I Became a Druid in Another World

– Thud!!

The rusted pickaxe struck not Rosalyn Dawson, but the hunting dog. Even with its belly pierced, the dog bared its teeth and lunged at the villagers. This gave Rosalyn Dawson a chance to limp away. She fled toward a small room where the basement was hidden.

"Catch that girl!"

"The gold is ours!"

Rosalyn Dawson who was covered in the hunting dog's blood ran frantically while gasping for breath as it caught in her throat. When she opened the door to the small room, the smell of sulfur filled the air. While the villagers who had followed her banged on the door, the girl, with tears streaming down her face, pulled back the rug and opened the basement door. Green flames and ominous shadows flickered along the walls.

"Mom! Dad!"

Rosalyn Dawson gripped the stairs and descended. Her limping leg seemed like it would buckle at any moment and send her tumbling forward. Thankfully, the Dawsons heard their daughter's voice, rushed out of the gold-filled basement, and ran up the stairs. And then—

– Thud!!

The couple watched as their daughter was struck by an axe before collapsing and tumbling down the stairs in front of them. Blood splattered against the walls, and the girl's small body sprawled across the floor like a broken doll.

"Ro… Rosalyn…"

Maria Dawson reached out with her gold-stained hands and cradled her daughter's body. A faint cough escaped the girl's lips, and blood splattered out.

"Aah, that couple sacrificed their child to the demon and got gold in return! Cursed wretches! Followers of darkness! Vile sinners!"

The village chief who was drenched in blood from repeatedly swinging his pickaxe at the attacking hunting dog shouted in a horribly hoarse voice. Following his words, the villagers who were gripped by madness began to gleam with sinister excitement.

"Maria, I'll handle things here somehow, so Rosalyn…!"

Rosalyn's fallen father, Jamie Dawson, shouted. And at that very moment—

– Whoosh!!

Green flames filled the passage as if they were about to explode. Several villagers at the front who were wielding pickaxes and axes were instantly consumed by the fire, leaving not even bones behind. The fleeing village chief was also engulfed by the green flames just before he could climb the stairs and reach the door. As half of his body began to melt away, the village chief screamed like a demon.

Jamie Dawson's eyes were filled with tears of blood as he trudged up the stairs. The few villagers who narrowly escaped the flames fled the mansion; they desperately avoided the green fire that Jamie Dawson unleashed. In the narrow hallway, bodies tangled and fell, and some were trampled to death in the chaos.

Jamie Dawson, determined to exact revenge on those who had done this to his daughter before his strength gave out, followed the screams. It was the moment he stepped outside the door.

– Screeeeeech!!

– Thud! Thud! Thud!! Thud!!

Arrows coated with poison flew toward Jamie Dawson as if they had been waiting for this moment and pierced through his body. It was an attack from the villagers guarding the outside. Jamie Dawson pulled out the arrow that had pierced his throat and coughed up black blood.

Jamie Dawson had never been a particularly skilled wizard. In fact, he had depleted most of his magical power during the ritual for Ronan; he even offered half of his soul to Ronan. On top of that, the overwhelming shock, rage, hatred, sorrow, and resentment—emotions so intense they were hard to fathom—had torn apart the remaining half of his soul.

"Rosalyn…"

Jamie Dawson collapsed on the spot.

"...."

"...."

"...."

"He's… he's dead! We've killed the demon!!"

The village chief shouted. The villagers who had been standing in a daze gradually began to cheer with excitement. Their cruel cries of triumph echoed all the way to the basement, where Maria Dawson realized that her husband had been "murdered".

"Maria, my loyal servant."

Ronan made her an offer, both for her sake and his own.

"Just as those foolish people killed your dog and husband, they will kill you and your daughter too. Will you stand by and let that happen?"

"...."

"Or will you join me and seek revenge for us all?"

The snake's tongue was soft, and the demon's whisper was sweet. Maria Dawson shed tears. She had chosen this path to save her daughter, so why was it filled only with death? As she shed tears, the cheering outside gradually turned into shouting.

"Gold! We killed the demon; now let's find the gold he hid!"

"Set it on fire! If we burn it, they won't be able to withstand it and will have to flee!"

"Yeah! Burn it down and let's kill the witch and her spawn!"

"Bring torches and oil!"

"Gold! Gold!"

The villagers began dousing the Dawsons' mansion with oil. Torches flickered in the darkness, soon setting the mansion ablaze. Whoosh!!! As the mansion caught fire, the village lit up as bright as day.

"Ah, ahhh…!"

Maria Dawson clutched her daughter's body which was growing colder by the second and wailed in despair, then looked up at Ronan with bloodshot eyes.

"If you promise to offer me the souls of those foolish people, I shall exact the revenge you so desperately desire."

"…I will offer them. All of them. I will even offer my own soul to you, Lord Ronan!"

