The Vegan Troll's Cabin, Part 14
Billy was silent. Even though Yohan was fighting the Troll Chief just a short distance away, Billy could only blink his unfocused eyes. He seemed to have mostly escaped his state of panic, but he still hadn't fully regained his senses. Falco watched him with a look of pity.
"I can't... believe it." Billy looked up at her, finally breaking his silence. He poured out his feelings in an unusually low, dry voice.
"Believe what?"
"The Chief... that bastard..."
"That he slaughtered your family and friends, all while grooming you to be his successor?" Falco's question was so blunt it cut straight to his heart. He squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip so hard that dark red blood began to trickle down.
"I feel... completely denied. My entire life up to this point."
Raised in human society by his parents, Billy had rejected the touch of his 'kin' and chosen to live as a human. As a price for that choice, he ended up belonging to neither the troll tribe nor the human village. Yet, Billy had thought that was enough. He had held onto the belief that, at the very least, he wasn't on the same level as his man-eating brethren.
But that had been nothing more than an illusion. From the moment he lost his family and friends to a single troll, he had been a part of that man-eating pack all along. When his thoughts reached that point, Billy felt his barely gathered composure crumble once more. He slammed his fist against the dirt floor, which was littered with bone fragments of unknown origin. A small splinter of bone bounced off the ground and clung to Falco's coat.
"You know," Falco said quietly, brushing the bone fragment off with the back of her hand. "It's true that your past was manipulated by that cannibal."
Billy winced at her words, but Falco didn't stop. "Your good intentions only made your position more miserable, and you even lost the new friend you worked so hard to make."
Even Jack, who had been silently listening to their conversation, twitched his eyebrows at this. Falco suddenly crouched down to meet Billy's eyes. "But tell me, have you ever once regretted the choices you've made?" she asked.
At her question, Billy, who had been wearing a grim expression, tried to suppress his anger and think. No, there was no need to think.
"No. Never." Billy wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his hand.
"It doesn't matter where the blood in your veins came from. In the end, you lived with humans, and you grew up as a human." Falco placed a heavy emphasis on the word 'human.'
*Pat.* She placed her hand on Billy's shoulder. "You're different from that cannibal. You're a human with a kinder heart than anyone else."
"..." Billy's eyes widened. His pupils trembled violently, betraying the sheer emotional turmoil he was experiencing.
"And it's going to be okay now. Because Yohan—no, because we are here."
"Yohan..." Billy muttered the name unconsciously. Falco smiled faintly and nodded.
"We can't undo the pain you've suffered so far. Unfortunately, we don't have the power to turn back time. But we can at least make sure you don't have to suffer anymore."
*Flash!* The moment Falco finished speaking, a blinding flash of light erupted behind her.
"Die, you son of a bitch!" Along with the light, Yohan's colorful cursing echoed from a distance.
"..." The touching atmosphere was instantly ruined. Falco frowned deeply and let out a sigh.
"Well, as you can see, he has a terrible personality and a foul mouth... but despite how he looks, he's a good guy. So, Billy, you're definitely going to be fine."
The day you escape this cursed life is not far off. Her eyes conveyed the silent message.
"High, mid, low... Psych! Mid!" Yohan continued his relentless assault on the Troll Chief. His expression went beyond merely enjoying the fight; he looked absolutely thrilled. Having never learned proper swordsmanship since coming to this world, he was just swinging wildly, but that alone was more than enough to push the Troll Chief onto the defensive.
They say when your body is strong, your mind can rest easy. Having obtained immense strength through the Goddess's Authority, Yohan had no need to show off flashy techniques. On top of that, the Troll Chief had been severely weakened after being caught in the flames Yohan had conjured. Although he had avoided turning to ash like the others, he hadn't escaped unscathed. Scorched marks covered his entire body. Even a troll's innate regeneration could not easily heal wounds inflicted by Yohan's divine fire.
"Yes! Beat him to a pulp!" The Goddess, seemingly highly pleased with Yohan's swordplay, cheered him on in an excited voice.
"Hup!" As if responding to her cheers, Yohan let out a spirited shout and kicked the Troll Chief square in the chest. Despite his massive size, the Chief was sent flying backward, rolling across the dirt.
"Cough—!"
"Does it hurt? Hurting like hell, isn't it?" Yohan rushed toward the groaning Troll Chief. He stomped on the monster's chest several times with his heavy boots. Just how many innocent people had been brutally murdered by this godforsaken cannibal? Even if this was a remote frontier virtually untouched by central authority, there had to be a limit.
"Ugh..." After Yohan had stomped on his chest and face for a while, the Troll Chief, pinned beneath his boot, suddenly began to shed fat tears from his massive eyes.
"I'm gonna beat you till you cry, and even then, I'm not stopping, you bastard!" To think a heinous cannibal could actually cry. Yohan shouted at him, though he was secretly taken aback.
