SHAMAN PROTOCOL
Chapter 89: The Ruminant King

Chapter 89: The Ruminant King

The ground shook beneath Mikel’s feet, then cracked wide open. In the next second, a loud "Moo!" rang from behind him.

[System Warning: Threat Detected: Manifestation of Oppressed Omen — MOO.]

[Threat Level: High]

[Overview: A once-cursed being trapped in the body of an animal. Now, it is anchored in place, only able to cross dimensions in an Anima.]

[Note: This type is highly compatible with becoming a Phantom due to its immense spiritual capacity.]

Mikel caught the system warnings and managed to process them in the blink of an eye, getting more and more used to Doom’s intrusive presence. However, what he didn’t expect when he looked back at the emerging spirit... was a cow.

A massive cow—on two legs—pounding its chest with boxing gloves.

"Moo!!" Its roar echoed, making the trees shake around them. At the next "moo," one hoof—still glove-wrapped—came crashing down toward him.

"Watch out!" Ran’s scream rang out, voice cracking in panic.

At the same time, Mikel leaped back. The moment he did, the place he’d just stood on shattered, chunks of ground flinging into the hollow below.

Ran jolted, and exhaled in relief when he saw Mikel land a few paces away. His face remained pale as he turned to the towering, upright cow, which was somehow only standing on two legs because the other two were wearing boxing gloves.

"That... that’s massive," he breathed, his own gulps echoing in his ears.

The old grandpa stepped protectively in front of the twins, eyeing the cow. "I guess this isn’t the lucky draw, after all."

"Grandpa..." Boom whimpered, clasping the man’s leg. "Do you know what that is?"

Blitz gripped the other leg, standing behind him with wide eyes locked on the cow. For the bigger members of their group, the cow was undeniably huge. But for toddlers like them? It looked like it could reach heaven.

"It has gloves! That means it wants to fight!" Blitz huffed. "We don’t like beef!"

The grandpa’s expression hardened as he studied the monstrous thing. "Of all the spirits we could’ve gotten... why does it have to be the Ruminant King?"

"That’s the Ruminant King?" Ran’s already-wide eyes darted back to the grandpa, then to the cow. He scanned it up and down, gulping again as he felt the increasing spiritual pressure from it.

"That—that thing is a king?!" Mikel exclaimed, pointing at it like that was somehow the most pressing concern. "How?"

"Among all spirits in this forest, the Ruminant King’s spiritual power is unmatched," the grandpa replied. "In my fifty years of being a student here, I can count on one hand the number of students who managed to capture it. And all of them were very talented and gifted shamans."

He paused, expression stern. "The rest? Not only did they fail the test... they got hurt. Badly."

"What?" Ran’s breath hitched. "Aren’t these supposed to be harmless spirits?"

"Is it going to kill us, Grandpa?" Blitz asked, voice trembling. "I don’t eat beef, I don’t want to be eaten by it too."

"Cows scare me..." Boom muttered, more like disgusted by it, not terrified of it.

All of them looked to the old man, who never once took his eyes off the roaring cow.

"Yes, most are harmless—until the Ruminant King decides to join," the grandpa said. "It’s supposed to be in slumber. It only joins every other year. It already showed up last year, so no one expected it this time. I wonder what woke it up?"

Just as he finished explaining, the cow stopped roaring. The bell tied around its neck gave a faint chime as it lowered its head, flaring its nose like a bull.

"The Ruminant King will return to its slumber once the time limit is up!" the grandpa yelled, gripping the twins. "Let’s buy ourselves some time—"

But before he could finish, Ran dashed forward.

"Run!" he shouted. "I’ll buy us some time!"

"MOO!!" the Ruminant King bellowed again, raising its massive glove before swinging it downward. Its movements seemed slower due to its size, but instinct told them—this wasn’t a weak punch.

"Go!" Ran yelled, flicking a small knife from his pocket and pressing his palm against the body of its blade.

A harsh gust of wind surged past him, whipping his uniform backwards. But Ran stood firm—eyes clear, heart steady.

"I am the red stripe," he murmured, even though doubt had clung to him until now. "At least, for now... I’m the red stripe in this group."

And as the red stripe, the responsibility of protecting his team fell on his shoulders.

"Gallos... please lend me a fraction of your strength," he whispered, resolve sharpening in his gaze. A faint glow flickered behind his palm, dancing like an uncertain flame.

Meanwhile, the grandpa had already begun jogging away, only to realize it was just him and the twins running. He stopped, looked back, and quickly spotted Mikel lingering to the side.

"Mikel!" he yelled. But then, he noticed the curious look on the boy’s face.

Mikel was just... standing there. Watching the Ruminant King’s punch descend on Ran. Not frozen. Just mildly intrigued.

"Big Brother Mikey!" Boom cried out, waving to get his attention.

"Big Brother Mickey! Let’s go! We don’t want beef with it!" Blitz added.

Mikel blinked at them. Then, he reluctantly nodded and started jogging away. He glanced toward Ran, his face twitching—clearly torn—but ultimately let it go. Ran did seem pretty determined to be the red stripe. So, might as well let him tank it.

But just as Mikel took a few steps, something stopped him. A sudden clash of spiritual pressure hit the area like a tidal wave.

He braced himself, feet planted on the ground, arm raised instinctively against the surge.

The twins nearly floated off the ground, and would’ve been blown away if the grandpa hadn’t held on. Even then, his feet slid back inch by inch, barely making it behind the tree to take cover.

And before they could recover, a figure flew back and crashed into a tree with a loud crack.

All eyes followed the impact.

Ran.

He hit the trunk with a sickening crack and crumpled at its base like a broken puppet.

Blitz’s lips quivered, eyes wide, staring at Ran’s figure. "Big Brother... Ran?"

"Kid..." the grandpa exhaled in disbelief.

Meanwhile...

"Unbelievable..." Mikel whispered, equally horrified and impressed. "... that’s... that’s it?"

At the same time, Doom’s screen blinked open:

[Astounding.]