Leonelle's POV:
The rain was coming down so heavily that it significantly reduced my visibility. The once clear path was now a muddy mess, making it hard to walk. But we had to continue. We had just heard something within the forest, something that resembled a scream of a human. We barely heard it though, as it was hard to hear anything due to this pouring rain.
I turned to my companions, trying to keep calm despite the situation. "Keep your eyes peeled, everyone! We don't know what's lurking out there!" I shouted, hoping that they would hear me over the sound of the rain.
The moment I said that, my companions readied their weapons and alerted themselves, their eyes darting around in anticipation of what might be lurking in the shadows. The rain had reduced our visibility significantly, and the muddy path made it hard to walk, but we pressed on, driven by the need to investigate the source of the scream that we had heard.
Then, we heard a growl. The growl clearly hadn't been human. It had been so fearsome I heard it even through the pounding rain. My heart raced as I braced myself for whatever was about to come at us. I unsheathed my sword, preparing for what was to come.
And then, it appeared suddenly—without a sound and without warning, it came from nowhere. I hadn't been entirely focused on my surroundings, so I hadn't felt its presence until it was right in front of us. But as soon as it was caught in my line of sight, I rushed toward it, sword in hand. With a swift stroke, I sliced it in half.
Despite being cut in half, the creature was still moving. I knew I had to deliver a finishing blow, so I plunged my sword into its head, putting it out of its misery.
Mr. Guilstein was staring at it, backing away from the creature instinctively. "Is that a Lizardman?! It can't be…" he exclaimed in disbelief.
Lizardmen. Their appearance looked exactly like a lizard should have been, but their size and their human-like posture made them an even more fearsome sight. But what were they doing here? Lizardmen usually resided in bodies of water, where they had a great advantage over their prey. They were slow on land, but lightning-fast in water.
What could have caused them to move this fast on land? I knew the answer to that, of course. It was the rain. They were moving fast due to the rain.
Then, I smelled something in the air. It was a familiar smell, one that I had encountered many times when I was still an adventurer. It was a metallic scent, mixed with an earthy, organic odor that I could only identify as blood.
"...Blood," I muttered to myself, my eyes scanning the surroundings for any signs of danger.
"Mr. Asura?" asked one of my companions, noticing my change in expression. "What's wrong?"
I knew for certain that the smell wasn't that of monster's blood. It was human blood. My heart sank, realizing that someone might have been hurt or worse, killed.
"Everyone, I need you to go back to the village. The forest is dangerous, now that we know that there are Lizardmen here," I instructed my companions, my voice firm and authoritative.
My companions murmured at each other, clearly unnerved by the sudden turn of events. After a brief moment of hesitation, they nodded their heads at me and quickly spun on their heels, disappearing into the pouring rain.
One of my companions looked back at me and said, "Be careful, Mr. Asura."
I nodded at him, my expression serious. I watched as they disappeared into the distance before I turned on my heels and began running in the opposite direction.
The rain struck against the canopy above like tiny spears. The sound of it was deafening and it dulled my hearing and my sense of how far away the approaching monsters were. I strained my senses, trying to feel their presence around me. They were getting closer, I could sense it. Approaching from all directions, there were four of them.
Suddenly, something leaped toward me. Instinctively, I brought my sword down as hard as I could, splitting the monster apart and sending the two halves of its corpse spinning through the air. Without stopping to watch the carnage, I tensed my heels and leapt into the air to dodge another monster's charge. I arced above the monster, flipping the grip of my sword before driving the point into the creature's skull.
My blade stuck deep, and I placed a foot on the monster's head to rip out my sword forcefully. I then gripped the blood-soaked corpse with one hand, throwing it full force and sending it slamming into the trunk of a tree some distance away. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I continued to run forward.
As I sprinted through the forest, the third monster emerged from the trees as I had expected. With one swift swing, I sliced the monster clean in two. Then, I spun, using the momentum from my swing to throw my other sword into the brush. My sword found its target—another monster which had been lurking in ambush.
Rushing toward the wailing creature, I stabbed it and then pulled my sword from its body as it breathed its last. Heedless of the rain buffeting me from the side, I sprinted off into the forest without pausing for breath as mud splattered out behind me. The rain had made the ground muddy and it was hard to maintain balance, but I ran as fast as I could, scanning the area for any signs of danger.
