The moon might be hidden depending on the time of month, but the stars' absence was due to thick clouds blanketing the sky.
A streak of light with a long tail punched a massive hole through the clouds.
Through the gaping hole, the Milky Way and countless stars twinkled endlessly.
The beam that had shoved the clouds aside grew even more brilliant, hurtling toward us.
"A shooting star!?"
A massive meteor was about to crash right here!
No need to overthink or doubt it. In fantasy terms, this had to be a Meteor spell.
Even a 1-meter meteor hitting the ground packs more punch than a heavy artillery shell.
Drawn by the beautiful light of the shooting star—which was turning their vision white as it approached—even the frenzy-maddened monsters lifted their gazes to the sky one by one.
This wasn't the time to get lost in the splendor of those radiant stars!
I activated time stop and bolted from the spot, burning through every last drop of my remaining mana.
Unlike this world's soldiers, I'd trained to evade artillery fire.
While time was frozen, I sprinted to a pit where a massive tree—uprooted for farmland clearing and left abandoned—lay waiting. I hurled myself inside and assumed the military posture for surviving a bombardment.
Thumbs plugging my ears, index fingers over my eyes, prone with elbows propping my upper body.
Minimizing contact with the ground.
Mouth open to brace for sudden pressure changes.
Back when I learned it, this ridiculous pose seemed like something I'd only use during boot camp yells—never in a real lifetime. Who'd have thought it'd see its first real use in this world?
As my mana hit zero and time resumed...
THRUUUUM!!!!
A heavy, resonant boom.
Followed by...
KUAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
The shockwave hit with vibration and a ferocious wind that blasted over the pit, scattering dirt and heat.
SHIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!!!
Another short gust of gale-force wind whipped through.
And then.
All surrounding sounds vanished.
An awkwardly prolonged silence followed that colossal explosion.
"Hah... hah..."
Only then did I claw my way out of the earth like a zombie, shoving aside the soil.
"Kuhk! Kek!!"
I hacked up the dirt that had filled my mouth.
My body throbbed with aftershocks, but nothing seemed broken.
My ears rang, but the pressure had equalized well enough—no ruptured eardrums. I could still hear.
I pushed the pit's soil away, crawled onto solid ground, and gulped for air.
The meteor had struck a bit farther from my house than I'd hoped, carving out a crater big enough to swallow my body several times over.
It looked just like a massive shell impact.
Near the epicenter, my house was a wreck: the half-burned roof obliterated beyond recognition, wooden walls collapsed entirely. Just the foundation remained.
All around, monster corpses littered the ground—clothes and armor shredded off, bodies stripped bare.
Some impaled on walls or snagged in trees, others flung ridiculously far.
Surprisingly, quite a few were still alive.
I grabbed my sword and hunted them down, cutting their throats one by one.
I've said it before, but I'm no bleeding-heart humanitarian.
No intention of sparing enemies who came to kill me.
This mess aside, survivors might return for revenge and raid the village again.
The meteor's heat and shockwave had shattered their joints anyway; blood poured from mouths, noses, and ears. They'd die soon regardless.
Putting them down like this was probably the merciful choice, sparing their agony.
That's what I told myself as I patrolled the area.
I stabbed a sword into an orc writhing on the ground, blood streaming from both eyes.
I pierced the gut of a goblin foaming at the mouth, its limbs twisted unnaturally.
The stone wall was piled especially high with them.
Like debris washing up on a riverbank, corpses and monsters had piled against it, carried by the blast.
I stabbed every twitching pile of bodies, then spotted a familiar face.
"Th-the girl... is here... a witch... there's a witch..."
For some stubborn twist of fate, a goblin with intact limbs—and one I knew well.
This was the one who'd come for revenge before. It crouched under the crumbled wall, trembling violently.
Come to think of it, Katona had named this one.
I'd only heard it once, but it'd stuck in my mind from the start.
"Tsradra."
"Kyaaaaah!? Aaah!!"
It jolted at my voice, scrambling backward across the dirt.
Goblin faces are hard to distinguish usually.
But I'd recognize—and remember—this one's forever now. Up close, it had scars from blade cuts across its eyes and cheeks.
"...You! You killed Lord Katona and hid the Star Witch!!
You're hiding the witch!! What the hell are you!!
Who do you think you are!!
