◈ 249. [Side Story] Autumn leaves (3)
The warriors who transformed into werewolves uttered screams and scattered red eyes.
At other times, he might have been able to keep his sanity even if the curse had manifested.
But tonight is a full moon night. When the full moon lights up the sky.
Reason disappears and wildness takes its place.
The werewolves salivated from the corners of their mouths and glared at their prey.
Now that they are dominated by the wild nature to the top of their heads, they have to hunt for something.
The target was, of course, the same kind that still maintained a human form.
Fu-wook! Pooh-!
“Aaaaaagh!”
“Stop that! please calm down… … Big!”
The werewolves’ sharp claws cut through their armor and their huge fangs ravenously gnawed into the flesh.
The fate of the still untransformed warriors was one of two. Or being brutally butchered by those who were once allies.
Woodeuk Wooddeuk.
big… … Ah ah ah ah ah!
or associate with them.
Those who did not die in one blow were all transformed into werewolves.
After a storm passed, only a fallen human and a two-legged wolf were left in the place.
gurg gurg kruk… … .
Krrrrr!
The werewolves who shed their lively eyes were divided into two groups.
One group started to move towards the village overflowing with game.
They walked on two legs, then kicked off the ground with all fours and began to run like animals.
“I have to stop this… !”
A group of werewolves blocked Kureha’s path.
Werewolves swallowed their mouths to hunt down the only human left in the area.
Kureha gritted her teeth and raised her fist to fight back.
chuck.
Kullan stood in front of Kureha.
A wolf monster, bigger than any werewolf, stood in front of Kureha as if protecting it. Kureha looked up at Kuylan in bewilderment.
While still bleeding from the wound, Quylan murmured softly.
《The tongue… … Fine… .”
“… .”
Kureha clenched her fists tightly and glared straight ahead.
“Help me, Kuylan. We have to stop it.”
I saw a group of werewolves running towards the village.
It should be blocked.
You don’t know what horrors will happen when they reach the village… … !
Hitting the ground, Kureha rushed towards the werewolves in front.
Quylan, who hesitated and didn’t know what to do, followed Kureha’s footsteps, waddling his gigantic body.
The werewolves’ claws were like blades, and their limbs radiated monstrous power, but they lost their reason and wielded their instincts.
‘Even a single blow would be fatal! But if you do… … !’
Kureha narrowly evaded the werewolves’ attacks and smashed their jaws with her fists.
Quylan also clumsily swung his arms and grabbed the werewolves one by one and smashed them to the ground.
The cleaning of the werewolves was over in an instant. Kureha immediately kicked the ground without stopping.
The guys running to the village were far away.
‘far! I can’t stop this… … !’
It was then.
Taat-!
Quylan grabbed Kureha by the waist and put it around his side, then jumped up and began to fly several meters at each step.
In an instant, the werewolves’ backs came closer. Kureha wanted to say thank you to her sister, but there was no time to do so.
In front of us was a village.
Kureha landed on Quylan’s arm, bounced her knee, and was shot forward.
As if riding on the back of a werewolf running right in front of her, she clung to it and strangled him with both arms as it was – and broke it.
Kudangtangtang!
The desperate werewolf collapsed, stepped on Kureha’s back, and was shot forward again.
On the other side, I saw Kuylan grab two other werewolves and beat them up.
‘from now on… three!’
Three werewolves running in front of Kureha.
Kureha squeezed out all the strength she had been sucking on, caught up with the werewolf right in front of her, and hung up her legs.
The werewolf, who was running with all his might, fell head first on the floor and fell down ugly with a neck-breaking sound.
‘two!’
The guy in front of him noticed Kureha’s presence and rushed to the station.
The wolf’s claws cut through the air, and after desperately blocking it, Kureha plunged his fist into the man’s chin and side.
A short but fierce battle came and went, and Kure was the victor.
The werewolf, who had been engulfed from the forehead to the nose by Kureha’s fist, collapsed vomiting blood.
‘Last one… … !’
Hope flashed across Kureha’s face. If you catch the last one, you can prevent further damage!
Kureha looked straight ahead to see the final werewolf.
and.
Pooh-!
The last werewolf ran like crazy and attacked the people who were talking while entering the town square… … got into my eyes
Blood and flesh splattered. The screams and screams of those attacked echoed through the night sky.
“… ahh… … !”
Kureha sighed.
There was nothing to do. Dozens of people in the plaza collapsed, dripping blood from the werewolf’s flurry of attacks.
and… After just a few seconds, he got up again.
awesome Wooddeuk.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
With the sound of bones twisting and howling beasts.
A curse hidden deep within the blood of the tribe has awakened.
Under the full moon sky, the werewolves roared and rushed into the village in search of their compatriots who had not yet mutated.
