I Became a Wendigo in a Fantasy World

21 – Episode 21

Monsters, beasts, and humans – enemies formed from an utterly incompatible combination.

The sight of such enemies charging forward, screaming, would be unsettling even if one’s spine wasn’t already tingling. Logically, it was an impossible occurrence.

However, the warriors neither stepped back nor cowered in fear. Geron raised his weapon high, shouting vigorously.

“If we retreat, our families will suffer forever. If you don’t want to regret watching them in agony, fight for your lives! Fight to protect your families!”

The warriors roared with a thunderous shout, igniting the flames of determination. What brought them here?

Wasn’t it to honor the noble warriors and protect their families?

As the warriors’ passion blazed, Wendygo looked at Geron with surprised eyes.

Geron had such leadership skills?

“He seems to have a talent for commanding people.”

“hahahaha. Isn’t it all thanks to Lady Wendygo?”

In response to Geron’s humility, Wendygo scoffed. He wanted to refute, but the way he gathered the warriors was a bit… akin to a propagandist.

‘No. I didn’t expect it to work so well.’

He thought it would become troublesome to deal with Kikas as time passed, so he quickly chose this method to convince them.

It seemed that honor and family held more value for the people in this world than he initially thought. Who would have guessed that the warriors would be so captivated?

When Geron looked at him with an expression that said, ‘I knew it would work,’ Wendygo sighed and pulled out his greatsword from the ground.

‘Even if I say I’ve never taught Skadi to manipulate, they won’t believe it.’

Shaking off unnecessary thoughts, Wendygo stared straight ahead. The enemies surged like a wave.

“Kiyaaah!”

“Kill them! Kill them and offer them as sacrifices to our master!”

They were running, spewing blood as they advanced. Dying alone is a good thing, but it didn’t seem like that was happening.

“It looks like what I saw in Parasite Village. Their speed is quite impressive.”

Angry Gikas undoubtedly played a trick. If this continued, the collision would push the warriors back.

Wendigo drove the sword into the ground. His mystery raced through the earth, enforcing his will.

Thunk!

From the mystical-infused tree, roots and branches shot up like spears. It was not just one tree, obviously.

Roots and branches unexpectedly extended from more than ten trees, piercing through the enemies. It was quite effective, but Wendigo frowned.

“Monsters and beasts are quite good at dodging.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t very effective against beasts and monsters. They swiftly slipped through the gaps between the trees.

“Should I try again? No, there’s no significant gain from dealing with those who can evade anyway.”

Trying more would only decrease the space for the warriors to move. Wendigo withdrew the mystique and drew the ice sword.

As he took a step, the beasts scattered with howling. Despite different races, the idea of rushing together was evident.

Feeling the ferocity of their momentum, Wendigo felt the need to break it. He adjusted his stance and took a deep breath.

When the creatures reached close, a mystical roar erupted from Wendigo’s mouth.

《 ■■■■■■■!!!!!! 》

The icy roar, carrying a frigid wind, swept through the surroundings.

Beasts near him had their eardrums and eyes burst, and some parts of their skin froze cold.

The rest avoided death, but the blood that was boiling until now turned cold.

The primitive terror sent by the parasites was incomparable, striking the mind.

“What the hell. You could do something like this?”

Wendigo was astonished at what he had done. Who would have thought that a voice, seemingly useless and ominous, could hold such power?

Wendigo swung his greatsword. Even the agile beasts and monsters, who had been evading his attacks with nimble movements, couldn’t dodge the strikes once their bodies stiffened.

As more than six bodies were torn apart, Wendigo leaped forward. As the sword swung, once again, another six bodies turned into corpses, rolling onto the snowy ground.

Among those who witnessed this slaughter resembling a massacre, Garon was the first to regain his composure.

Garon slapped his own cheek and moved his frozen legs. Could they afford to stay still like fools?

“Move, everyone! Stick close to the elemental!!”

