As Aeren whispered to himself while addressing the corpse of the monster, he sat upon it, finishing his explanation about his encounter with silence. He glanced around and noticed that no monsters remained alive. Soon, he saw humans emerging from the prisons where the monsters had kept them captive.
"We can finally leave!" one of the humans shouted upon seeing the corpses of the monsters. As he looked around, his gaze locked onto Aeren, and he caught a glimpse of freedom—the kind he had longed for throughout his entire life. No one had possessed the power to confront these monsters until now. Overwhelmed with hope, he knelt before Aeren, bowing as if he were a devoted worshiper. The others around him witnessed his silent act of reverence. They saw Aeren surrounded by the monsters, each one appearing ten times bigger and stronger than him. Yet, Aeren sat above them all without any trace of fear. In that moment, they perceived Aeren as a beacon of the freedom they had desperately yearned for.
Aeren's cold eyes surveyed the crowd of humans before him. He could hear their whispers, and one by one, they began to mimic the actions of the first man. Gradually, with only a few exceptions standing firm, the majority of the humans knelt and bowed before him, their eyes fixed intently on Aeren with reverence and hope.
Aeren looked at his worshipers and noticed that a few still stood within the crowd. He felt confused that they did not bow before him, but he chose to ignore their lack of reverence for now. A cold smile emerged on his face as he surveyed all his followers. Aeren stood atop the corpses of the monsters he had slain, his smile hidden from his worshipers' view. He cleared his throat as he observed them all.
"YOU PATHETIC VERMIN, I AM YOUR HOPE TO SHOW YOU FREEDOM! NOW YOU WORSHIP ME BECAUSE I HAVE ELIMINATED THESE VERMIN THAT CAPTURED YOU. BUT YOU PATHETIC CREATURES, I APPRECIATE YOUR STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE, AND I WANT TO HELP YOU SEE THE OUTSIDE OF THIS SMALL VILLAGE WHERE YOU WERE IMPRISONED." Aeren's voice echoed powerfully as he spoke to them, and their tears began falling in response to his profound words. A few people had been standing on their own feet, watching Aeren, but they were not worshiping him like the others who were on the ground worshiping him. They listened to his speech attentively, without interrupting him even once.
This makes it clearer that there are two groups: those kneeling and worshiping, and those standing and merely observing without worship.
Aeren paused for a moment, surveying the crowd with calculating eyes. "NOW THAT I SEE PATHETIC VERMIN LIKE YOU HERE, THERE MAY BE MORE IMPRISONED INSIDE THE VILLAGE. SO, FOLLOW ME AS WE ELIMINATE THE LARGER VERMIN TO SAVE THE SMALLER ONES LIKE YOU, AND WORSHIP ME WHILE WE DO SO." Aeren declared as he concluded his speech. Their tears continued to flow freely, but they lifted their heads high, filled with a burning desire to join him on his quest. In their eyes shone awe, relief, and deep admiration for their savior.
As the bowed people gazed at Aeren with awe, relief, and admiration, those standing nearby twitched their eyes as they heard his words. They could see the blindness among the crowds and sensed Aeren's true motives beneath his proclaimed benevolence. They felt dissatisfied with their supposed savior; they had hoped he would be kind and genuinely good-natured. If he had possessed those qualities, he would have told them, "If you want to be saved, you must work hard like I do to become strong like me." However, to their disappointment, he sought worshipers instead of equals, which made them deeply uncomfortable. As they looked at Aeren critically, they felt no real difference between the monsters he had slain and him. Both seemed to want something from them—whether flesh or devotion, it was all the same exploitation.
"Why should we worship you?" one of the standing people shouted defiantly, glaring at Aeren with fierce determination in his eyes. He could no longer accept serving someone else when he believed he had the power to protect himself. Why did he need to worship Aeren when he could stand on his own?
As he spoke these rebellious words, all the people kneeling on the ground turned their heads toward him, their faces filled with hatred and rage for daring to question the being they were worshiping so devotedly. If Aeren hadn't been present there, they would have killed this man the very moment he challenged Aeren's divine authority. However, they refrained from taking any violent action, not wanting to disrespect or act without permission from someone as powerful as Aeren.
