The boy, who Zich didn’t know the name of, was sad and disappointed. When he went to visit Zich’s lodging, he was told that Zich was not inside. Since the boy enjoyed meeting Zich and conversing together, getting free bread from him was now a second priority.
‘Well, it’s fine. This happens often.’
Since Zich kept himself extremely busy, there were many days when the boy was not able to meet Zich. Even though this happened frequently, the boy felt disappointed every time. He walked inside the village with heavy and down-trodden steps.
His parents were foreigners. Since he was young, his parents found a place for them to stay near the village and began living there. Villages were usually intensely wary of foreigners. For that reason, it took a lot of time and effort for his family to be accepted by the villagers. Fortunately, they were now somewhat accepted by the villagers, but they were still subtly discriminated against.
‘Huh?’
While the boy was returning back to his home, he saw a strange person surrounded by people. The person was a traveler, but that was not the strange part. There were travelers or adventurers who sometimes passed through the village; Zich was also a traveler. However, the person in front of him had an extremely peculiar appearance. He did not have a single strand of hair, and half of his face and head were covered with strange tattoos. His aura was also heavy and threatening. Villagers, whom the boy knew, surrounded the traveler. The traveler was exchanging money for a few packs of food from the villagers. However, even the villagers next to him were intimidated and their bodies flinched every time the traveler moved.
Then, the traveler suddenly turned his head and met the boy’s eyes.
Twitch!
The boy felt a cold shiver run down his back. The frightened boy turned his back and quickly ran away. He went into the nearest alleyway and hid from the stranger’s eyes. But even then, the boy felt as if the traveler’s eyes were following him, so he ran even faster.
* * *
Zich’s group finished surveying the rest of the mountain. Fortunately, they killed most of the monsters in their first raid, so they only caught two orcs and five goblins. They even considered the possibility that some of the monsters might have moved, so they went back to the places they raided but found no trace of monsters.
“Good! Let’s go!” Zich shouted at Hans and Snoc.
All the monsters were gone, and thanks to Zich and Hans, the number of wild beasts was also curbed. There were no signs that any more monsters might come. Even when they looked around, there were no factors that might have drawn out the monsters. Zich concluded that a power conflict between the monsters pushed back the weaker monsters closer to the village. For a while, Polrune Village wouldn’t be harmed by monsters and wild beasts coming down from the mountain.
‘It’s time for me to go.’
There was nothing more Zich could do for this village. Zich decided to move to the next village. All the villagers, including the chief, were sad to see Zich go. Even though they were wary about outsiders, Zich had helped them out tremendously. After Zich told everyone that he was going to leave, he waited for the boy. Zich wanted to at least say goodbye to him. However, no matter how long Zich stayed in his lodging, the boy strangely did not appear. Zich asked the owner of the lodging when he last saw the boy.
“Hmmm. He used to come almost every day, but for the past few days, he hasn’t been coming.”
Zich wasn’t able to get the answer he wanted from the owner. Should he just leave? But it was true that he was concerned about the boy.
‘Should I try looking around his house?’
Zich knew where the boy lived. Not a lot of people lived past the wooden fence of the village,and the people who lived outside were struggling with poverty like the boy’s family. Since the people who lived outside were few in number, Zich could easily find where they lived.
‘Let’s just check up on him.’
Since it was their last meeting, Zich bought a basket full of bread to give to the boy. And while he was buying it, he asked the villagers how the boy and the people who lived outside the fence were faring.
“Thinking back on it, I don’t think I’ve seen them for the past two days. Usually, they come here to help around with chores and manual labor.”
When Zich heard this from the baker, Zich felt that something bad might have happened to the boy. It was a very strange incident that the boy, his family, and everyone who lived outside the fence would all suddenly disappear. On the other hand, it had only been two days. There was also a high possibility that there was some unknown reason why they didn’t come inside the village for two days.
While carrying the basket of bread, Zich headed outside the village. The boy’s house was not far away. Even though they were living outside the wooden fence, their house was not far from the village. As he walked, he could see the boy’s house more and more clearly. Shabby and dilapidated houses were scattered across the plains.
Thud!
Suddenly, Zich halted. He scrunched his face slightly. Using his sensing abilities, he couldn’t sense anyone in the house. Since the boy was not in the village, he had expected the boy to be in his house. Zich began walking again. He sensed the house next to the boy’s house, but as expected, he couldn’t sense any human presence. It was the same for the other houses.
Then Zich’s senses reached the last house.
Tap!
Zich quickly sped up his movements. He finally sensed a presence in the last house; however, the presence was very faint.
‘A person is dying.’
Zich could feel it. In a matter of moments, Zich reached the house and opened the door. The house was not locked. The inside of the house was completely messy; the few furnishings in the house were wrecked, and three people were on the ground in the middle of the room.
‘Two of them are dead.’
That was the reason why Zich was only able to sense one person. While stepping on the blood-soaked floor that had turned sticky and dark, Zich walked towards the last remaining person. He took out a potion and lifted the dying person’s body. The figure was much smaller than an adult.
