NOVEL'S EXTRA: I Will Die at the Peak-Chapter 74: Sweet Rabbits

Among the grass swaying gently in the wind, I kept replaying Juuhra’s words in my mind.

Eform... Enform...

The terms sounded complex—but they didn’t tell me anything new. I had realized long ago: I could transfer a certain amount of capacity to any living creature I touched, slowly making them capable of evolution.

What Juuhra described was just a more natural, slower version of that process. Interesting, perhaps—but not directly useful to me.

What truly caught my attention was something else:

The Empress.

According to Juuhra, the wolves had fled from her. That meant she wasn’t just anyone. If they feared her, she had to be powerful.

Without taking my eyes off the sky, I asked Juuhra:

"Do you have any other information about this ’Empress’?"

Juuhra paused briefly before answering:

"The wolves reached the deepest part of this forest while running from her. Normally, they took about a month to get here, because they stopped often to rest.

But if someone were to travel directly, without delay... it would be possible to reach that place in about one or two weeks."

After another short silence, he added:

"Other than that... there’s no more information." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Ravien never asked how Juuhra knew all this. Just like with Asogi, he assumed Juuhra had a similar ability.

"One or two weeks, huh..."

He held onto the thought.

The detail had piqued his interest. For a brief moment, he felt indecisive—whether he should go or not.

But right after, he collected himself:

"There are more pressing matters right now. Maybe I’ll revisit this later," he thought.

He closed his eyes. A faint smile appeared on his lips. One last thought passed through his mind:

"My capacity’s been draining fast again. Right now, I’ve got about twenty percent left.

I gave half of it to the parasite... Then I turned the horse, healed myself—guess I didn’t notice it slowly recovering. Even if it’s small, there’s progress. Around two percent. So there is a return from what I give."

Ravien then set those thoughts aside.

At the moment, he didn’t want to do anything.

He just wanted to rest in this peaceful, quiet space.

Juuhra remained motionless beside him, still watching the sky in silence.

Asogi had already cut down dozens of trees—and he still wasn’t stopping.

His father had told him to only choose medium-sized trees. Sticking to that rule, Asogi moved forward, mimicking his father’s sword techniques with each swing. Over time, his strikes had become more precise, more controlled.

The sword he wielded now looked different. An eye-shaped mark had appeared on the hilt, faintly glowing, and its once dull surface was gradually transforming—gaining definition and forming a jagged, tooth-like structure.

Without hesitation, Asogi continued cutting through the trees.

-

Somewhere Else

Deep in the western woods, hidden between thick trees, there was a small clearing—one almost no one knew about.

There, a tribe of rabbit-like beings lived—each around eighty centimeters tall, walking upright on two legs, with faintly human features. There were about sixty of them. All were covered in pure white, fluffy fur.

Their intelligence had evolved just enough to grow their own carrots and maintain a simple communal order. At some point during evolution, they had reached an "enform"—just like some of the larger species.

They made their homes by hollowing out spaces in the trunks of trees. During the day, they would take short walks through the forest, then return to their burrows. Their conversations were typically simple, but emotionally rich.

That day, a young rabbit named Namnam walked with a carrot in his mouth. He paused and turned to his friend beside him:

"Lately... I’ve been feeling uneasy. Like something is about to happen. I can’t stop eating carrots because of it. Do you think that’s normal, Kiki?"

Next to him, an older and more serious-looking rabbit named Kiki let out a low grumble:

"Maybe it’s because of the missing rabbits. Some of them have vanished over the last few days. It feels like something is watching us from inside the forest... but the Patriarch isn’t doing anything about it."

> The Goat of God is always beside God. Its gaze is timeless, and its footsteps are silent.

The two rabbits continued walking quietly into the deeper parts of the forest.

After a brief pause, Namnam asked with worry in his voice:

"You just said there might be a predator in the forest... So why are we moving further away from the burrow?"

