As Jinhwan stood there, quietly observing the scene before him, an old monkey sitting beneath the shade of a large fruit tree noticed his presence.
The elder rose slowly, joints stiff with age. Then, raising both hands, he clapped once, loud and clear.
The sound echoed through the stone chamber like a bell. Instantly, the entire village froze.
Children stopped mid-step, their playful shouts falling into silence. Mothers paused with fruit in their hands. The Warriors looked up from sharpening tools. Elders turned their heads slowly.
All eyes were on Jinhwan. the old monkey extended his hand and pointed straight at him, one by one, the others began to move.
They stopped what they were doing, setting things down, standing up from the lake's edge or the tree roots where they had sat, and began walking toward him.
Dozens of them. Quiet, deliberate steps.
Jinhwan's eyes narrowed.
He took a step back, his body instinctively tensing. His fists clenched, the muscles in his arms tightening, ready to channel mana if anything went wrong.
But then.. they stopped, right in front of him, and without a word, they dropped to their knees, all of them.
From the youngest children to the oldest elders, they knelt in perfect silence. Their heads lowered. Their backs are slightly curved in submission. Not one of them dared to look up.
Jinhwan stared, motionless. His fists slowly loosened. His arms relaxed. He didn't feel threatened anymore. He felt.. Something else.
I felt something.. strength in my chest.
It's not like it's the first time I've gotten respect like this. I get it a lot, whenever I come across my employees. From morning till night, it's always about me. Myself.
But this was different.
I never thought it'd feel this good when someone kneels down in front of you.
His lips curled slightly.
A slow, creeping smile.
At that moment, the monkeys began to shift. Something didn't feel right.
They felt a sudden chill brush against their necks, like a cold whisper in the air. Their instincts, sharp and primal, started ringing quietly inside them.
They looked up, and what they saw was not the same man they had carried in.
That smile... It wasn't warm, neither kind.
It twisted across Jinhwan's face like something unnatural. His eyes, once tired and dazed, now gleamed with a strange, dark energy. His presence, no longer human, radiated something colder, something that didn't belong.
To the monkeys, he no longer looked like a man who had earned their respect.
He looked like a devil disguised as a man.
Jinhwan's smile slowly faded as he snapped out of his thoughts.
Now that i think about it.. why are they bowing down to me? Are they idiots? Didn't I literally kill some monkeys from their race?
He turned his head slightly, glancing over his shoulder at the monkey behind him.
"Why are they bowing down to me?" he asked aloud, frowning.
When the monkey didn't respond, Jinhwan bowed a few times with exaggerated movements, trying to mimic what the others had done, then gave the monkey a questioning look.
The monkey blinked, watching him, clearly confused at first. It took a few seconds for it to understand what Jinhwan was asking.
But even then, it didn't move.
It looked unsure, like it wanted to answer but didn't know how to explain it through gestures. Its brows furrowed slightly. Its shoulders tensed.
There was a pause.
The monkey's hand twitched, but it said nothing. The silence stretched between them, thick with unspoken questions neither of them knew how to bridge.
"Ẽsha-vala thurēn akh vossira...."
A soft, melodic voice echoed from one of the caves nearby, gentle, almost hypnotic. It carried an unfamiliar rhythm, a language Jinhwan couldn't place.
He turned his head toward the sound.
From the cave's shadow, a figure stepped out.
It was a girl, around Jinhwan's age. But what struck him wasn't just her presence... it was how human she looked.
Her face was smooth and symmetrical, her features delicate. Her body structure, her curves, her posture, the way she moved, it was unmistakably human. A long piece of cloth, wrapped around her chest and waist, covered most of her body, but left enough visible to show the clear definition of her shape.
Her skin was a rich, smooth chocolate brown, glowing softly under the purple light of the underground stones.
But then, there were the differences.
From her elbows to her wrists, soft silvery fur covered her arms. The same fur wrapped around her legs from the knees down to her bare feet. Her hair, long and silver like moonlight, matched her bright, intelligent silver eyes.
She was beautiful. Striking. And clearly not fully human.
A half-breed?
Jinhwan's eyes wondered.
Or something else entirely?
But then the thought faded as she spoke again, her voice light and airy:
"Ūlvenas thi ruvaen?"
What is she saying?
He glanced at the monkey beside him. I should talk to this guy… at least he understands a little.
[Episode 30 End]