"Yugo-san! Over here! Please, this way!"
The following morning, the Village Chief summoned Yugo, who hurried toward the village entrance amidst a flurry of activity.
A crowd of villagers had already gathered there, buzzing with a mixture of confusion and alarm. At the Chief's beckoning, Yugo pushed through the throng to the center of the circle. When he saw what lay on the ground, he caught his breath, a sharp exclamation of surprise escaping his lips.
"What... What is the meaning of this?"
Lying before him was an Arachlaw’s corpse.
It was covered in blunt-force trauma; even for a Magic Armor Beast, the remains were so thoroughly battered that they were gruesome to behold. This Arachlaw was undoubtedly a member of the pack recently sighted near the village.
Who could have done this? As Yugo pondered the question, the Village Chief turned to him, his voice trembling.
"What could have caused this? Why is there a dead Arachlaw here...?"
"I can't say for certain. It's possible they turned on each other. I’ll need to investigate further."
The most plausible theory was infighting. Some struggle had broken out within the pack, and this individual had been beaten to death by its own kind. That scenario seemed to fit the evidence best.
However, one detail bothered him: why was the body left right at the village entrance? It was possible the creature had fled its pack and collapsed here, but would a Magic Armor Beast really seek out a human village for help?
Even with the lingering, cunning instincts of a Goblin, it should have known that humans were its natural predators. To Yugo, it felt less like a desperate escape and more like someone was flaunting their prey to the villagers.
A loud, harsh voice suddenly cut through his thoughts.
"Isn't this great? The Arachlaw is dead! That means we don't need an outsider's help anymore!"
"Gamba! You shouldn't say such things!"
Gamba shoved through the crowd, his hostility toward Yugo laid bare. Yugo noted with suspicion that the young man didn't spare even a passing glance at the Arachlaw’s body. Ignoring the Chief's reprimand, Gamba stepped up to Yugo, his voice dropping to a low growl.
"Your job was the Arachlaw extermination, wasn't it? Well, the thing is dead. Your job's gone. So go on—get out of here. You aren't needed in this village."
"Big brother, why are you being so cruel? Yugo-san came all this way just to help us!"
"Be quiet, Jasmine. This is between me and him."
Gamba snapped at his sister, his gaze never leaving Yugo. Meeting that concentrated glare of anger and resentment, Yugo looked back down at the Arachlaw’s remains and spoke.
"No... I can't do that. I'm staying."
"What? Why? Your work is—"
"We've only confirmed this one corpse. We don't know if the rest of the pack is gone. If I leave now while we're still in the dark, an even greater threat might fall upon this village."
If the pack had indeed turned on itself, it didn't mean they were all dead. The survivors could still attack, and without proof that the entire pack had been neutralized, Yugo couldn't consider his mission complete.
Moreover, there was the alternative: if the pack hadn't done this, then whoever had slaughtered this Arachlaw was currently lurking near the village.
That was the far more terrifying prospect. An unidentified power was operating in the shadows nearby; until its identity was revealed, no one in the village would truly be safe.
"I made a promise that I wouldn't let the people here live in fear. This isn't just a job to me. I'm here as a Hero to protect this village. For that reason, I can't leave yet."
"Tch...!"
Gamba clicked his tongue, his irritation mounting at Yugo’s unwavering resolve. He shot Yugo one last look of pure loathing, exhaled sharply, and spat out a final word before walking away.
"Fine. Do what you want. But we don't need your strength. This village doesn't need a single thing from an outsider."
"Wait, big brother!"
Jasmine hurried after him as he disappeared back into the crowd. Yugo watched them go, a sense of foreboding weighing on his chest as he turned his attention back to the battered corpse.
(It’s a brutal way to go. But it doesn't look like it was done out of rage or hatred. It feels like... it was done by someone who knows no mercy.)
The kill hadn't been motivated by emotion. It was systematic. Someone had pummeled this creature with a chilling, mechanical efficiency, simply because it was something that needed to be killed.
He needed more information before he could reach a conclusion. With that thought, Yugo set off toward the location where the initial Arachlaw sighting had been reported the day before.