Chapter 18

018.

“Aaaaaagh! Wh-what is it now?”

At the scream shattering the silence of the night, Tofu hugged his bundle and screamed along with it.

But I had no room to worry about him right now.

Zakan sprang to his feet and rushed out first, and Malko and the teenage kids followed him with grim expressions.

I also gripped my axe and ran out to lend my strength.

‘Has it finally come?’

I thought the Varg had recovered somewhat from its wounds and returned to finish off the prey it had been chasing…….

“……A human?”

A blood-covered man was running madly toward the village through the darkness.

“Aaaaaagh! Aaaagh! Save meee!”

A man clearly dressed in human clothing was sprinting toward us, his face twisted horribly as he screamed nonstop.

And pursuing closely behind him through the darkness was none other than the Varg we had been waiting for.

‘No, why the hell is a human being chased by a monster in the frontier and running toward us!’

Before I even had time to question it, they steadily drew closer.

And the bigger problem was the path that terrified lunatic was taking as he blindly ran toward the light.

“Huh? Izak. What do we do? That human is going to ruin everything!”

“Human, should we kill him?”

The kids watching the situation shouted urgently.

Understandable.

That bastard, running without regard for anything except survival…….

Had started frantically kicking down and destroying the barricade of ‘my’ village, which I had painstakingly built by carving wood and digging the earth with my own hands.

- Crack! Crash.

“That…… bastard…….”

This was my home.

The fence of ‘my home,’ the first place I had ever built for myself after spending my entire life moving from orphanage to orphanage and living under someone else’s roof.

“Stop! Stop, you bastard……!”

And just like that…… our defensive line collapsed uselessly.

The man stepped over the pile of logs he had knocked down, forced a path through, and tumbled into the village.

“Graaaaaaaah-!”

Naturally, the Varg used the ruined log barricade as stepping stones, easily leapt over the trench, and safely entered the village as well.

Boom-!

The enormous monster landed in the middle of the village.

The beast that had been lying low while recovering from its wounds had been aggroed by that stupid human intruder and had now broken all the way into the village center.

“This…… crazy bastard.”

There was not even time to curse.

The plan to drop it into the trench trap, immobilize it, and then look for a killing blow had completely collapsed.

Now we…… had to fight that monster head-on in the cramped center of the village, where the young children we needed to protect were gathered.

“Don’t panic! Throw what we prepared!”

Fortunately, we had a Plan B.

The instant I shouted, Malko and the other kids all pulled out the pouches tied around their waists.

Our secret weapon, prepared to attack the Varg’s weak respiratory system.

“Die, you ugly monster!”

Dozens of ash-filled pouches flew through the air like a rainstorm toward the Varg’s face.

Boom! Pop!

The pouches burst, and the spreading ash formed a thick cloud in the center of the village until nothing could be seen.

“D-did we get it!?”

Malko swallowed and uttered the most ominous words imaginable.

“Huh? But…… why is it so quiet?”

“Grrrrrrrr…….”

Before someone could even finish asking, a low growl echoed through the smoke.

‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’

Cold sweat ran down my spine.

The Varg was not some neighborhood mutt.

They say beasts never forget pain.

The creature that had nearly died to my ash attack just yesterday was capable of thinking.

The moment it saw the ash pouches flying toward it, it had completely sealed shut its grotesquely developed respiratory membranes and waited.

And then…… once the ash dispersed, it charged in fury.

- Baaam!

“Ghk!”

“Malko!”

The Varg burst through the smoke and violently swung a forepaw. Malko instinctively raised his spear to block it, but the shaft shattered uselessly.

At the same time, Malko’s body flew several meters through the air before crashing into the dirt.

“Cough……!”

Dark red blood burst from Malko’s mouth.

“I-Izak! The weakness doesn’t work!”

“Graaaaaagh-!”

The children’s crude spears and axes shattered and flew away under the Varg’s wildly swinging forepaws and tail.

‘It learned.’

When the ash failed completely, fear spread through the eyes of the children who had fearlessly charged in to help the chief.

Having tasted blood, the Varg lost all reason. Rotten saliva dripped from its gaping jaws as it charged toward the fallen Malko, who was coughing up blood.

That was when it happened.

“BARBARIAAAN!”

With a roar, Zakan blocked the beast’s path and raised his greatsword.

