Conversation
Conversation
Romanike swallowed a deep sigh as he watched Tigris, rigid and trembling uncontrollably.
Through his mind flashed a horrific memory of the past, one he couldn't erase even if he wanted to.
That day long ago, when his sister and her husband were attacked by unknown assailants.
The two of them had lost their lives miserably, their entire bodies drenched in blood.
And Tigris, still so young back then, had witnessed that dreadful scene clearly with her own two eyes.
The image of his niece, her small frame clutching her parents' cold, blood-soaked bodies as she wailed at the top of her lungs, remained etched as a deep scar in Romanike's heart.
Perhaps it was because of that terrible memory.
Since that day, Tigris had developed an illness where the mere sight of red blood would cause the events of that time to resurface like a seizure, freezing her entire body.
Despite her overwhelming talent and physical abilities, this was the painful reason she couldn't fulfill her role as a warrior.
Suppressing his rough hands with great effort, Romanike carefully wiped away the bloodstains on Tigris's cheek and hands.
He erased the red traces with warm water and applied crushed medicinal herbs over the shallow scratches.
Only when the red blood that had filled her vision completely vanished did peace slowly return to Tigris's distorted face.
Her stiffly frozen shoulders slumped down, and her ragged breathing found its rhythm again.
Romanike, gazing down at his relieved niece, immediately clenched his fist.
Thuack!
"Kyaaak!"
Romanike's thick fist struck the crown of Tigris's head without mercy.
Tigris let out a scream that could have shaken the entire village, clutching her head with both hands.
"Ouch! That hurts, nyang!"
"I told you not to go outside!"
Romanike shouted, erupting with fiery anger.
Tigris rubbed the top of her head where a bump seemed ready to pop up any second, pouting her lips as if feeling wronged.
"But... it's so boring inside, nyang..."
She had been about to rattle off excuses, but soon trailed off, gauging his reaction.
She had met her uncle's fierce glare, blazing like a volcano about to erupt.
Rolling her eyes this way and that, she curled her tail downward and swiftly changed her stance.
"I-I'm sorry, nyang..."
At that shameless yet deflated demeanor, Romanike clicked his tongue inwardly.
Aigoo... you really can't fool blood, can you.
Watching his niece who had inherited exactly the personality of his sister—curious and utterly incapable of staying still—Romanike shook his head side to side.
He had been lost in deep thought alone for a moment.
Murmur. Murmur.
Suddenly, a commotion began to be heard from outside the house.
It was a noise mixed with wariness and bewilderment, the kind rarely heard in the peaceful Beastman Village.
Wondering what was going on, Romanike and Tigris hurriedly stepped outside.
In the center of the village square stood an unfamiliar intruder.
It was someone clad in lustrous purple armor that wrapped their entire body without a gap, with the texture of gleaming metal and a chilling aura emanating from within.
The bipedal form and the silhouette visible through the gaps in the armor clearly took the shape of a human male.
Upon seeing that figure, Tigris's golden pupils dilated widely.
Forgetting she had been crying and wailing just moments ago, she perked her tail straight up and cried out joyfully.
"Huh...?! It's that human I met in the forest, nyang!"
It was a bright, cheerful voice, as if she'd rediscovered a fascinating toy.
But the reaction of Romanike upon hearing those words was different.
His eyes narrowed like those of a fierce predator, his gaze sinking coldly.
A low, beast-like growl seeped from deep within Romanike's throat.
"...Human?"
I followed the footprints stamped into the damp dirt and the broken branches with my eyes, heading deeper into the forest.
This direction was definitely right.
The traces she had left behind while fleeing in a fluster were at a level I could sufficiently track with my high Agility stat and senses.
Except.
"Where did she go...?"
In the middle of a clearing tangled with enormous trees, I stopped walking.
The beastkin's trail, which had been clearly continuing until just moments ago, had cut off abruptly as if it were a lie.
The marks gouged into the dirt floor and the traces of brushed leaves had vanished as if evaporated.
As I glanced around, searching for clues, something foreign caught my senses.
A power both different from and yet the same as the Aura residing in my danjeon below my navel was flowing from directly ahead.
On guard, I glared forward.
But what entered my vision was the same vast, dense forest scenery I had been seeing all along.
Leaves swaying in the wind, thick tree trunks.
There was nothing else.
"What is this...? Am I imagining things?"
It was as I tilted my head and muttered.
Wooong.
The Legendary weapon hanging at my waist.
The [Orichalcum Dagger of Purification and Crushing] vibrated ever so slightly.
A pleasant trembling traveled up my waist, as if urging me to grip its handle.
