A sizeable group walked through a forest in the dead of night.
They couldn't relax as mutated beast attacks happened unpredictably.
"Where do you think we're going?" Aria broke the silence.
"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe they're planning to kill us and drop our corpses into a giant hole in the ground?"
'Awfully specific.' Aria paused before turning her expressionless face from him.
"Then, do you think... Nevermind."
Levi glanced at her.
The group came to a halt. Some took up positions while others rested. They switched out with each other throughout the night, guarding themselves against both mutated beasts and Levi and Aria.
The night passed slowly like this.
...
Levi sneakily cast a glance to his side.
"Hnnn." A groan slipped from his throat.
'She's like that again. The wolf isn't doing its job anymore, either. Looks like even it has given up on cheering her up.' Levi sighed.
'And these guys...'
The people still walked a distance from them with some arrows pointed at them.
"!" Aria flinched when Levi suddenly reached for something before her. A low 'Deng' sounded, causing him to pause before retracting his arm.
'They don't kill these things? Well, whatever. Them not killing them means more are here for me.'
The arrow hit the head of a brown weasel-like creature with metallic teeth and claws, knocking it unconscious.
'That looks like a normal arrow though. Hmm?' Levi caught sight of a disapproving glare.
"Oh, sorry, sorry. I'm not taking it." He waved apologetically.
'I guess the ones behind will collect the arrows as we go? The person who shot that one is skilled enough to hit it without killing it? But then again, if they used Qi, that would have been fairly simple.' His gaze shifted.
"!" A girl with curly blue hair felt chills as she whipped her head. Levi's smiling face caused her brows to tighten. She walked into a jog before jumping. She then moved from tree to tree, out of sight.
After a few more minutes of walking.
"Oh." Levi stopped. He stood before an interesting sight.
In the distance before him was a mass of beast skins forming a dome, most likely a tent. Since they were a distance away, it looked smaller than its size. But what caught his attention was, in the trees, spanning a certain distance around the tent were make-shift, crudely made log houses. Some of these houses had stretched beast skins over them to keep out the elements, while some skins hung before openings, acting as door curtains or covers for windows.
They made ladders by pinning thick branches onto the trunks of trees. Even stranger, the heads of mutated beasts hung from fuzzy ropes surrounding the entire area.
'... Using decapitated heads to scare off mutated beasts? I can't imagine that would be as effective as a wall, but...' Levi resumed walking.
Puchik!
He paused as an arrow pierced the earth before him.
A young boy entered his sights as he looked up. The boy didn't look 5, yet he nocked another arrow and drew the bow once more with all of his might, a threatening expression on his face.
"Hmm." Levi's gaze shifted. This boy was not the only child glaring at him from above. Among the adults varying in gender, for every 5 of them, there was at least 1 child. After one of them started, the lot of them began shouting something while stamping, creating a rhythmic chanting and drum-like beat.
With a bright smile, Levi stepped back.
Thump!
Two muscular, yet slim men dropped from above. With their black hair tied in ponytails, they each clutched two swords. Looking at Levi, their faces scrunched up, distorting the fang-like face paint on their cheeks. They shouted something at Levi while pointing one of their swords each.
Levi held his hands before him with a troubled smile.
Crunch!
The supposed leader of the group walked up from the side as he spoke to the two men in a raucous fashion. After a quick exchange, the two sneered at Levi before leaving.
'And just where the hell was this fool when children were shooting arrows at me?'
He followed the man as he advanced, but a large palm appeared before his face, a clear sign to stop. After stopping Levi, the man continued on his way.
"Tsk. What the hell are those two glaring at?" Levi clicked his tongue at the two men who were now guarding the 'entrance' before turning away.
"Young ma-" The metallic sound of swords knocking together sounded as Aria stopped her advance. Two fairly feminine women with neat muscles held their swords before her, blocking her path.
"Hm, what is it?" As Levi approached, the two retreated.
"Nothing. It just feels like we're getting a lot of unhappy glances."
'Unhappy? I think you mean murderous.'
"You didn't do anything over here while I was away, right?" Levi questioned skeptically.
"Wh-This is the first time I've come here?"
