Epilogue - The Biyak Forest Incident (Part 2)

In the Ookamantukh village, a sense of unrest began to spread among the residents. The sight of the towering ice fence enveloping around their village raised alarms and ignited concerns. The villagers swiftly gathered in their tribal chief's house, seeking his guidance for such a change. The villagers were mostly young men and other elderly Antlerians concerned about the strange icy walls.

The chief, an elderly and sagacious figure, was their beacon of wisdom.

"It's prudent to assume that we are facing a big threat," the chief began, his voice steady despite the tension, "Our best course of action now is to avoid further provocation, instead we should initiate a dialogue with the one who cast that magic spell."

A wave of agitation surged through the villagers hearing the tribal chief's decision.

The villager's voices rose in discord:

"Dialogue? Chief, they've trapped us in our home!"

"Why negotiate with those who threaten us?"

"Let the blessed children take care of these aggressors!"

"Exactly let us show them our might!"

"Silence!" bellowed the chief, his staff tapping resoundingly on the ground, immediately quelling the room's chatter.

"Listen!" his voice commanded authority, "The force that erected those ice walls wields power beyond our imaginations. They've even eradicated the numerous wild beasts of the jungle that I could hear the spirit of the forest weeping. The approaching aura is saturated with bloodlust and ominous intent. Whoever they are, they eclipse even the mightiest among the blessed children."

A collective sense of dread swept through the room, the weight of the chief's words settling heavily upon them.

The village chief rose to his feet once more. "If you wish to ensure the safety of your children, our best course of action is to comply with their demands. Later, I will seek assistance from the proclaimed holy protectors of our realm, the Heavenly Virtues. As the tribal chief, I will beseech their aid in restoring peace to our village."

He then lowered his head solemnly. "Please, refrain from combat. If you survive, you will have the opportunity to fight when the time is right."

The villagers engaged in a brief exchange of words:

"Please, raise your head, Tribal Chief!"

"If even the mother jungle is shedding tears, then these intruders must indeed possess great power."

"It's true, I'm prepared to negotiate with them. But if they step out of line, I won't hesitate to confront them."

Finally, the villagers collectively decided to attempt negotiation with the intruders. The village chief smiled as

"Just convey to the others that they mustn't engage in hostilities, or else-"

Suddenly, with a violent and thunderous disruption, the roof of the chief's dwelling was torn apart, and a man descended like a meteor, crashing violently into the midst of the gathered villagers. The shockwave's force proved overwhelming, and those near the epicenter of the crash were flung through wooden walls like mere ragdolls, their bodies rolling and bouncing before coming to rest some distance away. In a matter of seconds, the tribal chief's once-stalwart house lay in ruins.

Even the elderly chief himself was propelled a significant distance away, tumbling along the ground.

In an instant, the chief's cherished home had been reduced to a pile of rubble.

Staggering to their feet, the other villagers gaped at the scene of devastation. Their eyes settled on a young man, his fiery red hair a stark contrast to the sinister grin that twisted his features. Splattered with the blood of those he had just crushed, the man stood amidst a gruesome display of the innocent death of the villagers. There was a crater around the house and just mutilated bodies pieces of guts and organs remained.

The perpetrator was none other than Belarus, who had crashed into the tribe chief's dwelling, leaving death in his wake.

Leaning down, Belarus licked the blood from his fingers, his voice dripping with dark amusement,

"It appears I chose the biggest house to crash this little gathering of yours. Seems like you were having a bit of a celebration. Hahaha!"

The tribal chief leaned to look at Belarus.

His body was battered and his mind reeling from the savagery displayed by Belarus.

In response, the other villagers began to cluster together, their faces twisted in a mixture of anger and grief.

"You did this!"

"You bastard!"

"My father, you killed him!"

"You monster!"

Amidst the tumult, the villagers gathered their emotions in a tangled web of confusion and rage. While the situation was undeniably chaotic, Belarus seemed unfazed by the havoc he had wrought, displaying an attitude as if he had just crushed insects underfoot and not people.

With a voice that rumbled like thunder, Belarus taunted, "You're all just going to cower there? Is there no one with enough backbone to fight back?"

As his words resonated with a palpable undercurrent of bloodlust, the villagers instinctively recoiled, their courage faltering in the face of such overwhelming aggression.

In the midst of this turmoil, Belarus's companions perched themselves atop a tree, their agitation evident as they anticipated Belarus's impending eruption.

Watching the chaos unfold with a vexed expression, Silas grumbled,

"I explicitly advised him to wait, but of course, he had to indulge in a killing spree."

Kraven chimed in with a sigh, "Inviting Belarus was a rather ill-fated decision, it seems."

