Chasing the Anomaly

The Great Turtle was furious.

Something was violating its territory.

And worse, it was killing its "precious children".

How could it not be angry? What parent wouldn't be furious at the killing of their "precious children"?

If it had been just one or two of the non-precious ones, it might have let it slide.

After all, there were nearly too many offspring to keep track of, almost overflowing from the territory. Weaklings that could be killed so easily weren't needed, even if they were its children. Just convenient culling.

But its "precious children" had been killed. This was different. Before it knew it, even the "precious children" it had marked as successor candidates had been targeted.

The "precious children" it kept close by had wandered into the empty spaces to play and been killed by the intruder, the anomaly.

And then… their bodies had been eaten. Not even shells remained.

Ah, what had its children done to deserve this?

This called for retaliation. It would retaliate for all its children, precious or not.

The Great Turtle, tracking the anomaly by its presence, made its decision.

Yes. It would also have to retaliate against the hairless apes who had left the anomaly behind.

The hairless apes had originally left one of their young behind.

A young one with a small amount of magical power. It had planned to let it age a bit and eat it later.

But that thing had been a weapon meant to kill its kind.

In other words, those hairless apes had picked a fight with it, the Great Turtle. They had declared war.

It would slaughter them all. Yes, indeed. Retaliation. Slaughter. Annihilation. Extinction.

But first, deal with the anomaly.

The Great Turtle called to its remaining precious children, kept them close, and waited at its nest for the thing to attack.

But unbelievably, the anomaly, that thing… fled.

The moment it sensed the Great Turtle lying in wait, it tried to escape the territory.

If it let this one escape, it wouldn't know which hairless ape had been the anomaly, the enemy. The Great Turtle couldn't tell hairless apes apart.

Ah, no.

Well, it could just kill them all anyway.

It could just kill any it found, but then it would never know if it had properly avenged itself on "the one who killed its children".

There were so many of them. If any escaped, and the escapee happened to be the one, it would be meaningless.

So here and now, it had to chase and kill.

The Great Turtle's decision was swift.

Leaving behind its slower children, it went to kill the anomaly, the intruder, the enemy.

As a parent, it had to set an example. Of fighting. Of war. Of killing. Of how to crush enemies.

It found it quickly. There. Kill.

First, rain. Alter the environment to be advantageous.

It had been sunny lately. Too dry for the Great Turtle to move comfortably — its joints were practically turning to powder.

So, rain. Prepare for battle.

Know this: you are an enemy.

Therefore.

I will crush you with everything I have.

Now then. Let us begin.

Atone for your sins. With your life.

 

＊　＊　＊

 

Chased by the Great Turtle, Tria quickened her pace.

The spirit told her to run, so she would run.

A body many times larger than a boar was approaching, toppling trees as it came.

She felt like she could probably crush those eyes now, but no. The spirit had told her to run.

Fortunately, the Great Turtle wasn't fast. No — it was much faster than the Baby Turtles, but still slow enough that Tria could outpace it at a full sprint.

"If we can escape to a safe zone, we win. Keep it up, Tria!"

"Yes, Spirit-sama."

And Tria didn't tire. This body, these legs she had offered to the spirit — they could run endlessly without fatigue.

But then. Right after the Great Turtle looked at her, the situation changed.

Plop.

Moisture touched her cheek.

Plop, plop, patter patter, pitter, pour.

Rain. The rain that hadn't fallen at all lately. It began to fall.

If that was all, it would just be rain. But this was a mountain game trail.

The footing was poor. Wet tree roots and grass became natural traps. She nearly slipped and fell.

The soil turned to mud, clinging to her feet and trying to hold them in place. Sharp stones hidden beneath would jab painfully if stepped on, even if they didn't pierce. Tria was barefoot. Even limbs granted by the spirit had limits.

In other words, it became very hard to run.

Before, when the soil was dry, it hadn't been much of a problem. Now, her speed dropped.

Meanwhile, the Great Turtle charged through without caring about any of that.

She would be caught. At this rate, that prediction would soon become reality.

But Tria had no intention of fighting. The spirit said "run", so she would run. That was all.

"Tria, which way is the village? How much farther?"

"Almost there."

"Good, then—"

She answered the spirit's question.

But the next moment, Tria's body was flung sideways.

For an instant, her vision turned red.

What happened? She rolled and checked — the Great Turtle had extended its neck.

She'd been hit by its swinging head.

"Tria! Are you okay!?"

"… Yes. I'll keep running."

"… I'd like that too, but… that one doesn't seem willing to let us."

She could tell the spirit's voice was worried.

"Is there anything we can — Roll!"

"Yes."

She followed the spirit's voice and rolled. The Great Turtle's foot slammed down where she'd been. She'd nearly been crushed.

"Can't we do something?"

"…?"

The spirit seemed unsure of what to do.

If so.

"Spirit-sama. May I crush the Great Turtle's eyes?"

"! Can you do that?"

"Yes. Probably. Tria can do it, Spirit-sama."

Tria made the proposal. Yes. The spirit was not someone who ignored Tria's opinions.

And Tria realized — there were things even the spirit didn't know.

The spirit knew many things. But yes, having been a halo herself, she understood — that state didn't grant instant knowledge of everything.

Moreover, the spirit hadn't grasped Tria's combat abilities. So it made sense to decide that running was the only option.

In rapidly changing situations like combat or flight, Tria's input was important for making decisions.

She had been neglecting to report, to offer input. Tria realized this.

"Alright, let's crush the Great Turtle's eyes and escape! Blinding it should slow it down! I'd like to finish it off if possible, but if that seems impossible, run immediately!"

"Let's go with that, Spirit-sama. Tria will do her best, okay?"

The battle with the Great Turtle began.

If she could kill it, she was allowed to. Tria licked her lips. The corners of her mouth were raised.