Chapter 19: Blood and Egg (2)

Chapter 19: Blood and Egg (2)

A startled cry echoed from not too far away. It was an area thick with undergrowth taller than a person's height. Ronan, after confirming the direction, began to sprint through the terrain.

Thwack!

Then another arrow flew. It was different from the previous ones, moving with an oddly fast speed.

Rather than deflecting the arrow, Ronan twisted his head to dodge it.

In that fleeting moment when the arrow grazed past his eye, Ronan could see the unusual shape of the arrowhead.

'It's...'

The arrowhead, somehow familiar, was not the usual triangular or diamond shape. It had three triangular blades attached to a pointed arrow shaft.

'I remember this.'

It was the same type of arrowhead a fellow punisher had proudly shown off, designed for breaking through animal bones rather than being intended for humans due to its vicious structure.

They had said that when infused with mana, it could instantly kill even small monsters. His fellow punisher's boast echoed in his mind.

- And this isn't something just any villager can use. Only those ranked higher than hunting dogs in the kaliborro can use this.

'Hunting dogs' were the term for elite members of kaliborro. His fellow punisher had gone on to praise kaliborro's greatness and its well-organized organizational culture.

Ronan's expression turned grim.

"kaliborro."

The prominent poaching organization that had attempted to abduct Marpez's dream bird, one of the continent's top poaching groups.

'There's no reason to spare them.'

Rather than deflecting the arrow that was about to strike him, Ronan swiftly drew his sword and pressed it against his lips.

"Cease fire, kaliborro! They're allies!"

"What?"

"Don't you guys recognize your own comrades? It's Ahayute, a hunting dog from the Demire branch!"

The arrow fire halted for a moment. Ronan, who had closed the distance enough, continued to approach with cautious steps, keeping his hands raised.

As his psychic grip dissipated, the rocks and pieces of wood that had been floating in the air fell to the ground.

"Put your hands up and verify!"

"Ahayute from the Demire branch...?"

With raised hands, Ronan, still wary, moved closer in the direction from which the arrows had come.

Soon, four men emerged from the rustling bushes.

"Ahayute? Never heard of it. Have you guys?"

"No, not at all."

"What's with the kid?"

Three of them held bows, and one held a dagger. Ronan scrutinized their appearance and frowned. Their clothes and frayed edges were stained with red blood.

On the ground were streaks of what seemed like something dragged along. Ronan noticed silver rings on the fingers of the men.

They were tamer rings, similar to the ones that had been tied around Marpez's leg. The man with the dagger growled.

"You're the hunting dog from Demire? The kaliborro one?"

"Yeah, that's right. Why repeat the same thing?"

"You should speak properly. It might work for a messenger, but it's nonsense for a brat like you to claim you're a hunting dog."

"Maybe you're not completely useless, even though you're a pup. Did you only pick up ignorant kids for your hunting dogs, kaliborro?"

Ronan spat at the man's feet. The man gave a hollow laugh and grabbed Ronan by the collar, holding the dagger to his throat.

"Do you want to die, you blood-soaked brat?"

"Oh, so it's not a wolf but a hunting dog?"

"All seven of us are hunting dogs."

Ronan nodded.

Seven of them. There must be three more hidden somewhere. He had been feeling their presence since a while ago.

"Well done. If you still have a doubt, you can ask your wolves. But then again, it's not unreasonable for someone who was recently promoted to not know everything."

Ronan grabbed the man's collar and threw him off. The hunting dogs, upon hearing the word "wolf," grew agitated.

Fox, hunting dog, wolf.

It wasn't merely to dismiss him as a liar; the boy before them seemed to be well aware of kaliborro's ranking system.

Moreover, unless he had been mistaken, didn't he also deflect the mana-infused arrow? His exceptional skill with the sword and the odd sense of credibility added to it.

The man with the dagger spoke.

"...This brat is watching closely."

"You want me to go? The boss didn't seem to be in a good mood today. Shouldn't we handle this among ourselves?"

"You never know. If that kid is really a hunting dog, it could cause a rift with the Demire branch."

Eventually, the man disappeared into the bushes. The hunting dogs, now armed with swords instead of bows, approached grumbling.

