Hero And The Half-Slave Mark

"Princess, it is not wise for you to be out here."

"Uncle, you do not need to be worried about me. I can take care of myself."

Looking at the remains of the village ahead of her, she frowned. Everything was in tatters. The houses had been razed to the ground, headless corpses of the villagers and their expedition of saints that had visited the village a few days ago, and a small pond of blood that was glimmering in the sunlight.

"Was it a monster?"

She looked back at her uncle. The middle-aged man shared her sentiment of dread. This was his territory.

"It cannot be a monster."

He approached a corpse and picked up the head. It belonged to an old woman in her fifties, and her final expression had been etched onto her face.

"A monster would have eaten some of the corpses or it would have left a mana mark. I don't sense anything around here though, and all the villagers and the saints have been accounted for. Except for a child."

"Then shall I use my magic to trace the incident?"

Duke looked back at her and said,

"Yes."

Her iris turned golden in color, and a huge surge of mana began to gather around her eyes.

"Mana sight."

Time started to turn back.

----------------------------------------------------

Sinclair Village, 4 days ago.

"Vincent! Where have you disappeared to?"

A large man with an unkempt beard was running around in his house, looking for his son. Today was the day that the Saints from the church of Malen were arriving. They couldn't afford to be late and offend them.

"Elias, focus on cleaning up. Your beard looks like a nest of hornets."

The man named Elias followed the woman's voice and reached one of the rooms in the house. In there, her wife Cecilia was helping their son wear an outfit that Elias had brought specifically for a very special situation. Vincent was going to be inspected today for his potential. Hopefully, he would follow into his father's steps and carry the hunter family lineage forward.

"Are you getting into the bath or will I have to drag you?"

After finishing up with Vincent, Cecilia glared at her husband. Saints were known to be very picky, and she wasn't going to let her husband make a fool of himself and their son.

"Alright. I'll go clean up. Vincent, wait for me by the entrance."

The brown-haired boy nodded and left.

After waiting for a while, he saw his father walked out with a clean shave. Cecilia had a knife in her hand, and Elias was dejected.

"Son, make sure that you don't behave rashly in front of the saints. They will help you decide your fate, so be respectful to them."

Vincent smiled and said,

"I know mother. You have said this a million times already."

His voice was soothing, and his demeanor was that of a child reassuring his mother that he would be fine.

"And keep an eye on the woman going along with you."

A snark at how Elias looked without his beard. Cecilia wasn't holding back today.

"Woman!"

Elias snapped out of his downer and looked at his wife, and Vincent covered his mouth to contain his laughter.

"Yeah, that's what I said. Now be on your way. I need to go to the forest to hunt some game."

Cecilia walked back into the house, and Elias left with Vincent while letting out a sigh. Whatever she said, he couldn't get himself to hate her. She had been with him since they were both kids, and he was a happy man with a family that he could die for.

"Vincent!"

He turned around towards the familiar voice.

"Lilly!"

His childhood friend, Lilly. The daughter of a fellow hunter from the village, she was adored by everyone around. Today was the day of her inspection too, however she was not too happy about it.

"Changed your mind?"

Vincent asked her in a playful voice, and she turned her face around and pouted.

'Why did you have to talk about that?'

She hated the process of inspection because her older sister had left the village because of her calling. She had been deemed to be an aristocrat, a profession that was akin to winning a lottery in the kingdom. Fearing that the saints would separate her from Vincent and the village, she was not looking forward to this day.

"Don't mind her."

Her father appeared beside her and gave her a light pat on her head.

"Leon!"

Elias looked at Leon and smiled.

"Looks like Cecilia did a number on you."

His expression changed. The dejection returned.

"Can't blame her though. You were starting to resemble more of an animal than a hunter."

Elias didn't dignify that comment with an answer and said,

"Are you nervous?"

Leon was surprised. Elias was a meathead, seldom picking onto things like this.

"How did you know?"

"Because I am nervous as well. Today, the fates of our children will be decided. I hope that Goddess Malen has their backs."

Leon smiled and looked at the two kids in front of them.

"I second that thought. Whatever happens today, may our kids live a long and fulfilling life."

*--*

The four of them entered the area that contained the tents housing the saints. The village did not have a church, so the villagers had prepared the tents for holding the baptism ceremony for their kids. There were 4 children up for inspection, so it wasn't going to be too long.

"First, Adrian Lapis."

A young girl who was friends with Vincent and Lilly was the first one to enter. She belonged to a merchant family.

A few minutes later, she exited the tent along with a saint, who looked at her father and said,

"She is destined to be a merchant. Congratulations."

A smile formed on the father's face.

"I did it, father!"

She ran towards him and hugged him tightly, overjoyed by her success.

"Next, Jacob Lewis."

The son of a cattle rearer, Jacob approached the saints while his feet were shivering. He was a smart kid for his age, and the idea of his fate being decided from his birth terrified him. What if he was supposed to be a beggar? Or an Executioner?

After entering the tent, the same process repeated itself. Only this time, Jacob came out with the saint with tears in his eyes.

"The crying kid is destined to be a Scholar. Congratulations."

Jacob's mother heard that and burst into tears. His son was not a low-class scum like her husband, who had abandoned them at her son's birth.

"Next, Lilly Meyer."

The young girl walked ahead. Midway, she turned back and looked at Vincent.

"Wish me luck."

Vincent smiled and said,

"Good luck."

She turned back towards the saint and walked confidently inside the tent. If Vincent was there, then she wasn't afraid of anything.

