"If only one person comes back, that'll be easy enough to handle. But if several come back at once, can we take them on?"
"We can. They'll definitely come back hoping to lure more people over, so there'll have to be an opening somewhere. That'll be our chance. We'll pick them off one by one. Leave the fighting to me. I won't lose like I did that day!"
"We all believe in you, but be careful when you fight!"
"Yeah, I will. We'll beat them and go home together!"
That was Zhi's last conversation with the others three days ago. Those words became a memory he would carry forever. Yes, a memory forever...
On the night three days ago, Zhi had returned to his cave as planned to make his final preparations. Just then, the people on the beach were attacked. A group of unknown assailants killed all the men and cut off their heads, hanging them from coconut trees. They locked up all the women in cages and took them away...
By the time Zhi returned to the beach, the slaughter was over. Even he couldn't react in time. The sudden turn of events struck him harder than anything ever had. He ran through the fallen crowd, but no one was alive. Everyone lying there had been decapitated. That alone wasn't enough to drive Zhi mad. If only he hadn't found them. As he searched for signs of his companions, he saw a sight he would never forget: Lundes and Parker's heads hung from the nearest coconut tree...
The only thing that gave Zhi any comfort was that he couldn't find Olaf or Freya's bodies. In fact, he couldn't see any women's bodies at all...
He was furious. It was only the second time in his life he had felt such rage. That voice, dormant for so long, spoke in his heart again...
"Forget about whether those women are alive. Even if they survived, they'd only suffer more. You know that, don't you?"
"..."
"Well? Just kill them. Don't think about anything else. You're a true killing machine. Come on, hand your body over to me!"
"No!"
"What's wrong? Are you still afraid of seeing blood?"
"That's not it!"
"Then what is it? Give me your body. Let me help you kill them. Wouldn't that solve everything?"
"I'm not giving you my body!"
"Do you want to die? Don't you want to see your beloved Yajie again? Do you want to lose Lin, too?"
"That's not it. This body is mine. Listen up: this time, I'll kill them with my own hands!"
"Haha! I never expected you to say something like that. Fine, let's see what you can do!"
In just a few seconds, Zhi regained his usual composure. He quickly plunged into the sea. He'd been far too reckless just now. If anyone had been hiding nearby, he would already be dead...
After confirming there were no living creatures near the beach, Zhi began searching for survivors. The chances were practically zero, but he kept looking until dawn. Once he'd carefully checked the bodies on the beach, he realized that, as expected, he hadn't been able to see them clearly by moonlight. But now he could. There were other bodies on the beach, too: some strange dogs, their corpses badly mangled. Zhi's guess had been right. These must be the legendary Hellhounds, the Witch's summoned creatures. But there was no sign of the Witch's body, so she must have escaped. If Zhi's guess was right, that Witch couldn't be far away!
The day before, Zhi had moved the Hidden Weapon. It turned out to be the right choice. If the other side were demons, they might have some way of finding out information about him. Good thing he'd made a backup plan.
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After changing the weapon's location, Zhi had originally planned to try his luck, but he hadn't expected to actually run into the Witch...
An unusual arrow had struck the Witch in the chest. It was probably a fatal wound; otherwise, she wouldn't have collapsed in the forest.
"How are you?" Though he asked, he guessed the Witch probably couldn't understand him. Zhi stood beside her, looking down. He hadn't noticed from farther away, but the Witch was very young...
"Human, my soul is about to depart. Come, I'll grant you my power. Eat my flesh. Drink my blood. Gain strength, and you'll be able to defeat every enemy here—for your own survival, and for your hatred!" Those were the Witch's last words, but Zhi couldn't understand them. All he knew was that his body had begun to move against his will...
In the darkness, Zhi saw another version of himself: a version that had gone mad. He trampled the dead Witch, doing all sorts of things to her...
"See? This is what your cowardice led to!"
"The Witch's flesh, the Witch's blood. Is this your first time?"
"How does it feel? I'm sure it's wonderful. This is the most delicious food!"
"Shut up... I... I won't be afraid anymore! Even so, I won't run away again!"
"Don't just talk. Go on! Take back your body and finish this yourself. If you do, I'll disappear from your sight forever!"
"Fine. I'll show you how determined I am!"
It wasn't just Zhi who had gone mad. Everything had descended into madness...
Five hours later, Zhi stood by the sea, having carried out the act he loved most...
"Everyone, I'll make every last person here pay for what they've done!!!!" Zhi stood by the sea and roared in a frenzy. He could feel his body growing lighter. His eyesight had reached a whole new level. He was stronger, and his stamina had improved. Was this the Witch's power?
After choosing the weapons he needed, Zhi began following the invaders' route. He had regained his usual composure and spent the journey analyzing the situation...
"At least a hundred people. Does that mean the expedition team has been wiped out? Since they even attacked the Witch, there are two possibilities. Either they don't know demons exist and kill anyone who enters their territory, or their leader is one of the demons and wants to eliminate the others so he can have the island to himself..."
"No, it has to be the second. If they were natives, they'd surely be easily swayed by strange powers. In other words, only a demon who got there first could pull off something like this. True savages would've run at the sight of creatures like Hellhounds. There's no way they could kill Hellhounds and wound the Witch..."
"This is getting difficult. If the other side is acting in an organized group, it'll make things much harder for me. Especially under the circumstances, when the leader of those fearless natives is a demon!"
"The werewolf with the greatest combat strength, the Witch with the highest intelligence, and the vampire, the most cunning and treacherous of them all..."
"There's no point in figuring out how many demons are on this island. The demon currently holding the absolute advantage will keep hunting them down anyway..."
"How do you control the natives? It should be easy. Show up as their savior, and those uncivilized fools will surely fall for it. What excuse would he use? Obviously, to hunt down demons! In other words, that guy's now positioned as the demons' enemy?"
"I can't sow discord. I don't even speak their language! Do I have to kill them all? Every last one?"
"Even if I'm exposed now, I'm certain I can escape. But how can I deal with all of them at once? Every last one..."
"Traps. Against those savages, traps are absolutely deadly. First, find their camp, then estimate their numbers. Next, find a spot nearby to use as a base, and fill the area around it with traps. That way, even if they act as an organized group, I'll still have a chance to win!"
"What's a vampire's weakness? Pride. Pride is part of a vampire's nature. That guy definitely won't come out to hunt in person!"
"I can only take a gamble and see whether my assumptions are wrong or the other side makes a mistake!"
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