[ENG] Burning Dawn Prologue

  "It shall be then, when legends become reality, era of suffering shall begin. Sons of man shall spill their blood across the lands, false leaders shall usher forth their dark reign once more...

When the dawn comes, a faint light of hope shall appear. A child of a man; Revealer; the chosen, shall be born. Drastic changes shall come, however whether the changes shall bring prosperity or destruction remains a mystery. Will the chosen be the herald of destruction or a saviour?

The world’s destruction and salvation rests on the shoulders of the chosen. When the fires covers the dawn, the world’s fate is at stake"

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Burning Dawn

Prologue

Birth of the Harbinger of Death

My name is Leia… or at least, that was my name. I used to live in Yorkville, a small village isolated in middle of Monarea desert far away from other civilizations. When I was young, I always wondering why would people live in middle of hot desert like this? Well, apparently Yorkville is surrounded by a lot of mines containing irons, coppers, silvers, gold, diamonds and other rare high value minerals.

Because we lived in middle of desert, away from civilizations and surrounded by unearthed riches of the world, I’d dare to say every citizen of Yorkville are fighters, miners and survivalists. Despite being surrounded by high value rare minerals, water was so precious that it even considered more valuable than all of rare minerals lying around the corner. Life in Yorkville is indeed a harsh one, if thirst didn’t get you then diseases, or bandit’s raids and monster attacks will.

I was born with hair as white as a snow and a blind left eye. Not to mention my left eye pupil has different colours from my right eye… my left eye is white pale, not a sight to behold compared to my right eye which is blue. Since I was young, people had been distancing themselves from me, as if they rejected my existence. Soon I learned that it is because of an old belief that white hair and mismatched eye is considered as a warning from the ancestors that a terrible disaster would happen soon. I guess that was why the kids back then would throw rocks at me, beat me until I became a bloody pulp and called me a monster at every chance. The adults simply turned a blind eye on me, pretending as if they never saw all of it.

My parents… are out of the question. Dad rarely came back home but when he did, he never listens to me or my mother. Every time they meet, they always argue about something until the day he never came back at all…. No messages, no goodbye, nothing. Mom always barks at me, kick me and hit me. After dad never return, she almost never feed me, forcing me to steal someone’s food if I am lucky enough to sneak in or if I’m unlucky, then I have to pick whatever I find on the trash bin or the worst of all; I didn’t eat at all.

At first I thought maybe she was harsh because she was so mad at dad and had no one else to throw her tantrum. So I just let myself beaten by her until the night she tried to stab me but I managed to run away from home… but when I returned later, I find her stabbed herself with knife. I still remember her rather, depressed but lifeless face, staring to the picture of our family which had been ripped apart.

Even so… I felt no sorrow. Rather, I find it satisfying. That is one less person who beat me every day. Since her death, my life didn’t change that much. The villagers still spits at me and hit me with sticks while their kids would throw rocks at me.

I don’t need them. I don’t need friends like those pathetic lowlifes. So I caved in my house and play with dolls that I made from straws I stole. It’s not as good as the one I always wanted in the market but these dolls never hits me or throw rocks at me.

If you ask me, was it a big help for me? Yes… until I realized something. Whenever I peek at other kids and saw them argue with each other, their parents would come and stop them… sometimes even play with them…. And I hate that sight… I hate it all. Why? Just why… why my parents never steps in to help me? Why other adults never stop their troublesome dickheads from throwing rocks at me? Why would they just let me beaten until the road becomes red from my blood? Do they hate me that much? Is my hair and my mismatched eye is really a big deal? So far the only one who suffers from this “disaster” from the old tradition is me! ME ALONE!

If they don’t want my suffering to stop… then I WILL put an end to it… whatever the cost. I started to pick fight with other kids. Every time they throw rocks at me, I would beat them back with those rocks. Aaaah, I remember the time when the bastard next door scream in pain and begging for mercy as I bash his small useless head with a huge rock he threw at me. Ooooh I still remember the joy from stabbing his friends with the knife I took from kitchen and their screams as I cut their fingers, ears, tongue and eyes. It was wonderful… I loved every single second I spent on watching them dying. Heh, even the old chief had to lost his left eye.

Well, the entire village finally got me. They caught me, chained me and dragged me all the way to a small broken shed in middle of nowhere. Yes, I was exiled for defending myself. What did I do wrong? Was it wrong for me to fight back and kill those useless walking meat bags? So it was okay for them to beat me until I nearly die if I didn’t escape every single time but it is wrong for me to return the favour? What a load of bullshit. I hate them… I hate them… I hate them all! Curse you all!

While I was locked up, sometimes I took a moment to think about my family. I still did not understand why mom never called me by my name, instead she calls me the “unwanted daughter”. I think that might be the reason why the rest of the villages did the same. Heh, right before they locked me in this rotten shed, they said I’ll never make friends and will never see the outside world ever again.

Pssch, as IF I ever had one and as if they ever consider me as a human being and treat me like a decent human being. At least they put up couple of guards probably because they are too afraid of the thought of me escaping. Sometimes, people pay a visit to this rotten shack… of course they were here to throw rocks at me or spit at me.

Chained and locked in a cell in a rotten shed in middle of nowhere. As if it’s not bad enough, they only give me a small piece of bread filled with sands and a glass of water as my only meals for a days… or was it a week? I can’t tell. It’s really easy to lose track of time when you are chained behind a cell with no windows and only small holes on the roof as your only connection to outside world.

What did I do wrong? I don’t know… I don’t care anymore. Why they hate me so much just because I am different?  Why I was born with white hair and mismatched eye? Why my family was so messed up?! Just… why?

