Ch.3Chapter 3

People wondered if they were seeing things, or if they had been possessed by evil spirits.

Seeing armed warriors split in half and die without putting up any resistance right before their eyes felt utterly unreal.

What pulled them back to reality wasn’t the deaths themselves, but the terrifyingly cold air. The same freezing chill that had frozen the warriors’ bodies was now directed at them.

As the cold air and harsh reality overwhelmed them, a horrific scene was etched into their eyes.

Bodies split in half, and a monster wearing a deer skull.

And in the monster’s hand, a massive greatsword with frozen blood on its blade.

The Wendigo retrieved his sword. Though he had no intention of swinging it again, the mere action was enough to plunge them into fear.

The sight of half a dozen people being cut down in a single stroke was both astonishing and terrifying. People screamed.

“Hii, hiiiieek!!!”

“A demon! It’s really a demon!!!”

Even brave people would be frightened seeing someone die before their eyes, let alone ordinary folk.

They couldn’t even think of raising their weapons. If even warriors had died without putting up proper resistance, what could they possibly do?

They began to flee without looking back. They didn’t hesitate to push aside those next to them—fear had clearly penetrated to their very marrow.

Skadi watched them with a mixture of satisfaction and bitterness. She could clearly feel that the reason she had been tormented by such weak people was simply because she lacked power.

The Wendigo read Skadi’s emotions and asked her:

“Fortunately, you don’t seem to have any lingering attachment to them or pity them. Was there not a single person among them who offered you help?”

“Everyone was too busy despising me, saying I was cursed. No one helped me. Can you believe that in my entire life, only my mother and you, Djin, have ever helped me?”

As if the Wendigo’s question had been a catalyst, the embers of anger in her heart flared up again.

The Wendigo felt sorry for Skadi, but also thought it was for the best. He had no intention of letting those people live.

‘They’ve seen my face and appearance. They even saw me kill people.’

People who treated others as monsters just because of different hair and eye colors would never accept his existence.

They might be afraid now, but fear and terror naturally fade with time.

Once their fear subsided, they would surely use any means to hunt down the monster. If conflict was inevitable, it was best to eliminate the problem now.

“I’ll take care of those who fled. Wait here. Do you have a weapon?”

“No. When I fled, I didn’t have time to grab anything… But I can use the weapons the warriors left behind.”

The Wendigo looked at the dead warriors’ weapons, then at Skadi’s arms. It didn’t seem like those delicate wrists could wield the axes or swords used by the burly warriors.

He manipulated the cold air to create a dagger. It looked somewhat crude, but it was filled with freezing energy—a single stab would be enough to end someone’s life.

“Take this. It’s a dagger imbued with cold energy. A single thrust will easily kill a person.”

“Th-thank you!”

Skadi was greatly surprised and respectfully accepted the dagger. She never expected to receive something from a Djin.

Moreover, it wasn’t an ordinary object but one imbued with a Djin’s mystical power. She was astonished when she realized how terribly powerful the dagger was.

Though crude in appearance, it contained enough power to kill five or six people if used properly!

Skadi was startled and was about to say she couldn’t accept such an item. But she couldn’t speak.

The Wendigo who had handed her the dagger had vanished as if he had never been there. She stared blankly at the dagger in the quiet forest.

* * *

The Wendigo was running through the forest, thinking. He felt he had changed too much.

‘My speech pattern has become strange, and more importantly, I have almost no aversion to taking lives, as if I were some kind of murderer.’

It was the same when hunting the bear—he had become too desensitized to killing. Even now.

The Wendigo stood in a suitable position and threw an ice spear. The spear pierced through the dense forest and impaled the chest of someone fleeing.

Once he noticed one oddity, others began to catch his attention. Not just the killing itself, but his spear-throwing skill was not his own.

‘Is this something an ordinary person could do? No, absolutely not.’

Even an excellent archer would find it difficult to hit a target far away in such a forest, let alone an ordinary person accurately hitting a target with a throwing spear.

Everything was unimaginable before he became the Wendigo. At this point, he had to acknowledge it.

‘I’ve changed since becoming the Wendigo.’

It wasn’t just his body that had changed. His mind, or something beyond that, had clearly undergone a transformation.

But… when he considered whether this was wrong, it didn’t seem so. Without these changes, how could he handle such mysterious powers?

Just as building muscles requires exercise and diet control, and becoming a doctor requires learning and internalizing vast knowledge.

Everything comes with a price.

