Chapter 230 An Ancient Dragon Named Urpustra Died
"――Well then, I guess it's time to go home."
Alicia said as she threw sand on the campfire to put it out.
"Yeah!"
Aaron, who was in a much better mood now, nodded, and the two of them left the riverbank.
They passed through a small path in the forest and climbed up Turtle Hill.
As they got closer to the top, they heard cheers like a festival coming from far away.
"What's that...? Did something happen in the village?"
The cheers were coming from the direction of the village. The riverbank where Alicia and Aaron were was separated from the village by Turtle Hill and the forest, so the sounds from the village were muffled.
They climbed higher up Turtle Hill, and finally, they could hear "that sound."
Wondering what was going on, Alicia hurried up the hill. Aaron followed her.
He stood next to his sister, who had stopped at the top, and looked down at the village from the hill.
"――Huh?"
And then, his thoughts froze.
Dust and smoke from fires were rising from various places in the village. As proof that this was not a dream, a burnt smell reached Aaron and the others.
And there were a lot of people in the village.
Clearly, there were far more than the total population of the village. Had a large trading group come? That was the only way to escape reality for a few seconds. The voices of the villagers carried by the wind made it clear that this was not some fun event.
At first, the sounds that seemed like festival cheers were not cheers but screams.
What looked like people from a distance were not people.
They stood on 2 legs like humans and used tools with their hands, but they were monstrous humanoids. Their faces resembled pigs or boars――so their true identity was easily understood.
――A ridiculous number of orcs were attacking the village.
This was a view he learned much later.
A few months ago, an ancient dragon named Urpustra died in a mountainous area of the Lorentz frontier territory.
By consuming its remains, some wild orcs underwent abnormal evolution, forming a large settlement centered around these unique individuals. However, the orc group, which had explosively increased in number due to their monster traits, quickly devoured all the living creatures in the surrounding area.
Driven by hunger, they inevitably began to invade outside their original territory in search of food.
After leaving the vast forest spreading from the foot of the mountain, the orcs attacked human settlements.
Not just Kalts village. Many villages spread across the Lorentz frontier territory were attacked at the same time――and were completely destroyed without a trace.
The final damage was that 11 villages and 4 towns were destroyed, and one city was left in ruins. The total number of victims is said to be over 20,000.
This event is recorded as an unprecedented stampede disaster rarely seen in recent years.
"......"
For a while――though it was probably only a few dozen seconds――Aaron and Alicia stood frozen on the hill, staring at the scene.
Their thoughts, hearts, and bodies were frozen, and it took time to understand that terrible sight, like a bad dream.
The first to come to her senses was, as expected, Alicia.
"Aaron――."
Alicia roughly grabbed Aaron's arm, who was still in shock.
"We need to run!!"
Then she started running in the opposite direction of Kalts village.
"――Huh? But, sister!! Wait for me!!"
Desperately running while being pulled along, Aaron shouted to his sister. Even in the confusion, he called out to stop her.
"Dad! Mom! They're still in the village!!"
"――We have to escape!!"
"N-No! We can't... because Dad... Mom...!!"
"We're running!!!"
Alicia shouted even louder.
At that moment, Aaron finally realized.
As he looked up while running, he saw tears streaming down his sister's cheeks. She was biting her teeth tightly, as if holding something back.
Alicia understood.
There was nothing they could do for the village anymore. Even if they went back, their dad and mom wouldn't be saved.
She knew that the best thing to do to survive was to keep running.
Alicia was able to take that decision immediately. However, she couldn't help but feel something.
Aaron was left speechless by the tears of his sister, tears he hadn't seen in so long that he couldn't even remember. And then Aaron understood. He would never see his father, mother, or the villagers again.
With tears streaming down their faces, the two of them ran.
Holding hands, they ignored their aching hearts, burning throats, and heavy legs, running desperately.
――But they couldn't escape.
"Voooaaarrrr!!"
Behind the two running on the road, a group of orcs, probably starving and left behind, was closing in. Despite their clumsy appearance, they were faster than Aaron and the others. Maybe if it was just Alicia, she could have escaped.
"Aaron――."
Alicia made her decision quickly.
"――From here on, you have to run alone!!"
"Sister!?"
Alicia let go of Aaron's arm and pushed him forward.
