Chapter 89 - It Is Destroyed?

It was in the evening. 

The sky was getting dark and the weather was becoming cold.

At that time of the day, a coarse voice of a male was heard throughout the village.

"We are all gonna die."

The man, standing on the bridge in the center of the village, yelled on top of his lungs, his voice loud enough for the whole village to hear.

"That place, the sacred domain... It's is destroyed. Our village will be destroyed as well soon."

The man yelled again. 

"Why are you all sitting in your houses? Why are you all so relaxed?"

People opened their windows and peeked outside. Hearing the man's words, people exited their houses and headed to where he was standing. Some stopped their works and walked towards the source of the sound. 

"We will all die. All die!"

Soon, people gathered around the person who was continuously yelling. The two sides of the river were filled with people.

A young woman was the first to talk.

"What are you doing? Are you crazy? Have you lost your mind? Why do you keep yelling at this hour of the day?"

The man threw the farming equipment that he was holding to the ground angrily and yelled again.

"You are the ones who are crazy. The sacred domain is destroyed, yet you all act as if everything is fine. You don't even know what is happening around you."

Everyone looked at each other after hearing that. Their expressions turned to that of surprise and confusion.

"The sacred domain is destroyed?"

"What is he talking about?"

"How can such a thing happen?"

"Why would it be destroyed?"

The confused and clueless people started to chatter anxiously. Most of them still didn't know about the sacred domain's destruction so they were shocked.

"When did that- when did it happen?"

An old man asked in a shaking voice. 

"This morning. I accidentally heard that old man and the other dude's conversation. They said the sacred domain is destroyed. They said a monster destroyed it."

People's whispers rose again.

"A monster?"

"How is that possible?"

"There is no way a monster could-"

"My goddess."

"Why didn't we know about that?"

The angry man scoffed.

"Why? They've been keeping it a secret. They didn't tell us on purpose!"

Another old woman tapped the ground with her cane, her hands trembling and her voice shaking.

"It's the punishment... It's all because of what that boy did... The whole village is being punished."

"Granny is right. It's all because of that. Nothing has been right after that thief scaped the village."

"That's right."

The man angrily yelled again.

"Do you really believe that? You don't! It's ridiculous! Do you think that a monster destroyed the sacred domain only because of a fucking painting getting lost? How can a monster destroy the sacred domain? It's all those hunters' fault! They've purposely destroyed that place!"

The man pointed at the house where the said hunters were staying. 

Once people turned that way, they could see a bunch of strangers standing in the door and staring at them.

"They've destroyed it and then shamelessly came to stay in our village acting all innocent! We have to do something about them."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The group of people that were standing in front of the door didn't say anything to defend themselves and just stared at the angry man.

One of them, that seemed to be the leader, slightly frowned and another one mumbled something under his lips. 

A kid then started to talk, pointing at a woman and a young girl beside her.

"Those aunties went around the whole village and asked us about the sacred domain."

People peeked at the hunters and then nodded their heads. Most of them had seen those guys go around the village and talk to people. Now that they thought about it, they were definitely suspicious.

An old voice interrupted the frightened people's conversation.

"Stop blaming innocent people. They are just a bunch of youth who had saved us from a fierce monster. It isn't right to talk about them like that."

The old woman who said that had talked to two of those hunters a few hours ago. In her eyes, they were no more than just two young kids who were curious about a ruin.

Another old man said after her.

"She is right. It is their fault but our's. The domain wants to stop protecting us because of our sins."

This time, people started to support his words. They talked about how they were guilty and how they had offended the sacred domain. They said it was their mistakes that brought destruction to this land.

This time, a young man yelled loud enough for all of the villagers to hear.

"Are you stupid? Have you fucking lost your minds? You fools don't even have a bairn to think! Stop talking bullshit. How can you still believe those stupid tales about a blessed ruin? Those were stories for those who lived hundreds of years ago, not now. How can you believe such a stupid thing! You are making a fuss only because a fucking building is destroyed? It was already ruined for a long time."

silence filled the area at that moment.

Everyone looked at the young man without saying anything, then turned to look at the others. 

His words were a little bit harsh, but they were what most of the youths in the village believed. 

After a brief moment of silence, voices started to rise again. This time, the ones who talked were the youngsters of the village.

"He is right. How would a mere ruin protect us anyway?"

"It's just some old tales."

"Nothing is gonna happen to us only because some walls crumbled down. Let's stop this and go home."

When the youngsters started to say those words, the older ones protested. They said the youngsters were mistaken and couldn't see the truth. They scolded them for ignoring their village's protector and calling it a mere ruin.

People continued to talk.

Some said it was a punishment, some said it was the hunters' fault, and some said that was only natural and there was nothing to worry about.

The conversation heated up and people started to quarrel with each other slowly. It was mostly the younger ones and the elders whose opinions were completely the opposite.

The older people called the youngsters ungrateful and the youths called them unreasonable. They blamed each other for not thinking correctly and not seeing the truth.

"Stop it."

Just when the conversation was reaching a dangerous point, an old man's voice stopped the angry people.

Everyone turned to look at the old man that was slowly approaching the group. He took one step at a time and supported himself with a wooden cane. The old man looked at the villagers with a frown and an angry gaze.

"What do you think you are doing, fighting among yourselves in a situation like this?"

"Ah!"

"Old man."

"Village chief."

Everyone stopped talking and looked at the old man that was approaching them. 

The old man, the village chief, looked quite angry. He clicked his tongue and glared at the villagers.

"How disappointing. Instead of thinking about our village's future, they are fighting with each other. I'm really disappointed."

The people completely shut their mouths after hearing his words. As if they just realized how stupid they had acted, everyone lowered their heads and looked down with shame.

The old man glared at them once, then he raised his cane and pointed at another group of people that were silently watching the commotion until now.

"I apologize. You've witnessed an unsightly scene. But please understand these villagers, the issue is related to their lives so they are quite scared."

The villagers all looked at the people that the old man was talking to in a respectful manner. They could see the man standing in the front gently nod his head and open his mouth.

"I fully understand."

The village chief smiled at him and looked at his fellow villagers, still with an angry gaze.

"We must talk about some issues. It was supposed to be a talk between me and some elders, but it doesn't matter now. The ones who want to discuss the matters gather in my house's yard by half an hour."

The old man turned to go back after saying that, but someone called him before he left.

"Village chief."

The old man turned back again. He could see the leader of the hunters calling his name.

"Yes?"

The man paused for a moment before hesitantly continuing.

"There seem to be some misunderstandings about us. I know this may be rude, but can we also join you? This issue is related to us in some ways so..."

The man's voice trailed off as if he wasn't sure if he should continue to talk or not.

The village chief looked at them for a moment before nodding his head.

"Sure you can."