The axe crushed the floor, but that wasnât what she was worried about. Carlyâs skin stood up as she felt all of the hair in her body rise.
Without thinking, she ran to the living room.
Why did this happen? Who was the man trying to kill her? Why was he trying to kill them?
There was no time to worry about this.
If she stayed still, she would die, and she wanted her family to come out alive from this.
âThis way! Quick!â
âEhh⌠sleepyâŚâ
The young daughter groaned but Saika couldnât soothe her. He threw open the window and held out a hand to Carly.
First, he had to let Carly out.
âDo you think such a wicked thing can escape?â
The voice came closer.
âQ-Quick!â
âDadâŚ? Mom?â
âCome here!â
The daughter, who didnât realize what was happening, looked at her parents, who were moving so fast. Carly grabbed her daughter and held her in her arms while reaching for her husband, who was behind them.
âHurry!â
âWhat is it? What happened?â
Viya felt something was odd and asked them, but they didnât answer.
Saika couldnât precisely answer her.
Kwang!!!
âKuak!â
Saika, who was escaping, avoided the axe from behind and fell to the ground. He sprained his ankle in the process.
âEuk.â
âAre you fine?â
âDad!â
Carly and Viya called him anxiously. Saika nodded that he was fine and jumped up.
His ankle throbbed a lot, but getting out of there was more important.
âFucking rats!â
Kwak!
The axe scraped through the wooden wall.
The shards of wood scattered everywhere.
âRun!â
Saika ran with his wife, and Taika, the owner of the ax, snorted, looking at the family escaping.
âWicked things. Think you can escape?â
Taika didnât follow them. The followers of the Demon King. Those filthy people needed to be punished.
The punishment was fear.
It was only right for the bugs who followed the Demon King to die in fear.
âPurification of the village has begun. There is nowhere for you to run! Hehehe!â
His laughter didnât last long as his expression hardened, and he stared at the empty land.
âThe monster would surely come out. Until then, we have to make this small village a fortress.â
Taika thought about the monster that attacked his unit.
âDamned thatâŚâ
He thought about how humiliating it was, and he still couldnât believe a little monster had slaughtered his men.
The world knows that absurd beings appear in the name of talent. StillâŚ!!
âPhew. Letâs calm down as we have things to prepare.â
We need this village to hunt that little monster!
Saika ran with his family.
He didnât know what had happened, but getting his family out of there was the most important thing.
It was thenâŚ
âW-Why is this? Uh⌠AVKKKKKK!â
A familiar voice could be heard, along with a scream.
â⌠Mister Vito?â
It was the voice of his neighbor, Vito, who lived near them. And the sound came from where his house was.
âMomâŚâ
Viya pulled Carly. Her tiny hand was shaking in fear, so Carly hugged her.
âI am out of breathâŚâ
Eve when Viya said it, Carly wasnât going to relax the grip around her because fear had taken over her.
Saika and Carly didnât say much, but they knew what to do.
They had to move quietly without saying anything.
The only thing they could trust was the hearing that Carly had.
âI will take the lead. Viya willâŚ.â
â⌠you will be fine?â
âMom⌠DadâŚâ
Despite being young, Viya was aware that the situation was serious. She was scared, but looking at her parentsâ faces, she knew that crying would cause something bad to happen.
The child was carried by her father, and Saika smiled as he looked at her.
âEverything will be fine.â
It was just a small whisper, but for some reason, Viya felt a little reassured.
When the child calmed down, Saika also felt calm.
A strange feeling arose inside of him, but unfortunately, they werenât in a good situation. Carly took the lead while focusing on the sounds she could hear.
âThe sound of knives⌠isnât too far.â
When Saika tried to listen, he could barely hear it.
It wasnât the sound of blades clashing but of blades being thrust into something.
They turned away from the sound. They knew that the village was in danger, but they couldnât do anything either. Even if they would get cursed later, they had to do this.
It was thenâŚ
âS-Saika! Carly!â
Someone called.
They wondered if it was an enemy, so they hurriedly turned, only to find a familiar face.
âSan!!â
A villager named San. He stood, gasping for breath.
âY-You people are alive!â
âLower your voice.â
Carly put her finger on her lip and looked around. Scared of her eyes, San closed his mouth.
