The world faded away, and Takeshi felt himself being pulled in forcefully. Everything went blank as his soul broke down completely, trying desperately to reorganize itself into a new form. He travelled beyond light speed, beyond sensation, until suddenly—everything stopped.
He was floating in a dark place.
Then, at the edge of that darkness, he finally saw light.
Drawn toward it, he moved closer, and as he reached it, the light burst open and everything became illuminated. He opened his eyes and saw the face of a woman and a man looking down at him. They smiled warmly.
The woman gently picked him up, and in that moment, he realized what was happening.
"I knew this would happen… but this is actually really awkward, since I was a grown man just a few hours ago," he thought to himself.
"Wait… I'm a baby now does that mean she'll...?" he realized.
Understanding what would come next, he mentally prepared himself for it.
"It's all normal, Sato. Don't feel weird—just calm down, she is your mother." he reassured himself.
He closed his eyes and slowly drifted back to sleep as he drank milk.
"What should we name him, dear?" the woman asked.
"Hm… what about Rozero Alberto Fernandez?" the man suggested.
"A fitting name for a man but can you remove the Alberto please," the woman replied with a smile.
"But Carla it's your-"
"Remove it, I don't like it," she insisted
"Ok, I understand," he sighed
"Thanks Robert,"
"What do you think he will become when he grows up?" he wondered
"Maybe he will become a famed Fallen Angel Slayer or a Demon Hunter," she said thoughtfully.
"He might even become a businessman, like me," Robert added with a smile.
"Maybe… if he is dumb," Carla remarked casually.
"What?" he asked, surprised.
"Nothing, dear. Nothing," she replied calmly.
Sato, now born into a new world, was named Rozero Fernandez. Two years had passed since his birth, and he had learned the names of his mother and father.
His mother, Carla, was a housewife—but she had once been a famous Demon Killer in her past. His father, Robert Fernandez, was a businessman who sold weapons and supplies made from demon parts.
They had met one day when Carla came to sell demon parts she had obtained after an expedition. After that encounter, she became a regular seller at Robert's shop. Over time, they fell in love, got married, and a year later… Rozero was born.
After they got married, Carla retired from demon hunting and became a housewife. Meanwhile, Robert's business prospered greatly. He rose to fame and established shops all across the lands of Fangell and Demill, two major countries that served as important routes for business deals.
Robert and his family lived between the lands of Fangill and Demill, a region commonly known as Fandill which meant Robert's business was spread far and wide. To the west was Demill and to the East was Fangell, to the north stood the Kingdom of Hithop, and to the south was the Republic of Elfitch, a country covered in forests.
Rozero closed the first volume of the World Atlas. It was the first volume, which meant there were many more volumes filled with even more information about this world.
He was in the body of a child, but his mind was that of a fully grown adult. He had already begun to learn more about this planet, known as Earpel.
He was only two years old, so he couldn't do much for the time being. Still, he tried to walk as much as he could, in order to explore and understand the world by himself.
He crawled toward his mother, who was cleaning the bookshelf, and pointed at a book.
The Book of Basic Spells – I.
His mother looked at him and smiled. She picked him up and placed him gently on the cot.
"You are not old enough yet to read this book, little Rozero," she said as she pulled the blanket over him.
"Be a good boy now. It's your sleeping time," she added, picking up the World Atlas – I and placing it back on the shelf.
She kissed him on the forehead and walked out of the room.
Lorenzo stared up at the ceiling and wondered what his life would be like in this strange world,
a world which was nothing like his previous one.
Time passed.
As the years went by, Roze grew up faster than anyone expected—not in body, but in mind. He helped his parents in all kinds of work, easing their pain and stress. To them, he was a brilliant and kind child, always eager to help not only them but also the other adults and children in the village.
When Roze was seven years old, something extraordinary happened.
A burning house collapsed near the village. Trapped inside was a young girl, unable to escape in time. Without hesitation, Roze rushed forward. Using Intern-Class Water Magic, he managed to create an opening and guide her safely out.
