Authorâs Note: Harsh content, reader discretion advised.
The night Linaâs village was ruined, the avian children were told to hide in their houses while their parents fought off the fiends from the forest.
âNo matter what happens, donât come out of the house, okay Lina?â
âItâll be alright. Your daddy is strong. I wonât lose to mere goblins or ogres.â
Upon hearing that goblins had come out from the forest, Evelinaâs parents told her to hide in their house before they left.
Lightning struck from the sky, pulverizing the rampaging monsters.
Their roars echoed outside. Bright flashes of light could be seen. Death cries could be heard from the fiends.
Evelina, too young to endure her terror, ended up fainting.
When she woke, everything was deathly quiet.
âCoughâ¦coughâ¦â
The smoke that filled the air made Evelina cough.
The roof had collapsed, covering half of the room below in debris.
Using the faint moonlight, she eventually found a gap she could fit through and crawled out.
What she saw outside â was not the home she once knew.
Just yesterday, the villagers had been smiling happily. Now, the village was merely a blood-soaked sh.e.l.l of its former self.
She staggered through the empty ruins.
Then, she came upon it.
She saw a large silhouette, outlined by the blazing flames in the background and the pale moonlight from above.
The figure was kicking a round object, playing with it.
Evelina slowly crept closer.
The object rolled over to her, allowing Evelina to see the other side.
ââ¦Daddy?â
It was a head. It belonged to Evelinaâs father, the strongest person in the village.
It had the same face that had always smiled at her. She touched it. There was nothing below its neck.
âD-daddy!â
âHeyy! There was another one!!â
The figure stretched its hand out towards Evelina.
There was a feral glint in its eyes. It had the head of a dog or a wolf, and she could see sharp canines lining its mouth.
âThis one was yer dad? He was strong. Thatâs an Avian fer ya. He made me go this far to beat him. He was completely different from those weak human knights. I was right to come here in person.â
The dog-headed demon growled as he crept towards Evelina.
The demon stood up, as tall as a house, and looked down at Evelina.
âCome to think of it, canât ya Avians talk to each other mentally? Like youâd expect from half-divine spirit-like guys.â
The demon grabbed the girl, who had frozen in fear, by her collar and brought her face close to his.
âIâm gonna let ya be bait. How lucky, ya get to live. Iâll let ya live, at least until no more Avians come after ya.â
Evelina could smell blood wafting from the dog demonâs mouth as he taunted her.
The demon bared a ferocious smile at the wide-eyed Evelina.
The Avians from other villages noticed the disturbances in the village and came to investigate.
Evelinaâs emotions of sadness and despair summoned Avians from far away who tried to save her.
However, every time they came, the Avians would be ambushed by the dog demon and were slaughtered.
They were like moths drawn to the flame that was Evelina.
Eventually, the Avians stopped coming.
Evelina didnât know when she would be killed.
She
lived in constant terror.
âPlease, someone save me!â
âDeath is scary! I want to live!â
Her thoughts cried out to the Avians in other villages.
She sensed their grim reply.
âGive up.â
When she received that message, Evelina was given no other choice but to carry on alone.
She would never again be able to feel anotherâs embrace.
She would never again hear anotherâs words.
She would never again have another smile at her.
She would only continue to remain alone in the solitude of the ruined village.
âIâm gonna let ya be bait. How lucky, ya get to live. Iâll let ya live, at least until no more Avians come after ya.â
The demonâs words rang in her headâ¦
The Avians would no longer come.
Evelina no longer had any worth as bait.
Iâll be killed. No. I donât want to die. Itâs scary! I donât want to die! I want to live!
Just as that thought crossed her mind, she heard a boy shout.
âFoound them!â
Upon hearing his voice, Evelina slowly roused from her stupor.
ââ¦sobâ¦sobâ¦:â
Laura put down her needle and thread and peeked into the bedroom.
Her young guest, an Avian girl named Evelina, was crying in her sleep.
