Chapter 178-1


    [Part 1/4]


    On the outskirts of a nameless vige in the northern region, an eerie silence hung over the area around a small cabin.


    "..."


    While holding back his hunting dog, the hunter aimed his shotgun,pletely hiding his presence as hey t on the snowy ground. He watched the cabin closely.


    It was really, really a shabby and small cabin. It looked slightly smaller and more worn out than the average house in this vige. The hunter continued to stare at that cabin...


    He had fired 3 shots. After shooting, he immediately moved and changed direction. It was a lure. A trap. He intentionally made it seem like he was hiding in one direction, waiting to catch his target when it tried to escape from the other side. This was a strategy for hunting alone. Just in case, he had buried plenty of traps like tiger traps in the snow around the blind spots near the front door...


    "...Damn it!"


    The hunter clicked his tongue in frustration at how long it was taking. He realized something. He stood up and headed toward the cabin. He ran and forcefully kicked open the back door. He looked inside the cabin.


    ...It was empty. No one was there. Some furniture was scattered around. A faint smoke rose from the hearth. He stepped inside with his shoes. Just as he thought. "Did they see through my n?"


    He pulled open the front door from inside. There were footprints in the snow. As he tried to follow them and took his first step... he immediately stopped at the roar of the dog he had brought with him.


    "..."


    He stared intently at the snowy ground. He pulled his foot back. There was a slight disturbance in the snow. When he tried pushing his spear into the snow, a poisoned tiger trap sprang out. It bit deeply into the spear. It had been carefully buried right next to the footprints.


    "ying tricks on me."


    "Hey!? What was that gunshot just now!?"


    He muttered in annoyance. Then, a shout echoed. Vigers began to arrive from far away, reacting to the hunter''s gunshot, gathering without understanding what was happening...


    "Don''t move carelessly! You''ll get caught in the traps!!"


    The hunter shouted to stop the vigers. They froze in fear at his fierce voice, but still looked at him in confusion.


    "What happened...?"


    "Did you really shoot at Miko''s house?"


    "You''ll be cursed!? What on earth are you doing...!?"


    The men were deeply shaken as they saw the hunter, who had barged into the house of the fox-possessed woman and even fired a shot. Such a terrible act was exposed in front of everyone.


    "...I made the wrong choice. I was trying to end this peacefully."


    The hunter muttered, thinking about the residents who had fled the house. There was no way to fix this now. He had hoped to handle it quietly before it became a bigmotion, but... it was already toote. They had wasted his goodwill. Those wicked, lowly beasts.


    "Monsters! Monsters have been hiding in the vige!!"


    And the hunter shouted. He dered.


    "Burn this cabin! It''s a beast''s nest, burn it to the ground!! Tell the vige leaders! There are monsters in Miko''s house!"


    The vigers looked at each other in shock. They were astdemonshed and horrified.


    "I missed my shot. Organize a hunting party! Don''t let the vige''s shame escape! ...Absolutely don''t let them live!!"


    The hunter''s rough deration echoed through the vige. It was the signal for the hunt.


    * * *


    "Haah, haah, haah...!!"


    We kept moving through the snowy path. Pushing through the snow. The 3 of us were desperately running away.


    Shirona had sensed that there were no allies and that there were traps. It was the work of her sharp, otherworldly senses.


    We quickly put on as many clothes as we could and carried the supplies we had prepared for emergencies, then fled. We had set traps to escape from the vige.


    "Haah, haah, haah...!!? Are there no pursuers!?"


    My clothes were soaked with sweat, and my heart was pounding hard. I was breathing heavily. I swallowed the metallic taste in my mouth and looked back with bloodshot eyes. I was stepping carefully on the rocky ground and nts sticking out of the snow to leave as few footprints as possible while moving along the mountain path. So far, I couldn''t see any signs of people in the area.


    ...It was a fragile, fragile hope.


    "Haah, haah... Nn, haah. Let''s go. They should catch up to us soon!!"


    Two kids and one woman were carrying loads. And it was a snowy mountain path. It wouldn''t be long before they caught up. It wasn''t hard to calm down and keep moving. I forced my breathing to steady and encouraged myself.


    "Brother, brother... can we go home? It''s so cold. I''m tired..."


    My little sister, bundled up in severalyers of warm clothes, was carrying a small load on her back that suited her size. For her, who rarely left the house, suddenly going this far was terrifying. Her world wasplete inside our home. But...


    "Of course not!"


    "Pyaa!?"


    I raised my voice without thinking, sounding angry. My little sister let out a small scream.


    "Ah..."


    After yelling, I realized what I had done. In front of me was my little sister, half in shock and with tear-filled eyes, looking scared. It might have been the first time I saw such fear in her gaze.


    "Uh, um..."


    I couldn''t find the words to say. I fell silent. A heavy atmosphere spread, making it even harder to speak...


    "Hey, you''re the big brother, so you shouldn''t yell at your little sister!!"


    It was my mother''s scolding that broke the tension. She scolded me, changing the mood of the situation.


    "Come on! You have to be nice to your younger siblings and girls! If you''re so rough, no one will want to marry you!"


    "Uh, well..."


    "Stop making excuses!"


    Just as I was about to defend myself, my mother used her special mother powers to be the absolute ruler. She lightly tapped my head with her hand. Ouch, that actually hurt a bit.


    "Ow, ow, ow..."


    "If you''re a boy, you should tough it out! Shirona, I''m sorry, okay? It''s tiring, right? There, there..."


    She acted a bit dramatic while punishing me, and hugged my still dazed little sister tofort her. Comforting her, I made excuses.


    "Everyone is tired, right? But you know, it''s not okay. If we don''t leave the house, scary people wille, okay? Both big brother and mom are running away from the scary ones with Shirona. So, please, can you try your best too?"


    "...Okay."


    After a moment of silence, Shirona nodded at mother''s pleading words while being hugged.


    "...Shirona. I''m sorry, okay? I raised my voice, didn''t I?"


    "No, it''s fine. I''m sorry, big brother. I won''t be selfish. Shirona will do her best with big brother and mom."


    When I apologized like mother, Shirona shook her head and dered. It was such a brave and childlike behavior.


    "I see. ...Okay. Let''s go, then?"


    Seeing my little sister like that, I exchanged nces with my mom and started moving forward again. We had to escape as far as we could before the pursuers arrived, even if it meant running away without knowing where we would end up...


    * * *


    ''(O_O) WAAAH! I CAN''T BELIEVE THIS!! (°_°) AAAAA!?''