The white-haired woman pleasantly narrowed her red eyes at the bald, bearded chin man while patiently waiting for his response as though she had all the time in the world.
The bald, bearded chin man took deep breaths to calm his nerves as he saw the illusion as though he was standing before death itself, though that probably wasn't that far from the truth.
"If you answer me earnestly, then I promise I won't kill you. I'm sure you wouldn't want to experience the pain of being eaten alive, do you?"
She asked, as her mouth turned upwards into a sinister grin. Hearing her words made the face of the bald man turn as pale as a sheet of paper.
He was now starting to regret his choice of not following Haruto and others into the cave when he had the chance.
(I-I have to survive, as long as I live, then who gives a sh*t about that village)
He thought to himself.
Even now, he was receiving death glares from the dog-like beasts who were waiting for the orders to devour him.
He cleared his throat while calming down the beating of his heart.
As though guessing he was ready to talk, the white-haired woman folded her arms beneath her voluptuous chest, and her mouth was upturned into a smile.
The snake wrapped around her body glared at the man while hissing.
".... Those guys say that they were adventurers sent here from the Albanian Kingdom."
"Adventurers, from the kingdom of Albanian, huh? Interesting, now that I thought about it, the Albanian kingdom is the closest kingdom near that old rundown village you all come from, isn't it?"
The woman said, nodding her head, she then brought her hand to her pale cheek and asked.
"By the way, on what quest are they here for exactly? It's not to destroy my cave, right?"
She asked, even though she was speaking softly, she was actually very furious beneath the kind and gentle persona she had been putting on.
(Sigh, I went through the trouble of finding those monsters from various places to use 'Modification magic' to change their characteristic a little, but before I could, this happened. That Alister is never going to let this one go, will he?)
The white-haired woman sighed tiredly. She spent several days taming those monsters, which took up a lot of time, mana and resources. Seeing that her plan of having powerful monsters that have their own speciality was ruined, she couldn't help but frown sullenly.
"Hah... well, the goblins inside the cave started attacking our village, they also kidnapped the villagers for reasons unknown to me, it seems the village head decided to send a formal request to the adventurer guild in Albanian."
He explained in quick succession, while beads of sweat slid down his face, sensing the change of air around the white-haired woman.
"Oh? I guess that means I can thank your village for ruining my plan, then? Which also means you also interfered with my plans."
She said her lips curved into a devilish grin.
"Huh?! What n-no, I had no part in that request! It was all that woman's fault!"
He said while taking a light step backwards, eventually his back pressed against the tree trunk, and there was no longer any room for him to back away anymore.
Roar~
Roar~
Roar~
Roar~
The beast-like dogs all let out a hungry roar. With their snouts drooling, seeing this, the white-haired woman's eyes shone faintly as she nodded her head as though answering them. She then took a step back and started walking away as though it was no longer her business.
"W-wait! Wh-what about me?!"
The bald, bearded chin man yelled at the top of his voice, desperately pleading for some kind of salvation. The woman stopped and looked back before putting on a warm smile that could easily make the hearts of men thump loudly. When the bearded chin man saw that smile, it only made his blood run cold.
"I did indeed say that I would not kill you if you cooperated with me by answering my question earnestly, but you're the fool for believing the words of a demon in the first place."
She said before shrugging her shoulders.
"You little ones can feast to your hearts' content."
She left behind those words before her body vanished like smoke.
That was the signal for the feasting to begin; the beast-like dogs all leapt at once, chomping onto the limbs of the bald, bearded man.
"Argh!!!"
Crush~
"Argh! Damn dog! let me go!!"
Crush~
He desperately tried to force the dog away from his body, no matter how many times he tried to push it away or punch the head of the beast like a dog, its razor-like fangs didn't let go.
They continued to munch on his flesh. Blood slowly slid down, staining the ground a darker shade of red.
The man's leg was easily crushed between the fangs of the beast, biting into his flesh.
Two of the beasts, like dogs, bit his leg while the others bit his upper body.
The bald, bearded man could only scream while feeling the intense sensation of his flesh being ripped off.
It didn't take long before his screams died down as the beast-like dogs bit his head. They continued to devour his body until he was nothing more than lumps of flesh.
Soon, the forest regains its tranquillity as though nothing had ever happened; it would be hard for anyone to believe that until a second ago, a person was eaten alive.
If not for the bloodied mess left behind.
On top of a tree branch, the white-haired woman was observing the bald man being devoured with a disinterested expression on her face.
(Sigh, how boring... my entire hard work is now ruined, I guess I'll just have to start all over again)
(Now I'm much further away from my desired goal; soon, my Lord Lucifer shall make his arrival into this world once again)
When she thought of that person, her tone softened slightly.
(Hehe he... it won't be long now; the seal of those heroes will soon be broken and then that person will...)
She thought quietly while gently petting the head of the snake wrapped around her body. The snake pleasantly closed its red, glowing eyes and hissed. Soon, her gaze turned in the direction where Haruto and the others were currently standing. While she was curious about them, she couldn't allow her presence to be noticed.
There is no way she was brazen enough to face both a silver fox who was both the master of ice and lightning elements and a high-ranking spirit at the same time, not to mention she was also greatly wary of that human boy whose aura was greatly intimidating.
With all that in mind, she decided to simply leave the place without making too much of a fuss.
