Instructor? What's Wrong? (1)
Zeke immediately fled the capital city after rescuing Iriel.
'Somewhere deserted…! Quickly! Faster!!!'
Zeke sprinted without a thought for covering his tracks, leaving craters in the ground with every thunderous step.
How long had he run?
He found himself in a deserted mountain forest.
Zeke clutched his chest, gasping for breath.
Gasp.
Gasp.
Gasp….
A tidal wave of pain washed over him.
"Khh!!"
Blood vessels bulged and receded beneath the skin all over his body.
Drool dripped from his gaping mouth.
"Khhhhaaa!! Gack! Ugh!!"
Black blood spewed from his mouth.
It was a side effect of forcibly suppressing his transforming body.
'This should be far enough….'
Zeke thought through his fading consciousness.
At least there were no signs of humans within this radius.
It would be alright.
Here, teeming with monsters far stronger than the feeble humans of the capital, he could vent his urges and return.
'I haven't let go that much. A day should be enough.'
His instincts would lead him to the strongest prey.
Zeke relinquished the reins of his forcibly restrained consciousness.
This was, truly, a release he hadn't experienced in a long time.
Like a caterpillar metamorphosing into a butterfly,
Zeke shuddered at the feeling of liberation, his vision clear.
A thick, murderous aura emanated from him.
Fwoosh!!!
Insects and birds in the vicinity instinctively sensed the danger and fled.
Dense mana flowed from Zeke's body, stretching out in all directions.
Silent and searching, like a serpent stalking its prey.
Zeke, who had his eyes closed, cracked them open.
He burst into laughter, like a child.
"Ah, ha ha ha ha ha. There you are…? Damn it. There are people…? And so many of them……. Ha ha ha ha!"
Zeke licked his lips, his tongue snaking out.
A part of him knew he shouldn't,
But the reins had already been released.
His body began to move.
Towards the people.
* * *
"Those bastards, they're a shady bunch…"
In the dead of night.
Keigue, the Bandit King who ruled the bandits operating in the Higma Forest, glared at the letter before him.
He was lost in thought, tapping his fingers on the table.
A few days ago, a group had approached them with a proposal: deliver captured humans to them in exchange for a hefty sum.
He had sold off all the humans they had been holding,
But their immediate proposal for another deal was highly suspicious.
"Read it. Is there anything wrong with their offer?"
Unable to read, he slid the paper to his Vice-captain.
The Vice-captain squinted, deciphering the characters by the light of the bonfire.
"One gold per person, 100 people…. Chief! That's right! It's the same as last time!"
The Vice-captain announced with delight.
"It's still fishy…."
"Chief, it is suspicious, but when have we ever cared about such things? We're just handing over some trash!"
The Vice-captain's voice rose in excitement, but he quickly cleared his throat and lowered it to a whisper.
It wouldn't do for the other bandits to overhear.
"It's one gold per head, one gold."
"Hmm…. Well, you've got a point…."
"It's no different from our usual human trafficking with the slavers. We can take the 100 gold we earned this time, add it to the next deal, make a clean 200 gold, and wash our hands of this whole thing. That's enough to live like kings for the rest of our lives."
"Hmm…."
Although the Vice-captain continued to persuade him, an inexplicable uneasiness made Keigue hesitate.
Those guys who hid their faces with crude sacks and masks…
His rise to power, uniting countless bandits and becoming their king, was partly due to his brute strength, but more so because of his instincts that allowed him to sense and avoid danger.
However, even those instincts wavered in the face of such wealth.
"Sigh…. Ugh, we just need to kidnap 100 people and hand them over…."
"Yes, Chief. 100 people are nothing. If we unleash the boys, we can gather them in a month."
"It's just that the offer is too good…. It feels like a trap."
"…Even if it's a trap, Chief, what can they do? We have a thousand bandits in this Higma Forest. You know there's no way they can outnumber us."
Keigue finally gave in to the Vice-captain's passionate persuasion.
