The Fallen

Through the nearby window, I could see several demons carrying weapons rushing towards the village entrance while some others were hiding their children. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The entire village had fallen into panic. The cabin door suddenly opened and a tall demon stepped inside. Snow covered parts of his fur cloak. A massive spear rested against his back. His eyes landed on me. "So the human finally woke up."

"This is Korin," Lyra explained while tightening her grip around the axe. "One of the village hunters."

Korin glanced at me for a moment before snorting. "You were lucky Lyra found you instead of me. I wouldn’t have taken such care of you."

"...Thanks the heavens, I guess." I replied. I quietly activated the Nine Heavens Eyes.

[Name: Korin

Race: Demon

Rank: B+

Aspect: Beast Strength (B Rank)

Status: Injured / Alert]

Korin was far stronger than Lyra. Strong enough to probably kill the old me without much effort. Before I could continue thinking, another roar echoed from somewhere outside. This one sounded much closer. Korin’s expression immediately turned serious.

"It’s getting closer."

"What exactly is getting closer?" I asked while forcing myself off the bed despite the pain still lingering throughout my body.

Lyra frowned immediately after noticing me stand up. "You shouldn’t be moving yet. You need to rest."

"Don’t worry about me. I’m fine."

Lyra frowned but didn’t say anything.

Korin walked toward the window and slightly pulled the curtains aside. The moment he looked outside, his face darkened. "...Damn it. It has already reached near the village."

I quietly moved beside him and activated the Nine Heavens Eyes again. At first, I only saw frightened villagers and armed hunters near the entrance. Then something moved between the distant trees beyond the forest.

My entire body froze. The creature looked like a humanoid. It was very similar to the ones I fought in the Red dungeon. But the one in front felt a lot stronger than those. The creature slowly raised its head. And I finally saw its face. Or rather, what remained of one. Half of its skull was exposed while dozens of eyes were embedded across its skin. Some blinked independently while others simply stared endlessly. "...What the hell is that thing?"

Korin glanced toward me sharply. "You can already see it from here?"

"So I’m not hallucinating. Great, nothing is going according to plan since I came to this world."

"That," Lyra said quietly, "...is one of the Fallen." The name sounded very ominous. I immediately focused the Nine Heavens Eyes on the creature.

[Name: Unknown

Race: Fallen

Rank: ???

Aspect: Corrupted

Status: Extremely Hostile

Threat Level: Extremely Dangerous]

[Warning: Unstable entity detected]

My expression darkened instantly. Even the Nine Heavens Eyes couldn’t fully analyze it. This thing was bad news.

"It used to be a demon," Korin explained while grabbing the spear from his back. "Sometimes humans become them too."

I immediately looked toward him. "How do they become like that?"

He said grimly. "Anything exposed to corruption long enough can become a Fallen."

"What kind of corruption?" I asked. They didn’t answer my question, from the expression they were making, I was quite sure even they didn’t know what that was.

Mira quietly moved closer to Lyra before speaking softly. "Mom...Will it come here? I’m scared."

Lyra placed one hand on Mira’s head. "There’s no need to be scared, our hunters are strong. They will easily deal with it." Despite how calm she sounded, I could feel the faint trembling in her voice.

Outside, several hunters began shouting loudly. "Close the northern entrance!"

"Move the children underground!"

"Everyone except the hunters stay away from the entrance! Hide!."

The atmosphere became increasingly chaotic. Meanwhile, the Fallen creature slowly tilted its head toward the village. Then every single eye on its body locked directly onto us. My body stiffened instantly. "It noticed the village."

The next moment, the creature screamed. The sound didn’t resemble anything living. It sounded like dozens of voices crying together at once. Mira immediately covered her ears while trembling. Even I felt my head ache slightly after hearing it.

Then the creature moved.

BOOM.

The fallen creature lunged forward towards the village. "...Shit." Korin immediately turned towards the door to head out. "It’s faster than the others."

Lyra quickly grabbed Mira’s shoulders. "Go underground with the others and hide. I will be back soon."

"But—" Mira was reluctant to leave her mother’s side.

"No arguments. Go now! Mom will be fine."

Mira bit her lips slightly before nodding. I looked toward Lyra. "You’re both going to fight that thing?"

"We don’t have a choice," Korin replied bluntly while opening the cabin door. "If it reaches the village center, civilians will die."

What should I do? For a brief moment, I hesitated about what to do. This wasn’t my problem to solve. These were demons, there was no need to help them. The same race humanity had been fighting for centuries. I had absolutely no obligation to help them. But then my eyes landed on Mira. The little demon girl looked terrified while trying hard not to show it.

And somehow... That reminded me too much of the kids from the orphanage I came from. I quietly clicked my tongue before summoning Eclipse. The moment I gripped the sword, extreme pain spread throughout my body again, but I ignored it and slowly circulated qi through my aching body to numb the pain.

Lyra immediately noticed what I was trying to do. "You’re injured. You can’t fight."

"I know, but I can’t just stay and watch, while people would die out there."

"This has nothing to do with you. It’s our problem, we will take care of it." Lyra replied.

I looked towards the villagers who were desperately trying to defend their people. Right now, they didn’t look like monsters. They just looked like people trying to survive.

"...If that thing reaches the village," I said quietly while tightening my grip around Eclipse and getting up, "a lot of people are going to die."