To put it bluntly, Pablo was not in any condition to be a guide.
His roughly bandaged shoulder wound was a problem, but more importantly, his hands and ankles were badly broken, making it impossible for him to move normally.
Of course, Ruon did not care.
“Ugh! W-wait a minute.”
Ignoring Pablo’s opinion, he grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him down the stairs. The innkeeper, who saw him, gasped and jumped up.
“Is the conversation over?”
“It’s hard to say that. What’s going on?”
“Well…”
The innkeeper trailed off and glanced outside the inn. Following his gaze, they saw torches blazing in the dark window.
“They seem to be very angry.”
Ruon, who noticed the situation, opened the inn’s door and stepped out. Then, a dozen young men looked at him at once. They were the village’s self-defense force.
Blood dripped from the clubs they held in their hands.
Then, one of the biggest men among them stepped forward and opened his mouth.
“We’ll take care of the rest. You don’t have to dirty your hands, benefactor.”
The man continued with a fiery look in his eyes. Ruon knew who he was.
He was engaged to the innkeeper’s daughter.
Ruon looked at the veins bulging on the back of the man’s hand, clutching the club, and answered.
“I’m afraid that won’t do. I still have some business with this guy.”
The man bit his lower lip in silence as he heard those words. He looked clearly reluctant to let go. But he couldn’t argue with Ruon, who had saved his future father-in-law and wife. He nodded his head soon enough.
“Can you hand him over to us when you’re done with your business? I want to crush that pig’s skull myself, no matter what.”
Ruon was about to nod agreeably, but Pablo interrupted him with a sneer.
“That bastard wouldn’t even dare to look me in the eye if it was a normal day.”
He added, sticking out his tongue through his broken front teeth.
“Do you know what I regret the most right now? That all my subordinates are dead? That I ended up like this? No. It’s that I couldn’t sleep with that old woman who was going to be your wife. You bastard! Her soft flesh…”
Pablo couldn’t finish his sentence.
Before the angry man could swing his club, Ruon’s fist slammed into his right side.
Pablo, who had taken a hit to the liver, collapsed to the floor without even a groan. Ruon turned his head, looking down at the pig writhing in pain with a cold expression.
He asked.
“What is your name?”
The man swallowed his dry saliva.
“Yan.”
“Yan, do you know of any caves near the village?”
“A cave, you say…”
Yan nodded his head after a moment of hesitation.
“There is one cave that used to be the den of an old, dead bear.”
“Is that all the caves nearby?”
Instead of answering right away, Yan turned his head to look at the young men. They all shrugged their shoulders without saying anything, and he turned his head back to its original position.
“Yes, you can trust me. My friends and I were all born and raised in this village.”
“I see.”
Pablo lifted his head anxiously, as if he sensed something ominous in Ruon’s brief answer.
“Hey, how do you know that the cave they’re talking about is the same one I know? You can’t be sure until you see it for yourself!”
Ruon swallowed a sneer as he read the unmistakable fear in the eyes of the pig who was drooling and protesting.
You have no talent for lying.
He grabbed Pablo’s neck and threw him forward like a piece of trash.
“Ack!”
Yan lifted his head with a complicated expression as he saw the pig roll and stop at his feet. Ruon spoke to him.
“You can take over as the guide. I’ll be waiting at the entrance of the village. Don’t be too late.”
Ruon walked away along the road, without sparing a glance at the fallen Pablo. Behind him, Pablo’s voice rang out.
“You bastards. How dare you look down on me? Do you know who I am? I am Pabl-ack!”
A gruesome sound of something bursting echoed.
The scream of the human hunter who had nothing left but his pathetic pride was cut short in an instant.
***
At the edge of the village, Ruon leaned against the low fence and smiled faintly as he saw Yan approaching with a torch.
“You don’t look very happy.”
Yan nodded with a bitter expression at his words.
“···It’s everyone’s first time killing someone. There are more than a few guys who come to their senses too late and vomit their guts out.”
Yan was no exception, as there was some undigested food left on his lips. Ruon, who was looking at his trembling hand, said.
“I hope you’ll be strong.”
His dry answer seemed to be a comfort, as Yan took a deep breath.
“Then, shall I guide you to the cave?”
Ruon nodded silently.
Yan’s guidance began right away. He walked quietly for a while, relying on the flickering torch. He asked cautiously.
“May I ask why you are looking for a cave at this late hour?”
Ruon, who was following him, shrugged his shoulders lightly and answered.
“I heard that there are some human hunters left there.”
Yan flinched noticeably and muttered softly.
“···I almost got revenge.”
Ruon didn’t answer, so the conversation didn’t continue. The two men arrived at a round entrance located under a steep cliff a short while later.
Yan whispered in a very low voice.
“Here it is.”
“Wait for me. You can go ahead.”
“Are you not taking the torch?”
“I don’t need it.”