"Alright, you're right. Even if it's a trap, there's nothing they can do…. Fine, we'll accept their offer."
Keigue slammed his fist on the table, splitting the wooden surface in two.
"Wise decision, Chief! With this one big score, we can finally kiss this wretched life goodbye!"
The Vice-captain exclaimed with glee.
Just then, one of the bandits came running in, his face pale as a sheet.
It was the lookout assigned to night duty.
"Chief!! There's a guy lurking at the foot of the mountain!"
The Vice-captain frowned at the interruption.
"A guy in the middle of the night? Not a monster, but a human?"
"Y-yes!! A human."
"We've got the Monster repellent spread around…. Why would anyone come looking for us? Just rob him, strip him naked, and if he doesn't cooperate, kill him."
"A-about that…."
Keigue, who had been listening quietly, interjected.
"Don't kill him. Just strip him, cripple him, and lock him up."
The bandit hesitated, stammering as he spoke.
"…The, the guys who saw him… they were too scared and ran back here!"
"What!?"
Keigue and the Vice-captain both scowled, voices laced with disbelief.
"Are you morons? You ran away without even fighting!? Just gang up on him!"
The Vice-captain barked, exasperated.
"I-I'm sorry. I, I was scared too… his, his eyes…!!"
The bandit trembled as he spoke.
Whack!!!
Keigue shot up and delivered a swift blow to the bandit's head.
The bandit crumpled to the ground, his body hitting the wall with a sickening thud.
"Urgh!"
A single gasp escaped his lips before he went limp. His neck was broken; instant death.
"…How dare they…"
Keigue growled, his voice low and menacing.
Even the Vice-captain couldn't handle his rage.
The jovial atmosphere vanished in an instant, replaced by a chilling silence.
He bowed his head, trembling before Keigue.
"C-chief, I apologize. The men… they've tasted wealth and lost their minds!"
Perhaps he shouldn't have been so generous with the recent earnings.
It seemed their minds had truly gone astray.
Keigue stared down at the Vice-captain, his eyes cold and unforgiving.
"Grab a few of them, gut them, and leave their carcasses for the monsters. That should teach them a lesson."
"Yes, sir!"
"Let's go see for ourselves."
They strode out of their den.
Outside, they saw a group of bandits beating up a few of their own.
Most likely the ones who had fled in fear.
A vein throbbed on Keigue's forehead.
"You there."
The bandits immediately stopped their assault and snapped to attention at Keigue's appearance.
"Where is he?"
Keigue questioned one of the beaten bandits.
"C-chief… He… he's coming this way."
"This way?"
"Y-yes…"
Keigue's eyebrow twitched.
'Tsk, scared witless, you'd think it was a knight or something.'
Keigue scoffed internally.
Even if it were a knight from some noble family, he wasn't afraid, not with the combined might of the entire forest's bandits under his command.
"Well then, let's give our guest a proper welcome. Even if he's some big shot, we'll just make it look like the monsters got him."
Keigue nodded at his Vice-captain.
The Vice-captain drew his sword with a snarl and approached the cowering bandit.
"P-please spare me!!! Vice-captain! Chief!!!"
The bandit pleaded for his life, but the Vice-captain showed no mercy, swinging his sword.
The bandit collapsed, blood gushing from his neck.
"Men! We have a guest! Get ready!!"
"Yes, Chief!!!"
The bandits roared in response, drawing their weapons and forming ranks at Keigue's command.
*
"Hmm? The door's open?"
A young man strolled through the wide-open entrance.
He whistled, looking around.
"How many are there? Quite a crowd, aren't you?"
His voice was strangely cheerful, especially considering the menacing sight of armed bandits surrounding him in the dead of night.
Keigue frowned.
'What the…? He's just a kid? What's with all the fuss over this…'
He felt foolish for putting his men on high alert for this, thinking it was a formidable knight.
The young man had short, jet-black hair.
He exuded an air of affluence, likely a noble.
'Hmm, his clothes look expensive. We could get a good price for them…'
He mentally calculated the young man's worth.
