"What do you mean with they aren't faring well?" The elder asked while placing his cup of tea on the table.
Luz glanced at Francis, and the latter sighed. "There is no need to hold back, Luz."
Luz nodded and took a sip before telling the man about his experience other the last week. "I cannot speak for all villages, but some seem to be facing horrors unimaginable to man. The last village I visited, which was far deeper in the woods than this one, had all their girls hanged on trees."
The old village elder was shocked, and the group continued talking.
But after Luz's narration ended and the duo was ready to leave, the elder asked, "Could you please take my eldest son with you?"
"No." Luz immediately answered, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, but we are here to investigate, not babysit."
"But he could be of use," the elder stated before explaining, "My eldest son, Tony, could act as your guide since he knows most of the villages, and even those villages who are wary of strangers will be more hospitable to you if you have him on your side."
"Fine by me," Francis sighed, and a young blond-haired man who was barely 18 years old joined their group.
Luz expected their newest member to be a greenhorn like him at best, only to be shocked that their newest team member, Tony had a family on his own, and before the three left, Tony gave his wife and daughter one last kiss.
"Damn, he is younger than me, has a beautiful wife and even a daughter, while we are some pesky servants," Luz commented from a distance to Francis before spitting onto the ground. "I bet he is happy too." Luz could not deny that he felt a tinge of jealousy. That man had two families and lived happy, while he himself had none.
"Yeah, you are right. Tony might not be a mage, but he has things that the two of us could only dream of," Francis commented, and the two burst into laughter.
As the two continued talking, a wave of uneasiness overcame Luz. "Do you think letting him join us was the right thing to do?" Luz asked before adding, "You know he has a family…."
Francis's nonchalant face slowly turned serious. "Maybe you are right," he sighed before continuing, "However, his talent is quite useful for our mission to us, so we should at least try making sure that he doesn't get hurt in our care. After all, I don't want to be the one who has to explain to someone's daughter why their father is no longer here."
"Me neither, me neither," Luz commented gloomily.
Seeing how the mood went from bad to worse, Francis slapped Luz's back while telling him, "But seriously, stop worrying, bro. Nothing will likely happen, so don't break your head thinking about all potential possibilities."
In the end, the trio left while Luz carried a basket filled with some fruits as a farewell gift.
Lewis, who had been lazing on the cart, only commented, "There you are, guys, and wait, you brought food as well."
"Of course. After all, we gotta keep you motivated," Luz commented before throwing an apple at the latter. Only after everyone made themselves comfortable on the cart did Francis drove off with the assistance of their newest member.
On the other hand, Luz stared quietly into the distance while biting into an apple. Even though the atmosphere was lively, Luz was with his thoughts elsewhere. 'I wonder how my brothers are faring.….'
***
"You didn't have to kill them all, Jasper," shouted a furious old man at the sight of a small hill made of human remains on which a 3-meter (in freedom units: 10 feet) tall insect hybrid sat, who was chewing on the arm belonging to a human.
"You are right," Jasper agreed before continuing chewing. "But it was not I who initiated the assault. I only promised not to touched them if they didn't attack me as well," Jasper explained before glaring at the old men.
Frightened by the gaze, the old man took a step back. But he was nevertheless still infuriated at the circumstances. Not only was he forced to accept that all females ended up getting infected, but now even most of the males ended up dead. Infuriated by his helplessness, the old man balled his fist before answering with clenched teeth, "They might have attacked you, but they could not even put a scratch on you."
"Yes and?" Jasper asked coldly before arising from the human remains as blood dripped from his exoskeleton. By now, he was no longer in the mood to eat and pointed the half-eaten human arm at the latter.
"You see old man, nobody has a right to life, especially not if they attack someone. Am I supposed to let others leave unscathed just because they could not kill me?"
After finishing his justification, Jasper threw the arm at the old man before asking, "Tell me, old man… who set the female cadavers on fire?"
Hesitantly, the leader answered, "it was a female magician that set the tree on fire. But she belongs to the Ryder family…."
"Ryder family…huh? That makes everything even more complicated," the insect answered, perplexed before a grin formed on his face. "Thanks for the information. My job here is done," Jasper sighed as he placed his arm on the latter's shoulder. "Unfortunally, I cannot let you live any longer. So answer me, do you want to be decapitated or killed by millions of insects."
With a grim look on his face, the latter answered, "I knew from the get-go that I could not escape death, but if I had to choose, I would rather die by insects than by your hands."
Jasper merely nodded, and after his carapace made a weird sound, millions of insects began emerging from the surrounding before flying straight to the old man.
A last bone-chilling cry echoed through the woods as the village elder got devoured till his bones were plucked clean.