Invasion

Engulfed by the flames, the Moriville village burned down immediately.

An enormous amount of thick smoke covered the whole area including the sky.

Most of the building was turned into ashes and the debris fell off the ground.

Flaming particles were scattered within the vicinity as the wind blows the blazing fire away. It is considered a major incident because of the large number of deaths and destroyed belongings.

A group of knights went inside the village to recover and help the other survivors. Some of which were dragged down into the pit while the others are stuck underneath the debris.

An unpleasant view for the locals indeed.

After checking the area, they started packing up while trying to evacuate from a nearby hill with the help of the knights.

"Prioritize the injured first! We don't want to create a reason for a large number of deaths here!" A commanding knight who's in charge in the frontline started ordering his men.

Followed by his command, all of them gave a resonating loud response as they traversed the hill to help the injured. They started treating those who are exposed and are in critical condition.

"How much damage did it cause?" The leader of the knight asked.

"Yes sir, about 70% of the village was burned and the rest of the casualties came from the attack of the lycanthropes." answered the guard.

"That's really bad. We didn't make it in time. I need some of you to go back to the capital, ask for some carriages so we can transport them to safety as early as possible!" He ordered intensely.

"Yes sir!" A couple of knights responded as they left the hill. They went back to the path with their horses and only a few knights including the commander stayed.

After a few minutes, a familiar face approached the commander.

It was the long-haired knight who saved Aran. His expression seems to be rigid but his aura is pretty serious.

He walked towards the commander and the rustling of the sheathed silver sword can be heard. It didn't take too long until the commander notices his presence.

"Nash Sterling..." The commander called his name.

"There's no doubt. The ones who caused the arson and this ambush were members of the Jurah organization." Nash reported.

"Again, huh. This is their third attempt already. They are gradually getting better at attacking. The casualties on this one are larger than the previous attack. Any possible leads that we can use in order to find them?"

"There's no lead as of now. But if we connect them to the previous attack location, we might be able to consult their positions based on the parameters. I think visualizing the pattern is easier than making a wild guess." Nash answered. He shifted his gaze from the commander to the burned village.

"Mmm, we will conduct a meeting later. We need to prevent their next wave as much as possible. But for now, it is better if we let these villagers live in the capital until we find a better place for them." The commander responded.

The whole night was spent trying to rescue all of the villagers. The black smoke dissipated as time goes on and the situation was assessed later on.

Morning came.

The rest of the knights have transported the first few residents and left the village.

Meanwhile, Aran was left lying down beneath the tree with Nash's supervision. He guarded Aran all night without any break or rest. Normally, knights would've been swapped by the other teams but due to the excessive amount of risks that may happen, they all decided to stay until the villagers are transported safely.

After a few moments, Aran slowly opened his eyes as he pulls his body upward to lay on the tree. Nash noticed his awakeness and approached him.

"W-Where am I..." Aran slowly spoke as he scratches his eyes. A few seconds have passed and the realization of what happened last night started piercing through his memory.

"That's right I– My father!" He quickly averted his gaze from the village and looked everywhere. He then saw Nash walking towards him.

Aran tried to stand up but his body is sluggish. He ran across the path to approach Nash. As soon as they got closer, he pounded his fist on Nash's armor.

"Excuse me, my father! Have you seen him? Did you guys save him as well?" Aran asked with a twisted expression on his face. Nash didn't seem to falter.

"You saved him right? He must be lying around somewhere here! Please tell me where he is I want to talk to him!" He continued to pound his armor but Nash was not answering his questions.

"Hey! Answer me! Please tell me where he is! I-I don't want to be left alone! I–"

"He's dead..."

Aran stopped on his track as soon as he heard Nash's words. He felt uneasy and anxious about the news. His arms dropped to his side as he looked down on the ground.

"T-That's a lie, right? He's not dead, right? You guys should be able to treat him..." It was a low tone of a sound coming from the boy.

