In this peaceful clearing, the only sounds present were the rustling of the grass bending beneath the wind.
The moon, accompanied by her distant companions, the stars, did her best to illuminate the world below.
And so, the hours passed, until the sun, which had given way to the moon, returned to enforce its laws and banished her from the celestial vault, leaving her alone in the vast sky.
At dawn, there was only one small change in this quiet clearing.
A little boy, around ten years old, suddenly appeared in a flash of magical energy.
"Well damn, I really was knocked out."
When Emrys' foot touched the grass and the fresh morning air filled his nostrils, he was overwhelmed by an endless feeling of peace.
He raised his head toward the sky and began admiring it.
"Damn, the sky is so blue."
Immediately after saying that, he started moving.
And it was a rather unusual kind of movement.
He began singing and dancing without a care in the world.
"Kagami yo Kagami kotaechatte, who's the best? I'm the best. Oh yeah!!"
He threw himself headfirst into the grass and performed several front flips before getting back on his feet.
"Namami no mama ikeru toko made.
To the next, to the ichiban ue."
Unfortunately, before he could continue his little choreography, a wind carrying a biting cold struck him head-on.
Emrys stopped singing and wrapped his arms around his shoulders while shivering.
"God damn it, it's freezing."
He quickly hurried over and grabbed the clothes he had left there the day before.
Once he finished getting dressed, his excitement had calmed down a little.
"Damn, I really got carried away. I'm glad I managed to master Blink enough. But all of that just for this? And I didn't even accomplish all my goals yesterday."
He frowned as he thought back to what had happened a few minutes earlier.
"That was weird... but there's nothing I can do about it for now, so I might as well focus on what's important. I need to succeed in manifesting Drainda."
He abandoned the matter and let himself fall onto the ground, crossing his arms and legs as he began thinking.
"Alright, alright... How do I make Drainda appear?"
BOOM!
Unfortunately, his brainstorming session was interrupted by a faint explosion in the distance.
"Seriously? Can't they wait until ten in the morning before making all that noise?" Emrys said sarcastically.
When he turned his head, he saw a small cloud of dust and ashes rising from the ground about 500 meters away from where he was.
Shortly after, he saw a figure escape from the cloud, running at full speed.
From where he stood, he could tell the silhouette was rather small, no bigger than himself. He couldn't see the person's face from that distance, but the clothes he could distinguish suggested it was a girl.
"What is happening over there?"
Then he saw several more silhouettes emerge from the dust cloud.
Unlike the first one, these belonged to adults, and it was obvious they were chasing the little girl.
"Nope!" Emrys immediately replied.
"There is absolutely no chance I'm getting involved in this."
---
Emrys looked away and tried to return to his deep thoughts.
He wasn't a hero.
He wasn't a hero.
He wasn't ready.
He didn't know how to fight.
He had never fought anyone before.
Even with his powers, he was nothing more than a child training alone in a clearing.
He found countless completely valid reasons not to look in that direction.
However...
He couldn't do it.
Only a few seconds later, he looked back toward the scene.
And when he did, he immediately saw the girl stumble and nearly fall several times.
She had gotten close enough for him to see the terror filling her face as her pursuers approached.
Before he could even think.
Blink.
His body disappeared.
He reappeared only 5 centimeters away.
Then again.
Blink.
Again.
Blink.
The distance he covered with each teleportation was ridiculously short, but he chained them together so quickly that it no longer mattered.
"What am I doing...?"
He knew he was making a mistake.
He knew he was running toward a danger he couldn't handle.
But he couldn't simply watch.
Not this time.
His mind was so focused on saving the girl that he didn't even notice he hadn't left his clothes behind like yesterday.
After 50 seconds of uninterrupted blinking, he finally reached the center of the situation.
Before the girl and the group of men could even realize his presence, he grabbed her in a princess carry and immediately started blinking again.
Tap!
Blink.
Blink.
Blink.
The group of men froze for a moment, completely confused by what had just happened.
"What just happened?" one of them asked.
"That boy suddenly appeared from the side and escaped with @&&#&-@-" another began.
"There's something even stranger than that. That boy's speed isn't natural, and he's not even running. It looks like he's simply throwing himself forward," a third one explained.
"So what? There are plenty of movement and teleportation spells. It's not important. We need to catch @&&#&-@-" the fourth one urged.
"Idiot! Can't you sense it?" the third one interrupted.
"Sense what? I can't detect any magical energy coming from him," the fourth replied.
"Exactly..."
The third man pointed at Emrys, who was still fleeing.
"How can he use a teleportation spell without magical energy? That's impossible."
The other men fell silent, realizing the absurdity of what was happening before them.
Clap! Clap!
They were pulled out of their thoughts by the last member of the group.