At the tavern next to the plaza, at the mill by the river, at the market in the center of the village, at the smithy, field, and general store—people who stayed up late to work were attacked.
After that, it was the turn of those who fell asleep soundly.
Waves of werewolves came to the area where private houses were densely populated, playing with their teeth and claws. Screams and shouts, fighting sounds and mutating sounds… … .
“… .”
Kureha watched the scene in a stunned state.
Somewhere in the middle of a physical fight, they overturned a bonfire, and the flames began to spread throughout the village.
Beast flowers spread like the flames.
Under the bright night sky, the village burned and the people turned into wolves. It was a blink of an eye.
As Kureha watched the scene from a distance, a boiling voice sounded in her ears.
“It is your fault.”
Let’s look back, it was my father.
His father yelled as he held on to his broken ribs while being overpowered by Kureha, gasping for air.
“You took our village… ! My family like this… … !”
“… .”
“okay. Are you feeling cool now? huh? Are you feeling relieved that you made your hometown land this way because of that insignificant sense of justice!”
With trembling hands, the father raised his staff and pointed it at Quylan next to Kureha.
“That monster… ! What is that monster… … !”
Quylan lay on his side.
Suddenly, the younger brother’s body shrunk like that of an ordinary boy, not a huge monster.
Blood continued to flow out of Kuylan’s body as he coughed violently like a black mist.
As the people in the village regained their curse and transformed into werewolves, the curse of the tribe that had been sealed inside Quilan’s body was escaping.
“Keuk cool! Cool!”
“… .”
Kureha stared blankly at her sister who was twisting in agony.
“You messed up! The fate of our clan! you hung up! Damn you guys! curse… … !”
Fuck!
My father, who had been spitting out curse words, suddenly stumbled and collapsed on the spot.
Behind my father stood a familiar figure. Kureha murmured tremblingly.
“… mother?”
It was Kureha’s mother. But the appearance was different. The mother was in the form of a wolf.
However, unlike other werewolves, he was dressed in a robe and held a staff in his hand.
“I knew when this day would come and prepared for it. Even though I’m not as strong as your father, I’m a shaman too.”
With the face of a wolf, the mother had a wry smile.
“Ever since the day your father took your brother… I was waiting for the day your brother would be freed.”
“… .”
“Your father was just trying to protect the clan, so don’t hold your grudge too much.”
The mother, who laid the fainting father flat on the floor, gave out a soft voice with a wolf face.
“You also did what you had to do, so don’t beat yourself up too much.”
“Mother’s face… … .”
“okay. On the full moon, he becomes a wolf, and on the eve of the year, he becomes a human. This is the true nature of our tribe. If it hadn’t been for the full moon on the day of liberation, there wouldn’t have been a disaster like today.”
Mother slowly looked up at the moon in the sky.
“Anyway, it was something that would happen someday. We all live as we are… … It’s not your fault.”
“… .”
“What can we do about being born like this… .”
The mother approached and sat down on her knees slowly at the bedside of the collapsed Quylan.
“My poor second son. I will die soon.”
“You die? What about Kuylan?”
“The curse of the entire tribe, which had been contained throughout their lives, came out as they manifested themselves. It must have been a huge burden.”
Quylan wheezed and exhaled heavily. Kureha looked at her dying brother’s face with gritted teeth.
“Now, all curses will be emptied, but my share of curses will remain. My weakened body won’t last.”
“… mother.”
After a moment of hesitation, Kureha spoke cautiously.
“I will be the new bowl.”
“what?”
“Please transfer the Curse of Quylan to me.”
“This spell doesn’t work that way. It is impossible to remove the curse individually. To do so, you must accept all the curses of the entire clan… … .”
“Then give them all to me.”
The mother, who had been staring blankly at her eldest son, burst out laughing.
“You’ve come to this point and everything is already over, so you’re going to pick up the curse again? What is the point of that?”
“This child suffered as much as all of us for the rest of his life.”
Kureha slowly ran her hand over the forehead of her fallen brother. The red X-shaped sword mark remained on his forehead.
“You should be that happy. Is that right?”
“… .”
“At least until this child can bear his own curse… I will take the curse instead.”
The mother laughed sadly as she looked at the two sons together.
***
The ceremony of putting the curse was performed again at the maple tree altar.
As the branches of the maple tree gave off an ominous light, the curse escaped from the bodies of the werewolves who ran amok throughout the village, which became a sea of fire.
The villagers, who had returned to human form, collapsed, covered in blood.
Kureha accepted the black and contaminated blood of her ancestors into her whole body. Even the curse his brother harbored.
Kureha’s body was strong, but the pain was beyond imagination.
