William POV
"All I need now is th—"
"Captain! We have an emergency!" I was planning to catch Premo when a night watch patrol unit shouted.
"What is it?" I had bad feelings about this. I stood up from my chair.
"It's Premo, he's attacking the school!" he replied.
"What?!" He finally moved. "Of all the places, why the school? Let's move! Gather all available units we have," I ordered. "And report to Lieutenant Zack about the situation!"
"Yes, sir," he responded.
'After all these years of hiding, you finally showed up, but why at the school? I will not let you get away this time, Premo.' I started running, thinking about my son, afraid he might do something reckless. Knowing him, he would definitely resist Premo.
"I will sprint ahead, just continue to the school," I ordered. I activated my Spirit Dive and ran faster. The casual 7-hour travel from school to our office took me only 2 hours. And when I arrived, great destruction welcomed me—it was a massacre.
"Just what the hell happened here?" With my enhanced hearing, I could hear children dying, crying in agonizing pain. The smell of blood stung my nose along with the stench of burning flesh. I knew my son was still alive, but as a father, I couldn't erase the fear in my head that he was in danger.
I tried helping multiple wounded children, then suddenly…
"This smell, it's Nathan!" I looked around but found nothing. "Where is it coming from?" Then, before I could realize, I saw something falling from the sky like a meteor crashing down to the ground. The immense impact sent waves of dust and wind. I felt the vibrations from the ground but…
"There's no mistake, this smell, it's Nathan!" I ran toward the impact. I saw my son's breathless body. For a moment, my heart stopped.
"Oh… well… well…" Then Premo suddenly appeared in the sky. "Look who's here? The great Captain, is it?"
"What did you do to my son?" I glared into his eyes, ready for anything.
"Oh no. No… nooo… what did YOU do to your son?" he replied as he descended. "It's a shame, he's quite talented you know… such a waste, he's dead. He was a genius." As he reached the ground, he summoned a blade on his right hand seemingly made of his iron wings.
"How was he able to have Animal Spirits at such a young age? You must be a strict father." Then he pointed the blade at me. "Well… no matter, you too will die soon…"
Speaking of Animal Spirits… "How did you acquire your Animal Spirits?" I asked.
'He stopped moving?' I took my stance, ready to fight. Looks like he had no plans of telling me.
That time when we captured them, he didn't have any magical mana. How could he possibly have powers now? That was impossible. Not realizing I was lost in thought, he started to attack me.
Multiple slashes from his dagger and random strikes from his iron feathers. I could dodge and deflect those attacks, but he was persistent and strong. Additionally, his iron wings were far too durable to penetrate.
So I tried to enhance my strength to keep up with him. I pulled my sword from my back and infused it with mana.
"Smoke Screen!" I cast a spell. The smoke screen was great for hiding my presence and limiting his vision. By inhaling the dust from my spell, the enemy's speed and durability would reduce. This increased my chances of winning. Thanks to my Animal Spirit, Dog, it enhanced my senses—I could clearly see he was getting weaker.
"It's my chance." Then I dashed toward him. My attack now penetrated through his wings. I could slash his wings multiple times and easily block everything he threw at me.
"How did you get your powers?" With my presence completely erased, I took my chance to speak with him.
"Why do you care?" Finally, he responded.
"It's impossible for you to awaken Animal Spirits at your age," I replied.
"I have no business telling you that. Now show yourself as a man!" he responded.
"I will never forgive you for what you did to my son." I bolted behind his back. With his wings completely wounded, he couldn't block my sharp blade piercing through him.
However—"Yes!! That's what it feels like!" He glared at me with a creepy smile. At first, I thought he was talking about my blade, as he held it, ignoring the pain of my magical strike. "That's how I felt when they took the life of my one and only daughter!"
I was speechless. "What happened?" I tried to ask but…
Suddenly his wounds healed at abnormal rates, his wings grew larger. "A child for a child… Captain." Then, with his massive wings, he blew away all the dust and smoke I cast.
I stepped back, leaving my blade in his stomach. He just removed the blade like nothing happened.
