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Chapter 268: Rinella’s Destiny is Her Own (61)

The village fell into chaos

Even though the Percus territory was a central area, it wasn\'t densely populated. Because of this, only a few people were hit by the Flesh Globs that fell from the sky.

Yes, for now, it was like that.

Seeing the people writing out in agony, I had to grit my teeth.

Do I really have to abandon them?

Rather, it would be fine if it were just the people living in the center.

More than that, I was worried about the residents living in the remote areas. There weren’t enough defenders there, nor anyone capable of leading the evacuation

Seria was supposed to lead the evacuation gradually from the rear.

But there was no telling how long that would take.

The scheduled delay caused by the rampage of the test subjects could be fatal.

There was also the unexpected descent of the Evil God\'s underling without warning.

The ground shook as the air vibrated with deep, resonating thumps.

Thud, Thud. The giant\'s footsteps, casting a shadow as it walked, were imbued with immense power.

The ground was crushed, and trees snapped like twigs.

Before long, the dawn light revealed the grotesque figure of the monster.

A giant made of corpses.

There was no other way to describe it.

Hundreds, thousands or maybe even tens of thousands of corpses, were clustered together.

The corpses forming its feet couldn’t bear its weight and bled out. With each bloody footprint, mournful cries echoed.

The giant\'s head was made up of countless human faces.

Their eyes darted around, scattering their gaze. It took a moment for every pupil to focus on a single point.

The giant glared down at me.

No, perhaps it was looking at the village I was at.

Its field of vision was that vast. Maybe there were even eyes on the back of its head, leaving not a single blind spot.

Hundreds of mouths screamed at once.

Wooooooooooooo!

Hearing the resounding roar, the Flesh Globs also howled, adding to the noise. It was a scene seemingly impossible to believe existed in our human world.

The faces of the villagers naturally turned pale.

"O’ H-Heavenly God..."

A voice slipped from someone\'s lips.

Hearing the voice, which demonstrated everyone\'s feelings, I snapped back to reality.

The appearance of such a transcendent enemy instantly drenched the atmosphere in fear.

One had to crane their neck to the point of it hurting just to be able to see its head.

How insignificant and pitiful mere humans seemed in front of it.

The despair of a mantis in the face of a cart rolling towards it was reflected in everyone.

I instinctively understood.

The reason we were told to flee.

And why we were told to abandon this place.

The disparity was clear in an instant.

Celine had been foolish.

How could one hope to fight against such a monster, let alone find its core?

A single punch or kick from it was equivalent to a natural disaster; it was a monster straight out of legend.

I couldn\'t even think about facing it alone.

That was a role fitting for a hero straight out of legend.

I bit my lip and tightened my grip on my sword

Just then, I spotted a Flesh Glob moving towards a middle-aged woman.

"Sa-Save me..."

The middle-aged woman was so terrified that she couldn\'t even speak properly.

So, I decided to eliminate the threat.

A silver arc cut through the air.

The hatchet blade tore through the air, striking the Flesh Glob head-on. The Flesh Glob flailed and staggered backward, but that was its end.

The thrown hatchet struck with force once again.

With a sickening crunch, its bones were smashed, as the Flesh Glob bled out.

I kicked off the ground and swiftly retrieved the hatchet.

The next move I made was a kick.

Phakk, my foot drove into the plump flesh, making the Flesh Glob let out a pitiful scream as it flew away.

Trembling eyes turned towards me.

I sighed and extended my hand.

"...Aunt Yona, please take refuge in the manor."

“Y-Young master… b-but what about those monsters…”

"I\'ll handle them."

I replied without a hint of hesitation.

Yet Aunt Yona still wore a slightly uneasy expression.

Even she could see that the Corpse Giant was not a monster that humans could handle.

But she had no choice but to trust me. Aunt Yona took my hand and staggered to her feet. She then quickly turned and fled.

The residents, noticing my presence, showed a faint glimmer of hope in their eyes.

I needed to live up to those expectations.

As I threw the hatchet again, another Flesh Glob exploded with blood. Flailing, it tried to dislodge the hatchet, but the hatchet ended up going in deeper, smashing into one of its faces.

Kiiieeeeekkkk!

One of the enraged Flesh Globs that sensed the danger, charged at me.

In the past, it might have been a threat, but not to the current me.

I slashed my sword horizontally.

Following the silver blade, blood sprayed in succession. Amidst the crimson haze, I lowered my sword to my lower left.

And then three claw marks were drawn.

No matter how strong its regenerative abilities were, if it was cut into eight pieces, it couldn’t resurrect itself.

After being cut, the corpse of the Flesh Glob, reduced to mere chunks, fell down with a series of thuds.

Before I knew it, everyone was staring at me in a daze.

Although I had grown up with them ever since we were young, this was their first time truly seeing me fight.

There was bound to be a discrepancy in contrast to my kind and docile appearance.

My hair was already sticky and soaked with blood.

I didn\'t bother wiping away the blood running down as I spoke.

"Immediately leave for the manor... right now!"

"B-But we haven\'t packed all our things yet..."