As I ran through the rain, my eyes strained to pierce through the thick downpour. It was then that I noticed something peculiar in the distance, causing me to stop in my tracks. Through the rain, I could only make out the silhouette of a large and ominous creature. Its presence alone was enough to send chills down my spine.
Suddenly, I heard a menacing growl coming from the creature, as if I had disturbed it from its meal. It leaped at me with lightning-fast speed, its long and muscular arms outstretched, and its jaws gaping wide.
Reacting instinctively, I drew my sword and prepared for the attack. I felt the weight of the weapon in my hand as I slashed it through the air, aiming directly for the creature's neck. The blade connected with a satisfying thud, and in a matter of moments, the Lizardman lay beheaded on the ground. Its blood mixed with the rain and flowed away, leaving no trace of the beast that had just attacked me.
Taking a moment to collect myself, I realized that the creature had been feasting on something before I had arrived. Despite my trepidation, I felt a strong sense of curiosity and felt compelled to investigate.
Walking slowly and cautiously, I approached the area where the Lizardman had been feasting. As I drew closer, my worst fears were confirmed. Lying in front of me was the gruesome sight of a human body, torn apart and partially eaten. The victim's face was unrecognizable, likely having been the main target of the Lizardman's ravenous hunger.
Though, unrecognizable, I still recognized who it was.
"Mr. Mihann..."
As I gazed upon Mr. Mihann's lifeless body, I couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness and anger. He had been a kind and brave man who had joined me on this mission to protect the village and find his missing son. And now, he had become another victim of the monster's insatiable hunger.
As I kneeled in front of him, the metallic scent of blood filled my nostrils, making my stomach churn. I couldn't bear to imagine the pain and suffering he had endured in his final moments. But as I took a closer look at the surrounding area, I noticed something odd about the tracks and the struggle marks nearby.
Despite being chewed to the bone, Mr. Mihann's body seemed to have shown signs of struggle. I couldn't quite understand why he would still be fighting despite being so badly injured. It was then that I noticed something peculiar—one of his limbs had been torn off and lay a short distance away from his armless and legless corpse. The way it was outstretched seemed to indicate that he was trying to crawl towards something before he passed away.
Following my instincts, I turned my attention towards the direction where his severed limb was pointing. My sword remained at the ready as I took cautious steps forward, scanning my surroundings for any signs of danger. Though my senses told me that there were no more monsters around, I didn't want to take any chances.
As I moved forward, the rain continued to pour down on me, obscuring my vision and making it difficult to see anything clearly. But I pressed on, determined to find out where Mr. Mihann was trying to crawl towards before he met his untimely end.
I then noticed the blood coloring the muddy water red, but the heavy rain was now washing it out. It wasn't Mr. Mihann's blood, of course. He hadn't come in this direction, unless... unless...
"Some of his body parts may have been dragged in here, or..."
I didn't continue the thought.
As I put some distance between myself and Mr. Mihann's lifeless body, I noticed something in the distance. It was a head, detached from its body.
"..."
I gritted my teeth, a small idea forming in my mind of what had transpired here.
Mr. Mihann had approached me, asking to join me in the hunt for the monster. He told me that his son had gone missing and it had been a week since he was last seen.
Mr. Mihann claimed to be a Gold rank adventurer and even showed me his identification card as proof. However, despite his experience, we were unable to make any progress in finding his son. In his desperation, he went off alone and eventually stumbled upon his son's lifeless body. At first, his son's body was still intact, but as he went to approach it, a Lizardman appeared. Lizardmen were quick in water and during rain, making them difficult to defeat for even a Gold Adventurer such as Mr. Mihann. Despite this, he tried to crawl towards his son's body.
But then another Lizardman appeared, and that was when Mr. Mihann met his untimely demise. The creatures ripped apart his son's body and left only the head behind. I knew that Mr. Mihann wasn't the type to scream in pain, but seeing his beloved son being torn apart must have pained him deeply. That was probably the scream that we had heard earlier. It wasn't a scream of pain, but a scream of anguish.
As I looked around, I couldn't help but speculate on what had really happened to Mr. Mihann's son. It was impossible for a Lizardman to have killed him since it wasn't raining at the time he went missing. It was then that I had a gut feeling that something else, something more powerful than the Lizardmen, must be roaming in the forest.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Mihann..." I muttered as I carefully picked up the head. I brought it back to him and gently placed it beside his body.
The rain continued to pour down, beating heavily on the leaves around me with no sign of stopping. It was as if the heavens themselves were mourning the loss of Mr. Mihann and his son.