Chapter 5: The burden of guilt

 The days seemed unwilling to pass. Every second was an echo of that terrible scene, etched in his mind like a branding mark. The screams, the blood, the body collapsing to the ground. Everything was repeated in his dreams, like an endless nightmare.

Zaro, after listening to her story, appeared more tense than usual. The killer...was not only as fast as the wind, but also possessed devastating magic. A lethal combination.

"Ren?" But no answer.

The boy was sitting by the window, looking lost beyond the glass. Guilt was consuming him.

"Ren, it's not your fault. You have to believe me."
"...Y-yes, but I could have saved her."

Zaro approached, speaking in a firm voice:
"It's better that you didn't intervene. It would have been just another death."

"It wasn't!" he exploded, rising to his feet. "If I had run to her... maybe she would still be alive! Instead I just stood there ... paralyzed, and now we mourn another victim! The number grows and we...we still have no idea who the culprit is!"

"You can't know what would have happened. And it wasn't you who killed her! Don't carry a burden that doesn't belong to you!"

"Zaro, you have wearied me!"
So he grabbed the door handle and threw it wide open with all the strength in his body.
"I'm going out!"

Bam! The sound of the door echoed in the silent house.

Outside, the air was cold. His lonely footsteps echoed through the deserted village streets.
"Ugh... Just now I was supposed to end up in a fantasy world haunted by a serial killer..."

“Help!!!” It was a voice. Male, this time. And close.

“A-yet?!”

His eyes opened wide. His hands began to shake. But then, he clenched his fists. “This time...I will not hesitate!”

With a snap, he launched himself in the direction of the voice. His heart beat as if crazed. The place was different. No houses, only rocks and trees. An open, silent place.

“Sir, get away from there!” he shouted, but ...

ZACK.

A cruel sound. Dry. The sound of death. The man slumped slowly, as if even life hesitated to let him go.

"No... No, no, no!" The boy rushed to him. His trembling hands touched the still-warm body. Blood spread over his fingers, like an accusation.

“Please...please stay with me!” He began to press on the man's chest, as if that gesture could bring him back to life.

But it was too late. This time, too. Ren fell to his knees. Bitter tears rolled down his cheeks as he clenched his teeth to keep from screaming.

"Why... Why is all this happening...!"

But his cry was drowned out by a sudden sound. Footsteps. Many footsteps.

"Freeze! Don't move!"
"Raise your hands and walk slowly toward us!"

They were the village guards. About ten of them. Maybe-the last ones left. He slowly raised his head, caught at the worst possible moment. His hands were still stained with blood when the guards surrounded him. With a slow pace, he approached. Two soldiers broke away from the group to approach the body on the ground.

"Sir! That was a direct hit to the heart!" shouted one of them, addressing the squad leader, a man with a rough but authority-laden voice.

"Ahahahah! Then it's done!" The commander laughed, as if all the weight of the past few days had been lifted from his shoulders. "We have finally caught the culprit! From today, no one will have to live in fear!"

Screams erupted one after another.
"Hooray!"
"We are free!"
"Die, you bastard!"

The soldiers celebrated. There was no doubt in their eyes. To them, Ren was the monster.

After a quick check, they dragged him away and locked him in a cramped cell devoid of any comfort. There was barely room to lie down.

"Well, sir. We have activated a rune of magical containment. He won't be able to get out even if he wanted to."

"Perfect. That only means one thing..." The commander clenched his fists with a smile.
"This war...we won it."

Ren lowered his gaze. His hands were tied, his body locked up, and the whole world seemed to have abandoned him. The boy who wanted to save the village ... had become the monster everyone wanted to see dead.

Three days passed. Three long, silent days. But finally ... someone came.
"Release him."

The voice was clear. Firm. Unmistakable.
"Z-Zaro...?"
"You can't keep him in there."
"Sir...he's a murderer!" protested a guard.
"He is not."

Zaro's voice did not tremble for a moment. "People are still dying, even while he is locked up here. Isn't that enough for you?"

"But what if there isn't just one...?"
"I don't care. He is not a murderer. And I won't repeat it."

A sharp silence fell in the hall.

"...All right."

One of the soldiers approached the cell, deactivated the rune and opened the door. The newcomer to that cell collapsed to his knees, exhausted.

"Thank you... Thank you very much, sir..."
"You don't have to thank me."

Zaro helped him up.

“But from today...you will no longer sleep in my house.”
"W-what?"
"It's for your safety. People are suspicious...if you stay with me, they might take it out on those who protect you, too."
"And where will I go...?"
"To a shelter. At least there will be other people there, and no one will think you are acting in the shadows."
"M-but I..."
"Enough talk. Let's go home and get your things ready."

That evening, the house was quiet. He prepared his belongings, trying not to make noise. His heart was pounding in his chest.

"...Mr. Zaro."
"Hm?"

"Will you promise me that... will stay safe?"
"Of course, Ren. Don't worry about me." His smile was calm, reassuring. As always.
"W-well... I'll be off then. And thank you, really, for everything."
"You're welcome, kid. Stop by and see me sometime, okay?"
"Sure!"

And with those last words, the boy left the house that had welcomed him-and walked toward the shelter.

The shelter was hidden among the rocky hills, far from the sight and noise of the village. It was carved directly into the stone, and its entrance was so well camouflaged that, if one did not know it, it seemed only part of the mountain itself.

The boy stopped in front of that darkness. His heart was heavy and his palms sweaty. The silence around him was almost more deafening than the screams of the guards.

When he crossed the threshold, a smell of damp earth enveloped him. The cold rock walls seemed to tighten on him.

It was then that he saw her.

A girl, perhaps his age, stared straight into his eyes. Her red hair was short, just below her ears, and she wore white clothes, though now dirty with mud and dust. Behind her, the other people in the shelter were holed up in the shadows, as if afraid to approach.

"...Here is the murderer."

The girl's voice broke the silence like a blade. "What are you doing here!"

The boy froze. His breath became short. All those eyes on him, full of fear and distrust, weighed on his chest like boulders.

"Well?! Answer me, monster!"

- ...Monster?-

“I-I...” His voice trembled. "I am not a monster..."

"You are! And I will not allow you to enter this shelter!"
"I didn't... I decided that..."

"Really?!" The girl's eyes narrowed into a sharp look. "And who, pray tell, would send an assassin to a place like this!"

"...Zaro."
"It was Zaro...the village chief."

The girl whitened. "Z-Zaro? Don't talk nonsense! He would never do such a thing!"
"And yet he did."

Their gazes met for a brief moment. "If you don't believe me ... you can go and ask him directly."

A tense silence fell in the cave. No one moved. No one spoke.

"...We're not going anywhere," the girl murmured, turning to the others.
"With you here, we are in enough danger already. Stay far away. Sleep as far away from us as you can."

"...All right."

He barely nodded his head and walked away. He walked slowly until he found a dark corner behind a large boulder. There he sat down, hugging his knees.

“That girl...” he thought, as he watched her from a distance.
"She's trying to protect everyone. Even if she is tough, even if she is afraid.... She is strong. Maybe if I had done the same, if I had protected instead of chasing ... I wouldn't be here now."

That night he did not close his eyes.

He stayed awake, observing in silence every movement, every breath. Not out of fear of them-but to protect them.

Even though no one wanted him there. Even if they called him a monster.