VILLAGERS

[Another one! xD]

"What the… what is an aura concealer doing in this place?" I said in doubt, looking at the stone block in my hand.

Aura concealers were rare even in the two major kingdoms; even the World Academy only had a handful. The technology behind them was lost in time, and they are generally used for the shelters or houses of the nobles, wealthy merchants and, of course, Royalty.

'But, what is it doing in a backward place like this?' This time I had no answer. Maybe it was the hometown of someone filthy rich, or the concealers were just that abundant in the past? Who knows…

"I should go down and check. Maybe I could sense someone below because the concealer is of low quality. Ugh… what is that rotten smell?" I hurried down and pinched my nose as I smelled something awful. But then, I saw something astonishing.

Ten people, four kids, three elderly and three middle-aged men and women, were lying on the floor, not caring one bit that someone just found their hiding spot.

'Phew, at least they're breathing. But, those dead eyes and that smile… are they relived to be found or happy to finally be free of all this suffering?' I thought as I looked at their pale faces.

"Umm, Sir? Since when have you been here?" I asked the elderly person near me as I tried to support him to stand up.

The elder looked at me with those same hollow eyes as before and called out, "please… Please! Please kill us!! I can't hear those shouts and screams anymore!" and then started crying.

"Sir, I'm not here to kill you. The army is here to save you all; please come with me. But, what sounds, sir?" I tried to reason with him, thinking that maybe the pressure of death, losing his family and lack of food and supplies got to him; mentally.

Then I noticed something from the corner of my eyes. There were bags of supplies filled with rotting fruits, vegetables and meat lying in the corner of the shelter. 'Is this the reason for that pungent smell?' I thought and looked around…

Only now did I notice some other disturbing things as well; there were scratch marks made everywhere on the walls, with blood on them and then I saw the hands of the middle-aged man and women and even the other elderly; who had their nails broken off and had their hands covered in dried blood.

"What has happened here? Please tell me…" I spoke as softly as I could and tried to comfort the elder.

After taking a few deep breaths, the elder started narrating what happened here a few days ago.

"We were living our ordinary lives in peace when suddenly news got to us that the neighbouring nation had started attacking us, but we thought this had nothing to do with our secluded village. But I guess God had different plans for us. The enemy nation found a new route towards the capital through our village. To keep this a secret, they started massacring all the villagers and even imprisoned quite a few. The chief hid us here to let the country know about their schemes, but we didn't have any chance to get out of here; because they imprisoned our fellow villagers in this mansion itself. So, the security was too tight… the sacrifice of our people was in vain. I just hope that the other people hidden in their homes are safe." The elder again started crying, and I had to stop the noise from going out and alert everyone by using my concept, 'block'.

"I'm sure the army will help everyone alive after cleaning up some pests." I tried to reassure the elder and everyone present.

Then I asked the things that have been bothering me from the start, "Why have you people not consumed the food but let it rot, and what's up with those scratch marks everywhere here?" I then looked at the expression of the people present and looked back at the elder in confusion, as everyone was chuckling, even the little kids.

'That's a little worrisome…' I thought and pressed the elder for answers when suddenly the middle-aged man spoke, "Have you heard the scream, cries and shouts of your loved ones while they're being tortured, abused and left to die right above you, and you can't even go out to help them? You can't save your women or children from getting killed or being left to die from hunger… What will you do then, huh? Will you eat the food that could have saved your child's life?! Would you keep yourself sane when hearing your wife getting abused and beaten to death?!! TELL ME!!!" He shouted at me in the end and held my collars with both his hands; it was like he was taking out his anger and frustrations on me for his helplessness.

"You know what the worst part is? I can't even take revenge on those culprits because of my powerlessness, and I can't even take my own life as this is not mine anymore… It is the gift given to us by our fellow villagers..." The man got on his knees, and he cried his heart out. Everyone else also started crying, letting out their pain, frustration and anguish with their tears.

I told them to stay put for a few more minutes and left the shelter. I put the concealer on the floor again, just in case. Since I didn't destroy the primary mechanism, it was still functioning.

'Even though I've seen a lot, it still gets to me nonetheless.' I thought as I brandished my sword, activated my 'conceal' and went out of the mansion while their crying and helpless faces flashed before me.

-

When I went outside the mansion, the first thing that came to mind was chaos. But, if someone looked close enough, it was orderly chaos, and the winning side was the army.

'This platoon sure has a capable commander.' I was analysing the situation when I heard the shout of a familiar voice,

"Messiah!! Please help us! You may take anyone you would like to bed. Just save us! Even if you choose me, I'll be willing to comply!" I heard the fake Chief's shout and almost lost my footing.

'F*ck! Who wants to sleep with you, f*cker!? And I didn't take that woman with me for those intentions! Sigh, who will even understand me here….' I spoke to myself in a sad and lonely voice, as if I was being defamed.

"Everyone! That messiah must be the Shield demon! Be on alert!" I heard the deputy's shout and almost lost my footing again.

'Will someone let me make a classy entry or not!? Fuck this shit!' I complained in my mind and activated my unique concept,

'Sigh, this will surely hurt later…'

Godspeed!

Whooshhh!

Suddenly a strong wind current flew, and all the fake village low-rankers' heads started falling to the ground.

"Urghh!!" a shout resounded on the battlefield as I stabbed the burly fake chief with my sword and looked at him with eyes devoid of any emotion.

The chief shouted again, "HEL--…" but was taken down before completing the word. There was a 2-second silence everywhere as everyone looked at me in horror. My body, shield, and sword were covered in the Chief's blood, and it looked like I was some demon.

'He went down without much effort; maybe the fight with the other mid-rankers was fiercer than I had imagined.' I thought and looked at the three mid-rankers who were starting to surround me.

'Where's my dear Lucy?' I looked around the battlefield and saw her lying on the ground in a pool of her blood. 'Ohh, good for you, Lucy. That arm I made filthy from my touch is no longer connected with you. Rest in 'piece'. Lol.'

"What is the meaning of this, you bastard?! First, you killed our people, and now that we're winning, you've started massacring your allies too!?" the deputy shouted, looked at me in disgust, and then ordered all the mid-rankers to go after me.

'He's still cautious even after killing all those people.' I looked at my surroundings and saw that everyone had been killed one after the other once the 'Chief' was killed by me.

"I'm not your enemy! Those people deceived me into thinking you guys are trying to kill them! Even if I die here, please save those below that mansion!" I shouted while pointing towards the mansion, spreading the essence throughout my body as I activated my concept again.

Godspeed!

"Everyone, BE ALERT!" All the soldiers tensed up and prepared to fight with me with their lives on the line. But fortunately, they didn't pick up my real intentions.

Boom!

"He f*cking running away! Go after him!" The commander angrily shouted and shot off from where he stood in an attempt to catch me.

"Hehe, lucky me. These people are dumb!" I spoke in glee as I entered the portal without looking back.

"Where are you, bastard?!" I heard the commander's faint shout, and only one thought came to my mind, 'Is this Deja Vu?' I thought and wondered what Robin would be doing right about now.

[Hey there, this is the Author. The response for this novel is not that great and I'm seriously considering just dropping it or something... I started it as a hobby; but seeing that there are many comments and even the views have stagnated, I think the story is not good enough or something. Idk... I mean, is it too soon to think about all this?]

[Anyway, enjoy! :)]