Free Web NovelChapter 111: Chapter 110 - Naive Idealism
Point-of-View: Aurora Pretorius
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They’re all on edge, with varying degrees of aggression being directed at us...what do I do? How am I supposed to calm them down?
"Listen, we mean you no harm...we are Meta-Humans who were sent to the nearby village to investigate, and we found out the cause of why this happened. At the very least, don’t you want to know that?" Spoke up Liling.
They were silent for a moment, exchanging skeptical and wary glances with each other, before one of them stepped forward with a grimace...
"Very well, then...explain it to us. But do not expect us to simply give up and spare the bastards who murdered our children," He remarked icily.
"Thanks for hearing us out. And please wait till I’ve explained the whole story," Replied Liling, before telling them about everything we found out.
How Beelzebub possessed a boy’s body, killed a couple of the villagers and then blamed it on the Werewolves. And also how he’d used a bit of his powers to make the villagers unaffected by the Werewolves’ Hypnosis technique.
"So, you see, this tragic turn of events has been the result of a misunderstanding caused by a Demon’s manipulation. Succumbing to your rage and killing the villagers will only be playing right into the Demon’s hands," Concluded Liling, before adding, "That’s everything I have to say. Now that you know all that, what will you do?"
"Hm...you do not appear to be lying, I suppose," Responded the Werewolf, but while his aggression had died down, it wasn’t completely gone.
The same could be said of the entire pack, they’d all calmed down a fair bit, but I could still sense hostility among them...
"Okay, then would you agree to talking it out with the villagers and coming to an agr-...," Began Liling hopefully.
"We understand that they are innocent, however, we have no interest in forming relations with outsiders. And we will not kill them all, that would make us no better than them. However...the ones who killed our children, they shall not be spared. Regardless of whether they were being manipulated or not, the fact remains that they chose to spill the blood of helpless children. They must die," Stated the Werewolf firmly, the others all in agreement with him.
"Well, this turned out just how I thought it would at the best case scenario...now, what?" Whispered Inoka uncertainly.
If they kill the men who killed their children, then it could start a prolonged conflict, and in the end, if the country decides to send in weapons and soldiers, this entire pack could end up being wiped out...
"You can’t do this. What if the government decides to bomb this place or something in retaliation?" I pointed out, trying to persuade them.
"I mean, they could always move to a different location," Chimed in Inoka with a shrug.
Seriously? Don’t give them suggestions on how to get away with this...
"...you’re not helping."
"Oh, right, my bad, I guess."
"We will not abandon our home. Our pack has lived here for centuries, we will simply fight off any invaders," Growled one of the Werewolves.
"No offence, but you couldn’t fight off a bunch of normal humans with makeshift weapons. Actually, something about that doesn’t make sense...how in the world did they get away from you without a single casualty on their side?" Frowned Inoka in confusion.
Come on, dude, did you have to say that so insensitively?
"They had already run away by the time we heard the cries of the two children they killed...and we were too shocked and horrified to move after we saw their bodies," Replied the Werewolf who stepped forward, his tone bitter as he clenched his fists, trembling with rage.
"Even if we explain the situation to them, the villagers won’t just turn the two who killed your children over to you. Instead, you could have them arrested or-," I started to suggest.
"You mean we should leave their punishment in their hands of their own kind?" He interrupted me with a grimace.
"Yes, I do. Think about it...if the people of this country decide that you’re all too dangerous and come after you, more of you will die. Is that really what you want?" I continued to desperately try to convince them.
"Your concern is appreciated, but wholly unnecessary. We have no quarrel with you, Meta-Humans. Leave this place, none of this concerns you, so stay out of it," Came the response.
It’s no use...I can’t convince them. They have no intention of letting the murderers live, regardless of the circumstances that led to it.
"What should we do with the Demon? He is the one who should be our primary target," Spoke up one of the other Werewolves.
"You can’t! Attacking the body that the Demon is occupying won’t hurt him at all, you’ll only be hurting the boy whose body it is. He’ll leave the body in a couple of days anyway, so there’s no point in killing the boy. The Demon’s real body is safe in Hell, there’s no way to-."
"Yes, attacking the body he is possessing would be pointless. We will find a way to deal with him sometime in the future...Beelzebub, we will not forget that name. That matter is set aside for now...but tonight, we will hunt down those who killed our children. Before they were...before they were killed, they clawed at their assailants, drawing their blood and tearing off bits of their clothing, through which we have memorized their foul scents. They will not escape us," Declared the Werewolf.
I don’t have a choice anymore...
"Fine, then...if you won’t listen, then I’ll have to stop you by force," I remarked, stepping forward.