"We didn't find his body. It is possible that he got burned along with those lycanthropes." Nash explained the possible cause of his death but it was not directly comprehended. Aran struggled to accept the truth.

"...I see."

"You... If only you guys went early... If only you guys have saved the village early, this wouldn't happen!" As he learned the truth, he began to accuse the knights of their negligence and being late to the scene. Nash couldn't say anything about what happened as well. He knows that the boy is struggling to accept the truth.

"It is all your fault! You are so strong! You could've saved my father as well!" He continued his outburst.

"I apologize." Nash turned around ignoring the kid's feelings. But Aran wouldn't let him escape.

"Hey! Where are you going!? I'm not finished with you!" Aran grabbed Nash's arm but something happened.

Nash's instincts instantly caused him to draw his silver sword as he pushes Aran to the ground.

Aran's killer instinct went high and Nash noticed this feeling of immense fear. When he finally got a closer look, he discovered that the boy's left eye was not something that a normal human being has. It turned into a yellowish color and his pupils thinned out.

(His left eye?) Nash sheathed his silver sword as soon as he found out the reason.

Werewolves have a common trait that makes them invulnerable in some cases. And one of them is their maximized depth of perception. One of the things that describes a lycanthrope is through their eyes alone. If their eye is gold, then it signifies a pure-blood species.

"You're..." Nash knew what he had to do. The boy has the blood of the lycanthrope. He should be executed right here as soon as possible but he chooses not to do so.

"What was that for? Why are you acting like you're going to kill me?" Aran stood up once again, his left eye returned to its normal state.

"I'm sorry. You're right, it is our fault. The village was already under attack when we got here and the emergency call was late." Nash began to speak. Aran seems surprised by the sudden change of his tone but he has grasped the situation already.

"Me too, I'm sorry, I just... I don't know what happened." Aran apologized as well. His politeness came in a bit late because of the stress and Nash could understand where he is coming from. He approached Aran and he pats his head.

"I know that it is hard for you. But we cannot do anything about it. It takes time to recover from something like this. I understand that you're mad, and I am so sorry about that." Nash crouched down and comforted him.

Aran couldn't hold his tears as he sobbed. To lose your loved ones is a permanent scar that will take time to heal. It doesn't go away, it will leave a mark.

"I... I don't want to be alone. Father he... he is the only family I have left and he..." Aran cried out.

He embraced the armored knight as he burst out, letting all of his sadness flow away along with his tears.

At first, Nash was not entirely interested in putting himself as a stepping stone for Aran's recovery of his sorrow. But he realizes that he came from the same old self, trying to visualize what would have happened if the knights had saved his parents as well. Turns out, without even thinking about it, Nash moved his left arm and he returned back the embrace that Aran gave him.

A few moments later, Aran had calmed down. He sat beneath the tree while gazing through the village. His expression is no more than a dead fish without any emotion at all. Looking at his own perspective can be difficult.

"Hey, Mr. Knight. What is your name?" The silence broke when Aran asked a question. Nash stared at him for a while and then he started speaking.

"I am Nash Sterling." He introduced himself in the simplest way possible.

"That's a good name..." Aran responded still with underlying emotion.

"What about you kid? I want to know more about your nature here." Nash returned the question. Surprised by this, Aran looked at him directly with a dead eye.

"My name is Aran Crossford. Well, as you can see, I live— I mean, my dad and I lived here. This is our only place." Aran answered with a monotone voice.

The Moriville village was once of the most benign places in the whole kingdom. With its population estimated up to two hundred, most of them were hard workers. The Ziduec was home to peasants and commoners. And they are the ones being fed out to harmful Dhekaids around the region. That is the reason why ambush from lycanthropes is common in these areas.

They are a little bit far away from Weshun city. And calling for help is nearly impossible because of the distance.

It is simply sad to say that those who lived in the outskirts are more prone to danger than those who are residing over to the walled capital. They are not guaranteed to be safe. The discrimination went as far as making the commoners livestock for the monsters.