"If that is the case…"

Just as Ronan moved to claim what remained of Maria Dawson's fractured soul,

"…Mom."

Rosalyn Dawson's pale lips trembled. The girl wheezed with labored breaths and shook her head. Her strength was waning and the small hand that had been clinging to Maria Dawson's fingers began to slip away. At that moment, Ronan sensed Maria Dawson's resolve wavering. Ronan shouted with greedy eyes flashing.

"The contract is sealed!"

In the world, there existed a mysterious power. This mysterious power that was overused to the point of feeling trivial was given a name—a name that was…

"Don't hurt my mom!!"

It was love.

Rosalyn Dawson was a frail girl who could have died at any moment, but the love she had received from her parents had been more than enough; it was overflowing. This strange and mysterious power, accumulated over the years, erupted in a massive explosion from the girl's heart, and it was so powerful that the great demon Ronan…

"Silence! That soul is mine…!!"

Before Ronan could seize Maria Dawson's fractured soul, light consumed the darkness. Ronan desperately retreated into the corners, flailing his body to escape the light. The girl's final strength was too much, but the green snake had also spent countless years amassing power in the shadows. Ronan decided to hide and wait for the right moment. After all, this village was full of people driven by ugly desires that should never have been allowed. The plan had failed, but eventually he would devour all their souls and be reborn. The green snake whispered temptations in the darkness as it waited patiently in the shadows.

"Bring me the gold…"

"Bring me the gold…"

Like sewer rats drawn to filth, those dirty souls gathered; they were unable to resist temptation and desire. Occasionally a ghostly dog and a ghostly girl chased them away, but most were devoured by Ronan. He was still hungry, but the time of his rebirth was not far off. Humans who couldn't give up their desires would continue to flock endlessly. All Ronan had to do was open his mouth and wait for the rats to come.

"But that soul…I really want to devour it."

It was the soul of a human with a unique scent, unlike anything he had ever encountered. A pure, clean, and strong soul that had a sweet and powerful essence! Ronan licked his lips in the darkness. If that soul ever returned to this mansion, he would not let it escape again.

***

"…Hah!!!"

I jolted upright from my seat. Legion, Beepy, and Blackie were sitting around me in a circle, tilting their heads as they stared at me.

Wh-What was that dream just now?

I wiped the cold sweat that had formed on my forehead and looked around. It was bright outside. Of course, I had been napping during the day. I had planned to sleep until the evening and move once the sun set, but I ended up waking up because of that nightmare.

My head felt foggy. I slowly retraced the memories from the dream before they could fade away. A huge green-scaled snake, a couple, villagers surrounding the mansion, a fiercely barking dog, and a girl.

The dog, the girl, and the couple were dead. The mansion was burning, and in the basement, the huge green serpent lay in wait with its mouth open. Was this a dream? Or…was it reality?

I've never had a dream like this before…

I looked down at my hands. Leather gloves made from the skin of a starfish. I was wearing these now, so there was no way I could've been caught in some kind of hallucination.

The couple I saw in the dream were definitely the Dawsons.

I was certain of it. The faces in the portrait were too charred to confirm, but the outfits were the same, so I could tell. The child too was likely the one from the portrait hanging in the room. According to Khalid, the Dawson couple had left Solen after Maria became pregnant, so the girl I saw in the dream must have been their child.

…What if this wasn't a dream?

What if, instead of a dream, I had accidentally glimpsed into the past? What if it was something triggered by some lingering will or energy left behind in that mansion?

– That damned snake stench is driving me crazy.

Just then, a low irritated voice seeped out from the slowly stretching shadows.

"Cuscus…"

Demarcushel.

That guy had been silent ever since we entered this village. He had used a lot of power back in Dihid, so I figured he needed rest and hadn't bothered to call him out. But suddenly appearing now, the first thing he said was something about a "snake stench'.

Did he sense something too?

"What do you mean by snake stench?"

Demarcushel twisted his shadow back and forth before closing in on me. His form slithered up the wall and stretched long in the sunlight before he whispered to me.

– Snake stench. It could be Alton, Daimon, or maybe even Ronan.

I immediately realized that the names Demarcushel mentioned referred to demons.

– But I'm not sure. The scent is faint…

The shadow came closer, sniffing right in front of my nose before retreating back against the wall.

"…Is there a green snake among them?"

– Alton is the red snake, Daimon the black snake, and Ronan the green snake.

Ronan.

The green snake I saw in the dream was that demon.

A demon hiding in a small village like this?

It was exactly like the saying, "Darkness beneath the lamp". Not some petty ghost commotion in a small rural town, but a demon… Really? The [Nemesis of Evil] is living up to the name!

"Maybe I got the wrong title…"

I muttered then gestured for Demarcushel to follow me as I stepped out of the room. There was no way I'd be able to nap now, so I might as well get this done quickly.

"Legion, you're coming with us today too."

[Yaa—haa!]