Chapter 6

"Neither of the children have died yet?!"

Mildas was surprised.

It had already been three days since he had thrown Aula's child into the pit where Zoan's child was being held, with the intention of letting them both perish. He had instructed the soldiers to tell Aula's child that they would be given food if they killed Zoan's child, and to give them only a tiny amount of food and water. This way, if Aula's child tried to harm Zoan's child, they would be cursed by Zoan's child and both would be eliminated. That was his plan.

However, after three days, neither of them had died.

"Perhaps Zoan's child is not as weak as I thought, and the child couldn't handle it..."

Mildas thought. A child as frail as that could not easily kill a Zoan warrior, no matter how emaciated. Probably, they tried to kill Zoan's child but were repelled and couldn't finish the job.

"That's right, sir. It's hard to believe, but..."

Mildas was irritated by the soldier's vague attitude.

"What?! Speak clearly!"

"Sir, I know it's hard to believe, but it seems that the kid is sharing his food and water with Zoan."

Mildas was taken aback.

To him, this was as absurd as saying "fire is cold and ice is hot."

"Wasn't it taken by Zoan?"

"No, it doesn't seem that way."

"Did you give them enough bread to share?"

"Absolutely not! As you ordered, it's just a small piece of bread and a little water. That's not enough to fill anyone's stomach."

The soldier did not seem to be lying.

This made the situation even harder to understand. Sharing their meager food with a filthy, inferior subhuman while they themselves were starving? What kind of joke was this?

Mildas was frustrated that his plans to dispose of Aula's child and bring the old man's head to the Holy Capital had been delayed by such trivial matters.

"Listen! No more bread or water for them. And tell the child again to kill Zoan!"

"Yes, sir."

After the soldier ran off, Mildas muttered.

"Truly, Aula is the goddess of destruction, hindering my happy future."

◆◇◆◇◆

"Rue-Ock! Rue-Ock! Foon!"

With that angry shout, Sōma was prodded in the side and woke up.

Men stood above the iron bars overhead, one of them lowering a long stick through the bars to poke Sōma. As usual, they were hitting a leather bag containing bread and shouting something.

"Rue-Hap Zoan-Roo! Rue-Hap!"

However, unlike before, they did not drop the bread and water bag.

The men skillfully pushed a spear, carelessly placed at the bottom of the pit, towards Sōma using the long stick. They repeated the motion of thrusting the stick and pointed to the beastman on the other side of the pit, shouting something.

"Rue-Hap Zoan-Roo!"

Sōma understood what they wanted, even though he didn't understand the words. They wanted him to kill the beastman with the spear, or else they wouldn't give him any more bread or water.

Sōma, with sluggish movements, took the spear that was pushed towards him.

The men above cheered him on.

Sōma mustered his remaining strength.

The spear, thrown from Sōma's hand, hit the right wall and fell with a dry thud.

Silence descended on the basement.

Sōma thought, "Serve you right!"

It was just out of stubbornness now.

His hunger had reached its limit. He tried to fool it by chewing on the rotten straw on the floor, but it was only a temporary distraction. His head was starting to feel strange from hunger. He had never felt such hunger in his peaceful life in Japan. If he were offered a bowl of freshly cooked rice in exchange for licking a dog's feces off a shoe, he would do it gladly.

However, his strength was almost gone. He couldn't even stand up properly, let alone kill the beastman. If he was going to die of hunger anyway, it was better to defy them than to struggle in vain.

That was Sōma's stubbornness.

"Haha... hahaha..."

A dry, weak laugh escaped his parched throat, a small sense of satisfaction.

The soldiers, perhaps thinking Sōma was a creepy monster, ran away from the basement as if fleeing.

Sōma lay down against the wall again.

He was finding it increasingly difficult to think clearly. His fingers trembled and felt numb.

Sōma didn't know, but humans don't die of starvation after just a few days. Theoretically, one can survive for nearly a month with just water.

However, his life was being drained by dehydration from lack of sufficient water, stress from the drastic change in environment, and the mysterious fatigue and dizziness that had been plaguing him.

He thought, "Is this the end?" and lost consciousness as if it were someone else's problem.

◆◇◆◇◆

After the soldiers had run off, Shemul stared at Sōma.

As a warrior, he had seen death, both friend and foe. In the village, it was not uncommon for people to die from illness or injury, and as a child, he often witnessed their final moments.

Therefore, he realized that the human in front of him was on the verge of death.

"Who are you...?"

He asked, but there was no response.

Had he fallen asleep again?

Or had he already died?

Thinking this, he felt a strange sense of regret.

Why did you risk your life to share your food with me?

Why did you, a human, try to help a Zoan?

If you had spoken to me without threatening me at first, would you have answered?

