Terror within me a monster.

As a cool night breeze swept past us, I turned to Inzaghi and remarked, "Isn't this refreshing?" I smiled as he nodded in response, grateful that my pet dragon had grown more fluent in my language, making communication between us effortless.

Despite the wind rustling through the trees, I found solace in the peaceful night and savoured the moments of stillness.

Unfortunately, something bothersome had arisen, causing me to fall into complete distress. A vision had awakened my senses and had shown me a future... A future where our village was attacked by pure evil men dressed in black and red robes.

At the very tip of my nose, something nauseating had shaken me off balance. I got on my feet immediately and looked towards the direction of where it was coming from.

It was coming from the village.

Fearful and worried of the worst, I ditched everything that would slow me down and went straight towards the village while Inzaghi ran alongside me.

As I continued on the road to the village, I could sense many traces of abnormal amounts of mana and that there were more than just 50 of these people.

As I gazed upon the destruction of my village, a wave of emotion overcame me. I felt helpless, sad, and angry all at the same time. My heart sank as I watched the flames engulf everything in sight, and the acrid smell of burning wood and flesh filled my nostrils.

My eyes darted around, searching for anyone who might have survived the carnage, but all I saw were lifeless bodies strewn across the ground. Tears welled up in my eyes as I thought of all the people I had known and loved who were now gone. The friends I had grown up with, the elders who had taught me everything I knew, and the children who had always looked up to me—all of them were gone. The weight of their absence crushed me.

But as I grieved, I also felt a growing sense of anger boiling inside of me. How could anyone do something like this? How could they destroy everything we had built and kill so many innocent people without any remorse?

The fury inside of me burned hotter and hotter until I felt like I was about to explode. I knew that I had to do something. I couldn't let this tragedy go unpunished. I took a deep breath and wiped away my tears, gritting my teeth as I prepared to take action.

Inzaghi, my faithful dragon, sensed my determination and nuzzled my side in support. I told him to stay away from all the danger and fly above in the sky if he had to because I couldn't afford for him to get hurt. He responded with a simple nod and did as I commanded.

I ran towards the attackers, my mind clouded with a mix of rage and determination. I didn't care about anything else at that moment except for stopping them from causing any more harm.

"SLAUGHTER THEM ALL IN THE NAME OF OUR KING!" The man in the rugged robe of black and red continuously poured out fire onto our village.

"Rejoice in our arrival, oh great lord," another man said.

"THE BLOOD OF THE UNFAITHFUL WILL GO PUNISHED FOR YOU!" another one screamed.

As I watched them mercilessly destroy everything around them, a strange detachment came over me as if I was watching myself from a distance.

Without a single thought, a strange sense awakened in my right hand, and the sword from the stone appeared as if it could feel the very emotional torment I was going through.

I unleashed a black thunder slash, heading straight towards them. Without them having time to react, they died as their bodies were struck with immense power that blew off limbs and one of their heads.

Something came down on me like this twisted sense of pleasure that I didn't understand.

Despite the horrors that surrounded me, I searched for survivors, desperate to save anyone I could. I found a mother and her child backed into a corner, surrounded by a group of men intent on doing them harm.

With fierce determination, I drew upon my magical abilities, ready to fight until my last breath. The men in black and red had surrounded me, but I was ready. I activated the ability of world foresight, seeing all possibilities and dodging their attacks with ease.

My sword responded to my every command, slicing through the men with ease. The night was filled with the sound of steel clashing and bodies falling. My heart grew colder with every kill, but for every life I saved, countless more were lost.

I moved forward, scanning the area for anyone in need of rescue, but it was too late for most. They had already fallen to the purging. Suddenly, I heard a desperate cry for help. Countless men had cornered a woman and were closing in on her.

"Looks like we've caught ourselves a good one tonight, boys!"

"You bet we did."

"Let's enjoy ourselves until our hearts' content!"

