My life was a mess. For years, I thought I deserved nothing but death. But on a second thought… maybe fate had something else planned.
While growing up, I survived doing minor jobs—odd labor, errands for merchants, sometimes carrying crates until my back bled. I thought that was all my life would be. Then one day, I came across a young lady being attacked by a darkside spirit near the fishing pond just along the main town road. Instinct—no, survival—kicked in. Without hesitation, I rushed in.
The Alpha darkside spirit was strong. It tossed me like a rag, slammed me into the shallow waters, bit into my shoulder. Yet the rage boiling in me… it wouldn't die down. At the end, I triumphed, ripping its flesh apart as though it was the finest meal of my life.
But instead of gratitude, that same young lady screamed, "Monster!" as she ran back to town.
That word… it burned. After all this time, after saving someone with my life, I still couldn't find a place in people's hearts. That night, the word "monster" echoed endlessly in my mind. My bloodlust grew sharper, my hunger fiercer. By the time I turned eighteen, I could no longer resist it—I went rogue in my own country.
I had no sword skills, only brute strength and that cursed hunger. Until fate gave me my first master.
He was a wanderer who took me in, taught me how to wield a blade, how to channel my chaotic strength into form. For two years I trained under him, traveling from village to village, earning my keep through mercenary work. But my brief peace shattered—he was murdered by rogue Shinras on a mission outside the kingdom.
Something in me snapped that day. I killed all five with my bare hands, fueled not by discipline, but frenzy. Afterward, I had no choice but to return to Guhan. I lived in shadows, in and out of missions, feeding on darkside spirits whenever I could find them. It became my rhythm of survival… and my curse. Each darkside spirit I devoured made me stronger, but colder. More heartless.
By the time I turned twenty-four, I was more beast than man. Then came the special darkside spirit—a monster that slipped into Guhan while the Special Darkside knight was away. The city trembled, but I fought it alone. The battle tore the streets apart. In the end, I devoured the entire creature. But that victory nearly killed me. My Renshi spiraled out of control—an aura so violent even I couldn't contain it.
That was when the Pro Darkside Knights came. They sealed me away, bound in chains of suppression. For years, I was nothing but a forgotten beast.
Sasaki's voice lowered, his eyes distant. "But thanks to you, Lucy… after fighting you, your light Renshi erased parts of that darkness. For the first time, I felt… human again."
Lucy leaned back, sipping from her drink, her eyes half-narrowed. "So that's your best brief, huh?"
Sasaki chuckled dryly. "I tried my best. Couldn't miss the important parts."
They both turned their gaze toward Alfie and Jackson. The two were still at the statues, struggling to maintain their thirty-minute lifts. Sweat poured off their bodies, breaths ragged, yet neither stopped. Jackson was already on his second, veins bulging on his arms, his legs trembling dangerously.
"You remember when I told you there was something you did to me back then I couldn't forget?" Lucy asked coldly.
Sasaki frowned. "Huh… I think I remember, but not exactly what."
"It was the special darkside spirit, moron," Lucy snapped. "That was my prey. I let it slip, and when it wandered into another kingdom you finished it. My Court was mocked, my title as Special Darkside Knight dragged through the mud. All because you wanted to play hero in your own story."
Sasaki lowered his gaze, exhaling. "…I guess that's what it was. I wanted to be seen as something more than a monster. To write my own story, even if it left scars on yours."
Lucy clicked her tongue. "You really are a moron."
"…Maybe," Sasaki muttered, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "But I left a mark, didn't I?"
Lucy turned away. "Some scars don't fade. That's all."
---
Lucy frowned. "So… do you even know where your bloodline came from? This… hunger of yours?"
Sasaki's face grew grim again. "Not yet. I've searched. All these years, I've been digging through archives, questioning people, but it's been in vain."
"Archives?" Lucy raised a brow.
"The library. Just behind us. Whenever you're out, I go there, read old texts. Sometimes I ask the elders. But no one knows anything familiar."
Lucy crossed her arms, lips tightening. "Hmph. Then it looks like we've got work to do. I don't say this lightly, Sasaki, but… I'm sensing you're the beginning of a bloodline. Something new."
Before Sasaki could respond, a loud scream ripped through the air.
"AAHHHHHH!"
Jackson collapsed, his knees buckling, the statue slipping from his grasp. It tilted dangerously toward his legs—
Lucy's eyes widened. "Damn it!"
In a flash, she switched across the field, catching the statue with an explosive burst of speed. She shoved it aside, the ground cracking under its weight.
"Jackson!" Alfie shouted, already sprinting from his spot, sweat and dust clinging to his pale face.
Jackson's body writhed on the ground, his hands clutching his thigh. The pain twisted his expression into something almost inhuman.
Lucy crouched beside him, her voice sharp but calm. "Your thigh muscle's torn inside. You're not walking out of here on your own. This anti-Renshi field… I can't heal him here."
Jackson groaned, shaking his head violently when she tried to help him stand. "No… I can't… move."
"Alfie. Sasaki. One of you—carry him."
Alfie immediately carries him on his back
---
They headed straight to the house. Alfie laid Jackson on the bed, the boy grinding his teeth in pain as sweat rolled down his face.
Lucy knelt beside him, her hands glowing faintly as she formed the signs of the Art of Mojito, pressing her palm against his thigh. The room filled with a soft shimmer of light—yet nothing happened. The glow flickered and vanished instantly.
Lucy's eyes narrowed. "...It's not working."
Alfie leaned forward, his voice shaky. "Why, Master? Why won't it heal?"
"That damn field," Lucy muttered, clenching her fist. "It's resisting every kind of energy. Not just anti-Renshi… it's anti-spiritual energy as well. Any injury sustained inside that training field becomes untouchable. No healing arts, no Renshi, nothing,just natural healing."
We need to take him to the hospital
"Master—" Alfie cut in quickly, moving past her. "Let me."
Alfie didn't wait. He scooped Jackson onto his back, though Jackson struggled, grinding his teeth. "Don't drop me, you rock-head… or I'll punch your nose in."
"Shut it, red-head. I can drop you whenever I feel like it," Alfie snapped back, but his grip was steady.
Lucy's tone softened for a second. "Careful. He's in more pain than he admits."
Sasaki walked beside her, arms crossed. "How serious is it?"
Lucy exhaled, her expression heavy. "His bones and muscles aren't ready for an hour in that field. I was restless to let him go for a second round… now look."
"Don't blame yourself," Sasaki muttered. "They're not children anymore. They've seen death before. He'll survive."
Lucy stayed quiet, but her fists tightened.
As they left the house, Shinras along the road turned their heads, whispering. Their eyes followed Jackson's pained body, Alfie's strained steps, Lucy's sharp glare.
"Tch." Lucy's patience snapped. She touched Alfie's shoulder. "Switch mode. We're not parading him through gossip."
In an instant, their figures blinked out of sight, leaping across space toward the hospital, Sasaki following close behind.