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Natan’s POV
I was furious.
Where on earth did they go?!
The foreign couple had disappeared.
Damn it, they promised to participate in the ritual!
The couple that had stirred up so much anticipation in the village had vanished without a trace!
Rage boiled within me. I should have dragged them here by force earlier, but I was deceived by that woman’s words!
Where could you find such a handsome man and beautiful woman!
The gods said that the better the lineage, the more widely their seeds should be spread. They were exceptionally outstanding in appearance. I should have somehow used them as seeds!
It was truly regrettable, but it was already in the past.
“Everyone.”
I raised my hand. Then, all the villagers in the square looked at me.
“With this, the month-long sacred ritual has come to an end. Thank you all for your hard work. Although the guests we invited have disappeared.”
As I finished speaking, sighs of regret were heard here and there.
“So, they escaped, right?”
“That’s what I heard. Such a pity.”
“Ah, Lord Carl was really amazing.”
“I know, right. I doubt I’ll meet a man that handsome again. It’s a shame.”
“I think I’ll never forget that woman for the rest of my life.”
I nodded in agreement, sharing the sentiment. Even though they had left, there was still work to be done.
“Now, as we come to the last day of the ritual, it’s time to offer a sacrifice to the god.”
At my gesture, the village me brought forth a young girl.
“Please save me, huuuung.”
The girl burst into tears, terrified.
“Save me, save me, I don’t want to die. Huuaaang!”
And the villagers laughed as they watched the girl.
“Don’t cry, child! The Moon God will accept you!”
“Offer her as a sacrifice!”
“A sacrifice!”
“Waaaa!”
“To the Moon God, eternal glory!”
“Waaaaaah!”
They began to tie the child to the stake set up in the center.
“Chief, shall we start the burning?”
At Natty’s question, I nodded. Just as I was about to give the order to start.
Boom-! The ground shook with a loud noise. The massive explosion startled me and all the villagers, causing us to scream.
“Kyaa!”
“W-What is that?! What’s that sound?”
And then we saw it. Far away, red smoke rising like a mushroom cloud. It was engulfing a building completely and burning fiercely.
“Fire!”
“I-It’s on fire!”
I furrowed my brow. That location was— The grain storage!
At that moment, I came to my senses. The grain storage was the most important place in the village.
I shouted immediately. “What are you doing?! Hurry to the grain storage and put out the fire!”
At my command, the villagers moved efficiently.
“Everyone, bring water to put out the fire, hurry! Hurry!”
Meanwhile, my mind was spinning. Why did the fire start all of a sudden? All the villagers, except for the newborns, were here, right? And was that really just a fire? There was definitely a very artificial bang, like a bomb exploding- Ah.
“Someone did this on purpose!” I shouted loudly. “Catch the culprit! It might be the work of that foreign couple!”
Yes, it must be them. There’s no one else in the village who could do such a thing! But why? Why would they do this? Especially at this crucial moment when we were about to offer a sacrifice!
Ah! I see! They were trying to stop this!
My eyes flashed with murderous intent.
“Hey! You there, stay here!” I called out a dozen or so young men who were about to head to the grain storage.
I shouted fiercely. “We will proceed with the sacrifice as planned!”
I had no intention of being played by the foreigners. How dare they interfere with this precious time to offer a sacrifice to the god. They wouldn’t get away with it easily if caught-
Huh? Just then, the sound of horses galloping somewhere urgently was heard.
“Chief!”
“The carriage!”
“Someone has stolen the carriage!”
Far away, a carriage was speeding through an alley. The only precious carriage in the village! And the driver was, with platinum blond hair-
It’s Carl!
The realization struck me. It was indeed the doing of the foreign couple. They caused a fire at the grain storehouse to distract the people and then fled in the carriage! Despicable scoundrels, thinking they could escape!
“Bring horses! The rest of you, chase the carriage! We’ll capture them and offer them as sacrifices together!”
I quickly mounted a horse brought by the men and began to ride furiously. My anticipation was skyrocketing. Good. I already feel it a pity anyway.
I must spread their seeds before they’re used in the sacrifice ritual! Yes, after all, external beauty was an advantage of this era, and such a lineage was too precious to be used merely as a sacrifice.
I would ensure as many seeds were spread and borne as possible. It didn’t matter that the ritual month had ended!
Planning a glorious future, I continued to drive my horse. Before long, I had caught up with the carriage.
“Stop, Carl!” Shouting, I drove my horse even faster. “If you stop now, your life will be spar-”
Huh? My triumphant shout froze.
Surely, Carl had been sitting on the coachman’s seat a moment ago.
What? Had I seen an illusion? There was no one in the coachman’s seat. No one! Unless someone jumped off the speeding carriage, it was impossible!
No, that is impossible! Jumping off at this speed would mean instant death!
So where did they go?
“Stop!”
Just then, the men blocked the horse’s path, forcing the carriage to a sudden halt. They hurriedly opened the carriage door, but—
“…!”
There was no one inside.
I looked at the empty interior with a dumbfounded face. No one. No one at all…
“Ah, there’s no one here?”
I know that!
Instead of responding, I quickly turned my horse around. A sense of foreboding overwhelmed me.
Could it be, those scoundrels!
I drove back to the square with all my might, but…
“Aah.”
At the meticulously prepared stake, the sacrificial girl had disappeared.
I let out a sigh of defeat and dismounted.
She was gone. Nowhere to be found. The tightly tied ropes were cleanly cut!
“Damn it!”
Those scoundrels had used a diversion tactic to scatter the manpower and then rescued the girl!
“Those damn b*stards!”
Fury surged through me. Enraged to the core, I kicked the stake with all I might. Then, with a thud, the stake fell over.
“…Huh?”
What’s this? Something, something with a long fuse burning, was tied behind the stake.
“Chief! Are you alright?”
“Is the sacrifice gone?”
The men arrived on horseback belatedly. They all stared at the thing tied behind the stake. That’s…
Why is the gunpowder tied here…? It should have been stored in the armory! Could it be those scoundrels—
Boom, boom, boom!
That was Natan’s last thought in life. With a blinding flash that split his vision, his body was blown apart.
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🤭 not gonna lie, loved it, as unexpected as it was for me!
I agree with Cathe, I felt cathartic that he was wiped off their planet. I can now imagine all the inbreeding deformities all these people must have…. This village is gross.