Everyone who witnessed the event was left in shock. Magic at such a young age was rare—but mastering it so calmly was unheard of.
That same year, Roze rescued the same girl once again.
She had fallen into a goblin raid. As a goblin prepared to attack her, Roze intervened. He parried the goblin's strike with astonishing precision and countered using dual knives, a skill far beyond what a child his age should possess and attacked using a knife skill known as 'Shadow Knife Throw' where the user spins their hands at such a speed that the target can not see the actual knives and it creates an opening for the user to throw the knives.
For a seven-year-old, his control and accuracy were remarkable.
He blocked the goblin's club, spun forward, and threw one knife straight into its right leg and when the goblin lost balance he threw another knife straight at its head. The creature fell instantly.
By mastering both Intern-Class Magic and a knife skill at such a young age, Roze quickly became famous throughout the village.
As the years passed, the girl continued to fall into trouble—and every time, Roze was there to save her. By the time they were ten years old, he had already protected her from countless dangers, earning both admiration and quiet fear from those who watched him grow.
When they were eight years old, the girl got lost in a cave while out playing in the fields.
The girl had gone out to play in the fields near her village—but she didn't return by nightfall.
As night fell, worry spread quickly.
"Mary… Mary, where are you?" her father called out desperately into the darkness.
His daughter had been missing for hours. Since she had gone outside to play, both her mother and father—along with other villagers—searched the nearby fields, but they couldn't find her anywhere.
Among those searching were Carla and Robert Fernandez, accompanied by their eight-year-old son, Roze.
"Mom… when did she go out to play?" Roze asked innocently, though his face showed clear concern.
"Around 4:00 p.m., Roze," his mother replied. "But why do you ask?"
"Nothing, Mom," he said quickly. "I was just thinking about something."
But inside, his thoughts raced. She's in trouble… he realized. If I remember correctly, there should be a sealed cave somewhere near the Fangill fields.
"Mom, can I go over there and search for her?" Roze asked, pointing in the direction of the fields where the cave was hidden.
His mother didn't notice exactly where he was pointing.
"Yes, alright," she said after a moment. "But be careful, and don't get yourself lost." she believed that he would be fine alone.
The moment he received permission, Roze hurried off. He ran toward the cave as fast as his legs could carry him, determined to reduce the chances of anything happening to the girl. It was a place no one had checked yet but it was strange because if Mary was still found nowhere, then there was only one place left where she could be—the sealed cave. Yet he had not seen any signs of anybody coming near the cave. Had they not noticed? The cave remained a mystery, and Roze was still a stranger to many of the secrets of this world. He didn't know what awaited him inside.
Soon, he reached the cave entrance.
By then, the moon had risen high into the sky, shining brightly. Roze looked around carefully for clues and called out for the girl, but there was no response. In the distance, he could see the villagers' torches flickering through the forest canopy, their search continuing far behind him.
He searched for footprints around the cave entrance but found none.
Roze stood there for a moment, staring into the darkness, thinking about the possibility of the girl being inside. His heart pounded. Still, he steadied himself, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.
He entered the cave.
After taking a few cautious steps inside, the moonlight slowly began to fade, swallowed by the darkness deeper within the cave.
"Ignis Lucerna," he whispered.
A small ball of fire suddenly appeared out of thin air and dropped gently onto the ground.
"Lumina! Progredi Ventus," he whispered again.
The fireball lifted itself into the air and floated forward, lighting the path ahead and illuminating portions of the cave as it moved.
The cave itself seemed surprisingly ordinary. It stretched straight inward, without strange turns. The walls looked normal, and the ground beneath his feet was sandy—dry, yet firm at the same time.
Roze continued deeper, guided only by the soft glow of the floating flame.
"Mary… Mary, are you there?" he called out again.
Roze walked slowly, venturing deeper into the cave. There was no response from anywhere ahead, yet he continued forward, driven by a strong gut feeling that he was heading in the right direction.
