Before I say anything else, let me tell you that Rir and the Rir family would never be humanized for the rest of their lives, lol.
Rir was, you know, a fluffy wolf, and that's okay.
If he was not fluffy, he was not Rir. That's the motto I wanted to live by!
Suddenly, Rir's body was enveloped in light.
As if seeping out from a different dimension, the light leaking from the surroundings gathered on Rir's body – and then the transformation was complete.
"Oh…"
Before I knew it, Rir was wearing what looked like transparent armor.
Horse armor, perhaps?
If Rir were to wear it, it would be wolf armor, but in short, it was designed in such a way that it was not intended to be worn alone, but with someone riding on top of it…
There was something like steam being released from the armor. It resembled the Fighting Spirit that was rising from Rir, but it was made up of magical power that was so dense that it could be seen physically.
It was, for example, particularly dense on Rir's eyes that it made them look intimidating. I wondered if the vision was enhanced as well.
Perhaps, if seen at night, his eyes would appear like fireballs.
And then there was the familiar pattern that ran throughout the armor.
…Judging from the shape of the armor, this must have been influenced by my race's evolution.
The design was very similar to that of the third form of the divine spear.
It was quite stylish and super cool.
Next, I looked at Rir's status, which I hadn't checked yet.
"…It's gone up so much."
Rir's status had also grown just as much as the change in my status when I became a High Lord.
He became stronger.
In terms of rank, he had probably just stepped into the Catastrophe class.
A monster that could cause a catastrophe.
It was the next rank after the Disaster rank.
Well, there was a huge wall between the Disaster class and the Catastrophe class.
And there were two things in the status that I was not familiar with.
His class had changed to High Wolf, and he had gained a unique skill God Form.
The High Wolf… I was sure it had changed in response to my High Lord.
The difference between my race change and his class change was that, even though his growth rate was almost the same as mine, my race stated that "there is no one who has reached this point," while Rir's race stated, "but the limit of the race has not yet been reached yet".
As Lefi once said, when it came to potential, Fenrir possessed something comparable to the dragon race.
As for Rir's race, there seemed to be no change, while mine had become a High Lord. Well, comparing it to Lefi, whose level was close to one thousand and had lived for a really long time, but haven't really evolved to a different race, I won't expect Rir to evolve to a different race even after a hundred or more years.
But, as far as race evolution was concerned, it was probably strange for a demon lord to constantly evolve.
Perhaps, in order to exceed the limit of strength in a humanoid vessel, multiple species evolutions would be necessary.
And – the unique skill of God Form.
Originally Rir was a dignified, handsome wolf, but now with his shiny, super-mohawk, and overwhelming armor, the current Rir had a sense of holiness and intimidation that would make even the non-beastmen feel intimidated.
"God Form, huh? You've become really cool, Rir."
"Kuu…"
"Haha, don't worry, that power won't harm us. It may have been sudden, but you can think of it as just more power."
This was a power that came from Ruin.
It was hard to believe a God would leave something that would be a major disadvantage.
I mean, if something like that dangerous did happen, there should be an explanation from that God as to why that happened, right?
Should I build an altar to worship him in the near future?
Also, my side required the divine spear to transform, but Rir's side didn't.
I wondered if there might be differences between the two.
"Kuu?"
"Oh, actually, I've evolved my race. I'll show you now. Lefi, you also watch this."
"Mm, okay." (Lefi)
I took out the divine spear from my item box and chanted, "Sing out your life, my spear."
The next moment, the spear started to change, just like before, and my body changed along with it.
Armor similar to Rir's was generated on my right arm, covering up to my shoulder.
…I noticed it when I looked at Rir, but looking at it again, I noticed that I was also covered with a fighting spirit.
"Oh…I see. The two of you do look similar." (Lefi)
"…Kuu."
Rir's Wife-san tried to convey that it was cool with her growl.
"Mm. Originally, that spear did have the potential of damaging me, but now I can feel that it has certainly shown more of its power. With the evolution of your race, you would probably be a catastrophe rank… if you were with Rir… there is no telling how far you would reach."
"Kuuh."
Following Lefi's words, Rir's Wife-san was implying that "Most creatures would flee the vicinity at the mere sign of your presence. If I didn't know any better, I would have definitely avoided them too," from her growls.
Lefi continued, "In fact, the creatures of this forest have already disappeared from the surrounding area. Yuki, you'll have time after this, right? I'll teach you how to diffuse your presence in earnest."
"Oh, by all means." (Yuki)
I really didn't think I could go anywhere if I couldn't suppress my presence.
"Kuu?"
"Oh, when we were out there, I met a God named Ruin, who was inside this spear. He's gone now, but he gave me the power to use this. Then I evolved, and I guess you also changed to a higher class because of that."
"…Kuu."
Rir conveyed, along with what seemed like an exasperated wry smile, "God, huh? …You're still the same as ever."
"Kuku, indeed. This guy is always causing a ruckus wherever he goes. We must be more careful when accompanying him from now on."
"I'm telling you, I've never done anything to anyone, okay? Most of the time, I was simply caught in the middle of things."
"But this time it was you who caused it."
…Well, yes, I guess it was.
I coughed one more time to cover up my words, and continued, "But more importantly, have the other pets changed like you?"
"Kuu."
Rir replied, conveying, "No, just myself".
…You mean that instead of distributing the power they gained, the dungeon poured it into Rir only?
The key to our defense was certainly Rir, so that was definitely the right decision.
Quality over quantity was one of the principles in this world.
It was better to have an overwhelming force than to have a large number of individuals.
The dungeon seemed to follow this line of thinking.
"Well… Rir, it seems that we are the junior members of the Gods now. You, too, because you are a monster born from the dungeon, in terms of your position, you must be the same as the lesser Gods."
In that sense, me and Rir had the same existence.
Both of us were created in this world by the dungeon.
"With that in mind, let's celebrate becoming a junior member of the Gods. With this, your title has increased by one more."
"…Kuu."
"Kuuuh."
Rir's Wife-san said to Rir with a wry smile, "How should I put it… Yuki-san is an amazing person," to which Rir replied, "He's always like this. You'd better get used to it".
Lefi commented with a smile, "Kaka, you will experience many new things here, Rir's wife. You, have come to a strange place."
"…Kuuh?"
"No, well… yes, but…" (Lefi)
"Kuuh?"
"…You say that to me, but that's what I get for being a long-lived race. Rir is a bit of a pain in the neck, and his way of life is a bit clumsy, so keep up the good work and support him." (Lefi)
"Kuuh."
Lefi said this a little shyly, her cheeks reddening, while Rir's Wife-san seemed to be enjoying herself, smiling elegantly and nodding her head.
Meanwhile, Rir and I could not say anything, so we just looked at each other's faces and smiled weakly.
Our family's women were strong… and Rir's family seemed to be the same.