It has been a few days since Leila felt a death flag being planted on herself.

Because nothing happened in the past few days, the security was slightly more relaxed.

Despite that, Sieg still barred her from going out for herb-picking.

She had usually used the time to take the kids out for a walk, but because of the restriction, Loki and Riel could only relieve their boredom inside the village.

There was no other children their age in the village, and the older ones could not play with them as they had their own work to be done. Thus, all they could do was walk around aimlessly in the limited space, trying to find something to amuse themselves.

It was now mid-morning. The village’s hunters were gathered at the edge of the village, ready to set out on another expedition. Food was running low and they needed to hunt for more since the Spring Festival was nearing.

The Spring Festival was a holiday that celebrated the arrival of spring, and it consisted of a banquet, flower-picking, and dancing around a bonfire.

The hunters would need to bring back some meat for the banquet, so it was impossible for Sieg to stay at the village during such an important time, though he preferred to stay at home to protect his family. But alas, duty calls.

“Be good.” Sieg looked pointedly at his two children. “And Loki, you have to protect your mother and sister while I’m gone. Got it?”

“Mn!” Loki nodded eagerly, puffing his chest forward proudly as if saying, ‘Leave it to me!’

“Good.” Seeing the boy, Sieg nodded with a smile.

“I’ll be going now. Take care,” he moved to kiss Leila, much to the disgust of his children. Loki shouted, ‘cooties, cooties!’ in the background, but the two who were wrapped in their lovey-dovey moment ignored him.

“Be careful,” Leila gave him one last peck on the cheeks before letting him go.

“Mm, I’ll see you later.”

With a final hand wave, she sent off Sieg and the hunters with the rest of the villagers.

Hidden deep within the trenches, five pair of eyes observed the departing figures with a peculiar gleam.

They waited for a little while longer, confirming that the hunters were a fair distance away before finally deciding to make their move.

Originally, they thought to wait for Leila to bring the children away from the village first, but then changed their plans when they noticed that all the stronger villagers were going out to hunt.

“Let’s go!” Roger says, signalling the other four to come out. If they were lucky, they would be able to nab the little girl without the notice of the other villagers. They stalked the white-haired trio until they arrived home.

Druuk who was left behind in the village for protection instantly detected the arrival of the five assailants.

“The wyrm is here!” A cloaked figure says, alarming his companions.

Roger nodded in response, taking out one of his reserved Magic Bombs.

Boooom!

The Magic Bomb instantly made a large crater as it obliterated a few of the houses in Druuk’s direction. Screams of agony filled the air as some of the villagers were caught up in the blast.

Druuk had not expected a bomb come its way, so he was barely able to dodge it.

Druuk howled in agony, alarming the villagers. They came out in droves. Some brandished various items that could be used as weapons, but most were ushered to run away. The village chief took action, instructing all the able-bodied people to take care of the women, children and elderly, bringing them to a safe place. With the hunters gone, they had no one who was able to fight off the intruders. He could only hope they return quickly.

Noticing the commotion, Leila immediately looked outside the window after warning her children to hide. “Keep quiet, and wait until I come back, okay?” Leila stuffed her twins inside the bedroom cupboard. Their small sizes fit snuggly in the cupboard. They looked at her anxiously.

“Mommy…” Riel’s teary eyes met her gaze. “What’s happening?” Loki asked, as if continuing her sentence.

Leila did not answer their question. Instead, she smiled. “Everything will be fine.”

She moved to close the cupboard, hiding the twins from view.

““Mommy!”” The twin’s muffled voice could be heard from within the cupboard.

Leila searched around the kitchen for her cooking knife, ready to use it as a weapon. Judging by Druuk’s howl, it seemed that their enemies were strong.

She fearlessly exited her house, brandishing a knife with both hands.

Once Leila was outside, she could finally see the situation properly.

Druuk stood in front of the house, guarding against five unknown people garbed in dark cloaks. Druuk looked as if he could collapse at any moment, but he still stood strong.

Leila came behind the blue-coloured beast, resting her hand on one of its limbs and activating her ability. In an instant, he was all healed up and ready to rampage.

“Tsk! You should have aimed properly and killed it in one shot!” The scar-faced fellow says towards Roger. Roger glared at the man, “How was I supposed to know that the woman had such strong magic?!”

“Whatever, we have the numbers; we can definitely take it down,” says another.