The sun was already high in the sky, but Laura quietly walked over, trying not to wake Evelina, and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
Last night, after Evelina had eaten her fill of stew, she had fallen asleep as soon as she laid down.
She had taken a bath and eaten a warm meal for the first time in months. Now that she was safe, all of the fatigue she had acc.u.mulated during her ordeal had probably finally overcome her.
The effects of having not eaten a decent meal since the destruction of Evelinaâs village could be clearly seen on her emaciated body.
Sheâs been through so much for someone so young, Laura thought, looking at the girl.
She saw two small, clenched fists peeking out from Evelinaâs sleeves. Her sleeves, much too long for Evelina, had been rolled up several times. Laura gently wrapped her hands around Evelinaâs.
Evelina slowly began to stir.
Her eyes, red from crying, wandered around the room and stopped on Lauraâs face.
âDid you have a bad dream? Itâs alright now. Youâre safe here, thereâs nothing to be afraid of.â
ââ¦Umâ¦Lina⦠Lina is bait. If Lina is here⦠something bad⦠will come and kill everyoneâ¦â
Evelina sobbed while trying to speak.
âThatâs okay, the adventurers will beat up the bad guy.â
Laura said to rea.s.sure her.
Be careful everyone, Laura thought, wis.h.i.+ng for the adventurersâ safety.
Evelinaâs words worried her, but she could only continue to comfort the young girl.
âWhoa! How cool!â
Oort had blocked the koboldâs gigantic club.
Louis had taken a hit, but he had the quick judgement to block it with his spear.
Finally, they saw Elizaâs fireball spell and Paulâs desperate stab.
For a moment, the experienced adventurersâ coordinated attacks left Wynn enthralled, and he forgot to even blink.
The moment the kobold collapsed, Wynn realized that he had been holding his breath, so he took in a few deep breaths.
He felt excitement bubbling within him.
s.h.i.+vers ran down his spine.
Sweat flowed down the palm of his right hand and onto his sword.
âTheyâre so cool, Leti! Amazing! I want to be like them too!â
As they lowered their weapons, the
the adventurers gave off an air of experience.
Wynn chattered excitedly to Leti.
However, Leti was far from excited. She stayed silent, clinging tightly to his left arm.
Surprised, Wynn asked her what was wrong.
âWhatâs wrong, Leti?â
Leti trembled fearfully and stammered,
âScaryâ¦Iâm scared, Big Brother. That dogâ¦isnât dead yet.â
The kobold was flat on its face with a sword through its heart.
Paul was trying to pull out his sword from the monster.
âHuh? Of course itâs dead! Itâs fine! They completely beat it!â
Leti shook her head.
âYou know what? I can see something weird⦠Scary things are gathering around the dog.â
Leti clung to Wynnâs arm tighter.
âIâm scared, Big Brother!â
âScary things? I canât see them. Are you sure?â
âLeti doesnât know either. They look like the things that gathered when Miss Eliza made the fireball, but they feel wrong.â
She said tearfully as she pointed to Eliza.
âHeey! Itâs alright now. Whatâs wrong? Were you scared by the fight? Louis and Paul took care of it, so itâs fine. How was it? Did you learn a lot?â
When he noticed Letiâs appearance, Oort began walking towards Wynn and Leti.
He tried to make his gruff face seem less threatening.
Leti has talent I donât have, Wynn thought.
He had felt this time and time again, be it when training or when studying.
In both swordmans.h.i.+p and magic, Leti had quickly absorbed the skills Wynn taught her.
He was often reminded of the various distinguished people in the stories they read. The knights, heroes, saints, and finally, the Braves.
All of them possessed strength and abilities far beyond the average person.
He believed that Letiâs talent most likely rivalled that of those individuals.
She could be the heroine from any of those stories.
Even if Wynn couldnât sense the things she saw, he decided to believe in Leti.
âMr. Oort.â
If Leti says it isnât dead, then it definitely isnât dead! Wynn thought.
