6. An Approaching Threat

"You said what?" he asked.

Without saying too much, he placed something wrapped in a cloth on the table and quickly unwrapped it before his brother.

Kurai widened his eyes as he saw a sword stained with what was presumably his brother's blood.

"His body lies outside," Mazui said to him, and he sprinted out of the room to see for himself.

He went outside and saw the body of his younger brother lying stiff on a large sheet. Maga's lower jaw was broken, and a piercing hole could be seen going up through his upper jaw and cutting through his head.

"One of our main packs found his body during the start of their nightly hunt. The sword was lodged into his jaw, and from the pattern of the injuries, he was attacked by something very strong," Mazui explained to him.

"Who did this?" asked Kurai, his tone filled with imminent anger.

"We don't know for sure," replied Mazui. "But what we do know is that the sword used to kill him had the mark of the elves on it."

"The elves?" asked Kurai. "The elves did this?"

"It is possible," Mazui replied. "But I can't imagine how. Elves are far weaker beings than Jinro, and even someone as inexperienced as Maga could not be easily defeated by an elf like that. If it were an elf, Maga wouldn't have sustained a blow strong enough to break his jaw or been stabbed with enough force to impale his brain. I believe this was done by someone among them possessing greater strength."

In his current state, Kurai did not like hearing the complicated details but wanted to take action without overthinking it.

"Send a pack to the elven territory," Kurai ordered.

"For what reason?" asked Mazui.

"To teach those elves some respect," Kurai replied. "Or have you forgotten? They have violated the terms of our agreement, and as we agreed, they will pay."

"But what if my theory is correct?" asked Mazui. "What if they truly have a much stronger being living among them, who attacked and killed Maga?"

"If you're worried that one of our best packs would be defeated by the elves, then you can join them as well," replied Kurai. But upon giving this order, he noticed a hint of hesitation in Mazui.

Kurai arched an eyebrow. "Oh, you're not afraid, are you?" he asked.

"Not in the slightest," Mazui replied.

"Good. I don't think I have much use for those elves anymore," Kurai said before giving his instruction:

"Kill them all, and make sure it hurts."

With that instruction, Mazui turned and left, while Kurai stared back at the bloodstained sword lying on the table with seething anger.

********

It was nightfall, and Aya was on her way back from the market. Contrary to what her sister would come to believe, it hadn't taken long for her to buy their food. The money they had received from selling the whelp egg was more than enough to sustain them in the near future, and she was grateful for it.

With an ecstatic smile on her face, she walked down the streets, heading for their home. She wanted to follow the normal route, but in order to avoid encountering a certain someone, she took another road.

However, when she was halfway there, she was blocked by the same person she had been trying to stay away from - Hiroshi.

The obese man stood in front of her with his hands crossed, and Aya rolled her eyes, as he was the last person she wanted to see. She thought that taking a tight and uncommon route would have prevented this from happening, but she was gravely mistaken.

"Have the streets become too rowdy for you now, Aya?" he asked with an ugly grin, even though he knew the reason why she took this route.

"My sister is at home," Aya said to him, not in the mood for meaningless small talk.

"Don't mock me, child," he said to her, and she sighed cautiously. Then he asked, "Speaking of Asuka; who is that stranger she took in?"

"Haven't you seen him already?" asked Aya. He gave no response, so she asked, "What about him?"

"Does your sister plan on keeping him around?" he asked.

Aya arched a brow. "Yes, for the meantime. He was hurt, remember?" she said. "Besides, even if she decides to keep him around permanently, what is that to you?"

Hiroshi scowled at her, slightly revealing a hint of clenched teeth. Aya remained unfazed, yet amazed by his sudden reaction to her statement. She knew Hiroshi was romantically obsessed with her sister, but she hadn't imagined his jealousy would reach such heights.

He did not say a word in response, and after several seconds of awkward silence, Aya started feeling uncomfortable.

"Look, my sister and our guest are waiting for me," she said to Hiroshi. "I'm leaving now."

She wanted to walk past him, but he blocked her with his hand, slamming it against the wall before her. The sudden clash of his fist with the wall made her gasp. He had tremendous strength, and it was terrifying.

Looking behind her, she began regretting taking this thin and lonely path back home. Hiroshi took a step closer to her, and her heart raced so fast that she swore she would scream out loud if he touched her.

But right before he could take the next step, a familiar voice came from behind her.

"Is there a problem here?" asked Asuka. Her voice calmed Aya, who took several steps back to stand behind her big sister after the large elf had left her alone.

"Are you alright?" she asked Aya. The girl nodded in response before Asuka looked up at Hiroshi, who was still standing there. The hit to the wall had left an imprint of his hand on it.

"What do you want?" she asked him.

"Who is that person you brought in?" he asked.

"That is none of your business. I have the approval of the Chief, so I don't owe you an explanation," replied Asuka.

Hiroshi's frown deepened. "You don't want to be my enemy, Asuka," he told her.

Asuka frowned back. "Who said anything about becoming enemies with you?" she asked before turning back to her sister.

"Let's go, Aya," she said to her before they left. "He's pathetic."

As they left, Hiroshi stood where he was, breathing heavily with angry spite written all over his face.

