I walked back towards the village, struggling to carry the body of Mr. Mirhann and the severed head of his son with me. The path was muddy and uneven, causing my steps to wobble and my footing to slip.
As the rain began to intensify, I became increasingly drenched and my clothes clung to my skin. Despite the coldness of the rain, I found that I was strangely numb to the sensation, as if the chill did not affect me at all.
As I trudged through the downpour, my eyes caught sight of a kobold, a monster that resembled a large dog but was much larger than a cow.
As I faced the looming threat of the kobold, I realized that I couldn't effectively fight it while carrying the bodies of Mr. Mirhann and his son. With a heavy heart, I slowly set them down and unsheathed my sword, bracing myself for the impending attack.
As expected, the kobold immediately launched itself towards me, its razor-sharp claws and teeth poised to strike. I managed to block its initial attack, but the sheer force of the impact was enough to knock me off my feet and send me flying into the air.
"Graaaah!"
As I landed back on the ground, the kobold was already leaping towards me once again, its jaws dangerously close to my face. With lightning-fast reflexes, I raised my sword in defense, managing to deflect its attack and prevent it from causing any harm.
The kobold's jaws now clamped down on my sword, and I realized that I needed to act quickly before it had a chance to strike again. With a swift motion, I grabbed a nearby knife and plunged it into the kobold's eyes, causing it to let out an ear-splitting shriek of pain.
"Grraaaaa!!!"
As I withdrew my sword and knife, I suddenly became aware of another presence above me.
Looking up, I saw that it was not just one, but possibly two, three, or even five more kobolds that had arrived on the scene. The rain was coming down in torrents, making it difficult to discern their movements and intentions, and their presence was becoming increasingly difficult to detect.
The kobolds started to move. They circled around me, their eyes glinting. Their fangs were bared, and their growls echoed in my ears. They were getting ready to attack.
I held my sword tightly, waiting for the right moment. Suddenly, the first kobold leaped at me, its jaws open wide. Without hesitation, I leaped towards it as well, and with a quick slash, I managed to cut it down in half.
I watched as the first kobold's body hit the ground, its blood mixing with the rainwater, and I knew that it was far from over. The remaining kobolds were even angrier now, and they began to circle me, looking for an opening. I kept my eyes on them, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Suddenly, one of the kobolds lunged at me from behind, but I was quick to turn around and use my sword to block its attack. With my other hand, I plunged the knife into its chest, and it fell to the ground with a whimper.
The other two kobolds didn't hesitate to attack me, but I was already moving towards them. I dodged one of their attacks and used the opportunity to slice its head off. The other one tried to run away, but I wasn't going to let it get away that easily. I chased after it, and with a swift strike, it was over.
"Grrr...." the last kobold growled, as if it found me its natural enemy.
I looked at it squarely in the eye, and then in the blink of an eye, the kobold's head dropped. Its body fell to the ground with a thud, and the rain continued to pour down mercilessly, as if washing away the traces of the battle.
The battle was over in the matter of seconds. I breathed a sigh of relief and put my sword back on its sheath, as well as the knife. With my weapons now secured, I slowly went towards where I laid the corpses.
The bodies of Mr. Mirhann and his son were still there, and I knelt beside them.
I carefully wrapped them with some cloth that I had brought along and picked them up, cradling them in my arms. Despite their weight, I managed to carry them and continued my journey back to the village.
I didn't look back to where the kobolds that I had slain lay. I just continued walking, despite the heavy rain. Nothing could stop me from bringing their corpses back to where they belong, to their family.
***
Elisa's POV:
As I stepped outside of the knight's post, I was immediately met with the sight of a large gathering of people. Curious, I made my way towards the commotion and squeezed myself through the tightly packed crowd. As I got closer, I noticed that they were all surrounding something, their faces contorted in a mix of shock and horror.
Pushing my way through the last few people, I finally emerged to see my husband standing there, his back to me, and covering something with a cloth. It was then that a sickening realization hit me like a ton of bricks—it was the body of a person that lay beneath the cover.
I bit my lip and ran over to Leonelle, who was standing over the corpses with a solemn expression. His eyes were focused on the lifeless bodies, and he seemed lost in thought.
"Leonelle..." I called out to him, trying to catch his attention.
He turned towards me slowly, his voice hollow and sorrowful as he replied, "Eh? Oh, it's you Elisa."
The two corpses were lined up side-by-side, cloth covering their faces. I didn't have the courage to check who they were.
Although the sight of corpses was not new to me, having been an adventurer in the past, it still never got easier to see. I had since retired from my adventurous life and settled down with Leonelle in the Asura Republic.
