Ch.16Chapter 16

The warriors looked up at the Wendigo with dumbfounded expressions.

At least until the monsters swarmed in, there had been hope. Even if that hope had been squeezed out of a sense of duty to protect the village.

But now there was none.

“Ugh…”

“S-snap out of it! We need to get up and run away!”

Was that thing truly a living being? No, wasn’t it something that shouldn’t exist in this world to begin with?

As the ominous deer skull slowly opened, the warriors sprawled on the ground trembled in fear.

It seemed like at any moment, that being would defile their souls with its cursed voice and turn them into pieces of meat with that enormous sword.

‘Is it approaching? Or not? I can’t tell. It’s right in front of us, yet I can’t sense its presence.’

The discordant sensation made their heads spin. The warrior Dmitri wished he could just faint. At least then he wouldn’t die in terror.

Dmitri looked at the giant standing before him and tried to close his eyes. Yes, that’s what he was trying to do, but…

“Seems I’m a bit late. I apologize. I should have arrived before the palisade collapsed.”

“…Pardon?”

Dmitri wondered for a moment if he had lost his mind. The words flowing from the giant’s mouth were neither curses nor screams.

He looked around with a blank expression. His comrades all showed the same bewildered faces.

So what he heard wasn’t a hallucination?

Warriors appeared from behind the giant and helped them up. Dmitri grabbed the man who appeared to be the warriors’ commander.

“W-what is that thing?”

Geron’s forehead twitched at the word “thing.” How dare he use such language toward the Djin.

‘Patience. He’s never received the Djin’s grace before.’

Geron spoke to Dmitri with a rigid attitude.

“Mind your words. The Djin is merciful, but we who serve him are not.”

“D-Djin, you say.”

Why would a Djin be here?

Dmitri looked at the giant’s back with a confused expression. There was something about the sword-carrying giant that naturally inspired awe.

The giant, Wendigo, turned around slightly. Dmitri, meeting his eyes, swallowed and thought.

‘What could he possibly be thinking?’

Even as he retreated with the help of the warriors, Dmitri couldn’t resolve his questions. And another question crossed his mind:

‘Why is he talking about the palisade when he’s the one who broke it…’

Dmitri left with his questions unanswered.

* * *

Wendigo watched the departing warriors and felt relieved.

‘Good, I handled that situation naturally.’

Honestly, when his sword hit the palisade, he realized his mistake. With no place to test his new power, he had accidentally used too much force.

It was a foolish act that made him sigh, but Wendigo calmly thought it through.

Third-rate people regret their mistakes and stop, second-rate people analyze their mistakes to catch errors. Then what about first-rate?

First-rate people use even their mistakes to gain advantage. In that sense, Wendigo was quite first-rate.

‘To be honest, it was about to collapse anyway.’

Wendigo was shameless. Otherwise, how could someone of near-Djin status settle in a village, enjoying the dishes people offered while living leisurely?

If the palisade was going to collapse anyway, it would be better used to improve his relationship with the village.

‘Hmm, now that my embarrassment is gone, I feel at ease.’

“KRAAAAGH!!!”

As Wendigo’s mind became calm as a peaceful lake, he naturally noticed the filthy lumps before him.

He could now see the faces of the creatures he had cut down from behind.

“Tsk, what hideous appearances.”

“KYAAAAK!!!”

As the palisade collapsed, monsters surged in like a wave with terrible screams. Wendigo raised his hand and drew forth mystical power.

Massive roots shot up like sharp spears, impaling monsters and forming a wall, while frost descended using the roots as a framework. The frosted roots exuded intense cold, becoming a barrier.

The barrier boasted incomparable strength compared to the palisade. Realizing they couldn’t break through the wall, the monsters rushed toward the only open space.

Naturally, Wendigo stood at the center of that space.

“A sword wouldn’t be ideal in this space.”

As if reflecting his will, the sword transformed into a blunt mace. After moving it around, Wendigo nodded with satisfaction at its balanced weight.

“This will do.”

As he shifted his weapon, the monsters bared their teeth with angry roars.

Pure violence without a hint of intelligence.

It would have made ordinary people’s skin crawl, but…

“Keee…”

“SILENCE!!!”

KWAAANG!!!

Wendigo felt none of that. He was in a state devoid of fear.

With angry swings of his mace, the monsters were smashed beyond recognition. Some were swept away by the blunt weapon and left marks on the barrier.

Wendigo swung the blood-stained mace in a trance.

The sound of bones crushing, flesh tearing, and the monsters’ mournful cries.

Terrible sounds echoed through the forest for a while.

Wendigo planted the dripping mace on the ground and observed the creatures.

“Grrrr…”

“Huh, you were raging like madmen just now, and now you’re being cautious.”