Aeren smiled widely as he heard the challenging question from the standing man, barely able to control his laughter as he observed him with dark amusement. Aeren stepped closer to him, and as he approached, he noticed the unwavering determination etched on the man's face. Pausing directly in front of him, standing mere inches away, Aeren spoke in a chilling tone: "You have no power to question me."
His cold voice echoed directly in the man's mind like a hammer striking his consciousness. The man's eyes widened dramatically as he studied Aeren more closely, and he struggled desperately to remain upright, fighting against an invisible force before finally collapsing to his knees at Aeren's feet. As he knelt there, trembling, he could suddenly see what everyone else had been seeing in Aeren all along—something beyond human comprehension—and he bowed his head low without a single question remaining in his shattered mind.
"Lord, have mercy on me for doubting you," the man cried desperately as he spoke to Aeren with genuine terror and regret. However, Aeren completely ignored his plea and walked away without another glance, leaving the crowd behind him. The few people who were still standing watched the man's sudden transformation with growing disappointment in their supposed savior, interpreting the entire display as nothing more than a manipulative act.
As Aeren entered deeper into the village, the people started to rise to their feet one by one and follow him obediently. They watched his figure recede before them with profound awe as they trailed behind him like devoted disciples, their admiration clearly evident in their expressions and body language.
***
There is a monster tending carefully to his garden, employing a few specially trained humans to help him and directing them precisely on how to cultivate his unique plants. In this garden, there are carnivorous plants that consume humans, monsters, and any physical bodies they could capture, absorbing their magical essence similarly to how monsters feasted on human flesh for power. However, these humans working here were special; they were extensively trained to care for this particular type of dangerous vegetation. They understood instinctively which humans and monsters would be best suited as nutrients to enhance the garden's growth and vitality, and they were all completely loyal to their master, the owner of this macabre garden.
As he, a monster of refined tastes, watched his garden flourish beautifully, a smile spread across his face, filled with deep pride at how well his trained humans performed their duties—even better than he had originally anticipated. He envisioned the paradise he was painstakingly trying to create in this small village, a place where he could nurture his plants as if they were his own beloved children. He had dedicated himself wholeheartedly to witnessing their terrible beauty bloom. He had heard ancient tales that a garden like this could become a heavenly expanse of green, as beautiful as the endless blue sky in the eyes of those who truly beheld its magnificence.
As he dreamed blissfully of his idyllic green paradise, picturing the horrific beauty of his garden in full bloom, he suddenly felt another presence approaching from behind him. When he turned around slowly, he saw a creature that resembled his own kind—a monstrous version of himself. Turning back to his garden with a sigh, he noticed a look of helplessness on his subordinate's face, but he did not care much about whatever situation had brought him here. As the village leader, however, he felt it was his duty to at least ask about the creature's circumstances.
"What is it, Carn?" he inquired irritably, still focused lovingly on his beloved plants and clearly annoyed by the interruption of his peaceful dream.
Carn could sense his master's disappointment and the cold indifference he felt toward him and his problems. Despite this harsh reception, he bowed respectfully and spoke with urgency: "Lord, humans are killing us throughout the village, and they have already slaughtered several areas of our settlement."
Carn struggled to believe his own words even as he spoke them. He had come here to report, yet he had witnessed with his own eyes the humans systematically killing the monsters over the past two days. For two entire days, they had been slaughtering all the people he had lived with peacefully, and he felt utterly powerless to protect them from this merciless assault. That was why he had come here desperately, hoping for a helping hand from the only one strong enough to make a difference.
Carn knew that his master possessed the power to change everything—that's precisely why he sought him out in his time of need. As he arrived at the garden, he noticed a few humans working peacefully among the plants, and a wave of intense hatred washed over him like poison. His bloodlust for killing humans grew exponentially stronger as he observed them working so calmly, and he vividly recalled the despair he felt during the recent battles when the invading humans slaughtered his kind mercilessly, laughing cruelly as they did so without any remorse.
He could not bear to witness that nightmare again. That's why he desperately wanted to kill all the humans around the village immediately or consume their flesh before they could become like the ones he had fought against—before they could make him feel that soul-crushing despair once more.