As I leisurely follow the trail of footprints, there it was…… the owner of the bird tracks.
It’s around three meters in length.

Its body is covered in white feathers and it’s standing on a pair of yellow raptor-like legs.
Looking at it overall, it’s just a thin chicken that’s unnaturally bigger.

Although, it doesn’t have feathers on its tail and is instead covered in green scales.
The tail is even longer than the chicken itself and it’s being lifted right next to its head, in fact, the tail even has eyes and a mouth, wait……
The tail is a snake.

You know what, I’m cool with it.
I don’t mind at all. A chicken with a snake tail could still be edible.
It’s definitely not the craziest thing I’ve encountered so far. Until I saw its head.

From the neck up, instead of a chicken head, with the beak and all, it has the head of a wrinkly old man with bright red eyes.
Its hair was white as its feathers. And instead of the white parts of a human eye, its eyes are red to the brim.
What’s more creepy is the fact that its neck is long enough to make it wobble.

【“Birb meat! Birb meat!”】

You really don’t mind eating that?!
No matter how you look at it, it’s clearly like all the Adams!
And, what is that thing? Is it related to Sirens?!
Is there a trend on this island for birds to have human features?!

【〖Basilisk〗: Rank B＋monster】
【A monster with the tail of a snake and the body of a chicken, it is the final evolution of the〖Cockatrice〗evolution line.】
【Its red eyes give off a powerful petrification curse.】
【The flesh of its main body is so poisonous, merely being near it causes paralysis.】

That’s it?!
I don’t care about its snake tail or its chicken body!
I want an explanation to why its head is so messed up!

No, it’s probably just a common feature for Cockatrice-type monsters and the Basilisk can’t do anything about it.
But, it shouldn’t be something to omit about, right? I mean, just hearing about that kind of explanation and looking at the Basilisk again, even I would think it’s crazy.
What is up with all these ridiculous monsters on this island……

I’m so glad…… that I didn’t come to this island on my own.
If I were all alone on this island full of freaky humanoid monsters, I’d have gone nuts a long time ago.
I might even have succumbed to the Giver’s temptations as a means of escape from this nightmare.

In front of the old man chicken…… I mean, the ‘Basilisk’, is a black panther-like monster whose feet have been petrified and is trying to roll away.
The chicken presses its talons, stops it from moving, and bites its exposed underbelly.
It then pulls out its intestines out of its stomach, leaving it hanging in its mouth and blood trickling down its chin.

The panther’s body reacted by having convulsions but after the Basilisk squeezed out its innards, its eyes went white before it finally stopped moving.
The Basilisk then turns its head around and faces the snake on its own tail.
The snake turns to look at me.
And as if on cue, the expressionless old man face of the Basilisk faces towards me.

Those red eyes look so cold.
It may have a human head, but even if you ignore its other non-human body parts, it’s like you can still tell that it’s not human, especially with how cold its eyes look.
I ended up averting my eyes away.

【“Birb meat! Birb meat!”】

Partner remains high-spirited as always.
That reminds me…… those other statues on our way here, they were caused by that chicken who’s spreading its petrification curse everywhere.
And from what I saw just now, they must be its food that it preserved for later.
So when it’s hungry, it temporarily dispels the petrification on a certain part of its prey’s body to eat it.

Anyway, let’s check its status, like usual……

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
Species: Basilisk
Status: Normal
Lv: 88/88 (MAX)
HP: 655/655
MP: 233/245
Attack: 440
Defense: 555
Magic: 450
Speed: 550
Rank: B+

Characteristic Skills:
〖Double-Headed: Lv—〗〖Split Mind: Lv—〗〖Communication: Lv2〗
〖Dark Element: Lv—〗〖Flight: Lv1〗〖Automatic HP Recovery: Lv6〗
〖Heat Sensor: Lv7〗〖Stealth: Lv7〗〖Poison Sash: Lv8〗
〖Evil Eyes of Petrification: Lv6〗〖Forked Tongue: Lv—〗〖Death Throes: Lv—〗

Resistances:
〖Poison Immunity: Lv—〗〖Paralysis Resistance: Lv8〗〖Petrification Immunity: Lv—〗
〖Instant Death Resistance: Lv8〗〖Curse Resistance: Lv7〗〖Confusion Resistance: Lv4〗

Normal Skills:
〖Beak: Lv7〗〖Corrupting Tongue: Lv8〗〖Poison: Lv8〗
〖High Quick: Lv6〗〖High Rest: Lv6〗〖Death: Lv6〗
〖High Slow: Lv4〗〖Ominous Voice: Lv5〗〖Shrill Cry: Lv6〗

Titles:
〖Final Evolutionist: Lv—〗〖Tenacious: Lv6〗
〖Poison Master: Lv7〗〖Symbol of Disaster: Lv—〗
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

A max level…… Rank B+ monster?
But why are its stats so…… uh, not living up to its level?
Both its attack and magic aren’t that high. Even if its other stats are higher in comparison, it still feels kind of… lacking.
…… Regardless, I will not let my guard down.
It has many suspicious-looking skills.
I don’t want to mess with its bad side. Actually, I kinda don’t want anything to do with it at all.

【“But, birb meat……”】

We are not eating that!
Even if we kill it, it’s poisonous!
It even comes with a dash of〖Poison Sash〗!

“Shaa~!!”

The Basilisk’s snake tail shrieks.
Light particles start glowing around its white feathers. The light then disappears as if melting into their body.

I feel bad for Partner, but we are going home, and……
When I looked at Alo, she was holding onto her shoulders, jittering, and her eyes were closed.
Oh whoops, sorry about that……
While I was lost in thought, I subconsciously started nibbling at her foot. [T.N: W-Wait, was she… enjoying that? O_o]
Come on, Treant…… let’s go, back? Treant?

Before I knew it, Treant was already heading towards the Basilisk.
He’s even making a pose as if saying “Bring it!”.
No, stop, you’ll die!
I know you’re happy you evolved, but if you get hit by even one of its attacks, you’re dead!

As I was about to grab Treant back, the Basilisk roars…… I mean, cries in a strange voice and rushes towards us.

“Aa, a~aaaa, aaaaa~a~a~aa~a~a!!”

Despite the ear-wrenching cry, for some reason, in a split second, I felt… fear?
It’s also fast in its feet. The Basilisk, with its cold expressionless old man face, approaches us ever so closer.
Even though I’m bigger and stronger by rank and status, I still feel fear. This is bad.

Treant’s body then gradually changes from wood to stone.
Treant panics and shakes his branches in dismay, but the petrification spread fast.
And without a moment’s notice, Treant turned into a statue.

Treant, nooo!!
Can we bring him back to normal somehow?!
Just as I faltered after seeing what became of Treant, the Basilisk continues to approach.

“Gra~a!”

Partner growls and Treants get bathed in a warm light.
She’s using〖Holy〗.
But, it’s doing nothing to change Treant’s current condition.

【“Didn’t work…… I hate it……”】

Partner faces down.
She’s starting to regret wanting to eat it.
However, it was my misjudgement for not calling out to retreat a moment sooner.

W-What now…… don’t tell me… he’ll be stuck like that forever……
No wait, since the Basilisk treats petrified monsters as preserved food…… then, it must have a way to restore them back for consumption.
I’ll beat it up to an inch of its life and force it to bring Treant back to normal.