The Wendigo wanted to live, even if he wasn’t human. And to survive in this harsh world, he needed power. If the price was strange speech patterns and a lack of aversion to killing, he would pay it a hundred times over.

“It’s unavoidable if I want to survive. Besides… having no aversion doesn’t mean I’m intoxicated by blood. What do you think?”

“Huh!?”

No matter how they hid in darkness and undergrowth, it was useless. The disgusting aura flowing from their bodies revealed their location.

The Wendigo grabbed the neck of a man hiding behind a tree.

“Kuhek!? Sp-spare me…”

“You’re filthy with sins. Hatred and rape too. Are you really human? You seem worse than a beast.”

Having grown accustomed to reading others’ desires and emotions, the Wendigo realized he could discern sins through the stench of the person.

True to being a trash who pursued a woman out of superstitious obsession, the Wendigo applied force without hesitation.

As the Wendigo’s claws dug into the man’s neck, he died. The disgust the Wendigo felt from the man vanished completely, replaced by refreshment.

The Wendigo ran through the forest, killing his enemies. There was no way to stop the Wendigo who appeared without a sound. In an instant, Skadi became the only living human in the dim forest.

“Spare me, please!?”

After piercing the heart of the last survivor with his spear, the Wendigo followed Skadi’s presence back to her.

She was startled by the Wendigo’s sudden appearance. She hadn’t expected him to return so quickly after leaving just a short while ago.

“D-Djin. You’re back!”

“Call me Wendigo, not Djin. By the way, I’m sorry. Those I missed have harmed you.”

The Wendigo spoke while looking at the corpses around her. Two men had died with agonized expressions, clutching their stomachs and chests.

Not expecting the Wendigo to show concern, Skadi waved her hands dismissively.

“Not at all! Thanks to the dagger you bestowed upon me, I wasn’t hurt at all! I should be the one thanking you!”

“I appreciate you saying that. But… are you alright? It must have been your first time killing.”

While he was a monster who felt no shock at killing people, she was human. She might have stabbed them out of survival instinct, but things could be different now.

Skadi nodded at the Wendigo’s question. She glared viciously at the corpses as if answering something obvious.

“My mother always said that hesitation and mercy toward those who show hostility is foolish. She always told me that in a world where it’s hard enough to take care of yourself and your loved ones, such thoughts are luxuries only the wealthy can afford.”

“A world where it’s hard enough to take care of yourself and your loved ones—that’s right. A wise mother and daughter.”

The Wendigo sympathized with her words. In a world where knives fly at you just for being different, it was wise to harden one’s heart. Otherwise, you never knew when you might die a violent death.

Not expecting such human empathy from a Djin, Skadi let out an awkward laugh. Blushing at the first praise she’d received in her life besides from her mother, she changed the subject.

“Wendigo. Thank you for granting my request. Now that you’ve helped me, I should pay the price. Please tell me, what price should I pay?”

Skadi spoke with determined eyes. Though she had never contracted with a Djin before, her knowledge made her practically a full-fledged Summoner.

A Djin’s power was never free. The contract was merely preparation for borrowing power, and after borrowing it, one had to pay the price the Djin wanted.

Sometimes the price was simple, like delicious offerings or rare herbs, but sometimes it demanded the life of livestock or property.

In severe cases, they might demand the life of a young virgin or take one of your limbs. Usually, life-related prices corresponded to borrowing tremendous power, but…

‘This situation is exactly that. My life was saved, and the Wendigo has taken over twenty lives.’

This was precisely such a situation.

A price related to at least twenty-one lives.

Even if he said, “The price is half your life,” she would have no choice.

Her determination was literally a preparation for death.

‘I would have died anyway if I hadn’t met the Wendigo, so if that’s what he wants!’

“I don’t need anything grand. Just telling me about this world, Djin, and evil spirits will be enough.”

“……”

Skadi wondered for a moment if she had misheard. No matter how strong her resolve, it was a matter of life and death, so perhaps a moment of weakness had surfaced.

“Ah, no. I was mistaken.”

“!”

When the Wendigo seemed about to take back his words, Skadi steeled her resolve again.

Of course, such a great Djin wouldn’t want such a meager price!

She straightened her posture and prepared to listen attentively. The Wendigo stroked his chin and corrected himself.

“You probably don’t know much about the world since you haven’t left the village. It’s enough if you just tell me about Djin and evil spirits.”

“……”

Skadi felt like a fool.