With heavy rain beating down on her body, Lydia looked around with a complicated expression; this was beyond anything she had ever seen in her entire life.
What lay before her eyes was not mere destruction, but complete carnage. A whiff of decay reached her nose, turning her stomach as she was taken by surprise.
Her gaze slid over to Kael, who stood beside her, watching everything with an indifferent expression, as if life and death were something he had already accepted.
"How fragile civilization is when nature stops sleeping."
Lydia felt a chill run down her spine. That scene didn’t just speak of death; it spoke of truth.
For the first time, she understood how insignificant human beings were in the face of nature. No matter how superior they thought they were, flesh rots just the same, and skulls break just as easily.
And yet we still believe we are superior?
All because we have a spark more reason than the beasts. A blind arrogance that tries to elevate man above the mud from which he was made. How fragile that illusion is, and how little it takes for it to crumble.
She used to think that nature was weak, that civilization had tamed it. But now she understood: nature was not weak, it was just asleep.
Where did this human arrogance come from? From ignorance? From fear? She didn’t know. But she sensed it... It was something deeper, darker, older—a disease written in the bones of humanity.
Kael turned, wielding the coin sword, and said as he advanced, "Don’t stand still. The smell of blood may attract more beasts."
Lydia snapped out of her thoughts with a new understanding that opened her eyes wide, and she couldn’t help but stare at Kael’s back, which now seemed much larger to her.
Eren, on the other hand, although slightly affected by the sight, was not particularly surprised; he had experienced worse things, such as tasting the remains of his sister as the first meat he ever ate.
With heavy rain falling and the sky dark, they began to move around the village to investigate the cause of the destruction.
Their distorted silhouettes could be seen in the reflections of the puddles as they passed by the half-destroyed houses, searching for survivors, if there were any.
All they saw were organs, human body parts, and the strong smell of rot that filled the air, despite the heavy downpour that drowned out all nearby sounds.
Kael moved away from Eren and Lydia, who were searching the surrounding area. As he entered one of the houses, a particular smell reached his nose, which he recognized immediately.
He bent down and looked at the wall, where a kind of colorless oil was present, but it gave off a peculiar smell. Without even touching it, he already knew what had destroyed this village.
"So they used Attraction Butter," he muttered, standing up again. He had already fulfilled part of the task he had been entrusted with.
Attraction Butter was a product widely used during periods of wild beast outbreaks. Its function was quite simple, as its name suggested: to attract beasts within a certain radius.
He left the house, but a beast still lurking nearby caught his scent. It was a giant wolf with electric fangs. In an instant, its body swelled, its muscles tensed, and its fangs sparkled with wild energy.
Kael watched him without flinching. He waved a hand.
A sword slash shot out, leaving a bloody line on his side, but it didn’t stop him. When the wolf was a meter away, Kael swung the coin sword.
In an instant, its head was severed from its body.
The wolf’s black blood mixed with the water in the puddle, washed away by the slope of the ground.
Kael looked at the corpse for a second longer and rejoined Eren and Lydia, who had not found a single survivor.
Without another word, they left the place. There were still other villages to inspect.
The rain continued to fall heavily, creating a curtain that seemed to connect the sky and the earth.
The entire sky was covered with gray clouds, making the distant mountains look like black ink.
On Kiran Mountain, in the forests, animals whose dens had been flooded roamed the woods looking for a new shelter to ride out the storm.
All noise was drowned out by the heavy rain; the waterfalls were more alive than ever, producing loud sounds.
Near the river, some commoners used this time to fish, as the weather was perfect for catching good fish that came out with this heavy rain.
Kael, Eren, and Lydia stopped after reaching the next destroyed village. The scene was very similar to the previous one, but the damage was not as extensive, as one of the members of the Medici Clan, who was responsible for protecting this village, was present.
So, without further delay, they began to explore the destroyed village along separate paths to see if there were any survivors.
As he walked among the mutilated corpses, Kael noticed that there was no sign that Attraction Butter had been used.
However, there were traces of battle, as some of the cuts on the bodies were not made by swords or the claws of wild beasts. And in some of the nearby houses, there were cuts and burns.
"It looks like the clan member fought back against the attackers before being killed," Kael surmised that this was what had happened at the scene after looking around.
He continued forward, and this time he noticed that Attraction Butter had been used. So, most likely, it had been used after the battle to erase any traces they had left behind.
"They were very careless. They were afraid of being found by reinforcements, so they left many clues," he muttered as he calmly examined the parts.
Kael assumed that the other villages had been destroyed in the same way, so he didn’t have much to investigate. He already knew everything, so he just had to report it, and that was it, because he felt he was about to reach the Highest level, being only one level away from reaching the Peak level, and then Rank 8.
"Help," a tired voice reached Kael’s ears.
He walked toward the source of the sound and found a man in his mid-twenties lying under a pile of wood, covered in cuts and wolf bites. Only his upper body was visible.
However, Kael just stared at him.