I Became a Druid in Another World

– Thud!

I grabbed Legion and quickly escaped through the attic window. When I looked back, I saw Ronan's scales trembling and releasing green gas from beneath them.

The explosion will happen soon.

Legion who was still itching for action kept opening his mouth. He was desperate to release his breath.

"Legion!"

Just as the flames were about to burst from his mouth, it snapped shut. I held onto him and reached my hand toward the sky.

"Do you remember when we practiced?"

[Theo. I. Remember.]

"Good. Just follow what we practiced."

Legion let out a brief rumbling sound, almost like a laugh, before stretching his body out. Then, with a cracking sound, his bones and skin grew, and his wings spread wide. Legion gripped me tightly with his claws (even in the middle of this, he fussed a few times but made sure his talons wouldn't scratch me), and with a powerful thrust, he soared into the sky. As my body floated upward, the mansion quickly shrank away beneath us. The scorched building looked as small as a toy house.

"Unbelievable…"

I saw toy-like soldiers gathering around the tiny toy house. The explosion was about to happen. I shouted toward the people below.

"Get away! Move!"

Did they not hear me, or did they not want to listen? Some looked at the sky, but that was all. People were literally approaching the mansion as if possessed by a demon. They completely ignored the green gas that filled the mansion and was now spilling outside.

Soon the flames that still lingered in Ronan's throat would meet the gas. When that happened, there would be a huge explosion and this time the mansion would be consumed by an eternal hellfire that wouldn't go out. I screamed so loudly that I could taste blood in my throat. Get away! Get away, you fools!

– Ssshhhhhhh…

Yet, sometimes, human desire overpowers even the instinct to survive.

– Boom!!!!!!!!!!

It was the moment the leading villagers turned the mansion's doorknob. Flames of an unimaginable magnitude burst from the door, swallowing several of the people at the front. Some collapsed, while others screamed in terror. The explosion happened sooner than I'd expected. I quickly descended to the ground. I then rushed toward the mansion with the now-shrunken Legion tucked back into my arms …

"We need to get the gold; bring out the gold!"

"Hurry inside! Quickly!"

What I saw was beyond belief.

I had foolishly thought they would run away from the flames. But instead of fleeing, they were rushing toward the burning mansion, all for the sake of "gold".

Desire and madness had long consumed the villagers' reason. They were no longer humans. They were nothing but grotesque bundles of greed.

"Stop! You'll die if you go into the mansion! Can't you see those flames?!"

El was frantically running around and trying to stop the villagers from entering the mansion. She was almost in tears as she shouted and grabbed hold of them, but they coldly pushed her away and kept heading straight into the inferno.

"..."

I placed my hand on El's shoulder as she tried to get up again to stop them. She looked at me in shock, and I silently shook my head.

"But, Master, those people…"

"El."

"They're going to die. If they keep this up, they're all going to die!"

"I know."

At my response, El looked even more bewildered; she couldn't understand. I shook my head once more.

"Let them go in."

"..."

"Their greed isn't something we can stop."

"..."

"This didn't happen because of the demon."

"..."

"There are evils in this world that we simply cannot change."

"..."

"Even if we stop them this time, they'll just do it again."

"..."

"In that case, all we can do is let them do as they wish."

"..."

"Our role ends here."

Whether from exhaustion or resignation, El collapsed to the ground. Ayla rested her head on El's shoulder as if to comfort her. El hugged Ayla's head and cried. She still couldn't understand. Why do people succumb to their desires, why do they make such foolish choices, even at the cost of their own lives?

I stood and watched the burning mansion and the villagers who were running toward it as if in a trance. They had long been consumed by madness. To them, gold had become more important than life itself.

There's a saying: "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink." It means that even with good intentions, trying to help is meaningless if the person doesn't want it. Even if salvation is right in front of them, if they don't seek it…

"..."

They can't be saved.

In the end, everything is a matter of choice. The girl chose her family, while the villagers chose gold. It's clear who will be saved.

The villagers who were screaming for gold continued to hurl themselves into the burning mansion, again and again, until not a single one was left.

In a way, I suppose Ronan won after all.

Of course, Ronan who had failed to ascend and fallen into hell would never be satisfied. But look at those people who chose to burn themselves alive. It wasn't what he wanted, but in a way, Ronan had claimed a small victory nonetheless.

