Chapter 113: Spreading Blood on Sand (4)
Chapter 113: Spreading Blood on Sand (4)
“They’re… all dead…”
“What on earth are you talking about, damn it.”
Realizing that things were going terribly wrong, Ronan cursed under his breath. The indigenous boy lowered his head.
“Hey. Let’s lie him down for now.”
Ronan removed his coat and spread it on the ground. Shullifen carefully laid the boy down.
“It’s my fault. I’m too weak, I didn’t even realize the bird was flying toward us.”
“Did he fall from a very high place?”
“Yeah. If it weren’t for the soft sand below, he’d probably be dead by now.”
Shullifen explained the rough details of Roc Bird’s crash. The boy’s condition didn’t look good.
Besides various bruises, there were signs of fractures. Irregular breathing made it seem like he was on the verge of losing consciousness. Ronan turned to Cita and spoke.
“Cita, please.”
“Bweeh!”
Cita blinked as if it had been waiting, and a red light emanated from its feathers, wrapping around the boy.
Swaaah…! The bruises all over the boy’s body began to heal rapidly. The bloodstains on his limbs disappeared. Gradually, the boy’s breathing became more stable.
“It’s improved significantly. You must have learned a lot from Ophilia.”
“Bweeh!”
Ronan patted Cita as if praising her. Her healing abilities surpassed most high-quality potions. However, even after the treatment, the boy didn’t open his eyes.
“Damn it, wake up quickly and explain to me what’s going on.””
It seemed like he needed more time to regain consciousness. Ronan furrowed his brow as he carefully examined the boy.
He was undoubtedly a native of Dainhar, with his black hair and reddish-tinted skin. Geometric tattoos etched on various parts of his body further confirmed it. Ronan recalled memories from his past life and narrowed his gaze.
‘They’re not people who can be easily defeated…’
The boy’s words about everyone being dead kept echoing in Ronan’s mind. But based on his experience, the natives of the demonic region Dainhar were not easy opponents.
Ronan believed that even the imperial army would have a tough time if they tried to conquer Dainhar. At that moment, the boy’s lips quivered, and a faint groan escaped.
“Ugh… Ughhh…”
“What’s wrong? Are you awake?”
As his eyelids slowly opened, Ronan and the boy locked eyes. With a sudden jerk, the boy struggled to sit up, but he tumbled backward.
“Wha… what the hell?”
“Relax, kid. It wasn’t me.”
Ronan approached the boy, his hand in his pocket. The boy sat down, scattering sand as he scooped it up with his hand. In a quivering voice, the boy shouted,
“Don’t come any cl-closer! Y-You killed my people!”
“Ah, for heaven’s sake. Can’t you stop this nonsense?”
The boy didn’t seem entirely in his right mind. Ronan, hit by sand, pulled out Ymir and threw it. Swoosh! The dagger flew through the air and landed precisely between the boy’s legs. The boy turned pale and froze in place.
“Heeik!”
“Now, have you come to your senses?”
Ronan approached slowly and retrieved the dagger. The boy finally stopped his sand-throwing antics, gasping for breath. He stammered.
“Wh-where am I?”
“Your front yard. How are you feeling?”
It was only then that the boy realized that Ronan meant him no harm. He grasped Ronan’s hand, and with some help, he got to his feet.
“I’m… I’m okay. Did you heal me?”
“Well, not exactly. She did.”
“Bweeh!”
Ronan gestured to Cita, perched on his shoulder. The boy nodded and bowed his head in gratitude.
“I see. Thanks, strange bird. I mean it.”
Ronan couldn’t help but chuckle at the boy’s earnest response. He didn’t quite fit the image of the indigenous people Ronan had encountered in his past life. After expressing his gratitude, the boy turned to leave.
“I need to go now. I will definitely repay this favor.”
“Wait, where are you going?”
“To fight. I have to get my revenge. I have to save those who are still alive.”
The boy was about to leave, but Ronan swiftly tripped him with his foot. Thud! The boy, who was already unsteady, tumbled onto the sand.
“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”
“Hey, kid. You can’t even stand properly. Where are you going?”
“Don’t stop me. I have to go. Otherwise…”
“We’re going to Dainhar too, so tell us what happened.”
“Thank you for saving me, but I don’t need your help. At most, you guys seem to be around the same age as me. You should run away before they get here.”
“Hey, Shullifen.”
Ronan chuckled at the boy’s stubbornness and signaled to Shullifen. Understanding what he meant, Shullifen fired his sword energy towards the middle of the desert. Kaaboom! A huge sandstorm rose from the spot where the sword energy collided. The boy’s eyes widened.
“Monster…!”
“…That’s right. Do you think you’re as strong as me?”
“I’m twice as strong as him. So, don’t be stubborn and tell me. It doesn’t look like something you can handle on your own.”
