The Little Girl

Discovering someone in the middle of the night while the rain continuously poured down would make anyone wary. Thus, recognizing the little girl, Hans was reluctant to approach her. 

'Illusion?' 

It might be but to be completely certain, he used one of his skills. 

[Eye of Truth] 

In a flash, Hans' eyes sparkled and a glint of light seemingly leaked out of his eye. His vision changed, turning into a see-through eye where every place he gazed at was plainly exposed. 

Villagers sleeping in their homes while huddling in their sheets entered his sight. Hans didn't delay any longer and examined the area around the little girl. 

'Am I wrong?' Hans' brows furrowed. 

The little girl was real and the spot where she was on was also real. Aside from that, Hans didn't see anything suspicious. 

However, if anything is suspicious, it would be why is this girl here and where is her mother. 

'Since this is the case…' 

Hans cautiously neared the little girl, squatted, and called out.

"Are you alright?" 

As he asked this, he put his left hand on the hold of his blade in case something happened. 

The little girl raised her head and stared at Hans. Her eyes were puffy, probably because she was crying for a little long while before he arrived. Her teeth were clenching and the biting winds made her occasionally tremble. 

Seeing her unresponsive expression, Hans grabbed a coat in his storage and wrapped it around her figure. Hans ruffled her hair and smiled. 

"Why are you here? Where's mom?" 

He made his tone as gentle as possible to not sound like a bad guy. 

"Mama, she's gone." 

Taken aback, Hans thought, 'Gone?' 

Did she leave her here alone? Or maybe there were other reasons? 

He had heard of parents abandoning their children. It was ruthless but it couldn't be helped. The Casonar Village was truly poor and feeding another mouth would only get harder as the village chief seemed to be hogging all the good things. 

But he gave them food earlier, right? 

'Unless…' 

He didn't even want to think about it. They were just chatting a little while ago so that couldn't be right. Of course, the possibility remained. 

"What's your name?" Hans asked as he continued ruffling her wet hair. 

"Eleane."

"Alright Eleane, can you tell me where your mother is? If she left, maybe I can still—" 

Eleane interrupted, "Mama is dead."

"What?" 

Hans frowned. Goosebumps crawled on his skin and cold sweats oozed out of his forehead. Due to the rain washing those sweats out, it was hard to notice it. 

"Did you just say dead?" 

Eleane's eyes gazed at him with tears brimming out them. 

Hans' eyes widened, realizing that what he heard was real. His face gradually dimmed as he stood up from the ground and focused his senses around the vicinity. 

His nerves tensed and the muscles on his hand clenched the sword's hilt tightly. Eleane stood up and Hans slowly backed away one step at a time. 

His eyes sharpened. 

"Eleane, how did your mom die?" 

Eleane pulled out a dagger hidden behind her. 

"Eleane, what are you doing?" 

The dagger she held was the same as the one Gerd used when he tried to kill him. Whoever is controlling them, no doubt, they are the same man. 

Eleane slowly raised her head and glared at Hans with a face filled with hatred. 

[Is she controlled?] 

'I don't know but this is really bad.'

Hans stared at the little girl but at the same time, he was trying to sense the area of someone was currently watching. However, to his dismay, his perception couldn't sense anyone suspicious enough to be called an enemy. 

If Eleane tried to attack her, he'd had no choice but to immobilize her for a while until he caught the enemy. 

"Why do you have that, Eleane? Did someone give it to you?" 

"You killed mama. You killed her!" The hatred in her eyes intensified. 

"Calm down, Eleane. Put down that weapon."

Hans could make a move right now but chose not to due to the thought that this might be a trap. Finding out what happened and the cause of her hatred was his priority first. 

"The fruit. Mama ate the fruit you gave her and then she… she…" 

Eleane didn't finish her words as she rushed towards Hans and raised the dagger. 

"I will kill you!" 

Seeing her approaching figure, Hans sneaked behind her, and forcibly grabbed her weapon before pinning her to the ground. 

