1 Living Hell

The stench of burned wood, flesh... the strong stench of iron lingering in the air. What previously looked like a peaceful village was turned into a living hell

'How did this happen? Why?!' A boy around 6 years old sat on the ground with his back against the part of the unburnt house.

The boy had short black hair, his bangs on the sides reaching up to his eyes. His clothes were tattered and bloodied, his hair was disheveled but most importantly his previously sparkling green eyes full of life were completely dull as he was dully looking at the 2 adults lying several meters away from him.

"We already took what we could, let's disappear before the Empire's soldiers arrive!" The boy moved his eyes to the left corner with great difficulty just to see some strong man shouting at his subordinates.

"I need a release after such a good slaughter, haha" One man holding a completely bloodied axe said aloud while looking at the captured women of this village.

"No! You always damage your playthings, we need them untouched to raise their price!" The leader shouted back with a resolute expression.

"Tch! I will be gentle!" The man tried his luck but it only angered his leader more.

"You always say that and we always have to kill them afterwards! No means NO!"

"Well...If you insist but I really need to release. Some of those women on the ground could be still alive and if not, they should still be warm." The man gave up but instead, he looked towards the dead or dying villagers lying on the ground in pools of blood.

"?!" The captured women who already looked miserable without any hope looked completely terrified by that bandit's words.

"?! Fucking hell. Do what you want, I hope it will be worth it once the Empire's soldiers catch you here! Boys! We are leaving, don't let the merchandise escape from your sight!" Even the bandit's leader looked disgusted by his subordinate's tastes.

The boy who was listening to all of this haven't moved an inch and even his heartbeat was extremely slow, making other bandits think that he is already dead.

'...A lot of children from the village were sold to the Empire, making it possible for their parents to move to a safer town...'

"Too cold"

'Maybe if my parents were to sold me back there...nothing of this would have happened. They would be still alive, living in the town.' The boy kept thinking while the last remaining of the bandits kept walking around, touching the corpses and muttering something to himself.

"...Oh?! This one is good enough!"

The boy who was till now ignoring the bandit had his eyes contracted when he noticed the bandit touching the woman lying several meters away from him.

"Is this guy lying next to you your husband? Too bad..." The bandit licked his lips and started unbuckling his belt.

The boy for the first time moved his head, looking for something on the ground. He quickly took a big enough stone into both hands and started slowly walking towards the bandit who had his back towards the boy.

"Don't touch my mother!" A bandit who was occupied with undressing heard someone's shout right behind him before he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, leaving him no chance to the response.

The bandit has fallen on the ground with his back first.

"Ugh?! Brat? Wait!" The bandit shouted in pain, he had distorted vision due to the hit but he could easily make out the kid standing above him. He wanted to make the kid hesitate a bit so he could recover but when he saw the boy's dull green eyes, he already went for the dagger attached to the belt lying near him.

And as the bandit predicted, the boy didn't hesitate at all and raised his hands with the big stone in them.

"Crazy brat!" The bandit was much faster than a weak, mind broken kid despite being injured. The dagger found its way into the boy's body, right between the ribs but it missed any vital points.

'Fuck this distorted vision! I didn't hit any vitals but he is just a kid, he won't be able to just move and even if he will be capable of swinging his hands down, it will be too weak.' The bandit thought and smiled after releasing a sigh.

*Cough* The boy looked down at the dagger that was inside him and his eyes started to lose the raging fire inside them but them he suddenly had a vision in his mind of what the bandit beneath him was about to do and his eyes contracted once again.

"HAAAA!" The boy started screaming from the top of his lungs, spitting some blood onto bandit's face, forcing him to close his eyes, however the moment he opened his eyes again, he just saw the big stone a few inches away from his nose.

*BANG!*

"ARGH!!! I will kill you, you little-" Bandit started screaming in pain but before he could finish, the boy raised his hands and swung down once again.

'Is this how I will die? Done by some fucking kid?!' Bandit's vision was now almost completely black, however the boy haven't stopped hitting him even after the 2nd hit...

No, the boy kept hitting the bandit's head until he was completely tired.

*huff* *huff* The boy started hyperventilating right after he stopped and and put completely bloodied stone covered with bits of bandit's brains on the ground. By now, the bandit's head was no longer a "head" but some kind of flattened mish mash.

Seeing such a sight right in front of him haven't caused the boy to throw up, in the truth, he had no idea what to do or what to feel. He actually felt much better right before he killed that bandit. He felt so much rage before which made him feel completely filled but right now, his green eyes once again became so dull that calling them poisonous eyes wouldn't be an exaggeration.

'What should I do now? What about mo-t-her' *Thud* The boy looked at the dead woman lying just a few meters away from him before he looked back at the deformed bandit's head. His counciousness started fading as his eyes started closing on their own before he has fallen on the ground, fortuantely on the safe side so the handle of the dagger wasn't pushed any deeper.

The boy lost his counciousness with tears running down from the corners of his eyes and blood coming out of the corners of his lips.

---In the forest right next to the village---

Several minutes ago...

2 people who just recently arrived at the scene to check the source of the smoke managed to get the glimpse of what the boy ambushing the bandit from behind.

"He is too loud when ambushing. Make sure you won't do the same mistake as that boy." A cloaked older woman said towards the girl around the same age as the said boy.

"En...But, shouldn't we help?" The girl asked while hugging the sword suitable for her size.

"...First of all, we are assassins, we don't just help anyone and even though I would definitely kill that bandit for what he was about to do, I don't want to take this kill from that kid." The older woman replied to which young girl only tilted her head to the side, observing the "fight".

When they saw the boy getting stabbed, the older woman sighed...

"He should have kicked all of his weapons away from his reach...I am afraid this kill won't-?!" The older woman said as if she was pointing out the boy's mistakes for her apprentice but when she saw how the boy went crazy and completely ignored the pain, she couldn't help but be slightly surprised.

'...It's apparent that he has no experience in fighting but he didn't even throw up after seeing that sight in front of him. Is this because of the adrenaline?' "Let's go...there is nothing for us to do anymore." The older woman thought before saying to her apprentice as she was turning away.

"Aren't we going to save him? He will bleed out without our help..." The young girl asked with a confused expression without taking a step away, forcing the older woman to stop walking away from the place.

"Taeko, have you seen that boy's eyes? I doubt he even wants to be saved, he has nowhere to go...It's quite good that he can die while uncouncious, at least he doesn't have to remember all the things that has happened to him." The older woman explained but she was patient with her apprentice, waiting for her reply.

"Hmm! Ah!" The young girl named Taeko kept looking back and forth between her mentor and the uncouncious boy while thinking hard before her eyes widened as if she just got an idea.

"Then what if the grandma takes him under her wing just like me?" Taeko asked while looking at her mentor with strong eyes, in hopes to have someone of her age around her.

"?! Taeko...You have already been familiarized with Oarburgh's policy. This boy won't be so easily accepted by others and he will have quite a hard time, well, probably not like it can be compared to what he just experienced today. If you are so hell-bent on saving this boy, you are free to go and treat his wounds but if there is any type of problem with him later on, you will end his life with your own hands. Do you understand, Taeko?" The older woman said in cold tone but Taeko knew that she was just acting like that.

"Understood!" Taeko shouted with a wide smile before running out of the forest towards the boy while still hugging her sword.

The older woman kept observing the boy with a perticular look in her eyes, it was impossible to tell what she was thinking about but it almost looked like she was resolved to take a big gamble.