Nemesis

Aru found himself smothered by a hug from a giant man as soon as he reached the camp. His tiny body stayed limp by the unfamiliar feeling that embraced him.

It had been so long since someone had hugged him that the feeling seemed alien. For a moment, he even thought it was a surprise attack.

However, he realised he was in no danger once he recognised the person.

Kora, with teary eyes, was the one who had embraced him, expressing his relief at seeing his disciple return unharmed.

"Thank god that you are safe." Kora's voice quivered as he spoke. He was barely able to keep his emotions in check and prevent himself from crying. 

Aru was taken aback by his words.

In this life or his previous one, he had never experienced anyone caring for him. He had been a lone wolf without any attachments. So, it intrigued him that someone was genuinely concerned about his well-being.

He had agreed to the master-disciple relationship with Kora on a whim, not expecting anything in return. He simply wanted to improve the culinary skills of this world and make his life easier. However, unintentionally, it seemed he had formed a genuine relationship - one based on trust rather than the usual transactional exchanges.

"I am back, master." A small smile bloomed on Aru's face as he spoke. 

"You kid, you worried me. Are you injured anywhere?" 

"Not seriously."

"Let me take a look," Kora said, flipping Aru around to carefully inspect for injuries.

Immediately, his eyes widened. Bruised wounds covered Aru's limbs and torso. There was no place in his body which didn't have any injuries. While most of these wounds were minor, some could have been classified as serious injuries.

'It must have been painful.' He thought looking at Aru who was putting on a brave face. Unknowingly, his tears once again brimmed up threatening to flow out. 

Kora was a softie, a big softie at that.

Like Aru, he didn't have a family.

And when he took Aru as his disciple, he was essentially welcoming him into his family. To him, Aru's well-being was as important as his own.

Now, seeing Aru covered in injuries broke his heart. 

'How can a child bear such pain?' He thought.

Suddenly, he also felt a little angry about himself. Being a master, how can he allow his student to be injured like that? 

"How are you not injured? Bruises and cuts are everywhere. Come quickly, let's use the medicine right away."

Even though Kora was limping, he immediately forced Aru to come with him towards a part of the camp where the injured were lying. Getting proper treament to his student was the only thing at that moment in his mind. 

Aru willingly followed Kora.

—

Meanwhile, Das and his son Dal were engaged in conversation.

"Son, did he really save you?"

"Hm," Dal nodded, affirming, "He had to carry me and jump off the cliff to save me. My leg was slightly injured, and I couldn't run properly when the wind wolf chased. If not for his help, I would have died."

"But why did he jump off the cliff? You could have died. It was dangerous."

"He seemed to know that there were trees near the ledge of the cliff."

"Then what happened with the mud pig?"

"It fell from the cliff onto the ledge. It was behaving weirdly, but once Aru woke up, he killed it by dropping a stone on its head."

Dal recalled the events vividly as he described.

"Then he cut out its body and took out the... Demon." Dal paused for a moment before using the term "demon." It felt both foreign and familiar to him. Demons, once only heard of in stories, had become real. The thought made his hair stand on end.

"Calm, calculating, vicious to his enemies while being kind towards his allies. He is an honourable warrior," Das praised. "Be a good friend to your saviour. As my son, you must uphold your honour too." 

Das said not knowing the full picture. If he had known what Dal had done to Aru, instead of preaching about honour, he would have given appropriate punishment for his dear son. 

"Dal!"

Suddenly, a person ran towards Dal and hugged him.

"Little brother," he exclaimed joyfully.

It was Dam.

His mind was filled with guilt when his brother went missing under his watch. He almost spiralled into depression at that time.

But now that he knew his father had brought his brother back safely, he ran to meet them. He hugged his brother tightly and said, "Sorry."

"Sorry that I left you alone."

The family of three brightened up knowing that everyone was safe.

–

But this was not the case for everyone. During the stampede of spirit beasts and demons, many succumbed to serious injuries and died. Among them were two children and four rank 1 warriors.

It was a disastrous outcome for the tribe.

And many others were injured much more severely.

When Aru was brought to the place where the injured were being treated, his eyes widened in shock. The injuries he sustained were nothing compared to the people there. 

Some of them were missing limbs, a few had their abdomens ripped open. Injuries of all kinds affected flesh and bones. It was a horrifying sight. 

Compared to them, he lucked out by jumping off the cliff. 

He walked with Kora through the crowd of injured people who were heaving and breathing roughly. His mind wandered about the possibility of what could have happened if he had jumped off the cliff. 

'Maybe, I would have died.' 

He felt threatened. And the threat rekindled his motivation to grow stronger. 

'Whatever I must do, I will do it to get stronger. Only with strength can I assure myself a peaceful life.' 

He thought in his mind. 

Suddenly, Aru's footsteps paused. He looked directly at a person on a nearby bed.

The individual was heavily injured and wrapped in bandages like a mummy. To a normal person, they would have appeared simply as a heavily injured individual. But for Aru, their presence felt horrifying.

Unknown to everyone, just after entering the camp, Aru had been actively trying to link with everyone he could see to observe their status. When he realised that demons could take over hosts, he deemed it imperative to check the status of everyone to determine if they were truly human.

Aru didn't like leaving matters like these to chance. That was why he had done it without anyone knowing.

However, he never expected a demon to appear within the camp.

However, now…

[Nemesis lifeform found.]

[Eliminate nemesis creature. Reward +1 link.]

The system message that appeared before him shook Aru to the core.