"Why is that a question?"
"Because I'm in shock that you think I would do something to make people hate me to this degree. If anything..." She snuck a glance at him.
"... Why are you looking at me like that?"
"That man is coming back." Aria ignored the question as she pointed.
"Hmm." Levi turned around.
The leader returned with a spring in his step as he arrived before Levi. He said something with a grin before turning around and walking off. Seeing that Levi didn't move, he waved him over in a welcoming manner.
'... What the hell are these people saying???' Sighing, Levi followed.
"Let's go."
Aria nodded and followed silently.
As they walked, Levi couldn't stop his gaze from roaming. He felt that not every person could look at him like he murdered their family, but they proved him wrong.
"Hmm?" A scene caught his eye.
A woman with a large stomach sat on the ground with her back against a tree. She looked pale as sweat washed her face. With swollen eyes, it seemed as if she had just finished crying. Lifelessly, she hugged her stomach as if to comfort herself.
This was not a one-off case. Looking around, he saw multiple people on the ground. Some sat quietly or wept softly, while others stared into the distance, lifeless. All of them were pale with dark circles around their eyes.
Some were also skinny, but all of them were lifeless.
'... Are they sick? A disease?
Levi beckoned Aria with his gaze.
"Yes?" She asked in a whisper.
"The people on the ground, can you tell what's wrong with them?"
"Ok." She nodded before looking around. After a few seconds, her face paled.
"This..." Aria shuddered.
"Well?"
"... I'm no physician, and I might not even be a full-fledged apothecary, but... That-That doesn't look good." She grabbed Levi's arm.
"Continue."
"M-My master... While learning about pills and how to make them, naturally, I also learned their uses. Wounds, scars, colds, nourishment, and... Diseases." Aria gulped.
"And?"
"Although this looks different from the ones I've seen, their complexions', the sweating, low energy! Those are all signs of disease!" She said urgently.
"Hmm. Then, why do you think they're on the ground? Shouldn't they be resting? Look, there's even a pregnant woman." Aria followed his gaze.
"T-That..."
"Hmm?"
"... Why do you think their houses are in the trees?" Aria peaked at Levi as she spoke slowly.
"Because this place is overrun with mutated beasts," Levi said, puzzled.
"Then... what would happen... if someone was too weak to climb up a tree and hide for the night?" She sounded unsure.
'Should I explain it? With how he is… But he seems to have gotten past his dislike of people, right? It should be fine…' Aria watched Levi nervously.
"... They would get eaten."
"B-But don't forget about the hanging heads! And people are guarding this place, right? No mutated beasts can get in..."
"Do you believe that?" Levi glanced at her as Aria flinched.
'I shouldn't have explained…' She lowered her head.
Multiple tree stumps stuck out of the ground, some higher than others, but it was painfully clear when a tree was deliberately cut down, and when something forcefully knocked it down.
"Humph! It seems I was stuck in that sect for so long that I forgot how human beings are." Levi chuckled as a mirthless smile grew on his face.
'… Sigh.' Aria's shoulders dropped.
"... Are we leaving?"
"Do you want to?" Levi asked casually.
"Young master, this isn't a joke. Even cultivators catch diseases. No amount of physical strength can save you if something is killing you from the inside."
"Is that so? But no, we aren't leaving yet."
"Do... you plan to save them?"
"..." Levi froze. His brows rose as he stared at Aria.
"... Then why are we staying?!" Aria stomped.
"Are you forgetting Nerezza might be here? Who knows, maybe she caught that disease. You're going to leave her to die here?"
Aria paled rapidly.
'... Maybe that was too much for a joke.'
"In any case, now I know what they want. Or rather, what they 'need'." Levi hummed.
"What they need? What do you mean?"
'Abandoning their family to mutated beasts to save themselves from a disease... Hehe, I guess this is human nature. But people also have a strong desire to live, reflected in their abandonment of those infected. But I suppose they don't necessarily 'want' to leave their family to die, So…'
"I'll just use that 'reluctance for loss' to get what I want." With a bright smile, Levi hummed.
Aria quieted down after being ignored.
"'Reluctance for loss'?" She muttered.
