There was a central square in the village, a place where all four routes converged at the heart of the settlement.

That was where everyone had gathered today for the special occasion.

It was uncommon for the Chief to call for a gathering of the villagers, but no one seemed surprised. Considering the disaster that had recently befallen them, most people had expected something like this.

A massive bonfire had been prepared in the center of the square, along with a small elevated stage built from stacked bricks and wood.

The villagers stood around the platform, chatting among themselves while waiting for the gathering to begin.

When Luke arrived, someone raised a hand and waved at him.

Turning toward the person, Luke found Dart standing there.

He waved back before turning toward the two women beside him.

"Can you locate the others?"

Monica nodded. "They’re over there."

She pointed toward a group gathered near the side.

Luke followed her gaze and spotted Gustav chatting with a few men while Lex stood nearby in silence. Ginna and Dalia were also talking close to them.

Luke nodded. "Go join them."

Monica nodded back before leading Laila toward the rest of the family.

Luke then walked over to Dart and casually asked while glancing around, "Didn’t bring Nadia along?"

The man gave a sheepish smile. "You know how reluctant she is to come outside, especially when so many people are gathered in one place."

Luke hummed in understanding.

Someone who became anxious even in front of a single stranger would naturally struggle to stand amidst this many eyes. He could understand her reluctance.

"So? How are things around the perimeter? You’ve been working extra hours lately."

Dart chuckled. "Yeah, that’s true. But I guess the Chief being paranoid is justified."

Luke nodded. "Yeah. Not to mention the special guests..."

"Oh, they actually left this afternoon."

Luke’s brows slowly rose. "Oh... that’s surprising. I didn’t hear anything about their departure."

Dart chuckled again. "For all the noise they made during their arrival, people started treating it as a bad omen. So they quietly left the village without drawing attention."

Luke snickered. "Oh, so they do realize the calamity was somehow connected to the Chief’s son."

Luke had a feeling that the monster had appeared because of that guy.

After all, before his arrival, Luke had never sensed anything magical or remotely as dangerous as that enormous creature.

Dart sighed. "Well, I just hope they let us live peacefully from now on."

Luke nodded in agreement.

Just then, several warriors began arriving at the gathering.

Luke told Dart, "I’ll go join the others. See you around."

Dart nodded back, and Luke made his way toward his family.

As he approached them, he noticed that much like Gustav and the others, everyone had stopped chatting.

Naturally, they were eager to hear what the Chief had to say.

The soldiers instructed the villagers to make some space.

Soon, everyone gathered around the central platform, which was quickly climbed by the protector of the village.

Baldon stood atop the raised stage and looked over the hundreds of gathered villagers.

His eyes briefly landed on Luke, a faint smile appearing on his lips before he spoke.

"I am delighted to see all of you gathered here. To witness you alive and healthy is the greatest joy I, your Chief, could ask for."

He began, his voice carrying clearly enough to reach every corner of the crowd.

The hushed silence and the attentive gazes surrounding him told Luke just how deeply the villagers respected their Chief.

Baldon continued,

"I am aware that many of you may now harbor doubts about the village’s safety after the recent incident. And I do not blame you for it. The calamity that befell us was unprecedented. Catastrophic... one that pushed even me into a corner of helplessness."

Many gasped while others unconsciously held their breath after hearing those words.

Only three people truly knew what had happened that day.

Apart from Baldon himself, there was Luke and Claw, the latter having witnessed only half of the event.

Naturally, most villagers didn’t believe Luke had actually been involved in everything, so no one approached him for answers. And the other two were equally unreachable.

As a result, the villagers had remained largely ignorant of the truth until now.

And that was exactly why they reacted the way they did.

"As disheartening and terrifying as it may sound, that creature forced me into making difficult choices. It was enormous, had allies, and its body was far too sturdy for my attacks to leave any meaningful damage. It was the kind of being that required an entire cluster to bring down. Alone... I could do nothing against it."

Horrified expressions spread across the crowd.

The villagers held Baldon in the highest regard. To them, he was the strongest being they knew, someone who could never be defeated nor brought to his knees.

And yet now, the Chief himself was admitting that the opponent had cornered him.

Then Baldon smiled faintly.

"That was when... someone arrived and gave me hope. Someone who tore away the darkness surrounding both me and this village. Someone whose presence completely changed the atmosphere of the battlefield and even forced that monster to step back in caution."

Monica’s lips had already curled into a smile. Gustav’s chest swelled with pride, while several others began glancing toward Luke as well, some even preparing to snicker if Baldon ended up naming someone else.

Perhaps Claw, the future mate of his daughter...

But much to their shock—

"Luke," Baldon called out, "come up here."

Luke wanted to groan.

This was exactly the kind of attention he didn’t want.

However, when he glanced toward his mate and saw the excitement shining in her eyes, he realized his feet were already moving.

Step by step, Luke walked through the crowd toward the center.

Everyone stared at him in awe and disbelief.

The same person who had once been regarded as nothing more than a burden to his family...

A source of disappointment...

But now...

"Everyone! Meet your savior, Luke!"

He was a savior.

••••••••

A/N:- Thanks for reading.