Thud. Thud.
"W-Who goes there?!"
"Where did Dix and the others—"
CRASH—!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The moment the mage among the trio attempted to manifest a spell, a massive axe hurtled through the air, surgically obliterating his skull.
Thud. Thud.
"Bane."
"A-Akumo...."
Whoosh—!
"!!"
'So fast...!'
Watching Lido and Gros fight Akumo from a distance, she had felt his overwhelming strength, but seeing his speed at point-blank range was different. It was a level of velocity her eyes could not even hope to track.
"V-Viene is...!!"
"....?"
'Viene....?'
Bane tried to explain that Viene had been kidnapped, but Akumo did not seem to recognize the name yet. He simply focused on severing the bindings of the captured Xenos and dousing them with potions.
The adventurers, paralyzed by his nonchalant demeanor and the sight of their comrade executed in a single blow, began to retreat in terror.
Slice—!!
""Aaaaaagh!!!!!!!!!!!""
With clinical precision, Akumo systematically severed their limbs one by one, ensuring they could not flee. He then approached the men as they wallowed on the ground.
"You were wearing such entertained expressions earlier, weren't you?"
Crush—!
"W-Who the hell are you....!!"
"Are you from the Ganesha Familia?!"
Akumo ground his heel into the stumps of their severed limbs. His voice was devoid of warmth, a freezing gale that made them lash out in desperate fear.
"Y-You're just protecting monsters anyway!!!"
".....Is that so?"
Crunch—!
"!!"
"Then this is also just a discarded piece of meat, isn't it? Why the shock?"
'These bastards.... they truly are beyond redemption.'
Crunch—!
Listening to the vile words spewing from their mouths, Akumo showed no hesitation. He crushed their remaining appendages, obliterating even the faintest hope of reattachment.
Of course, he never intended for them to leave this place alive to begin with.
Thud. Thud.
"For the record, I will not be the one to kill you."
Splash—!
"I'll even provide some treatment."
""!!""
'H-He's going to let us live...!'
Just as that flicker of hope ignited within them, a series of shadows loomed over their broken bodies.
Thump—!!!
Scritch—!
"".....""
Flutter—!
".....Just die."
Thanks to the potions Akumo had distributed, the recovered Xenos rose to their feet and slowly closed in on the hunters.
Their eyes were filled with a frigid, absolute rage—a retribution for the attempt on their lives, the insults hurled at their existence, and the kin who had been taken from them.
Crunch—!!
Slice—!!!
Tear—!!
Snap—!!
Splatter—!!!!
Not as monsters, nor as warriors, but simply as living beings, they poured their unadulterated hatred and wrath upon their tormentors.
**
Crunch—!
Snap—!
"..."
Rip—!
Akumo watched for a long time.
He watched the Xenos continue to trample and tear at the corpses of the adventurers long after they had ceased to breathe.
"Die..."
Crunch—!
"Just die...!!"
Squash—!
"Please....."
'Disgusting humans.....'
Bane, consumed by her loathing for humanity, relentlessly stabbed, tore, and hacked at the remains.
Thud—
".....Are you finished?"
"!!"
A piece of the mangled corpse flew toward Akumo's feet. When she turned her head, she saw him standing there, looking at them with a somber, bitter expression.
"A.... kumo...."
"Bane."
"..."
"Bane?"
Bane was momentarily flustered by his presence. She tried to find words, but nothing would come out.
He was the first surface-dweller to accept them, yet they had just been nearly slaughtered by Dix's crew, and they had already lost many of their own.
Clench—!!
".....Don't come any closer."
"....."
"You surface-dwellers are all the same....!"
Clench—!!!
The sequence of events had left deep scars. Having been nearly violated and humiliated, her hatred for the surface was so absolute that she squeezed her fists until they bled.
Clench—!!!
'I can't trust them.... None of the surface-dwellers can be trusted.....!'
"You've endured much."
".....What?"
At Akumo's words, Bane and the comrades behind her froze. The hatred swirling in her mind came to a sudden, jarring halt.
Thud. Thud.
As he turned his back to walk away, Bane hurriedly grabbed him.
"W-Wait!!"
Grab—!
"Why.... why do you accept us....?"
Tighten—!
"Just why...."
'We are monsters. We shouldn't be able to coexist with the likes of you....!'
"..."
Akumo looked at Bane, who was forcing the words out through a constricted throat, with a sense of uncanny familiarity.
"...You really are the same."
'Whether human or Xenos....'
In her, he saw the image of a certain self-deprecating Elf. Akumo finally spoke.
"It is not about Humans and Monsters."
"It is simply that I, a person, have accepted you as people."
"Nothing more, nothing less."
There was not a shred of falsehood in his voice.