He kept walking until he suddenly reached a dead end.
His eyebrows lowered in concern as he stepped closer and examined the wall carefully.
"This is weird… a dead end, huh?" he muttered, placing his hand against the stone.
Suddenly, he heard a faint, strange sound coming from the other side of the wall.
"That sound…"
Roze pressed his ear against the cold surface and waited silently. After a moment, the sound came again.
His eyes widened.
"This is the call of a Glow Bat!" he exclaimed.
"Fadefira!" he whispered
He immediately extinguished his fireball.
In an instant, a soft light began to glow along the ceiling of the cave. Then, one by one, thousands of lights flickered to life, illuminating the entire cavern.
They were Glow Bats.
The mysterious creatures filled the cave with their luminescence, producing strange, solid-looking mirages. Their glow acted as another light source, and when multiple sources were present at once, the mirages became tangible—real enough to touch.
Roze knew this.
If someone touched the mirage, it would feel solid, but it wasn't the true path. The only way to reveal the real passage was to deactivate the other light source.
He had read about this phenomenon in a book titled Magic Beasts and Their Phenomenal Magic – Volume I.
However, deactivating the light also meant something else.
It meant that he would become a target.
Glow Bats instinctively attacked anything that interfered with their light.
Roze steadied his breath, fully aware of the danger now surrounding him. This was troubling for him.
With only a few basic spells at his disposal, Roze knew he couldn't defeat a swarm of Glow Bats on his own. Moving carefully, he continued forward, making as little noise as possible. The soft glow of the bats was enough to light his path, allowing him to see where he was going.
As the cave stretched deeper inside, he eventually reached a crossing.
There were two paths—one to the left and one to the right.
Roze paused for a moment, then decided to take the left path. The Glow Bats were not present in this section of the cave, so he summoned his fireball once again and moved forward.
Soon, he arrived at a vast clearing inside the cave.
This area was enormous. The ceiling rose high above him, and the walls were tall and wide, far larger than any cavern he had seen before. The space felt hollow, as if it had once been shaped for a purpose.
As he walked closer to the walls, Roze noticed something strange.
Ancient symbols were carved into the stone.
They didn't resemble anything from the present time. He might have been able to read them if they were of the present time but now, he couldn't make out their meaning.
Suddenly, a girl's voice echoed through the clearing.
"Hello? Is somebody there?"
Roze turned sharply toward the center of the clearing.
He rushed forward and saw Mary sitting there, alone in the darkness. Despite her surroundings, she didn't seem scared at all.
"Mary! What are you doing here?" he asked urgently.
She looked up at him and smiled.
"Oh! Roze! I was just roaming around in the fields when I heard a voice coming from inside the cave. I came to check it out, but I got lost and decided to sit here until help arrived." she said while making an innocent face.
"You are not a princess, Mary," Roze remarked. "Here..take my hand and stand up."
He extended his hand, and she stood up with a small smile.
"Now, what exactly did you hear?" he asked.
"I heard someone calling my name," she replied.
"That's odd," he muttered. "Anyway, your mom, dad, and all the other villagers are worried about you. They've been searching for hours."
"Oh no… I'll have to give them a proper apology, it seems," she said. "Now then, how do we get out?"
"From what I remember, the path is pretty straightforward," Roze replied. "But it will still take some time to reach outside."
He showed her the way, and just as they were about to leave the clearing, a swarm of Glow Bats suddenly appeared.
"Glow Bats?! What are they doing here?!" Roze exclaimed. "This isn't their territory!"
Without hesitation, he turned back, grabbing Mary's hand, and ran deeper into the cave.
They finally reached the far end of the clearing, where multiple paths branched off in different directions.
Mary gasped as she struggled to catch her breath.
"Which way?" she asked, looking around anxiously.
Roze didn't hesitate.
"Take the middle one."
And together, they ran.
They dashed toward the middle path.
They ran deeper inside the cave, but the Glow Bats were still chasing them in a massive swarm. No matter how fast they ran, they couldn't outrun them.
