Facing this murderous demon, I didn't feel as brave as I was pretending to be, but I maintained a facade of righteousness.

"Don’t you understand?" He taunted. "Let me enlighten you. This village is quite something. When I set it ablaze, everyone was sleeping soundly. One torch, one barrel of oil, and they were all gone. Fascinating, isn't it?" He boasted.

He asked me, "Do you know why I did that? Because they defied me."

His words left me dumbfounded. No wonder the village seemed so small. There was a harrowing tale behind it.

I glanced at the old man who had smiled kindly at me moments ago, chatting away in a language I couldn't comprehend. Now, he lay cold and lifeless.

The stench of blood filled the room.

I thought I even detected a hint of a burning smell.

The whole village had been burned alive, he said.

He was a maniac.

"The old fool was quite resilient, wasn’t he? He was still kicking after all these years, and he dared to curse at me." He sneered, kicking the old man's