“Ugh…”
Ronan spoke calmly, making a rational judgment. The indigenous boy seemed to agree, nodding his head.
“I get it. So… Ughh!”
Suddenly, the boy retched. It seemed like he had suddenly recalled a memory he had momentarily forgotten. Ronan waited until he had vomited out everything inside him. The boy, catching his breath, opened his mouth.
“…Strange people killed and captured the people from my village. Almost all the men who could fight were killed.”
“Strange people?”
“Yes, very strange people.”
The boy continued speaking in a trembling voice. He explained the mysterious invaders.
One of them appeared to be a middle-aged man, while the other wore strange clothing, making it impossible to discern their face or gender. They had entered their village and committed a massacre.
‘The village?’
Ronan recalled the ruined Dainhar structure. Even Ronan had never ventured into the heart of the indigenous village, which was said to be at the center of Dainhar.
“Did those bastards fall from the sky? How did you crawl all the way there?”
“They didn’t sneak in. They pushed through the front. They broke through our defense line in just three days.”
“What?”
“They used some strange power we couldn’t defend against. Our attacks had no effect, but theirs went right through. Even our Chief died in the end.”
Upon hearing those words, Ronan’s face stiffened. The characteristics seemed all too familiar.
“I kept trying to fight, but the adults sent me away on a big bird. I was attacked while flying, and I fell here… Where is this?”
Suddenly, Ronan turned his body and rushed to check on Roc Bird. When he observed closely, he noticed injuries he hadn’t seen before. A huge iron bolt resembling a harpoon was embedded in the side, concealed beneath the feathers.
“These bastards.”
Fwoosh! Suddenly, a white glow creeped up the blade of Ymir. The sight before Ronan was similar to two objects with the same properties resonating with each other.
Grit! Ronan gritted his teeth. The metal rod, which was maliciously sharp, had an all-too-familiar aura around it.
“…Nebula Clazier.”
It was unmistakable, even though it was faint. It was the shining mana that was the symbol of Nebula Clazier. Ronan, who was silent for a moment, turned to the boy and said.
“Hey, what’s your name?”
“It’s Dreaming Thunder.”
“Alright, Thunder.”
“Are you okay? Your expression…”
The boy, seeing Ronan’s face, hesitated and backed away. It was so violently distorted that it seemed as if he had become a completely different person than before. Ronan growled, his eyes locked on Dainhar.
“We’re leaving right now. Guide us by the fastest route.”
They quickly packed their bags and set off toward Dainhar. The sun had already risen and was heating up the ground.
There was no time for rest. Besides the disturbing presence of Nebula Clazier, the most terrifying aspect was that it had been three days since the incident had occurred.
‘It wouldn’t be strange if everyone was dead by now.’
Ronan clenched his fist. These individuals were troublesome enough as it was, and he had no idea what kind of schemes they were concocting.
However, judging from their cruel actions, it was highly likely that the indigenous people had already been wiped out. Ronan and Shullifen walked without stopping, following Thunder’s lead. Ronan, looking around, twitched his lips.
“The path wasn’t this easy…”
Tragedy had unfolded even before reaching Dainhar. A nauseating stench permeated through the hot wind. Monsters that should have played the role of gatekeepers were lying dead all over the place.
The feathers of the fallen Roc Birds scattered like autumn leaves in the hot wind. Sandworms, which are considered a nightmare for adventurers, were also uprooted and withered to death.
Among them, some colossal monsters measuring over 10 meters in length could be found with relative ease. It was challenging to catch such creatures, as they could burrow deep into the ground, so it was unclear how they were brought to the surface. The sand beneath the blazing sun quivered.
“It feels weird…”
Something was different from before. Roan felt a sudden uneasiness in his chest and furrowed his brow. It wasn’t clear which of his hearts was sending this warning signal.
They entered Dainhar in the late afternoon. It had been a day saved in their journey.
Before them rose towering rocky mountains that looked too sharp and organic to be naturally formed. Thunder, who was walking ahead, pointed to the middle of the rocky mountain and said.
“You guys are quite good to have made it this far already. We can go through that gap; it’s a shortcut to the village.”
“Damn, it’s so small, I can’t see the entrance.”
Ronan narrowed his eyes. In the place pointed out by Thunder, there was barely enough space for a single person to pass through.
“I’ll go ahead. Be careful; we might attract their attention.”
With those words, Thunder started climbing the rock with his bare hands. His movements were so agile that it looked like he was observing some bug. Ronan and Shullifen followed him closely.
The passage was dark and narrow, twisting and turning, making it easy to lose balance.
They walked through the darkness, guided only by the sound of their footsteps. It felt like about an hour had passed when Ronan suddenly felt a blinding light and raised his head.
