Village in Flames
When I arrived at the outskirts of the village that the kid had mentioned, the first thing to greet me was an unsettling silence.
"....."
This was supposed to be where those punk thugs blocking the road and causing trouble were hanging out, but there wasn't a single sign of human life anywhere.
Did the kid give me the wrong spot?
Just as I was about to turn back, a sharp smell pierced my nostrils, carried on the wind.
The stench of blood.
I placed my hand on the sword hilt and cautiously moved toward the source in the forest.
The moment I stepped into the underbrush, I saw four corpses sprawled gruesomely, staining the ground dark red.
Three of them had faces I recognized.
The trio of mercenaries I ran into on the way to the village.
And next to them, a body that didn't look like a mercenary—covered in blood, torso half-torn off, spilling its guts hideously. Its eyes were wide open in death.
Isn't that Den, the ranch owner's son?
I frowned and approached, squatting beside the corpse to examine the wounds.
These weren't made by human weapons.
Traces of an animal ripping flesh savagely, crushing bones whole with terrifying force.
"Monster wolves?"
I closely inspected the bite marks on the shoulder and the torn waist.
Definitely beast work, but the angles of the gashes and the jaw sizes varied slightly.
Not just one or two.
I concluded a pack of monster wolves had swept through here.
But the biggest question was something else.
Why the hell is Den, the spoiled rich kid from Subu Village's wealthiest family, dead here with the mercenaries in broad daylight?
As I scratched my chin and tilted my head, Ria, who had been watching, clicked her tongue telepathically.
Tsk. That big lug? Looks like he was so jealous after you stole Mari from him that he hired these mercenaries, lured you out here with a bullshit story.
Sounds plausible.
I'm telling you, all that crap about thugs was just to draw you out. They were lying in wait to jump you, but they got jumped first by the monster wolves.
Everything clicked perfectly with Ria's deduction.
Using the kid to fake a village chief's request to bring me here, the absence of thugs on the forest path—it was all this idiot's clumsy trap.
He must've been ambushing to give me a beating, only to run into the real disaster and die.
I looked down at Den's pathetic corpse, shredded from his half-assed scheme.
Pity? No chance.
"Dumbass. If you're gonna die, at least do it clean by yourself."
A sneer escaped me instead.
Hey, hold up.
Ria's urgent voice rang in my head as I scoffed.
Those monster wolf bastards? They're coming back this way.
Fresh blood scent layering over the rotten beast stench.
With that ominous smell came displeasing noises from the surrounding brush.
Rustle.
Rustle.
Uniform movements. They had me encircled, tightening the ring.
Grrrrr...
Dozens of crimson eyes gleamed eerily from the forest, wolves emerging one by one.
...This is way more than a pack.
My brow furrowed as I gauged the number filling every direction.
Monster wolves in a remote forest, in such numbers? Unusually high.
What had driven this many into a frenzy? Before I could ponder,
Kraaaak-!
The blood-maddened beasts charged first, closing in.
I snapped from my thoughts, drew my sword from my waist.
Kicked off the ground hard, lunging forward.
Blue mana condensed along the blade, forming sharp sword ki. I swung wide at the incoming trajectories.
Slash-!
Where the blue arc passed, airborne wolves' heads severed clean, tumbling down.
Headless bodies rolled, blood spraying from necks.
Normal wolves would've fled at the sight.
But monster wolves were different.
Blood-crazed, twenty of them attacked simultaneously, erasing blind spots.
Kroooaaar-!
I dodged fangs with minimal steps.
Slashed under the first one's jaw, then ripped upward through a leaping wolf's belly.
Slash! Thud!
Kyaak!
Flesh tore, bones snapped, agonized howls echoed through the trees.
In the blood-fountain chaos, I accelerated.
Landed lightly, spun, smashed a rear attacker's face with a heavy kick.
Crack-!
Its face exploded, flying off without a scream.
Finally, reversed grip on my sword, drove it mercilessly into the skull of one crawling for my ankle.