Feeling the pain as if her soul was being torn to shreds, however, Kureha gritted her teeth and endured it.
His younger brother Quylan has endured far more curses than this with a weaker body than himself.
If you can’t stand this much, you lose face as an older brother.
After the ritual was over, Quylan’s face became much calmer.
The mother, holding the staff, said with a human face.
“Because I was used as a vessel of curse all my life… Your brother’s spirit core is pickled with a curse. I will probably live sickly for the rest of my life.”
Standing staggeringly, Kureha grinned.
“I will take good care of you.”
“And you… let me choose Choose.”
“What?”
“How the Curse Appears.”
The tip of her mother’s cane lightly stabbed Kureha in the chest.
“I sealed the curse deep inside you with my sorcery, but if you sustain a major injury or use excessive force, the curse will boil over and try to rise.”
“So what?”
“Originally, he would try to become a wolf monster. However, if I suppress it with my sorcery, it won’t become a monster, but instead… … That body part will be useless.”
“… .”
“Which would be better?”
The worry didn’t last long.
“It would be better if I couldn’t use my body. If you become a wolf monster… … It might hurt Quylan.”
“… okay.”
The mother, who had been looking at her son, who had chosen the path to hell by herself and entered, turned around with mixed eyes.
“The Imperial Army is coming.”
Through the wooden fence of the burned village, I could see the imperial army advancing in an orderly fashion, stomping their feet.
They lost their warriors and lost what they had to protect.
The Maple Fang tribe is now over.
“Go, Kureha. leave without looking back I am not in charge of this place.”
Kureha’s mother said to Kureha, who was staring blankly at the approaching enemy.
“Because you are my brother. To Cuilan… … Please tell me the happiness of living as a human being.”
Kureha held Kuylan in her arms with her body in agony. The younger brother’s body, with only bones and skin remaining, was surprisingly light.
thud! thud! thud!
Enemy footsteps approached. The shouts of the commander of the imperial army rang out.
The glittering metallic light of weapons and the spreading flames… … .
A mother whispered softly to her two sons who were leaving their burning hometown behind.
“I’m sorry for being a bad parent.”
Without looking back, Kureha also whispered.
“I’m sorry for being an ugly child.”
Kureha couldn’t figure it out as she walked staggeringly with her younger brother in her arms.
Was his choice right?
Was it a worthy choice enough to abandon his hometown, his tribe, and his parents?
My mind was confused. The curse inside her body was infested like a worm, inciting delusion.
The values of the past were all tangled up.
‘What the hell am I for… … .’
It was then.
“Cough Cough Cough!”
Kuylan in his arms coughed dryly and opened his eyes.
Kureha looked down at her sister with a haggard smile.
“How are you feeling, Kuylan?”
“… who are you… ?”
Quylan asked in a dying voice with unfocused eyes. He seemed to have no memory of the time he was transformed into a wolf.
“I am Kureha, your older brother. Do you remember?”
“… I’m not sure… … yeah Where is this? My father… .”
Kureha smiled brightly and took off the coin necklace she was wearing around her neck and put it around Quylan’s neck.
“Quylan. You are a very lucky kid.”
“… yes? But it’s so painful… … .”
To a child who would have been in pain all his life.
Kureha said with confidence.
“You were born into this world.”
“… yes?”
“I’ll cook you lots of delicious things from now on.”
Kureha made a promise, holding up the weight of her younger brother, who was only made of bones and skin, with both arms, as if she would blow away.
“Are you cold? I’ll dress you in warm clothes. Have you ever used a soft blanket? My brother will arrange it for you. Of course I’ll buy you a feather pillow too.”
This world is far wider than the narrow maple tree.
“Let’s bask in the sun in the spring, go to the river in the summer, pick apples in the fall, and watch the snow fall in front of the stove in the winter.”
It’s full of far more beautiful things that aren’t curses.
“We go fishing together and… Do you know how to sing our traditional song? And my brother again, um yeah! I will also teach you how to do martial arts. and… .”
What else can you give yourself?
What else can we give to this child who has lived with all the curses of the world?
After talking, Kureha was speechless. She wanted to stop crying in front of her younger sister’s innocent gaze looking up at her with blank eyes.
‘Because I’ll give back to you all the things I’ve been lucky to have enjoyed for the rest of my life.’
So- please
don’t regret being born into this world.
Holding her sister tightly in her arms, Kureha gnashed her teeth.
“Sorry.”
“What… ?”
“Because I didn’t know you were sick… Sorry.”
Rubbing her reddened eyes vigorously, Kureha grinned.
“Your brother will protect you from now on.”
Kureha said as if he had made a promise to his younger brother, who looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“Because it’s the older brother’s job to protect his younger brother!”
