The gloomy sky had worn a sullen expression all day long.
The rain drizzled steadily, causing the mud on the road to burst into a soggy cry.
A boy caught in the rain sneezed—achoo!
The raindrops were cold enough that they might as well have been snow.
Each droplet that touched him stole away his body heat, but he couldn't hide from the rain.
He had something important he needed to do.
"Angel, angel. Are you listening?"
"I'm listening, good child. What are you curious about?"
Clumsy hands dug into the earth.
Hidden pebbles stabbed at his feet, and broken twigs cut his skin, but the boy didn't stop.
Eventually, a hole the size of a human head appeared in the ruined garden.
"Am I really an ominous child after all? Because I see ominous things."
"Not at all. You just have more friends than others. Do you remember the hunter from the village?"
"Of course. He's the man with the blue tattoo on his left arm."
"How clever you are. Do you also remember the falcon the hunter kept as a friend?"
"The falcon! I saw it too. It was so magnificent with its brown wings flapping and its cry going 'pyooo!'"
When the conversation turned to animals, the boy smiled brightly.
Animals were far more familiar to him than people.
Until now, only animals had treated him kindly, while the opposite was true of people.
Raindrops kept falling into his eyes.
Each time, the boy wiped his face with his arm.
"What you see are just special friends, like that falcon. Others simply can't see them, but you can be their friend. In fact, you must become their friend. They would surely be lonely without you."
"But Mother said I was ominous. Father did too."
"It's truly sad, but not everyone in the world is as kind as you. Look. See what those people have done."
His bright expression didn't last long.
When the boy looked down again, there lay a dead puppy with golden fur.
It was the puppy he had cherished and raised with care.
He had poured all his affection into this little one, as much as he himself had never received.
He had named it Leo and always shared his food when he had any.
Leo seemed to understand his care and followed the boy well. He would greet him with a hoarse "woof woof."
Today, Leo was dead.
Had he cried out in terror before dying?
Even a speechless animal must have felt fear.
Looking at the grotesquely twisted neck didn't answer his questions.
He could only guess it had been a painful death.
"Good child. Do you think your puppy did something wrong? Something deserving of this?"
"No! Absolutely not. Leo did nothing wrong at all."
He wanted to straighten the neck before burying him.
But however it had been broken, he couldn't possibly restore it to its original state.
He was afraid to touch it, fearing the head might fall off completely.
"That's right. Bad people have deceived you. The 'ghosts' you see are just friends who play somewhat rough pranks. But they never play mean tricks on you, do they?"
"I see... Thank you, angel. You're really all I have."
"The villagers and your parents have done terrible things to you, but I am always on your side."
The boy covered the hole with dirt.
Each time a clump of soil covered Leo, tears dripped from the boy's eyes.
Perhaps they weren't tears.
It was raining, after all. Maybe it was just rainwater making him think he was crying.
But the boy's eyes and heart hurt.
"Oh my, we have an uninvited guest."
The "angel" tapped the boy's shoulder gently.
Though the angel was invisible, he occasionally called to the boy like this.
When the boy turned slightly, he saw someone crawling across the muddy ground.
The boy looked at the man with sympathetic eyes.
More specifically, he was looking at what was beneath the man's body.
The stone he had brought for Leo was now dirty.
"E-Eric."
"Oh, it's Mr. Brown. What brings you all the way out here?"
"Please... please save me. Please."
Unfortunately, the man—Brown's—wish was something the boy couldn't grant, no matter how young he was.
It's easy to break a toy, but difficult to fix it again.
His body was already beyond repair.
If his legs had been intact, he wouldn't have needed to crawl, but Mr. Brown seemed unaware of the state of his body.
A person cut in half at the waist cannot survive.
Young as he was, the boy knew that much.
Besides, the angel had told him.
All the villagers were "bad people."
"Angel, I think my friends were playing with him and lost track."
"It seems so. Then you should return him to your friend like a good child, shouldn't you?"
"It's okay. They're already coming."