An unexpected excitement appeared on Kiki’s face. His eyes sparkled as he took a step ahead:

"I’m curious. We’ve barely gone beyond the burrow since we were born. What if there are other intelligent species like us? What if... we discover something new?"

Namnam wasn’t as eager, but he didn’t argue. He followed silently.

> The Goat of God is beautiful. So beautiful that sight itself loses meaning. Beauty becomes an illusion, twisted in the shadow it casts.

As the pair ventured deeper, a sharp, heavy scent began to fill the air. It layered itself over the forest’s natural humidity—thick and suffocating.

Namnam wrinkled his nose, face contorting:

"What is that? It’s awful... It’s making me sick."

Kiki stopped. His ears pulled back. He stood silently for a few seconds before speaking slowly:

"That smell... could it be... rotten carrots?"

> The voice of God’s Goat is like a melody. Once you hear it, you can never forget it. It keeps playing in your mind... and binds itself to you.

Namnam’s steps began to slow. As his eyes scanned the surroundings, a growing sense of unease welled up inside him.

"Kiki... I think we should go back," he said, his voice trembling. "I have a really bad feeling. I’m not okay."

Kiki didn’t say anything. But the slight bristling of his fur revealed his concern. Even so, he didn’t stop.

"If you want to turn back, you can," he said after a short silence. "But I’m going to keep going."

Namnam hesitated for a moment. He glanced behind them, took a deep breath, and kept walking—trailing quietly behind his closest friend.

They had strayed far from the burrow. The forest was getting darker and quieter. Even the birds had gone silent.

Soon, a strange black, sticky liquid began appearing on the tree trunks. At first, it showed up only on a few.

But as they moved deeper, nearly every tree was coated in the thick substance. A dense, heavy stench filled the air—something foul and suffocating, like rotting flesh mixed with wet soil.

Both rabbits were careful not to touch the substance. They found a narrow path and proceeded with cautious, deliberate steps. But their pace slowed with each step.

The black matter was so thick now, it had started blocking the trail altogether.

Namnam finally stopped. Disgust was written all over his face. He turned around abruptly:

"See? It’s just stinking sludge! That’s enough... Please, let’s go back now."

Kiki had taken a few more steps, but he too realized they’d reached the end of the path.

"Alright... Then let’s try a different direction," he said in a low voice. "Maybe it’ll be different there."

The two of them began to turn back, preparing to head toward another trail, when—

> God’s Goat is the eye of God. It is tasked with showing you what you do not wish to see.

Suddenly, a strange, jarring sound tore through the forest. It didn’t sound like any animal—or any living thing.

It was high-pitched, thin, and torturously sharp. The rabbits froze in place.

"Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh..."

The sound echoed across the entire forest. Its tone didn’t just reach the ears—it sank straight into their nervous systems. Every vibration passed through their fur and struck the bone.

The two small rabbits began to tremble uncontrollably. Their bodies shook with a fear they could neither suppress nor explain.

Namnam’s eyes widened, his ears pinned flat against his head. Instinct had fully taken over.

"Run, Kiki! Run! Something’s coming!" he screamed, bolting back in the direction they had come.

Kiki froze for an instant, then lunged after him. His fur still bristled. His feet pounded the ground as he followed close behind.

As they fled into the darkness, they stumbled through brambles, branches scraped their faces, and they nearly tripped over their own legs. Their hearts pounded so violently it felt like their chests would burst.

But the real terror wasn’t what lay ahead—it was what followed behind.

The massive trees began falling one after another with deafening cracks. Something invisible was moving through the forest, crushing everything in its path.

> God’s Goat, Kheret, had completed its capacity absorption. And now, it continued on its path—toward its God. And in the direct path ahead... was a small rabbit tribe.

The ground trembled. Trees were ripped from their roots, their trunks crashing to the ground like thunder from the heavens.

While running, Kiki suddenly stopped. Curiosity overcame his fear. He turned around and tried to see.

And in that moment, he saw something.

If he had tried to describe what he saw... his tongue would have failed him.