"Ignis Paries!" Roze screamed.
A wall of fire burst forward with a gust of wind, but the bats flew too fast. The flames barely touched them, and the fire that did connect was quickly extinguished by the rushing air.
"This isn't working!" he shouted, glancing back.
The bats were getting closer.
He looked to his right. Mary was running beside him, her breathing uneven, her face pale—as if she might faint at any moment.
He looked forward.
Darkness. That was all he could see.
He looked back again.
Too close.
Forward again.
Still nothing.
"Please… a miracle… please," he prayed silently.
And then—
A curve appeared ahead.
As soon as they turned, they spotted a door a little farther down the path. Relief flickered through him, but the bats were still closing in.
"A door! Quick—we have to get in!" he yelled.
The bats were now flying directly above them.
Roze thrust his left hand forward and grabbed Mary's hand tightly with his right. The bats began to descend.
One sank its teeth into Roze's neck.
He crushed it instantly.
They reached the door, and the moment they touched the doorknob—
The world vanished.
They were teleported away.
The world shifted into a blur. Their consciousness faded into a void the moment they were teleported, and they collapsed into a deep faint.
"Roze! Mary! Roze! Mary! Wake up, you two!" Robert Fernandez's voice sliced through the silence. "Over here! Guys, I've found them! They're right here near Wranger Cave!"
He shouted for the others, and soon the once-quiet woods were filled with the sound of rushing footsteps. The search party gathered around, a collective sigh of relief ripples through the crowd to see them safe and sound. In the midst of the commotion, Roze and Mary's eyelids fluttered as they slowly returned to the world.
"Where... are we?" Roze managed to croak out.
"Near Wranger Cave, you idiot," Carla replied. Though her words were sharp, she couldn't hide the tight, relieved smile on her face.
"Oh... Mary!" her mother sobbed, throwing her arms around her daughter. Mary's father stood close beside them, his hand trembling with relief.
Robert Fernandez stepped forward, his expression turning serious.
"Now Roze, stand up and answer me: where were you? And more importantly, where on earth did you find Mary Ross?"
"I found her in the cave," Roze replied, his voice sounding small and innocent.
"Oh, really?" Robert questioned, searching his son's eyes.
"Yes, Father," he insisted.
Robert let out a long, heavy sigh. "Okay. I believe you."
"Now Robert, don't go pressuring the boy like that," Mr. Ross intervened, placing a steadying hand on Robert's shoulder. "He's a hero, remember? He has saved Mary's life more times than I can count."
Robert's shoulders finally dropped. "Yeah... you're right," he admitted with another sigh.
"Enough for now," Carla remarked with a bright smile. "Let's just go home and get some rest."
They began the walk back toward their village. As they trekked along, Carla's eyes caught something troubling—a fresh bite mark on Roze's neck, with a slow trickle of blood still dripping from it.
"What is this bite mark, Roze?!" she asked, her voice tight with nerves.
"Oh, this? A Glow Bat bit me," he said with an innocent shrug. "It's nothing. Doctors can cure it". But as the words left his mouth, Carla's eyes widened in shock.
"What happened, Mom?" he asked, confused by her reaction.
"Roze... don't you know that Glow Bats have been extinct since the time of Wrathor?" she said, her voice trembling as she leaned in to inspect the wound. "Hm. This just looks like a normal Blow Bat's bite mark," she remarked quietly.
"Glow Bats... extinct? How?" Roze couldn't find the words to respond.
He decided right then that he would check for himself as soon as they reached home.
By the time they finally arrived, the first light of sunrise was beginning to break over the horizon. Roze went straight to his room, pulled a heavy book from his shelf, and frantically flipped to the section on Glow Bats. He read the page from top to bottom, his eyes darting across the lines. A small note at the very end of the page confirmed it: Glow Bats are currently extinct. They vanished from Earpel 5,000 years ago after the death of Wrathor.
How could he have missed such an important detail? And then, another strange piece of information stood out: "Death of Wrathor".
