Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint-Chapter 512: A Promise is Kept
The easiest way to crush a rebellion is restoration.
Obeli’s Public Officials weren’t exactly kings, but liberating them—and the Obelisk Soldiers—would deal a crippling blow to Orcma. Grull understood that.
Orcma, on the other hand, didn’t even realize their own weakness. They had been so obsessed with expelling Azzy that they had completely neglected Obeli.
At this point, their downfall was practically natural selection.
Smarter than Orcma, for sure. Not that it was a high bar.
“Weren’t you supposed to be looking for Shei? I saw some Beast Faction warriors earlier.”
“More accurately, I was looking for those moving the King of Dogs. I received a report that they were found... but for some reason, I felt like waiting here instead.”
The regressor was the only one capable of facing Grull head-on. I had expected Grull to leave once the regressor started causing chaos—but I had miscalculated.
Still, Grull was someone I had to meet, too.
“What do you want?”
“Leave for the Principality.”
Blunt.
He didn’t seem inclined to explain. So, I did it for him.
“You want me to lure the wolves there, don’t you?”
A pause.
Grull, caught off guard, hesitated briefly before responding.
“...You know.”
“It was just a guess. You’re not a citizen of Ende, and even after the coup, you didn’t try to take control here. Your priority has always been protecting ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ the Beast Faction. Right?”
“‘Protecting’ makes it sound like I’m some kind of king. I merely preserve the natural order.”
Now that I had figured him out, Grull saw no need to hide it.
Arms crossed, he continued.
“The ones you call the Beast Faction are an ancient nomadic tribe that has wandered the plains alongside buffalo for centuries.
They are strong and fierce warriors—but they lack stability.
Floods, droughts, rampaging wild beasts—whenever disaster sweeps across the southern plains, their numbers dwindle.
But disasters always pass. And when better days come, they thrive once more.
That is the natural order.”
“And?”
“But... the wolves have lingered in Enger Plains for too long.”
Grull turned his gaze toward the south—to the lands of Ende, where half the year is dried to a crisp and the other half is flooded.
A land where beasts must constantly move to survive.
And humans as well.
“Floods and droughts come and go.
But a wolf pack that should have grown and declined naturally has lingered too long.
They roam from the lands of the Old Kingdoms to Ende, killing buffalo and attacking humans.”
All of this had happened because the King of Dogs never appeared to fight the King of Wolves.
Grull looked directly at Azzy as he spoke.
“If the King of Dogs is here...
Then the King of Wolves will inevitably move north.
If he reaches the Principality, it will be certain.
I do not care what must be done—as long as the wolves are eliminated.
And if it can be done thoroughly, then luring them to the Principality is the best option.”
For the Beast Faction, all that mattered was removing the wolves from Enger Plains.
What happened to Ende or the Principality was irrelevant.
To the Obeli Watchdogs, however, this was a disaster.
“You’re just going to keep imprisoning the Public Officials...?!”
“That’s not the issue! If we’re trapped between the Principality and the wolves, Ende is finished!”
Even if they freed the Obelisk Soldiers, they couldn’t defeat Grull.
And with the officials still captive, Grull could do as he pleased with Ende.
The Watchdogs went pale. If this continued, the failed coup would result in even worse persecution for the dog beastfolk.
But something didn’t add up.
“Wait. Then why did you come to Ende?
If your goal was just to drive out the King of Wolves, you didn’t need to risk yourself by coming here.”
“There was one possibility I had to confirm.”
“A possibility?”
“The possibility that the King of Wolves could be defeated here.
The surest way to rid Enger Plains of the wolves...
Would be to kill the King of Wolves.”
If things had gone differently, it might have worked.
But then the pig beastfolk had started protesting.
The Obelisk Soldiers had gotten nervous and had antagonized the Beast Faction.
And since the Beast Faction couldn’t risk isolation, they had sided with the pig beastfolk instead.
With the Obelisk Soldiers gone, the pig beastfolk seized power.
That was still fine—until they disappointed Grull.
They had shown neither leadership nor ability.
Instead of fighting, they had chosen to flee.
Disappointing, but not a bad outcome for Grull.
“Looking at the situation now, it’s already hopeless.
The second-best option is the only choice left.”
“So, in the end, you’re pulling out too.”
“A practical decision.
Better than keeping a promise that was never going to be fulfilled.”
No one wanted to fight the wolves.
There were only those who wanted to use them, avoid them, or ignore them.
Grull was no different.
Maybe he had hoped for something more, but...
“Awoooooooo—!!”
A single dog let out a howl.
Even the Obeli Watchdogs—even Grull—were startled by the sudden cry.
Me? My ears hurt.
Because the howl came from right next to me.
“Woof! Woof woof! Awooo!”
Azzy barked a few times toward the sky.
A cry filled with emotions beyond human understanding.
If anyone had ever thought beasts were emotionless creatures, this howl would change their mind.
Azzy’s cry was filled with sorrow—a sorrow so raw it was heartbreaking.
“Awooooo....”
Azzy did not look down.
He howled at the sky.
The King of Dogs represents all dogs.
He took on human form so that humans could understand him.
And the emotion he released in this moment shook all of Ende.
Across the city, dogs began to howl in response.
Even the dog beastfolk, who had been stepping back, stopped in their tracks.
“Your Majesty?”
