Chapter 137
Shoebill.
A bird classified under the order Pelecaniformes, family Balaenicipitidae, and genus Balaeniceps.
It is nocturnal and sleeps among the grass during the day, often acting alone rather than in groups.
It prefers to eat fish in wetland areas, but sometimes preys on snakes and baby crocodiles.
With its oddly melancholic face and still, unmoving behavior, it was a little-known animal favored by a niche group of humans.
"Ugh, guh......"
The back room in the gang's hideout.
There, a two-meter-tall Shoebill was holding a man by the neck, lifting him into the air.
Though it was called a Shoebill, it wasn't exactly a bird.
There stood a shirtless, muscular man with the head of a bird.
"Wha!?"
"A bird!? No, a human!?"
"It's neither! It's just a plain monster!"
Faced with a scene too surreal to believe, Eric and the others shouted in confusion.
Hearing their voices... the Shoebill glanced at Eric and the others as they entered the room.
"Kuruhkuu......"
Then, it let out a soft cry.
As a side note—or rather, a completely useless fact—Shoebills are birds whose voices have degenerated, and they don't cry out.
As expected, the thing before them didn't seem to be a real Shoebill.
"Well, obviously! From the neck down, it's human!"
Eric blurted out.
The creature before them still had the man suspended in the air, radiating an overwhelming aura.
"Kuruhkuu......"
"Ugh......"
However... it threw the man it was holding down onto the floor.
It turned its body around and faced Eric and the others.
"Tch......!"
"Be careful, it's coming!"
Vincent warned his companions.
The four of them readied their weapons and took up battle stances.
"Kuruhkuu"
However, the Shoebill didn't attack.
White wings sprouted from its back, and its feet lifted off the ground.
"Wha......!"
"Whoa!?"
Then... the Shoebill shot headfirst into the ceiling, creating a large hole and escaping outside.
Eric and the others shielded their faces with both hands to protect themselves from the falling debris.
"W-What the heck was that...... just now......"
Eric muttered in a daze.
Looking up at the hole in the ceiling from below, the color of the evening sky was framed perfectly by its shape.
Could it be that it flew off into the sky just like that?
"Was that... um, a bird beastkin?"
"There's no way a beastkin would be in this country... maybe it was a monster?"
Luy and Will said such things, but... Eric suddenly realized something.
"No... that might have been an angel."
"An angel... that thing? Are you serious?"
At Eric's words, Vincent's voice cracked as if questioning his sanity.
Many painters and religious figures have depicted angels in paintings... but the Shoebill they just saw looked nothing like them.
"I once saw an angel that Reina summoned with magic... it had the head of a bear, but from the neck down, it looked very similar..."
Eric said as he fiddled with his frizzy hair.
If that thing really was an angel... then there was only one human who could have sent it.
"Ah, this guy...!"
"What is it, Luy?"
"This guy's the gang boss! The one we were trying to capture!"
Luy said, crouching beside the tattooed man lying on the floor.
The man lying there was rough-looking and covered in tattoos.
He appeared to be in his forties, with dreadlocks and a prominent, hawk-like nose.
His appearance matched the information they had gathered beforehand.
He was the gang boss who had made this building his base.
"Looks like he's still alive... but he's in really bad shape."
"A big win... or so I'd like to say, but we didn't do anything."
Vincent frowned, and Will shook his head.
Judging from the state of the previous room, the gang had already been annihilated.
They had also managed to capture the boss.
However, the fact that everything had been resolved without them doing anything left them feeling like a fishbone was stuck in their throats.
"......Let's move on. We need to focus on what we have to do now."
Eric said with a sigh.
Though the words were directed at his companions, it sounded like he was also talking to himself.
"We'll take this man to the knights. If we've captured the boss, the noble backing him won't be able to do anything... Also, Will."
"Right, we need to gather evidence that the noble was involved in their crimes, correct?"
"Yeah, we're turning over every drawer and safe!"
With a sense of desperation, Eric and the others captured the gang and gathered evidence of their crimes.
After a while, they completed their mission and left the gang's hideout.
With this... one of the gangs targeting Reina was destroyed.
They had also brought down the noble who had been using them for criminal activities, but a lingering sense of unease remained in Eric and the others' hearts.