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A monster lives in the village.

That wasn’t just a simple metaphor or a humorous way to refer to an eccentric person.

“Are you saying there’s a monster living over there?”

“That’s right, Mr. Asud.”

Farid Al Bas nodded his head.

He explained that there’s a monster habitat near the village I wanted to go to. To be more precise,

“There’s a dry swamp to the northeast of the village.”

The monster colony is located nearby.

“What’s a dry swamp?”

Camila, who was sitting in the passenger seat, posed the question.

I stared blankly into the air. Not because I didn’t want to answer, but I was racking my brain to see what metaphor would fit best.

“It’s like a spawning pool.”

“A spawning pool?”

“Yes.”

I added, “That’s where monsters are created.”

—

**Episode 16 – The Six Million Dollar Man**

I parked the vehicle on a hill and surveyed the village.

Even with binoculars, it felt fairly far away.

I could see white smoke rising from each house, suggesting they were preparing meals, and there were several local men diligently gathering crops in the fields.

“Hmm…”

Camila, who was examining the sparse brown grass of the desert, took her eyes off the binoculars.

“It just looks like an ordinary village?”

Just as she said, the village I had my sights on was simply an absolutely ordinary rural town.

There were no buildings made from modern materials like steel and concrete; just houses and grain warehouses built of wood and mud lined the streets.

The outskirts of the village didn’t seem much different from the numerous hamlets we had passed by until now.

The only difference was that there was a ‘dry swamp’ located far northeast of the village.

Camila spoke up.

“Is that the dry swamp we talked about earlier?”

“Swamp.”

“Oh, that. You said it was like a spawning pool?”

The dry swamp is a type of ‘spawning pool.’

Monsters eat monsters, monsters breed, and the offspring grow up, devouring the life-depleted mothers and laying eggs in this spawning ground.

“The dry swamp is the area where the most monsters inhabit on the Mauritania Continent. It’s roughly the size of Lake Victoria, and you can think of the entire region as a factory churning out monsters.”

To put it simply, it’s a gate. The kind where all too common web novel monsters pop out, and hunters need to go in and close it off.

As I finished my metaphor, Camila’s eyes became as round as saucers. She was startled by the idea of monsters popping out in such quantities from a factory.

“Is it really that bad? If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to retreat, as the people say?”

“No. It’s too far away to be a significant concern.”

I replied as I received the binoculars back.

“It’s true that the dry swamp is the largest monster habitat on the Mauritania Continent, and it’s also correct that the monsters here are dangerous, but there really isn’t a major issue. The dry swamp is at least a two-day journey away from here.”

If it’s two days away, the chance of monsters appearing here is slim.

Back when I was active in the northern regions of the Kien Empire, cities and villages more than a day away from habitats did not suffer from monster attacks. The farther the physical distance from the habitat to the village, the quicker the chances of a monster visiting the village declined.

While there had been disasters like the one with the corpse spiders and giant spider attacking a rift, that’s an exception due to the involvement of demons.

“And as far as I know, this region hasn’t suffered monster attacks in the last three months. Even the correspondents stationed in the capital have testified that they’ve never heard of monster attacks on villages.”

“International department journalists?”

Camila tilted her head, a puzzled expression on her face.

“When did you meet people like that? You were stuck with me in the capital.”

“I have a friend who’s the head of the social section at the Magic Tower newspaper. He is well-connected in that industry, and I heard the news through him.”

“Oh.”

At any rate, it was very clear that the village I wanted to go to had a significantly low chance of monster attacks.

But it seemed the warlords had a different opinion.

“What do you think about turning back now?”

“First, we should request support from the tribe…”

“Isn’t there a way to bring a shaman here?”

“Just quickly getting out of here might be the best option…”

They were exchanging serious opinions.

According to Camila’s understanding, there were two groups: the conservatives who insisted we should never go into the village, and the cautious ones who said it would be okay if we were thoroughly prepared. The rough ratio was about 7:3?

Of course, there were also moderates who were doing nothing, like Farid.

Even as the tribe members debated passionately, he just sat in the vehicle, blankly staring at the horizon, as if any conclusion wouldn’t matter to him.

As time passed, the mood seemed to tilt toward the conservatives. It was only natural since they were the larger group from the onset. While I was talking to the tribe members, a middle-aged local man approached our SUV to deliver the results.

“Let’s head back for now, journalist.”

“We’re not going to the village?”

“It’s a dangerous place. Wouldn’t it be better to conduct your research in a safer environment next time?”

The middle-aged local man clasped his hands and begged earnestly.

As a guest of the Al Bas tribe chief, if I got hurt or killed in their territory, it would unquestionably lead to backlash. Nayan Al Bas, who failed to protect a guest, would receive scorn from the world. In that case, the tribe’s honor would be dragged through the mud, and given their value of honor over life, my relationship with Nayan would surely become quite awkward.

“…Understood.”

In the end, I bent to the pressure. As I gave a positive response, the warlord group quickly began to prepare to return.

Camila looked at the village with regretful eyes, but unlike usual, she didn’t urge me to go even for a moment. Instead, she simply offered comforting words, checking if I was okay.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m okay. We can visit the government army base next time. It’s not like there are any problems with taking a detour a bit…”

As I was about to insert the key, I paused.

“…No.”

An odd sound was heard from somewhere. Like the sharp metal clattering of mechanical parts bumping into each other.

