TTIGRAAS: Predator

Chapter 33

It took me all night flying as fast as I could to reach the border of Jura, and now that I had returned to my home, I made a beeline for the ogre village. As a strong race, they would surely have at least some idea of what was going on, and I could use their village as a base while I decided how to tackle whatever problem was causing havoc in the forest.

Taking off the anti-magic mask, I let my aura out fully for the first time in quite a while. It felt really good, like letting off a big breath I had been holding. On top of being a relief, it would also serve to broadcast my approach to the ogres; I wouldn't want to scare them like I did last time.

As I neared the site of the village however, something began to feel off. I slowed to a walk, landing on the forest floor so I could take in the surroundings.

Shouldn't the ogres have greeted me by now? I knew they could sense my aura from this distance, and since I was such a big deal last time, I'd figured they'd send scouts or something to greet me.

Not just that... there were no birds chirping right now. The forest as a whole was eerily quiet.

At this distance, I should've been able to detect the combined aura of the village, a result of the many powerful monsters living there.

But there was nothing.

I entered direwolf form and shot through the trees even faster than I had before, worried that something was wrong but not sure what, a growing anxiety welling up inside me.

Even before I reached the hill that would let me see the village, though, [Magic Sense] was showing me the reality.

I didn't want to believe it.

I didn't believe it.

[Magic Sense] must've been malfunctioning, or lying to me. There's no way a village of 300 B-ranked majin could...

I crested the hill.

And I saw the ruins of the ogre village before me.

I couldn't sense a single soul; the place was entirely abandoned.

Maybe they evacuated?

The thought was reassuring, but at the same time unrealistic. I didn't entertain it for more than a single moment.

If it came to that... then... No, they wouldn't abandon this place. The ogres would defend it to the end.

To the end...

My anger boiled.

I suppressed the howl welling up in my throat, my aura was taking on a frantic, destructive edge. Overhead, roiling black clouds began to cover what used to be a cheerful, pure blue summer morning sky.

I nearly lost control of my shapeshift, almost splattering onto the ground–but I managed to control myself. Barely.

Thunder roared and rumbled in the sky above me, and lightning flashed black across it.

Slowly, I entered through the rubble of the village gate.

This couldn't be real.

It was an illusion... any moment now they'd jump out and apologize for scaring me to death like this.

For the first time in my new life, I used [Magic Sense] to its fullest.

My senses were painfully sharp, yet my thoughts felt foggy as I desperately tried to deny everything.

I took in everything, not letting so much as an ant escape my notice. Every blade of grass, every drop of the rain growing steadily heavier... the grain of the scorched wood boards.