The Little Companion Of The Beast

Episode 2.

“Miss! Miss!”

I felt like my head was going to burst.

As I slowly lifted my heavy eyelids, I saw Anton sobbing.

This crybaby. How much did he cry that his nose became the size of a fist?

Staria slowly touched the back of her head where she had been stabbed. She could feel the bandage that had wrapped the wound tightly. Seeing that Anton’s clothes had no arms, it seemed like they had been torn and wrapped.

As I was gathering the scattered fragments of my memories, not knowing what was going on, I heard an eerie scream.

Staria, who had gotten up as if possessed, ran towards the town square. The pain was getting worse as if her injured part was splitting open, but she couldn’t stop.

Anton followed her and grabbed her wrist, but she shook him off and kept running.

“……oh my god.”

The world that unfolded before my eyes was hell.

“Gyaaaah!”

“Father! I’m scared. Please, save me!”

“Run, run away! … … Ugh.”

The village was being trampled by unknown beings. Houses were burned to ashes, and the pungent scent of blood spread with each swing of swords and spears.

People who had been happily enjoying the festival just an hour ago were now lying around as corpses.

“Uwueek-”

Staria, standing on the red-tinged soil, felt nauseous.

At the sound of vomiting, the face of the man riding the black horse turned towards her. Fortunately, Anton pulled him under the bushes so they didn’t meet.

The man wiped the blood that had splattered on his face and smiled.

As if he was going crazy from the one-sided slaughter, Nancy was standing next to the man.

“Nancy! Did you open the door for the author?”

Nancy smiled and agreed at the village chief’s angry voice.

“how?”

“I couldn’t do it alone, so I got some help.”

“Goyan! You brought a curse into the family.”

“I have to get this straight. My only sister died five years ago. Where do I have a family? Everyone looked at me with pity, saying, “Poor Nancy, poor Nancy.” But look. In the end, you are the ones who ended up being pitiful.”

“Don’t you know why your ancestors came here and lived in hiding?! The abilities we possess are both a blessing and a curse. They must never become the property of one individual!”

“No, this person deserves it.”

“You fool! After the hunt, the hunting dogs are boiled… … . Crack!”

The village chief could not finish his speech.

This was because the knight, following the leader’s instructions, stabbed deep into the stomach with his sword.

Staria wished all this was a dream.

It’s a terrible nightmare that will disappear tomorrow.

It was a scene too cruel for a ten-year-old to handle, and she slowly closed and opened her eyelids.

I wondered if things would go back to the way they were.

But the world he faced again was still red, and to make matters worse, the shadow of death was hanging over him.

The eyes of the knight holding the spear were empty and blank, as if he had never seen anything before. He didn’t even seem to feel any pain, even though the axe was stuck in his calf.

‘I have to avoid it… … .’

That moment when your legs become stiff and you won’t listen to anything.

An arrow flying through the wind pierced the knight’s heart, causing him to fall helplessly.

“Are you okay?”

It was a face she had longed to see. As soon as she saw Cassanna, holding a bow, Staria burst into tears.

“I’ve been looking for it for a long time.”

“Mother! I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. It’s my fault! I… … .”

If only I had stayed home quietly.

If you hadn’t gone to the watchtower.

If only they had been a little more wary of Nancy, who was acting suspiciously, and had called the adults…

Many families have tormented her.

“Daughter, look at mommy.”

Staria raised her head with difficulty and looked at Cassanna. The tears that had been tightly gathered in her eyes flowed down her cheeks.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. Nothing.”

Without even having time to comfort Staria, who was stained with sobs, Cassanna took out the arrows from the barrel she was wearing on her thigh.

She put three of them on the string at the same time and drew the bow towards the knights riding on horseback. The knights fell to the ground with their heads smashed, and she caught the horse that was running towards her and stopped it.

“Get in.”

Anton jumped up onto the saddle as he was told. Thanks to Cassanna’s lessons some time ago, he had no trouble keeping his balance on the wild saddle.

“I took off the necklace and tied it tightly around Staria’s neck,” said Cassanna.

“Just go down this road and drive south. When you get to the end, you’ll come across a river covered in fog. Even if the water is cold and deep, you have to cross it. Once you get past that point, you’ll be at the entrance to the Gulas Forest.”

“Where is that?”

“Yes, that’s where ‘Him’ is. When you meet ‘Him’, show him this necklace. He will protect you.”

“… … .”

“If you ever get lost, look at the night sky. The stars will guide you.”

Staria, who felt like the words of advice were her last goodbye, grabbed her mother’s waist. She held on so tightly that her fists turned white. Because if she let go now, she felt like they would be separated forever.

“What about your mother? Is your mother going with you?”

“Just take care of those and then follow me. You go first.”

“Let’s go together. Yes?”

“Staria, I haven’t been unhappy since the day you came to me. I love you, my star.”

Cassanna kissed her daughter’s forehead and lifted her up, handing her over to Anton.

“Please.”

“yes.”

It was a concise and short answer, but it was enough for her.

“Let’s go.”

