A standing hammer slammed into the ground.
A glowing orb floated in midair, casting shadows upon everything that had been hidden in the darkness.
The trees stood perfectly still, seemingly trying their best to fill in the background.
Among them stood a devil who carried himself like a Demon King.
He wore armor, the perfect equipment for battle.
With his arms folded, he grinned arrogantly, tilting his chin upward as if looking down on everyone.
Two little children, Wanry and Dave, were still leaning against the ground.
Josh stood there nervously, already preparing to flee.
Sahrelia was no exception.
But the three teenagers were different. It wasn't because they were grown-ups. Even when these three lunatics encountered a wolf, they somehow still found time to crack jokes.
Iyas struck a pose, folding his arms as well.
Icam remained motionless, raising an eyebrow.
Alif kept smiling warmly as he listened to the introduction.
Falbe swiftly snatched up his hammer.
He hoisted it over his shoulder.
Then he grinned again.
"What has he been doing this whole time?" Iyas whispered, still watching him.
"No idea. I thought he was leveling the ground," Icam remarked.
"He's holding his hammer up, you know," Alif pointed out, assuming his friends hadn't noticed Falbe lifting the weapon onto his shoulder.
"And he's not even wearing a helmet," Alif added, his eyebrows drooping slightly, displaying his rather absurd concern.
Falbe stopped grinning, his hammer still resting on his shoulder.
He was still smiling, but his yellow teeth were no longer on display.
"Well?" Falbe asked.
"Well, what?" Iyas replied.
"You're all pissing yourselves, aren't you?" Falbe bluntly guessed. "My darlings were kind enough to leave this moment for me to enjoy."
He spoke with absolute confidence.
Alif narrowed his eyes.
"'My darlings'?" he repeated, puzzled.
"What kind of animal is that?" he added.
Falbe clicked his tongue in disappointment. He briefly glanced to the side before looking at them again.
"That's how I express my affection for my pets," he retorted.
Icam lowered his head slightly, confused by what Falbe meant.
Alif tilted his head in bewilderment before suddenly asking,
"Pets?"
"Did you lose your pets, mister?" Iyas guessed. "We've lost some little kids around here, too."
Iyas turned around and looked at the children with a smile.
"Unfortunately, we haven't found your pets yet."
"My pets are NOT lost!" Falbe snapped, thrusting his head forward in irritation.
"Good grief, don't get so worked up, mister. We're just having a nice conversation," Alif said softly.
"What do your pets look like, anyway?" Icam asked in a calm voice.
Falbe:
"Huh?!"
Wanry and Dave stood up. They weren't running away, either. Curiosity had gotten the better of them, and they were just as baffled by the three idiots' composure.
At the same time, Josh abandoned his plans to flee. He stood up as well, watching the trio's inexplicable calmness.
Icam began pondering the matter. He closed his eyes and rested a hand beneath his chin, still trying to figure out what kind of pets Falbe was talking about.
Alif's gaze shifted toward two wolves that had met an unfortunate fate. He pointed at them.
"Those two?"
Iyas turned to look in the direction Alif was pointing, wondering why Falbe hadn't noticed them himself.
Falbe examined the scene carefully, his hammer still resting in the same position.
Then his eyes widened.
His expression twisted with shock and fury.
"T-THOSE?!"
Icam turned around as well.
"What about them?"
Falbe lowered his hammer from his shoulder. It now hung at his side, swinging slightly above the ground as he gripped it tightly.
"YOU INSOLENT BRATS!!" Falbe roared.
The trio immediately turned toward him.
"YOU INSOLENT BRATS!!" he repeated.
"THIS IS UNFORGIVABLE! UNACCEPTABLE! UNDENIABLE! UNTRUSTWORTHY! UNTRUSTWORTHY, AAAAAHHHH!!"
His rage continued to escalate. By the time he let out that final, furious scream, he was pointing his hammer straight ahead.
"Calm down, mister. Don't overreact," Icam said dismissively.
Iyas felt the same way.
"You're so damn loud."
Alif pressed a finger against his lips.
"Shhhh!" he urged, asking Falbe to be quiet, though his expression suggested he was ready to start trembling at any moment.
Falbe fell silent, lowering his gaze while still pointing his hammer forward.
He lowered the weapon, then abruptly raised his head.
"YOU! BE AFRAID!"
"ALL OF YOU, BE AFRAID!"
Dave and Wanry were so startled that they fell backward onto the ground.
Wanry even let out a scream.
"FEAR MY WRATH!!"