This can't be!! It can't... No way!
You trapped us!!"
I drew my sword, wondering if I should just finish it like the others...
Then changed my mind.
"Listen well and remember this, Tsradra. I am..."
I put force into my voice, emphasizing every word.
"Kirgil, resident of Agnes Village.
Guarded by the white wolf's hunting grounds.
Blessed by the Star Witch."
"Wh-white... wolf... Star Witch... Kirgil..."
"Tell your king clearly.
Come to this village, and you'll be wolf bait.
Touch this village, and tears from the stars will fall from the heavens."
I didn't know their king. Probably the one humans called the Demon King.
They'd attacked this village not just for revenge, but because they figured it was no big deal.
Our world has a strategy for that.
Mutually Assured Destruction.
Simply put: countries with strategic nukes won't fight because it'll be "you die, I die" if they do.
This was a warning: Agnes Village has terrifying wolves on guard and Star Witch-level strategic weapons—don't even think about invading.
"Why wouldn't you deliver the message?
Fail, and I'll end you like the rest."
I approached with sword raised.
Not a threat—I meant it.
No plans to reconcile with the culprits now.
Good idea or not, if this one couldn't move, it was pointless. I'd just find another intact orc or goblin.
"Kiiik... I'll go! I will!! Kiik! Hik!!"
It limped away at top speed regardless.
I watched it vanish into the forest shadows, then resumed my executions.
Snuffing out these feeble, dying lives...
It just felt exhausting. Nothing more.
Was I getting used to this world's rules?
No other options came to mind.
Pity wouldn't help— no emergency facilities, no healing skills or magic here.
Even if I could treat them, they'd call me insane.
Right now, I was the grim reaper himself.
One orc, playing dead amid my ruthless work, bolted in terror and collapsed.
I approached emotionlessly, sword leveled at it.
"Scram. And never come back."
Only then did the orc flee for its life.
Damn...
Might regret this someday.
But for some reason, I didn't want to kill that one too.
Death had overflowed today—my head felt warped enough already.
Scanning further, I spotted a goblin dragging a comrade with shattered legs and a gut wound, trying to escape.
Couldn't abandon its friend?
The dragged one's eyes were already unfocused.
It met my gaze but didn't flee, silently hauling its buddy out like a battlefield medic.
No fighting spirit left in this carnage.
I chased it down and executed them both.
Stabbed the dying comrade it dragged.
The goblin stared at me with hollow eyes, watching the end.
Moments later, it turned casually toward the forest and walked off.
I let it go—didn't want more of this tedious, nauseating chore.
Working my way around the village like this, the person I'd been waiting for would show up eventually.
Sure enough.
A small shadow clutching a staff staggered into view from afar.
The shadow leaned heavily on the staff, struggling forward.
I'd figured she couldn't be far, even if I didn't know exactly where.
The Star Witch they'd mentioned—Agnes herself.
"Kirgil!! Where are you! Where!!"
I'd thought she was staggering from magic fatigue, but no.
"Please!! Answer me! Kirgil!! Please!!!"
The village chief collapsed in front of my house, sobbing.
"Again.... again.... I can't... like this..."
Thinking I might be inside the charred remains, she tried to enter.
I was too physically and mentally drained to run or shout—not playing hide-and-seek or teasing her in this mood.
"Village chief... I'm here. Right here."
"Ki... rgil?"
noona.""It's really you.... Really! Are you hurt? Wounds? Burns?"
She stood before me, touching my face, arms, legs—probing frantically.
Terror and urgency etched deep in her expression.
Like she'd eviscerate me for the tiniest scratch.
"I'm fine, really fine. That thing... the tear from the stars saved me."
"Thank goodness. Truly..."
I caught the staggering chief as she nearly collapsed.
Only then did my presence feel real to her, it seemed.
"Thank goodness... You're alive, truly truly...
Waaaaaahhhhhhh."
She burst into childlike sobs in my arms.
Seeing her tears finally eased my own tension a bit.
When emotions bottom out, even tears dry up.
Crying like this, cathartically, heals the heart—I've experienced it myself.
I held the bawling village chief and soothed her for a long while.
For some reason, my own eyes welled up too.
Too much had happened today; my feelings were a jumbled mess.
Right now, tears were the only outlet.
Before I knew it, the sun was rising far in the distance.
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