The urgent plea I had uttered was met with hesitation.

I glared at the man who had spoken.

Meeting my blood-soaked gaze, the man flinched.

A faint smile appeared on my lips.

"If you don\'t leave right now, you\'ll die."

At times like this, my noble status was helpful.

Because everyone started fleeing without question.

Only then did I let out a long sigh, placing my hand on my forehead.

I was injured, and still not fully sober.

My abdomen throbbed, and I felt dizzy. My brain, soaked by fatigue, was begging for rest.

I was in the worst possible condition.

It felt like I could collapse at any moment.

Staggering, I turned and thrust my sword into a Flesh Glob that had flanked me.

Kiiiieeeeekkkkk!

"Did you think I wouldn\'t notice you sneaking up on me?"

Naturally, there was no answer.

I tilted the blade I had thrust in and pushed it in with force.

The bisected Flesh Glob wobbled. Without missing the opening, I stomped my foot into its lower half.

An expert-level swordsman\'s physical abilities were beyond imagination.

No matter how heavy the Flesh Glob was, it couldn\'t withstand that blow and was sent flying.

I dealt with the remaining half by driving my sword straight into it.

The Flesh Glob convulsed once before going limp.

I continued to swing my sword as I moved.

The closer I got to the outskirts of the village, the more dead bodies and Flesh Globs I encountered.

As the Flesh Globs fell, something seemed to have gone awry, and before long, the village went up in flames.

Even the Flesh Globs seemed to be unable to withstand the flames.

They were just screaming while looking at their own bodies sizzling and burning.

Driving my blade into a Flesh Glob that was thrashing about with its body on fire, I cast a dejected look at my tattered clothes.

The only thing that mana could strengthen was my body.

My uniform was already torn, burned, and tattered in many places. Soaked with blood, it was obvious that I would have to discard it once the battle was over.

Still, my appearance was decent enough.

Many people were fleeing, screaming, without even being able to gather their household belongings, and among them were also the people I had saved.

There were also corpses strewn on the ground, with their eyes wide-open.

Every time I saw one, I squeezed my eyes shut.

Even if we weren’t deeply acquainted, we had probably seen each other in passing.

Moreover, weren’t they my subjects?

I kept murmuring to myself.

I must let go of what must be discarded.

Right, I must let go of what must be discarded.

Even though for them, it was their only life, their single chance, the fact that for someone else, it was something that could be recklessly thrown away was incomprehensible.

But I had to force myself to accept it and move on.

I closed my eyes amidst the burning scenery.

My mind grew hazy.

The line between unconsciousness and reality blurred.

Suddenly, it struck me that this wasn’t the first time I had stood in the midst of burning flames.

Staggering, I continued walking.

With sword and hatchet, I drenched myself in flesh and blood as I marched forward.

The acrid smoke made me even thirstier.

Perhaps due to the lack of oxygen, my breath became ragged. My mind drifted further away from reality.

There wasn\'t even an enemy capable of wounding me.

What jolted my muddled mind awake was the voice of someone grabbing and shouting,

“Children, there are children left inside!”

My eyes flicked toward the person speaking to me.

She was a young woman, still showing traces of youth.

Suddenly, my vision blurred, and I experienced a sudden shift in my surroundings.

Unconsciously, a strange title slipped from my mouth.

“...Junior Sister?”

But in the next moment, seeing the face of the woman crying and shouting at me.

I realized I was hallucinating.

She was just a cute woman with freckles.

Had she just become an adult?

“W-What? Y-Young Master... What are you talking about? T-There are still children inside...”

Through my blurry vision, I followed the direction the girl was pointing.

It was somewhat a familiar alleyway.

My mind, which was wandering in a momentary daze, began to freeze.

It was because I realized whose house she was pointing to.

“...Damn it.”

I immediately kicked off the ground and sprinted.

Flesh Globs lunged at me from all sides, but each time they did, I crushed their heads with my hatchet as I ran forward.

There was no time to finish them off properly.

I kept running and running, and after a while,

I found someone and came to a sudden halt.

It was a boy.

He was coughing up blood with his abdomen pierced.

I shook my head blankly and muttered.

“Ned...”

Then, staggering, I approached Ned.

Next to him, a Flesh Glob that had been cut by a knife was writhing.

Ned had been fighting this monster.

Gritting my teeth, I threw my hatchet.

With a splat, blood spurted into the air.

Kiiiiieeeeeeek!

With that final sound, the Flesh Glob that had been fighting Ned perished.

To think he could fight such a terrifying monster.

Ned\'s words about not neglecting his daily training were no lie.

Even if he wasn\'t a knight, he could have been an excellent soldier.

Only if he survived.

I dropped to my knees.

My eyes swept over Ned\'s wounds with a hollow gaze.

Fumbling, I searched my pockets. Maybe I could save him with a healing potion.

But before I could do that, a firm hand grabbed my wrist.

The boy was smiling with blood trickling down.

“Great Master.”

Seeing that smile, I felt completely at a loss.

Someone\'s memories came surging in like a tide.

Strength gradually began to return to the hand gripping my sword.