“!”

Following Garon’s command, the warriors regained their senses and started moving.

Though the roars still echoed in their ears, fortunately, none of them were directly hit, allowing them to move.

The warriors followed Wendigo closely, cutting through the enemies. Wendigo crushed a goblin’s head with one hand, observing the scene.

‘If the warriors take care of the sides, I can break through the front.’

Tossing the dead goblin like a live bomb, some of them exploded against a tree with a thunderous sound.

The enemies began to escape the influence of the roars, but that didn’t change the tide of the battle. Those who once had the advantage in numbers had lost even that.

Ignoring his surroundings, Wendigo aggressively wielded the ice sword and charged. The parasites manipulated scarecrows, trying desperately to block Wendigo…

“Run! Avoid him!!”

“Master… Master!!!”

It seemed that the survival instinct was stronger than the parasites’ commands. The scarecrows began to ignore the parasites’ orders.

Wendigo’s violence was too overwhelming to summon the courage to resist.

Although the battle had only just begun, over fifty scarecrows had already become lifeless, irrespective of their race, under Wendigo’s ice sword.

It would have been fortunate if the attacks had at least been effective.

Even those who had come close, whether with fangs or blades, realized that their efforts were futile and lost their will.

And beings whose sanity had fled tended to make similar choices.

In unison, they turned their backs…

“Master! Please help!!!”

“To the nest, retreat to the nest!!”

The puppets and parasites, losing control, started sprinting towards the nest.

Seasoned warriors and ignorant monsters alike, when faced with danger, ultimately wanted to escape to the safety of their cozy homes.

Amidst the agile movements, Wendy, swinging her ice sword, came to a sudden halt, bewildered.

“Huh. Where did the swagger from the village go? Ridiculous.”

“Isn’t it because of the spirit’s roar? It gave me chills just hearing it from behind, so how much worse must it be from the front?”

Geron, who had come running to her side unnoticed, replied while catching his breath. Wendy thought it was a reasonably convincing statement.

‘Even in the modern era, aristocrats dealing with shamans or exorcists would scream when chasing away spirits.’

Considering that people still did that in the modern era where the existence of ghosts was uncertain, there might indeed be a strong force in the voice.

Even so, being frightened and fleeing to the nest…

“To be honest, it was worth running away.”

“Did you see the spirit swinging the sword? It wasn’t slashing, it was tearing apart.”

“If I encounter a being like the spirit, I’ll start praying. I’ll give up everything else, just asking not to die painfully.”

‘… Maybe running away was the norm.’

Although the warriors spoke softly, Wendy’s sharp senses caught their whispers.

If even allies were fearful, then the enemies must have been terrified. Parasites, too, fought for their lives, so it wasn’t strange for them to resist even when cornered.

Wendigo faced a dilemma, unsure whether to rejoice in the ease of the situation or to be saddened by the fact that allies feared it. Locked in a perplexity that made choosing between the two emotions impossible, Wendigo headed towards its lair.

* * *

Wendigo ordered the warriors to guard the surroundings of the lair and ventured alone inside. The interior, unlike the outside, held an unknown threat.

“If it’s not a fool, it must have utilized the advantage of being a parasite to scheme something.”

The mere mention of the word “parasite” filled the mind with looming danger.

Implanting parasites in powerful creatures to manipulate them, pretending to be uninfected while luring others into complacency, secretly parasitizing allies to create discord — all these risks flashed through the mind.

In such a perilous place, it was better to be alone. The complications that would arise if allies were infected were unimaginable.

“Just by listening to me, it’s clear that this individual has lived for quite a long time. Surely, it must have prepared something.”

The reason why the representative image of a sage is an old person is evident. Time often transforms into wisdom and knowledge.

Of course, Kikas had an air of arrogance and carelessness rather than wisdom, but Wendigo remained vigilant. He moved slowly inside the lair, keeping his guard high.