The baptism process was over in a flash, and she walked out with a smile as radiant as anyone had ever seen. The saint beside her looked at Leon in disdain and said,

"Hunter."

Leon approached his daughter and hugged her tightly. This was for the best, and he was glad that he hadn't lost another daughter to the threads of fate.

"Finally, Vincent Hunter."

Vincent was a child with no big aspirations. His idol had been his father, and he was happy with the life that he was living. All he wanted from this ceremony, was to become a hunter like his parents and continue to contribute to the village.

He entered the tent, where a large stone ball was placed in the center. The head of the saints was standing by the ball. He looked at Vincent and said,

"Place your arm on the stone to know what lies ahead for you."

Vincent approached the ball and placed his hand calmly.

The ball started to suck some of his mana and turned Royal Blue.

All the saints were staring at the ball in disbelief, and Vincent was oblivious to this. His eyes were closed.

"A Hero!"

All the saints bowed down to him, except for the head saint. Other than the saints, nobody knew what was going to happen next.

"So the prophecy came true after all."

He took out a small metal plate from his pouch. A smile formed on his face, and he said,

"His Majesty would be pleased."

Slowly approaching Vincent, he began chanting a spell that illuminated the carvings on the plate.

"Servants of Malen, we wish for nothing but her grace and beauty to be bestowed upon us."

He reached the spot that Vincent was standing in, and said,

"Give us the power to bestow this curse upon the children of sin."

He placed the metal plate on his back, and a chain came out of it and wrapped itself around Vincent. Before he could open his eyes, the chains had multiplied and they engulfed him, immobilizing him in the place.

"You are now a servant to the worshipper of Malen. May your world find the right path by the end of this life."

The chains were absorbed into his body, and he stood there, lifeless. The procedure was a success.

"From now on, you do as I say."

A mark was branded on the spot where the saint had placed his plate. He removed the plate to put it back into the pouch, but something caught his attention.

"An incomplete mark?"

"Yes."

A voice rang through the tent. It did not belong to Vincent.

"Who says this?"

The head saint grabbed the symbol of Malen on his chest. The voice sounded demonic.

"Your God."

A huge surge of mana engulfed Vincent and formed the limbs of a demon. His face was covered by a mask made out of mana, and the slave seal was shining brightly.

"Ants like you do not deserve my attention, but for helping in the process of my creation, I will give you a slow and painful death. Become my sustenance"

The saint's skull was grabbed by the huge mana arm, and he checked whether the food was consumable. Disappointed by the quality, he cut off the heads of all the saints present in the room.

"Not even worthy of that."

*--*

"What is happening inside?"

It had been quite some time since Vincent had entered the tents. For a moment, there was a blue glow, but nothing had happened since.

"Mana..."

The mana entity slowly emerged from the tent.

Everyone was frozen stiff. This was no normal demon. Even S-class animals were less dominant in terms of mana than this entity.

Elias approached the mana entity slowly. Unlike everyone else, he immediately recognized that this was his son, his flesh and blood. Even though the mana made it impossible to look through the entity, he recognized a single piece of cloth that had fallen from the entity, and it belonged to the outfit that Vincent was wearing.

"Son..."

Before he could get any closer, The entity let out a roar.

Vincent was inside of him, watching as the events unfolded. He knew that the demon was going to either absorb his father or kill him, so he tried to fight back. But it was all in vain. The chains tightened side of his body, and he lost his willpower in an instant.

The entity regained control and looked straight at Elias. It had been enraged.

"Die."

His arm extended itself into a blade, and it cut off Elias, separating his head from his body.

Leon looked in horror. His friend for so many years killed just like that.

"Everyone, run!"

Jacob's mother screamed and broke into a sprint while holding her son's hand. The merchant also followed suit, and just as Leon was about to do the same, four corpses were lying on the ground, headless.

The entity was standing in front of those corpses. It looked towards Leon and raised its arm, ready to execute him.

"Vincent!"

Lilly finally mustered up the courage to speak.

"Stop!"

The entity paid no attention to her and sliced Leon's head. Blood spurted out like a fountain and sprayed onto her face. Paralyzed by despair, she collapsed onto the ground, with tears streaming down from her cheeks.

"Vincent? Where are you? Please, stop this. I beg of you."

The entity slowly approached her and grabbed her by the skull. She was lifted off the ground, and a few moments later, the entity said,

"Worthless."

He crushed off her skull, and let her body fall on the ground.

"Mana..."

Rumbling the same word over and over again, the possessed Vincent continued to slaughter the townsfolk after that. He slowly finished of everyone in the village, until there was only one person left.

"What in the"

She entered the village from behind, and there was a big monster standing by with a head in his hand.

"Repugnant."

He threw the head away, and Cecilia entered the village in stealth. She had to get to her husband.

In an instant though, the demon disappeared from its position.

"I sense a life."

The voice reached her ears, and she made a run towards the tents without looking back.

"Worthless."

The entity appeared in front of her and sliced her body into two pieces.

The entity walked away from the village after confirming there was no one left, but before doing that, he looked towards the princess, who was here because of the mana sight.

"Worthless."

The mana sight broke, and the princess vomited everything that she had inside her stomach violently.

Her uncle was concerned. This had never happened before.

"Minerva, are you alright?"

He helped her up from the ground and looked into her eyes. There was nothing but pure fear in them.

"Who was it?"

Minerva remained silent. A lot of questions had formed in her mind, and she had to confirm some things before telling anyone the truth.

"I wasn't able to track it. It was a really strong monster, which sacrificed the lives of the villagers to make itself stronger."

A lie had to do for now.