"Is that so? You failed to get your way, so now you would resort to killing us to get what you want?" Responded the Werewolf coldly.
"No, you’re wrong. I won’t kill a single one of you. And if I end up injuring any of you, my friends here will heal you. I’ll keep knocking you back until you give up. It’s as simple as that," I stated with determination.
"You intend to hold us all back by yourself? Do not underestimate us, Meta-Human, you-...," He began, before trailing off abruptly as I unleashed my Aura, all of them stiffening in shock and instinctively backing away.
"No...you’re the one who shouldn’t underestimate me, Werewolves," I remarked, as I took a step forward, forming my Shadow Cat as I added, "I won’t kill you to stop you. And I don’t need to kill you to stop you. So...what will you do?"
"Your power is quite fearsome...but it changes nothing. We cannot simply just let this go," Responded the Werewolf, as his jaws began to extend forward, dark grey fur sprouting all over his body, as the same happened with the other Werewolves.
"Transforming during the day like this gives them a power level of, at most, on par with a Category 0. Which is only a third of their maximum power, when they transform during a full moon. And even under those circumstances, they’d be weaker than you. So, in this situation...they don’t stand a chance against you, Aurora," Surmised Liling, as the Werewolves began to surround me.
"Still, it looks like there’s about fifty of them, maybe even more," Said Inoka, looking around warily.
"Not a problem. Stand back, you two," I instructed them, before letting out a fierce, concentrated yell as one of the Werewolves leapt at me. freewebnovёl.ƈom
The force of my yell struck him and sent him flying back, crashing into the stream with a loud splash. Werewolves can’t use any of the nine Skills that Meta-Humans can...their abilities are classified under the label of Clan Skill: Werewolf, same as Vampires.
But unlike Vampires, they only have a handful of techniques...Trasform, Howl, Hypnosis, Slash and Recovery, which is a less effective version of the Vampire’s Regeneration technique.
They mostly rely on their immense physical prowess to fight, but right now, they’re both slower and weaker than I am, so this is nothing.
As a Werewolf sprang up to my left, I struck her midsection with the palm of my shadow cat and sent her crashing onto a row of bushes, before ducking as another one slashed his claws at me, and then countering by striking his stomach with my foot, sending him flying straight up into the air with a gasp of pain.
They kept coming at me relentlessly as I continued to knock them back one by one, making sure not to kill them, while Inoka and Liling fired out Negate blasts at the ones I knocked away, to clear all the damage caused by my Dark Skill.
The Werewolves then changed tactics, several of them charging at me to keep me occupied, while the rest tried to rush past me...but I increased my range by expanding my Shadow Cat, ruining their plan.
"D-damn you...how long do you intend to keep this up!?" Growled one of them.
"For as long as it takes. I haven’t even broken a sweat yet, I can keep this up for quite a while longer. Can you?" I responded, as I noticed some of them starting to get worn out.
"This naive idealism of yours is foolish...do you truly believe that all conflicts can be resolved in such a manner?" Inquired another of the Werewolves.
"No, of course I don’t. In fact, depending on the circumstances, I wouldn’t be against killing another person. I’ve already killed before...it was actually a somewhat similar circumstance, I butchered the people who killed my family."
"If that is true, then this is nothing but hypocrisy on your part!" Snapped another of them indignantly.
"I disagree...because the people who I killed knew exactly what they were doing. But this situation is different in that regard...everything that’s happened here has been a result of Beelzebub’s manipulation and deceit. In other words, from my perspective, this is a conflict where I believe that no one else should die. I’m not doing this to stop you...I’m doing this to prevent that Demon from getting his way!" I exclaimed, before freezing as I sensed something, raising my hand as one of the Werewolves began to charge at me, "Wait, timeout! Something’s coming this way."
The Werewolf halted in bewilderment, but from what I gathered earlier, just like with my senses, they can also tell when someone’s lying. My senses are probably sharper based on what I’ve seen, but theirs are still definitely a lot sharper than anyone else I’ve met.
The bushes behind us then rustled, I spun around warily, as did Liling and Inoka. The Werewolves were tense, but they weren’t focused on the three of us at all...and then, I felt it, that tension erupting into hostility and murderous rage...
"These scents...it’s them...!" Snarled one of them, as their bloodlust sent a chill down my spine.
When they were fighting me, I sensed irritation, frustration and annoyance, but no genuine hostility was directed at me...this is different.
And the feeling spiked further as two men emerged from the bushes, blank looks on their faces, their eyes dull and practically lifeless. They’re definitely still alive, but...something’s wrong. It’s as if...they’ve been hypnotized or controlled somehow...
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