I Became a Druid in Another World

It happened in an instant.

"Gah…!"

At the same moment, a sharp pain shot through his abdomen and hot crimson blood spurted from his mouth. Louis looked down at his pierced stomach with a face filled with disbelief. He looked so stunned that he almost seemed foolish.

"Ugh…"

He moved his hand to the wound where the blood was gushing, but he was neither a wizard nor a healer. Even if he put his hands there, hands that only knew how to grip and swing a sword, there was no stopping the blood from gushing out of the already torn wound.

– Thud!

With such a massive loss of blood, it was only natural that his legs would give out. Louis knew it was a disgrace to kneel before his enemy, but his body no longer moved according to his will.

"Ugh… huff… D-Daw… ugh…"

Louis looked up at the man before him—the successor to Corin and his own older brother—and tried to call out his name. But the blood rising up his throat choked off his voice. The hot blood trickling down his chin spoke for him instead.

"Louis."

"..."

"It's a shame that things had to come to this."

– Thud!

Dawood's kick slammed into Louis's shoulder. The force sent Louis, who had barely been kneeling, tumbling backward with a heavy thud. Not stopping there, Dawood stomped directly on Louis's head. Louis could smell the scent of damp earth from Sequoia Forest rising from the sole of Dawood's boot.

"With any great cause comes great sacrifice."

"….…"

"A fool like you could never understand that."

Dawood muttered as he pressed his foot down on Louis's head. Like a stubborn weed that had crept into Corin along with his father's new woman, Louis had somehow survived every attempt on his life. When he finally left for the capital, Dawood thought his troubles were over, but here he was again, trying to ruin everything. Dawood raised his foot again, intending to crush Louis's skull completely, but Fabio who stood nearby raised a hand to stop him.

"Sir Dawood."

"..."

"We have no time to waste."

"But…"

Dawood seemed about to argue, but Fabio shook his head. Then, with a flick of his hand in the air, a purple magic circle on the back of Fabio's hand began to glow. At the same time, Louis felt the torn skin of his abdomen forcibly pulling together. As the searing pain made him scream, blood burst from his throat, clearing his airway.

"Sir Louis."

Fabio had called out to Louis in an exceedingly polite voice. Though Louis didn't want to look at him, an unseen force gripped his chin and lifted his head, leaving him with no choice but to meet Fabio's gaze. The eyes that had always been hidden beneath Fabio's hat now gleamed with a chilling light. Staring into that light, Louis struggled to catch his breath.

"I expect you to answer my questions truthfully from this point on."

"..."

"Only then can you hope for a peaceful death."

Fabio whispered as he looked down at Louis with his eyeless gaze. Above Fabio's head, a flock of crows circled in the empty sky.

– Caw, caw, caw…

Their cries echoed ominously.

"I don't believe you came here alone."

"..."

"If you tell me the name of your companion, I'll ease this dreadful pain for you."

Fabio's words sounded sincere. In fact, the excruciating pain that had felt as if his body were being torn apart was beginning to dull.

But Louis knew the truth.

The offer to ease his pain was not a promise of mercy.

Fabio was undoubtedly after the druid's name. Theodore—that was the name. It was clear now that their goal was to discover the druid's identity and eliminate him, to stop him from disrupting their plans any further.

"His… name is…"

Louis felt his vision begin to blur. He wasn't sure if it was the man's magic or his own tears. With a voice that was fading, choked with blood, he murmured,

"…Go…to… hell."

Fabio, who had been listening closely, scowled and then waved his hand irritably. In response, the magic circle on the back of his hand glowed once more, and the skin on Louis's abdomen which had barely held together began to tear open again. Blood that had been held back surged out violently, and the pain returned and overwhelmed him.

– Caw, caw, caw…

Fear, too.

"Sir Dawood, let's leave now. We shouldn't delay any longer."

"But…"

"Don't worry. The crows will take care of the rest."

"..."

Dawood kept looking back at Louis who was sprawled on the ground, as if he was uneasy about leaving him alive. But Fabio turned without hesitation and urged him to hurry. The two horses raced away from the spot and into the sequoia forest as the circling crows above began to increase one by one. Soon there were so many crows that they seemed to fill the sky.

– Caw, caw, caw…!

With that final sight, Louis closed his eyes.

***

– Neigh!!!

"Whoa, whoa."