Sahrelia crouched down, covering her eyes as a shrill scream rang out.
Josh grew even more anxious, though he still managed to glance at the expressions of the three teenagers.
What a bunch of lunatics.
Iyas and Icam remained silent.
Alif immediately began trembling.
"I-I'M SCARED!" he blurted out frantically, clutching both his hands together. He was, of course, absolutely terrified.
But a moment later, his fear vanished like a flash of light.
"But not anymore," he said quietly, returning to his warm smile.
"YOU!! YOU KILLED MY PETS, DIDN'T YOU...!?" Falbe accused them, his fury still threatening to boil over.
Icam immediately began thinking, still not quite understanding what Falbe meant.
Iyas simply gave Falbe a disdainful look.
Alif wondered aloud whether Falbe was some kind of wildlife ranger.
Falbe raised his hammer with both hands, holding it like a golf club ready to strike a ball.
"Well, they got crushed by a tree," Iyas pointed out.
"Blame the tree! Why are you blaming us instead?" Iyas added with a shrug.
"You clearly can't manage your own emotions. You blame other people over every little thing," he sneered.
Falbe's voice grew heavier.
"YOUUUU!"
"Didn't you see it yourself, mister?" Iyas asked. "They were obviously crushed by a tree."
Dave and Wanry stood up again, utterly bewildered.
"YOUUU!" Falbe repeated, becoming increasingly intimidating.
"THE TREE crushed them, not us!" Iyas shot back.
"USE SOME LOGIC! BLAME THE TREE!" Iyas continued, his rant growing more and more heated until he practically sounded like Prabowo.
Alif briefly stepped forward, still wearing his innocent smile.
"Learn to let go, mister," he advised. "There's beauty in acceptance."
He finished with a cheerful grin.
"EKHH!" Falbe scoffed.
Without warning, he charged straight toward Alif.
He adjusted his grip on the hammer, holding it horizontally.
A horizontal swing from the right.
The hammer came flying toward Alif at tremendous speed.
Straight toward his upper hip.
THUD!
WHOOSHHHH!!
Alif was sent flying.
He eventually crashed into the ground.
He landed face-first and lay motionless.
The four children stared at Alif with their mouths hanging open.
"Good grief. Still blaming other people?" Iyas asked mockingly.
Now Iyas and Icam stood dangerously close to Falbe.
Given his current rage, Falbe could have sent both of them flying in an instant.
Yet he remained where he was.
Not because his anger had subsided, but because he wanted to hear what they would say next.
"Ha! What do you think of that?" Falbe demanded, glaring at them. "Got anything else to say?"
Icam snapped his fingers as though he'd just cracked a major case.
He flashed a wide grin, showing off his perfectly aligned teeth.
"Ah, so that's it!" he exclaimed. "Those two wolves are your pets, aren't they?"
What's wrong with this guy?!
That was what Josh and the others were thinking.
Still breathing heavily, Falbe responded,
"You're only figuring that out now?"
"Yeah," Icam answered. "But why'd you have to hit Alif, of all people?"
"I could've figured it out without all that violence," he added, still smiling in relief.
The two continued their verbal sparring.
"Well—well, then..." Falbe began.
"You already know this is your fault, don't you?" he demanded, still glaring at them and breathing heavily.
Icam looked away.
"Huh?"
"Blame the tree!" he shot back. "The tree was what crushed them, not us!"
"You're the ones who made the tree fall in the first place!" Falbe retorted.
Icam frowned.
"But the tree crushing them is a fact. Facts are facts!" he argued. "And that's a fact!"
Falbe's eyebrows twitched.
He was offended by the sheer absurdity of the argument.
He raised his hammer, preparing to strike again.
"Exactly," Iyas agreed. "So what are you gonna do about it? Put us on trial?"
Instead of taking them to court, Falbe swung his hammer straight at Iyas.
Iyas:
"OUGH!"
Icam caught a glimpse of Iyas being sent flying, his body lifting slightly off the ground.
THUD!
Iyas finally kissed the ground.
Quite romantically, too.
Still unsatisfied, Falbe immediately adjusted his stance, preparing to swing his hammer again.
Icam staggered backward in alarm.
"Ahh..."
Unnoticed by the others...
A resolve.
The resolve to stand back up.
It was Alif.
He was standing again.
A sheepish smile crossed his face.
"T-The wolves are fine, you know!" Alif stammered awkwardly.
Hearing that, Falbe immediately changed his stance. His hammer was no longer held in the same position with both hands.
Icam seized the opportunity to chime in.