*********

Aya and Asuka returned home with food in their sacks only to find Daisuke lying on the floor, covered in sweat.

Asuka raised an eyebrow, wondering if this wasn't the same person she had left behind a few minutes ago.

Aya, however, frowned at Daisuke before staring at the bed and noticing it was scattered and unkempt. Having a unique take on the situation, she glared at her older sister.

"Did you do something weird to him?" she asked.

"What?" Asuka replied, clearly understanding what she meant. "Why would you even think that of me?"

"Because I know you," Aya replied with a sigh.

"Really?" Asuka replied, reacting angrily. Aya's reply then started a pointless argument between them, and while they argued, the system spoke to Daisuke.

"Congratulations, player," it said. "Here are your rewards. You have unlocked your first healing attribute. With this attribute, your injuries will heal by 50% of each damage you inflict. If you have no injuries, it will be compensated by the restoration of strength. This will make your fights more effective and favorable. You have also unlocked your first weapon, the Bagnak. This weapon is designed to inflict great damage to your opponents, ensuring you get the maximum possible health benefit from every damage you inflict."

The weapon was designed for the fist, with sharp claws protruding close to the knuckles when worn by the assassin. It also had a protruding blade from the side which helped the weapon serve as a dagger when activated by the thumb.

Daisuke smiled, admiring the weapon - although it was just a holographic model floating before him and not the real thing. He had never seen such a weapon before and was excited to try it out. As if reading his mind, the system went on to explain further.

"It was a popular weapon among the Nihang Sikhs of the Indian subcontinent. They wore it in their turbans and would often hold one in their left hand while wielding a larger weapon such as a sword in the right hand. Women in those days used it for self-defense whenever they went out to dangerous areas at night and during times of war."

Daisuke raised an eyebrow. While he wanted to know about the weapon, the last thing he wanted was a full speech about it. He just wanted to experience it and was not interested in knowing its trivia. Daisuke's eyes were so glued to the hologram before him that he forgot the sisters standing behind, wondering what he was so fascinated by.

"What are you looking at?" asked Asuka, but got no response. Then she yelled out his name, startling him suddenly.

He quickly turned to her and noticed she was quite upset. His face was directed towards them, and from his low perspective, he looked like a peeping Tom wanting to see underneath her long shirt. This is what the sisters had made out of the situation, but Daisuke was oblivious to that.

"Sorry, I was just looking at this," he said, pointing at where the hologram was. It was right there between the three of them, but both sisters frowned as all they could see was the bare floor.

Aya sighed.

"I told you he would be a weirdo," she said to Asuka.

It was then that Daisuke noticed he was the only one who could see the hologram. The system's features were subjective to his perception alone, while to others, it was nonexistent.

"Never mind," replied Daisuke, feeling a bit embarrassed as he got to his feet.

"You weren't trying to peep underneath her, were you?" asked Aya with a frown.

"What are you talking about?" asked Daisuke, still oblivious to the current situation.

Asuka laughed, placing a hand on Aya's shoulder. She found Daisuke interesting, as Aya could tell.

"So, what took your sister so long?" Daisuke asked.

Asuka's mood swung the moment she remembered Hiroshi. So Aya spoke up instead.

"Basically, an idiot who can't take a hint," she told him. "He's been so infatuated with my sister for some reason."

Daisuke did not know who the person was but found it ridiculous that Aya would not know why any male would be obsessed with Asuka. A long intentional look at Asuka would be more than enough to make any man bleed from the nose.

She was gorgeous.

"Is there something on my face?" Asuka asked him. Then he realized he had been staring for a while now, not knowing that dinner had been served already. She and Aya were seated with a space in between, and she gestured for him to sit between them.

Reluctantly, he did so, and by custom, both sisters held hands, gesturing for Daisuke to join in. Also reluctantly, he did so, and they gave thanks before eating. At first sight, the food looked disgusting—a green, jelly-like blob on a plate.

Noticing Daisuke's difficulty, Asuka took a spoonful of his food and, to his shock, fed it to him. She stuffed the spoon into his mouth right when his lips parted upon seeing her from a close perspective. He hated the way she made him act, but at least, thanks to that, he got to know how delicious the food was.

**********

Meanwhile, at the gate of the village, Hiroshi and his superior, Kazuya, along with a few others, stood watch, looking out for anything unusual, as they did every night. They also carefully scrutinized those who entered and left the area, and it was almost time to lock the gates.

It was almost midnight, and most of the homes in the village had gone to sleep. Another set of guards had taken over for the second watch, which would last for another three hours. During the second watch, the gates would have been shut, and nobody would be allowed to go out anymore.

Hiroshi stayed for the second watch as well, even though he was very tired. Thanks to his encounter with Asuka earlier that day, he could not take his daily siesta like he used to. He was deeply infatuated with her and couldn't help himself from sleeping when he ought to. Now it was affecting him, as he was not as alert as he was meant to be.

Due to his tired state, he could not perceive the impending danger approaching the village. Far in the distant horizon were unusual lights approaching the village at great speed. They were dual and appeared as a group.

Those weren't just lights; they were the eyes of approaching enemies, the ones whom they dreaded the most, especially at a time like this.

The Jinro.