"Are you crying? Huh? You crying?" Of course, there was no reason to show his surprise. He mocked the Troll Chief, pretending to be completely unfazed.
"How miserable... and how deeply resentful." After receiving several more stomps and kicks to the face, the Troll Chief suddenly spoke, his voice dripping with profound sorrow.
"What?" Were those really words coming from the mouth of a villain who had devoured countless humans? Yohan truly could not comprehend him. "Are you out of your mind?"
"I am always serious," the Troll Chief replied instantly, tears still streaming down his face. "My kin have been completely wiped out, and I am about to die here. How could I not feel miserable?"
He even had the audacity to turn the question back on Yohan. The bizarre confidence in his attitude sent a shiver running down Yohan's spine.
"But still, a glimmer of hope remains." Saying this, the Troll Chief suddenly turned his head to look to the side. Yohan's gaze naturally followed. Standing where their eyes met was Billy, who had finally come to his senses.
"Hey. You okay?" Yohan immediately asked. Billy nodded silently.
"My child," the Chief called out to Billy in his characteristically soft, creepy voice. But Billy didn't answer. He simply stared at Yohan and the Chief.
"I am sorry. All of our kin, save for you and me, are dead. Our tribe has been completely annihilated. And soon, my breath will be cut short by this man's hand." The Chief didn't seem to expect an answer from Billy. He just wanted to hear himself speak. Why? Yohan quickly figured out the bastard's intentions.
This mad cannibal was twisted to the core—both in his actions and his way of thinking. Whether it was his innate nature or the devil's play, it was clear that his mind operated on a completely different wavelength from normal people.
"But it is fine. For the child who will become my successor is right here." Yohan had let him ramble to see what he would say, but the bastard was just spouting absolute bullshit with a smile on his face. Yohan raised his Light Sword, intending to pierce the monster's mouth.
"Wait a moment."
"What? What is it now?" For some reason, Billy stopped him. Though annoyed, Yohan obediently lowered his sword. Billy approached with slow steps and locked eyes with the Troll Chief. Fearing the Chief might make a desperate final struggle, Yohan stood ready to decapitate him at a moment's notice.
"You killed my parents and my friends with that sword, all to make me your successor." Billy spoke in a low, heavy voice. His words were thick with long-festering resentment and anger.
"Indeed. That pain, and your hatred for me, will make you an even stronger warrior." But the Troll Chief didn't care in the slightest. If anything, he seemed to welcome the anger Billy was displaying.
"You're right. I hate you. I will probably live the rest of my life hating you." Billy readily admitted his feelings. The Troll Chief nodded, a gentle smile spreading across his face.
"But I will not live the life you've chosen for me." At Billy's next words, the Troll Chief's relaxed expression finally faltered.
"I will never be your successor. In fact, not once in my life have I ever been a member of your man-eating troll tribe." Billy's entire body trembled like a leaf as he spoke. It showed just how terrified he was of standing up to the Chief. But he overcame that fear. That was what mattered most.
"You are wrong. I am not a man-eating troll."
"M-my child..." The Troll Chief was visibly flustered. The composure he had maintained until now vanished, his eyes darting around in immense anxiety.
"I am a human. I don't care what you think of me or what kind of life you try to force upon me. I was born a human, and I will die a human." With that, the conversation was over. Having forced out his final words, Billy turned around and walked away without giving the Chief another glance. Once again, only Yohan and the Troll Chief remained. Yohan silently watched Billy's back as he trudged back toward Falco and Jack.
"Apostle." The Goddess's voice echoed in his mind. It was a command to finish it. Yohan nodded in response.
"No. This cannot be."
"The hell it can't, you bastard," Yohan sneered, raising his sword once more to aim at the Chief's heart as the monster muttered in denial.
"No. I cannot forgive this. I will never forgive him."
"I'm the one who isn't forgiving you, asshole," Yohan retorted. But even with a blade at his throat, the Troll Chief paid him no mind, continuing to ramble. "Billy... the child who betrayed me."
He wasn't even worth responding to anymore. Yohan gripped the Light Sword in a reverse grip and plunged it downward.
"W-what?!" The moment the Light Sword struck the ground, the massive body of the Troll Chief, which had been pinned beneath Yohan's foot, vanished without a trace. The blade only pierced the empty dirt.
"Son of a—!" He should have known. Yohan threw himself in the direction of Billy and Falco.
"Billy!" Yohan roared. Despite his battered body, the Troll Chief was charging straight toward Billy.
Is that bastard trying to kill Billy...?! Yohan grit his teeth and pursued the Troll Chief. But the Chief was a step faster in reaching Billy than Yohan was in catching him.
"Get out of the way!" But then, the unexpected happened yet again. For some reason, the Troll Chief didn't harm Billy; he merely shoved him aside roughly and kept running. A split second later, Yohan realized the monster's true target.
"Falco!" Yohan's desperate scream echoed through the clearing.