Free Web NovelChapter 12: RIP Su’ki
Ka’z walked into the clearing with a strange unease tightening around his chest. Several kobolds, both old and young, had gathered near the center of the open space, yet none of them spoke above a whisper. A row of armed soldiers kept the crowd back, their spears lowered as they formed a barrier around something Ka’z could not yet see. Behind them stood Tud’or, O’nil, Lan’ka, and Tong’a, their expressions grim as they looked down at the ground.
The moment Ka’z approached, the gathered kobolds began moving aside. Even the soldiers stepped back to let him through. Their silence only made the feeling in his stomach grow worse.
Then he entered the quarantined area and his eyes widened.
Su’ki lay on the ground.
She had been one of the older kobolds in the colony, a normal kobold without magic, yet she had always been friendly and lively whenever Ka’z saw her. She was the type who greeted everyone with a smile and always carried something useful in her claws, whether it was food, herbs, or random pieces of junk she had found around the colony.
Now she looked nothing like the kobold Ka’z remembered.
Her eyes were wide open. Terror and pain remained frozen across her face.
A dirty cloth had been forced into her mouth and tied tightly around her head. Her body was covered in claw wounds and bruises, each mark revealing the struggle she had gone through before dying. Her legs had been forced apart beyond their natural limits, leaving them twisted and broken, while the lower half of her body was bruised, bloodied, and swollen.
Ka’z did not need anyone to explain what had happened. She had been assaulted, raped and then murdered.
From the condition of her corpse, it was obvious she had not been attacked by one person alone. Several people had likely held her down while the others took turns.
The world suddenly blurred.
Ka’z felt his stomach twist violently.
He covered his mouth and stumbled toward the nearest tree before collapsing to his knees. The moment he reached it, he began vomiting hard.
His entire body trembled and his thoughts were a mess. Nothing made sense anymore.
He had seen violence before in movies, games and he has done his fair share of hunting but those were animals they weren’t the same.
This was Su’ki. Someone who had smiled at him. Someone who had lived in the same colony all his life and even occasionally took care of him.
"Lan’ka."
Tud’or’s voice suddenly cut through the clearing.
It was low, cold and filled with rage.
"Gather your team. Follow the tracks and find whoever did this."
Lan’ka gave a deep nod.
Before he could move, O’nil’s shriveled hand reached out and grabbed his arm.
"Take the children," the old kobold said in his shaky voice.
Lan’ka frowned.
Slowly, O’nil’s gaze shifted toward Ka’z, who was still kneeling beside the tree.
"Especially him. He is our Messiah. It is only right that we build his experience now."
Tud’or immediately stepped forward.
"No."
His voice carried no hesitation.
Tong’a gave an approving nod toward O’nil.
"I agree. The perpetrators may not be wild animals. They may be magic beasts. If that is the case, the children will serve Lan’ka better than our normal warriors."
Tud’or’s expression darkened.
"That is exactly why we should not send them. If magic beasts did this, then it is too dangerous. Let me mobilize my hunter squad. I will assist Lan’ka with real elites."
Tong’a slowly shook his head.
Then he placed one hand on Tud’or’s shoulder.
"And who will protect the colony while you are gone?"
"Children?"
Tud’or froze.
The question struck harder than any weapon.
The Vaal’kor Clan had over a hundred kobolds yet only ten possessed Iron Cores. That number included Ka’z’s generation.
They lacked the strength needed to openly claim land and build a proper settlement on the surface.
That was why they still lived underground. That was why they relied on traps, hidden tunnels, watchtowers, and secrecy.
Tud’or’s eyes slowly shifted toward Ka’z.
Za’r and Kurg stood beside him with worried expressions as they tried to comfort him. West remained close to Ka’z’s feet, his tiny body tense as he stared toward the corpse with raised fur.
Not far away, Tu’ka stood silently. His gaze remained fixed on Su’ki’s body. There was no fear or sadness in his eyes. Only a cold emptiness that made him look even more unsettling than usual.
Beside him, Ru’k had both claws covering his eyes while trembling pitifully.
"Are these really the children you want to send?" Tud’or asked.
No one answered.
After several moments, Tud’or let out a heavy sigh and his shoulders lowered.
"Fine."
He turned toward Lan’ka.
"But this will only be an information-gathering mission. If the perpetrators are weak enough for you to apprehend alone, then do it. If they are stronger, gather information and return immediately. Once the target has been identified, we will handle it from there."
Lan’ka gave a deep nod.
The burly kobold turned toward Ka’z and the others.
"Get geared up, maggots. You have been given your first task."
Ka’z did not react at first. Then his expression slowly changed and his face went blank. His eyes widened as he pointed toward himself.
"Me?"
Lan’ka’s massive frame towered over him.
"Yes, you."
Ka’z swallowed hard.
Back on Earth, he had been nothing special.
He had spent most of his life hiding behind screens, games, and fictional stories. If someone had asked him to chase a murderer in his old world, he would have probably collapsed from fear before even leaving the house.
Magic did not change that.
The people responsible for this could have magic too. They could be stronger and more experienced.
They could beat him down rape him and kill him too.
"Don’t you want revenge for Su’ki?"
Lan’ka’s voice was quiet this time yet it carried an edge that cut through Ka’z’s fear.
Ka’z slowly looked past Lan’ka. His eyes returned to Su’ki’s body.
The cloth around her mouth.
The wounds across her scales.
The lifeless eyes.
Only then did he realize something. His heart was burning with anger as fierce as the fear he struggled with.
A deep, violent rage that made his chest feel hot.
For two years, Ka’z had lived peacefully within this colony. He had complained about the foo, the nudity, the labor and ridiculous lessons. But somewhere along the way, this place had become home.
Su’ki had been part of that home and now someone has ruined it.
Wasn’t it his duty to protect his people?
Wasn’t this why the Greater Kobold had dragged him into this world?
Ding!
[New Task acquired: Revenge For Su’ki]
[Details: Su’ki was assaulted, gang raped, and murdered by unknown enemies. Get justice for her.]
[Win Condition: All Five suspects must die]
Ka’z stared at the panel.
For two years, he had waited for the system to give him another task.
Now it had finally happened.
And it had come through the very thing he had hoped to avoid. It felt like a sign from heaven nonetheless.
Ka’z slowly wiped his mouth before pushing himself to his feet. He looked directly at Lan’ka.
"When are we heading out?"
Lan’ka’s stern expression slowly shifted into a smile. This was what he wanted to hear from the new hunters of the Vaal’kor Clan.
