Kamigami – 9 part 2

In spite of the wounds, the horrifying experience, and not eating anything, Sheto climbed up the mountain slope swiftly.

“You do not move like someone who hasn’t eaten in days.”
‘But, very hungry right now. Probably could not move without Salia’s power.’
“Don’t get too confident. While it may give your body some extra strength, it will not keep you alive without food and water.”
‘Mm.’

Sheto answered while using the hatched to peel off some bark from a tree, which he then put in his mouth.

“What is that?”
‘This bark, sweet. Chew it when hungry.’

After going a little further, he stopped in front of a great tree that was dripping with sap. He swung the hatchet into the trunk. There was a dull thud, and several beetles fell down.

“I told you to stop eating bugs.”
‘But, this one is juicy and tasty?’
“St-stop it! Do not show it to me!”

He laughed. There were no signs of the troubled face from earlier. She was reminded that this creature really was a hunter to the core.

‘When hunting, you walk for days in the forest. No time to make proper meals. And so everything goes into your mouth like this. Important to know what you can eat.’
“I see. Knowledge is very important for the job of a hunter.”
‘Yes. Search for prey while searching for danger. Everyone learned such things from the Ganari.’
“Ganari?”
‘The one who thinks about everything regarding hunting. The most important one.’
“Not the chief?”

Sheto answered her questions carefully. As if he was teaching a new student about hunting.

‘Ganari are often chiefs as well. But they are not the same. Hunting and village work require different thinking.’
“Occupational classification. You kobolds surprise me. I cannot believe that you are counted among the most foolish of monsters.”
‘We, cannot use magic. Cannot fight with swords. But hunting. Anyone can do. Everyone thinks so. So they think we are weak in body and head. But the other monsters. All they do is steal. They don’t know what the forest offers.’

Sheto spoke calmly. Then he stopped and inhaled the air of the forest.

‘The forest. It gives us something. The weak and powerless can live here. And so the forest is important for us.’

He slowly bent his knees and touched the ground. There was rich, dark soil beneath the grass, and ants crawled over it.

“What is it?”
‘Be quiet now. Will follow tracks.’

She could see nothing unusual, but Sheto read something from it, and began to walk while staying low over the ground.
Through the low trees and tall grass, he moved while disturbing them as little as possible. Like a light breeze.
Eventually, he stopped near a thick bush and pulled out his bow.

‘Look.’

He said, as if talking to a beginner hunter, and nocked an arrow. Up ahead, there was a stag eating fresh grass.
It was a small clearing beneath a cliff. There were no other deers, so it had this feast all to itself.

“That’s big…”
‘They become that big after two years.’

It was more than three times Sheto’s size. Its antlers were already grown, and Salia knew they could be vicious weapons against enemies.

“Are you sure about this?”
‘It’s fine. Just be quiet and watch.’

He drew back the string, and then the stag’s ears twitched. It raised its head.
‘Deer, cautious creatures. But that gives an opening.’

He moved up a little so that he was in a medium posture. The stag noticed something was wrong, and the legs tensed, ready to jump.
Just as Sheto had pulled the bow to its limit, the deer bounded to the left.
The sound of something cutting through wind. And the arrow shot through the air and towards the deer’s face.

‘Whoosh!’

However, it only grazed its nose. The deer rotated in surprise.

“You missed!?”

However, Sheto silently jumped out from the bushes and swiftly nocked another arrow. And like that, the hunter stood in the spot that the deer had been a moment ago, and unleashed the followup attack.
The arrow missed again, and the deer ran into the forest. But Sheto rushed after it as if expecting this.

“It’s going to get away!”
‘Don’t worry. It will not.’

Sheto said as he nocked the final arrow and ran.
Up ahead, the deer had stopped. Its antlers were caught in a web of vines.

“A trap!?”

As if in answer to this, the final arrow pierced deeply between the deer’s eyes.

‘Salia. I thought you knew me a little better.’

Sheto chuckled as he confirmed that the prey was dead.

“When did you set that trap?”
‘I thought the rust eater hunting would be long. Venison would help. With the skin, I can craft warm shoes. The day after coming here, I looked around at dawn and set the trap.’
“So, you knew that the deer would run in this direction?”
‘With deer, the antlers limit where they can pass through. First arrow was to block the escape route. Second arrow was to move the trap.’