"Yeah!" he shouted. "Your wolves are just shedding their skin!"
"Bones don't mean they're dead," he added.
Alif nodded in agreement.
"Exactly. Even if all that's left of them is their bones," he said, approaching Falbe without the slightest hesitation.
"They'll still be remembered in our hearts."
"Your love for them runs so deep that they'll continue to live on, at least in your heart," he continued dramatically.
Icam didn't seem to agree with that sentiment.
Falbe fell silent, listening to Alif's words.
Dave and Wanry whispered about getting ready to run, but Sahrelia immediately objected when she heard them.
Alif stepped closer and placed a hand against Falbe's chest—not directly against his body, of course, but against his armor.
"They'll always live on in here," Alif said tenderly, touching the spot where Falbe's heart would be.
Falbe's hands began to tremble.
He clenched his fists even tighter.
The sound of rattling metal echoed through the air, as though the folding hammer itself was trembling along with him.
Icam shot Alif a disdainful look.
"Well, Alif, you've just ruined my plan," he remarked.
"You..." Falbe muttered.
Alif raised his head.
"YOU'RE THE ONES WHO KILLED MY PETS!!" Falbe bellowed, his face contorted with uncontrollable rage.
He lunged forward, aiming straight for Alif's neck.
Grab.
"Wh-What?!"
Alif gasped in shock.
Falbe was now choking him.
With a furious expression, Falbe glared at the children who were about to run away.
"DON'T RUN!" he ordered. "DON'T FLEE, DON'T DISAPPEAR, AND DON'T EVEN MOVE!"
At his command, Wanry and Dave immediately froze, not even daring to look in Falbe's direction.
Sahrelia and Josh stared at Falbe in growing anxiety.
"OR YOU'LL EXPERIENCE THE PLEASURE OF MY HAMMER!" he added in an intimidating voice.
Alif smiled.
"Good thing I've already..." he said casually, as though he believed those earlier blows had been part of some special arrangement.
"Huuuh?" Falbe exclaimed in confusion.
"Iyas, NOW!" Icam shouted.
Falbe immediately looked toward the spot where Iyas had kissed the ground.
He was nowhere to be seen.
Falbe looked confused.
Then—
Right behind him.
Iyas leaped into the air.
He punched Falbe squarely in the face.
BAMMMMM! A HEAVY PUNCH!
Falbe staggered to the side.
His grip around Alif's neck immediately loosened.
Alif broke free and began coughing.
Icam rushed to help Alif back onto his feet while keeping an eye on Falbe.
"Huh?!" Falbe exclaimed, immediately turning toward the three teenagers.
Iyas charged straight at him, planting his feet firmly as he prepared to throw another punch.
"HAAAAAH!!" Iyas roared, swinging his fist.
But this wasn't as easy as punching some ordinary thief.
SMACK!
Falbe caught the punch perfectly in his grip.
He scowled in irritation.
Iyas immediately froze.
Using the hammer in his right hand, Falbe launched a counterattack.
Iyas reacted instantly, dodging the incoming strike.
His hand was still trapped in Falbe's grip.
But that didn't stop him from attempting a counterattack of his own.
Iyas restrained Falbe's right arm to keep it from moving, then relied on his legs to attack.
But he wasn't fast enough...
In the blink of an eye, Falbe kicked Iyas squarely in the stomach.
Iyas staggered backward, a little saliva escaping his mouth from the sheer shock of the impact.
He released his grip.
Taking advantage of the opening, Falbe immediately folded his hammer into its shorter form with a simple flick of his wrist.
Now he was relying on speed.
FWWIING!
The hammer whistled through the air, hurtling toward Iyas's head.
CRAAASH!!
Iyas was knocked off his feet, struck hard in the head by a warhammer.
One thing was clear.
Iyas had picked the wrong opponent.
His enemy wasn't some ordinary thief who would immediately lose consciousness after taking a single powerful hit.
No matter how physically fit Iyas was or how hard he could punch, he wasn't going to knock out a demon like Falbe with a single blow.
Iyas fell to the ground.
Flat on his back.
Blood trickled from his head.
Unconscious...
Icam and Alif stared with their mouths agape.
The children were horrified.
TO BE CONTINUED.
Good grief. This was the kind of situation that could leave anyone on edge, worrying themselves sick.
And how could they not?
A young man had just been struck in the head with a folding warhammer. That was serious. Dangerously serious.
What would happen next?
Would Iyas get back up?
What would his own friends do?
What would happen to the children?
And what would become of them all?
STAY TUNED!