Ruon entered the cave as soon as he finished speaking. He moved along the wide path where the cold and damp air lingered. He stopped when he found a corpse lying on the floor.
A woman who was leaning against the wall beyond the sprawled corpse asked in a soft voice.
“You don’t look like a traveler who came to the cave to avoid the night wind···Did you come to get me too?”
What?
Ruon furrowed his brow slightly. According to Pablo’s words, he couldn’t understand how the woman who should have been captured was resting like that after killing his men.
Instead, Ruon, who had the ‘night eyes’ that pierced the darkness, could easily tell that the other person was in a state of banra. He stared at the woman. It was not because he was distracted by her curvy and sensual body, but because of the tattoos that covered her pale skin.
He felt a vague repulsion from the tattoos. Ruon opened his mouth slowly.
“I heard you were being chased by a witch. Did you find the right place?”
The woman tilted her head.
“···I know the situation I’m in, but you’re not the one who chased me? Who are you?”
I have to tell her honestly.
Ruon answered, facing her face mixed with curiosity and hostility.
“I heard it from the leader of the human hunters who trapped you in this cave. I came to see you because I was interested.”
The woman started to laugh. She laughed so hard that her shoulder strap slipped down, but she didn’t seem to notice. She finally caught her breath and said.
“Listen, I’m warning you sincerely. Run away now. If you don’t want to lose your precious life for nothing.”
As she said that, she swept her hair up and revealed her pointed ears.
“So just get out of here.”
Ruon stayed in his place despite her prickly tone. He said in a calm expression.
“Hella.”
He deliberately threw the word to see her reaction. He saw her face change noticeably.
“That’s the name of the crazy witch who is grinding her teeth to kill me. Of course, I have no intention of sparing that woman either.”
The fairy woman said, narrowing her eyes.
“Why are you telling me such a thing out of the blue? I’m not interested in your personal affairs.”
Ruon replied, scratching his nose.
“Well? You said you were being chased by the witch too, so I wondered if you had anything to do with Hella.”
The woman frowned at his indifferent answer.
“There are so many madwomen who call themselves witches in this vast world… You came looking for me thinking that we might have something in common for that reason? That’s ridiculous.”
Ruon said, facing the woman who was grumbling with a disappointed expression.
“I’ve told you this much, so you should at least answer me yes or no. Don’t pick on my way of doing things.”
The fairy woman stopped laughing and asked.
“What if you say yes? Since we’re both being chased by the same witch, why don’t we join forces and overcome this crisis? Do you want to shake hands with me while spouting some childish words like that? Huh?”
So he was right about being related to Hella.
Ignoring the pessimistic voice of the woman, Ruon opened his mouth to conclude.
“I think you’re mistaken, so I’ll have to correct you. I didn’t come here to join forces with you. I came here to see if our goals match.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
Ruon continued his words, looking at the fairy who tilted her head.
“As I said, I have no intention of sparing Hella, and you are being chased by her. Do you need any more explanation?”
“Are you going to use me to kill Hella?”
Ruon nodded at her question.
“I’m not so easy-going as to wait for the one who threatened to kill me to come to me.”
With that, a silent silence enveloped the two men and women who faced each other.
Even if an ordinary person opened their eyes wide, they would only see a vague outline, but in the dark cave, the two people stared at each other’s eyes precisely.
It was the fairy woman who broke the silence that seemed to last forever.
“You’re not an ordinary swordsman, are you? You’re just in the shape of a human. The power that wriggles under your skin is enough to make my hair stand on end.”
She sighed deeply and added.
“I know you’re not baseless in your confidence. But, apart from that, I don’t recommend you to get involved with me just to kill Hella. Unless you want to be at odds with the great demon to cut off the link with the witch.”
What the hell is she talking about?
Ruon raised his eyebrows at the unexpected words. A great demon? How long has it been since Belducius was killed?
He asked.
“Is Hella a servant of the great demon?”
“It’s hard to call her a servant. They’re not in a dependent master-servant relationship, but a mutually symbiotic one. Anyway, it’s certain that she’s related to the great demon. Now you know why I told you to run away. So don’t be foolish and…”
Ruon cut off the woman’s words by raising his palm and muttered.
“Rather, it’s a good thing.”
“What did you say?”
Ruon mumbled to himself, ignoring the woman’s question with wide eyes.
“…I thought she was not a mediocre witch, but she’s much bigger than I expected. Yeah, that’s how it should be.”
That’s when it happened.
“Big trouble!”
Ruon turned his head at Yan’s words, who appeared with a hurried footsteps.
“I told you to wait outside. What’s going on?”
“It seems something happened in the village.”
There was no need for a pointless explanation. The sharp roar that started from afar began to echo in the cave. It was the cry of a ghoul.
Ruon got up right away.
He could feel clearly, without realizing it himself, that the chain of enmity that he had accumulated little by little was leading him to a new evil.
He turned his head and said to the fairy who was staring blankly.
“Let’s finish the rest of the talk after we finish the job.”
