Chapter 27: The Gathering Three-Eyed Eagles
A sharp, piercing cry echoed across the surroundings.
“Kiee!”
“Ah!”
Looking up, Ren felt as though he made eye contact with a three-eyed eagle.
The three-eyed eagle circled once, then suddenly dove straight toward him.
“Now of all times—don’t come now!”
Trying to dodge the attacking eagle, Ren jumped to the side. At the same time, the rope holding the blood-dripping horn rabbit swung violently, scattering drops of blood.
The three-eyed eagle twisted midair and came at him again.
“Waaah!”
He didn’t even have time to pull out the hardened emergency bread he had prepared to throw. Instead, he quickly held up his small box in front of him.
BANG!
“Kie!”
The three-eyed eagle slammed directly into the box without even trying to avoid it and crashed into the grass.
Flap, flap!
Ren struck the struggling eagle with the box again.
“Geez!”
The horn rabbit hanging from his right hand continued dripping blood as it swayed back and forth.
After confirming the horn rabbit’s condition, Ren focused and imagined removing the air from the box containing the struggling eagle.
“Kiee!”
Along with another cry, a black shadow cut across the sky above him.
“…Huh?”
Another three-eyed eagle had arrived.
“Another one!? Why?!”
Ren nearly screamed at the sudden second attack.
He managed to use the box as a shield, deflecting the second eagle’s charge, and subdued it in the same way.
After placing the drained horn rabbit into a sack and storing it in the box, he contained both eagles in the box without bleeding them and quickly left the area.
Blood from the horn rabbit had splattered everywhere.
“Phew… I really wish they wouldn’t show up while I’m bleeding them… seriously… seriously…”
Ren walked toward the edge of the forest and looked for a suitable branch.
Keeping watch around him, he tied the three-eyed eagle’s legs with a rope and hung it from a tree branch.
He tried to insert a knife into its neck, but the body swayed back and forth, making it difficult, so he had to steady it with his hand.
The three-eyed eagle’s body was still warm—too freshly dead—and it felt unsettlingly real.
He frowned without meaning to, his lips tightening.
Ren began to suspect that the three-eyed eagles were being drawn in by the smell of blood.
Earlier, when he was bleeding the horn rabbit, he had seen one circling near that area—and then another had flown straight toward him.
“Again!? Geez! I told you not to come now!”
He once again pulled out the small box as a shield.
Whether the eagle could not see it or simply didn’t care, it slammed right into it.
Thud!
“…Wait. Does this mean… if I’m bleeding them, more and more of them just keep coming?”
He gave up on bleeding the third eagle and stored it in the box as it was.
After finally finishing the bleeding process for the others, he stuffed them into a sack and left the area.
As he turned back, he saw yet another three-eyed eagle land near the entrance to the forest.
Ren let out a tired sigh.