Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Chapter 45

Lysander fought like a demon possessed, but the harpoons held fast. The brutal reality was that the rot in his body had only been cleared hours ago; his strength was barely a fraction of what it used to be. Taking on six towering Gorilla Beastmen in this condition was pure madness. Still, he managed to snap his jaws around the chest of a third gorilla, crushing armor and flesh like dry twigs before tossing the body aside.

"Pull him down!" the Chief roared from behind the crowd. "Bring the monster down!"

Three more gorillas lunged to grab the iron chains, digging their feet into the dirt. Lysander let out an earth-shattering roar as the barbs tore deeper into his scales. He strained against the iron, his muscles shivering, until the brute weight of five massive beastmen finally slammed his body into the mud.

Seeing him pinned and bleeding, Falcon and Hawk exchanged a grin. "Now is our chance to bring Ingrid out." Falcon said, his eyes flashing with delight. Finally, this monster had been brought down! It’s only a matter of time before Ingrid pays for what she did!

The both of them darted past Lysander’s thrashing body and kicked their way into the house. However, the first thing they saw was the huge cart parked at the corner of the room. It was filled with rice and a few other things. Enough for them to eat within the next one week.

Hawk’s eyes practically drooled with greed. "Look at all this... Where on earth did she get..."

"Dad, focus!" Falcon barked, dragging him forward. "We have to find Ingrid first! Once she’s out of the picture, all of this is ours anyway. We can take it as compensation for what she did to my arm! But right now, we have to find her. We can’t let her escape."

"Right. You’re right," Hawk spat, pulling out a short blade. "Check in the room, she has to be in there, hiding." Hawk motioned towards the closed door.

Falcon smirked, his eyes glowing with anticipation, "Ingrid... Can you hear the screams of that bastard you’re following everywhere? It’s only a matter of time before the Village Chief kills him. I know you’re sad and all, but don’t worry. It’s only a matter of time before you join him." Falcon opened the door slowly, "I’ll give you a quick death and it’ll be..."

Falcon trailed off, his eyes fixed on the bed. He was fully expecting Ingrid to be on the bed, cowering out of fear or even crying, but there was no one there.

"Where the fuck is she?!" Falcon growled, his eyes darting across the room, but it felt like there had been no one in the room in the first place. Apart from the cart outside, nothing else was here.

"Dad, do you think that bastard lied to us? Maybe Ingrid was never here in the first place!" Falcon slammed his hands on one of the small tables, making the glass vase that was on it fall and break into pieces.

But Hawk noticed something. On the floor beside the bed was a small pool of dark blood, and a basin filled with water that was also stained with blood. He walked towards the bed and touched it. It was still warm.

"I think she just left. She was here a few minutes ago." Hawk said to his son who nodded, "Maybe she’s injured. When Lysander came out now, I didn’t smell any blood on him which means it has to be Ingrid. If we look around, we might still be able to find her."

Falcon scoffed, "If she’s really injured, it wouldn’t be hard to take her down."

Hawk stepped further in, kicking a stool out of his way. "Look under the bed! Behind the trunks! She couldn’t have..."

Neither of them saw the shadow standing behind them. A huge stone the size of a 5 litre bucket smashed directly onto the crown of Hawk’s head.

He didn’t even make a sound, his eyes were wide with shock and his knees gave out. He crumpled onto the floor like a sack of rocks, blood spurting from his skull.

Falcon spun around, wide-eyed. "D... Dad?!"

Standing right behind Hawk was Ingrid. She held the heavy, blood-stained rock with both hands, trembling so violently she could barely keep her balance.

Ingrid’s face was dead white. A thick streak of dark blood trickled from her nose, and more was bubbling at the corner of her lips. She was gasping for air in shallow, painful hitches, her insides torn apart by the strain of the backlash from the pill. She should have been resting and then the backlash might have been easier to deal with. But she couldn’t just wait like a goat that was about to be slaughtered.

But Falcon didn’t notice how weak she was. The only thing he could see now was his father, lying still and unmoving in a pool of red; his own blood. Falcon froze for what seemed to be eternity but was merely a few seconds. Then he took one step towards the still man on the floor.

Then another. And another. Until he reached Hawk, he kept on taking one slow step. "Dad?" Falcon whispered, dropping to his knees. He shook the man, but he didn’t move. His body was cold and stiff to the touch, his eyes still widened in shock. He didn’t even know how he died.

Falcon pressed a trembling finger under Hawk’s nose. Nothing. There was no breath, no pulse.

Hawk was dead.

Falcon stumbled backwards, his eyes filled with horror. His body was shaking, his fists clenched. His clothes were stained with his father’s blood.

"H... how could he... how could he just die like that?" Falcon had always looked up to his father. In his eyes, his father was the most amazing Beastman alive. Seeing him like this seemed to have broken something inside Falcon.

As if remembering that Ingrid was there, he raised his head up, his bloodshot eyes zeroing on Ingrid.

"It’s you... you killed him." Tears cascaded down his cheeks like waterfalls, "You killed my father! I’ll kill you! I’ll fucking kill you!"