Cassanna turned around, pulling the string of her arrow taut. At that signal, the horses carrying the two men kicked the ground and started galloping.

***

I don’t know how far I ran.

Before I knew it, the sun that had risen in the east was disappearing in the west and rising again.

The sensation in my butt that used to hurt has long since disappeared.

Anton tightened his grip on the reins that were starting to loosen and looked at the Staria sitting in front of him.

The girl who had been crying and complaining that she had to wait for her mother suddenly became quiet at some point.

Since you are such a smart person, you must have sensed that Lady Cassanna might not come.

“Have I told you how I met Lady Cassanna?”

At the mention of his mother, his small shoulders, which had been slumped like a corpse, flinched.

“When I was just as old as you, my drunkard father sold me into slavery for three shekels, the price of two glasses of rum.”

At the time, I thought it was a good thing.

I thought that even if I got sold, I wouldn’t go hungry as long as I did my job properly.

However, even if you work until your fingernails fall off, all you get in return is moldy bread and pale soup. During the day, you have to endure harsh insults and whippings that tear off your flesh, and at night, you have to be dragged to your master’s room and suffer all kinds of humiliation.

Since slaves were considered property, their lives could not be taken carelessly.

I ran away not to live, but to die.

To avoid being tracked, I entered the desert and walked aimlessly for several days before eventually collapsing. When I lay down and looked up at the sky, it was so dazzling that it was annoying.

Why are you being so cruel to me?

While he was cursing and blaming God, a woman appeared like a mirage.

It was Cassanna. She paid a price too great to repay to bring him to a village that did not accept outsiders, and accepted him as one of its members.

“The day I followed Lady Cassanna home, the little girl who was lying in the cradle smiled and held my finger.”

The baby, who smiled as if he didn’t care even though his body and mind were soaked in filth, was his salvation.

It seemed that today I would finally be able to keep the oath I had made that day, putting my soul on the line.

Because the ground was shaking.

“… … Anton?”

“Don’t worry.”

He reassured the anxious girl and spurred his galloping horse even harder.

The sound of horse hooves was persistent behind them as they ran at full speed. Since it was an open field, there was no place to shake off the pursuers, so they had no choice but to keep their eyes forward and run.

“Anton, it’s the river! It’s almost here!”

It was the moment when I could smell the mist with the tip of my nose.

Something flew into his right shoulder and struck him. He almost screamed. Back when he was a slave, this kind of pain was nothing, but he lived comfortably.

Anton wrapped Staria tightly around him, as if not even a single feather could touch it.

‘It didn’t just penetrate, it went right into the muscle.’

That means the weapon stuck in the shoulder is not a long-range weapon, but a short-range weapon. For example, a dagger.

As I glanced back, I began to see their faces.

The leader at the very front adjusted his grip on his weapon and raised it into the air.

“Miss! Hold the reins.”

As soon as I put the string in my fern-like hand, a sharp piece of metal flew into my side and stuck itself in my ribs.

The horse carrying the two men rode into the thick fog. The sound of rushing water could be heard.

We had finally arrived at the river.

“Promise me that you will survive no matter what.”

“Please don’t do this. Without Anton, I… … .”

As expected, his smart girl noticed the breakup.

He asked with a bright smile, not wanting to be remembered as a crybaby until the end.

“You will survive, right?”

“… … .”

“Please promise me.”

“……huh.”

“I promise you, too. I won’t give up easily. So just keep looking forward.”

Anton, who hugged Staria so tightly that she almost fell apart, jumped down from the running horse.

He drew his sword and stood upright facing the enemies that appeared right after him. His eyes, prepared for the end, did not waver an inch, as if he could not let even a single one pass.

***

After several near-drowning incidents, he finally reached land.

As soon as its feet touched the ground, Staria lowered its head.

The guilt of being the only one to survive.

The despair of never seeing those you cherish again.

I bite my lips to keep from getting weak, but there’s no way I can overcome the sadness that comes over me as a ten-year-old child who’s been dropped off alone in an unfamiliar place.

Drops of water, whether tears or river water, fell and soaked the soil.

It was unfair and resentful.

I wanted to cry out loud, but I held it back. I was afraid that if I kept crying, I would end up admitting that my mother and Anton were wrong. I would still be alive. That’s why I shouldn’t cry.

It was at that time that Staria was gritting her teeth and swallowing her tears.

“Who are you?”

“Hipp.”

Staria slowly raised her head at the eerie sound, and a hiccup escaped from her mouth.

A large, dark shadow slowly approached.

The beast, which resembled a white tiger, had no horns on its forehead and although its eyes were blue, they were not one-eyed. Rather, it had two eyes as clear as sapphires and its body was covered in silver fur that was free of impurities.

Although his appearance was different from what I had heard from my mother, I could tell right away that it was ‘him’.

“Hey, Dekala Damon Haska… … are you?”

“You uncivilized human know my true name. Reveal your identity.”

Staria’s face turned pale. Because of her cruel first impression, which was not offset by her beautiful appearance.

“Oh, hello? Groom?”

Staria said, holding up the necklace with trembling hands.

“I am your bride.”