Familiar Faces – Part 02

[previous_page]

[next_page]


Translator: Kell


I found myself standing alone in an unfamiliar village.

All the buildings were made of wood, there was no church, and the place was surrounded by woods. It was practically in the middle of nowhere. I began to wonder if people actually lived here.

“Is this another forced summoning? Except only I was sent away?”

At the very least, I was sure that I wasn’t in Latette anymore.

What now? No, wait.

Forced summoning required a Magic circle. If there was one on the roof, the priest and that bitch would’ve been sent somewhere as well.

My first priority should be finding the priest. Zero and Lily should still be in Latette. I could leave slapping Albus back to her senses to them.

“Hey, prie—”

“No!” A woman screamed.

I quickly ran towards the voice. A scream in this situation would definitely have something to do with us. If it didn’t, I might meet up with the priest if I went to where the scream came from.

I soon came to the center of the village—a square with a well. I froze completely at the sight.

“What the hell?”

My blood curdled. Why did I think this was an unfamiliar village? I know this place.

There were three corpses lined up in the square. Villagers were clinging to each of the corpses, crying and wailing repeatedly.

A kid was staring at them from a distance. He had white fur and gray stripes. For a child, his body size was not much different from the adults around him. He was strong, had sharp claws, and could fight if he wanted to. I knew that much.

The kid wrapped his long tail around his legs, his whole body stiff with fear and tension.

“They bought us time to escape,” one of the people surrounding the corpses said. “Bandits came… for a Beastfallen’s head.”

The Beastfallen kid gave a start.

It’s me. The thirteen-year-old me from just before I left the village. This is an illusion.

As proof, the villagers didn’t notice me even as I got closer.

“Stop it… Why are you showing me this?! Is this your idea of buying time, Sanare?! This is nothing but an illusion. Damn it, me. Wake up!” I clenched my fist and punched myself in the face.

It hurt, but I couldn’t wake up. Cursing, I shook my head, and suddenly the scenery changed.

I was inside someone’s house. The darkness outside the window suggested it was already the dead of the night.

And yet, all the adults in the village were gathered there. It reminded me of something.

The night of the bandit attack, my parents left me at home and went out.

“Don’t worry,” my father said. “It’s not your fault.” He seemed terrifying.

“Go to bed. We’ll be back soon.” Seeing my mother’s forced smile was painful.

So I followed my parents.

I looked around the room. There should be a backdoor somewhere. I bolted out of the house, and there I was, as a kid, huddled against a wall of the house.

“They came for him.”

“I told you we should’ve kicked the Beastfallen out of the village.”

“The fuck did you say? You’re blaming my kid?!”

“Three people died because of him!”

“Stop! He didn’t kill them. When he was born, we all decided to raise him in the village instead of killing him!”

“But the bandits will come back. It’s not his fault, but they’re after his head. Maybe my child will die next!”

“Calm down, everyone!”

“But chief! Your son died too!”

“He died protecting everyone in the village, and that includes the child! He’s a Beastfallen, but he’s kind. No matter who hit him, he never hit back. He has a big figure and is passionate about cooking. You’d hand a kid like that to bandits?”

The adults fell silent.

I remember.

One of the three people who died because of me was the village chief’s only son. He had just gotten married and had a daughter. I was so happy that I was allowed to hold the baby that I went to see her every day. I hoped to have a family like that one day.

But I destroyed that family.

I couldn’t stand it. What was the point of being strong? The claws? The fangs? Why did I run away when the bandits attacked? Why didn’t I stay and protect everyone in the village?

I left the village. Following the smell of blood, I ran through the forest, and found the cave where the bandits were camped.

I remembered my body burning hot as I saw them sharpening their swords in preparation for the next attack.

I had to kill them. If I didn’t kill them here, they would attack the village again. Leaving the village wouldn’t make a difference. I had to kill them. I needed to.

I didn’t have a sword, but I did have claws and fangs. A swing of my arm with its claws out could easily crush a man’s head and tear flesh.

The bandits numbered more than twenty. I killed and killed like crazy, chasing after those who ran away and tearing them apart, not lending an ear to those who begged for their lives.

The stench of blood clung to me. It smelled like iron.