"I can understand your curiosity, my fellow mages. However, we have a mission to complete. We will have plenty of time to capture him afterward."
All members of the team wore black robes with hoods covering their faces.
(A cliché, yes, I know, but I couldn't think of anything else.)
The man who spoke raised his hand and began chanting an incomprehensible spell before finally casting it.
"Static ice."
A wave of cold began spreading from his position toward Emrys.
Emrys, who had been using the pursuers' surprise to create as much distance as possible, had activated his Observation Haki some time ago.
It allowed him to sense all magic within a five-meter radius around him.
Yet despite having activated it, he didn't stop even once, nor did he say anything.
Not even after noticing the enormous amount of magical energy emanating from and residing within the little girl in his arms.
Speaking of the girl...
She hadn't moved once since the moment Emrys picked her up.
As if she was still shocked that someone had actually come to save her.
But she snapped back to reality when she noticed the wave of cold already dangerously close.
She tried to warn him.
"Wait..."
But Emrys had already sensed it with his Observation Haki.
This time, he used several one-meter Blinks to move sideways and dodge.
Slip!
Unfortunately, he lost his balance upon landing, and both children fell to the ground.
Thud!
When he stood back up, it was already too late.
The enemies had closed the distance.
"This chase ends here, kid," said the fourth pursuer.
Seeing that he had no other options, Emrys placed the girl behind him and stood between her and the attackers.
"You shall not pass."
Emrys spoke with fake confidence.
No one could tell whether his bluff worked or not because the five attackers immediately released a wave of murderous intent directed especially at him.
His body tensed instantly.
His hands and legs began trembling violently.
Even the fact that he was still standing was already a miracle.
He had never been in a real battle.
Never.
He had never hit anyone.
Never received an attack.
And yet...
He was now facing several adults capable of using magic.
"You still have time to leave, kid," said the fifth attacker.
Oh, how sweet those words sounded to Emrys' ears.
He had never, in either of his two lives, been as relieved as he was at hearing such a simple sentence.
The temptation was enormous.
More than anything, Emrys wanted to leave this place, find his mother, and show her the wonders of this world.
Unfortunately for him, the terrified face of the girl behind him appeared in his mind and prevented him from making that decision.
Emrys didn't answer.
He simply took a fighting stance.
The stance was full of flaws and openings that could easily be exploited.
But this was the best he, a beginner, could offer.
"I don't want to fight..." Emrys murmured.
His voice was weak.
But despite that, he remained stubbornly in front of the girl.
"But I can't let you take her."
"Hmm, I see. You're very determined. You really didn't accept my offer," said the fifth attacker.
"Well, it doesn't change anything. I wasn't planning on letting you escape anyway."
"Light cage."
Emrys suddenly saw an abnormal amount of white particles gathering around him and the girl.
But before he could react, a large white cage made of pure light appeared around Emrys and his protected target.
"Damn it," Emrys cursed.
"We're in trouble."
"If this keeps going, they'll manage to take us away. But I don't have any way out of this."
While Emrys tortured his mind searching for a way out, someone else was also completely confused.
Why did he do this?
Why did he help me?
Why did he put himself in danger for me?
Those were the questions that kept repeating endlessly in the girl's mind.
But among all of them, there was one that appeared much more often.
"Why has my heart been beating so fast ever since he answered them?"
The girl had never experienced such feelings before.
Whether they came from someone else or from herself, these emotions were completely unknown to her.
And they left her utterly lost and completely useless in the situation they were in.
Leaving Emrys with the entire responsibility of their survival.
In any case, Emrys wasn't counting on her to get them out of this.
"There is only one option left."
During his first use of Observation Haki, he had noticed a black point glowing with a red light in the center of his abdomen.
It stood out from the naturally steel-colored aura around him.
At the time, he had first ignored it, preferring to explore his other options before coming back to deal with it once he became stronger.
But now...
That was his only option.
"I've been searching like crazy for how to make you appear. Honestly, if it's not this, I don't know what else it could be," Emrys said aloud, pulling the girl out of her thoughts.
Just like when he strengthened his fist with Armament Haki, Emrys closed his eyes and began moving his mental energy toward a single point.
But unlike the last time, when that point was his fist...
This time, it was the black core.
"The Demon-Dweller Sword, DRAINDA!!"
In a wave of black light, the cage shattered.
And standing before the five attackers was Emrys...
Holding a magnificent black sword in his hand.
Sorry for the late chapter. Today I met a friend I hadn't seen in person for a year. I didn't have time to write before 11 p.m. I hope that doesn't bother you.
The next chapter should feature the first "fight" scene, if you can even call it that in fanfiction. Don't forget to spam the comments and power stones for support!