- Claaang!

The monster’s claws and Zakan’s greatsword collided head-on.

But this was the center of the village, packed tightly with tents.

There was nowhere near enough room for Zakan to swing in his usual huge, destructive arc, and because he had rushed in to protect Malko, he had not even been able to take a proper stance.

“Zakan……!”

Along with my scream, the monster’s claws slipped past Zakan’s greatsword and carved a long wound from his shoulder down to his side.

“Ghk……!”

Taking the blow with his entire body, Zakan let out a rough breath and dropped to one knee.

The kids went deathly pale when their chief—the tribe’s strongest warrior and their idol—was stained red with blood.

Meanwhile, as though sensing victory, the Varg snorted harshly and prepared to leap forward to finish Zakan off.

“Ch-Chief!”

“Protect him! You monster! BARBARIAAAAN-!”

Desperately suppressing their fear, the injured Malko, the children, and even Huku charged in, but there was no way their chipped weapons could pierce the beast’s hide.

Zakan had fallen.

The moment I saw Zakan’s red blood soaking the ground, something inside my head snapped.

- Hey! That’s mine. Give it back!

- You forgot your supplies again? Sigh…….

Fragments of my past flashed through my mind.

From the moment I was born, I had never owned anything.

My room, my toys, my clothes.

Even parents of my own to protect me…… not even a name.

A life where I had always been used to having things taken from me and yielding to others.

But what about these foolish barbarians in front of me now?

Zakan was a chief who willingly threw away his own life to protect us, and those kids trembling with crude spears in their hands while still standing in front of Zakan and our home…….

……were my people.

My family!

“……How dare you.”

Without realizing it, I ground my teeth.

“Who the hell dares touch what’s mine, you damn mutt!”

It was something I would never normally do…….

But like a madman, I gripped the haft of my axe tightly, kicked off the dirt, and charged out.

“Grrrrr…….”

“Izak, dangerous! Get back! Ghk.”

Zakan panicked when he saw me suddenly rush in and block the way, but I was already too enraged to hear him.

The Varg seemed extremely pissed at me for interfering with its hunt.

Maybe…… it even remembered that I was the one who threw ash at it yesterday.

- Crack!

I picked up a large rock at my feet and hurled it at the beast with all my strength, then turned around and sprinted away without looking back.

“Graaaaaaaah-!”

Is chasing prey that turns and runs pure instinct?

Behind me, I heard the sound of the ground being gouged apart.

I’d probably die if it so much as grazed me, right?

My destination was the huge central tent in the middle of the village.

‘There’s no way I can kill a monster that even Zakan and Burta couldn’t handle.’

No matter how angry I was, I still knew my place.

Then I had to use the terrain as much as possible.

This tent was made from dozens of layers of animal hide, making it incredibly heavy, and its support posts and ropes were intricately intertwined to bear that weight…….

Thinking that, I ran like hell toward the tent’s central support post.

Just as the sound of the beast’s jaws snapping shut close enough to seize my neck reached my ears.

“Idiot, I got you.”

I threw myself into the tent in a rough slide while bringing my axe down on the central rope holding the weight of the massive structure.

- Snap……! Craaack!

The taut rope screamed as it broke.

Above the head of the Varg, which had chased after me with bloodshot eyes, intent on tearing me apart.

The massive animal-hide covering, heavy log supports, and ropes all began crashing down like a waterfall after losing their support.

Ruuuumble-!

Dust billowed up along with vibrations like an earthquake.

Unable to control its charging momentum, the Varg was buried deep beneath the collapsing tent and tumbled miserably.

“Graaaaaaaah-!”

The creature thrashed in fury, but that was exactly what I was aiming for, bastard.

The more the Varg struggled, the more the ropes tangled around its limbs like a spiderweb.

“Malko! Kids, bring more rope!”

At my shout, the kids rushed in and piled the scattered ropes and hides over the creature until it could no longer move.

And then I.

“Want some food, Varg?”

“Grrrrrrk……! Grrk! Kehk! Cough! Cough!”

Pinned beneath the heavy hides and forced to breathe roughly, there was no way it could close its respiratory system now.

When the ash I poured right in front of its face was mercilessly sucked into its wide-open respiratory membranes, the beast convulsed and spat black blood.