"Where is your mother?" Nash asked. He seems to be interested in the boy's parents. The yellowish eye he had a while ago was prompting him to keep on investigating the boy's nature and where did he come from.

"My mother? Well, my father told me that she is in a faraway land. At first, I wasn't sure if he is telling the truth or not. Hearing those words made me realize that there's more than this place. He told me a lot of their expeditions outside the capital and that he met my mother somewhere beyond this region." Aran explained.

('Beyond this region', huh. And his father seems like he is an assigned warrior for expeditions outside the kingdom.) Nash thought for a while but he didn't get a conclusion from piecing them all together.

In regards to protecting the kingdom, there are also those who manage expeditions outside the kingdom in order to widen their territory and to discover what is out there.

It is a dangerous job for the knights. And they usually dispatch troops on the mid-level based on their abilities.

"Do you know how your mother looks? Can you describe her?" Seemingly interested by Aran's mother, Nash continued to question him about his parents. It must be due to the fact that Aran possesses an incredible power inside him or that he doesn't know that there's irregular blood flowing within him.

"I don't know, I didn't manage to see my mother when I was born. My father raised me alone and he mentioned that she's a great mother. I haven't seen her yet. From what I have remembered, he said my mother is 'special' and he said something about a forbidden connection. I don't know what that means either." Aran answered with an uncomfortable expression.

"I see... Well, maybe we can find your mother." Nash suggested. Hearing this, Aran suddenly returned back to his normal well-being.

"Wait really?"

"Yes. You mentioned that she is in a faraway land based on your father's story so it is possible that we can look for her. But finding her could take a long time because of what we are currently dealing with right now. There's a chance that she must be living somewhere else." He explained.

"Yeah, I understand, but how can I even start looking for her if I have no one else to take care of me? And I don't even know where am I supposed to go." Aran asked Nash about his situation. It is true that a kid wouldn't be able to take care of himself alone even if he decided to live in the capital.

"That is not a problem, I can leave you through an orphanage while I work on your files regarding your parents."

"An orphanage, huh. I'm okay with that but I need to talk to someone first. Those carriages are proceeding through the capital, right?" He continued.

"Yeah, why?"

"There's this girl named Lisa. She is my childhood friend! We separated ourselves a few hours before the fire broke out. I don't know if she is still alive but I need to find her!" Aran pushed himself up. Nash hovered his head sideways with a confused look.

"A girl at your same age, huh. Are you sure you didn't find her on your way back?"

"No, and I don't feel like she is dead. Maybe she is already in the capital. I just want to find her first and then..." Before he continued his words, he stopped for a while to think.

"Then?"

"Take me with you!" Aran proposed.

"–!"

"I know that you wanted me to live in the orphanage. I am okay with that, but, if I'm going to live the next few years in that house, I won't be able to follow my dreams. All of this is happening and I am so naive about it! I want to find my own mother with your help, I want to take down the path of being a warrior just like you!"

Knowing that he possesses a strange trait, Nash didn't want to involve himself any further with the kid. If they found out that he has been housing a strange boy like him who might become the enemy of mankind soon, he would be taking responsibility for those.

And as a knight, he still has the authority to choose.

He began to think hard for a while and started distinguishing between the advantages and disadvantages of keeping this boy in.

"You want to be a warrior?" Nash stood up as he gazed directly at Aran. He nodded to his question.

"Yes! I want to become stronger."

"Well then, that settles it." Nash decided to take Aran on his journey.

It is a difficult decision but it is worth it when it comes to Aran's perspective. Due to many complications, there could be a problem with this verdict, but that won't be discussed until the next event.

(Knowing the true nature of this boy could also lead to changing this world's era. Continuing this farce would only lead to an endless blood war until the next generation. In order to stop the world from developing into that kind of state, we must change the mindset of the people and find out the truth about the Dhekaids. And this boy, Aran... is the key.)