Click - Click -.

The sound of metal scraping against metal echoed in my ears.

With a sound like a clock winding back, my vision flickered.

Only after some time passed was I able to open my eyes.

What on earth happened?

I quickly scanned my surroundings, trying to grasp the situation.

Sa, save me!

Kill the demon bastards!

Before I had the chance, I couldn't help but frown at the screams and shouts echoing from all directions.

'What the hell is going on.'

I tried to move my body in surprise.

But it was no use.

My body, which should have followed my will, was frozen stiff.

I tried to use my other abilities to overcome this predicament.

But I had to be discouraged because even the manifestation of mana was not possible.

It felt like my body was mine, but not mine.

That was when.

Swish-.

My gaze lowered.

My eyes began to scan my hand.

At the same time.

Swish-.

My head turned automatically.

It wasn't something I did myself, but a movement that was already imprinted on my body.

And what reached the end of my field of vision was.

A mirror.

To be exact, it was the shattered fragments of a broken mirror.

'This guy.'

He was someone I knew well.

The child reflected in the mirror was Samuel.

I had become Samuel.

Is it because of the necklace's power?

Judging from the situation, it seemed like I was experiencing Samuel's past.

.

My, or rather Samuel's, face was pale with fear.

I calmly looked over his appearance and could roughly guess Samuel's age.

It seemed like it was about 10 years ago in terms of time.

Wait, if it's 10 years ago.

'The Human-Demon War.'

It was the time when the humans invaded the Demon World to conquer it.

The humans, who had trampled the Demon World's territory with their horseshoes, threatened even the Seven Deadly Sins families.

In the end, it even reached Samuel's family, the 'Barus' family.

It was said that Samuel's family was exterminated during the Human-Demon War, so this must be that time.

In other words.

'This place is Samuel's past.'

And it was clear that it was the time when Samuel's family was being exterminated.

This scene was one that I had not written myself in the original work.

I had only written that the Demon World had suffered great damage because of the humans.

I hadn't described the details of the Seven Deadly Sins families being exterminated.

The Seven Deadly Sins' families' detailed process of extermination wasn't described.

I was briefly taken aback by the appearance of a setting that didn't appear in the original work.

Creak-

The door to the room opened.

Samuel's body flinched in fear and his shoulders reflexively hunched up.

Then Samuel's face brightened at the figure that appeared.

"Mother!"

An unfamiliar yet young voice escaped my throat.

The woman who opened the door was Samuel's mother.

Her emerald green hair had lost its vitality and become dull, and her eyes were losing their luster and becoming faint.

Samuel didn't seem to notice these changes as he simply hugged his mother.

"Mother..."

Samuel hugged his mother tightly, trembling with fear.

He felt a warm warmth.

The young Samuel didn't realize that it was a single tear flowing down his back.

His mother was crying.

"Mother, what about Father?"

Samuel, unaware of his mother's emotions, looked for his father in confusion.

But his mother didn't tell him where his father was.

She just apologized to Samuel.

"My child, I'm sorry..."

"Mother?"

Samuel's eyes widened as he watched his mother repeat her apologies over and over again.

Samuel was young, but he could roughly guess the situation.

The humans' clutches had reached his family and were threatening them.

One.

Because Samuel was young.

"...."

Clench.

He couldn't do anything but tighten his arms around his mother.

A long time passed like that.

Thud-

A dull thud was heard through the crack in the door, along with the sound of human voices.

"That Lord is definitely strong."

"But Duke Leon won, didn't he? He cut off his neck."

Whose neck did he cut off?

The humans were proudly boasting to their leader that his father had been defeated and killed.

At that moment, it felt like a fire was burning in his chest.

Before he knew it, Samuel had become possessed by anger.

"Aah...!"

His mother, who had been eavesdropping on the humans' conversation, burst into tears and collapsed on the spot.

There was nothing Samuel could do for her.

He, too, was still a weak being who needed someone's help.

Thud, thud-.

And then came the moment when the humans' footsteps gradually approached.

The humans were approaching the room where Samuel and his mother were.

Click.

His mother, who had wiped away her tears without him noticing, held onto Samuel's shoulder and opened her mouth with a tearful voice.

"My child, listen carefully to what I have to say."

"......Yes, Mother."

Samuel knew what his mother was about to say.

He also knew that his mother would not listen to him even if he voiced his opinion.

That was why Samuel obeyed his mother's words.

"Stay in here, and don't come out no matter what."

His mother said as she hid Samuel tightly in the closet.

Samuel nodded, covering his body with clothes.

"Don't open your eyes or ears. Just five minutes will do."

"Why?"

"It's a game. A game for adults. I'm sure you can do it well since you're mature, Samuel."

"......"

Samuel wanted to argue that there was no such thing as a game like that.

But the moment he saw his mother's eyes, which were on the verge of filling with tears.

He had no choice but to do as his mother wished.

"I understand. I'll count to five."

"Yes, that's my good boy."

Rustle, rustle.

She stroked Samuel's forehead one last time, closed the closet door, and turned her head.

- My child, you must survive.

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