"…What was that?" Elrand inquired as he rubbed his ears. "Brad, was that you?"
"I'm not girly enough to shout such a high-pitched scream, El." The axeman, relieved after seeing the rhino retreating, turned around and saw Senna's unconscious body. "Seems it was him."
They approached the rubble and checked his condition. "Phew… Not dead, at least. I fear the worst when he got knocked away by that horn."
"Who is he?" Elrand asked, not knowing the stranger's identity. He never saw him anywhere in the village, which was weird since it was small enough for everyone to know one another.
"To be honest, I have no idea either. He came here with Ran."
"Everyone!" As if called by the mention of her name, the receptionist joined them along with Cybele. In the other direction, Elrand's childhood friend Reimi also did the same.
"Rem! You're not hurt anywhere, right?" The boy asked in worry. Because of how rough he had been when pulling her to the side, Elrand was afraid she was injured somewhere.
"It's okay. I'm fine," reassured the dark-haired girl. "Is that man… alive?"
"Yup," answered Brad. As he did, he lifted Senna's body and slung him over his shoulder. "We can't leave him here. I'll carry him."
All the others agreed. They sensed that it was due to him that the monsters seem to be retreating.
"Lool. The Red Eyes are turning back. Most of them." Brad pointed in the direction of the hall.
"It's our chance! Let's break through them."
Nodding at his suggestion, the group then ran toward the village's center, avoiding the oversized lizards all the while. Observing them as he trotted, Brad noticed that they all seem to be disoriented or confused.
'Is it because of that sound?' he wondered.
They managed to reach the perimeter of the hall without having to run any confrontations with the monsters. "Hey, that's Brad! He's back, and alive!" One of the guards who were just now under siege exclaimed seeing the group.
"There's Elrand too. I was sure he'd gotten himself eaten," chimed another seeing the ragged boy. "Kid got heaven's luck, as always."
"Is that Reimi, the girl he's always together with? Damn. The man risked his life to save her, huh?" The first guard referred to him not as a boy, but a man. It was his way of showing respect for Elrand's bravery.
"We're here!"
*****
"Brad! Thank Gods you're safe!" the village elder cried in gratitude seeing his top hunter surviving his battles. "It seems this village still has more time to live, after all."
"Elder. How's everything been here while I was out?"
The axeman gestured to a man who seemed to have nothing better to do and passed Senna's body to him. 'Treat him somewhere,' he whispered.
The man wordlessly nodded. Being the strongest fighter they currently had, his words carried much weight and any orders he gave would be carried out without many questions.
"Bad. We lost around a dozen when those Red Eyes came. We're down to about half the number of able men we had at first," the hunter standing beside the elder was the one who replied.
"*Sigh* Even more people died as time passes… Just how many lives were lost since last night…?" The elder spoke in a miserable tone, thinking of all the casualties from both the great fire and monster attacks.
'Can the village even recover after this?' Such doubt crept into his old mind.
"I see… It's alright. I'm not giving up. The monsters seem to be backing away, though I'm not sure why." Brad walked toward an open window that showed the ruination outside. "I'm just glad that El and Rem are still alive and sound."
"Oh, those two? The boy's luck amazes me every day. Just now I was sure he finally ran out." The hunter opined almost the same as the guard outside. It spoke testament to Elrand's notorious fortune.
"He deserves it. El lived a harsh life. The Goddess of Fortune'd better be blessing him every day in return," Brad told. He had known Elrand for a long time, being his best friend and somewhat of an older brother figure to him.
The axeman knew of the sufferings he had endured in his life as an orphan. The spirit he showed, as well as the kindness that the boy cultivated every day despite that, made Brad sure that Elrand was a great man in the making.
"So who's that guy you brought along with you? I had never seen him before, and I knew everyone in the village," the hunter asked.
"Some outsider that arrived here just now, with Ran. It seemed he was her escort or something but I'm not sure. His name is Senna. Great guy, he helped me fight the monsters."
'Though the way he fights is too bizarre...' Brad kept the last sentence unnoticed.
"From the outside? Hmm… Did you just say, Ran? That girl is back from Kyllian?" The elder was also familiar with all the villagers so of course he knew the receptionist girl.
She was a good-hearted girl with big ambitions. Unlike many of her peers, she didn't want to waste her life living in this backwater village in the middle of nowhere. Ran wanted to explore the wider world, outside the canopies of those trees.
That was why she decided to go to Kyllian when she came of age. The girl loved her family, but it didn't stop her from her goals. Rather, her parents supported her decision with their blessings.
"Yeah. News our runner is bringing must have reached the city already. I'm surprised she got here so quickly though. I expected no one would be able to reach here until tomorrow."
"I was on the same opinion. We sent our plea for help and supplies. Preparing them and delivering them would take a full day, at the quickest," the young hunter nodded. "Even if she was just riding here with no baggage, that Ran girl was still too fast, no?"
Brad thought immediately turned to the mysterious man arriving with her. 'Did it for anything to do with him?' the axeman thought.
"Ah, but…"
"Hm? What's wrong, sir?" He asked the elder, noticing his hesitant words.
"The Ran girl… I think we have some bad news for her. I'm hoping she could take it," the old man explained sadly.