During my time as an adventurer, it was a common occurrence for people to die during quests. I had even come across a corpse during one of my own quests for the Adventurer's Guild. At the time, I had thought of death as a natural part of life. Having lived for over 50 years, death was something that I was accustomed to seeing, and it didn't scare me.
However, everything changed when I witnessed some of my companions die during an excavation. It was a harsh reminder that death was not something to be taken lightly. It was something that could come for you at any moment, lurking just out of sight like an invisible enemy.
As I stood there, gazing at the covered corpses before me, memories of my friends being killed in front of my eyes flooded my mind. Despite the fear that I felt deep within me, I knew that I had to be brave and confront what was in front of me. Steeling my nerves, I took a deep breath and stepped forward, my hand shaking as I reached for the cloth covering the faces of the lifeless bodies.
My fingers brushed against the cloth, and when I lifted it up slightly, I saw the face of a familiar person. My heart raced with a mix of fear and disbelief. "Why...? How did this happen?" I asked myself, but Leonelle heard it too.
"I'm asking the same question," he said, his voice heavy with sorrow.
Then, suddenly, a panicked voice rang out from the crowd. "Ma'am, don't!"
We both turned to see a woman running towards us, holding a baby tightly to her chest. She seemed to be in a state of panic, her eyes scanning the crowd until they landed on the body of the fallen person. When she realized who it was, her knees buckled under the weight of her emotions.
"Ah... Ah... Ah... Ah..." she whimpered, tears streaming down her face.
Despite the muddy ground and pouring rain, she stumbled towards the corpse, her body shaking with sobs.
"Mirthra... No... Mirthra... Wake up... You said that you were just going to find Asson, right? So why are you sleeping? You need to wake up!" Her voice was filled with grief and disbelief, as if she couldn't comprehend the reality of the situation. Her heart-wrenching cries echoed in the rain, piercing through the silence of the surroundings.
I bit my lip, unable to hold back my emotion. My heart ached as I watched the woman's desperate attempts to wake up her loved one. The sight of her grief was too much to bear, and I felt tears prickling at the corners of my eyes. I couldn't even begin to imagine the pain and anguish she must be feeling.
"Um..."
I took a step towards her, wanting to offer comfort or at least some kind of support, but I hesitated, not knowing what to say or do in the face of such overwhelming sorrow. Instead, I stood frozen in place, feeling helpless and useless.
And then, Leonelle removed the cloth that was covering another body lying nearby. To my horror, it was not a complete corpse, but only a head, and a young one at that.
The woman who had just arrived, and whom we now assumed to be the wife and mother of the slain individuals, was in utter disbelief. She stared at the head, not wanting to believe what she was seeing.
"As...son?" she muttered, her voice cracking with emotion.
My heart sank as I realized that this was the boy Mr. Mirhann had been looking for. I couldn't fathom how these people could have met such a terrible fate.
The woman's eyes filled with tears, and her body shook as she let out a piercing scream, filled with agony and disbelief. The sound of her wails echoed through the forest, and even the rain seemed to fall harder in response to her cries.
"Why?! Why?! WHY?!" she cried. "Why did this happen?!"
I stood there, feeling helpless, unable to offer any comfort to the grieving mother. All I could do was watch as her tears flowed down her face, mixed with the rain that continued to fall.
"Wahhhh!"
The scene was so tragic that even the baby in her arms began to cry in response to her mother's anguish. The sound of the infant's cries added to the sense of loss and sadness that enveloped the clearing.
"I'm sorry," Leonelle apologized, his voice laced with guilt and regret. However, the woman was too consumed by her grief and loss that his words didn't seem to register in her ears.
Despite the woman's anguish, Leonelle continued to speak, his voice barely audible above the woman's sobs. "I wished I could've done better," he murmured softly.
As he spoke, I stood up from the ground and embraced him. His hand found its way to my shoulder, and I could feel the weight of his sorrow and sadness.
Suddenly, there was a loud explosion, causing both of us to jump in shock. The blast was so intense that it shook the ground beneath our feet.
BOOM!
As the deafening explosion echoed through the air, my eyes widened in shock. The sound was so loud that it seemed to reverberate in my chest. The black smoke billowing up was thick and dark, even in the pouring rain. But my attention was not on the smoke.
"Isn't that... the direction where our house is?" Leonelle muttered in shock. He was right. The explosion had come from the direction of our home. Panic surged through me, and before I could register everything in my brain, I was already running towards the direction where the explosion had occurred.