Ten

When the monster successfully trapped the slayer with his long hair filled with bugs that tore his skin apart and sucked his blood, it dug its nails into his chest, aiming for his heart. The slayer knew there was no need for him to fight for his life, because even if the monster wasn't trying to kill him, he would die of hunger and thirst in that dark cave. When he closed his eyes, waiting to hear the rapture of his own chest as his heart was pulled out, a banging sound arose before them. He turned his head to look at whatever has done that, deep in his heart thinking that maybe it was another of those types of monsters that was rushing in his direction so that they would share his heart, but something else caught his eyes.

From where the banging sound had come, a small crack big enough for a person of his size to pass through had made its way. Behind it, there was a bright greenish light, which in his blurry sight he made an old woman out of it, who was calling out for him. The woman smiled, and he smiled back at her.  He had seen her somewhere, possibly not in this life but in the previous one. "Grandma," he called, causing the monster to forget what it was doing and look at the person its prey was busy calling out to. A gushing wind rose causing them to gasp in shock. The wind whirled around them, causing both of them to be lifted like peacock feathers, and all that while, the slayer had a bright smile on his face unlike the monster who was petrified.

Slowly, they were both carried towards the light entrance and the slayer was pushed in through the crack while the monster was dropped somewhere behind the crack, and it went dark all over again as heavy silence reigned over him. "Was I dreaming?" He asked himself, looking at the light that had just saved him. The howling wind was no more, and he couldn't feel the stinking monster near him anymore. One thing was for sure: the light was there, the whirling wind was there, and his grandma was also there. But where have they all gone? Perhaps she was there to save him, and because she had he wouldn't dilly-dally anymore, but he would now start looking for a way out of there.

It has been four hours since the slayer was carried to the other side of the cave by the whirling wind. He stared at his hands, even though he couldn't see them in that thick darkness, and tried to summon the light, but he again failed. He walked around, hia now-bare feet stepping onto sharp stones that dug deep into his flesh, causing him to lose a lot of blood, but he didn't stop. Hunger didn't stop haunting him as well and his dry throat ached. If only the cave had a little bit of light, he was sure he would have found some forest trees and maybe a stream where he would have taken a shower and drunk some water to fill himself up, but those were to only exist in his imagination.

He recalled a time he had gone hungry and thirsty for so many days; those were days when the monsters at the mountain hunted him, and they wouldn't even let him go out to pluck some fruits or drink water even for a second, but he had something else that accompanied him, something that helped him forget his hunger and thirst, but that was the thing he couldn't find in there either, and those were the moon and the stars. The stars always blinked down at him, as if assuring him that everything will be okay, and the moon... The moon always smiled, and even in hard times, he wouldn't hesitate to raise his weak hands and wave at it while blowing some kisses to it, asking for blessings and security.

That day, those two best friends of his had abandoned him as well, and he had to accept the grumbling stomach and the burning throat as his only allies. At least for a moment, they helped him forget about the lurking monsters that were following him secretly. They didn't let him get scared by them even for a minute, or else he would have died of fright long ago. How things change: The monster slayer, who was never scared of anything back at Majorii Mountain, is now weak and couldn't even step on a frog and press it to death because of how weak he had turned out to be. "Everything is a vanity," he recalled.

"Wphew!"

He exhaled such a deep breath and decided to lie on the stony ground for a while. Maybe what he needed was some sleep, which he hadn't gotten for months now. When he laid on that place, he didn't expect it to break apart and send him stumbling below, hitting him head and bruising his skin with overlying stones. A few seconds later, he fell on something wet, and he could feel it dragging him underneath, but he didn't have any energy left to open his eyes and see where gravity had taken him. He blinked rapidly, and with blood oozing out of his head because his skull had broken into halves, he closed his eyes as darkness overtook him.

A group of men and women, numbering about a thousand, who had sat around the pool with wooden vessles in their hands which they used to drink the beer they had made, all jumped in fright when they heard something falling. With shaking legs, they all pulled their swords and walked closer to the bleeding lad floating on the waters. One man, who looked like a leader, walked closer to him and poked him to see if he was awake. When the young lad never fled, he quickly took off his only clothes and jumped in there to save him.

"His pulse is weak; call the healer," he instructed the ladies who were standing beside the pool, staring at the him. Another man, who gasped after he set his eyes on the slayer, quickly grabbed him from the man's hands and laid him beside a fire. Some men in their mid-twenties just like him, helped him change into clean clothing until they spotted the nail marks on his chest, which were still bleeding. Maybe it was due to hunger, or maybe it was because the slayer had given up, and that was why he hadn't realized that the monster had dug deeper into his heart and that it was injured as well. The pain he felt on his chest wasn't because his lungs hurt from the dry air but because of the wound.

After they were done treating him, they dressed his wound and put on something dry and clean on his body. The women busied themselves with making something light that he would take once he wakes up. They didn't know when he would, but the healer said that the day wouldn't be the same day they treated him, so they were counting down a week. All that while, they took turns wiping his body, treated his wounds, and made sure that se got enough warmth in his unconscious state. They were all eagerly waiting for him because they were now sure that the savior they had been waiting for years had finally arrived. Those men and women could now be seen smiling, cracking jokes, and even dancing sometimes to kill their boredom. They had stayed in that cave after they were aggressively thrown into it years ago by their enemy, and their queen had told them something that always raised their hopes. 

"In a fateful day, when you all will lose your hope, a young lad shall arrive deeply injured, but do not abandon him." Take care of him because he will be your redeemer, your only source of hope, and the light you have been craving. He has powers much greater than mine and all of us combined, and he shall take you out of here, help you rebuild your army, and together you'll fight our enemies and get our kingdom back. "He is a monster slayer, but do not fear him because in this world, he is meant to be a saint," they were once told.

"He is the savior queen Sedzah prophesied," the healer was the first to recall, causing the others to smile brightly.

"Yes, he is our savior.  Late queen Sedzah said he is the Alpha of a powerful Kingdom, but he will leave it behind for our sake and come and help us," another person smiled until his cheeks ached.

"Yes, he is. Late Queen Sedzah also said he is young—the age of our sons. He will be badly wounded, with claw marks on his chest, broken bones, peeled skin, and darkened veins. "Martin, did you spot all those when bathing him?" Another man asked the man who had bathed him and helped him into a clean wear.

"Yes, I did," and with those words, that man Martin raised hopes in the hearts of those who had already given up and thought that they would have to live in the underground cave forever. They had lost many of their people, but not any since their savior had arrived. They took turns taking care of him. The men were making sure that there will be enough food for him when he wakes up, and the women were making sure he takes a warm bath every day and that he never gets uncomfortable because there are only three days left and then their savior will wake up.

"You all shall bow down to your savior, because he is to be respected and beyond that he is a saint," the healer reminded them of the words their queen had told them before she went away looking for a way that would take them out of there only to be killed by monsters. As if they had forgotten something important, they dropped the swords and arrows they were holding, bowed their heads, and all said, "Long live our savior!"

The slayer, who had already woken up and was looking at them because he couldn't understand what they were saying, cleared his throat and asked, "Where am I?" They all looked in his direction, smiled, and walked closer to him with heads still bowed, and they again said.

"Long live our savior, for freedom has come!"