Unarmed, dressed in finery, and walking into their den alone.
The situation was bizarre, but he'd encountered his fair share of lunatics before.
Crazy or not, he was still worth one gold.
Just as Keigue was about to dismiss the situation, a thought struck him.
'No, if he's a noble, we could demand a ransom from his family…'
He subtly gestured to his Vice-captain.
"Don't kill him. Capture him and tie him up."
"Yes, sir. I'll cripple him and tie him securely."
"No, he looks like a noble. We'll hold him for ransom."
"Ah, right!"
The Vice-captain looked impressed, as if he hadn't considered that possibility.
He relayed the order to the men.
"Don't kill him! Capture him and tie him up!"
"Yes, sir!!!"
At that moment, the young man's gaze landed directly on Keigue.
Their eyes met, and Keigue gasped.
'W-what is…!'
Those black, fathomless eyes were like a bottomless abyss, dragging him down.
A wave of terror washed over him, so intense it was suffocating.
His body trembled uncontrollably, his head bowing instinctively.
He finally understood the sheer terror his men had felt, the fear that had driven them to flee.
"G-gasp… h-huh…."
He sensed the Vice-captain's confused stare,
But Keigue was too preoccupied trying to control his trembling body.
Suddenly, one of his men, following orders, charged at the young man, sword raised high.
He had to stop him.
"Wait, stop—!"
But it was too late.
Woosh—
Crack!
"Huh…?"
The bandits who had been ready to join the attack froze in their tracks.
With a single swing of his arm, the young man had snapped the bandit's sword in half.
Clang
Thud!
The broken blade landed at the young man's feet.
He stared down at it, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Is this… a sword…?"
He muttered, his hand trembling slightly.
"No, it's not. This isn't a real sword. It doesn't even have a handle… So it should be fine, right? It's not really a sword, is it?"
He looked up, his gaze meeting Keigue's once more.
Keigue shuddered again, his body locked in fear.
"What do you think?"
The young man asked, his voice deceptively light.
"Huh? What do you think?"
His eyes seemed to sparkle with anticipation,
Eager to hear the answer.
"I asked you a question. Huh? What do you think? This isn't a sword, right? So it's okay, right?"
"C-chief… H-he… he broke the sword… with his bare hands… He's not normal… What should we do…?"
The Vice-captain stammered, but Keigue couldn't answer.
He had to give the right answer.
He had to appease this terrifying young man.
If he displeased him, there was no telling what might happen.
In that moment, Keigue's instincts betrayed him once more.
"I-it's not a sword!! That's right!! Whatever it is, it's okay!!"
"I-it's… okay!?"
"Y-yes!!"
"It's okay then…"
A chilling grin spread across the young man's face, stretching from ear to ear.
He picked up the broken blade, ignoring the blood dripping from his hand.
"I've been so patient…"
He mumbled, his voice laced with madness.
"Stuck in a desert with no water, unable to die, throat parched… Just one drop, just a single drop is all I need… And they did this to me… after I saved the world…"
His voice trembled with suppressed rage.
The bandits watched in stunned silence, afraid to even breathe.
"Don't you think it's unfair?"
He stumbled forward, his every step cracking the ground.
"The least they could do is… turn me back to normal… before sending me back… But no, they refused. I begged them… My throat is parched, cracking, bone dry… But they refused!!!!"
Boom.
Boom.
The ground trembled with each step he took.
"And they threw me back into this wretched world!!!!!!"
"Chief Keigue!!!"
The Vice-captain's voice was a desperate plea.
Only then did Keigue snap out of his stupor.
"They're probably lying. It'll probably make me even thirstier. It's probably just seawater that'll make the thirst unbearable. I know. But I can't help it. I'll go mad if I don't drink. And it's right here… Just this much, just a sip… Please, just let me…"
The young man's eyes were filled with nothing but madness.
Keigue could only blurt out, his voice raw with terror,
"Kill him!!!! Kill him nowwwwwww!!!!!!!!"
Zeke's eyes glinted under the moonlight.
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