Then, perhaps in one final struggle, it suddenly raised its head and glared at me with bloodshot eyes as though accusing me.

“Why are you looking at me like you’re the victim? You shouldn’t have touched what’s mine.”

I grabbed a broken spear shaft from the ground in reverse and drove its tip, with my full body weight behind it, deep into the creature’s open, burning throat.

“Kyaaaaaagh-!”

With a death scream, its enormous body convulsed violently a few more times before dropping limp and ceasing to move.

“I-Izak killed the monster!”

Cheers spread through the village amid ragged breathing.

“Huff, huff…….”

Panting heavily, I threw the bloodstained spear shaft onto the ground and urgently ran toward Zakan.

“Are you all right, Zakan!”

“Ah…… I’m fine. Are you hurt?”

Zakan answered with a pale face.

I quickly washed the wound with boiled water the kids brought and examined it. The bleeding was severe, but his organs and bones did not seem damaged.

With a barbarian’s sturdy recovery, it was the sort of wound that would only leave him bedridden for a few days.

The moment I confirmed he was safe.

Only then did the tension leave my body, and I collapsed to the ground.

“Izak. You…… saved our tribe.”

Zakan looked at me with deep eyes as he spoke, but I shook my head.

“No. All of us…… protected our ‘home.’”

Hearing my voice, Zakan looked at me in surprise for a moment before quietly murmuring.

“Our home…… yes…… all of us protected our home…….”

Our home…….

That phrase stirred such a strange feeling inside me that I could not even describe it, and for a while I could only stand there like an idiot without saying anything.

That was when it happened.

“G-good heavens!”

Tofu appeared from behind the collapsed tent clutching his bundle tightly, his mouth hanging open.

“Th-th-this is the monster you barbarians were talkin’ about?”

Forgetting even his fear, Tofu ran over and began examining the enormous corpse of the Varg lying bound in ropes from every direction.

……A merchant to the bone.

“But how’d ya kill it so cleanly? This is practically a miracle!”

Tofu excitedly babbled, spraying spit everywhere.

“And what kinda monster is this anyway? Never seen one in my life……? This looks so rare you could name your price for it! You hit the jackpot!”

Was risking our lives to kill it actually worth it?

Just as I gave a bitter laugh at his fussing.

“Unbelievable…….”

Burta limped out from one corner of the tent while leaning on Huku for support.

He breathed roughly as he alternated his gaze between our bloodied tribe members and the sprawled corpse of the Varg.

“A half-grown warrior who has not even undergone the coming-of-age ceremony…… killed this monster.”

He seemed genuinely moved.

He staggered over and grabbed Zakan’s hand firmly.

“Zakan. As expected, you are an incredible warrior. I sincerely apologize for calling you a half-grown warrior until now. You deserve to be called a true warrior.”

Hearing his heartfelt praise, Zakan quietly shook his head, then looked directly at me beside him and spoke.

“No. The great warrior is not me, but Izak.”

“……Izak?”

Burta flinched in surprise and stared at me.

Naturally, he must have assumed Zakan had killed it.

He slowly looked me over as though he could not believe it.

That gaze saying he had far too many questions was really uncomfortable.

“The shaman killed it?”

His voice was thick with curiosity.

“I will not forget the kindness your Rock Tribe showed today. A barbarian always repays a debt.”

Anyway, while we were thoroughly enjoying the joy of victory, a voice rang out.

“Izak! I caught crazy human! Malko never forgets!”

Malko, the Scent Detector, appeared with his head wrapped in bandages, dragging an unfamiliar man by the back of his neck like a dog.

Ah-ha. Perfect timing.

The root cause of everything that happened today.

You dared bring a monster straight into someone else’s home?

With a murderous expression, I picked up my axe and slowly approached the man.

“P-p-p-please spare me! Please!”

Kneeling at my feet, the man trembled with tears and snot covering his face, begging desperately with his hands clasped together.

Under barbarian law, he would have no grounds to complain even if I chopped off his head right now.

“……Huh?”

Just as I was about to yell at him, Tofu suddenly poked his head forward to check the man’s face and widened his eyes.

“Wait, mister? What are ya doin’ here?”

At Tofu’s voice, the man who had been begging for his life froze and hurriedly covered his face with both hands.

What?

You know each other?