Damian analyzed the fallen tree, and it looked nothing like it has been destroyed by a beast. He was expecting them to lie, but so bluntly? What did they think Damian was? A stupid person?

Anyone with some sense and knowledge would see the facade, and Damian was one of those people.

"Come on, we are close," one elf said when it realized Damian was not moving.

"I'm going," Damian said with squint eyes.

He was not buying that bullshit, but still played along with it. If they truly tried something against him, then they would pay!

"Look! That's the cave the beast is living in," the elf leader said, pointing at a cave.

They all hid behind trees, crouching and staring at the cave's entrance, looking for any clues of the beast. Damian was among them too, and the cave entrance — which was all mud — did not have a single footprint for the beast!

Based on what the elves talked about, this beast should be big, so it would leave footprints with the weight of its body, yet there was nothing. The more Damian walked with them, the more clear it became that everything was a trap, and he was ready for it!

"Let's enter the cave, find the beast and kill it!" the elf said, gazing at the others, smirking.

Damian, acting like the innocent youth he was not, and said, "Let's go! Be careful, everyone!"

The elves went inside first, and Damian followed. The cave looked like any other cave, with little to no lighting, some bats that would try nothing against them, and, of course, the bugs crawling on their legs.

historical

It also had many droplets, creating a non-stop sound of water hitting a stone, but that was it. There were no marks of a massive beast, or carcasses of what could have been the beast's dinner. Nothing.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Damian asked.

The elves could not hold it anymore!

"Hahahaha, you are so stupid. Did you really think our lord Ailred would help? We are a step closer to get the throne from the queen, so why should he bother with an ant like you?" the elf leader said.

"Right? If this was a real hunt, then we wouldn't ask for the help of someone weak, like you, hahaha. How can humans be so stupid?"

"You know what will happen now, right?" the elf leader said, waiting for Damian's response.

Based on Damian's actions, they fully believed he would tremble with fear at that point, begging for his life or something alike, yet the first thing they heard was a maniac laugh.

"Hahaha," Damian said, covering his mouth, "I am sorry, but this is so funny."

"What's funny?" the elf leader said, moving his hand to his weapon.

The elves felt something, a feeling of danger, yet it couldn't possibly come from that youth before them, right? Damian looked nothing like someone dangerous, therefore the elves weren't scared at all, having confidence in winning against him without problems.

Also, he was only one against four elves, so the odds were against him too!

"Did you lose your mind? It is understandable, considering you are about to die. I promise you a.. a slow death! Hahahaha!" the elf leader said, laughing.

They all laughed, having fun with the killing of Damian — that if they succeeded with it.

"Who should I kill first? The leader, right? If I deal with this piece of shit, then the others will lose their morality," Damian murmured to himself, catching the attention of the elves who already had their weapons ready.

"What did you say? Kill me? I am the strongest here, and you are just a human brat!"

Damian stared at him with a smirk. "Nice weapon you have. Can you borrow me?"

Before any of the elves could react, Damian waved his hand, and the spear flew from the elf's hand, going straight to his.

"What? Give my weapon back!" the elf leader said, puzzled by what happened!

Truth be told, none of the elves knew what Damian was capable of, but they thought he was just a weak human, judging by his appearance and how easily he got caught by the elves.

How could they know they were facing a beast in a human's skin?

"Let me see if this is sharp," Damian said, tossing the spear toward the elf leader.

The spear went fast toward him, the result of Damian's extraordinary strength, yet it was not fast enough to hit the elf! The elf leader sidestepped the spear, feeling proud of himself!

"Only that? You are nothing to-"

He could not finish the sentence as the spear — which had missed — flew toward his back again, piercing it!

"Aggr.."

The elf leader fell to his knees without the strength to move. It was a nasty wound, one that would cost his life if no one did something about it!

"Leader!"

Damian wanted to break the morale of the elves by attacking their leader and showing his superior power, but it did the opposite! The elves were eager to revenge their leader, shooting arrows and dashing toward Damian with spear in hands!

"Die! Die! Die!"

They yelled like starved beasts completely crazy after seeing food for the first time in ages! It looked a little off, but Damian paid no attention to it, swiftly dodging all the attacks!

If it was a spear, Damian would fly away from the attack. If it was an arrow, they would stop mid-air and fly back to whoever shot them. No matter what they did, the elves would never win against Damian.

It reached a point where the elves were getting frustrated by their weakness, and they gave up!

"Let's finish this," Damian said.

Damian aimed his hand at one elf, concentrating all of his power! The difference between his power and the elf's body strength was vast, allowing Damian to rip off the elf's arms and legs using only the power of his mind!

The amount of blood and body parts inside the cave turned it into a horrific scene, and the remaining elves could not run! They were locked in place, trembling with fear!

"A- A demon!"

The first thing that came to their mind as they gazed at Damian and what he had done was a demon! It couldn't be something else!

"Haha, I kind of enjoyed this.. Wait, isn't this wrong?"

Damian enjoyed doing that. It felt good, yet wrong at the same time!

"Well, I have to do the same to do to make this look like an animal attack, sorry."

Not only the first elf, but the others shared the same fate, all but one. Damian did the same to the leader and two more elves, but one remained alive.

Why? Damian wanted answers! The leader was the one who would have the most knowledge, yet it would kill himself first and not say a word. But the shocked elves? They couldn't think straight.

"I-I know nothing!"

Damian sat in front of the kneeling elf. "Are you sure? I can give you a quick death. Also, if you don't spit it out, I will turn you into a zombie, unable to find the peace you seek."

"What?"

The elf did not know if what Damian said was true or not, but considering how he did everything against the expectations, the elf was not feeling like risking his future!

"Okay, okay. Our leader started talking to someone a while back, and the plan to take the crown from the queen started after that! If there's someone who knows something, that's the person!"

"What person? How can I find it?"

"You can find them south of the village. 300 kilometers to the south!"

"Good. Thank you. Rest in peace."

Damian cut the elf's head off, giving him a quick death. He still ripped the body apart to look more like a beast attack, and then he left the cave.

He returned to the elven village, and the moment he did, Ailred came to seek him.

"So what happened?" Ailred said.

Damian had destroyed his clothing and hurt his body before entering the village, looking like he had been attacked by something!

"W-We went to the cave they talked about, and something attacked us! It was not the beast they spoke about, but a dark creature! They are all dead, all of them," Damian said, kneeling on the ground, crying.

His act was so good the elves who were watching the scene believed him, as no one would think Ailred would send him to a trap.

"I will go check. Go rest for now," Ailred said, frowning his eyebrows.

Damian returned to his room where he found Frederic, who was awake and waiting for the food.

"So where's the food?"

"Right. I forgot about it," Damian said, slapping his forehead.

It turned into a mess real quick, so Damian did not even remember the reason he left the village.

Damian did not know where he could get them food, but then someone knocked on their door, and it was their savior!

"The queen send you this to help you recover!"

An elf brought them a feast!