After a few more minutes, they arrived before the large tent. The only 'house' that someone dared to place on the ground.
The leader of the 'escort group' pulled across a thick 'curtain', gesturing for Levi and Aria to go in.
"Ah~Ah~"
After taking the first step, Levi paused. He looked at the man with suspicion. The small giant displayed his teeth as he grinned brightly, still gesturing for the two to enter.
They walked in.
"Ah~ Ahnn~"
"Ugh!"
Moans and groans assaulted Levi's ears from every direction. His expression dropped.
"Yo-yo-you!" Aria could only form a single word as she blocked Levi's eyes.
'I should have killed them all from the beginning.' Levi sighed.
Spread around the rim of the tent, multiple men and women engaged in... Cough... Intimate relations. Without shame, they plowed and moaned, licked, and sucked. One wouldn't be able to tell the difference between sweat and other bodily fluids at this point.
"I wonder if they do this often. And if they do, they do burn that cloth they're laying on afterward, right? If not, I think we found the cause of this disease. What do you think, Aria?" Levi glanced to the side.
"Y-Yo-Young master, t-t-this isn't something to joke about! Don't even look at them! You're still too young!"
"... Maybe I should say that to you instead. Your face is redder than my hair." Levi glanced at her.
"D-Don't mind that, just! Do! Not! Look!"
"I'm not interested, anyway. What do you think I see when I look at them?" He brushed her hand away.
"Yo-"
Levi took a few steps forward.
"Get lost, you disgust me." A sharp, cold voice sounded clearly in the ears of all present. They all flinched, before stopping whatever they were doing.
'I'm not against the act itself, but why the hell do you need to do it together? Of course, I can only speak my mind freely since they can't understand me.'
'... Hmm? Brat, you've come to quite the place.'
'Not now, demon saint.'
'Hehehe, no need to be shy! This demon here will cover my eyes. Tell me when you're done!'
Levi shut out his voice.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" Thundering laughter sounded.
"Hm?" Levi's gaze fell on the sound's origin.
A large, muscular man, more than twice the height of a normal person, sat on a throne befitting his size.
"Schklee!"
"..."
"Ann? Schklee! Schklee!" The man waved up and down while saying something.
"Schklee!" The escort group leader gasped after walking in. He pointed to his knee while repeating the word.
"Huh???" Levi frowned.
"Schklee! Schklee!" He kicked the back of Levi's knee, before crouching from the pain.
'Maybe he wants me to break his knee for him?' Levi pondered.
"... This is getting me nowhere. You and your unknown language." He walked up to a man on the side. " Why the hell are you still naked? For god's sake."
He reached out, causing the man's expression to twist, before pausing.
'... But... Wasn't he just rolling around in that filth?' An exaggerated expression twisted Levi's face.
"Sigh." His hand landed on the man's shoulder with a splat. Levi grimaced as he glared at his hand as if his worst enemy had appeared. He internally debated whether to cut it off or kill it with fire.
'If I can't steal this language from his head, there's going to be a bloodbath! A river of blood will cut this continent in half!!! Trust me!!' Veins squirmed on Levi's face as his teeth chattered. His mental energy flame appeared with a "puff".
"What might you be doing?"
"Huh?" Whipping his head, a figure of a man came into view.
"Gasp!" Someone gasped loudly.
"... Our shaman wishes to express her admiration for your 'sacred fire'." A man spoke briefly to a fully cloaked person before saying to Levi.
"???"
"Of course, I will also convey your thoughts on our... Ah, festivities, so far."
"Y-You can understand me?"
"As you can see."
'Fuckkkkkk!'
"Then that means I didn't have to touch this nas-Cough! Cough! This-This nice gentleman." Levi corrected himself before hiding his hand behind his back. A red flame danced madly on his palm.
The man watched him silently.
'… What is he doing?' Aria squinted while looking at Levi strangely.
"Ahem. Anyway, what did he say? Could you translate?" A bead of sweat slid down Levi's smiling face.
"Tribe leader said 'welcome'."
"Is that so." Levi cleared his throat. "Tha-"
"He also said to 'Kneel'." The man finished.
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
He watched Levi silently once more.
'What the hell???'