What Is Cruelty?

The hyenas silently crossed the open fence. Their black noses twitched slightly as the cold wind carried a familiar scent into their souls. Their ghostly green eyes seemed even deeper in the darkness, like two drifting will-o'-wisps.

The scarred hyena at the head of the pack peered through a gap in the animal hide covering the window and saw the silver-white werewolf in the brightly lit room. A disgusted chuffing sound came from its throat.

It did not like wolf meat. It was too gamey and tough, like chewing on a tree root.

But it enjoyed the process of killing wolves. The scar on its forehead was an unforgettable lesson: without its master's help, without obeying its master's orders, its pack would be wiped out by the powerful beasts of the forest.

Back then, it had still been young, foolishly attempting to challenge its master's authority.

Facing a lone gray wolf, it had disobeyed orders and attacked on its own. The scar on its forehead had been left by that fierce beast.

As punishment, its master had locked it in a cage. In a dark cave where it could hear nothing but dripping water, every drop striking the stone had felt as though darkness were slowly swallowing its soul.

It had been forgiven. It had abandoned a beast's pride and learned to please its master with submissive licks and wagging tail.

Many years ago, it had secretly followed its master to a human village. It had not understood why its powerful, proud master put on a smiling face and traded useless hides, mushrooms, and wild herbs for even more useless clothes and iron tools.

But it remembered the envy in its master's eyes when looking at that girl in the red hood. It remembered the girl's scent and stole the red hood its master liked...

From then on, as its master's beloved favorite, it naturally became the leader of the pack... and all of that depended on its powerful, cold-blooded master.

Today, it would prove to its master once again that the hyena that had fought a powerful gray wolf still had value!

The scarred hyena quietly slipped into the yard. Its paws made no sound against the soft earth.

Suddenly, its body tensed, and it snarled and roared at the window. This was the order to attack!

It was the first to leap toward the low window, its sharp fangs aimed at the unsuspecting werewolf sitting in the chair. Before its eyes flashed the obsessed expression its master had worn while cupping its face before it left.

I have to kill it. Otherwise, if we lose our master's favor, we will die...

Like a bolt of lightning, the hyena smashed through the hide-covered window. Its savage, violent aura seemed almost tangible. The brittle wooden frame shattered, spraying sharp splinters into the room as its stinking jaws opened toward the werewolf's throat.

From the shadows, a hand suddenly reached out beside the window.

Its knuckles were thick, its palm covered in calluses, and its bare arm was as sturdy as an oak tree.

The huge hand easily seized the scarred hyena by the throat. It roared and twisted wildly, its hind legs kicking against the wall as its body bent like a drawn hunting bow. Its mouth, the arrow, snapped toward the arm that had ambushed it.

Kas easily caught the hyena that had burst through the window. The greasy, slick feel of the fur around its neck disgusted him. Thinking of the miserable fate of that girl in Ripple, his fingers tightened further.

He held the roaring hyena before him and stared directly into its ghostly green beast eyes. His ice-blue gaze was cold as frost as he let its flailing claws tear through his linen undershirt and rake bloody gashes across his chest.

"I know you have cruel souls. That's normal... but guess what?" Kas murmured in a hoarse voice.

"You've met a soul even crueler."

He flipped the scarred hyena over, exposing its soft belly covered in yellow-white fur. The Woodcutter's Axe rose over his shoulder, then swung down viciously.

The crudely made Woodcutter's Axe cut through the room's clear light under the Barbarian's strength, carving an arc as it severed all four of the hyena's legs.

"Awooow!"

The hyena's agonized howls only made Kas colder. He would not concern himself with the natural ethics involved in hunting, or with the circumstances under which humans and animals changed places.

But this time, he would let Nosa's pet learn what true cruelty was.

He grabbed the scarred hyena, its severed legs bleeding without stop, and carried it to the stove. With the axe, he dug a hollow in the center of the piled charcoal and forcefully pressed the "pet" in his hand into it.

The red-hot charcoal engulfed the scarred hyena's body. The scorched fur released a choking stench, and the heart-wrenching pain made it thrash, roll, and howl like a maggot writhing in hell.

The heat evaporated the moisture from its fur. Its skin split open, leaking thick grease that sizzled against the charcoal.

The harder it struggled, the deeper it sank into that burning hell. And the suffering would continue for some time...

Kas released his hand and found a gaze fixed tightly on him.

Seneya's pink eyes were filled with shock, and beneath it lay terror she could not suppress. She seemed unable to imagine that Kas, who had been so considerate and gentle these past two days, could actually...

Werewolf Lady lowered her head. Her keen sense of smell had become a burden instead. The stench from the stove was like a devil's kiss, making her whole body tremble.

Excited, yet afraid.

"Kas, well done.

We grant our prey a swift release, for they, like us, shall become spirits after death. We too pray for the spirits' blessings, for an honorable death... Those who inflict needless torment shall suffer the agony of being consumed by flames."

Ancestor Morse praised Kas's actions for the first time ever. The dark red flames flickering in his skull's eye sockets seemed to burn with hatred and fury.

Then he turned to stare at the uncomfortable Werewolf Lady and softly recited a poem by Reshman:

"When your husband goes to war, sharpen his sword, fasten the cloak you wove with your own hands, place an axe and round shield beside his pillow, keep the hearth burning through the cold winds of eternal night, and raise the children in health.

There is no need to pray. Once the cold night has passed and the mountains shed tears of life, he will return with wealth and honor...

Seneya, Kas has many things hidden in his heart and has never been willing to speak frankly of his thoughts to others. But he is truly a kind child. I believe he will fulfill a husband's duties.

And you are likewise a clever child. Surely you understand how to fulfill a wife's duties."

"Awoo~" Seneya let out a meaningless howl. Her white-furred head slowly lifted, and bloodlight stained her pink eyes.

"Shut up, you nagging old relic. How many times do I have to repeat it? Stop spouting nonsense."

Kas cursed as the Woodcutter's Axe struck a hyena that had leaped through the window. Its rough blade buried itself in the black-spotted forehead, and he spun around to kick another hyena that had ambushed him through the broken door.

The hyena was kicked into the wall, but it suffered no real damage. It pushed itself up with its forelegs and lunged at Kas again.

At almost the same moment, five more hyenas burst through the window and wooden door. They ignored their leader burning and howling in the stove, baring their fangs as they attacked Kas with near-suicidal ferocity.

Kas considered dealing with a few wild dogs easy work. His strong, sturdy arms could punch a hyena's head into mush like a smashed watermelon.

But the red-eyed werewolf was faster than him.

Inside the cramped wooden house, Seneya tensed her legs and shot forward, her body becoming a black shadow that swept past the hyenas. Her steel-hook claws flashed back and forth, her agile form like silent moonlight, making no sound at all.

In only a few breaths, all eight hyenas—including the one burning in the stove—became victims beneath her claws.