The horse Lloyd was leading suddenly reared up on its hind legs before coming to an abrupt stop. The animal stood firmly in place and pawing at the ground which was quite rare. Lloyd had trained it so well that it rarely got spooked under any circumstances.

"What's the matter?"

"I'm not sure. I don't know why it's so agitated…"

I stepped down from the carriage and approached Lloyd's horse. I reached out carefully and patted his muzzle. It blinked and seemed to calm down a bit, but still refused to move forward.

…It's uneasy.

What I sensed from the animal was a mix of anxiety and fear, with a hint of sadness. I continued to stroke the horse, which was shifting in place, and after a while, I spoke to Lloyd.

"We'd better let it rest for a moment."

"…I see."

"Judging by how anxious it is, there may be something up ahead. I'll go check and return shortly. Please wait here."

"All right."

I let out a long whistle, and as the clear sound carried on the wind, Ayla soon emerged from the bushes. She was covered in grass as if she had been running excitedly through the foliage. Argos who had been running beside her looked contrastingly clean; well, perhaps it was because he was a "ghost".

"Well then, Argos, you'll need to come along too."

The two animals…no, one shadow wolf and one ghost dog jumped happily.

"Master, what about me?"

"You stay here."

Even if there was something ahead, it made sense that Storm who was such a rugged fearless horse hadn't reacted. So it was better for Ayla and me to go first.

"Let's go, Ayla."

I led Ayla forward and scanned our surroundings. She was already familiar with the area near the hidden passage and found the path without hesitation. We pushed through the bushes and at some point, Ayla stood tall and pricked her ears.

"....!"

Her pupils narrowed and her whiskers bristled. It seemed she had picked up a "scent". I crouched down beside her and moved cautiously as I scanned the area around us for any signs. Then,

– Rustle…

As we parted the particularly thick foliage, a startling sight emerged.

"….…."

A fallen horse lay on the ground with a massive pool of blood soaking the earth around it. A crow was perched on its severed neck while picking at the flesh. I watched quietly. There was no scream, no nausea.

That's… Louis's horse.

Yes. The brown coat with a white mane and the saddle adorned with bullhorn decorations; it was unmistakably Louis's horse. There was no need to get closer to confirm. Now I understood why Lloyd's horse had reacted so strongly.

"Shh."

I held back Ayla, who looked ready to pounce and tear into the crow, and carefully muffled my footsteps as we retreated from the scene. It was a tragic sight, but cleanup would have to wait. The condition of Louis's horse made it likely that something had happened to Louis as well.

Right now, I needed to find him.

I tore off the bottom edge of the cloth I carried, soaked it in the blood pooling on the ground, and handed it to Ayla.

"Ayla, take this and go back to the carriage."

When Lloyd saw Ayla return with the cloth, he would know something had happened, and he would conceal his presence and head this way.

"Argos, you come with me. Let me know if you sense anything."

Argos was a ghost dog. That meant he could detect the scent of death. As if understanding my words, he sniffed the ground and began to walk slowly. I carefully followed behind him, matching his pace.

We were taking a roundabout path, but Argos was heading toward the secret passage exit. Could it be that Louis had gone toward the secret passage just as he'd told us he would? And was attacked along the way?

Though I would know more once we arrived, my mind was a swirl of conjecture.

– Caw, caw, caw…

In that moment, an idle thought crossed my mind; that he had to be safe. Somewhere nearby, the sound of crows echoed. I looked up. Not far off, I spotted a flock of crows circling in the air, drawing a wide arc.

…There!

I used my [Feather Walk] skill to speed up my feet as I ran toward the place where the crows were flying. The cawing became louder and faster, like an ominous symphony.

– Caw, caw, caw…

And then.

…

Just as I was almost there, the crows' cries abruptly fell silent. I instinctively raised my head and looked into the sky.

– Whoosh!

The crows swooped down like black lightning, folding their dark wings and pointing their sharp beaks straight at the ground. Each one became a falling thunderbolt, hurtling toward something below.

"…..!!!"

There was no time to think. I immediately drew my bow and arrows, aimed at the descending crows, and began to fire.

– Swiiiiiish!!!

– Thud!

– Swiiiiiish!!!

– Thud! Thud! Thud!

The arrows whistled through the air and penetrated the heads and hearts of the crows. Some arrows speared two or even three crows at once.

– Thunk!

– Thud!

– Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

As the black lightning turned into helplessly falling bodies, I kicked off the ground and dashed forward, praying I wasn't too late.