Chapter 48: Chapter 48- Eradicate
Chapter 48- Eradicate
"How... could the Great Goddess... choose a human as the carrier of the rune?" The chief muttered as he stared at Zen with wide eyes. He realized that Zen was telling the truth, and that only made his shock even worse. He had lived his entire life knowing that the day when the true carrier of the rune would come, and he thought it would always be someone from their tribe.
After all, they were the protectors of the rune, and they had been the ones tasked with it for eons. Yet, somehow, after all these years and after all this struggle, the Goddess would choose a human of all races to take it?
The same humans who tried to pillage and kill his people countless times before, and they almost succeeded that night. The chief tried to swallow the anger and the bitterness, but he would be lying if he said that it didn’t feel unfair to him.
’Why would you do such a thing, Goddess? What did you see in this child?’ He asked in his head as he looked at the statue in front of the temple. Naturally, he didn’t receive an answer, so he sighed and rubbed his head.
"If the Goddess had truly chosen you, then I have no choice but to accept it. However, I will say this." He said coldly. "If you misuse this power graced upon you. I will personally find you and kill you. Understood?"
His aura pressed Zen down with clear threats as the man glared at him. Zen nodded his head. "I didn’t think I would get it either, and I don’t plan to harm anyone who doesn’t deserve harm with it. Don’t worry, chief. I will make sure to put it to good use."
"..." The chief stared directly into the boy’s eyes, searching for any malice or lies, but he didn’t see any, so he clicked his tongue and looked away. "You better."
He then walked back to his group to tend to the injured and get ready to carry everyone back. Even if everyone was still in shock, they can’t sit around. There was no guarantee that more hunters wouldn’t arrive soon if they sensed that the group they sent had died.
The village was far safer since it was hidden, and the hunters didn’t seem to have found it yet.
So, with that, the Wood Folks started carrying their people as they marched back to the village. Zen’s eyes stared around, searching for someone as he helped Cipha walk back, as she was struggling to even stand on her feet. The adrenaline that kept her awake and fighting had disappeared, so it was harder to move.
She had to completely lean on Zen and use him to walk slowly while he gently carried her without touching any of her injuries.
"Hmmm... Garn is heavily injured... But he’s still somewhat alive. I really hope he makes it." He muttered under his breath.
The battle had left deep scars on the people and the forest. They won’t recover from it for a long time. But, Zen was glad he was able to save them from extinction.
’To think these kind people were eradicated in the original timeline... It’s so fucked.’ He thought to himself. Zen realized how many tragedies must have gone under his nose, and he never even heard of them. Just imagining that village, burning to the ground, his heart squeezed.
That was simply cruel. The cruelty of humans was endless, and he didn’t even realize it till it was far too late.
As those conflicting thoughts were raging within him, he didn’t realize that they were already back at the village. The people there were shocked to see the scenes.
Instantly, they all gathered around the injured and the dead, crying in shock.
"No!! What happened to my son?! No!!!" A mother cried as she held her son in shock. The reactions of others weren’t that far off.
The entire village was filled with cries as Zen and Cipha watched with a dark expression on their faces. The sight was extremely ugly and heartbreaking, but they refused to walk away from it. They felt obliged to witness it and experience their pain, even as bystanders.
The rest of the Wood Folks brought the leaves to tend to the injuries of their people, while the chief ordered them around to try to make sure the entire village was safe. They quickly barricaded it with wooden planks and used what seemed to be an Energy barrier that surrounded the entire village to keep it hidden.
It was clear that they were ready for such emergencies if needed. Meanwhile, Zen carried Cipha back to Garn’s house and tended to her injuries, covering her body in leaves and making sure she was comfortable.
Sitting next to the fire, the two remained silent for a while.
"Hey, Zen..." Cipha muttered as she stared at the fire, the color reflecting in her eyes. "I’m going to wipe them from existence. I won’t leave a single one of them alive."
"..." Zen didn’t reply as he stared at her.
"It doesn’t matter who they are or what they did. They don’t deserve to live."
"... Sigh..." Zen rubbed his head with an annoyed look on his face. "We haven’t seen the end of it yet, Cipha. We are bound to see far worse stuff."
"And that only makes me certain that this is the biggest gift we could give the world." Cipha turned around and looked at him. "Erasing these corrupt people is the best thing we could do."
Zen could only remain silent. He knew how Cipha felt, and perhaps this change in the course of the future would only fuel her hatred toward the clans even more. ’I don’t know if this is good or bad... Only time will tell.’
However, what he was certain of was that he was going to support Cipha through it all. ’We will see them again, I’m certain. The Nar clan won’t shut up about this.’
Knowing how they move and knowing the kind of people they have just antagonized by killing those Hunters... Zen knew that their journey was about to get far more dangerous. It was only a matter of time.
He stared through the window into the dark sky. His eyes were calm and collected.