I looked at my hands. Pieces of flesh were caught in my fingernails. I looked around and saw a pool of blood.

My childhood self had disappeared. I was standing alone in a sea of blood.

“I don’t regret anything. I had to protect the village.”

“But you didn’t protect me.” A young boy’s voice came from right behind me.

I turned around, and was shocked. “Theo?”

Light brown hair. A freckled face. His usual bright smile was nowhere to be found. His face was still. And cold.

“You didn’t even fight for me.”

Blood oozed slowly from Theo’s belly, and he collapsed to his knees.

“Theo!”

I quickly picked him up. His warm body quickly turned cold as blood seeped out of his small figure.

“Avenge me, Gramps,” he whispered, his lips pale. “Kill that witch.” He stopped moving.

His body melted in my arms and disappeared into the pool of blood.

My heart was pounding in my chest. I couldn’t breathe well. I crouched down, holding my chest.

“This is just an illusion. An illusion.”

The slimy blood, the metallic smell, Theo’s words. Everything was an illusion created by that abhorrent woman.

Then I heard a voice calling me. I turned around and saw an eerie figure standing there idly.

I couldn’t see their face, as though ink had blotted it out. Their voice was unclear; I couldn’t tell what they were saying.

Kill her.

I heard Theo’s voice.

Kill that witch.

I got up and looked down at the figure.

Should I kill her? Would it all end if I killed the witch? Would this illusion disappear?

Right. She needs to die.

“If I kill you…” I clenched my fists. “Sanare!”

I raised my sword and brought it down on the black figure. It didn’t try to escape, only jerked for a moment.

An explosion roared, sending my body flying. A blinding light smashed everything to pieces, and a choking impact jolted up my back to my stomach.

When I realized my back slammed into something, countless pieces of debris came raining down on me, hurting my head, stomach and other parts of my body.

“Ouch! Shit. What was that?!”

“How dare you scream another woman’s name while lunging at me. You do not even know the proper etiquette when making your advance towards a woman. Open your eyes! It is me!”

Zero was looking down at me, her back to the moonlight, with the most disappointed face I’d ever seen from her.

The moment I recognized her, cold, fresh air filled my lungs, and my hazy vision cleared up. I finally came to my senses.

Pushing the debris aside, I jumped to my feet. “What happened?! What’s going on?!”

“Calm down, you fool!” She punched me in the nose.

“Ow!” I curled up. “What the hell are you—”

“Because you! Lost control! Of yourself! To Sanare’s illusion!” Zero poked my nose with her finger repeatedly. “Because you tried to kill me!” Her nails almost dug in to my skin.

“All right! I’m sorry! Stop, you’re gonna make me bleed!”

“I am angry, Mercenary. I am seething. Not only at Sanare, but at you as well! I was hoping that you would use the power of our love and bond to break through Sanare’s illusions on your own. Yet you attempted to kill me!”

“Power of our love and bond? What the hell are you talking about?!”

“Sanare mounted Horse and escaped, as though she had no business with us anymore. Now, get up.” She stood up. “There is no time to dawdle.”

I rose to my feet and regarded Zero, who was clearly furious.

Did I really try to kill her? I guess I did.

“I’m glad,” I said.

“There is nothing to be glad about. At all.”

“No… I’m just glad I didn’t kill you. For real.” The words came from the bottom of my heart.

Just imagining me killing Zero made me want to slit my own throat.

Taken aback my words, Zero fell silent, then frowned. “Why are you saying this now?! If you wish to be upfront about how you feel, pick a better situation.”

“What?” I looked around.

Wait a sec. The priest got hit with the same spell too. What happened to him? Did Zero save him?

But I couldn’t see a sign of him anywhere. Lily too.

I turned pale as a sheet. Sanare cast a spell that showed me nightmares, causing me to attack Zero thinking she was an enemy.

If the same thing was happening to the priest, it could spell disaster. I finally understood why Zero was getting impatient.

“Where’d the priest and the squirt go?”


[previous_page]

[next_page]


Novel Schedule

Grimoire of Zero

Grimoire of Zero Volume 1 Cover

Schedule will be reduced when the goal is reached

Balance: 0

Comment (0)

Get More Krystals