Silas's frustration was palpable as he contemplated the situation,

"Indeed, we could have managed without him, but given the loosening of the seal, he is needed to fix that."

Turning his attention to the girl among them, Silas directed,

"Alquira, it's your turn now. Subdue the villagers before Belarus takes matters into his own hands."

With a determined step forward, the gloomy girl Alquira assumed a stance, crossing her arms in front of her,

"Elvida, Chains of Despair," she intoned.

In response, a series of intricate magic circles materialized in the air beside her. From these magic circles emerged thick, dark chains resembling serpents, which swiftly descended towards the ground before disappearing into the earth.

Despite the villagers' resistance, Belarus's relentless assault continued unabated.

He charged at the villagers like a rampaging beast, his powerful arm swipes launching villagers into the air before they crashed to the ground in a gruesome display.

A handful of villagers, armed with stone weapons, bravely attempted to confront Belarus. However, their feeble efforts barely left a scratch on him. In return, Belarus effortlessly crushed them with his bare hands, their bodies flung into the midst of their fellow villagers.

Belarus was drenched in blood and with his once-white attire now a gory mess. He viciously crushed a villager's skull, his words punctuated by the sickening sound of bone yielding to his brute force.

"Barely a warm-up," Belarus muttered with a bored expression, clearly unimpressed by the villager's efforts.

Unbeknownst to Belarus, a group of elite tribal warriors stealthily closed in on him through the crowd.

These five skilled fighters swiftly maneuvered through the chaos, their intent focused on subduing the rampaging invader.

As one warrior cried out, "Web Shot!", viscous white strands suddenly wrapped around Belarus's limbs, entrapping him and restricting his movements.

Belarus was surprised,

"What the-"

Before he could react another warrior bellowed, "Wasp Mayhem!", prompting a horde of wild wasps to descend from the treetops, launching a frenzied assault on Belarus.

In rapid succession, the warriors unleashed their techniques.

"Jaguar Slash!" manifested as long, claw-shaped energy waves crashing down upon Belarus.

A massive piece of rock hurtled through the air with the command, "Stone Overhaul!", crashing down upon Belarus.

The cacophony of battle reached its peak as one warrior unleashed "Flame Shot".

The fiery projectile streaked toward Belarus, culminating in a tremendous explosion.

A dense cloud of smoke, dirt, and dust billowed across the battleground, nearly toppling the villagers to the ground. This exemplary teamwork showcased the Blessed Children's synergy, a strategy they often employed to bring down colossal monsters within the forest.

Even the most formidable of mana beasts would suffer severe wounds from such a relentless assault.

The villagers watched in relief as a sense of hope surged through them.

"The Blessed Children are here!"

"We're saved!"

"That bastard is finished!"

Emerging from the shadows, the five tribal warriors positioned themselves in front of Belarus.

Just a glance at them revealed their exceptional prowess. These five individuals were mages, revered by the Ookamantukh people as the 'Blessed Children'.

"Is he finally dead?" inquired one of the warriors. The one who spoke was a female fighter, short in stature, dressed in wooden armor, with eight spider-like limbs extending from her back. A transmutant mage, she possessed the powers of a spider. Despite her childlike appearance, she was in her 30s.

"Maybe I should just hurl a couple of rocks and turn him into a makeshift grave," pondered a massive and muscular warrior. He specialized in earth magic, controlling the very ground beneath him.

"Burial is too kind for him. I propose we let my bugs feast on his remains," spoke a slender and tall warrior.

A psychic mage, he manipulated insects to do his bidding in combat.

"We had barely left the village to check on the icy fence, and that man had already slaughtered so many of our people," expressed an agitated warrior with jaguar-like claws.

Another transmutant mage, his abilities were tied to the beast within.

The most powerful among them, the warrior who was a flame elemental mage, stepped confidently to the forefront,

"Charging in alone was his fatal blunder. While I'm not fond of overwhelming an enemy with numbers, I'll make an exception this time. Now that he's taken care of, the icy barrier should crumble."

A cloud of smoke and dust obscured the area where they attacked Belarus. The warriors waited for the debris to settle, anticipating the sight of their assailant's fallen body.

Suddenly, a rock the size of a fist hurtled from the dust cloud with incredible speed. It struck the spider transmutant warrior squarely in the head before anyone could even react.

A grotesque hole marred the girl's face, and she crumpled to the ground, life extinguished in an instant.

Her fellow warriors cried out in shock and disbelief, surrounding her lifeless form with a mixture of grief and anger, "Kirara!"

"That sticky white substance is repugnant," boomed Belarus's voice.

Emerging from the wide crater created by the impact, he appeared almost unscathed.

Belarus's malicious grin widened as he taunted, "So there were five of you mages, huh?... Oh, my mistake, it's just down to four now."