Chapter 19: Baby Thief
A thunderous sound traveled across the entire forest as the ground shuddered. Debris flew into the air, and everything was instantly shrouded in a fog of dust.
In the midst of the mayhem, Kage had escaped from the bird’s vicinity. He moved swiftly through the haze, weaving between the Impures around him.
His sword found purchase in rapid succession. Kage’s movement was razor-sharp, conserving his breath and flowing almost like a dance.
He slipped in and out of their formation, and they were already crumbling to the ground.
Then came a terrible, ear-splitting screech—like the sky had been ripped open by hate itself.
Kage winced in that moment and clenched his teeth. His reflexes nearly drove him to cover his ears, but he caught himself just as he almost released his sword.
The sword needed to remain in his hands at all costs—otherwise he would be discovered.
Thus, he was defenseless against the sonic assault, not that his hands blocking his ears would have accomplished much.
Kage grimaced as blood trickled down his nose and ears. He wiped the blood from his nose with the back of his hand and stared at it irritably.
"My body is cracking... but I’ll drag it through hell before I drop this sword."
[The Wolf of the North is amazed you even lasted this far]
[The Heretic Inquisitor of Eternal Truth says your body is breaking. He says you will die, but he thanks you for the show you have put on for them.]
Kage chuckled dismissively.
’Death... is far from me.’
The Vulture’s sonic attack wasn’t just a sonic attack—it was a cry of indignation. Intense and seething anger. Kage was certain the Wretch had been enraged.
Kage focused his gaze as the bird seized a vicious hold of the Murkstinger’s leader with its talons. The razor-sharp curved claws tore through its translucent wings and clenched around its thorax. Then it simply crushed down, sending bluish putrid liquid spraying in all directions.
Kage’s face paled as he witnessed the creature’s ruthlessness. But his attention remained focused, searching for something around it.
Then Kage found it.
His eyes caught something near the collapsed ground. The explosion had revealed a covering of what looked like piled and arranged wood.
Even the wood had been affected by the explosion, and beneath it Kage could see a little bird head poking out.
The moment he spotted it, a wry smile spread across his lips.
’I was right!’
Kage had struck the ground for a single reason: because the Vulture was unnaturally attached to one spot.
He’d deduced that the Wretch Impure was either severely wounded and unable to move, or there was something nearby it was protecting.
Apparently, it was the latter. The damned bird had a baby to protect.
Kage stared in stunned silence for a moment.
’A baby? I don’t remember anything about a baby in my past life... and it has existed for so long that it’s the last surviving of its kind—how does it even have a baby?’
Kage was troubled, but at the same time elated. It seemed the Heavens were on his side after all.
[The Weaver of Sorrows shakes her head and says: Trust me, child, they are not]
Kage raised a brow sharply at the random statement. That was probably the most normal the Weaver of Sorrows had ever spoken. But at the same time, it was utterly random, and Kage didn’t have time to delve into that.
He locked his eyes on the youngling and shot forward.
[The Wolf of the North frowns at you, tells you to leave the little Impure out of this]
’There’s nothing little about an Impure... an Impure is an Impure.’
The Vulture had turned to furiously tear apart another enemy. Meanwhile, Kage beneath it rolled underground and crashed into the nest. He quickly snatched up the bird—it was as large as a wine jar. He clutched it to his chest and hastily climbed out of the ground.
Three more Barrowspikes and two Rootgnarls lunged at the Vulture. But it thrust its beak forward, piercing the Rootgnarl’s eyes out.
Its talons struck simultaneously as it crashed down on one Barrowspike’s head. The Vulture moved with lightning speed, swinging its beak with devastating force and smashing down on another Barrowspike while its talons found purchase on the other Rootgnarl.
With a vicious twist, there came a harsh, tearing sound. The bird peeled off the tree’s bark. For a Rootgnarl, that bark was everything—enough to make it fall back and reel in agony.
In that instant, the Vulture sensed the absence of its youngling and let out a screech—less harmful than the previous ones, but still powerful enough to send the Impures lunging toward it flying backward.
It made a sharp turn and pursued Kage, who was fleeing from the chaos.
The Vulture ruthlessly pursued, but Kage ran farther and farther away until he couldn’t anymore.
Kage slowly turned around, panting hard as he waited for the abominable bird, clutching its little one in his hand.
The Vulture finally tore through the vines that Kage had earlier ducked beneath and emerged into a swampy area much closer to the forest entrance from the plains.
The Vulture was beaten and battered from fighting off the crowd of Impures. Still, there was a certain ruthlessness blazing in its eyes.
Kage could relate to it. He was holding the bird’s only family member after all.
’What a strange word to use for an Impure. These things don’t have families... they don’t have babies...’
And yet he was holding one, and a Wretch was staring daggers into his soul, dripping with bloodlust.
Kage looked at the little Impure in his arms—the creature looked... young, alive, confused. The feathers on its head were sparse and just growing, its eyes were large and far from dangerous, unlike the much larger one glaring at him.
[The Heretic Inquisitor of Eternal Truth chuckles in admiration]
Kage looked back at the Vulture.
Then shrugged.
"See... I really hate to do this, but you’re stronger than me. I’ve never fought you before, and I know so little about you. I want you to go crazy—I love crazy—so I’m going to make you watch your baby die, okay?"
The Vulture glared at him.
Kage turned away from the Vulture and smiled grimly.
[The Wolf of the North shakes his head, tells you not to do it]
Kage clicked his tongue in irritation and turned back. He dropped his sword and looked at the abominable bird.
He snapped the neck of the little Impure and dropped it on the ground. Then he lifted his head while picking up his sword. He straightened his back and continued to stare with a small, delighted smile on his face.
There was silence, the Vulture froze in pale shock, meanwhile Kage looked at the dead Impure and at the Vulture’s face.
"Oops. I think I killed your kid."