She then lightly jumps down from the tree with a light thud.
She then took out a small, palm-sized crystal before throwing it into the air. The crystal glowed faintly before a vortex appeared. She then looked back, glancing at the black-haired young boy one last time before walking into the vortex that rapidly shrank before disappearing with a small poof.
***
"Hmm?"
"Umm, Alya, is something wrong?"
I asked curiously as Alya suddenly turned her head in the direction of the forest with a serious face.
She tilted her head in confusion for a moment before answering.
"A second there, I thought I sensed something."
She replied.
"You sensed something, like what?"
I inquired curiously. Nikita also turned her attention to Alya.
"I sensed the distortion of space briefly; it disappeared as soon as I sensed it."
She explained, while placing her hand against her cheeks in contemplation.
I see... but that's strange, isn't space magic supposed to be the most difficult magic to use? I wondered.
"Nikita, did you smell any weird or unfamiliar scent coming from the forest?"
"Weird or unfamiliar scent, I didn't detect any weird scent, but that forest is crawling with unfamiliar scent."
Nikita replied, sighing exasperatedly. I could only give a slightly strained smile at her response. I guess my way of putting it wasn't the best.
"Well, I guess whoever you sensed a moment ago is probably gone by now. Let's not dwell on it any further."
I said, wrapping up the topic, I then turned my attention to Ben and the other villagers before speaking.
"Well, now that you guys are free and the goblins causing you problems are gone, shall we head back to the village?"
I asked to confirm their intentions from here.
"Yes, it's been a while since I last saw my wife, Artina."
He said as his tone softened. However, when I heard the name of his wife, I widened my eyes slightly; both Alya and Nikita had the same reaction.
(So, this guy is Miss Artina's husband; now I'm really glad I protected him all this time)
I thought, sighing to myself.
"Now I'm glad I didn't allow that annoying snake to eat him."
Said Alya while sighing.
"Haha... It's amazing how eventful a small encounter can be."
Nikita, who had taken out her feather fan from her ample bosom, said as she gently fanned herself. How did it fit in there?
I wondered as I stared at Nikita's feather fan curiously, and I instantly turned away awkwardly when our gazes met.
Two pairs of emerald eyes watch that from the side.
"Any way, your Miss Artina's husband, huh?"
I said, changing the subject.
"Hmm? Why are you guys looking at me like that?"
Ben said, tilting his head in confusion.
"N-No, it's nothing pleased don't worry about it, shall we go?"
I said while showing a wry smile.
***
Approximately 30 minutes had passed as we made our way back to the village...
The many kidnapped villagers were finally reunited with their lost loved ones; it was then decided they would have a feast for the return of their villagers.
"Okay, all done... I have signed the official quest."
Artina said as she handed me the quest paper with her signature as proof that we had completed the official quest.
"Thank you, we'll be leaving now that everyone here has settled down."
I said before getting up from my chair. We were currently inside the house of Ben and Artina.
"Mm? I really wanted to go back to the Albanian kingdom as soon as possible."
"But the sun is already starting to set, don't you think you should at least wait until morning to go? After all, nighttime is when most of the dangerous beasts and monsters are most active, and besides, we're having a feast tonight; the villagers want to thank you for all your help."
Artina said while gazing at me earnestly. I wanted to refuse, as getting involved with them any more than this seems troublesome, but the piercing gazes I felt from both Alya and Nikita made me hold my tongue.
After thinking about it for a while, I shook my head before sitting back down.
"I understand. In that case, we are most grateful for your consideration."
I said as I bowed my head.
"Yes, thank you."
"We'll never forget your kindness."
Both Alya and Nikita also express their thanks by lowering their heads.
"Hahaha... I promise you won't regret this, as the food is going to be prepared by Camila."
"Hmm? Umm... who is Camila?"
I inquired curiously.
"She is the red-haired girl you saved from the hobgoblin, remember?"
"Oh, that girl."
Hearing about the hobgoblin stirred my memories.
"So, she's a good cook. Huh?"
"Yup, one of the best alongside her mother, I promise you'll enjoy it. You might even fall in love with her through her cooking skills."
He said playfully. I could only give a strained laugh when hearing that.
"Hmph."
"I see... so that girl was my enemy the entire time."
I thought I heard such muttering from both Nikita and Alya, so I pretended not to hear them.
***
After discussing the feast for roughly 20 minutes, I decided to use their bathroom to wash up. When I looked into the large mirror that showed my upper body, I noticed my black hair was messy and out of place from my rigorous movement while being inside the forest.
Though I guess my hair was always messy. I sighed before removing my black jacket.
The streaks instantly lost their glow as I removed my coat. I then slowly rolled up my undershirt, causing my right arm to be slightly exposed, but my body instantly stiffened when I saw my right arm.
On the side, there were many markings in strange writing unfamiliar to me, from the hand all the way up to my shoulder, many different writings written in inky black letters.
I promptly looked to my left arm, but, strangely enough, there were no markings there.
(This! what is this?!)
I quickly took off my shirt completely and looked to see if there were any stranger marking on my body.
My eyes widened when I saw my entire bare back had a huge symbol in the middle like a tattoo; the symbol was a familiar one, a triangle with a circle going across the three sides.
"This, this can't be good."
I muttered listlessly.