Fortunately, all foreboding did not always come true in the end. A few minutes before the sun dropped over the horizon, Ikaris spotted several disheveled figures leaving the forest. One of them looked unable to walk, lying crookedly on Horny's back, while another appeared to be hobbling.
"Get into your tents and don't come out again until tomorrow morning." The teenager decreed in an imperative tone.
The other villagers did not argue. During the day, Ellie had already briefed them on what they needed to keep in mind to survive here, and they were taking the threat very seriously.
Regardless of whether they obeyed, Ikaris picked up one of the unfolded tents from one of the crates, along with a few pounds of packed Rank 4 boar meat, and dashed toward Malia and the others, hoping to arrive in time before the sun set. The Tartarus Enforcer silently chased after him like a ghost.
A short time later he met them halfway, the sun all but set, and he exhaled a sigh of relief when he saw that everyone was alive. Kellam had sprained his ankle, and his back had been deeply mauled by a vicious scratch, but he was fine.
It was Marvin's condition that was more worrisome. The firefighter had been bitten on the calf by a rattlesnake lurking in the high weeds and had since blacked out. The skin around the bite had turned purple-black and he had been showing signs of suffocation for several minutes.
Ezrog, the Lesser Oni, had been bitten as well, but he seemed to have some degree of resistance to the poison as he was the only one of the three still able to move normally. His size and Constitution probably had something to do with it.
"Ikaris!" Malia shouted, moved and overjoyed to see him again. Then, gritting her teeth, she looked down and blurted out, "I-I'm sorry. I failed to protect them and it's completely my fault..."
"We'll figure it out later." The boy cut her off rudely. "Help me set up the tent."
Malia grabbed the stake he handed her with confusion, but Kellam, being more astute and aware of their predicament, took the stake from her hands and stabbed it into the grass following the lead of his new Lord. Just as they finished setting up the pavilion, the sun went out completely.
The stars and moon shone for a few seconds, then they died out one after another from west to east. Seeing this, Ikaris yelled in urgency,
"Everyone inside!"
"Moo!"
Horny had not waited for his permission to take cover and his mooing echoed from inside the pavilion. Kellam limped briskly inside and Malia, as well as Ikaris, entered after him.
The boy closed the entrance to the tent as best he could, but it wasn't a tight zipper like modern tents. Not serene, he drew his sword and quickly carved the runes he had memorized by heart into the soil bordering all the sides of the tent.
"Ok it's done."
SHHRRRI!
The chilling screams that had already kept them awake last night haunted them again, but Ikaris ignored them completely. Kellam and Ezrog, however, failed to do so, especially when something bumped against the canvas of the tent.
When a skeleton or something even more fearsome clattered against the walls of the pavilion, the Dwilde conjured up the mysterious white revolver he had used against the black boar. Ikaris watched the weapon with interest, but there was more pressing matters.
Marvin had stopped breathing.
'Suck the poison from his wound and give him some Rank 4 meat.' Magnus instructed him steadfastly aware that they didn't have much time to save him.
'Ezrog, suck the blood from his wound. And don't swallow." Ikaris growled at the ogre.
"Ezrog not afraid of poison." The horned alien boasted loudly, but he obeyed without wasting time grabbing Marvin's leg like a skewer.
He chomped down on the wound and his cheeks puffed up like a hamster stocking up on food, then seconds later he spat the stale blood out to the side. With impressive efficiency, he repeated the procedure several times.
Ikaris could have given the order to Malia, but he was getting familiar with her. Her lack of common sense was sometimes disconcerting. He had chosen Ezrog over Kellam because he seemed to tolerate the poison quite well. In case of accidental ingestion, the consequences would probably not be too serious.
While Ezrog sucked out the poison, the boy found a way to get the Rank 4 meat into Marvin's mouth without him choking. Actually, he had not been entirely successful. After unwrapping the meat, he wrung it out like a soaking wet rag and poured what spilled out into the unresponsive man's mouth.