Shemul's mind wandered with these unanswered questions, and he eventually fell asleep.

When he woke up again, the sky visible through the ceiling's opening was already dotted with stars. He had been feeling unusually sleepy lately, probably due to hunger and thirst weakening his body.

He couldn't afford to worry about others, he thought with self-mockery.

At that moment, he sensed someone descending into the basement.

It was not the noisy presence of a human soldier. It was a suppressed presence that even Shemul, with his sharp senses, might have missed.

He didn't know who it was, but the presence was coming straight towards him.

In his current state, if this person was there to kill him, he wouldn't be able to resist. But he would at least die with the dignity of a Zoan warrior.

When the person looked down through the iron bars, Shemul bared his fangs and growled.

"Good to see you're still alive, Noble Fang..."

"Fierce Fang?!"

It was a Zoan, much larger than Shemul. His body, wrapped in a hooded cloak, was bulging with muscles that seemed ready to burst, and his arm could easily rip a human's head off. His face was sharp and fierce, with a scar running from his brow to his right cheek.

"Why are you here?!"

"Of course, to save you."

The Zoan called Fierce Fang grabbed the iron bars, grunted, and moved them aside.

"I searched for you for a long time because your body couldn't be found. I captured one of the humans from the fort by chance, and they said you were still alive, so I came to save you."

Fierce Fang jumped down into the pit silently, took out a key, and unlocked Shemul's handcuffs. He didn't ask how Fierce Fang had obtained the key, as he smelled blood when the key was taken out.

"Thank you, Fierce Fang."

"Save your thanks until we reach the village safely. We need to escape quickly without being noticed."

Fierce Fang wrinkled his nose at Shemul's appearance and threw him the cloak he was wearing.

"What's with that outfit? It's an eyesore. Use this to cover yourself."

"Sorry."

Shemul tore the cloak and used it to cover his chest and waist.

Fierce Fang grabbed a small protrusion on the wall and leaped up, easily escaping the pit.

He turned back to help Shemul out, but Shemul remained at the bottom of the pit.

"What's wrong? Hurry up."

"Wait. I'm taking this one with me."

Fierce Fang, surprised, looked at the person Shemul was trying to carry.

"Are you out of your mind, Noble Fang?! That's a human!"

"I'm not out of my mind. I'm taking this one with me."

Shemul wrapped the unconscious Sōma in the remaining part of the cloak, tied it to his body with a makeshift rope made from torn fabric.

"You don't seem to be in your right mind, Noble Fang?!"

Shemul tried to jump out of the pit like Fierce Fang, but he had lost more strength than he thought and fell back to the bottom. Fierce Fang landed behind him.

Before Fierce Fang could say anything, Shemul turned to him, struck his chest with his right fist, and declared:

"This Noble Fang, Fagur Garguz Shemul, by my father's name and my pride, will take this one with me!"

"Shemul...!"

Shemul jumped again but still couldn't get out of the pit.

Fierce Fang, with a bitter tone, said:

"Put down that human, Noble Fang."

"I already said, I'm taking this one with me!"

"That's why I'm telling you to put it down."

Shemul, confused, turned back, and Fierce Fang, with a face that looked like he had bitten into ten bitter bugs, said:

"I'll carry it. You can't do it in your current state..."

"! Sorry, Fierce Fang."

Fierce Fang, clearly unwilling, said nothing. He took Sōma from Shemul and leaped out of the pit with the same agility as before. Shemul followed.

When they emerged from the basement, the dead body of a guard, presumably killed by Fierce Fang, lay in the shadows near the entrance, but they ignored it and silently ran towards the fort's outer wall.

They climbed over the wall using a rope and joined their fellow Zoans waiting outside. The Zoans looked suspiciously at the human tied to Fierce Fang's back, but no one dared to question the strongest warrior in the village.

The Zoans, led by Fierce Fang, ran out into the night plains on all fours.

The fort soon realized that the two children were gone, but it was too late to pursue them in the darkness.

◆◇◆◇◆

Many humans would later regret the events that transpired at this fort.

If they had killed the "Destructive Child Soma Kisaki" at that time?

If they had not let the "Noble Fang" and the "Destructive Child" meet?

If they had not let them escape?

History is full of turning points that change the course of events.

However, these turning points are only recognized as such after a long time has passed and they have become part of the past.

Therefore, even if one knows these turning points, the past cannot be changed, and discussing "what if" scenarios is meaningless.

Yet, many humans cannot help but discuss the "what if" scenarios of this moment.

This is because the events of this moment changed the history of the Seldias continent so dramatically.

The "Destructive Child Soma Kisaki."

The "Noble Fang" Fagur Garguz Shemul.

The moment their fates, which should never have intersected, did, marked the birth of a new history for the Seldias continent.