Three people charged at Druuk. While Druuk was fighting them, one figure began chanting a spell while the other darted around the beast to try to get to Leila.

Druuk, noticing it, immediately lashed out with his tail, growling once again.

The cloaked figure was immediately sent flying.

Some of the remaining villagers noticed the scene, and went to gather around the fallen figure. “Protect the Saint!” Someone shouted. The villagers quickly barraged the cloaked stranger with blows after blows, beating them half to death.

The villages met up with Leila who was anxiously watching Druuk fend off the attacks of the enemies.

“Saint, come with us.”

Leila shook her head. “Loki and Riel are inside the cupboard. Take them with you and get away," she said in a firm tone.

“But what about you, Saint?”

“Go without me. I’ll try to support Druuk until the hunters come back.”

“But Saint…!”

“Go!” Leila was uncharacteristically using a strong tone, making the villages quiver. They could not help but do as she asked.

“Saint, stay safe.” The villagers clasped their hands, praying. Then one of the villagers went into the house, ready to get the children out.

However, the two children refused to come out. “No! Mommy told us to stay here until she gets back!”

“Loki, this is not the time to be stubborn!” Said a villager anxiously. “The Saint has instructed us to keep you two safe, so please, come with us!”

“But Mommy—!”

Before the two could refute the villagers, the stronger ones directly dragged the kids out of the cupboard, slinging them over their shoulders.

“Saint, we’ve got the kids!”

Leila nodded towards the villagers. “You have my thanks.”

“!” One of the fighting bounty hunters noticed the interaction. “Hey, they’re trying to get away!”

“I’ll go stop them! Can you guys handle this one without me?” A female voice sounded.

“We can, one way or another. Just go!”

Lina jumped out from the battle, darting towards the villagers.

“Not so fast!” Suddenly, a brick came hurtling towards the cloaked woman. From afar, Mimi could be seen running with another brick in her hand.

The woman managed to avoid the brick but the brief distraction caused her to become defenceless for a split second. The other villagers took the chance to hurl anything they could get their hands on towards her as they ran off, the two children in their arms. The female bounty hunter, even if she was not dead, she had definitely been knocked out cold.

“Leila, are you okay?!” Mimi yelled towards the younger woman.

“Mimi, take care of Loki and Riel for me!” Leila shot back towards the woman, her face voided of her usual playful and calm smile.

“But—“ Before she could reply, a sudden loud noise assaulted their ears.

The person who had been chanting a magic spell had finished the incantation, and a large ball of fire was thrown towards Druuk. The two enemies that had been fighting Druuk simultaneously fell back, avoiding the attack, but Druuk received it head on.

The wyrm could not withstand the magic attack, and immediately faltered. This gave the rest of the attackers a window of opportunity. They unleashed heavy and lethal attacks towards the fallen beast.

“Go, now!” Leila ordered Mimi. Mimi sent a conflicted look towards her, but ultimately decided to back off. She did not forget to throw the brick she was holding towards the magician who had casted the terrible spell, followed with a trickle of curses. Mimi’s vengeful voice uttering profane words aimed towards the attackers could be heard as she ran farther and farther away from the hectic fight.

“Druuk!” With Mimi gone, Leila rushed forward, aiming to heal the wyrm. However, as if expecting her move, one of them abruptly jumped towards her, slashing with their dagger.

She managed to avoid getting a serious wound, but the attack managed to nick her arm. Blood trickled down her arm and caused a patch of red to appear on her sleeve. Thanks to the hit, Leila's knife clattered uselessly a few ways away after she accidentally dropped it.

Druuk, who had smelled her blood, roared. He attempted to get up, but the enemies did not show mercy. The remaining attacker and magician continued to wear him down until nothing but a single strand of breath remained.

After giving off one last pitiful and sorrowful howl, Druuk was finally killed.

“Druuk!” Leila attempted to get to his side once more, but was obstructed by Roger who had been pursuing her.

Suddenly—

“Druuk! Leila!”

Sieg rushed towards the scene, a face full of worry and anger on his face.

The hunters were back.

After combing through the woods for prey, they suddenly heard a loud, booming sound coming from the direction of the village. Worried about the villagers, the hunters made the decision to turn back.

They were separated into two groups—one group joined the village chief, while the second group was in charge of searching for other survivors. Sieg was in the second group.

