46 – A Hole

It took me a while to process those supposedly simple words. "What?"

"Anyone whose butthole is attacked, they will feel pain…. Or at least feel very uncomfortable."

The idea is absurd, but strangely enough, it makes sense. The question is, who will attack this giant horse's butthole?

The chariot-pulling creature turned another corner, forcing us to hold on tighter.

"Unfortunately, this horse doesn't have a butt hole," Ayre shouted.

I looked at the shapeshifter and found she climbing up to us.

"Well, of course. It doesn't even have a mouth, so why need a hole to defecate?" I mumbled, unsure whether to be disappointed or relieved.

Should I find another way or a different hole…. My gaze turned to the horse's head, which continued to emit smoke like an old train.

"Hey, Ayre, Szur." I pointed to that part. "Is that smoke coming out of a hole too?"

Ayre, who had just got on the horse's back, as well as Szur, simultaneously stared at this creature's head.

"It is possible, my lord," Ayre answered.

"We don't know what will happen, but it can't hurt to try." I continued.

Szur responds. "But we don't know how big the hole is. The black smoke is too thick."

"Even if the hole is big, we just have to stuff it until it's full." I turned my head to the undead who were still hanging from the chariot and the horse's body. "Hey, you undead! Get into that hole in the horse's head!"

There was no response. They didn't move at all from their position.

"Can't you hear me!?" I tried again with a louder voice. "Come up here and get into the hole in this damn creature's head!"

Szur commented. "Looks like only Emily can control them."

I hit the horse's body in frustration.

Ayre lined me up. "I can change my body to suit the size of the hole, big or small."

As I stared at the shapeshifter, I flinched. The woman's face was already shaped like fluttering fat flakes. It seems this is due to the insane speed, just like when I carried her to the Honeywich back then.

Szur's laughter exploded again. "Sorry, Your Majesty! Szur couldn't hold his laughter anymore! This is so funny!"

I shook my head. "No, Ayre. We don't know what will happen if you plug that hole with your body…."

My words were cut short because suddenly Ayre kicked my hands, making my grip break.

"Sorry!"

My body was rolling in the air for a moment, but I could stabilize it and fly, trying to get to the demon chariot.

"Damn it!" I cursed. Even though Ayre hadn't been with me for long, and she wasn't a succubus that satisfied me, the fear of losing her was still there.

It seems I can't escape that feeling. This was in stark contrast when I let Fergus die, even though the man claimed to be the most loyal to me.

At that time, I don't feel I have a bond with him yet.

"Arrrgggghhh!!!" Szur was also thrown in the air, and I caught him.

"Szur tried to stop her, my lord." Szur sighed. "But she attacked me."

I bit the corner of my lips, flying at full speed, but that demon chariot left me.

Why are you doing this, Ayre?

Then, just as the smoke in its head cleared, the horse came to a sudden stop, sending it tumbling. Instead of standing up again, that creature floundered on the ground.

"Looks like Ayre succeeded, my lord," Szur muttered.

"Ayre!!!" I flew towards the horse's head, finding something the color of human skin covering a five-foot hole. "Get yourself out of there!"

I haven't gotten there yet, but a black explosion occurred. I felt a tremendous push, sending me flying. My ears also couldn't hear anything other than the thunderous boom from the blast.

My vision spun around for a while, and I managed to stabilize my flight again.

"Damn it!" From a distance, I stared at the thick black smoke that had gathered together.

"Did we succeed?" Szur hissed.

I descended to the ground, continuing to observe the plume of smoke. My heart was pounding, and my head was filled with a question: Have I really lost one of my subordinates?

"Ayre!" I shouted, approaching the black smoke that was about 20 feet high. "Are you there!?"

"I don't think it would be wise to go to that thing." Szur, walking next to me, suggested. "We don't know what danger is there."

I don't care. I kept walking, and stayed alert for what might happen. "Ayre, answer me, please!"

"I'm here, Your Majesty."

That answer made me turn my head to the side. Not far from me, I found the shapeshifter walking. Even so, I couldn't immediately breathe a sigh of relief because of that woman's appearance.

No. It wasn't because of her injuries. Not even a single scratch can be seen on her body.

It's just that she looks like a midget now. Her facial appearance and head size are like those of an adult , but her body was like a three-year-old's.

For the umpteenth time, Szur burst out laughing.

Ayre stopped in front of me, then looked up. "I apologize for kicking you out of the blue, my lord. Otherwise, I have no chance of doing that. You will try to stop me."

"What happened?" I'm still not used to her uncanny form.

"A part of my body was crushed during the explosion." She explained. "Fortunately, I could gather my consciousness to one point, though not all of it. I forgot how to fight." The shapeshifter then pointed at Szur, who was still laughing. "I forgot his name too."

"Are you kidding me?"

She shook her head. "No, sir. I completely lost some of my memory. But, at least my personality is still there."

You don't have a solid personality, to begin with.

"Hey, sir." She called Szur. "Whoever your name is, I'm sorry to have thrown you. I knew our lord would be able to catch you."

"You forgot my name too?"

She nodded. "Yes."

I froze, still trying to process what had happened. Then, I took a deep breath.

"Ayre..." I was about to scold the shapeshifter, but my attention was drawn to the black smoke suddenly sucked into the center.

There was a black sphere floating above the fragments of the giant horse. It was probably about two feet in size.

I felt like that was the thing that sucked in the black smoke.

"Don't you find the fragments of the horse strange, Your Majesty?" Ayre asked.

"Yes." I stared at the fragments Ayre was referring to.

They were all squares of varying sizes and were too neat as explosion fragments. And I guess those are not flesh, as they should belong to living things, but metal or something.

"Ah, we've to find Emily. I hope she's okay...." I fell silent as those fragments vibrated.