Chapter 20: Human Hunting (1)
A village burned. A large shadow was visible between thick layers of smoke and flames. Its identity was a mystery, but it was clear that it wasn’t human. Moreover, it was also clear that it was slaughtering the village people mercilessly.
“Dad! Mom! Daisy!”
“No!”
The boy understood everything his dad wanted to say through that single ‘No’. For starters, he was being told to not come to where they were and that he had to turn around and run away. That single ‘No’ contained the fact that he had to leave behind his dad, mom, and little sister and run away. It told him that if he didn’t run away now, then he would also die helplessly.
That single syllable word had the ability to exchange someone’s death with another’s life. The boy had yet to learn how terrifying this fact was. Nevertheless, he was scared. He was facing death for the first time in his life. It felt as if the monster’s massive shadow was glaring down at him. The boy turned around and began to run towards the forest. His dad’s one word kept repeating in his head.
‘No! No! No!…….’
How long has he been running for? He felt a painful pang in his stomach. His insides were jumbled up because he had run so frantically. It was at the moment he thought he couldn’t run for much longer. The boy saw a man in the distance. He might be a part of the group that assaulted the village! The boy instantly hid in a nearby bush. However, the boy felt relieved once he heard what the man shouted next.
“I’m a patrol officer! Are there any survivors!? I’m a patrol officer! Damn it. Survivors, are there any survivors!?”
There were occasionally soldiers that came to slash-and-burn farming villages under the pretext of patroling in order to collect taxes. The villagers who abandoned their homes and came here in order to avoid taxes would normally wish these soldiers dead, but to the boy, the soldier looked like an angel right now. The boy stumbled out from the bush.