After he was finished explaining, Sheto unraveled the vine trap and tied up the stag’s feet. He then nodded with satisfaction, while the goddess was too stunned and impressed to speak.

‘Today, a feast.’

He carved up the meat with surprising speed, and then the monster hungrily cooked and ate it.

“You should not eat too quickly. It will upset your stomach.”
‘I…haven’t…eaten in a long time. Gah…must eat…when I can…’

He tore through the meat with a kind desperate obsession. And yet she could not help but find it somewhat adorable. He alternated between drinking water and chewing the meat. But eventually, his hands slowed down.

“Are you full now?”
‘Mmm…’

He looked down at the meat he was holding and took a small bite.
Sheto continued this, little by little until it was done.

“…What are you doing?”
‘Ceremony eating. Think about everyone, and eat little by little.’
“The others lost at the fortress?”
‘You are supposed…eat enough for everyone who is gone.’

A kind of funeral for monsters who do not pray to any god.

‘…Ma…she liked venison.’

The small mouth frowned as he bit into the meat.

‘But, her teeth were weakened. And so, I would cut it into small pieces and cook with millet. My brothers were always hungry too. I made a pot of mountain vegetables and lots of meat. It was gone in an instant.’

As he talked of loved ones, he stopped eating.

‘Kai. He was good at making traps. I always gave him the best parts. In exchange…he gave me grapes and wine…’

He had rarely talked about the village since the day it was burned down. But now, they dripped out slowly. As the branches burned in the fire, the memories bloomed.

‘Lu, she did not like venison much. But everyone liked her. So they brought it to her. Even though she actually preferred mountain fish and rabbits.’
“So she was quite popular, this Lu. Did you ever have to fight the other men?”
‘A lot. But, in the end, Lu silenced them all.’

He wrapped the meat in some leaves and placed them in the back of the cave. It seemed like he was going to sleep soon. However, Sheto then sat back down in front of the fire.

‘Salia. What was your world like?’
“Why…do you ask all of a sudden?”
‘I talk a lot about myself. Your turn to say something.’
“I suppose you are right… It was not so different from this place. A small world.”

Salia looked through the water mirror and thought back on it.
About her star that shone blue.

“Back then, I even had a body of flesh that could roam the surface. I would visit all of the time, which often caused trouble.”
‘You, so clumsy. Everyone probably laughed.’
“Aye. I was often told that I should act more dignified, as a god.”

Still, they were fun, wonderful days. She may not have fitted in in the celestial world, and her brother was not pleased, but she was happy.

“By the way, I had met several kobolds like you before. They would be terribly afraid, but once they got used to me, they were a friendly bunch.”
‘So my kind was there too.’
“Well, they ‘escaped’ there in some form or another. Going through tears in dimensions, or on ships that sail through different worlds. I suppose if there is one thing kobolds have in common everywhere, it is the speed of their legs.”
‘Were they…happy?’

It was difficult to answer that. In the end, all life had been turned to ash after the chaos. Nothing remained of those kobolds.

“I do not know. However, they did laugh. With the rest of us. I remember there being a time like that.”
‘Then that is good. There are people who can never laugh. If you can, you must be happy.’

There was gentleness and a piercing emotion in Sheto’s words.

“Were you thinking about the friends who died at the fortress?”
‘It is not just the Hero who kills kobolds. Many other things too.’
“Indeed… The Heroes are just a small part. Both gods and demons are vicious.”
‘Gods too?’
“Yes.”

More wood was added to the fire.

‘Even if the Hero is killed, as long as the Demon King is around, kobolds die. It is the same if the Demon King is defeated, but the Hero lives.’
“Exactly. Regardless of which remains… That is how things are in this world now.”

The kobold sensed the bitterness in her words and her sigh.

‘Salia… In the beginning, you said that you wanted to kill the Hero in the games.’
“Ah…”
‘But, it is not true, is it?’

She hesitated, and he continued as if he had found an opening.

‘Not just the Hero. But you want to kill everyone. Is that wrong?’
“…Ah.”

Sheto’s words made her feel the emotions of that time once again.
When she saw the burning village.

