Isekai Lizardman Survival Log

Crack―

As I pushed the spear held in both hands like a shield, yellowed teeth dug into the shaft.

“Grrrr….”

Yellow drool dripped between the open jaws. Its eyes were not just bloodshot but bright red, and its body was covered in black spots.

Ur, was it? They said it was a small dog, but its size had grown considerably. Wouldn’t it be at least as big as a retriever? It’s so big you’d believe it if someone said it was a wolf, not a dog.

Creak―

A creaking sound came from the spear shaft, suggesting strong bite force. I promised to return it intact, so I can’t let it be destroyed.

“Yelp!”

When I raised my leg and kicked from my awkward posture, it let go of the spear and backed away. I glanced at the spear; there were teeth marks, but they weren’t too deep.

‘It won’t break.’

With my left hand forward, I lowered the spear tip and met the gaze of eyes that showed not even a fragment of reason.

The beast, its eyes gleaming with madness, seemed to lack patience. After our eyes met briefly, it leaped at me.

Matching the beast’s jump, I stepped forward with my right foot and swung the spear upward.

Pushing down with my right hand and up with my left, the spear drew an arc and pierced the beast’s maw.

Thwack

“Yelp?!”

The beast, having its vital point struck in an instant, flew backward. Perhaps due to the critical hit, it floundered on the ground for a moment.

“Hya―!”

Kart jumped in and swung his axe down. Though smaller than Karakt’s axe, its power wasn’t much different.

Thwack

The startled beast quickly leaped backward to dodge, but the axe struck its front leg, which it couldn’t quite avoid.

The axe, swung with enough force to crush bone, roughly struck the front leg, but it only managed to cut the skin slightly, not even reaching the bone.

“Woah―!”

Displeased that he couldn’t cut the leg, Kart shouted and leaped at the beast whose posture had crumbled.

There must have been some damage, as the beast jumped with an awkward posture.

“Yelp―!”

Kart’s axe struck down on the beast’s front leg again, which couldn’t jump properly.

The axe, hitting precisely where the skin had been torn, ripped through the dark red muscle exposed between the skin.

As the axe was pulled out, murky blood flowed, and a nauseating smell like mixed filth stung my nose.

-Woah―!

Just as the terrible smell was about to make me dizzy, Kart’s shout ringing in my head brought me back to my senses.

“Seems it ate quite a lot.”

Whatever it had eaten, the blood reeked of a nauseating sewer smell.

Given its increased size and how sturdy its body was, I had expected this, but it seems to have eaten a lot.

Despite my attempt to pierce through with that momentum, it withstood, and although Kart managed to wound it, judging by the amount of blood that flowed out, the wound wasn’t very deep.

It’s tougher than I thought, but the skin doesn’t seem that tough, so it must be enduring with the durability of its muscles.

In this case, I have no choice but to aim for vital points like the eyes…

‘Surely its eyes aren’t that tough.’

If they are, this could get quite troublesome.

As I lowered the spear tip again and faced off with it, it seemed to have developed some wariness, merely growling without charging.

If it won’t move, I’ll have to make the first move.

With the spear tip lowered, I bent my upper body as if falling and charged at the beast.

The beast, highly cautious, jumped with an awkward posture, but…

“Eep?!”

A huge tree blocked its back.

It was the result of being subtly guided here and there while being hit by Kart, but the beast, devoid of even a fragment of reason, didn’t notice.

“Peekaboo∼.”
“Yelp―!”

Crack―

The price was high.

Lulu, who had somehow climbed onto a branch above the beast, leaped down and assaulted it.

Aided by gravity, Lulu fell directly onto the beast’s waist, which was startled by hitting its rear on the tree.

As she landed with her full weight on the characteristically weak waist of a canine animal, there was a breaking sound and its waist collapsed.

Lulu continued to press down with her weight on the collapsed waist.

“Well done―! Lulu―!”

Kart leaped at the beast, which couldn’t move due to being pinned by Lulu, and swung his axe down.

The weighted axe was blocked by the beast’s skull, which proved quite sturdy, only leaving a scratch.

“Grrr―!”

Thinking it might really die like this, the beast forcefully raised its collapsed waist and shook its body violently.

Lulu and Kart, their postures broken by the beast’s sudden action, were thrown off.

Lulu spun once in the air and landed gracefully on all fours, but.

Thud―.

Kart fell on his back with a heavy sound and rolled on the ground a couple of times.

The beast, probably due to its collapsed waist, couldn’t move easily even after shaking them off.

Not missing the opportunity, I leaped in and thrust the spear with that momentum.

As the spear tip approached its face, the beast turned its head, leaving its immobile legs behind, but.

Whoosh―

“I got it!”

Chik-chik’s elongated tail fixed the beast’s head in place. The spear tip reflected in the beast’s surprised eyes.

The spear tip, drawing an arc as it rose, pierced the beast’s eye and dug in beyond.

As I felt a squishy sensation transmitted through the spear tip to my hand, I moved my right hand like rowing an oar, stirring inside.

The beast shook as if electrocuted, and when I pulled out the spear, it immediately went limp as if dead.

“Ur meow…”

Nabi called its name sadly seeing this sight, but it’s not over yet.

“Chik-chik, back off.”
“Yes!”

Chik-chik released its tail that had been fixing the beast’s neck and returned it to its original length.