How? he wondered. Why did Albert tell him he had to kill Wrathor if the creature had been dead all along? None of it made sense—the Glow Bat sighting, Albert's words, the history books. Now, he assumed that Glow Bat's were still alive and hidden but..... but what about Wrathor? How could a god be wrong about information? And what was the connection between Wrathor and Glow Bats? His mind was overwhelmed with questions that had no answers for the time being.
Suddenly, his mom called for him from the living room.
"Roze! Dr. Hertz has arrived. Come here so he can diagnose your wound!"
"Yes Mom, I am coming," he replied. He closed the book, put it back on the shelf, and left his room.
Dr. Hertz was already sitting on the couch while Carla made some tea for him. He smiled as he saw Roze. He was an old man in his 60s. Roze's mom had always told him stories about the time Dr. Hertz saved her from a fatal injury.
"Good morning, little hero," the doctor said.
"Good morning, Dr. Hertz. And please don't call me a hero; I was just helping people a little bit," Roze replied with a yawn.
"Okay, Roze, as you wish. Now, show me the wound," he said. Roze came closer and showed him the bite mark on the right side of his neck.
"Hmm... this is not very serious," the doctor noted. "You should stay in the sun as much as you can so that the sun's rays destroy the bacteria quickly."
"Okay, thanks Doctor," Roze said and was about to go when the doctor called out to him again.
"Wait, Roze!"
"What happened, Doctor?"
"Show me your neck again".
"Okay," he said, showing him the wound once more.
"Ignis Cura!" the doctor muttered, casting a spell. Immediately, the wound in his neck stopped hurting.
"What was that, Doctor?" Roze asked curiously.
"A fire-healing magic," he replied.
"Where can I learn it, Doctor?" Roze asked eagerly.
"You'll be able to learn all kinds of spells when you study, so don't worry about it. You still have two years before you go to school," he replied.
"Yes, Doctor," Roze sighed. "And Doctor, do you know what happens when someone is bit by a Glow Bat?"
"Hmm... I also don't know, Roze, because they went extinct long ago. But I think we can cure it in the same way as a Blow Bat's wound," he replied.
"Okay, thank you, Doctor," Roze said politely.
He then went out of the house to play in the sun. Meanwhile, his mother brought tea and some snacks for the doctor.
"He is so kind, isn't he?" the doctor told Carla.
"Yes, I suppose he is," Carla replied.
In the following month, a new member of the family arrived: Roze's little brother had been born. This was a massive surprise for Roze because he had never considered this possibility to occur. He was excited because he had never had siblings in his previous world. He never felt lonely outside because of Mary and his friends, but at home, his mother was always busy and his father was always away at work. His father always seemed too tired to play, but Roze felt that would all change with his new brother.
"Mom, what is his name?" Roze asked as she laid the baby in the cot.
"Ask your dad; it was him who named you, too," she replied.
Roze ran upstairs to his dad's workplace. He found his father sitting with his head in his hand, writing. Many papers with names were torn or crumpled in the dustbin.
"Dad, what will you name the baby?" Roze asked.
"I don't know, son. There are many names to choose from, but I can't choose any," he replied.
"How did you name me then?" Roze asked.
"I remember reading your name in a book, but I can't remember which book," he replied.
"And Mom thought you were good at naming," Roze sighed.
His father chuckled and returned to his thoughts, searching for the right word. Roze was about to turn and leave when a specific title on the bookshelf caught his eye.
"The Legend of Romero the 1st, huh?" he murmured to himself. "Romero... Romero Fernandez?"
His father spun around in his chair. "What did you say?"
"Romero Fernandez! We should name him Romero!" Roze replied excitedly.
"Romero... like the legend. It's a fitting name," his father said, the indecision finally leaving his face. He rushed to the door and shouted down to the floor below, "Honey, I've got a name! It's perfect, I tell you!"
