Zyric stood watching the men, with Fat Insect perched on his shoulder.
"Zyric, if you keep thinking like this, you'll never make any progress. These guys are just small fry. I can handle them all by myself. Besides, the snake can take its revenge, too."
Fat Insect said from Zyric's shoulder.
Before long, Fat Insect burrowed into the ground. When it emerged, one of the men's legs was gone.
"Run! Driller Stone is here! We can't even think about taming it! Run!"
Everyone shouted and fled.
Amid the chaos, one man fell onto Driller Stone.
Driller Stone had emerged to eat him, but its attack missed. Before long, Driller Stone ended up upside down, which was its biggest problem.
Once it was upside down, it couldn't burrow underground again because its face was pointing upward instead of toward the ground.
"Hey, it's trapped! I'll tame it!"
One man shouted excitedly as he looked at Driller Stone with a smile.
He then moved his knife toward Driller Stone's chest.
Driller Stone's chest usually faced downward, leaving it unprotected. Blood began to flow from the wound.
"Now, let's see you bow down before me, Driller Stone! Those snakes were useless, but this one is much more valuable."
The man who had managed to pin Driller Stone down said happily.
But the next moment, Driller Stone suddenly disappeared in a flash of white light and shot off in one direction.
From that same direction, everyone heard the sound of someone walking toward them.
"Who is that now?"
One of the men shouted from the tree he had climbed, wondering where Driller Stone had disappeared to.
Suddenly, Zyric appeared in front of them.
"It's just a kid! Listen, kid, there's a Driller Stone wandering around here, and it can even disappear. Be careful, understand? Otherwise, you'll end up becoming its meal!"
After saying this, the man climbed the tree as well.
Both men now sat in the tree, believing they were safe from Driller Stone.
However, Driller Stone had already been injured and had lost consciousness, which was why Zyric couldn't summon it.
Zyric calmly walked toward the man who was limping because Fat Insect had eaten his leg.
"Help! Help me! Please save me, boy!"
The man shouted at Zyric.
Zyric approached him and helped him stand up. Then he began brushing the dust off the man's clothes, moving his hand toward the man's collar.
"Alright, tell me something. What exactly did you gain by killing those two poor snakes?"
Zyric asked the man.
"Those useless snakes! Tch! I came into this forest because of them, and now look what's happened. Not only did they refuse to let me tame them, but that Driller Stone also appeared out of nowhere. Stupid insect!"
Before the man could say anything else, Zyric punched him hard in the chest.
The force sent the man flying toward the weapons the men had made from the snakes' scales.
As he landed on the weapons, their sharp edges pierced his body.
He was missing a leg and couldn't even stand properly. He struggled desperately as the poison began spreading through his body.
His entire body started turning red and black. He vomited blood and began foaming at the mouth before dying right there.
The black snake moved away from Zyric's hand and looked up at the two men still sitting in the tree.
The two men quickly climbed down when they realized Driller Stone was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, you little brat! Do you even have a brain? What the hell have you done?"
One of the men shouted at Zyric.
Zyric glared at them, his anger rising.
Then Zyric turned around and looked at the man he had just killed.
Did I just kill him? I actually killed someone. But was killing him the right thing to do?
Zyric thought to himself, feeling a little scared.
It was the first time he had ever taken someone's life.
But these people wiped out this poor snake's entire family. I know very well what it's like to watch your family disappear and to have no family left. And because of people like them, many more families could be destroyed. So, by killing executioners like these, I'm simply reducing the burden on this world.
Zyric thought with a smile, clenching his fist.
But was Zyric truly prepared to face the consequences of his actions?