To his surprise, enemies revealed themselves from inside.

However, their condition was peculiar.

“Spa, spare us!!!”

“?

A human with one arm missing pleaded for mercy, followed by several more humans running towards him in a panicked state.

Wendigo couldn’t make an immediate judgment. The face of the one at the forefront stuck in his memory.

“The one who fled first?”

They were indeed enemies, but he couldn’t fathom why they were rushing weaponless.

With the body that couldn’t be wounded even with the teeth of a beast, how could a human withstand a barrage of bullets?

As the enemies approached, Wendy raised her ice sword. There was no time to determine whether they were infected or not.

“Infected or not, come at me!”

Wendy had no intention of playing tricks with Gikas. As she grasped her sword, a scream erupted.

… It wasn’t because her sword was terrifying, but because something had flown from behind.

“Where are you going, my slaves?”

From the darkness, along with the sound of whips, thorny tentacles sprang out.

One of the tentacles pierced the back of a human. The penetrated tentacle split apart, firmly immobilizing the human.

“aaahhhhh!!!”

They were dragged into the darkness. Wendy heard the sound of something breaking and tearing from afar.

The tentacles continued to come and seize the humans. Desperate screams and the stench of blood echoed throughout the nest.

The last remaining outsider human fell in front of Wendy. The person reached out towards Wendy.

“Pl-please, spare me! Your master, your master has gone mad!”

“… Poor thing.”

Wendy bent down and extended her claws towards the outsider. The outsider shed tears with the hope of being saved.

Of course, Wendy had no intention of saving them. When her claws lightly touched the outsider’s head, the coldness that clung to her claws spread throughout their body.

The last mercy Wendy could offer was a painless death.

Just as the tentacles were about to seize the outsider’s corpse once again, Wendy’s sword sliced through the tentacles.

“You impolite creature. How dare you disrupt my meal!”

“… You’re being taught meal etiquette by a bug, huh? Stop the nonsense and quickly bring out what you’ve prepared.”

Wendigo growled, stirring up a sense of mystery. Despite the extraordinary energy, Kikas didn’t flinch or back down.

“Fine. Come closer. I’ll personally take care of you!”

“…?”

Wendigo sensed something strange.

That parasite wants to face me directly? What kind of nonsense is that?

“Is he saying he’ll control the puppet himself?”

If that’s the case, it’s quite convincing. Those guys become more precise as the number of puppets decreases.

Wendigo remained vigilant until the end.

The deepest part of the nest.

Wendigo faced Kikas. With its massive size, Kikas was no less impressive than the legendary Wyrm.

However, unlike the Wyrm, it resembled a grotesque insect rather than a majestic creature.

Wendigo scanned the surroundings with its senses, trying to find hidden enemies.

However, the presence it felt was only Kikas.

“…Could it be that he’s alone?”

“You fool. With such great power, you’re worried about small fry? True strength lies in being complete, alone!”

Unaware that Wendigo was looking at him pitifully, Kikas began singing his own philosophy.

Ignoring his nonsense, Wendigo thought to himself.

“I never thought there would be someone in reality who acts like a sorcerer.”

This moment, when the guy was lost in his imagination, was the perfect opportunity. Wendigo swung its ice sword with the intention to strike him down in one blow.

*Clang!*

“!”

“hahahahaha! It’s different now than when you let your guard down. Do you think you can cut through my body, which has been tempered for three hundred years, no matter how strong you are?”

The shell of Gikas was tough. Although there were some scratches on the shell, they were not enough to kill Gikas.

Wendigo couldn’t help but be surprised.

“No way. Was there a reason behind his philosophy?”

He thought Gikas was just a fool who wasted his time…

Wendigo realized that even a quack has its own logic.

“I’ve never tasted a spirit before, but it would be nice if I could eat one!”

Gikas’ huge mouth opened, and dozens of tentacles poured towards Wendigo.