At first, I thought there was an issue with the engine. However, the key stuck in the vehicle hadn’t turned yet. The engine of the SUV, which had not yet started, remained quietly dormant.

I peeked my head out the window.

Outside, the warlord faction’s men were trying to start their engines, half of their bodies leaning outside with the doors still open, scanning the surroundings.

“Where is that sound coming from?”

“We don’t know either.”

And just then…

Camila, sitting in the passenger seat, slapped my shoulder and yelled to look outside.

“Where? What am I supposed to look at?”

“There! The field!”

“The field?”

I quickly pulled out my binoculars and scanned the area. Straining my neck for a better view, I frowned slightly.

It looked like black paint spread on a canvas; little dots were slowly spreading across the golden field. The movement wasn’t too fast or too slow, but there was something unsettling about it, and I couldn’t take my eyes off the sight.

After a while of observing the dark dots staining the field, I muttered, “…Bugs?”

It was indeed bugs.

*

The warning of the attack came from the wooden spire standing tall at the boundary between the village and the fields.

An old man, watching the horizon, banged a heavy iron pot to alert everyone.

“It’s monsters! Monsters are coming!”

They were locusts.

Locusts larger than an adult male’s palm were swarming in a mass.

Every time thousands of locusts flapped their bodies and wings, a sound reminiscent of scratching metal filled the air. The sheer size of the swarm made it feel like flames were rising as they flew in unison.

A farmer stood dazed at the sight of the locusts charging down like they were riding the wind. With a blank expression, he watched as the locusts enveloped him, and he soon vanished into the yellow torrent. It wasn’t just the farmer’s shape that disappeared. The sound of flesh being chewed and horrifying screams vanished along with him.

“Run!”

“Get the oil! Oil!”

As the alarm rang out, the farmers working in the fields started sprinting. The stout men remaining in the village also rushed out in the same direction, each carrying a canister of oil.

Farmers who arrived first began grabbing bundles of hay and tossing them to the ground. They placed the dried hay and sticks on the earth, and the stout men poured oil over it.

“Hurry up! Quick!”

They shouted at some farmers running towards them, who had taken a bit longer to hear the alarm while working in the fields.

Trailing behind the panting farmers was the swarm of locusts.

One farmer at the front tripped, and the locusts descended upon him. However, the other farmers couldn’t see it. They were trying not to look.

The locust swarm, having thoroughly devoured discarded tools and human flesh, continued to advance, gnawing at the unripe grains. The horde, racing at 80 kilometers per hour, finally slowed down after swallowing a few straggling farmers.

The stout men, who had been anxiously waiting for the farmers, quickly hurled torches onto the hay piles once the last man had fallen.

-Woosh!

Red lines began to form on the earth, where hay and sticks mingled. The flaming ribbons that spewed forth released black smoke, creating a barrier of fire.

Though not on a grand scale, it was sufficient to halt the advance of the killer locusts.

-Ssssssisssss!!

The black tide that had enveloped the golden field met the red river. The furious locust swarm, charging ahead, was thrown into chaos by the suddenly appearing fire.

Sounds of weird cries filled the field as they collided, pushing and piling over one another. The people, with their mouths covered by damp cloths, finally relaxed and smiled.

At that moment, a farmer on the left screamed with a high-pitched voice.

“The, the fire isn’t spreading!”

“What?”

A man burst through the crowd, grabbing the startled farmer and questioning him.

“What do you mean the fire isn’t spreading?”

“It’s just as I said. The fire isn’t sticking! I don’t know if it’s the oil that’s wrong or if the hay is wet…!”

The man’s eyes turned toward the stout men. They were pouring more oil on the sticks and hay and igniting them with their torches.

Perhaps luck was on their side; it seemed the locusts had not yet realized there were still areas where the fire hadn’t spread. The man quickly ordered the retrieval of hay and oil from another area.

But it was one step too late.

The black swarm of locusts facing the red river began to turn back. Like a stream flowing along the wall, the black tide stained the golden field as it moved downward.

Numerous people pulled back as the swarm of killing locusts squeezed through the narrow spaces.

Then it happened.

-Whoosh!

A massive wave of fire filled the void left by the red river. The swarm of locusts, inching in through the openings along with the flames, turned into a handful of ashes.

But that wasn’t the end.

The lashing flames curved towards the locust swarm. The red column colliding with the black tide devoured the locusts, leaving behind black scars like a beast’s claws extending toward the golden field.

Fire danced in the wind across the field. A gentle breeze pushed the flames slightly, causing the locusts to jump up and flee northward, while the wave of fire swallowed the locusts that soared high, turning back on the black swarm retreating across the field.

*

The overwhelming dance of fire captivated the people.

Farmers, stout men, warlords.

None dared to speak, nor could they bear to look away.

“…”

“…”

The black smoke covering the blue sky felt palpable even from a distance; the heat was a faint sensation. Against the backdrop of flames engulfing the golden field, Camila gave a thumbs up and smiled brightly.

“What do you think? Isn’t it amazing?”

I gazed at her in silence.

It felt like it had only been about five months since I last saw her.

Camila had grown unrecognizably.

“…Ah!”

Suddenly, Camila, who had been smiling, froze with wide eyes.

She ripped at her hair and yelled.

“We can’t burn the field too!”

“…”

I let out a deep sigh.

Though her skills had improved, her wits still matched the Camila I knew.

 

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