"Peo.... ple....?"
'Us....'
"Grand reasons like 'coexistence' aren't necessary."
Reach—
"I saved you simply because I could."
Akumo placed his hand over Bane's, which was still tightly gripping his sleeve, and gave her his calm answer.
"..."
'I see.....'
"You are....."
'This man is.....'
In that moment, Bane and the others acknowledged it in their hearts. They could no longer deny it.
The man before them saw them as people. There was no greed in his eyes, no foul lust—just the gaze of someone who understood.
Drip.
"K-Khhh...."
Drip.
"Sob....!! Ugh....!"
Drip—!
"Thank you....!!"
"Truly....! Thank you....!!"
He was the one they had longed for, the one they had truly desired—someone who understood them.
Shimmer—!
'....This feeling is quite new, isn't it?'
As he became their 'Understander,' Akumo gained a deeper understanding of himself. His soul was growing once more.
**
Thud. Thud.
"Lido, Ray, Gros."
""Mr. Akumo!?""
"Akumo...!!"
While they were worrying about Bane's group, Akumo returned with the survivors.
"What on earth happened?!"
".....There was an ambush."
"!!"
"Our location has likely been compromised."
At Akumo's words, Gros's body tensed with an uncontrollable fury. He gnashed his teeth and suddenly grabbed Akumo by the collar, his suspicion flaring.
Grind—!
"Why the hell!!"
Tighten—!!
"Not even a day since you surface-dwellers visited, and this happens!!"
"....."
"It was suspicious from the start...! You've been deceiving us all along, haven't you?!"
Akumo met his rage with a calm gaze, intending to de-escalate, but before he could speak, a spider-like leg intervened between Gros and Akumo.
"Bane...?"
"Stop it, Gros."
"You were attacked too, you should know! Because of these surface-dwellers, our kin keep—!!"
Thump—!!
"Stop it!!!"
"....Bane!!"
"He came to protect us.... even though he had nothing to gain, and no reason to do so....."
Bane raised her voice, addressing not just Gros, but every Xenos present.
"He saw us as people, and he helped us as people...."
"""!!!"""
"That was all there was to it....!"
Step—
"That's right...."
Nod—!
The other Xenos who had been saved by Akumo and seen the look in his eyes stood beside Bane, shielding Akumo as they agreed with her words.
"You guys....."
Flutter—
".....You know better than anyone that Mr. Akumo would never do such a thing."
"....."
Ray and Lido approached the stunned Gros to calm him down. Only then did Gros truly face the nature of his own emotions.
".....Kh!"
BOOM—!!!
"I'm just angry! At my own helplessness! At the surface that hates us!! At this entire wretched situation!!"
"...Gros."
"But if you keep seeing us as people like that...."
'Then I can't even give up....'
Gros sank to the floor, pouring out his resentment toward the surface and his hatred for the oppression they were forced to endure.
He hated having to endure it all. He was so frustrated that sometimes he just wanted to let go. He thought it might be easier to just hate the surface and die like any other monster.
Thud—!
"Gros, let's talk with Mr. Akumo first."
"Lido....!"
"We are people."
"!!"
"You are a person, and I am a person...."
Tearful—!
"And Mr. Akumo is a person too...!"
Lido also prayed for hope. He prayed even as tears fell from his eyes.
The possibility of salvation and hope that had appeared before them gave them the strength to stand once more.
**
"His name is Dix Perdix."
"....Dix!"
"In terms of raw power, he's stronger than Lido."
"Really!?"
"Yes. He uses Curse Weapons, and he has far more experience than any of you."
The Xenos leaders—Lido, Ray, and Gros—were shocked to learn from Akumo that Dix was the one who had kidnapped Viene.
"Then our other kin who were recently taken must be with him as well...!"
"Likely. He probably has them imprisoned somewhere."
"In that case...!"
"You're going to charge in?"
Flinch—!
"""...."""
Though they were filled with rage, their target was likely on the surface.
It was an unknown territory they had never even dared to ascend to.
Clench—!!
"Lido and I will go!"
"....!! That's too dangerous!"
"If we all go to the surface, our existence will be exposed."
"But still...."
Faced with the wall of reality, they could not move easily, forced to swallow their bitterness. The mental barrier regarding the surface was higher than they had imagined. Just as the fire in their hearts was about to flicker out—
"Let's go up."
".....!!"
"Our kin—no, our family was kidnapped."
Tighten—!
"Can we really just stay here and do nothing?!"
"Bane....."
"This isn't a problem between humans and monsters!"
They had hurt them and stolen their family. That was reason enough. It was more than enough motivation to move.
Because they were...
"Going to fight as person against person."
They were simply people who wanted to save a young girl.
========================
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