What a drag... How long do I have to stay like this?
YuWon kept playing dead as the centaurs dragged him along the forest. He had been awake all this ti. After all, he barely even registered Min-Joon's strike to the back of his head.
Thanks to the hearts of the disasters inside him, a blow like that was nothing more than a mild annoyance, like a mosquito bite. But YuWon played along and let Soo-Ah and Min-Joon believe he was knocked out.
Why you ask? Because it was the perfect way to get answers without raising suspicion. After all, if he was knocked out cold, then the rest of them would drop their guard.
But that doesn't make this any better.
From YuWon's position, he could hear the surrounding conversations. It wasn't long before they began talking in their strange, horse-like voices.
"This is madness," a centaur groaned. "We've dragged humans into our cursed land again."
"We have no choice," another centaur replied. "A human needs to perform the ritual for the curse to be lifted."
YuWon listened carefully, wondering what curse and ritual they were talking about.
"What about those two who appeared before?" the first centaur asked, keeping his voice low. "How did they even get here? We've been trapped in this forest with no way out, yet they appeared out of nowhere."
"You ask too many questions," the second centaur replied, getting frustrated. "if you have questions, go ask the elders about it. As if dragging humans isn't deaning enough, I have to do it along with you!"
"..."
After the exchange, the two got quiet. YuWon was about to get up and make them talk himself when the first guy opened his mouth again.
"The werewolves are getting stronger. Every day, they kidnap more of our people and turn them into those monsters. That's why the elders are desperate for any help. Even from the humans."
"...I hope they succeed, but... I don't have any hope in humans. No one of us could break the King's curse. Then how will they do it?"
"We'll find out later, won't we? Now shut up before you get both of us sacrificed!"
At that, YuWon's ears perked up even more. The King's curse, werewolves, and the forest. Sothing about everything irked him. Despite the warning, the centaurs kept chatting with each other.
From their chat, YuWon could piece most of the information together.
Long ago, the centaurs ruled over the forest of Lykaion. They were its protectors and, as usual, it was a kingdom everyone wanted to live in until the incompetent king took the throne.
The centaurs, known to be one with nature, often offered offerings and rituals to the gods whom their forefathers had seen. But when the incompetent king took the throne, he abolished all such laws. .
Not only that, he declared he was their only god, as such they would give the offerings to him. People protested, but the king's n quickly dealt with them. This left the centaurs no choice but to follow such rules.
However, one day a human traveler arrived there. He claid to be an emissary of the gods who had returned to survey Lykaion as promised by their forefathers.
The emissary ca with his wife and two young children. They quickly took a liking to Lykaion and spent the day sightseeing. anwhile, the ministers urged the king to give the emissary the proper respect he deserved.
They expected the foolish king to reject them. Hence, the ministers were ready to kill the king if necessary, as they knew the emissary wasn't soone to be trifled with.
But the king agreed and even organized a banquet in the emissary's honor. That's when disaster struck.
Unbeknownst to everyone, the king took a liking to the emissary's wife and kidnapped her. Not only that, he killed their children, wanting the woman to have a fresh start as his wife.
All this happened without the knowledge of the ministers. But the worst was yet to co.
The emissary wanted to feast on so at. But as the protector of Lykaion, the centaurs couldn't hunt other animals, as it would doom their souls to hell.
Surprisingly, the king bought so flesh. When asked about it, he ntioned forcing so prisoners to do it. The ministers were hesitant, but since they couldn't upset the emissary, they agreed to serve the at.
Everyone had a good ti. But then the emissary asked them about his wife and children. The ministers were in the dark and didn't know about it either.
Just then, the king laughed and his n brought the emissary's wife, who was bound in chains. Enraged, the emissary asked the king what he was doing. But the next mont, he began coughing blood.
Smug by his victory, the king laughed and told him everything. He told him how he had killed his children and served them as the food he praised so much.
The emissary's eyes widened in disbelief as he kept coughing blood. The king enjoyed watching the emissary squirm. Not only did he feed the emissary his children, but he had also poisoned his food. Soon, the emissary would die and his wife would beco the king's concubine.
That's how things unfolded. The king thought he proved his point that he was their only god. Until... a literal god arrived at their doorstep, enraged by the king's action.
But he didn't kill them. Instead, the god wanted to make them suffer and cursed them.
As the centaurs talked, YuWon could hear the regret in their voice, but it didn't change the facts. The king's greed and incompetency had brought the curse upon themselves.
"The king was the first to fall," the centaur continued. "He transford into the first werewolf. Now he spreads the curse by kidnapping more of us and turning them into his followers."
"That's why we need the ritual," another centaur sighed. "It's the only way to lift the curse. But only humans can perform it."
What the hell...
Even though YuWon stayed still, he felt baffled by the story. These fuckers screwed over so god and now wanted a way out. Also, for so reason, Yeji was crucial to that ritual.
But that didn't explain how Soo-Ah and Min-Joon got there and how they knew about the ritual. Unfortunately, YuWon got no more answers.
The group walked in silence for a while after that. Finally, after what felt like hours of being dragged through the forest, they arrived at their destination.
YuWon slightly opened his eyes to look around, without making it obvious that he was awake. They had reached what appeared to be a village.
The buildings were simple but large, built to accommodate their half-human, half-horse bodies. But the place had no sign of the glorious kingdom the centaurs talked about.
"We're here," a centaur announced.
YuWon slowly shifted his body, pretending to stir as if he were just beginning to wake up. He couldn't let them know he had been listening this whole ti.
"Looks like this one is waking up," the centaurs said, eyeing YuWon cautiously.
YuWon groaned, blinking his eyes open as if in confusion. "W-Where… am I?"
The centaur holding the rope around his wrists quickly smacked him on the head. "You speak when you're spoken to, human!"
YuWon stumbled slightly from the blow, playing the part of a disoriented fool. But as he did, he looked around the village. There were dozens of centaurs standing before an altar.
Soo-Ah stood off to the side, her arms crossed, watching him closely. Min-Joon kept talking to Soo-Ah, but she didn't pay any attention to him.
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