It was harsh to do to a child but Hans wanted to be careful. If she has something even more deadly, she won't be able to take it out.

"Arrrrgghhh, let me go! Let me kill you!! You killed mama, you killed her!!!" 

Eleane struggled under Hans before eventually giving up. She burst into tears and the rain seemingly sympathized with her as it gradually became stronger over time. 

Hans wanted to explain his side but she was just a young girl. She might not even buy it despite it being the truth. As Eleane had nowhere to go, Hans raised his head and focused his gaze on the house beside where he stayed. 

As his eyes penetrated the thin walls, Eleane's mother entered his sight. 

She wasn't dead and was only sleeping. Eleane wasn't on her side which means the little girl on his side was not an impostor. 

'She's not dead.'

If she's dead, she wouldn't be breathing at all but the heaving of her chest clearly indicated that she's alive. 

Hans glanced at the little girl and spoke. 

"Your mama is alive. She's only sleeping. She's not dead."

"No, you killed her!! You're lying!!" 

'Should I chop her neck and bring her back to her house?'

[Do it. Explaining to her would not give you any results.]

'Fine then.' 

After hesitating for a minute, Hans loosened his grip which made the little girl confused. With a firm face, Hans raised his hand and chopped the little girl's nape to make her unconscious. 

Only… 

Tut—, tut—

A ringing sound echoed in his ears. The world seemingly slowed down as even the raindrops looked like they were floating in the air albeit they were not moving. 

He was familiar with this. 

'Danger Zone.'

Once a danger enters a close range, the ringing sound will ring. It acted as a signal of the upcoming danger. 

'But where is the danger?' 

Subconsciously, Hans let go of the girl's hand and propelled himself back into a safe distance. His eyes remained in Eleane's figure before it shrunk in realization. 

'No…' 

At that moment. 

'NOOOO!!!!' 

BOOOOM—! 

Splat—! 

A small explosion resounded and Eleane's body exploded. Flesh and fragments of her bones splashed everywhere. 

Splat—

Hans' stood still as blood sprayed on his face. 

Tap—, tap—, tap—

He lowered his head and gazed at the eyeball that rolled on his feet. His eyes widened. 

"What?" He said dazedly. 

Hans stepped backwards only to feel that his legs seemingly turned jelly. He slumped to the ground as the color of his face gradually drained. 

His eyelids thumped, holding back his nausea as he peered dazedly at the place where he stood earlier. 

The broken dagger was the only thing remaining and it wasn't even intact, clearly showing how strong the explosion is despite the area of the effect being short. 

Gulp—

He was stunned, not wanting to move as he recalled how the little girl happily ate the bread he gave earlier. 

But now… 

"Did she just…" 

[...]

"Haaah… haaaah." 

He took large and deep breaths before the strength of his body gradually returned. Hans stood up, strode to where Eleane died, and bent over to pick up the broken dagger she owned. 

At that moment. 

Hans' muscles bulged and he crushed the dagger in his palms. 

Crush—

Fragments of the crushed dagger fell on the ground. Hans looked at the sky as fury welled up in his chest.

Anger flowed through him like lava and purplish mana seeped out of his body. 

"I will find you!"

...…. 

"HAHAHAHA, what a wonderful blood spray!" 

The man jovially clapped his hands together as he watched Hans' reaction toward the little girl exploding in front of him. 

However, his delightful expression gradually changed into a frown. 

"Eh? He's angry?" His eyes narrowed, "Why? I prepared it especially for him. Shouldn't he be glad at least?"

But no matter where angle he looked, Hans was still seething in rage. He walked back and forth around, constantly biting his nails in frustration. 

"Why!? Why is he not happy!? After all those preparations, hard work, and the time I spent!" 

The man slumped on the chair, ruffled his hair, and pulled them like he was going insane. 

"Unacceptable!! This is unacceptable!! How dare he despise my art!!!" 

The man gradually fell into madness as he constantly rammed his fists on his face. He stared at the half-complete wooden sculpture of Hans, yanked it, and threw it to the ground. 