A man with a weasel-like appearance aimed the tip of a knife at Ronan's chest.

"By the way, how did you do that earlier?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb. You were floating rocks and wood. Are you a magician or something?"

He was referring to Aselle's psychic powers. Ronan grinned broadly.

"Oh, that? There's nothing to hide."

From his pouch, Ronan took out Marpez's egg. The eyes of the men widened at the sight of the egg's jewel-like beauty.

"This is what it's about. It came out when I split open the griffin's stomach last time. Probably some sort of magic artifact."

"Wait, you caught a griffin? No, wait, what is this?"

"See for yourself, senior."

Ronan lightly tossed the egg to the weasel-like man. The gathered men greedily touched and examined the egg.

"Heeyaah..."

"Never seen anything like this before."

Marpez's egg exuded a mysterious aura despite its beauty. Even if it possessed some sort of magical ability, it wouldn't be surprising. One of the men held up the egg and shouted.

"Hey! Everyone come out and take a look at this!"

At that, a man and a woman emerged from different directions. From behind trees, rocks, and thickets.

All of them seemed to play the role of snipers, each holding a massive hunting bow.

"What's with the commotion? What is it?"

"This brat says this is a magic artifact he got from catching a griffin. Should we kill him?"

They, too, were intrigued by the egg as they eagerly examined it. At that moment, two more men walked out from a tall grassy area. One of them was the man with the dagger from earlier.

"Is this the kid?"

"Yes, Captain."

The other one, nearly 2 meters tall and bald, was adorned with flashy jewelry all over his body.

At a glance, Ronan could tell that he was the 'wolf,' the leader of the branch. The approaching wolf gave Ronan a thorough look.

"So, you're the one from the Demire branch, Ahayute?"

"Yes."

"I heard our branch is in charge of the newly discovered leyline this time. What sort of trickery is this?"

The wolf's voice was laced with a threatening tone. Ronan remained silent.

He quickly surveyed his surroundings. He couldn't sense any more presence. Thus, all eight of them, including the wolf, were now gathered.

The corners of Ronan's mouth curled upward. The most bothersome part was over. He felt a newfound warmth toward the fellow punisher who was once captured for poaching.

"Even though I'm tired and disgusted, I did well by sparing you. There's truly nothing like a fellow."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"First things first, let's clarify... I'm not Ahayute."

Swoosh!

Ronan's sword shot out like a released spring. A red line appeared on Wolf's throat. Just a moment too late, Wolf raised his hand to his scabbard. As his head separated from his body, it fell to the ground.

"Huh?"

"I gave myself the name I hate the most. It's because I have to act like a damn poacher."

The world as Beom knew it had turned upside down. The pupils of the man who had been holding the dagger widened.

Because everyone's attention was fixated on the egg, witnessing the bizarre death of their leader was the only thing they had seen.

"Everyone...!"

Swoosh!

However, there was no time to retaliate. Ronan, who had thrown Wolf's body aside, swung his sword towards the man with the dagger.

The sensation of the blade slicing flesh and snapping bone transmitted through his fingertips. The severed left arm of the man and four fingers of his right hand shot into the air.

"You're on hold for now."

"Nooo!"

The man's mouth gaped open, emitting a bone-chilling scream. Only then did the hunting dogs, who had finally regained their senses, scramble to assume a fighting stance.

"What, what's going on?! This brat...!"

"Huh? The captain..."

The fastest hunting dog hastily knocked an arrow onto his bowstring. But the gap had already been closed. Like a rapid-fire gunshot, Ronan's sword struck towards the hunting dogs.

"No...!"

Swoosh!

"Kyaa...!"

Swoosh!

"Darn it, Jen...!"

Swoosh!

Ronan's sword swung precisely toward the poachers' necks. Consequently, only sporadic bursts of elasticity, more like physiological reactions than groans or screams, erupted without the gruesome cries.

"Who am I...!"

Swoosh!

While some of the hunting dogs had achieved the level of sword experts, it didn't matter much. Humans would die if their throats were cut, anyway.

Swoosh.

Spurts of fresh blood spattered the grass. The bodies that fell with a slow rhythm bounced on the ground like fish pulled from a pond. The last remaining hunting dog dropped his weapon and shouted.

