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The surroundings were quiet and peaceful. A boy named Arthur, roughly ten years old, had been working in the fields since dawn. His golden hair shimmered in the sunlight, and when he looked at the sun, its rays reflected in his amber eyes.
"If I finish the field work quickly, maybe I'll have time to play!"
With that thought, he continued working until he finally completed his task. He approached the work supervisor and said:
"Sir, I'm finished!"
The supervisor looked at him and tossed three silver coins onto the ground, then stepped on them with his foot.
"If you lick my shoes clean as a mirror, then you can have your money, hehehe," the supervisor said with a laugh.
Arthur looked back and forth between the supervisor and his shoes, hesitating.
"B-but... I need to bring food home to my family. Please, I just want the wages I earned for my work," Arthur said, a hint of disappointment in his voice.
The supervisor stared at Arthur for a moment and began to speak:
"That's not my problem. If you want the money..." His voice suddenly stopped.
He flinched at the hand that touched his shoulder and froze as he turned around. Behind him stood a man with a large build, appearing to be around 38 years old.
"L-Lord... Ron?! W-what are you doing here?!" his voice came out trembling.
Before him stood Ron Yamada, one of the most respected heroes even though his active days had ended. He was easy to recognize because throughout the entire nation, only Ron would travel through villages and fields, checking on the conditions of workers. That's why he was here at the farm now.
Ron stood in simple clothes with a calm demeanor. However, in his eyes, there was embodied firmness and experience.
He looked at the supervisor and began to speak:
"What do you hope to achieve by humiliating and mocking this boy? Just give him his money, or else..." Before he could finish, the supervisor's panicked voice rang out.
"Y-yes, sir! R-right away... right away!" He frantically scrambled around.
He quickly grabbed the coins and gave them to the boy, then looked at Arthur:
"I-I'm sorry, kid, my apologies!" he said.
Arthur didn't fully understand, but he looked at Ron and thanked him:
"Thank you, uncle. If it weren't for you, I probably..."
Ron placed his hand on his shoulder and began to speak:
"I didn't do anything special. You should go home now. They're probably waiting for you."
Arthur looked at Ron once more and ran toward his home. On his way, he ran into an old friend. Emilia looked at Arthur and greeted him.
"Oh, Arthur! It's been so long since we've seen each other. The last time we met was when we were little, and now we've grown up!" Her voice was cheerful and playful.
When Arthur shook hands with Emilia, his face turned slightly red, but seeing Emilia smile at him, he shyly looked away.
Emilia looked at him with a smile and said goodbye:
"Well then, Arthur, see you later!" There was playfulness and gentleness in her voice.
Arthur waved back and continued on his way. But inside, he thought, "Emilia is so beautiful. Her silver hair, soft as silk, looks so lovely when it sways in the wind, and I really like her blue eyes too." However, he was in a hurry, so he started running again.
He finally reached the village.
At first, he hadn't thought anything of it, but when he looked closely, the village was burning. Fire was everywhere, people were dying, some were already dead, some women were being violated openly in front of everyone, and others were desperately trying to survive.
Arthur's eyes filled with tears and he immediately ran toward his house. He finally reached home, but his worst fear had come true...
His mother was nailed to the wall by swords through both her hands, his father lay on the ground with his head severed. But the most horrific thing—something Arthur wouldn't wish even upon his worst enemy...
They had even killed his 3-4 month old baby sister. The little girl lay on the ground torn to pieces, her corpse already burning in the flames...
Arthur fell to his knees, covering his mouth to keep from vomiting, but this was no laughing matter. He looked up to the sky and screamed with all his might, gathering all the hatred from the depths of his heart:
"CURSE YOU ALL! MAY YOU ALL DIE! I'LL KILL EVERY ONE OF YOU! DO YOU HEAR ME?! NOT A SINGLE ONE OF YOU WILL SURVIVE!"
Hearing his voice, soldiers entered from behind with raised swords, laughing:
"You're screaming so much, kid. Be grateful you're still alive, hahaha!" They laughed as they looked at each other.
Arthur stared at them with intensity.
"What's... so funny about this? Did you do this?"
His voice now sounded broken.
The soldiers looked at him:
"Oh, we're so scared. We'll just send you to join them. Then you can live happily with them in the afterlife."
As they approached, someone's hand touched one of their heads. The soldier's head was crushed, brain matter squeezing out from within the fist. It was Ron.
The second soldier, in panic and not knowing what to do, attacked Ron with his sword. But Ron split his head in two from the center with his long crescent-shaped blade, then looked at Arthur:
"Kid... I'm sorry... Forgive me for not arriving in time..."
Arthur ran outside. The heroes had already made the enemy soldiers bite the dust. Arthur fell to his knees and began blaming himself for everything:
"Why? Why? Why? Why?! Why! Why couldn't I be there for them?! Why couldn't I protect them?!"
Ron stood beside him, looking ahead:
"The enemy soldiers were ordinary people. If they had been like us, we couldn't have defeated them—there were hundreds of them."
Arthur stood up, and his golden hair swayed in the wind. He looked up at the sky; the reflection of the moon shone in his amber eyes. He made a promise to himself:
"I will have my revenge."
Ron stood behind him and began to speak:
"There are many kingdoms where such atrocities can be expected, but I know for certain this is the work of that Demon."
Arthur looked at Ron sharply:
"Demon? Who is he?"
Ron looked at him and began speaking:
"He can't really be called human. Even monsters fear him—the most cursed and damned being in history. No one among humans has been found who could defeat him. He's simply..." Ron fell silent.
Hope appeared in Arthur's eyes:
"Then I'll be the first human to kill him."
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