“Have we arrived?”
Not far ahead, there was an opening in the form of a crack. Light was pouring in from there. Thunder, who had been breathing heavily, suddenly rushed forward.
“We’ve arrived. Everyone…!”
“Hey, you said it’s dangerous?!”
Despite the warning, Thunder didn’t stop. Ronan hurriedly followed him. As they emerged from the crevice, their view opened up. A curse escaped Ronan’s mouth.
“Fuck.”
A thick, metallic smell of blood rushed over them. There was no sign of the village. Instead, they were greeted by the wreckage of destroyed structures and the remains of children. The barely recognizable ruins of buildings hinted at the fact that people once lived here.
Iron bolts, similar to the one that had pierced the Roc Bird, were embedded in the bodies of the people. Over a hundred corpses were embedded on the cliff walls like plaques. Shullifen, who was worse off, sighed softly.
“This is terrible…”
There were corpses everywhere, but finding one that wasn’t mutilated beyond recognition would be hard. Limbs were scattered as though they were just rocks from the outside world.
Even merciless mercenary bands would not have committed such a massacre and destruction. Nebula Clazier’s mana was blooming like a haze everywhere. Thunder, who was frozen in place, roared softly.
“…They’re all dead.”
In a daze, He started walking through the village that had turned into a hellish scene. Ronan, who reacted belatedly, expanded his senses. There was no sign of survivors, but there was no sign of the culprits either. As he looked around, Ronan turned to Shullifen.
“Did you sense anything?”
“I haven’t detected anything yet.”
Shullifen shook his head, his voice heavy as he explained that his sensory abilities had been thrown into confusion since entering Dainhar. His voice carried a touch of bitterness as he observed the carnage.
“Ronan, if it’s been three days, we might already be too late. Perhaps we should focus on rescuing any potential survivors.”
“That makes sense, but… I have a feeling they’re still here.”
Ronan was confident that Nebula Clazier hadn’t left Dainhar yet. The intensified pain in his chest served as evidence.
As he contemplated his next move, Thunder’s screams suddenly echoed from behind.
“Aaargh!”
“Fuck, what happened?”
It was the loudest cry they had heard from Thunder. Both of them turned their heads simultaneously. A stranger was sprinting into the distance, carrying a Thunder on its back.
“Shit, stop!”
Judging by his behavior, he was a native of Dainhar. Ronan pulled out Lamancha and ran after the stranger.
A chase broke out out of nowhere. The stranger was leaping over corpses and changing directions here and there in an attempt to shake off his pursuer. But Ronan tenaciously kept up.
“You bastard, stand still!”
Their distance was gradually closing. In the instant where his sword energy was about to make contact, the stranger suddenly disappeared around the corner of the rocky mountain. Ronan, who turned the corner a beat later, frowned.
“What… Where did he go?”
The stranger and Thunder had vanished inexplicably. Ronan searched his surroundings frantically. Unless they had wings, there was no way they could have vanished so suddenly.
Sure enough, in the distance, he noticed a hole in the wall about the height of his lower body. There were no other passages.
“He must have hidden in there. You weak bastard.”
Ronan put his foot into the hole without hesitation. He let out a course as he realized, what he had assumed to be the ground, was nothing there.
“Fuck…”
What he expected to be a floor was a very steep, sandy slope. He thrust his sword into the ground to slow his descent. The sand began to split apart, and his speed decreased.
“Shit! They built it like this on purpose.”
Ronan fell for a while before landing on the floor. It was the moment when he spit out sand and was about to turn his back. A loud voice rang out along with the sound of rattling metal.
“Stay where you are. Outsider.”
“What?”
Ronan was hesitant for a moment. Whoosh! From the opposite side, a whistling sound was heard.
Ronan swung Lamancha and turned around at the same time. Whoosh! Sparks flew as a two-pronged iron arrowhead hit the ground.
The cleanly cut arrowhead was made entirely of metal from the tip to the body. Murmurs of astonishment were heard from everywhere.
At least thirty people, dressed in a similar fashion to Thunder, had gathered. Over half of them had oddly shaped bows aimed at Ronan. In the background, Thunder’s voice could be heard.
“What…!”
“You’re still terrible at welcoming guests.”
Ronan grinned and looked in the direction the arrow had come from. There were about thirty people gathered together who looked similar to Thunder. Half of them were holding strange-looking bows in their hands, aiming them at Ronan. Thunder’s voice was heard from that direction.
“Everyone, calm down! Ronan is not a bad person; he’s here to help us!”
“You stay still. Dreaming Thunder.”
Others restrained Thunder. Ronan suddenly looked behind the natives and his eyes widened.
Black crystals covered the walls and ceiling of the cave. They were the rare stones that everyone would venture into Dainhar for.