Following the dagger's wish, I carefully grasped the handle.
In that instant, I experienced the illusion as if a thin film that had been veiling my eyes was being peeled away.
I could see the ordinary forest scenery spread out before me shimmering ever so faintly, like a heat haze over hot asphalt.
It was clearly some kind of illusion or barrier that cleverly twisted space to obstruct vision.
"No way."
Half-doubting, I lightly swung the dagger toward the empty air.
Ding!
[Using 'Crushing'.]
Along with the system notification sound, a chilling blue light burst from the blade of the Orichalcum dagger.
Skrrriick!
A spine-tingling sound echoed, as if tearing a thick leather tent apart with a long, sharp blade.
The fake forest scenery blocking my front split from top to bottom, wavering.
"Wow..."
An exclamation involuntarily escaped me.
Though I had made it with my own hands, the power of Crushing—literally tearing apart a barrier—was beyond imagination.
I stepped without hesitation through the gap in the torn space.
As I entered the barrier, a sight I could never have imagined from outside unfolded before me.
Cozy houses carved out of enormous tree roots and thick trunks. Sturdy tents erected by weaving tough leather together.
And countless beast-kin moving between them.
It was their own world, hidden behind the forest's curtain.
But the peaceful-seeming village scenery shattered to pieces the moment I set foot inside.
"Intruder!"
"It's a human! A human broke through the barrier!"
Starting with someone's urgent cry, the village flipped upside down.
At the appearance of an uninvited guest fully armed in purple armor, the beast-kin wandering about recoiled in shock.
Beastman warriors swarmed out en masse and surrounded me in a circle.
Every single one of their eyes blazed with sharp wariness and thick hostility.
Under the menacing gazes pouring from all directions, I scratched the back of my head.
"Did I come to the wrong place...?"
It was as I was awkwardly smacking my lips, trying to salvage the situation.
The beast-kin forming the encirclement parted to the left and right, like the Red Sea splitting.
Boom. Boom.
Along with heavy footsteps that shook the ground, a massive shadow strode forward—easily towering well over my height of 2 meters, with a shoulder width that seemed at least double my own.
The one approaching with muscles ready to burst was a giant tiger beastman covered in scars.
And behind that overwhelming massive frame, I could see the female beastkin who had attacked me earlier and fled crying, hiding.
"Uh... you?"
It was the instant I tried to offer a greeting.
The giant tiger beastman flashed his beast's eyes, blazing red with fury, and roared.
"How dare you scar my niece's face?!"
The speed at which he kicked off the ground and rushed at me was momentary, ill-fitting his enormous bulk.
With an explosive leap, he closed the distance to right before my nose and mercilessly drove his house-sized fist toward my face.
I shed tears inwardly, swallowing my sense of injustice.
Hey, she's the one who attacked me first...!
But I wasn't given any time to persuade him of my innocence with words right now.
On the other hand, the option of drawing my dagger and killing that giant was the worst possible choice.
Because the moment blood was shed, it was obvious I'd have to fight a life-or-death battle against every beast-kin in this village that was surrounding me.
Let's subdue first, then talk.
I quickly reached a conclusion in my head and shoved the dagger I was holding into my waist.
The fist flying toward me as if to crush my face completely.
I clearly read its trajectory with both eyes and lowered my center of gravity.
Just before the fist grazed the tip of my nose, I rotated rapidly to the side like a spinning top, deflecting the flow of the attack.
The giant's arm, slicing through empty air, entered my field of vision.
Without hesitation, I gripped the tiger beastman's thick forearm tightly with both hands.
My Strength stat had easily broken into triple digits long ago.
Adding my own strength to the brute force and acceleration my opponent had launched, I slammed him straight into the ground as if upending him.
Kwaaang!
The enormous body spun half a turn in the air and was driven squarely into the damp earth.
A loud noise, as if a bomb had gone off, rang resonantly throughout the entire Beastman Village.
Dirt dust from the ground sprayed in all directions, and the jaws of the encircling beast-kin dropped to the floor.
Within the dust cloud, the giant tiger beastman sprawled out flat blinked his eyes repeatedly.
He seemed to have a hazy memory of how long it had been since he'd last been thrown to the ground.
The bewilderment of being unable to accept the current situation appeared far greater than any physical pain.
Toward the giant tiger beastman lying on the ground unable to come to his senses, I politely extended my hand.
"Are you okay? You suddenly rushed at me..."
I alternated my gaze between the surrounding beast-kin and the tiger beastman with his dazed expression, continuing in a calm voice.
"I have no intention of harming any of you. How about we start with a conversation first?"