"This is the law of this place… the weak die, and the strong rule."
Tears streamed down the boy's face as he realized the inevitable fate awaiting him.
Death was unavoidable.
"If only I hadn't shown kindness to that knight… if only I were stronger… if only I were faster.
The world isn't fair. Damn this life… how much I hate it."
Kid did not feel sadness for his own situation. Instead, his emotions were tangled between anger and regret.
Dying here, in this desolate place, all because of his kindness and pity toward that knight…
"If I'm going to die anyway, I'll take one of you bastards with me!"
Kid's body ached, and his vision was blurred by tears. Yet his hatred for his own weakness burned even stronger.
The beasts lunged at him, tearing at his flesh while the boy desperately tried to strike the foreheads of the wild dogs.
"The air is cold… and quiet… ah, so this is death…
I don't want to… I don't want to… I don't want to die…"
At that critical moment, the book suddenly glowed and vanished.
A floating message appeared before the boy, like the window of a game.
"Unparalleled anger and regret detected. Demonic energy has been granted."
The boy did not understand a single word. He was going to die anyway.
As a final desperate attempt, he reached out to strike one of the dogs' foreheads. But his strength had already faded.
All he managed was a faint touch.
Then the window appeared again.
"Host on the verge of death. Countermeasure activated.
Demonic energy activated. Absorption in progress."
Suddenly, the boy's consciousness returned. Warmth spread through his entire body.
All the dogs around him had fallen dead.
Every wound and injury he had suffered was completely healed, though he still felt exhausted and weak.
"I… I'm healed? How is that possible?
Those were fatal injuries. I had even lost some internal organs. Even the greatest doctors wouldn't have been able to save me…
But I'm alive?"
Suddenly, exhaustion overtook him, and he collapsed unconscious.
Healing wounds like those was no simple matter.
Kid woke up and found himself in a luxurious room.
"I wasn't here before… where is the rocky valley? And what is this place?"
A girl entered the room after hearing him talking to himself.
"So, you've finally awakened."
Her voice sounded happy, yet worried at the same time. But the first thing that caught the boy's attention was her beauty.
Her hair was long and silver, and her eyes were red like blood.
She looked like a crimson moon shining in a clear night sky.
"Where is this place? And who are you?"
"You are in the Province of Fina. This is Baron Finn Karl's mansion.
And I am the baron's second daughter. My name is Mira."
"Sorry for introducing myself late… I was nervous.
My name is Kid… just an ordinary boy."
"Just Kid? It seems you're a commoner.
But your family background doesn't really matter… what matters is your strength."
When Mira mentioned strength, Kid suddenly remembered what had happened.
"The knight! Where is the knight?!"
"A knight? When we found you, you were unconscious and alone, surrounded by corpses in the rocky valley.
Now tell me… how did you manage to kill those dogs without a weapon?"
The boy did not ask many questions. He assumed the knight had either fled or died from bleeding.
But Mira's question struck him like lightning. It was impossible for him to tell her that he came from another world… or tell her about the book.
"What is demonic energy?"
"It's the source of power for every demon. That sinister energy strengthens them.
Just like light and mana are sources of power for humans."
Kid thought to himself that revealing anything about demonic power was not an option.
He knew far too little about it.
"Sorry… but I'm still tired, and my memory is a bit hazy."
"That's fine. We can talk later. For now, get some rest."
Mira left the room, leaving the boy alone to rest… and think quietly.