âWhat is it, Wynn?â
âLeti says⦠Leti says that itâs not dead yet!â
âWhat do you mean?â
âWhoaâ¦Huh!?â
Wynn was about to respond when they heard Paulâs cry.
âWHAT!?â
âPaul!â
The kobold slowly stood up.
The sword was still embedded within its chest.
Paul fell onto his backside, while staring at the monster in astonishment.
âNo way! We pierced its heart! A monsterâs organs should still be in the same places as those of a normal animal!â
Eliza had healed Louis as much as she could and was in the middle of bandaging his other wounds. The two of them could only stare at the kobold in shock.
âHeheheh, HAHAHAHA!â
The monster released a loud, unrestrained laugh.
âWell well well, ya guys did pretty good! Are ya the so-called adventurers? Didnât think Iâd be this lucky! Didnât think Iâd enjoy it this much!â
âTh- the kobold talked?â
ââIt talked?â That so weird? I ainât a simple kobold. Nameâs Veldaroth.â
The demon answered Elizaâs bewildered question.
As he laughed, the sword came out of his chest.
There was no sound, and no blood spurted from the wound. The sword seemed to slip out on its own. After floating in the air for a moment, it clattered to the ground.
âI was waiting fer that Avian brat to call more of her kind to the village, but itâs been frigginâ boring recently. Wonâcha play with me?â
He provoked the adventurers with his words and a beckoning gesture.
âYou monster!â
With a shout, Oort charged
Oort charged at the demon Veldaroth. As he ran, he began to swing his axe furiously.
Oort had the strength to even chop through stone.
However, Veldaroth easily stopped Oortâs blow with his free hand.
The axe blade didnât even scratch the demonâs palm.
âGood hit, but I wonât be cut by a regular blade, ya know? Iâm a demon, after all. Yâall need magic or magic weapons. Didnât ya know that?â
Veldaroth crushed the axehead with his bare hands and swung the handle around.
Oortâs feet left the ground and he flew through the air, like a weed being uprooted, until he crashed into a tree.
âUrgh, monster.â
Oort groaned after he landed.
âOort!â
Eliza stopped healing Louis, stood up, and quickly began to chant.
Oort got back up and charged at the demon again.
ââHey, didnât I tell ya it wonât work? Whatâre ya tryinâ to do?â
Oort threw his axe handle at Veldaroth with all of his might.
Veldaroth instantly swatted it away.
âO blade, follow my will: Imbue the blade with my power!â
Eliza finished her spell.
Her target was Paulâs blade, which had fallen out from Veldarothâs chest.
Oort picked it up and slashed at the demon.
âEnchantment Magic. How interesting!
Oort swung his sword freely.
The blade, imbued with the enchantment, left a trail of light as it flashed through the air.
Oort may have been an axe specialist, but his swordsmans.h.i.+p was still first-rate.
Even so, his attack missed his target.
Veldaroth had dodged his swing with an agility unimaginable from his large body.
Thenâ
âTake that!â
Veldaroth suddenly countered with a swing of his club.
It was impossible for Oort to dodge it at such a close range.
Instead, he quickly raised his s.h.i.+eld to block the attack.
The club slammed into the s.h.i.+eld with a loud crash.
Oort found himself flying through the air again, due to the force of the blow.
The sword left Oortâs hands and the blade sunk into the ground near Wynn and Leti.
âOops. Used too much strength. Sorry for breakinâ yer arm,â the demon taunted.
Oortâs iron s.h.i.+eld was completely deformed by the blow.
His s.h.i.+eld arm had been completely smashed. Blood gushed out of the wound, and his bones were protruding through his skin.
âOort!â
Paul rushed over to Oort.
He slung Oortâs uninjured right arm over his shoulder and helped him stand.
âHey, are ya gonna run away? Did ya think Iâd just let ya?â
Veldaroth jeered as he watched them try to move away.
âWe arenât running away from you. I was just getting him out of the way.â
âWhat?â
âO fireball, strike true!â
Eliza used all of her remaining mana to shoot a fireball at Veldaroth, which exploded upon impact.