With a kind smile, Yesta pointed to the water mirror in front of her.
In the world beyond it, a terrible massacre was occuring. The group of monsters being slain. They looked familiar to her.

“Watch this, Goddess of Peace.”

Salia wanted to avert her eyes, but her face would not turn away from the violence.
By just one Hero, the kobolds were being annihilated.
She had passed through this area once or twice before. A small village that looked peaceful and happy. She knew it would not last, and yet could not help but feel fondly towards them.
Now it was covered in red. She could hardly believe the hell it had become.

“Please stop this! They have not done anything wrong! They may be monsters, but they have no power!”
“Do you think your words will change anything?”

The Goddess of Judgement cut through her naive words.

“The only thing that can stop that violence is a bigger power. If you want to defeat a Hero, you must use a Hero.”
“But where does that leave me! Even if I offer myself, all that would result in is calling someone weak and sending them to their death!”
“If that is what you say, then that is what will happen.”

She laughed.
And continued to tear Salia apart.

“What have you been doing up until now? Aside from moping about not saving your world? And now you are going to abandon this one.”
“That is why I need the help of the dragon god!”
“Yes, I know what you can say when you make a different paradise. ‘Aye, my other world has fallen, but I gained some food experience and shall not make the same mistake again.’”
“…!!”

Flames danced and the village burned. The kobolds fell by the Hero’s sword, and those who tried to run were turned to ashes by the sorcerer.

“Ah, apparently, that is the last victim.”
“…Fool! Why are you going! Run away, even if you are the only one!”

But the kobold hunter moved forward, even as the fire burned him.

“No! That bow will do nothing against him!”
“Why are you shouting? He cannot hear you.”
“Shut up!”

She gazed at the young kobold through the water. The arrow bounced off. He fell to his knees.

“Run. Run while you can!”

But the kobold was shaking from fear.
And then the white blade severed his life.
It was such a quick end. The Hero did not even look at the kobold as he turned away and laughed.

“…How dare you! You call yourself a Hero! To kill defenseless creatures! All for your own gain. Where is the justice in that!”
“What a strange thing to say. The rules of the game were set by gods and demons. Monsters are enemies of the world. Surely killing them is a part of justice?”
“If that is justice, then I have no use for it! If that is the law, then I hate those who enforce it!”
“You are free to say what you like… Oh?”

The Goddess of Judgement furrowed her eyebrows. Something was changing.
The monster should have been dead, but his hand was rising. He covered his wound and stood up slowly.

‘No…’

Weak, but the words were clear.
Even as his life was fading, there was a burning heart inside of him.

‘Not this…no…’

To rebel against the unfairness raining down on him. He stood up on two feet. While trying to stop the bleeding, he desperately looked ahead.

‘No…!’

The anger burned hotter than the fire around him. And while tears of sadness stained his cheeks, the monster roared.

“I will kill you, Hero!”

Though, the voice was almost too quiet to be called a scream.
But it was strong enough to reach that other world, and shake the surface of the mirror.

‘So you wish for revenge, small monster.’

She said, without thinking about it.

“You…who are you?”
‘I asked if you wish for revenge.’

There was no time. They had to make the contract immediately, or the monster would die.

‘Answer quickly. Or else I shall throw your soul into the darkness, and you will never swing the blade of hatred.’

It was up to him to answer. Even a dumb monster like him would understand what she was.
However, somehow, she knew he would not reject her.
Somehow, he was just like her.

‘…I do wish it.’

She sighed and felt something stream down her cheek.

‘I want to kill that Hero… For what he did to my friends, ma, my brothers…’

She really was a fool. A voice deep inside cursed her. What difference would this make? To save one life and risk your own.
At the same time, she felt immense joy at saving something that was disappearing.
And as he resisted, she saw the promise of accomplishing something that she had failed to do.

‘He killed Lu. I swear that I’ll kill him!’
“Very well.”

At that moment, Salia’s power and being rushed into the kobold’s body.

“Now, you are mine. And in exchange, I shall grant you the strength to kill the Hero.”
‘…You…who…are you?’
“I am Saliashe.”

She talked gently to the new light that was formed amongst the flames.

“One of the goddesses who serve the heavens.”

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