And heard a small voice.
âWhat is all of this about? I suddenly heard a scream, and then the door of my house was smashed open. I escaped through the windowâŚâ
âThere are robbers in the village. The one who came into our house carried a huge ax, and we almost died.â
âR-Robbers?â
âI donât think there are many.â
Carly had a rough idea based on the sounds she heard.
âThey arenât over ten.â
âHow do you know that?â
âI have always had good hearing since I was young. It doesnât matter. Come on, letâs run! We need to get out of here.â
If they hadnât met him, they wouldnât have cared, but now that they did, they couldnât leave him.
San nodded and followed.
They moved to where there was little noise, and they finally made their way out of the village.
Pung.
It was when they had reached the outskirts, Carly heard something.
âEuk!â
The sound of stabbing something suddenly and the sound of something falling on the snow. She didnât have to turn to know what it was.
Saikaâs eyes widened as he held his child.
âDad?â
Only the child, who didnât know what was happening, tilted her head at the strange situation. Carly glanced back and closed her mouth.
Saika bit his lip as he said,
âHurry faster.â
âH-Honey.â
âI said leave.â
They could hear the voice of San. One could never know when the arrows would fly in.
âThis way.â
They moved to the side of the road.
They didnât know where the arrows were being shot from, but if they ran in different directions, they wouldnât be hit.
They stopped walking and ran. Despite being out of breath, they didnât care.
âHahaha! Run! Run away, you worms!â
Someone jumped over the roofs of the building and ran to them.
Like the ax man who raided their house.
Could they outrun him?
âJust the child and wife should do.â
The distance was getting smaller.
âDemon King followers! Fucking lay your heads down and die!â
Why were they being called this?
None of the people who lived here were the Demon Kingâs followers! In fact, they hated the Demon King.
This was unfair.
They were being called the people whom they hated, and they might die from the misunderstanding.
EverythingâŚ
âW-We are not his followers!â
Saika stopped running and shouted.
Carly turned back, shocked at his unexpected behavior.
âWhy are you stopping? Run fastâŚ!â
âHug Viya.â
He handed Viya to Carly.
âYouâŚ.?â
âWe are not the followers of the Demon King! There is some kind of misunderstanding, and you are killing us because of it!â
The reason they were killing the villagers was all because of a misunderstanding.
The ax man who raided the house said so.
Then clearing up the misunderstanding would help them.
âWe have no place to escape to.â
At first glance, this man could probably catch them instantly, but he was playing with their lives.
âWhat?â
The man asked while standing on the roof.
Saika gulped, and said,
âWe are not the Demon Kingâs followers! Rather, we are people who hate Diablo Volfir!â
âOh.â
âReally. We were born in this place, so we had no choice but to stay here.â
âSuch a sad story.â
âY-Yes. If only we get left outâŚâ
âProve it.â
âProve howâŚ?â
The man pursed his lips.
âI mean, prove it with your death! I will judge whether your soul is good or evil!â
âW-Wait!â
The man jumped as if he didnât care, and the speed of his movement was so different that normal eyes could not see it.
It was the moment when death felt so certain that the man smiled madly.
Only then did he realize.
âHe was planning to kill us all.â
They saw the people in the small village struggling as nothing more than toys to play with.
Swish!
âHoney!!!â
Carly ran, but she couldnât move faster than a sword.
âShhh.â
Brown hair about the length of a bob fluttered and large, sharp eyes.
[Welton Vision.]
A thin sword cut through the blizzard.
[Futility Divide.]
The space was cut.
The blade, which flew with force to kill Saika, was cut.
A boy with a small body.
No, it was hard to tell if this was a boy or a girl.
âYou⌠You!â
âFound you.â
The child had cold eyes, and a white breath came out from the childâs small lips.
âYou cannot run.â
âW-Wait!â
The aura shook.
Puak!
Blood welled up onto the white, snowy land, and Saika stepped back. In his eyes, he could see a small child swinging a bloody sword.
The big eyes turned to Saika.
âWhat is thisâŚâ
Saika felt that this child was a lot smaller than him, but at the same time, looked bigger than him.
And the child said,
âIf you run there, you will be safe.â
The child said so and ran towards the village. There was no emotion in the childâs dry voice.