Chapter 6

As Tō was about to leave the house, he was suddenly beaten by three men who burst in.

Confused by what was happening, Tō was thrown into a state of intense confusion.

However, the confusion quickly subsided.

The reason was that the men's attacks didn't hurt at all.

There was a slight shock, but the pain was no more than that of being lightly slapped by a baby.

Realizing that his life was not in danger, Tō calmly observed his attackers.

The men who had burst into the house were in their late twenties to early thirties.

Their hair color was the same red as the villagers, and their build was more robust than Ridd's.

To avoid provoking them, Tō tried to gauge their faces.

(—Ah!?)

The expressions on the men's faces made Tō catch his breath.

Their eyes were bloodshot, and foam gathered at the corners of their mouths. Their faces were truly demonic.

Their aura was abnormal.

In fact, Tō's "Perception" skill sensed that there was something other than human within them.

Tō's memory, inherited from Ridd, provided information about the three men who had attacked him.

Their names were Clemen, Robert, and Tack, villagers who had killed Ridd that morning.

They were also the ones who had killed Ridd's parents.

When this memory surfaced, Tō's mind fell silent.

Behind his calm exterior, his "Thought" skill began to spin rapidly.

(Are they acting strangely because they are being controlled by someone?)

Tō didn't think they were ordinary villagers.

This world has magic. Tō knew very little about what magic could and couldn't do, but it was possible that there was a spell to control people.

Therefore, Tō pretended to be unconscious.

Even if they continued to beat him, Tō wouldn't die.

So, he decided to let them do as they pleased and observe what they would do.

If they tried to kill him with weapons, he would escape at that moment.

But if they were being controlled by someone and were heading to that person, then...

For Ridd's sake, Tō had to confirm it.

The men were muttering something.

When Tō listened closely, they were repeatedly saying only one word: "Kill."

Tō shuddered again.

(What is this, so scary!)

On the other hand, Tō was relieved that the "Language" skill was functioning properly.

He had been unsure if he could communicate with them, but this resolved one of his concerns.

Tō's first words in this world, "Kill," were rather unsettling.

The only remaining question was whether they could understand him...

(I wonder if these people can have a normal conversation?)

He couldn't help but have this concern.

After a while, Tō felt that he had been brought back to the cave from earlier.

(There was no backup plan...)

It seemed Tō had overthought it.

They hadn't received any orders.

They had acted on their own will, killing Ridd and his parents.

Disappointed that his prediction was wrong, Tō quickly freed himself from the restraints of Robert and Tack.

"I thought you were going to kill me the same way again. Don't you learn?"

"...Ah, eh?"

Clemen, who turned at the sound of Tō's voice, had a dazed look on his face.

"Hey, Robert, Tack! Ridd is awake! Why didn't you secure him properly?!"

"We did! But when I noticed, he had slipped out of his hands."

"Damn!"

Gritting his teeth, Clemen made a sound.

"For a kid like you, what are you so confident about? We are three, and you are one. No matter how much you resist—"

Clemen's eyes flashed with murderous intent.

In the next moment.

Robert, who was standing next to Clemen, disappeared.

"Uaaaaaa!!"

"「—!?」"

Robert fell off the cliff.

His head hit the ground first, and his skull split open with a sickening sound.

"Now it's two against one."

"…!"

Clemen had no idea what Ridd had done.

From the result, it was clear that Ridd had kicked Robert off the cliff.

However, the Ridd Clemen knew was not strong at all. He was a man who could be easily beaten by the three of them.

On one side, a strong adult who had been trained in field work.

On the other side, a malnourished teenager who had been excluded from field work.

Logically, the former would be stronger.

Therefore, Clemen couldn't accept the reality.

"What did you do?"

"I just did the same thing you did."

Ridd turned his gaze to Clemen.

Clemen's body froze under that gaze.

Ridd's face showed no hatred or murderous intent.

He just looked at Clemen with eyes that didn't see him as a human.

