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CHAPTER 280 – ZOMBIE-SENPAI’S GREAT ADVENTURE 9

—From the perspective of the lost ex-zombie—

♪ A lost little, lost little, zombie-chan~
Where is your home, tell me where~ ♪

Howdy! It’s me, the lost zombie old man!
Not that I’ve ever had a home to begin with!!

(Heh… I’m a rootless wanderer. My path? Wherever the wind takes me.)

Bam! That’s what you call a hardboiled zombie, right!?

See, I gotta practice being the kind of cool uncle who speaks with his back, or else when I reunite with that kid Aun who called me senpai, I’ll just end up letting him down. I gotta be a vibe-handsome guy from now on!

What’s that? My face? It’s just bones—how the hell’s a skeleton supposed to look handsome!?

Well, truth is… this is all just escapism.

Nah, nah, don’t get me wrong! The reason I’ve been daydreaming like this is because of a situation so tragic you can’t tell it without tears.

Eh? What situation?

Just take a look at Lavan’s three heads throwing a standing buffet party behind me…

—Squish, squish…

—Chomp, chomp…

—Gulp. Burp…

What they’re eating right now is the leftover from that giant-ass caterpillar we killed earlier.

But get this—they polished off that massive body in just two days.

In other words, we’re outta food stock!!

Well, can’t be helped, right?

I mean, Lavan’s a fifteen-meter beast with three heads, y’know!? Of course they’ve got an appetite to match.

And there’s no way I could ever force my cute Lavan to chew on tree bark like some pitiful beggar’s pets. That’d make me the worst kind of provider!

The real problem’s this environment, though.

Look around! Sand, sand, nothing but sand!!

This is a blazing desert with mirages dancing in the air. As if there’d be any tree bark lying around here!

Haa… But whining won’t fix anything.

(Hey, Lavan! You full yet?)

「「「Gyarururuu!!」」」

…Hold up. Did you just… get bigger?

Wait. Did you guys… overeat?

「「「……」」」

Hey! Don’t all look away at once!
And I swear one of you just burped earlier!!

Don’t tell me you’ve already been eating way more than enough!?

Come to think of it, after you evolved, while I was busy smacking that King Crimson Ant around, didn’t you gorge yourselves on ants at the oasis?

What was that—a snack? A side dish!?

What is your stomach, the whole damn universe!?

…Sigh. Well, what’s eaten is eaten. No use crying over swallowed meat.

Anyway, unless I find new prey and stock up soon, one day I’ll end up letting them starve.

(Alright then. Time to switch gears—let’s head out and find our next meal!)

「「「GYARRRRAA!!」」」

I climb onto Lavan’s back, and their six wings beat with a mighty whump.

Every time those three pairs spread, the desert’s surface gets blown clean off, sand rising in clouds that blind my sight for a moment—then the very next second, we’re soaring so high the ground looks far below.

Yeah, their abilities definitely shot way up after evolving.

But after hours of circling the desert skies, we still can’t spot any prey. At this point, maybe the critters are noticing Lavan’s giant form and hiding before we even get close.

If only we could stumble on another one of those giant caterpillars we fought earlier—we’d be set with rations for days.

「Gyaru? Gyueeeeh…」

What? You don’t want any more caterpillars? Are you bored of those already…? Quit being spoiled! That’s way better than starving, dammit!

「Gyagyai?」

「Gyu, Gyurururuu!?」

While I was chatting with the middle head, despite flying in open sky, suddenly the sunlight dimmed as though something blocked it.

The next instant, a black shadow swooped down from above and struck at us!

The other two heads reacted, and Lavan twisted sharply, narrowly dodging the assault.

The gray mass dived close to the desert floor, then shot back up in an instant. The wind pressure alone sliced a dune clean in half!

(Wh-what the hell just happened!? That thing is…!)

＜Status＞
Species: Dread Roc
Element: Wind · Earth

Whoa!? That’s one colossal… bird-type monster!?

Alright then—time for my Skull-Dark Eye to appraise it in detail!

Species: Dread Roc
Once merely a mid-sized monster called the roc bird, it underwent grotesque evolution under abnormal magical conditions and forbidden experiments.

Its body grew to incomprehensible size, and the shadow it casts terrifies all beneath it, earning it the name ‘Monstrous Bird’.

It rules a vast territory alone, ambushing prey from above and rending them apart with its beak and talons.

Its intellect surpasses the original species, and it can even wield certain elemental magics at will.

(F-food… it’s here… IT’S HEEEEREEEE!!!!!)

Hell yeah! Lavan!!

Tonight, we feast… on a YAKITORI FESTIVAL!!!

「「「GYURURUUAAAAAA!!!!」」」