It was the boy.
“Hey! Wake up!” Zich shook the boy and opened the top of the potion to pour it on the boy, but his hand stopped.
‘This…’
There was something on the boy’s chest. A scar was cut on his chest into a specific pattern, and its gruesome existence shook all those who saw it.
“Mr…”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“…Why are you here…?”
“You kept not coming, so I came to you this time.” Zich’s voice was cold and calm.
If a bystander didn’t know the context of their situation, they would have thought Zich was having a casual conversation.
“I…see…”
As if he was happy that Zich came to find him, a faint smile formed on the boy’s face. The smile made his pale and lifeless face appear even more washed up.
“Who did this to you?” Zich asked bluntly.
The boy didn’t notice the slight chill in Zich’s voice, and he simply trembled at the memory of the horrific incident.
“I…I don’t know…He was someone…I have never…seen before…he suddenly appeared…at night.” Tears trickled down the boy’s cheeks. “Ah, he…to my dad…first…then, Mom…!”
He didn’t give specific details, but the corpses of the boy’s parents clearly displayed the terror they had faced right before their deaths.
“H-He told me…that if I didn’t shout…he wouldn’t kill…my mom and dad…but it hurt too much and I couldn’t…I tried to… endure it as much…as I could…” There were knife marks all over the boy’s body. It seemed as if his offender had played a ‘game’ of torture with a condition that the boy must not make a sound. “After…he killed… my mom and dad… he did the same thing…to other people…”
Zich didn’t feel any presence in the other houses; it seemed like the neighbors were also all dead.
“He said…it’s…all my…fault. It’s…all my fault!”
The boy couldn’t cry. He didn’t even have the energy to talk properly, and his consciousness was almost half gone. Instead, the soundless tears dripping down his face conveyed his sorrows.
“…Don’t worry. It’s not your fault,” Zich responded, but the boy’s heart could not be at ease with just a few words. “Do you remember anything particular about the guy?”
“…He had no…hair…and a strange…mark covered…half of his face…”
Zich’s eyes sparkled.
“All right. I understand. You have done well.”
Zich raised his hands and placed them on the hideous pattern on the boy’s chest. Mana gathered in his hands.
Pwiish!
His mana-soaked fingernails pierced deeply into the center of the mark.
Shaa.
The dark energy lingering on the boy’s body disappeared, and the boy closed his eyes at the same time. Then, the boy took his last breath.
“Don’t worry. I will settle this for you.” Zich stroked the sleeping boy’s head once.
* * *
Crackle!
The fire burned aggressively. Its fiery dance grew stronger from the many firewoods inside it. And everything within its reach—including the fearless bugs that flew into the fire and the corpses of those who had died a painful death—were engulfed in its flames.
The people living in the outskirts of the village experienced discrimination from the villagers while they were alive, and they couldn’t receive the villagers’ blessings even in their deaths. They were all outsiders who had settled into the village from somewhere else, so they had no clear connection with the rest of the community. In addition, the fact that they had all been brutally murdered scared the villagers from coming out. Thus, the only ones who bid their farewells were Zich, Hans, and Snoc.
“…They are so pitiful…”
Koo…
Snoc sighed while hugging Nowem. The villagers were reluctant to hold a funeral for the people who died. Therefore, Zich volunteered to do the work, and Zich and his companions did everything in preparation from moving the corpses and preparing the funeral. When Hans and Snoc first saw the corpses, they were shocked. Every single corpse was corrupt to the point that it no longer resembled the shape of a human.
The three watched the fire, and Hans stole quick glances at Zich. Zich’s expression was the same as usual, but that worried Hans even more.
‘There’s no way Sir Zich won’t do anything.’
He didn’t know the details, but Hans was aware that Zich had cared for a boy in this village. And that boy had died after going through horrible torture.
‘He won’t act upon things like sentimentality or a sense of justice.’
Although Zich vowed to do kind acts, Hans knew common motivators didn’t move or affect Zich. However, killing someone Zich helped and making his kind act useless or torturing and murdering someone related to him would have definitely made a dent on Zich’s ego. And Hans’ analysis was on point. Zich’s heart and mind were like steel. They were like a frozen piece of land that was frozen for thousands of years.
Zich waited until the fire dwindled without moving an inch. It took a long time for the fire to fade out, and Zich collected the bones left between the firewood. Then, he ground them up into powder and placed them into a vase and made an urn. Finally, he placed the urn into his magic box.
“Let’s go.” These were Zich’s first words since the firewood was lit up.
Hans asked, “Are you planning revenge, sir?”
“Of course.”
“Do you know who your target is?”
Zich made a faint smile, but Hans and Snoc couldn’t do the same. Zich’s smile was terrifying enough for them to break out in cold sweat.
“Hans, you remember Lubella and Weig, right?”
“Ah, yes!”
“Let’s go meet up with them. It’s been a while.”
“…What?”
Hans’s voice naturally rose as Zich talked about meeting Karuwiman’s Saint Candidate like they were going to meet a friend in the neighborhood. But Zich ignored him and continued walking.