"…I want to kill those monsters. I will make sure they are dead when the sun rises again."
The young boy's mind was filled to the brim with unpleasant thoughts. He hated everything at that moment, and a raging fire consumed him from the inside out.
"…Why… Why didn't he save us? The man who we were celebrating!"
"I… I can't do this… I miss my mom!"
He sobbed uncontrollably, his tears flooding the raging fire in his heart. However, they eventually mixed to form the pit of anguish inside of him. The feeling was horrible.
But, after a certain point, all he felt was dread. As he stared at the stars in the midnight sky, he wondered, why couldn't his hero save them, any of them at all.
"…That means… heroes don't exist. Heroes…"
He choked but held in his tears for a long time, repeating this process of grief for hours on end.
But, fortunately, before the night was over, he could hear the sounds of voices, approaching the small cavern. He kept extremely quiet as they approached, and he could eventually hear what they were saying.
"…I wonder what's up with the strange goop the Administrative City Officials found in the excavation site today." One voice said.
"I found out they did a proper investigation on that stuff and found out that the Ancient World civilization called that stuff "radiation" or "radioactive" or something…"
"…I'm sure it's something much more dangerous than we realise, you two. That same stuff poisoned some of the staff, and it shares some of the same effects as Distortion does."
"Ha… if only the Ancient civilization hadn't crumbled down completely, we would know so much more about what they were doing."
"Well, I'm only interested in what Ancient World technology can do for us. With only a few thousand excavation sites around the place, we've already discovered technology that helped us eventually create mechs and cool weapons. So, I also do wonder what that gooey stuff can do for us…"
"You two should be more interested in the Ancient World itself. You know, despite the technology, at one point, our numbers were reduced to 1,000 humans in existence. We were extremely lucky that the [First Light] experienced that [Lightbringer Awakening] and "revived" the human race, or else none of us would be here today."
The three voices, one similar to a woman's, another similar to a man's, and the last one almost electronic-sounding, paused.
"…I sense someone nearby."
The young boy's eyes widened. Meanwhile, the individual to which the electronic-sounding voice belonged scanned the area.
It stopped. But then, in one fell swoop, a mechanical arm reached into the nearby small cavern and picked him up by his raggedy shirt.
And then, he was suddenly face-to-face with a humanoid robot. One that looked like a combat soldier, no less.
"Aaaaahhhhhh!!!" The little boy yelled.
"…Hm. There appeared to be a little boy listening to our conversation. Should we take him away?"
The blonde-haired woman, wearing a white dress with heels, clicked her tongue.
"No… knowing the Royal City Administration, they would deploy him as a soldier-in-training in the city's Defense Force immediately."
The young man, tanned, muscular with a mullet-wearing just a vest, grey shorts and sandals shook his head.
"Hmph. He has cuts and bruises all over his body. He's probably used to a lifestyle of fighting for his life anyway. And, what's more, is that he'll die out here if you leave him."
"…I won't!" The young boy replied.
"…Really? What's your name, kiddo?"
"…"
The young boy was silent for a moment.
"Hara…"
At that moment, tears streamed down his face, as he was once again reminded of his mother.
"…Ugh. Just leave him here then. If he's still alive when we come back, we'll take him." The young man said.
"…Cruel. But, I guess that's just how it is in the Grassy Wilds. Put him down, Blue."
Blue, the mechanical humanoid, did so, and the young boy was left sitting there under the moonlight's gaze once the three of them walked away. But, Hara noticed something on the ground.
A book similar to a journal, and the very same book that he had seen some time ago before in the village. Hara looked around and slowly walked up to it and picked it up.
"…It is the same book! But why was it here on the ground…? Did those three guys find the village?"
Hara contemplated for a moment, before shrugging. He went back to the small cavern and studied the book's contents for the next few hours, intrigued by the book's strange words and meanings.
It wasn't long until Hara was completely entranced. It seemed like, instead of his revenge consuming him, a whiff of an opportunity had snatched him up and restrained his mind in the process.
And, this opportunity gave him a foreign power. A power that the Mages called, Divine Artistry, or in other words, [Magic].
Hara trained for the next many years, entranced by the book's spell. And then, after that many years had passed, Redrich and Harlock had come to free him of his prison and let him continue on his rightful destiny.
His hair was long and jet-black. His face was grim and concentrated. His skin was pale. But his body was in tip-top shape, and his pupils were red.
As he heard the entrance open for the first time from afar, he stared at the passageway and clenched his fist, which generated foreign energy around it.
"It's time to test my skills…"
Redrich and Harlock entered the stone chamber and felt an ominous air pass them by. In front of them, the one Harlock called, "Thunder Mystic", stood, with his body trained near the peak of perfection.
"…It seems we're in a situation where we're forced to fight. Let's hope he didn't understand most of the mystic arts."
Redrich took out both a small sword and his gun. Meanwhile, Harlock only raised his fists.
"A man only needs his fists."
"…Hmph."
Moments after, Redrich initiated the battle, shooting a bullet at Hara's leg. If it had pierced him, he would have been healed of the wound eventually, but Hara swept his leg back, dodging the shot, and braced before charging at the pair with abnormal levels of speed.
Harlock stopped his advance, however, with a heavy slug fist to the face. With countless years of experience fighting monsters, ever since that day, Harlock steeled himself for unfavourable battles like this.
And, it looked like that punch stirred Hara from his trance, shattering his unusual state of mind.
"A single punch, huh? It looks like I still got it."
Harlock glanced at Redrich, who was also looking back at him.
"…Huh. You're worth something more than I first thought. But…"
He suddenly threw his short sword, and it landed on Hara's thigh, causing him to grunt in pain.
"…Make sure the opponent's down before you're distracted. Though, I'm sure someone as experienced as you know that already, right?"
"Of course," Harlock replied.
The both of them approached Hara, who seemed to be in an inner conflict for control of his mind.
"…Fortunately, mastering mystic arts involves a great understanding of it in the first place. And, it seems this young man not only has a shallow understanding of it at all, but he also has no understanding of how to move his body, to the point where he couldn't stop himself from colliding with my fist, even with such techniques imprinted on his mind."
"…Hah. So, when he wakes up, I guess I'm gonna have to train him, huh?"
"You? Alone? Don't kid yourself, young man. Although you seem mysterious, it seems to me that your overreliance on weapons will hurt you eventually, no matter how good you are with them."
Redrich stared at Harlock with a blank face.
"I'm sure you've heard of the famous Lightbearer, Sword King, correct?"
"…Indeed."
"Then, I'm sure you know what I'll say. Although I might allow you to come with us, don't overstep your boundaries."
Harlock didn't respond any further and instead looked at Hara again. That child, who is now a young man, would be the centre of many things from then on.
Boom!
A quake from behind alerted them of a great enemy approaching. A [Hard Rock Golem], taller than an oak tree, had either formed within the stone chamber or was waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
"…Hm. I have a good idea. How about we solve our current strife with a challenge?"
"…What challenge?"
"Whoever deals more damage to that golem before its defeat will be deemed the better expert at weaponry."
Redrich exhaled and pointed his gun at the golem.
"I see what you're playing at. Unfortunately, you won't get the chance to succeed!"