Soon, the limp corpse shuddered as if alive.

“Eek…!”

Ignoring Nabi’s scream, the corpse kept shuddering, then planted its limp front paws on the ground and stood up.

“Grrrr….”

As soon as a cracked howl was heard from its throat, black blood gushed out from every orifice of its body.

“Groooo―!”

The black blood that flowed out soon surrounded the corpse and enveloped it like a cocoon.

“It’s my first time seeing this in person―.”
“How interesting∼.”
“Lulu, don’t touch it.”

I stopped Lulu, who was about to poke the cocoon with her claws out of curiosity. She retracted her claws, looking a bit disappointed.

“W-what is this meow?”
“Come to think of it, Nabi doesn’t know, right?”

At Chik-chik’s words, Nabi nodded blankly with a face drained of all color.

Well, it’s natural not to know. Usually, people would be caught and die before performing human sacrifice to this extent.

He probably did it with goblins and beasts too, but his vessel must have been small.

That’s why his spirit and flesh deteriorated quickly, causing the incident to occur before the people of Kandol village could figure out what was happening.

“How much do you know about dhampirs?”
“Um…. Not much meow…”

Seeming dejected at being the only one who didn’t know, Nabi slumped down. Chik-chik stroked its head, saying it was okay.

“It’s okay! It’s normal not to know!”
“Is that so meow…?”

Nabi looked up, seemingly cheered up by Chik-chik’s comfort. When I nodded, its expression brightened considerably.

“Then what’s the relationship between Ur and dhampirs meow?”
“Dhampirs become vampires when they die.”

Vampires’ hearts don’t beat. They’re living corpses that sustain life solely on the vitality in blood.

Ironically, dhampirs are descendants of these creatures who are fine even with their heads cut off but have weak hearts.

They are beings born by vampires seeking rest, destined to hunt vampires until the moment of their death.

Dhampirs, living with the power of vampires, wage an endless war against vampires while alive, but become the very vampires they’ve hunted so much when they die.

What relationship could there be between these pitiful beings who can’t find rest even in death and a beast consumed by magic?

The magic of human sacrifice borrows the power of blood-drinking from vampire authority. As one continues human sacrifice, their spirit and flesh become polluted, bringing them closer to becoming a vampire.

As a result, they become half-like dhampirs. Becoming a quarter-vampire and half-dhampir, their body is imbued with a faint vampire mystery.

This is [False Immortality].

It’s the curse engraved in blood that takes away even the rest of death from the pitiful dhampirs who are the very origin of vampires and have lived their entire lives for their destiny.

The blood cocoon surrounding the corpse is a preparation process for the creature inside to be reborn as a moving corpse.

“Then shouldn’t we attack now meow?!”
“There’s no need to rush.”

As I said before, it’s not a real dhampir but a half-baked one. Moreover, it’s a half-baked one whose spirit and flesh have been polluted by fragments borrowed through magic, not proper authority.

How could a half-baked imitation properly resurrect? Even if left alone like that, a vampire won’t pop out.

Rather than meddling with the cocoon and creating strange variables, it’s easier to wait for it to come out and then kill it.

“So don’t worry too much and just watch from there.”
“Alright meow…”

Still looking doubtful, Nabi alternated between looking at me and the cocoon, but eventually seemed to decide to trust me and nodded.

Nabi leaned against the tree, seemingly relaxed now. Lulu quietly approached Nabi, picked it up, and held it in her arms.

Perhaps due to the tension being released? Nabi, looking tired, accepted whatever Lulu did without resistance.

“But we caught it pretty easily.”
“That’s right∼.”
“Hmm―!”

We did catch it easily. There wasn’t much of a battle to speak of.

“I didn’t get to do much―.”
“It’s okay∼. Kart tried his best too∼.”

Kart sighed, seemingly disappointed that he couldn’t inflict proper damage on it.

Lulu approached Kart with Nabi in her arms and lowered her tail to stroke Kart’s cheek.

“You were plenty helpful, so don’t worry.”
“Is that so―.”

Only when I spoke up did Kart seem to accept it, nodding and sitting down leaning against a tree.

Lulu, who had been in the tree, quickly came down and sat next to him, stroking Nabi.

Lulu’s tail continued to stroke Kart’s cheek. Kart didn’t seem to mind, closing his eyes and quietly relieving his fatigue.

“Heave-ho.”

As everyone settled in their places, Chik-chik climbed onto my head as if it was its designated spot.

It settled on my neck and rested its head on my crown.

I smiled bitterly at that natural movement and kept watch on the surroundings with the spear shouldered.

The beasts that sensed the ominous signs would have already fled the area, but if anything approaches, I’ll have to chase it away or take it down.

Above all, it’s still not clear where the human sacrifice magic was learned.

Whether it was learned independently at some altar existing somewhere in the forest, or if those unlucky troll bastards secretly taught it.

It’s a bit of a stretch to say the trolls taught it, but those creatures might really do such a thing.

Crack―

The sound of cracking snapped me out of my thoughts. Chik-chik, who had been lying on my crown, quickly climbed onto a tree branch, and Lulu put Nabi down next to it.

Crack―

The crack that had appeared on the cocoon spread widely, and from inside the cocoon that peeled off like a shell, blood-red eyes appeared.

-Grooooar―!