Perhaps he had attacked someone he should never have.

And he realized it too late.

While he was thinking about what to do, Tack also fell off the cliff.

The sound of flesh being hit echoed through the cave.

Clemen winced at the sound but didn't take his eyes off Ridd.

"You cursed child...!"

"So what? If your eyes and hair are different from mine, is it okay to kill me?"

Ridd, who tilted his head in confusion, suddenly held a pitch-black sword in his hand.

The moment he saw the sword, Clemen felt an indescribable fear and shuddered.

That thing must not be touched.

The "voice" inside Clemen screamed to run.

"Then, since you are different from me, it's okay for me to kill you, right?"

"……"

Clemen's throat was already silent.

Overwhelmed by the pressure from Ridd's eyes, he couldn't move.

(What am I standing in front of...)

If there were evil gods or death gods in this world, they would probably have eyes like this.

The overwhelming presence deprived Clemen of his freedom.

"Uuuuuuuu!!"

But even so, Clemen raised his voice and struggled to move his body.

The other is not an evil god or a death god.

It's Ridd. A human.

No matter what, he had to kill this guy.

(Kill! Kill!!)

"Kill"

"Destroy"

"Turn everything black"

Following the voice in his heart, Clemen lunged at Ridd.

But,

"A, huh?"

He felt a severe impact in his chest and realized he was falling.

At the same time, the voice that had filled his heart disappeared completely.

As if it had never been there in the first place.

Clemen hit the ground and, despite the pain, looked up at the cliff.

Ridd, holding the black sword, looked down at him from the top of the cliff.

For some reason, Clemen saw Ridd as a completely different person.

○

The three men, Clemen and the others, had an extraordinary murderous intent in their eyes.

Tō, who had fought a giant caterpillar and was somewhat accustomed to murderous intent, found their intent to be of a different kind. It was so intense that it seemed inhuman.

(Maybe the people in this world are all this dangerous?)

Tō inwardly shuddered.

If he were still on Earth, he would have fainted.

On the other hand, an unknown impulse was born in Tō's chest.

That impulse,

"Ridd, what are you so confident about? We are three, and you are one. No matter how much you resist—"

Clemen's words triggered the unknown impulse, which exploded.

Tō, following the impulse, kicked Clemen and the others off the cliff.

While kicking them off, Tō also lightly slashed them with the [Magic Sword] to attract the caterpillars.

But,

"Huh, that's strange. I thought I cut them properly."

The [Magic Sword] Tō swung had indeed cut the wrists of the three men.

He felt the resistance.

If the [Magic Sword] had shown its true potential as a blade, their wrists would have been severed by now.

But their wrists were still attached to their bodies.

The [Magic Sword] had passed through them.

"Why is that?"

Tō was somewhat puzzled.

He had cut many caterpillars, but this had never happened before.

"Well, whatever."

Tō shrugged off the question.

Although he couldn't cut them with the [Magic Sword], Robert's head had split open from the fall.

Various things that shouldn't have come out were spilling from the split head.

This was enough to achieve Tō's goal.

Tō had never seen a split head in Japan.

Yet, when he looked at Robert's head from the top of the cliff, he felt nothing.

Normally, a person would feel at least a little queasy, but not Tō.

(I guess I have a high tolerance for gore...)

Tō accepted this new aspect of himself without emotion.

Clemen, who had fallen off the cliff, was not seriously injured.

But his attitude was completely different from before.

"R-Ridd... What is this? What's going on?"

Clemen's expression was as if he had lost his memory due to a bad fall.

The intense malice he had shown earlier had completely disappeared.

Was he being cautious because the situation had reversed?

Tō thought so, but it didn't seem to be just that.

(If I pushed him off, he should be even angrier, right?)

"Hey, Ridd, answer me!"

"Clemen, do you really not understand why you are here?"

"Of course not, that's why I'm asking!"