The boy smiled brightly.
"You can take him back now."
"Aaagh, no! Please, please save me. Aaaaaaagh!"
"How admirable of you."
Mr. Brown returned the way he had come.
He had crawled slowly on his way here, but his return was instantaneous.
Long finger marks remained where he had been dragged away roughly.
People have ten fingers. But there were eleven marks.
Why was there one extra? Oh, it must be because of the head.
The boy covered the hole with the last of the dirt.
He made sure the soil blanket was thick enough to keep Leo warm, and piled stones on top so he wouldn't lose track of the spot later.
Kneeling, the boy put his hands together in prayer.
"God, please let our Leo feel no pain in his next life. I would be so happy if he could be reborn and become my friend again."
"God will surely answer your prayer."
"I'm so fortunate to have you, angel."
"Achoo!"
"You seem to have caught too much rain. Wouldn't it be better to go home and rest?"
"Mmm, that would be good. I'll do as you say, angel."
"That's right. Nothing bad has ever happened when you did as I told you. A child who listens well is a good child. I cherish you very much, good child."
"Yes. I'll be a good child."
The boy walked away, shaking off the rain.
The village was usually quiet, but today was different.
Black silhouettes rippled throughout the village.
The usually quiet villagers were unusually noisy.
It was because the boy's "friends" were playing happily.
An arm lay on the ground. An arm with a blue tattoo.
The screams of villagers could be heard.
The boy paid no attention. These people were no longer his concern.
"Kyahahahaha!"
"Give me that too! Give me that too!"
"This one's crying? This one's laughing? This one's crying?"
"It must be fun! I'm having fun! Are you having fun too?"
An unidentifiable person was dancing around in the air.
They were too far away to see their face clearly.
The boy's friends played with people like a ball game, stealing them from each other, sometimes passing them around for fun.
Sometimes fights broke out.
Crack! Something tore in the sky.
Blood rained down on Eric's head, and then he saw a familiar face.
"Blood splashed on Eric!"
"She did it! I didn't do it!"
"I did it! She didn't do it!"
It was the boy's father.
His father was always drunk, saying he had given birth to a cursed child.
Whenever he smelled of alcohol, he would beat the boy. The angel said his father was a bad person.
Seeing his father's face, the boy's eyes became dull and unfocused.
"Itoldyounottotalkwiththosedamnedthingsimsorryimsorrydonthitmeimsorryyouneedtobepunishedifyoudidwrongyouredrunkagainwhyareyoulikethisitsbecauseyougavebirthtoathiscursedchildweshouldhavekilledhimthensoitsmyfaultthenwedecidedtoraiseittogether..."
"Child? It's cold outside. You should go in now."
"Oh, I'm sorry! I must have been distracted. I'll go in now."
"Yes. You need to rest well, as we must leave this place tomorrow."
The angel quietly added:
"I will take care of everything else."
* * *
[Northern Mountain Range Garrison Report]
# Classification: Important
# Discoverer: Ranger "Zimmer" of Outpost 3-2
# Discovery Circumstances: Found during reconnaissance mission
...
# Report Content
- Near the Northern Mountain Range, a village of about 30 households was annihilated
- Based on bloodstains at the scene, all village members are presumed dead
- Given the absence of remains and destruction patterns inconsistent with human capability, this is likely the work of magical beasts
- Red feathers were found throughout the village
...
# Special Notes
- All buildings in the village were destroyed except for one house that remained perfectly intact
- Given the house's location in a secluded area, it may have been spared because no one was inside
- There is a possibility of one survivor, so additional searches were conducted
- Based on footprint size and depth, the survivor is presumed to be a boy
- One ranger platoon searched the vicinity but could not track further; tentatively concluded the survivor likely died from another magical beast attack
# Conclusion
- Confirmed that the high-risk magical beast "Red Feather" has begun attacking nearby villages
- Request to elevate the risk classification of "Red Feather"
- Request for extermination order against "Red Feather"