"Ahh, the cold stench of blood, such a wondrous feeling, wouldn't you agree, prince?"
The demonic humanoid-like man spoke as he looked at the young crimson-haired man while holding him by the ends of his hair. The view in front of them showed a kingdom in ruins, as smoke and ashes filled the atmosphere with a feeling of despair and dread.
But yet... the young man showed no reaction as he gazed upon the scene. After a moment, he turned his attention to the demon holding the ends of his hair beside him.
"Ptui! You find this interesting, don't you, demon, making me watch this scene with that wretched smile on your face?" He spoke with a gruff and vitriolic tone, not befitting of his age.
"Surely you jest, prince. I don't do this because I want to; this is simply my instinct as a demon. Same as you humans, I cannot betray some of the instincts ingrained in me of my species. The demon spoke in a mocking tone as he took out a handkerchief to wipe the spot of blood on his suit from the young man.
"And now that I have done my duties, it's time to end all of this theatrics." He slid his hand holding the young man's hair to his front, as his claws seemed to sharpen with more intensity.
"What would be your last words, prince? Care to tell me?
"Hahaha, there is no need, demon; this isn't the last time you'll see of my-!"
Just as the young man was about to end his speech, the demon plunged his claw into the young man, plucking the vessel of the human body, his heart, out of his chest.
"Too bad, your last words seemed to bore me." The demon dropped the young man's body as he held up the heart he had just plucked out in front of him.
The young man's vision dimmed quickly as he looked at the demon standing tall, staring at his heart, yet his eyes were unwavering, as if trying to burn the image of the demon right into his soul.
"H- m-ust live..." His last words were slightly murmured as they faded into the air, and for the final time, he closed his eyes, looking as if he was wishing to the gods for something.
---
"The dream again. Ugh, my head keeps aching for some reason because of it." A knock then comes at the door of his room.
*Knock* knock.
"Hey, Rene, it's time to wake up. We're running out of firewood out here. Get us some before this place turns into nothing but ice.
"Old Geezer, why do I have to get the damn firewood every time in the morning? He spoke, yet he begrudgingly got his body out of the bed, heading to the washroom for his daily hygiene.
As soon as he was finished, he got out of the door and went down the stairs of the tavern, where an old man with white hair and a beard was in front of the counter looking over him. Just as he was about to leave the front door of the tavern, the old man's voice spoke behind him.
"By the way, Rene, isn't it time for you to find your own place now? You have been here for twelve years, ever since I took you in. With your talent and skills, wouldn't you want a better place to live than this slum?
"Old Geezer, why would I leave this place I have lived my entire life? There's no better place than this; it's where I belong, so there's no need to ask me that question again." He closed the door of the tavern. He spoke in a solemn tone, turning the sign on the front of the tavern door from closed to open.
"Tsk, that child, he is too good for his own good; even when I first found him, his attitude seemed to stay the same as a child."
-Twelve Years Ago-
"Thunk!"
"This damn wood is a pain in the ass. It would have been nice if I had gotten an apprentice just to do this for me." The old man spoke while trying to cut a thick part of a tree, his appearance younger, still having a trace of black hair on his head.
"Awoo!"
Just as he was about to strike the tree again, he heard the howl of wolves from afar. Confused, he stopped his chopping spree of the thick wood that somehow still hadn't had a dent even when he kept hitting it.
"Wolves in this area, they wouldn't howl that loud, unless-?" He thought of something, and his body moved before he could form his words.
Instinctively, he rushed in the direction from which the howl was. He knew wolves would not come to this area with bigger predators here, so his mind was telling him, seemingly knowing that something was amiss.
And as he arrived in the with a few minutes of running, his eyes could not believe what he was looking at. There in the seemingly open part of the forest clearing lay three dead wolves on the ground, with multiple lacerations and injuries on their bodies, and beside them, a crimson-haired boy, holding a dagger, and sleeping in a fetal position as if nothing in the world could disturb him.
But just as the old man was trying to piece together what had happened, he heard another sound, the sound of hooves from horses nearing the forest clearing, and he could see from afar who was saddling them.
"The Black Knights? That's impossible; there shouldn't be any more since the old empire fell.
His mind raced to what the implications of the Black Knights were, the lapdogs of the old empire; they were the ones to do the dirty deeds from the shadows of their tyrant ruler. But before he could think anymore, he cleared his thoughts and scooped up the boy onto his back while running as fast as he could before the knights could approach their location. He knew that the boy he was piggybacking had somehow become the target of the knights, as no one went to this specific part of the forest except him, who knew the value of the tree's wood in this area as firewood.
"Neeeeigh!" After a while, the sound of the horses' hooves came to a stop when they approached the forest clearing where the bodies of three wolves lay dead.
"Was here...." A knight in black armor spoke atop the horse, looking at the dead wolves, the lifeless tone of his voice making it seem like he was of the undead.
He turned his head to the other two black knights behind him as he spoke, "Find, we must, the crimson-haired boy, the last heir of that clan..."
The horse hooves came into sound again as the three knights split into different directions, faster than before, yet they were too late to seal the fate that would come upon them soon...