"Huh. You don't remember trying to kill me or actually pushing me off the cliff, Clemen?"

"How could we...? Why did we try to kill Ridd!?"

Indeed, their behavior was strange. They showed no signs of trying to deceive Tō.

They seemed to have suddenly panicked as if they had "forgotten" what had just happened.

It was clearly strange.

"Well, whatever."

But Tō didn't try to confirm the nature of their strange behavior.

They had killed Ridd and his parents without cause.

And they had tried to kill Tō.

This was not Earth. It was a different world.

Tō had no obligation to save them.

"What's that sound? Is something there?"

A small sound, "moo... moo...," came from the depths of the cave as a large group of caterpillars appeared.

Tack, who was barely conscious, was stunned by the appearance of the caterpillars.

"Damn, they're monsters!"

Clemen, on the other hand, hurriedly approached the cliff.

"Ridd, please, help me."

"Did you help Ridd when he asked you before?"

"Th-that's..."

"Ridd just wanted to live. He tried to live without causing trouble for anyone. But you refused. You provoked him and pushed him off the cliff. Why should I help you?"

"But, why did you push us off the cliff!? If you just wanted to live, you didn't need to do that!"

"Those who pushed someone who just wanted to live off the cliff shouldn't be saying that. Besides—"

Tō spoke with the thoughts of Ridd that remained in his heart.

"Can you forgive the murderers who killed your parents?"

"…Guh"

"The answer is clear."

"Damn!!"

With a shout, Clemen ran towards the caterpillars.

He clenched his fist and punched the caterpillar.

The force of his punch was impressive.

But,

"—What!?"

The caterpillar's skin easily repelled Clemen's punch.

Without showing any sign of pain, the caterpillar targeted Clemen.

The caterpillar's mouth split into three parts and opened wide.

"H-help—"

It was over in an instant.

The caterpillar tore off Clemen's head in a flash.

"Uaaaaaa!!"

Clemen's sudden death threw Tack into a panic. But his screams only attracted more caterpillars from the depths of the cave.

"…There are still so many."

Tō had killed many caterpillars, but it was just the beginning. The caterpillars he had killed quickly filled the bottom of the cliff.

"Help... Ah, ah, ah..."

Tack, who was being eaten from the outside, and Robert, whose head had been split, were quickly devoured.

Clemen's body was already gone, leaving only blood stains as it disappeared into the caterpillars' bellies.

When the bodies of the two were reduced to their heads and chests,

"—!?"

A particularly unpleasant presence filled the air.

Tō reflexively manifested the [Magic Sword] and took a stance.

A caterpillar appeared from the depths of the cave.

This time, it was a single one, but several times larger than the others.

"Is this the parent caterpillar? If left alone, it might come out."

Currently, the caterpillars couldn't climb the cliff. But if their numbers increased, they would pile up and eventually cross the 10-meter wall—causing a stampede.

If a stampede occurred, the nearby village would be destroyed.

Tō had no grudge against the villagers who hadn't directly harmed Ridd.

He didn't want to get involved again, but he didn't think they deserved to die.

If possible, he wanted to prevent the stampede before it happened.

But Tō didn't take action.

His "Perception" skill had been warning him not to fight that caterpillar.

The parent caterpillar ignored Tō and started to eat the "prey" its children had secured.

Crunch, crunch. The sound of chewing echoed through the cave.

It looked vulnerable, but that was Tō's—Earthling's—judgment.

Tō knew very little about the strength of the people of Ealgard or the monsters.

Ignorance breeds recklessness.

So, Tō followed the voice of the "Perception" skill.

"But..."

He couldn't just stand by.

Tō jumped up.

At that moment, the parent caterpillar looked up at Tō as if to say, "If you come, I'll deal with you."

—Indeed.

To Tō, the parent seemed to be on guard.

While keeping an eye on the parent, Tō swung the [Magic Sword].

Instantly,

A cracking sound.

Several stalactites from the ceiling began to fall.

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