Relieved that at least one person could be saved, I knew I had to draw their attention away from the woman.

"HEY! YOU FAT FUCKS, LOOK OVER HERE. I SLAUGHTERED YOUR COMRADES!"

I held out the cleanly chopped head of their fallen comrades. The expression in their eyes changed, as if they were looking at a demon. Their approach was halted, and they looked at each other.

"GET HIM!"

I began preparing my magical abilities to ensure that I would have enough mana to defeat them all. Then, the human giant appeared around the corner. With that size, he was almost as large as a titanic boar, with an axe and helmet.

I blitzed towards the giant in order to silence their cult, and the ancient sword once again heeded my call. His weapon clashed with my almighty sword, its bladed edge the color of the night sky.

"Huh, who could you be?" he grunted.

"The Night Terror," I replied.

He swung his axe down again, but my sword was much greater than his. I broke his axe and sliced him in two.

The leftover splatter of blood stained my clothing, leaving me drenched. The people dressed in robes saw what I had done to their members, making me their new public enemy.

"He killed Aegis!"

"Get that rat!"

The mother tugged at my shirt, and I turned to see the expression on her tear-streaked face. She was holding her baby tightly.

"P-p-please save this village."

"Don't worry, I will."

There was no time to waste. I had to protect the mother and her child behind me.

As the men in red and black surrounded me, the threads of foresight ability kicked in, showing me all possible futures. Within seconds, their attacks were useless against me.

I clenched my sword, slashing every member with a single swing. It was instantaneous. These members were as weak as bandits, which disappointed me. Killing them was too easy. Were they even human?

As I continued to slay countless members of this evil group, they all reacted with fear. "No, please wait, I ca—" I stabbed my sword through the very middle of his larynx, silencing his plea.

"Don't beg for forgiveness."

This chaotic night wouldn't end as I slayed countless members of this group. None of them could match my level of strength, which was very disappointing. Many of them underestimated me because I was a child. Heartless...

The night was a nightmare that had come to life. I had arrived too late to save many of the people in our village, and now I stood in front of my home, gazing at countless bodies strewn about like discarded toys. My father was nowhere to be seen, and the air was thick with a sense of foreboding.

Something was off, and my heart pounded with dread.

I drew my ancient sword, imbuing it with energy as I launched an aura slash that sliced through the giants that approached my home. But where was my father? Frantic, I began flipping over the dead bodies that littered the ground, searching for any sign of him.

Finally, I climbed to the top of our roof, where I found him lying still and broken, his body ravaged by wounds.

My heart sank as I cradled him, willing him to wake up, to come back to me. But his body was cold, and I knew he was gone. I refused to accept it, searching frantically for any medical supplies that could heal him, but to no avail.

My mother emerged from the closet, and I was momentarily relieved to see her. But my relief was short-lived as I realized that she was covered in blood, just like me. We held each other, crying and broken, as she attempted to cast a healing spell on my father's lifeless body. But it was no use.

He was gone, and the pain was overwhelming.

The resentment and hatred that filled me were all-consuming, but I knew that anger was temporary. Pain, on the other hand, was forever.

The next morning, the knights from the kingdom of Nhasier arrived to investigate the scene. They praised my father's bravery, but it was too late to do anything to help him.

The bodies of the corrupted cult members were burned, their mana essence removed, as we prepared to leave the village behind. The knights offered us available housing in the nearest city, but the thought of starting anew was daunting.

I had experienced the shell of killing humans with my own hands, and I knew that this pain would stay with me forever.

As we packed our belongings and followed the knights to the kingdom, I felt lost and alone. However, at least Inzaghi was by my side, camouflaged and resting on my lap.

My mother was heartbroken, shattered by the loss of her husband. We both knew that leaving the village was the right thing to do, but it didn't make the pain any less intense. As we moved forward into the unknown, I knew that my father would want us to keep going, to keep fighting, to keep living. But for now, all we could do was mourn his passing and try to find a way to move on.