Stumbling from the push, Aaron took 2 or 3 steps before stopping and looking back. By that time, his sister had already turned her back to him and was drawing her sword from its sheath.
"I don't want to! Let's run together!"
"Go quickly!!"
Alicia shouted without turning around.
"I won't! Sister!!"
"AARON!! HURRY, GOOOOOO!!!"
"———."
Alicia turned her face slightly to look at him and shouted with all her might.
The intensity he had never seen before made Aaron's feet stop, even though he wanted to move forward.
From that point on, there was no time for words.
"Ahhhhhhh!!!"
Alicia shouted to motivate herself as she ran toward the approaching orcs. She launched a [Flying Slash] while still at a distance, hitting the first one and slicing through its thick skin.
With the momentum of her run, Alicia jumped and tried to swing down her sword wrapped in [Slash] aura――
"Graaaah!!!"
She was blown away like a small stone by the orc's club.
Normally, the orcs would be stunned by the [Flying Slash], giving Alicia the chance to strike with [Slash].
But the monsters, driven by frenzy, feared no minor injuries.
There was no opening.
"SISTERRR!!!"
A scream echoed.
All the orcs turned their attention to Aaron, who shouted. But――
"UWAAAAAAH!!!"
Alicia, after being blown away, rolled on the ground but quickly got back up, roaring to draw the orcs' focus back to her.
With blood spilling from the corner of her mouth, she charged at the orcs again.
It was reckless――Aaron thought.
It was impossible. He quickly understood that his sister would die if things continued like this. She was stronger than the adults in the village's guards, but her strength was nothing compared to even one of these orcs.
On the other hand, he knew he was much weaker than her and could do nothing.
In fact, if he tried to help, he would only hold her back.
Then, as his sister said, it would be better to run away. No, he should run away. That was the best option.
Still.
(Sister... I have to save her...!!)
That's all that's going through Aaron's mind.
He doesn't want to leave his sister behind. He doesn't want to be separated from her. Even if it means... even if it means he has to die.
Hiccup, hiccup... his diaphragm is spasming like crazy, and he can't even breathe properly. He's so scared. He's scared of dying. But what's even scarier is losing his sister. He's scared of being all alone.
His teeth are chattering, and he's crying, and his knees are shaking like crazy, but still...
"Uuuuuuuuu!!"
Aaron is trying to pump himself up, and he takes a step forward.
／●／◯／●／
But
It's
not
good
...
...
...
／●／◯／●／
And then... he doesn't remember anything for a while.
When he comes to, he's standing in the middle of an unfamiliar street.
"―――――――Huh...?"
The only difference between this and a dream is that he can't speak, he's out of breath, his whole body feels heavy like it's made of lead, his legs feel like sticks, and he's drenched in sweat.
Above all.
What's even weirder is that the sky, which was blue just a minute ago, has turned into a burning orange and a deep blue, like the sun is setting.
"―――――――Huh...?"
It's so quiet.
There's no one around, just Aaron.
He tries to turn around, but his legs feel like they're stuck.
There's no sign of his sister, or even an orc. It's like nothing ever happened, and the street just keeps going on and on.
"――――Huh... huh...!!"
Aaron reached out as if to grasp the road ahead.
He couldn't even muster strength in his legs, and he fell to his knees on the ground. He collapsed onto all 4s. All he could see was the ground of the road. Drops of water began to fall onto it.
"――――AH... AHHHHHH...!! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
He screamed. He cried out. He gagged.
"――UWAAAAAAAAHHH...!!"
He threw up until his stomach was empty.
He couldn't not understand.
Why he was here now. Why the time had changed from afternoon to evening. Why his breath was so ragged. Why he felt so exhausted all over.
There was only one answer.
――He had run away, leaving his sister behind, desperately and hideously, to get this far.
"――――No."
His father, his mother, the villagers, his sister, they couldn't possibly be safe anymore.
Even if he went back now, he wouldn't find anything.
"――――Die."
Everyone was dead. He was the only one left, living in a grotesque way.
"――――Die, die."
What was etched into Aaron Gale on this day, the deepest mark, was not the sadness from his family's death, nor the hatred or murderous intent towards the orcs.
It was hatred.
"――――'Aaron Gale', dieeeee...!!!"
It was for himself, for abandoning his sister.
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