The woman froze at Shane's words, her feet trembling. The little girl by her side dropped the buckets in her hand and hugged her mother;
''Please don't hurt us. We beg you!''
She uttered, shutting her eyes. Now Shane looked at her. He remembered her from yesterday. She was the one who had pointed the direction of the inn to them. How could a little girl be so vile in her heart?
Shane thought, staring at the girl;
''That was the only way we could survive. The monster was killing all of us. It had killed about fifty villagers, including my husband and two children. This was the only way we could save ourselves!''
''The only way you could save yourself is to offer someone else in return? Why did you not report the matter to the descendants?''
''We are sorry. When we found out we could feed strangers to it, it did not bother us anymore, so we relaxed. As long as it ate at least one every week, it did not kill us, so we thought we could live with it. We are very sorry. ''
''That is no excuse. You knew we were descendants and yet you did not tell us about it.''
At his words, the woman fell to the ground and her daughter joined her; ''I wanted to tell, but I feared you may not kill it and if it escaped, it would spell doom on us all. It would never forgive us and it would kill us all.''
The woman cried, and Shane did not know what to do. He couldn't possibly hurt them, so he just stared at them, simmering with anger.
''My friends are still sleeping; what did you give to them?'' He asked, and the woman stood up from the ground;
''A sleeping potion, they would wake once you give them water to drink.'' The woman said.
''You, '' Shane remarked, glancing at the daughter; ''Fetch drinking water.'' The girl sprang to her feet and ran down the stairs.
The woman stood up from the ground with tears in her eyes; ''Thank you, thank you. ''
''Hold your thanks, I don't need it, just make sure nothing happens to my friends unless you'll be asking for forgiveness from, the other side of this world. ''
The woman whimpered as she waited for her daughter to return. Before long, the girl came back with a jar of water.
Shane took it from her and motioned the two of them to move in front of him. They moved ahead and entered the room where Sky and Dai slept.
''I hope there is nothing in this water because if something happens to my friends, you won't live to tell the tale.''
''It's clean, Sir. We dare not put anything in it.'' The woman said and Shane went over to the bed.
Shane raised Sky's head and poured some water into his mouth, and he coughed. After a few seconds, his eyes opened.
He did the same to Dai, and he woke up, staring at Shane, confused.
''What are you doing? And why am I soaking wet?'' Sky asked, rubbing the side of his mouth as he stared at his clothes in confusion. He looked behind Shane and saw the innkeeper and the girl from yesterday, and he grew more confused.
''Let me wake the others up. I would explain everything to you. '' Shane said and turned to the woman and the girl; ''Don't move an inch from here or you're dead.''
They nodded and Shane went to the other room. After a few long minutes, he stepped out with Nyx and Yuri. Yuri looked most vexed.
''Where are they? '' She asked, fuming as she entered Shane's room.
Immediately, the woman heard the angry voice. She dropped to her knees.
''I'm sorry. Please don't kill me. '' The woman pleaded and her daughter joined her on her knees as they pleaded with Nyx and Yuri.
Nyx was calmer as she took a while to process what had just happened.
''Are you okay?'' she asked Sky and Dai, who were standing now, and they nodded.
''You shouldn't have done that. '' Nyx said to the woman; ''it is pure evil. There is no difference between you and the monsters you hate. ''
''Nyx, you still have time to talk. Let me teach this woman a lesson she would never forget, ''
Yuri said as she walked to where the woman stood, but Shane caught her before she could touch the woman.
''Let me go this moment!'' she shouted, but Shane held onto her firmly.
''Yuri, calm down. In the end, they are humans, and we shouldn't hurt our own. '' Nyx said as she folded her arms;
''Was that the only beast terrorizing this place?'' she asked, and the woman nodded.
''Yes, it is, ''
''How many humans have you sacrificed to it?'' she asked, and the woman hesitated;
''Speak! You vile thing… '' Yuri cursed, and the woman lowered her head;
''About fifteen people,'' she said.
''And you were going to feed more to it if we hadn't come. '' Nyx asked, but the woman couldn't respond. She just lowered her head as tears fell from her eyes.
''I'm sorry, please forgive me. ''
Everyone stared at them silently, Yuri still fuming in Shane's arms.
With a single motion, she could easily rip the woman's head off her neck.
''Is everyone in this village aware of this? '' Dai inquired, and the woman nodded.
''Yes, everyone knows. That is the only way we could survive. We did not have a choice. We are sorry.'' The woman pleaded.
The thought that they could have died the day before without even being given a chance to fight annoyed Nyx the most. She did not struggle to attain this rank, only to die like a coward.
''Get out! '' she yelled, and the woman dashed out of the room with her daughter. Silence ensued between them as Shane let go of Yuri after they had left.
''Shane, I'm sorry for doubting you. '' Nyx said, smiling at Shane.
Shane scratched the back of his head; ''It's nothing. I'm happy I didn't push the thoughts away after all. '' He was happy that Nyx was grateful to him. Her words instantly made up for everything he went through the previous night.
''How did you defeat it?'' she asked, and Shane looked at his wrist, and he frowned;
3960…
He noticed his mana was depleting even when he did not use it, but he waved it aside. Maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him.
''I used up my mana when fighting the monster. I was almost killed, but thankfully, I used the last of my strength to steal the monster's mana. That was how I could kill it. I also noticed that I gained its incredibly quick healing skills. It had injured me on the chest, but after I drained its mana, I was completely healed in a matter of minutes.''