If I had come a little sooner, would things have turned out differently?

Maybe the girl wouldn't have died, maybe I could have saved the couple or even the entire village. As I unknowingly began to blame myself,

-Swish.

I felt a heavy warmth on my shoulder. It was Lloyd's hand. Without a word, he patted my shoulder a couple of times and then looked at the burning mansion.

"...."

The three of us stayed there until the mansion was completely burned and reduced to ashes. The fire continued to rage until dawn the next day. When the roof collapsed, the second floor collapsed, and even the foundation of the first floor was consumed by the flames; nothing was left. Only ashes remained.

The light of dawn cast over that desolate scene. Among the heaps of gray ash, not a trace of the villagers could be found as if they had burned away without leaving even a fragment of bone behind.

When I took a step outside the door, a breeze suddenly blew in from somewhere. It was the wind summoned by the forest spirit. The cool and clean breeze scattered the piles of ashes and swept everything away. The madness and greed that had consumed the villagers seemed to dissipate with the wind.

Something sparkled where the ash had disappeared.

"This is…"

It was the very necklace I had tied to an arrowhead and shot into Ronan's mouth. The first "golden" necklace that the Dawson couple had made for their daughter, Rosalyn. I got on one knee to pick it up.

Thanks to the special power of this necklace, we had been able to defeat Ronan. I closed my eyes for a moment and prayed for the girl.

"We should bury it with the Dawsons' remains."

Lloyd, who had already gathered the Dawson couple's bones, nodded his head. We planned to bury them in the nearest forest. It would be too cruel to leave them in this cursed village.

I stood up. The sun was rising in the distance. Unlike before, brilliant light poured over the village that was now cleared of fog. And then…

"…Wait a moment."

That light revealed a secret of the village, hidden by darkness and mist.

"What is this?"

***

Beneath the mansion which was now reduced to ashes was a huge summoning circle, one that spanned the entire grounds. It wasn't visible up close, but when Legion and I looked down from the sky, it became clear.

A summoning circle.

The entire inside of the wall was a summoning circle. It must have been created to summon Ronan. Judging by its size, if everything had gone according to plan and the villagers had all been sacrificed, Ronan would have successfully descended and gained immense power.

But something unexpected happened, causing the plan to fail.

Rosalyn Dawson. Rosalyn, the daughter of the mage couple, must have inherited their magical abilities. Perhaps the summoning circle had some effect on her as well.

It could explain why Rosalyn Dawson and her dog Argos were able to remain as ghosts in this mansion. It might have been the influence of the summoning circle.

"Legion, fly a little lower."

[Theo. Fly. Lower.]

"Yeah, that's perfect."

I examined the summoning circle closely. It was difficult to decipher since it was a mix of ancient Ansgarian and demonic language, but thanks to the [Polyglot] trait, I was able to roughly make it out.

– On the day the underworld and earth are connected

– We will reclaim the legacy of the Mother

– And usher in a new age of vengeance.

However, simply reading it and understanding its true "meaning" were two different things. I copied the inscriptions from the summoning circle into the old book and descended back to the ground.

"Did you figure out what it was?"

"No."

"What a shame. I really thought we'd find a clue this time…"

"Well, at least a 'clue' is still a 'clue.'"

After patting El's head, I turned around and noticed a faint figure standing near the wall and looking at me. It was the ghost dog.

"Argos."

I called out his name. At that, Argos slowly wagged his semi-transparent tail, then excitedly ran over as if he was happy to see me. I patted his head. It felt like touching a window covered in frost.

– Whimper! Whimper!

Ayla who was just as excited bounced around us. Argos ran around with her for a bit, then came back to circle me as if he had something to say.

"What's wrong?"

– Whimper. Whimper.

Following Argos as he whimpered, he led me to the center of the mansion, sniffed the ground and started to pretend to dig. Ayla soon joined in and started digging at his side through the dark damp earth. After digging for a while…

– Woof! Woof, woof!!

Ayla, with dirt on her nose, poked her head out of the hole and started barking. Did they find something? While they were digging, I had been planting seeds nearby, but now I approached the hole and peered inside. In the middle of the fairly deep hole…

"...!"

There was a small box made of gold.