'His magical mana is surging?' I whispered to myself. "What did the school do to your daughter?" I asked.
"The school? No… noo… the principal did… oh and wait… you too!! IF YOU DIDN'T CAPTURE ME THAT DAY, MY DAUGHTER WOULD STILL BE ALIVE!!" he screamed.
"What?" I was confused, my questions only multiplying.
Then he flew toward me to attack. 'It's a completely different level, he became more powerful than before.' I couldn't dodge multiple slashes. The infused magical mana from his dagger was now stronger and sharper. I couldn't help but sustain damage from his attacks, and his speed kept increasing. 'He's a monster!'
I tried to retreat but—"Hoi? Running won't help…" Even his gaze was terrifying. This was bad, I was almost out of mana. But I had to keep him busy until Lieutenant Zack arrived, or at least him. So, with my pure strength, I tried to respond to each attack he threw. Unfortunately, I knew it wouldn't be enough with Premo constantly increasing his power.
Not long after, I fell to the ground, drained and wounded, unable to stop him. "Haaa… haaa… ha… why?" With my remaining strength, I still tried to communicate. "Do you think killings and vengeance will make your daughter come back to life?"
"Grrhh!!" He stabbed me with his wings and pulled my dying body. "No, but it satisfies me… Don't you fucking lecture me." His gnashing teeth, a face covered in blood, and a gaze that sought revenge.
"Your daughter… what happened to her? Wh… why did… sh… she die?" With his wings pierced through my body, lifting me like a dog, I questioned him.
"My daughter…" he replied. "She was burned alive…"
"Wh… who… did it?" I asked.
"Grrr… fine! You're dead anyway…" Then he threw me onto the ground. "Before you captured me… I was living a normal life with my daughter… my 5-year-old daughter…"
Premo POV
After my wife died giving birth to Daisy, the principal—who was a friend of her father—took the rights of our land that her father had gifted to her. That was the beginning of our miserable life.
At a young age, my daughter experienced unfair treatment and discrimination just because we were poor. But even though life was cruel as hell, I tried to live peacefully, knowing I had a daughter to protect.
"Pa! Look, I made a cute doll!" My poor little Daisy, adorable and innocent.
We didn't have much money. We lived through selling potatoes that grew in our small backyard. We lived in a tiny house made of scraps. I couldn't even afford to buy her a dress or her dream doll.
"Look at its eyes, pa! I made it from fruit seeds! Isn't it cute?" Small things made her happy.
However, I had a sickness that couldn't be cured, and knowing my body, I knew I wouldn't last long. I was scared to leave such a child completely alone in this world. So, I reached out to the principal, the owner of the land where our house stood. He was eager to remove us from his land.
"Please, I'm dying and there's nowhere she can go." I begged the principal for help. "I just want a place for my daughter. I'll do anything before I die… just please…" I cried, my face on the ground.
"Okay…" the principal responded. He asked me to do a favor—to kill someone he wanted dead. Turns out, the principal was getting demoted from his position because of many accusations of his corruption. He asked me: if I killed the man that would replace him, he would remain principal, and he would let my daughter live in the school and study until she was old enough to take care of herself.
So, I did what he asked me to do. However, the time when I successfully killed the man, the night watch patrol caught me with two other thieves, leaving my daughter completely alone. Still, I hoped the principal would keep his word, but I was mistaken.
I was able to escape from prison, however it was too late… As I arrived, I saw my tiny house burning.
"Daisy!" I rushed inside, ignoring the flames. I didn't care if I burned, my daughter was inside. Again, I was too late. I saw my daughter burning alive, the stench of burning flesh filling my nose as she held her doll made of scrap wood and dry brush.
"Pa… pa…" Despite extreme pain, she smiled. "Pa…" That was the last moment I heard her voice, the last time I saw her smile… as the fire took the life of an innocent child.
My mind was clouded by rage and vengeance, knowing there was only one person who could have done this… the principal.
"I will fucking kill you and destroy your fucking school." And that's when my Animal Spirits manifested out of nowhere.