Although Marvin did not have the prodigious digestive abilities of a Crawling, with the combined efforts of Ikaris and Ezrog, his condition finally stabilized. His breathing and heart rate quickly calmed down, returning to a normal rhythm within a few minutes.
Realizing the man was out of the woods, Malia shed a tear of relief, the guilt of failing the first task Ikaris had given her being just unbearable.
"Okay, tell me what happened." The teenager then asked as he sat down cross-legged in front of them.
"Mooo!" (Those motherfuckers!)
Ikaris rolled his eyes, unable to understand him but from his eyes bulging with rage he could sense the anger of the bison. Upon hearing the boy's question, Malia also forgot her shame and guilt and raved furiously,
"We were attacked, but not by wild beasts! It was lycanthropes!"
"Lycanthropes?" Ikaris frowned. If he remembered correctly, the previous Lord was a Daemon Mastiff.
Daemons and Werebeings could both take human form, but there was a fundamental difference between the two species. The former were beasts that could take human form spontaneously depending on their level of maturity and the purity of their lineage, while the latter were humans capable of assuming a bestial form under certain conditions.
Some Spirit Beasts could also take human form after achieving a certain standard of cultivation, but this was not an innate ability. It was simply a spell intentionally created to blend in with human societies. Many Creation Sorcerers who specialized in Metamorphosis magic could also shift into animal forms.
"We stayed at the edge of the forest as you commanded." Kellam explained in place of Malia, who was struggling to find her words. "We found only giant maple and chestnut trees in the area so even though you told us to avoid them we had no choice because we didn't want to go too deep. We had already wasted some time so we immediately got to work. The axes included in these crates weren't of the best quality but with the help of Malia we managed to cut down a tree in under an hour. The rest of the day we spent cutting it into carryable planks and logs. We were about to return with a first load when we were suddenly attacked by a dozen dog-headed humanoid beasts equipped with spears and bows."
"Their equipment?" Ikaris cocked his head to the side with a questioning eyebrow.
"No clothes, but some of them were wearing a few pieces of iron armor. They looked rusty and rather old."
" How did they fight? Orderly or chaotic? Did they attack you on sight or did they ambush you?" He then asked.
"Ambushed." Ezrog grunted. "I've been smelling them all day. They were spying on us. But the way they fight? Stupid."
Malia winced as she listened to the giant speak.
"I didn't get the impression that this attack was planned." She then confessed. "As a Kitsune myself, I have seen quite a few Werewolves and other variants as a child and I can tell you that they were the most pitiful lycans I have ever seen in my life. Their look reminded me of the villagers in Karragin. They just looked hungry and desperate."
The boy breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. If these lycans had been competent and disciplined soldiers he would have been fretting. As for Marvin and Ezrog, they had been bitten while fleeing by a snake disturbed in its nap. It was just bad luck.
"Tomorrow I will come with you along with the Tartarus Enforcer." Ikaris stated decisively after listening to their report. "Kellam, you and Marvin stay in the village tomorrow."
Because of the Magical Beast's attack he had not dared to deprive Last Saint Village of its sole and supreme protector. Who knew if this father boar didn't also have parents...
With this matter settled, Ikaris then looked to Kellam and asked curiously,
"Where did that gun come from?"
All Otherworlders were supposed to be naked when they arrived in this world. Upon hearing his question, Kellam flinched, a conflicted expression crossing his face.
"It's a Soul Weapon." Malia answered in his stead to everyone's surprise. Seeing the boy's astonishment she shyly explained, "My mother had one and she told me about it before..."
Ikaris did not insist and stared at the main person.
"I don't want your gun, you can keep it. I just want to know what it is and how you managed to keep it when you transmigrated here."
Sensing that his Lord was sincere, Kellam relaxed and shook his head,
"It's not a Soul Weapon. It's my Spirit. In the world I come from all Dwildes have one. If it is taken away from me I die."