"A perfect name, huh?" Roze remarked with a grin. "Wait—you've got it? It was me who found it!" He called out to his mother as well, and both father and son went racing downstairs. Behind them, the old book of legends slipped from the shelf and hit the floor with a thud.
As the months passed, a shadow fell over Mary's reputation. She found herself in constant trouble, so much so that the local children began to whisper a cruel nickname: "Bad Omen Mary". They believed she carried a curse that attracted misfortune wherever she stepped.
Isolated and feared, Mary stopped playing outside altogether. It seemed that every time she ventured out, some new disaster would find her, and Roze was always the one who had to come to her rescue. However, Roze was finding it harder to be there for her. With a new baby brother to look after, his days were consumed by family responsibilities, leaving him very little time to talk to or protect Mary.
Soon, Roze's 9th birthday arrived. He had invited all of his friends, making sure Mary was on the list. The celebration was held in his backyard, filled with the sounds of laughter and the smell of food. However, as Roze looked around the crowded yard, Mary was nowhere to be seen. He went to his mother, his brow furrowed with worry.
"Mom, has Mary arrived?" he asked.
"Yeah, she came. Haven't you seen her?" she replied, distracted by the guests.
"No, I haven't," he remarked, his concern growing. "I'll go and find her".
He searched the yard for a while. His dad was busy at the grill, making barbecue for the adults who were helping him. The sun was beginning to set, casting long, orange shadows across the grass, but Mary remained missing. He began asking the other guests about her, but no one seemed to have noticed her. Finally, he asked one of her friends, who told him that Mary had headed toward the toilet quite a while ago and hadn't come back since.
Roze rushed toward the door and knocked firmly. Instead of a verbal response, he heard only the muffled, shaky sound of sobbing from the other side.
"Mary, are you in there?" he asked softly. No reply came, only another broken sob.
"Can you come out, please?" he asked again, leaning closer to the door.
"No... I won't," she sobbed back at him.
"Why? What's the matter? Did someone say something to you?" he asked, his voice filled with frustration for whoever might have upset her.
"No," she replied, her voice small and trembling. "It's just that... I might ruin your birthday party if I attend it".
"Why do you think that?" Roze asked again, his voice gentle through the door.
"Because I am 'Bad Omen Mary,'" she replied, her voice thick with tears.
Roze went silent for a bit. He leaned against the door, searching for the right words to reach her.
"Look, you don't have to call yourself that," he said firmly.
"But... the other kids call me that because I bring bad luck wherever I go," she sobbed in response.
"Listen to me. You don't have to listen to what other people call you," Roze insisted. "You're not 'Bad Omen Mary.' You're just Mary—Mary Ross—and nothing else".
"But..." she started, before breaking into another sob.
"Listen to me, Mary. Come out and let's just enjoy the party, okay?" he urged.
There was a long pause before she spoke, her voice filled with a sudden, painful realization.
"Why?" she asked. "Why do I have to be saved again and again?".
"Huh?!" Roze exclaimed, caught off guard.
"I don't want to be saved!" she said frustratingly, her voice rising with determination. "I want to be strong so I can solve my own problems!".
Roze fell silent once more, reflecting on her words. He stood there for a long moment before an idea finally sparked.
"I can teach you magic, in that case!" he exclaimed.
"Magic?" Mary asked, her sobbing stopping instantly as she spoke with disbelief.
"Yes, magic! And maybe even some extra skills," he told her confidently.
"Really? You will?" she asked, her voice filled with a glimmer of hope.
"Yes, but you have to come out first, okay?" he promised.
"Okay... I'll open the door," she said.
A moment later, she flung the door open and hugged Roze so tightly that he was unable to breathe for a moment.
"So shall we go enjoy the party then princess," he said with a smile, "you won't be able to meet me next year on my birthday because I'll be going school then, so from tomorrow onwards I'll teach you magic till my next birthday, alright?" he asked
"Yes it's excellent," she said, "From tomorrow...
I am so excited," she said with a grin and they went out in the yard to enjoy the party because from the next day a magical year was about to begin!