Chapter 218: As Usual

Kolin stared at everything in shock. Before he could even process what was happening, he was suddenly grabbed by the hand and pulled in a certain direction by Ke’er.

Kolin stumbled along after his brother. After running for a short while, he finally managed to ask what was going on.

Ke’er pointed in a direction and said urgently, “Look over there, that black smoke! That’s the direction of our home!”

Hearing this, Kolin realized the severity of the situation. He quickly tightened his grip on Ke’er and kept running toward their home without stopping.

Eleanor was also running with them. From the anxious expression on her face, she was clearly worried about her own family as well.

Finally, after running for what felt like an eternity, they neared their home. But as they got closer, Ke’er’s expression grew more and more grim. At the same time, Kolin felt that the closer they got to home, the stronger the stench of blood in the air became, mixed with the smell of burnt meat.

Just as Kolin was wondering what had burned, Ke’er, who was running at the front, suddenly stopped short. Kolin wasn’t paying attention and crashed straight into his brother’s back.

Kolin staggered to his feet, apologizing as he got up. But when he opened his eyes again, he saw that Ke’er wasn’t reacting to his words at all. He just stood there, staring blankly at something off in the distance.

Not only him—Eleanor was doing the same. Kolin felt a surge of confusion and followed Ke’er’s gaze. Then he saw a sight he would never forget for the rest of his life.

A person with an eerie, blue-black skin tone was standing in front of their house, which was now engulfed in a raging fire. Kolin also noticed that at the feet of the blue-black person lay some objects. When he looked more closely, he realized they were the motionless bodies of villagers. Among them were Kolin’s own parents.

Seeing this, Kolin froze. An bone-deep fear spread from the bottom of his heart, rapidly flooding his entire body, robbing him of the ability to move. He could only stare blankly at the scene.

At that moment, the blue-black person slowly turned around and looked in their direction. Kolin saw the man’s grinning face.

“Oh? You actually ran back in? I thought you’d see this and flee the village, so I sent all my little devils out. Looks like you managed to dodge them, though that’s not necessarily a good thing for you.”

With that, the blue-black-skinned man let out an eerie chuckle and began walking slowly toward them.

Just as Kolin had no idea what to do, Ke’er quickly grabbed his and Eleanor’s hands. Before Kolin could react, Ke’er was pulling them both back the way they came.

The blue-black man behind them made no move to chase. He just chuckled softly and followed at a leisurely pace. Though he seemed to be walking casually, like taking a stroll, his actual speed was surprisingly fast. No matter how desperately Kolin and the others ran, they couldn’t shake him. The blue-black man was always close behind, never more than a short distance away, which only deepened their already terrified hearts.

Seeing that this couldn’t go on, Kolin asked his brother in a trembling voice, “Wh-what do we do? That guy keeps chasing us! We can’t lose him at all!”

Ke’er managed to stay relatively calm and replied in a low voice, “It’s okay. We’re almost out of the village. Once we leave the village and enter the forest, he definitely won’t be able to catch…”

As they rounded a corner, Ke’er’s words were cut short when he suddenly stopped.

Not far from where they had stopped, at the entrance to the village, a group of ugly, short monsters were now lying in wait. Behind them, the blue-black man was almost upon them—his shadow had already appeared around the corner.

Seeing this, both Kolin and Eleanor were filled with despair. They lost all will to move.

But Ke’er hadn’t given up. Gritting his teeth, he looked around quickly. Spotting a large, sturdy-looking house with its door open, he immediately dragged the two of them inside. Just as they entered and shut the door, the blue-black man fully emerged from around the corner and arrived at the spot where they had been standing.

Seeing that the little devils he had stationed at various exits around the village showed no signs of anything unusual, the blue-black man was certain that the three little brats were still nearby and hadn’t left.

After casually looking around, he identified a house. The footprints at its entrance showed that someone had just passed through. Moreover, he clearly remembered that this house’s door had been open before, but now it was closed. That meant the three little brats must have hidden inside.

The blue-black man strolled over to the door. He glanced to the right, where a figure in armor lay in the blind spot—motionless, apparently dead. The reason the blue-black man had such a clear memory of this house was because its owner, the armored man lying on the ground, was the only person in the village with any real strength. That armored man had killed several of his little devils, forcing him to deal with the man personally. Thus, the blue-black man had a vivid impression of this house he had just left.

Looking at the closed door, the blue-black man didn’t rush inside. Instead, he closed his eyes and listened intently. Sure enough, he could hear faint breathing from inside the house.

A smirk curled at the corner of his mouth. Instead of barging in and killing the three little ones directly, he thought of a more amusing way to execute them.

He extended one hand, and a strange pattern appeared on his palm. Suddenly, the entire house in front of him began to shake violently. Bricks and tiles rained down from above as if the structure was about to collapse at any moment.

Watching the house teeter on the edge of collapse—certain to fall within the next few minutes—the blue-black man couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Such a tense, hurried scene, where they knew they were about to die but couldn’t die instantly—surely those three little brats inside would love it!

Meanwhile, Ke’er watched the house about to collapse and his expression turned extremely grim. He knew there was no other option. Even if they ran out now, they’d definitely run straight into the blue-black man, which would be no different from suicide.

With that thought, Ke’er’s gaze hardened. He made a decision.

Looking at the trembling Kolin and Eleanor, Ke’er said nothing—he didn’t have the time. He quickly found a sturdy table and some other items that looked like they could bear weight. Because of the time crunch, he couldn’t find much, and what he did find probably wouldn’t help much, but he had no other choice.

Ke’er hurriedly called for the two of them to hide under the table. Kolin and Eleanor were already completely panicked, letting Ke’er direct them.

After Ke’er hastily set everything up, the house finally collapsed completely. In the split second before the collapse, Ke’er threw himself over the two of them, using his own body to shield them one last time—just as he had always protected Kolin in daily life.

In that final moment, Ke’er protected them, as usual.