A blue circle with many symbols that brightened the outer and inner of the circle was shining in the ritual place at Ohre, half-beast tribe's village.
Several bodies lay on the ground. There's no external wound. That meant that they weren't die because of physical injuries.
A young half-beast woman who wore some kind of shaman's clothes were praying with a trembling body.
"o mighty old God, your humble servant offered twenty finest souls for your mighty existence! please hear our lament! please give us your savior!"
The young woman voice was shaken, and she shouted her pray out loud.
Her tribe was in danger, to the point this forbidden ritual was held by chief village and all villagers decision.
Twenty people that she knew, as the finest warrior in their village, sacrificed themselves for this ritual, so this "mighty God" better gave them what they need.
"how's it Shanti? did God hear your pray? our pray?" The elder of Ohre village talked to the young woman
"just.....just a little bit...we need to wait for a little bit..."
Shanti, the young woman's name, couldn't see the elder face.
The blue circle was still shining but that was it.
No other sign showed. It would be a terrible thing if those twenty souls became for nothing. That would became their tribe's end.
"o mighty old God, your humble servant offered twenty finest souls for your mighty existence! please hear our lament! please give us your savior!" Shanti repeated her pray
Nothing happened.
Shanti held her hands tightly, and fresh blood flowed through her back hand caused by her nails piercing her skin.
She was really desperate, and tears came down on her face.
The elder showed a hopeless expression. The other villagers started mumbling and panic.
"God...please...we had done nothing wrong....why do we always get hunted by those humans?" She mumbled
Shanti grabbed the ground and buried her nails into it. She didn't hold her hands anymore, and she looked up to the sky. Her pupils got smaller, her fox ears faced up, and she shouted.
"O MIGHTY GOD!! GIVE US YOUR SAVIOR!!"
Shanti's voice was ringing around the ritual place and she closed her eyes while crying.
The elder and villagers looked at her direction.
Shanti turned back and stood up facing the elder and villagers. She opened her eyes and saw a shocked expression on their face.
It couldn't be helped, their shaman failed to do the ritual, their last hope.
"i...i'm sorry...i..."
The elder and villagers sight still fixed to the direction behind her.
They didn't say anything, and only looked into one direction.
Then she knew, something was happening behind her.
"-fuuuh- so this is another world?" someone voice came from behind her
Shanti turned her sight and saw a man standing in the center of blue circle.
The circle and the symbols stopped glowing and smoke came from the ground.
A man that looked like a human race stood there with 178 cm height. He had a very short hair with side line cut seen on his head and he wore something like an uniform but she never saw a design like that before.
-!!!-
She realized who was the man that stood in front of her. She kneeled and shouted out loud.
"we were really grateful by your existence!! our savior!!!"
After confirmed by Shanti, the elder and villagers also kneeled before their savior. They bowed their head and waited for the next response from the savior.
"o....our savior... please help us" She continued her words
"...sure....."
Shanti showed a grateful expression on her face.
She faced her savior and wanted to say thank you. But before she could do that, it was cut by his words.
"but i want to ask you something"
Shanti felt confused, but she tried to respond to her savior's question.
"su..sure, anything. I will answer it as best as i can.."
The man looked around him.
He saw twenty half-beast bodies lay on the ground. All of them had a sturdy posture and great muscle.
A fighter, they definitely were a fighter.
He looked at them for a minute and walked closer to the young woman in front of him.
"these bodies... were they sacrificed? for summoning me?"
"yes... they were...." Shanti couldn't hide her frustrated feeling
"i see..."
The man crouched so he became in the same eye's level with the young woman. He stared directly into her eyes. Shanti felt really confused right now.
was her answer wrong? did she offend him?
"so you chose me over these twenty fighters? why?"
"..."
"it....was necessary....to summon you, our savior..."
"so you believed that unknown savior like me will save you? rather than those twenty fighters of yours?"
Shanti couldn't answer.
She knew it was wrong.
She knew they shouldn't rely on something like the ritual, yet they didn't have any choice left.
"i...we believed this is the best way...." Shanti tried her best to hold her tears
The man stood up and looked to the elder and villagers direction.
Their face showed no hope, let alone their fighting spirit.
They numbers even didn't reach fifty, really small numbers for a village.
He sighed and looked into the sky.
"another world huh? what the difference?"
-----(Chapter 1 "Half-beast tribe's lament")-----