"Save me...!"

Swoosh!

It didn't take a long time for the ordeal to come to an end.

****

"Uwaaah! Uwek!"

"I told you to brace yourself."

As Aselle's eyes met the corpses, he vomited once again. Upon hearing Ronan's call and arriving late, Aselle had to force himself to believe the hellish scene before him was real.

Among the fallen bodies, none of them had their heads attached. Heads, with wide-open eyes, rolled about among the bushes like fallen autumn flowers.

"Wha... What are those people... Ugh!"

"kaliborro. The poachers I mentioned before."

It was a massacre different from the Lunar Goblin incident.

Although the scene itself was cleaner than back then when entrails and limbs were scattered like fertilizer, the Lunar Goblins weren't humans, but monsters.

Aselle choked out, "T-this is murder!"

"They're all criminals, it's okay. Probably."

Ronan, smoking a cigarette, answered heavily. Indeed, most of the poachers from kaliborro were under warrants. Even the lowest-ranking members, the hunting dogs, had bounties on their heads, not to mention the elite members, the wolves.

"Let's move on for now."

"Are you putting all of this...?"

"Or would you like to lift them with your hands or telekinesis?"

The reason they had cleanly severed only the heads was because of that. Ronan started cramming the heads into his backpack.

Ronan and Aselle divided the heads into five for one backpack and three for the other. The sensation of liquid seeping into their clothes as they pressed them in was eerie.

Seeing Aselle panting heavily, Ronan grabbed his hood and pulled him along.

"Come with me."

"Yeah...?"

Ronan and Aselle cut through the tall grass together. The bloodstains from before, even before Ronan's swordplay, led them.

After about ten minutes of walking, the tall grass gave way to an open space. The pungent smell of blood, much stronger than before, enveloped the boys. Ronan took out his pipe and lit it.

"Feeling a bit less guilty now?"

"This...this is..."

"Yeah. The bastards in the backpacks did all this."

Aselle couldn't continue speaking. Animals that looked like they numbered over a hundred were lying dead, regardless of species. Deer, wild boars, leopards, unnamed birds, and even small squirrels...

Blood formed rivulets, flowing down the slope. In one corner of the open space, it seemed that dissection was in progress, with neatly piled pieces of meat and leather.

Useless heads and organs were scattered haphazardly on the ground. Aselle felt immobilized as if he had taken root in that spot.

"This...this is too much..."

"Professor Varen will be sad."

Ronan let out a puff of smoke and laughed dryly. Even the odd creatures that seemed to belong to a corner of a fantasy world had turned into chilling corpses.

While some fantasy creatures were sold as pets, unfortunately, the fantasy creatures here seemed to be evaluated more highly for their meat and materials.

"But at least we got this, so is it fortunate...?"

Ronan pulled out a tightly rolled parchment from his pocket. It was different from what he had received from Professor Varen. The map drawn in blood depicted certain locations.

- Draw them all without missing a thing.

Ronan had ordered the man to draw the locations of all the branches he knew.

The man, no longer able to hold a dagger, desperately drew the map. The index finger of his right hand that Ronan had deliberately left untouched served as both his brush and lifeline.

-I-I've drawn them all, so you'll spare me, right? Right?

Having finished the map, the man abandoned all his pride and begged for his life.

-No.

Without a trace of hesitation, Ronan cut his throat. He had never promised to spare him in the first place.

Rolling the parchment back up, Ronan muttered to himself.

"I wonder if Varen will be pleased if I give this to him."

Looking at the dead fantasy creatures, thoughts of the egg naturally crossed his mind. Ronan rummaged through his pocket. Apart from his pouch of tobacco, there was nothing else.

"Darn it, where did I put it again?"

Come to think of it, it seemed he hadn't picked it up after handing it to the hunting dogs earlier.

Leaving Aselle behind, Ronan moved to the place where the massacre had taken place. He frowned as he reached the scene.

"Huh?"

All the deep bloodstains that had been scattered around were gone. Even the blood that had pooled in the grass or soaked into the soil had disappeared without a trace.

What's this? Did I take the wrong path?

Ronan's gaze darted around. A peculiar sight caught his eye.

"...What's that?"

The remaining blood was still seething and moving somewhere.