"Gasp!" "Argh!"
Where-
"Nngh!"
His knees pressing the ground, chest gasping for air, suffocated by the burning scent of ashes wrapping the site in a suffocating haze. Cries of agony and terror echoed through the air, tangled with the relentless clash of blades rumbled through every direction. Trapped in the haze of horror, His vision blurred, weakened state from the shock of witnessing a traumatic scene. His hands trembling, but he felt it, liquid flowing through his hands.
"Huh?" a liquid...
Confused by the sensation, he looked down.
A girl layed down in his arms, barely conscious, covered of wound, the warmth of blood covering her skin, and a wound engraved to her chest showing a sign of blade pierced through her body.
Curious of the girl's identity, He brushed away the hair and blood, slowly, carefully, revealing a gentle face, no... her expression held something familiar—pain... but beneath it, is a fragile sense of relief. For a moment, he just stared.
Then his eyes fell into her skin, a pale skin, looked like a moonlight slowly fading, its glow drained by time. The warmth of blood had long turned frigid beneath it.
But as he continued to gaze upon her face, something began to stir—a flicker of recognition, deep and undeniable. No... no, it couldn't be. That mark on her skin... those eyes...
"Sh–"
He snapped awake on his bed, gasping. His chest tightened as if a heavy burden were crushing it. Sweat flows through his skin, cold and suffocating. The image of her—pale, broken, almost smiling—still burned behind his eyes.
"Tch!"
"I know! There is time for everything..." He muttered under his breath, clenching his fists in rage.
"grief, forging... and Vengea-
Knock knock
a soft knock snapped the silence.
"Brother? are you awake?"
He blinked, caught a deep breath,collecting himself from the raging anger...
"not now..." as if calming himself down.
"Just a second, I'll go there, okay? "
He stood in front of the mirror, staring at his reflection. Slowly, he adjusted his expression, calming his features, softening the tension, until only the face of a normal, carefree brother is seen.
He opened the door. Standing there is a small girl, her hair white as snow and her eyes tinted with a shade of crimson blood.
Looking up, smiling with a joyful and carefree vibes, her eyes glowing in excitement.
Her name is Akamiya Shiina. She's seven, she's small, stubborn, and sharper than she looks. She calls me her big brother, though we share no blood.
I was found on death's edge, bleeding out in the heart of the Blackthorn Wilds—a forest so vast, it can cover several cities. A place crawling with monsters and thick with death. No one should've made it out of there alive. And yet… I did.
They say it was a miracle. I say something left me alive for a reason.
As for the reason why i was on death's edge in a heart of a dangerous forest... will remain a mystery—for now.
Awakened from near death state, wrapped in bandages where wounds and scars hides beneath it, layed in a bed, unfamiliar... yet comforting.
As I looked around, my eyes noticed a little girl, asleep, sitting silently in a tiny chair, her head resting on the side of my bed. Her expression feels calming, like a moonlight that illuminates the darkness that are clouding my heart.
Few moments later, the door open, and a man entered the room—an old man, yet still full of strength, his build is well built, like wall-solid that one can tell, it was forged through decades of battles of life and death, that even his presence was so fierce, it felt as though my blood froze just from looking at him.
Yet… there was something strangely comforting about him. A warmth that even i can't understand.
Also like Shiina, he is also white haired and eyes of crimson flame. There was no mistaking it. He had to be her father.
Later, he told me everything—from how I was found clinging for life, to the rescue, and the long weeks I spent lying for recovery.
Honestly, there were moments I thought it would've been better if I just died there… if only to escape his never ending questions.
But deep down, I was grateful. I really thought that was the end for me—but somehow, luck didn't cast me away just yet.
I'm still here... and there's so much left I need to do.
With nowhere else to go, they took me in and treated me like family. I even have a little sister now. She clings to me so much like I'm her real brother.
I'm very grateful… but there's something strange about this house.
Why is it so isolated? No matter which direction I look, all I see are trees—an endless forest full of monsters.
And not just like any monsters, they can be classified as A-rank monster that are just roaming freely out there. Even the weakest I've seen so far is a B-rank monster, and even those require a group of A and B rank individuals to take one down.
Yet that old man? He cuts them down like soaked paper.
And the girl—so cute, innocent... but I've seen it. The way monsters react to her.
They're terrified.
This isn't normal.
This can't be normal.
Where the hell did I ended up?
…Wait.
Now that I think about it—those two… they're demons.
Does that mean… I'm on the Demon Continent?
No. No, no, no.
How is that even possible?
But—
If that's the case…
This might be a great opportunity.
For what its need to be done...