’d be doing the same thing at the age of three.

I quickly gathered some branches lying nearby, placed them in front of the cave, and went inside.

I got into position, took a deep breath as I looked at the faint light, and then turned my head.

“What? Why did you follow me?”

The small, earthworm-like snake had followed me.

It wasn’t making any noise, and hiding was the priority, so I had left it alone, but still.

Bleep!

“Be quiet. I sense someone coming.”

Shh-.

Heh, look at that. I told it to be quiet, and now it’s just hissing.

I chuckled and quietly peered outside.

Sure enough, I heard footsteps approaching.

“I definitely heard a strange cry!”

“The princess must have encountered a wild animal.”

“No, but how can such a young kid not leave a single trace or footprint? It’s like she’s lived in the forest before….”

Oh yeah, I’ve lived in it for quite a while. Why?

‘But I can’t just keep hiding like this.’

If I calculate the time it took for them to search for me, and the time it took for me to move and find a new hiding place…

Quite a bit of time has passed.

It should be about the time it would take to get here from where I saw the carriage.

‘Can he really come?’

The situation wasn’t in my favor.

And to make matters worse, I soon realized that this cave already had an owner.

Thump, thump!

Something I had mistaken for a lump of dirt was moving wildly behind me.

‘What? A rabbit?!’

The wild rabbit, startled by me, frantically dug at the dirt and darted out of the cave.

“Earthworm, if you want to live, either run away or stay quietly in my pocket!”

I quickly grabbed the snake and followed the rabbit outside.

‘If I get caught inside the cave, there’s nowhere to escape.’

Sure enough, the pursuing Suins, having seen the rabbit, started making a commotion and I could feel them running this way.

“There! It’s there!”

“It’s the princess! Run!”

I ran as fast as I could. But I couldn’t win with just my running.

Even if I had good stamina, it wouldn’t matter.

Our body lengths are different.

Soon, in a small clearing amidst the dense trees, I reached a dead end.

A huge tree stood before me.

“We finally found her.”

“No time, finish her quickly.”

…No time?

“We saw her almost enter the forest!”

I got ready to fight. As soon as I did, my ankle throbbed, but I endured it.

If I can just get away safely, I’ll meet Duke Yong.

Please, from now on, I’ll be careful and cautious.

Just let me have some luck this one time!

Swish!

I moved my body back and forth to dodge quickly, but I couldn’t avoid all the daggers flying at me.

Fighting a talented kid is different from fighting an adult.

If it weren’t for the countless experiences I’ve accumulated, this life might have ended here.

‘Damn it, why isn’t anyone coming!’

During a brief lull, I took the small snake out of my pocket and secretly threw it behind me.

I should have just left it in the cave.

“Run away.”

I brought it here for nothing, and now it’s going to die too.

‘Well, nothing I can do. If I can’t see him here….’

I felt a little disappointed.

I know how to do it now, so I can just keep repeating the process and meet Duke Yong.

But I’ll have to rebuild the relationship, and face someone without memories again.

But that’s another matter.

“Are you guys from Baiyan’s branch family? Meggie and the jellyfish are probably with you too. Are there any mudskippers?”

“H-How did you….”

The mudskipper’s stealth ability is exceptional, even among Suins who specialize in stealth.

“What are you doing? Kill her quickly! We don’t have time!”

“Yeah, that little brat is already exhausted!”

I tried to buy time with conversation, but it was no use as a sword flew towards me.

I wasn’t exhausted, but my throbbing leg held me back.

This is going to hurt….

As I thought that and leaned back, the sword seemed to hit something and bounced off.

“H-Heok… It’s, it’s the Young Master.”

“Damn it…!”

Belus stood there with a calm expression, where everyone had turned to look.

He calmly looked at my disheveled appearance, covered in dirt and leaves, and waved his hand.

A waterspout shot up, though not as powerful as Father’s.

“Damn it, the operation failed, everyone retreat.”

“But…!”

“None of us can break through that power!”

The assassins tried to escape, but I quickly moved and kicked the last one in the back with all my might.

Not so fast, I need to leave one as a witness!

“……”

And when I turned my head, I saw all the guys who were trying to run away lying on the ground, twitching.

Red paint stained the blue grass on the ground.

I sighed and sat down on the spot.

Ugh, I’m going to die.

As I sat there, a shadow fell over me.

“……”

Belus was staring down at me blankly.

The subtle killing intent was there too.

I raised my head.

“…Why? Are you going to kill me?”

“Maybe.”

Certainly, if he wanted to kill me, there wouldn’t be a better opportunity than now.

If I die here, how would anyone know if an assassin killed me or if he did?

“Belus, you’ll regret it if you kill me here. You know why?”

“……”

“Dad will know you killed me, one hundred percent. Then you’ll die too.”

“……”

Bwee-!!!

Reacting to my killing intent, the snake, ready to jump at any moment, leaped into my chest and cried out wildly.