Bam—

The wooden sculpture plunged into the floor but the man wasn't done yet. He stood up, raised his foot, and hammered the sculpture until he was satisfied. 

Bam—

"You bastard!" 

Bam—, bam—

"You can't even appreciate a masterpiece!! How dare you! Ahhhhh!!! Die, die!!" 

Bam—, bam—

It wasn't until the wooden sculpture was completely shattered that the man stopped stomping toward it. Even then, the floor was utterly destroyed and due to that, the land might fall to this underground. 

"Fine, I'll take you head-on and I'll make sure to show you what a true masterpiece is." 

The man clenched his teeth as he pulled his collar up before walking towards the underground exit. 

...…. 

Although the rain was loud, it didn't completely cover the explosive sound. Therefore, the villagers nearby woke up in the burst of sound which reverberated in their ears. 

One by one, doors were unlocked and numerous villagers poked their heads and glanced at the surroundings. 

Windows were pulled up and countless eyes peeked. The villagers saw each other and determined that they weren't only the ones who heard the sound. 

"What happened?" 

"I don't know. There's this loud sound and we thought something bad happened."

"Could it be the village chief?" 

"Shhhh! Lower your voice. The village chief might hear you."

Some of the adult men walked out of their houses and scanned every corner. In their hands, they gripped a machete just in case. 

After a few minutes, they found nothing but one of them found dark marks in the middle of the streets. However, he just shrugged his shoulders, thinking that it might be a charcoal remnant. 

"It's safe."

In the end, all villagers could only ponder what happened as they went back to sleep. But they will surely ask the village chief tomorrow. 

Meanwhile, Hans walked towards the house which was slightly bigger than the houses around. With such descriptions, he determined that this house might be the place where the village chief resided. 

He glanced behind after sensing many villagers walking out of their homes. However, he quickly lost interest knowing the rain had already washed away the blood and the bits of flesh around that area. 

Adding the fact that the surroundings are dark, they wouldn't even spot a single drop of blood. 

Step—, step—

Shortly afterward, Hans arrived at the house and he quickly saw the glint of light in the window. Meaning, the village chief's home is the only place with electricity. 

Hans sauntered inside and the first thing that greeted him was a bunch of women lying around naked. 

Their hands and feet were tied. Some of them had blindfolds and a few had tape on their mouths. 

But one thing is common. 

Their eyes were lifeless as if they had given up already. Despite their hearts beating, everyone appears like a broken dead shell of their previous self. 

The village chief was truly a demon in the flesh. 

Now, he understood why the villagers seemed afraid to go out and the majority of villagers he saw were male.

As he walked around, they didn't even glance at him and just opened their mouths as if waiting for something. 

[They are hopeless.]

'Mm.' 

Even if he helped them, these women might have wished for death. Of course, that was just an assumption. If they can withstand the pain of their traumatic memories then they could live at least. 

"The village chief is dead. You're free now but you'll have to wait for your families first." Hans said.

He didn't uncuff them due to the possibility of suicides that might happen after their limbs were freed. 

Additionally, he's not even here to save them but due to the circumstances, he might as well help them. He wasn't unreasonable enough to take their only chance of freedom away. 

Hans opened his [Eye of Truth] once again and surveyed it around the house. Finding nothing, Hans glanced downwards and saw a compartment hidden underground. 

'I might find a clue here.'

His heart was still heavy after what happened earlier and his mana was itching to burst out anytime. 

Thus, without hesitation, Hans walked toward the hidden door and descended through the basement. 

It was dark and humid. As he meandered around, he even found the food he gave earlier. Hans saw a light switch panel and tapped the button. Although he could easily see through the dark, it was just like night vision. He could still miss something. 

At that moment. 

As the light illuminated the vicinity, the interior of the room vividly entered his vision. 

His pupils shrunk. 

"What… is this?" 

Numerous artistic wooden sculptures were placed on shelves while some were in every available space in the basement. 

However, instead of amazement… 

Shing—

…Hans quickly drew his swords.