However, instead of going through the houses one by one, he had immediately headed towards his house. Although it was selfish of him to ignore the others, his family was his priority.

But, when he came back to the house, he found that Druuk had defended his family to his last breath, and Leila was injured.

Without hesitation, he drew the dagger on his back, swiftly taking down the magician with practiced ease. He was a hunter, after all, and hunting humans was more or less the same as hunting other animals. He would not show mercy to these people who had wanted to hurt his family.

With a decisive blow to the magician’s neck, he brought down the number of enemies to two.

He chased after the closest enemy in his sight. The enemy had a visible scar on the exposed part of his face, and he had been the one to deal the killing blow on Druuk. This fact caused Sieg’s attacks to be more vicious, as if he wanted to take revenge.

Unable to stave off the berserking beastman, the scar-faced hunter lost in a pool of his own blood.

“Sieg!” Leila cried. Roger, the last remaining bounty hunter, had finally caught Leila. But just as he grabbed her arm, Sieg threw his dagger towards the man.

“Argh!” Roger who was hit squarely on his shoulder could not help but let out a scream of pain. However, there was no time for him to mind the wound. He gritted his teeth and pulled it out, letting it bleed. Instead of discarding the dagger, he instead used it on Leila.

“Stay back, or I’ll hu—“ Roger held the white-haired woman in captive with his remaining good arm, but before he could finish, Leila savagely bit his arm and stomped on his foot.

“Ah!” He unconsciously loosened his grip on the girl due to the pain, but the gap it created was enough for her to slip out of his hold. Leila dashed away with all the strength she could muster. Soon, she was only a few feet away from Sieg. She threw her arms open, as if intending to fall into his embrace with a hug.

“You bi—!” Roger pulled out his last Magic Bomb, aiming it straight towards Leila who was running away.

However, he did not have enough strength to throw it, and the Magic Bomb missed its target.

But…

BOOOOOM!

The Magic Bomb had detonated close to Leila, sending her flying. Chunks of flesh were blown away.

Almost half of her body was gone. Although he missed his target, the Magic Bomb proved to be quite lethal as even its force was enough to fatally injure his target.

Sieg watched the wretched scene with wide, unbelieving eyes.

Some of Leila’s blood splattered on him, marring his face and torso.

His legs felt weak but he still walked over to the fallen girl. “Leila…?” His voice was barely a whisper, his hands shakily reaching towards her. “Leila.”

“Leila, this isn’t funny. Wake up. Wake up!” Sieg started to shake her, but received no response from the lifeless body. No, he refused to believe it.

“LeilaLeilaLeilaLeilaLeilaLeilaLeilaLeilaLeilaLeilaLeilaLeila—“ Sieg muttered crazily. It was as if his mind had broken. He palmed her tiny, bloodless face.

Leila could not be dead.

“Leila—!” Sieg let out a pained shout.

Roger’s piercing laughter rang loudly in his ears. “Ah—AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Serves you right, you dumb bitch!”

Sieg froze.

He gently kissed Leila between her eyebrows, setting her on the ground silently.

He stood up, raising his eyes to meet Roger’s. His gentle eyes turned chilly in less than a heartbeat, a strangely calm expression forming on his face as he stared at the man who murdered his wife.

“You.” Sieg’s voice dripped with bloodthirst. “How dare you.”

The urge to rip the man apart rose inside him, growing stronger and stronger by the second. “I’ll destroy you.”

As if something had been switched on within him, Sieg’s veins popped, his nails and teeth grew sharper and longer, resembling that of an actual wolf. His back protruded and patches of fur formed on his skin.

His eyes were bloodshot. It reddened to the point where the white was completely replaced by a striking red hue.

He let out an animalistic growl, and with that, he completely snapped.

In the blink of an eye, Sieg pounced on the bounty hunter, tearing him apart limb by limb. The man’s horrified and painful screams was like music to his ears that further motivated the crazed beastman. The louder Roger screamed, the deeper his claws sank into his flesh, the rougher his hits.

After Roger had been reduced into nothing but a puddle of mush and blood, Sieg finally calmed down, streams of bloody tears flowing down his face as he let out one last howl.

Sieg’s beastly features retracted, returning him to normal. He returned to Leila’s side, looking every bit empty as he felt inside. He held her remains in his arm, looking down at her half-corpse dazedly.

Two hours later, when the villagers finally found them, he finally collapsed.