After dozens of monsters had been reduced to bloody pulp, the creatures seemed to regain their senses and became wary.

A bloody silence hung between Wendigo and the monster horde. The monsters moved first.

They hid their ferocity and retreated into the darkness of the forest.

‘Wise. And that makes it more suspicious.’

Wendigo felt uneasy about their behavior. Was this truly fitting behavior for monsters?

Absolutely not. If they were truly rabid monsters, they wouldn’t have retreated, and if they had enough sense to retreat, they wouldn’t have thrown themselves at the palisade to break it down in the first place.

After the creatures had completely withdrawn, Wendigo surveyed the ground.

From the floor littered with blood, flesh, and broken bones, Wendigo picked something up.

“…What is this?”

The worm-like creature wriggled its hexagonal, segmented mouth. Wendigo crushed the worm. The smell diminished.

Perhaps this worm was the source of the smell?

Cold air swirled around him, freezing the filth on the ground. The foul odor vanished as if it had never existed.

“So the source of the smell wasn’t the monsters but these worm-like creatures.”

“Djin. Are you alright?”

Geron and Dmitri approached Wendigo.

While Geron wasn’t particularly shocked by the carnage, having directly witnessed Wendigo tear the Boar Wearing Roots and Sticks to death, Dmitri was different.

When the blood-soaked Wendigo lowered his head to look at him, Dmitri felt a chill run down his spine.

Instinctively, Dmitri knelt and pressed his head to the ground. He shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Please take only my life and calm your anger!”

“……”

Wendigo stared at Dmitri in bewilderment. Why was he offering his life after being saved?

“Dmitri! What are you doing?”

‘Indeed, the others seem to have their wits about them…’

“You risked your life to protect us, so now we’ll sacrifice ourselves!”

“O Djin, please spare this friend’s life and take mine instead!”

Wendigo sighed at the ridiculous scene. He asked Geron, who was watching the village drama with an amused expression.

“Do I look that frightening?”

“Yes, you honestly look frightening. And right now, you look much worse.”

“Ah.”

Wendigo only then realized he was covered in blood.

A giant with a blood-stained deer skull, even holding a blood-covered mace—it would be reasonable to suspect someone was a psychopath if they weren’t scared.

‘It’s so difficult to make a good first impression!’

It was truly a troublesome situation.

* * *

Thanks to Geron’s passionate speech and Ivan’s explanation, the village accepted Wendigo’s presence.

They held a modest feast to express their gratitude to Wendigo’s group.

Of course, the idea that a Djin would help people without asking for anything in return seemed as unlikely as lightning from a clear sky, but…

“The food tastes excellent. You have a good wife.”

“Hahaha! If the Djin praises it so, then I haven’t lived my life in vain!”

Setting aside his appearance and power, Wendigo was a good Djin, so they had no choice but to believe.

A Djin enjoying a meal prepared by humans and exchanging pleasantries—even seeing it with his own eyes, Dmitri found it hard to believe.

Dmitri approached Wendigo with a mug full of beer.

“Do you drink alcohol, Djin?”

“I can drink, but I don’t get drunk. A pity.”

“Haha, I suppose it would be troublesome if someone like you got drunk.”

Wendigo couldn’t argue with that. If he got drunk and went on a rampage, he could easily destroy a village or two.

Watching Wendigo chew and swallow a pig’s foreleg, Dmitri took a sip of his beer.

“Truly, I don’t even want to imagine what would have happened without you, Djin.”

“You probably could have handled it even without me.”

“Hehe, that’s kind of you to say, but it would have been difficult. Those creatures seemed determined to attack to the last one if you hadn’t been here.”

Dmitri swallowed his bitterness along with the beer.

It wasn’t wrong. Even Wendigo thought they had been lucky.

If he hadn’t fortunately appeared, the monsters wouldn’t have retreated.

Then even if they had defeated the monsters, the village’s destruction would have been inevitable.

Perhaps knowing this fact…

Dmitri drained his drink in one go and knelt before Wendigo.

“I hope you’re not going to repeat what you did a few hours ago? I may be many things, but I’m not the kind of Djin who carelessly takes human lives.”

“It’s not that. I have a request for you, Djin.”

When Dmitri spoke with a resolute attitude, Wendigo felt intrigued. From what he could see, Dmitri was the core or backbone of this village.

What could make such a man kneel and plead?

“Speak. If it’s not too much, I’ll consider it.”

“It is significant, I suppose.”

Dmitri bowed deeply. Unlike their first meeting, this bow wasn’t a desperate struggle.

It was a bow filled with genuine respect and reverence.

“Djin, please take us under your protection.”

“Hmm…”

Wendigo stroked his chin and looked down at Dmitri with dignity.