Maybe my worry had been completely pointless.
Well, in stories like this, pretty little kids were usually ridiculously strong.
Shiny black bobbed hair, pale white skin. Obsidian-like black eyes. The slightly upturned corners of her eyes gave her a sharp impression, but there’d be no one who wouldn’t call this girl beautiful.
Even just getting here, it looked like they’d already gone through several battles. Their clothes were dirtied and torn all over. So parts were even stained red, likely with blood.
But none of them seed actually injured.
Well, one of them was holding what could only be a magic staff. It looked heavy enough to be a blunt weapon, but the girl holding it looked way too delicate for that. She didn’t look like the type to go swinging it around either.
Still, this was a world with griffons, and magic powerful enough to control them—so of course healing magic probably existed too. Magic that could erase wounds without even leaving a scar.
If only soone would use that on . But in this situation, I knew that wasn’t going to happen.
Ugh. I hated this.
We were clearly the villains here.
And the Cardinal above was spouting lines that were basically straight out of a comic book villain’s monologue. The purple-haired girl next to him looked visibly shaken, and the black-haired girl at the front looked absolutely furious.
Scary. With a gun in her hand and what could only be a power suit on, she looked like she could shoot right in the head without hesitation.
...
Actually, that wouldn’t be so bad.
I don’t know how long I’ve been like this, but I’ve suffered long enough.
If I could end it here, maybe that’d be better.
Back when I didn’t believe in anything, the idea of death scared —because it ant the end of everything. But now? I know souls exist even after death. So maybe dying as a griffon wouldn’t be so bad after all.
“Mia!”
The black-haired girl shouted the na and sprinted forward.
“Spitus Glacia!”
The girl holding the staff swung it forward and shouted sothing in an unfamiliar language.
A blue light burst from her staff, and ice began forming in front of .
See? A real mage.
I braced for pain—but what appeared before wasn’t a spear or a blade of ice.
It was a staircase.
Stretching all the way up to the second floor above.
The black-haired girl began to run.
She charged up the stairs of ice, feet pounding upward.
“Mia!”
“I know!”
They moved in perfect sync.
Maybe one of them had studied the building’s layout? Going straight for the enemy commander was smart.
Nice. They’re doing great.
Shoot that lunatic old man in the face with your gun.
And if you can, blow off a limb or two of that bastard knight who used to beat .
...That thought only lasted a second.
My head was forced forward again.
I looked down at the girls who were likely her teammates.
It wasn’t my choice.
“...Don’t be afraid.”
The silver-haired girl stepped forward. She held a thin rapier in her hand. Did that an she was skilled in swordsmanship?
But on closer look, her hands were trembling slightly.
Even a wounded, weakened griffon was still a griffon. No one could stand calmly in front of a creature so much larger than themselves.
“I know.”
Another girl stepped forward, also holding a sword. This one had golden hair.
Silver and gold.
They looked elegant—probably noble daughters or sothing. Assuming this world had nobles or royalty. Well, I had heard sothing about an emperor, so probably.
“If we get scared after sending big sis ahead, that’d be pathetic.”
The one who said that had blue hair and wore a bright expression. Probably the most fearless of them all.
So the girl who ran ahead was her sister? Didn’t look like it, but maybe.
Gunshots rang from above. A voice shouted.
It was a man’s voice—shaky with fear.
That kid must already be infamous.
Good. Serves them right.
Alright, guess I should do my best too.
Not to kill these kids, though.
They stepped forward, one ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) at a ti.
I focused everything I had.
Please—don’t let my claws kill these kids.
Don’t let my beak shred their futures.
Let resist, with everything I’ve got.
*
My legs gave out—not because of them.
They did their best. They swung swords at , they cast magic.
Honestly, I was even a little awestruck seeing real magic. Not the kind that had been used to torture and control , but actual spells in battle.
And seeing sword strikes that sent out waves of force—it made wonder if this world’s physics were just fundantally different.
But sadly...
Even when I got hurt, it didn’t hurt anymore.
It was only now that I realized—my body had already reached its limit. No surprise, considering how long they’d left my wounds to fester without ever healing them.
I was already in so much pain that more didn’t even register.
That’s why I collapsed—it was just my body giving out.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
The once-beautiful feathers that had grown so majestically were ragged. My proud wings were tattered, patches of bare skin showing through.
The only parts they hadn’t touched were my beak and claws, which ant those kids had been hurt by .
Apparently healing magic had limits too—because the silver-haired girl was bleeding.
And just like that, the battle ended.
While I’d been under the magic’s control, I could at least stand. But now, I had no strength left at all.
I collapsed to my knees and lowered my head.
The kids were talking about sothing, but I couldn’t even process their words anymore.
I wanted it to be over.
Why had I ended up in this world? Why had I been put through this?
Should I cling to what little consciousness I had left... or just let go?
Footsteps echoed.
That tallic sound—reflexively, my head snapped up.
I knew that sound too well. Greaves.
Every ti I heard that sound, it ant I was about to be kicked.
But what I saw wasn’t the knight.
It was the girl at the front—the one whose hair was now more tangled than before, her clothes torn.
But not a single wound on her.
The girl who had charged up the ice stairs.
Her na was “Sylvia,” apparently.
Her armor was dented and broken, but she stood tall on her own two feet.
And in her hand, raised high—
Was a shattered gem.
The one the high-ranking priest had worn around his neck to control .
So that’s why.
That’s why they can’t control anymore.
“You’re safe now.”
She said gently as she walked toward .
“This artifact is destroyed. It won’t bind you any longer.”
I raised my head just a little higher.
Was it her voice that cleared my vision? For the first ti in a while, everything looked sharper.
She lifted the gem even higher, almost as if to make sure I could see.
Relief.
Just the thought that it couldn’t control anymore—that it couldn’t force to hurt anyone—filled with peace.
And to top it off, it was shattered before it ever did anything useful. That battle just now had been the only thing I could call “combat” in this whole experience—and it ended before I even did anything.
Sylvia t my gaze for a while, then tucked the gem into her pocket.
She looked at for a long mont, then cautiously stepped closer.
Her hesitant hand touched .
A sharp jolt of pain followed. It started small—but quickly beca unbearable. Apparently, my injuries were far worse than they looked. I barely even noticed the new wounds I got during the fight.
She must’ve touched an infected wound. As soon as she did, a sound escaped my throat from the pain.
Startled, she took a step back and looked up at .
“...”
Then, after hesitating—
“Co with us,” she said quietly.
She slowly stepped backward, never taking her eyes off .
...It almost made laugh.
Did she really think I could understand her? Were griffons in this world known for understanding human speech?
Then again, those bastards who locked up acted like I could understand them too.
I didn’t listen to them, of course—but this girl was different.
She was the one who freed .
And this body was on the verge of collapse anyway. Listening to a human’s voice one last ti didn’t sound so bad.
I stood up.
Every joint scread in protest, but I didn’t care.
Sylvia only turned her back to once she saw I was standing.
She walked toward the slightly open door—the one they had co through.
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