Demons and Humans, a never-ending conflict that continues to strike fear in those looking to live peaceful lives. As Demons ravaged the village of a young boy, he travels to learn the truth behind the invasion while holding onto power that only his lineage can use,
"Heh heh, I got you now!"
"Wait-"
A warm summer sunset illuminated through the trees, providing a soft orange hue to the surrounding area. Three children were playing in the woods taking turns pretending that one is a hero and the others were demons.
"No fair Kayn, that was cheating." One child said while being pinned down by another child. "Heroes don't use underhanded tricks."
"Heh heh," Kayn let go of the child and laughed. "Well, not all heroes are good-natured."
"Whatever."
The two boys walked to a nearby cliff that oversaw a small village. Upon walking there, a third boy was resting on top of some rocks. The boy heard the other boys and turned to look at them.
"Guessing you lost Pat?" He asked.
"But of course, Kayn is too good at this." Pat pouted while walking to the rock formation on the edge of the cliff.
"Hey, I'm not that good."
"Says the crimson eyes." The two other boys said in unison.
Kayn had a rare appearance of having jet black hair followed by crimson-colored eyes. Many people have been known to fear those with crimson eyes as they were seen as demon controllers, while others have worshiped them as heroes due to their demon-hunting lineage.
"So Kayn, are you gonna become a Bloodhound?" Pat asked.
"Yeah, I've been wondering that too." The third boy chimed in.
"I want to, but my parents have been against it." Kayn said with a miserable tone.
"Why? Aren't they also Bloodhounds?"
"They are but…" he paused to think, "I guess they want to wait until they finish their project first or until my power manifests."
The three boys continued their idle chatter as they watched the sun slowly go down. They stared off into the distance talking about the different things they want to do once they leave the village. As they were talking something caught the third boy's attention.
"Umm guys…?"
"Yeah?" Kayn asked, "What's wrong Maddison?"
"There's a lot of smoke coming from the village…"
The other two boys turned to look at the village in the distance. "Wait...WHAT!?" Pat shouted.
"Let's hurry back," Kayn suggested.
"But what if it's a demon attack?" Maddison asked, clearly shaken about the village currently burning.
"It's not," Kayn reassured him, "If it were a demon attack, then the bells would have chimed."
Upon hearing this the other two boys decided to follow Kayn back to the village. While racing through the forest, they ran past a bloodied naked girl that was running in the direction of the village.
"Who is she?" Kayn asked while continuing to run through the forest.
"No clue," Pat said.
"Let's worry about that later." Maddison added.
The three boys reached the village's entrance and saw what had become of the village. Many buildings were set ablaze as the villagers were rushing to put out the flames. The echoes of cries and screams were heard throughout the area as flames had trapped many from escaping the fiery hell that engulfed the village.
"THERE YOU THREE ARE!!!" A bulky man carrying buckets of water ran up to the boys. "Get your asses to the Gathering Hall, NOW!"
The three boys obeyed his orders and ran to the Gathering Hall. Upon entering, they saw only women, children, and elders sitting in wait within the building. As Kayn looked around the room, he became increasingly confused about what was happening.
"Umm guys?" He asked in a quiet voice, "Isn't something off here?"
"Yeah…" Pat whispered back, "Most of the village is burning, but there is not a single injured person in here."
"Maybe no one got hurt?" Maddison asked.
The other two looked at him. "Ummm… you know that we ran past some injured people on our way here… right?" Pat said.
"Then let's go get them-"
"ELDER SIR!!!" Maddison was interrupted by a loud bulky man who shouted to get the village's elder's attention. "We have two bad news: first, the girl got away, and second, what was feared...has happened."
As the man said that, the sound of bells echoed throughout the village, immediately causing everyone in the room to tense in fear. The village elder gave a deep sigh, "Gather all supernaturals to fight off the demon horde and have the two Bloodhounds command them."
"Impossible sir," the man said, "When the accident started, they tried to contain the girl...but they lost their lives trying."
"I see…" The elder took a deep breath, "So this is God's will…" The elder's green eyes began to glow.
"Sir?"
"I'm joining the fight, this accident happened under my command, so I shall pay the price for my negligence as the elder."
After the elder said that, the doors of the gathering hall began to violently shake as loud pounding was heard on the other side. Everyone inside did not make the effort to move or to escape, as they knew that once those doors fell, they would die.