“Why are you... howling?”
“Awoo, awooo.”
After pouring his soul into his howl, Azzy lifted his head.
A black fissure formed across his forehead.
A crack—unstable, shifting, growing.
Then, like woven plant roots, it pulled together, merging into one.
“Defeat the wolves.”
A crown—split in half—floated above Azzy’s head.
A symbol of the Beast King.
I had lost mine when I lost my power.
But Azzy still bore his, though only half of it.
Half? Wait. Why only half? Where’s the rest?
“If promise kept... If fight together with me and my pack... We win. We can beat the wolves.”
A proclamation.
The crown was the voice of the Beast Kings.
Azzy now spoke for all dogs.
“Fight with me.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
If humans keep their promise,
I will protect them.”
Grull was a beastman.
Like all beastfolk, he had reverence for the Beast King.
But he was also a leader, a chieftain of the Beast Faction.
He hesitated.
“...Even if you say that...”
“It’s fine. I apologize.
Azzy’s request was... too much.”
You tried, Azzy.
But humans won’t move for your sincerity alone.
That’s because Grull—and everyone else here—aren’t beasts anymore.
They’re just humans.
I’ll handle the humans.
“You’re no different from Orcma. What’s the point of asking you?”
“...Orcma?”
Grull’s brow twitched at the comparison.
I had successfully provoked him.
I shrugged.
“Orcma wanted to sacrifice Azzy to run away because they thought they’d lose if they fought.
You were disappointed in them for that.
Yet here you are, planning to sacrifice Ende for your own escape.
No different.”
“If I don’t want to be the same,
I suppose I have to fight the wolves.”
He got to the heart of the matter immediately.
Smart.
But smart people were also dangerous—they could read my intentions, too.
Grull muttered something to himself before looking at me with an odd expression.
“You’re a strange one, magician.”
“What now?”
“You helped Orcma overthrow the Public Officials.
You raised the pig beastfolk to power,
Then mocked them as they destroyed themselves.”
...So he had been paying attention to what happened in Obeli after all.
He hadn’t been sitting around idly—he’d been gathering information.
Grull’s wariness toward me became more evident.
“But now you’re provoking me into fighting the King of Wolves.
What are you really after?
If you wanted a fight,
You could have just not helped Orcma in the first place.”
A realization flickered in his eyes.
His voice sharpened.
“Do you only seek chaos?”
...Damn.
I hate dealing with smart people.
He actually managed to turn it around on me.
But if I wanted Azzy to win, I had to answer.
Grull had reached enlightenment.
His path was already set.
Unless he chose to move, no one could move him.
I had to convince him.
So I answered honestly.
“I don’t believe in certainties.
Not having animal ears doesn’t mean you deserve to rule.
Saying all humans are equal doesn’t justify taking what someone else had.
People use ‘what’s natural’ as an excuse to justify their own desires.”
The Public Officials, who clung to power despite having no strength.
The pig beastfolk, who enjoyed their rule despite having no ability.
Both had been stripped bare of their illusions.
At the core, they were all the same.
I wanted to see that truth.
And I wanted to prove myself right.
“The only thing that’s truly natural is a beast’s desire.
Now that I’ve seen it, it’s time to act.”
Grull watched me closely.
“And that action... is to help the King of Dogs save humans?
Of all things?”
His expression shifted—this interested him.
“What’s the problem?”
“The King of Dogs is a Beast King...
Yet his goal is purer than any human’s.”
That was Azzy’s problem.
Beasts weren’t supposed to be like that.
How many dogs have bitten people in the past?
Yet here he was—the one dog who wouldn’t.
But a promise is a promise.
And promises must be kept.
“This is like those demons that test humans,
Only to end up seeking God more than anyone.”
...Seriously? Are we quoting scripture now?
Just say yes already.
“What about you?
If I’m the mastermind,
What does that make you?”
Grull had given the pig beastfolk a chance.
He had mentored the Piggy Boy.
When the coup started, he helped Orcma.
And now he wanted to interrogate me?
He should try questioning himself first.
“If you wanted to be above it all,
You should have stayed out of Ende completely.
But you didn’t.
The pig beastfolk protested because of you.
They succeeded because of you.
They held power because of you.
The most important factor in Orcma’s rise?
Was when you took down the Obelisk Soldiers.
You made this happen.”
Grull fell silent.
Then he let out a dry chuckle.
“...I suppose I expected too much from my own kin.”
“Then stop expecting things from others.
And start acting for yourself.
Before demanding that your people become better,
Be the example yourself.”
Grull uncrossed his arms.
From the start, he had come to Ende prepared to fight.
He had lost motivation,
But motivation comes and goes.
“...The King of Dogs will fight, even without me?”
“He’s been fighting since before you were born.”
“Don’t misunderstand me.
I’m not fighting for my kin or for honor.
I just think it’ll be worthwhile to fight the King of Wolves.
I refuse to die a dog’s death—or rather, a pig’s death.”
Grull turned.
This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.
His destination?
The prison where the Obelisk Soldiers were held.
An ornate but fortified structure.
Looking back at me and Azzy, he asked,
“Can you win?”
A promise is a promise.
Azzy’s resolve hardened.
“Yes! Win!”
Grull nodded.
Then he gripped the prison’s iron doors—
And ripped them apart like paper.
