Chapter 39: Cannibals.

Kalon looked around frantically as the creatures' faces seemed to twist and distort with their inhuman features. It was almost as though they had thrown away their humanity for the sake of sating their appetites. Drool dripped from their sharp jagged teeth, and many of them stood with stains of blood coating their faces. The sight of them amplified the fear Kalon felt as he saw their disturbing appearance and scrawny bodies.

He felt sick to his stomach as the blood began to drain from his fingers and toes as he looked at the monstrosities before him. His hands felt numb, and he struggled to breathe. He had seen monsters before, but the things he now saw seemed to be the embodiment of death.

His skin began to tingle, and the chill down his spine lightly tickled him as he stood motionlessly, clutching Roah's hand. He was internally begging for help but couldn't put his thoughts into words out of fear that it would be the last thing he would ever say.

"It's okay. I promise that I won't let anything happen to you." Roah said under her breath as she, too, felt a little bit nervous while noticing the number of them only seemed to increase as time went on. But she wasn't too concerned about it. She looked up at the sky for a moment before letting out a deep breath and washing her worries away, leaving her calm and focus as she glanced down at the red blade shimmering in the sunlight.

"It seems that you are at a big disadvantage now. Even with your fancy powers, I doubt that even you could make it out of there unscathed." The man from the bar said as he walked outside from behind.

Kalon took a moment to look at the man who had come outside, and by far, he was the worst looking. The bone in his nose was twisted, and his cheekbones were sharp as if they had been broken many times. His eyes had dark rings around them, and the skin around his neck had been worn down by what looked like claw marks.

He didn't know what to feel other than fear. He knew that Roah was strong, and she had mysterious powers that she had yet to tell him about, but even he felt as though she alone wouldn't be enough to deal with that many of the creatures.

"Hmph," Roah let out a noise that said she wasn't taking them seriously despite the number.

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'What was that for? Is she just being cocky, or is she actually strong enough to deal with all of them?' Kalon asked himself as he looked up at the smile on Roah's face that said she didn't have a care in the world.

"I warned you before what would happen, didn't I?" She asked with a smile before looking at the man that had served her at the bar and swinging her sword towards him.

"Huh? What's that supposed to do? You're too far away from me to do any damage-" The man said but was cut off halfway through his sentence as a red line appeared on his neck as blood dripped from within. His head slowly turned as the flesh began to tear from the bone before dropping to the floor.

Screams of terror shot out from the mouths of the other creatures as they looked at the bar keepers decapitated head as it rolled across the floor, spewing blood from the severed arteries.

"I gave you a fair warning. Now you will have to bear with the consequences of your actions. Listen up, people. I will give you fifteen seconds to get back into your houses and stay there until we leave this godforsaken place. Those of you who fail to do so will end up like him." Roah instructed the creatures before pointing back to the barkeeper with the tip of her sword.

Footsteps crashed against gravel as all of the creatures ran in fear after seeing one of their own so easily defeated. Although they had more people, they still weren't confident they could fight against Roah, and being creatures of pure instinct, they only had the option to fight or flee.

"That almost gave me a heart attack for a moment. I thought that they would all choose to fight me, and if that happened, then I'm not sure that I would be able to guarantee your safety. I'm just thankful that they saw some sense before it was too late." Roah sighed as she said out loud while looking down at Kalon, who was still in a state of shock.

"Wh- What are those things?" Kalon asked hesitantly as he wondered about the origins of the strange creatures he had just encountered. He thought that there weren't any monsters living in the human kingdom, so he found it odd that they had a village full of them.

"Those? Well, how do I put this?" Roah asked herself while struggling to think of a way she could explain it to him without causing more concern than he already felt, but as she looked down to see his questioning eyes looking up, she felt inclined to tell him the truth.

'He's a strong kid; I'm sure that he can deal with the truth.' She thought to herself before pulling him along behind her and walking toward the exit of the village.

"They're called cannibals. Have you ever heard of them before?" Roah asked. Cannibals weren't as known as monsters were given the fact that they were still humans, but she was still hopeful that he knew what she meant, but as Kalon took his time to think about it, it became clear that he didn't have a clue what that meant.

"Well, they are a group of humans that eat other humans. They are here because the King ordered that no one should be allowed to kill others based on their beliefs and life choices. He told us all to accept people for who they are and not to persecute them.

I understand that he meant good by making that a law. But it has given people like this a wall to hide behind and feel safe. The last time I came here, the locals seemed to be shy and elusive. But this time, they seemed hungrier than usual." Roah explained that there was nothing she could do against them unless they decided to attack her first while walking back to the carriage and then embarking on their journey once more as soon as the horses had rested for long enough.