âWe did it!â
Seeing the fireball hit its mark, Eliza cheered, with a tinge of happiness in her voice.
Unfortunately, she was mistaken.
âWeak!â
Veldaroth swung his club.
The gust of wind from his swing blew out the flames like a candle.
âUs demon ainât affected by anythinâ but spells and magically imbued weapons. Yer spells could hardly be called magic if ya compare them to the Aviansâ spells!â
âNo wayâ¦â
âWell, it did sting a bit. I had some fun, but humans are never strong. The Avians ainât cominâ neither. I should just take care of ya guys and kill off that bait.â
âYou monsterâ¦â
Oort bit his lips so hard that they
hard that they bled. All color drained from Paulâs face.
Eliza, having exhausted all of her mana, lay gasping on the ground.
Next to her, Louis had drawn a dagger in place of his broken spear and was struggling to sit up.
Paulâs legs were frozen in fear, unable to move another step.
Veldaroth moved to stand right before him.
The demonâs feral glare caused Paul to drop Oort, and he collapsed to the ground himself.
His whole body shook and his teeth chattered audibly.
Oort, also unable to move, could do nothing but await his imminent death.
âWell, itâs the end fer ya. Least ya helped me kill some time, eh?â
Veldaroth raised his club.
Then suddenlyâ
âGYAAAAAAAAH!!â
The tip of Paulâs sword suddenly appeared again in Veldarothâs chest, just like it had moments before.
Veldaroth screamed in pain.
The blade emitted a faint glow.
Veldaroth couldnât ignore the damage this time around.
âWhoâ¦who did that?â
As if responding to Oortâs question, the person who stabbed Veldaroth kicked the demon as they pulled the sword from the demonâs back.
âWynn!â
Oort saw Wynn standing there, wielding Paulâs sword.
âArgh. Yer pretty good fer a brat. Ya wanna play, too?â
âNo! Run, Wynn! Donât be stupid!â
Louis yelled.
Ignoring him, Wynn ran straight at Veldaroth.
He was faster than anyone thought a child his age could be.
âStop scurryinâ around!â
Veldaroth swung his club.
Right before it reached him, Wynn leapt back.
The blast of air from the swing pushed Wynn even further backwards.
Wynn adjusted his stance midair and landed lightly on the ground.
Then Veldaroth bared his fangs.
Light coalesced in his mouth as he gathered magic power.
After a moment, he shot beams of light from his mouth at Wynn, one after another.
Wynn wove side to side, dodging the beams, as he made his way towards Veldaroth.
Once Wynn got close enough, Veldaroth closed his mouth and swung his club again.
Wynn slid under the swinging club.
It wouldnât have been possible if he had a bigger body.
Wynn could hear the wind as the club pa.s.sed over him.
The gale caused by the swing felt like it was ripping his hair out.
Still, Wynn pushed on and slashed at Veldarothâs thigh.
âYa messed up! There ainât much mana left in the sword. Canât even scratch me!â
It was true, the sword would barely cause any damage to the demon.
Veldaroth let go of his club and attempted to smack Wynn with his hand.
Wynn used Veldarothâs descending arm as a foothold and thrust at the demonâs canine face.
The demon dodged by tilting his head and shook his arm to dislodge Wynn from it. He sent a roundhouse kick at the airborne Wynn.
Realizing that he was midair with Veldarothâs leg swiftly approaching, Wynn stretched out his left arm and used his elbow to cus.h.i.+on the blow. He was launched through the air by the force of the kick.
âLeti!â Wynn called out.
âWhat!?â
Veldaroth, following Wynnâs line of sight, turned around.
He saw a fireball â several times larger than the one Eliza had created earlier â floating above Leti.
âWhat the h.e.l.l!?â
When Veldaroth turned around completely, Leti pointed at the demon.
The fireball shot towards Veldaroth, leaving scorching hot air in its wake.
When it hit, a pillar of fire erupted into the sky.