Stab!
"....."
Overwhelming, merciless violence.
Dozens of killer wolves reduced to mangled meat chunks rolling on the ground.
I expressionlessly flicked blood from my blade into the air.
Splatter-
Even after cleanup, my brow stayed furrowed.
An eerie premonition crawled up my spine.
This reeks of a necromancer or demon.
I kicked off toward the village at full speed.
*
Moments later, at Subu Village's entrance.
The rickety wooden gate, always peaceful, was smashed to splinters.
Beneath the wreckage, blood pooled thickly.
The guard who used to nod at me—it was his corpse, one arm torn off still clutching his spear.
Deeper in, it was hellish.
Crimson flames and thick black smoke billowed; tearing screams and cries echoed.
What the... This ferocity from such a small pack? Real demon work?
Doesn't matter if demon or necromancer right now.
What mattered was 'Get to the inn.'
Two wolves eating corpses at the entrance lifted bloody muzzles and charged.
I didn't slow or glance— just flicked my wrist down.
Slash-!
Two heads flew with a spray of blood, rolling away.
Trampling bodies, I plunged into the village.
The half-destroyed central street was a bloodbath.
Collapsed roofs, long blood trails on the dirt.
From alleys, gruesome crunches of beasts chewing flesh and bone.
"Aaaagh! Help, please...!"
At a debris pile on the way to the inn, a merchant who supplied ingredients crawled, leg pinned. Two drooling monster wolves leaped for his neck.
I swung without slowing, mana-charged sword ki slicing.
Shwick-!
The arc bisected both wolves at the waist.
"Hahk, heuk...! Si...an!"
As I passed, the head-wounded merchant grabbed my pant leg desperately.
"P-please, I beg you! My family's hiding in the alley! Take my wife and kids somewhere safe...!"
"Let go."
I coldly shook off his hand.
"Stay quiet and hole up. No time."
Kicked debris to free him, then moved on.
Crossed the alley, vaulted a wall, finally reached the clearing before Mari's Lantern Inn.
"....You fucking mutts."
The inn's first-floor door and windows—supposed to be shut tight—were shattered.
A pack of monster wolves trashed the hall, splintering furniture.
Sis's touched tables, chairs, counter—all smashed.
I kicked off hard, rocketing inside like a cannonball.
Krrrng-?! Sudden intruder startled them; I jammed my sword into a gaping maw.
Blade pierced clean through the skull.
From there, I butchered the beasts.
Blue sword ki flashed; wolves tore apart.
In seconds, the hall was a sea of blood. I rummaged the wreckage.
"Marina sis!"
Just before gutting a wolf, Ria yelled urgently.
Sian! Back warehouse! Life signs there!
Kicked open the kitchen back door, sprinted to the backyard storage.
Bang-!
Ripped off the locked door, entered.
In the thick dark, faint trembling breaths.
"Sis....?"
In a corner behind stacked sacks, familiar ponytail huddled, ears plugged, shaking violently.
Touching her shoulder, she flinched, head snapping up.
Even in darkness, her tear-and-terror-streaked face was clear.
Recognizing me, her eyes shook wildly.
"Si, Sian...! Hic, Sian...!"
She clung to my neck, buried her tear-soaked face in my chest, hands frantically groping my shoulders, back, waist.
The beast blood stench on my clothes? Irrelevant.
Just desperate for living human warmth.
"It was scary, hic, hng...! So scary...!"
"Sis, calm down."
Words wouldn't cut it. I wrapped her waist, devoured her lips roughly.
"Mmph, mmf...!"
Deep, suffocating kiss. Swallowed her terrified cries, forced hot breath into her.
Her struggling body went limp.
Lips parted; she leaned into my chest, gasping.
"Haa, haa....."
"Safe here. Hide good behind the sacks."
I softly wiped her wet eyes, murmured low.
"Gotta help other villagers. Wait quietly."
Confirmed her nod, shut the warehouse door, and stepped out.