"No...way," Pat said, "Is this how we die…?"
"No No No No No No!" Maddison screamed. The other adults in the room gave the three boys a pitiful look as if they were trying to say sorry for causing you to have short lives. The pounding suddenly stopped, causing the others to look at the door in confusion.
"Are we saved?" One woman asked. But as the others began to get up, the door came crashing down with a large beast holding a large wooden club on the other side. Fear paralyzed the others in the room and a horde of demons came rushing in from behind the large beast, slaughtering everyone in the room. As the bulky man was slain trying to fend off some of the demons, the horde that he tried to stall began to move closer to the three boys. The elder saw this and used his ability to cast a tree-root-like dome around them before he was beheaded by a smaller demon. As the root dome wrapped itself around the boys, a smaller demon found its way into the dome. Preparing to fight it off himself, Kayn was suddenly sent flying to the opposite side of the dome.
"Sorry Kayn," Pat said.
"But of the three of us here, you are more likely to be useful for the world." Maddison continued.
"So, please live." They said in unison before tackling the demon outside of the dome.
"Wait!" Kayn ran up to the small hole that the boys leaped out of, but before he could reach it, it closed. "NOOOO!!!!" Kayn shouted as he pounded on the dome's walls as he was left alone, only to listen to the screams of pain while he was the only one saved from the hell that took over the village.
"Why...why...why...why...why...why...why...why...why…" Roughly a day has passed since the last scream was heard, but Kayn remained in the dome asking why over and over. He sat in complete darkness muttering to himself, making no effort to break free of the wooden dome that surrounded him. But he suddenly snapped to his senses when he heard footsteps outside the dome. Kayn stayed quiet as the steps got closer.
"Hey, brat. Stay away from the walls." An unfamiliar voice called out.
Kayn listened and moved through the center of the dome. The sound of an axe hitting a tree was heard and small bits of light was let into the dome. After some time, the man had appeared to stop hitting the dome and Kayn decided to walk out of the opening made by the strange man. As Kayn climbed out of the opening, the wretched scent of rotting bodies consumed his nostrils. He looked around for the man, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"..." Kayn looked around in silence, all he saw were the remains of the villagers; some were burned, some were chewed on, and some were just bones. Resisting the urge to vomit, Kayn noticed a crimson-colored box located on the remains of his best friends. "What…?" He thought as we went to open the box. As he lifted the lid on the crimson-colored wooden box, he noticed two things, a ring, and a letter. Kayn picked up the letter and read it aloud.
"To the one who survived, Kayn. It is with our deepest and sincere regrets that we have gifted you this item as we were unable to save your village or your parents. As a descendant of the Bloodhound Clan, in the box is a blood ring. This ring allows you to master the clan's exclusive ability to use blood manipulation artifacts. Master the use of this ring and escape the demon land that you are currently in. Make your way to the direction of the setting sun, there you shall find a teacher to train you in the art of blood manipulation. Even if you are afraid, still go. After all, don't you want to know the truth behind the accident? Good luck, Grandmaster."
The letter ended, leaving Kayn with more questions than answers. He folded the letter and placed it into his pockets. "So I just have to put this ring on?" he thought to himself, "I guess I have nothing to lose." As he placed the ring onto his finger, he felt a painful sting traveled through his body. Kayn endured the pain and bit his finger to draw blood. Kayn was shocked to find out that the blood wasn't dripping out of this body, but rather it was flowing to his left hand. He began to feel light-headed as a large amount of blood had left his body to form a blade in his left hand. "What is this?' he said out loud, "Is this blood manipulation? Disturbing but kinda cool."
He performed some practice swings before moving out of the ruined area. Once he was satisfied with the feel of his new blade, he walked out of the village. Along the way, he saw more corpses and destroyed buildings. "To think the demons would do all of this…" He said aloud while walking, "I want to know what happened. Demon attacks like this are strange, they never leave the areas this messy. I guess for now I need to head west." Armed with only a blade made from blood, the nine-year-old, Kayn, decided to walk into the unknown as the once peaceful fields that surrounded the area had become gray and barren, with little signs of life. "I guess they want me to fight a few demons on my way...Fine by me!" Kayn marched onwards towards the setting sun.