I hate to admit it but it feels like I am slowly losing my mind in the shed, until the day a crow flies in through the hole in the shed. It’s beautiful yellow eyes and dark blue feather was… a sight to behold. I thought it was just a mere illusion at first until I touched it’s soft feathers. I gave it my bread after I clean as many sand as I could. I’ll be honest, I don’t think I’ll make it through the rest of the day so why not just give my last meal for something that can still fly away from the shed? And thus… that marks the start of my friendship with Krow.

Since that fateful day, it visits me every day and every time it does, it always brought back food and fresh water for me. I have no idea where it got all of those food and water but this crow… he understands my pain and sorrow. It plays with me and doesn’t seem to be bothered too much by the fact my appearance was almost like a dead body. The lowlifes that once I called villagers who visit me doesn’t bothered by the crow’s presence. Probably they think it’s a sign that my death draws closer.

Heh, pathetic lowlifes. This animal that you see with smile is the one who took care of me all the time, keeping me well fed and keep my sanity in check. They’ll never understand him. Unlike them, I know exactly what this best friend of mine trying to tell me. He is… my saviour and my only friend in this rotten world.

One night, I overheard the guards talking about the village’s plan. It seems the fact that I’m alive and well despite their best efforts to give me a slow death made them even more paranoid of an incoming disaster. So the village elders proposed to burn me at the stake next day. I had enough… I’m NOT going to let them do as they please.

I turn to my only friend, Krow and asked him to retrieve the key and I’ll handle the rest. He returned hours later, carrying key on its beak and knife on its legs. Perfect. I made my escape that night. Those guards were no match for me, heh, it took the entire village to capture me when I was 7, do you really think these stupid weaklings can stop me after chained me for 10 years? Obviously not…

I regret that I didn’t take my time to torture them first before murdering them but then  again, time wasn’t on my side. I have to escape before the sun rises, I may be strong but I am not a fool to take on the entire village all by myself especially now I know they really intend to kill me. To attack alone is a foolish act and there is no way in hell I can kill the entire village in one night unnoticed.

Although… I did gouged the last guard’s eye out before killing him. Don’t worry, I’ve covered his mouth beforehand. Aaaah, such good times. I love the smell of fresh blood from my victims. That was the first time I realized that I have no regrets or doubts at taking someone’s life… Yes, no regrets, no doubts, no feeling of guilty. Well, do they ever cared about me? Never! Do they ever shown mercy at me? Never! So why should I be merciful or care about them? I see no reason. They always treat me as a monster since I was a kid, might as well become one.

Under the cover of darkness, I snuck to the village to retrieve everything that I need to survive in the desert. While everyone is busy preparing my execution in village’s center, I used the opportunity stole some food from the village’s warehouse before setting it on fire and escaped together with Krow unnoticed. I don’t care where I have to go, as long as I’m away from this cursed village I’m not going to complain if something will happen to me. I swear I will not die until I killed everyone from this village. Just you wait… I will return one day to kill all of you.

I spent about a year wandering the desert with no real destination in my head until Krow brought couple of people with him. These people introduced me to their group and… they are at least, on the same boat as me; rejected from the society because they are different. Hunted down for nothing but stupid old traditions, beliefs and religion. For them and myself there is no place to call home… but if we banded together, then one day… we can build a place for ourselves in this rotten world. Without second thoughts, both of us; Krow and I joined the group and that is the start of my new life…

**************

9 years have passed. 9 years I’ve spent my life with these people who are rejected by society and exiled. My life never feels so much better, I never felt so happy since the day I met Krow and these people. They don’t care about my appearance which suits the harbinger of disaster and death in old myths… rather they find my white hair and my mismatched eye as my charming point. Well, I guess it must be because we are rejected by society because we were born different from the majority of the people.

It is true that I have wandered the Monarea desert for years now and actually I’d dare to say that I still wander the same desert right now aimlessly but at least, now I have people I could finally call family… People that I can depend on, people that will comfort me, people that accept me and treat me like an actual human being. I love them all so much and I will do whatever it takes to protect them. For me, their happiness is my only reason to exist.

While I am familiar with each and every member of the group, there are couple of people that I’m really close with. The first one is Giraine. I’ll be honest, no one really knows Giraine’s gender but Giraine is one big fellow. His body is extremely muscular and he is the tallest among us so it is impossible to miss him no matter what happened. The thing is, he is faceless.

I mean it, Giraine has no facial features on him save for his rather girlish haircut in my opinion. No ears, no eyes, no nose, no mouth… I wonder how he is actually capable of speech despite the fact he doesn’t have a mouth. While he cannot remember his past or refused to tell us his past, one thing that we all agreed is we found him running from Loria Kingdom soldiers… and those weren’t normal soldiers. They were the elite corps who only takes orders straight from the King himself. If these soldiers were after him, it means he might be some sort of experiment run by the Lorians but managed to escape.

The other person I’m close with is a man called Reeks. Sure he is an old man but he is also my teacher. He was an army commander of Arymanian Kingdom who was loyal to the old king who has passed away. He was fired from his position and exiled for protecting a civilian harmed by a noble. His family was executed to make an example and he was accused of inciting rebellion. Poor guy, he refused to tell me the names of the noble or its house… well, probably it’s because he is aware of my tendency to solve all problems brutally.

Reeks is a nice grandpa to me. He not just taught me a lot of things, he also taught me how to wield weapons. Under his guidance, I become the strongest fighter in the group in case of monster or bandit attacks.

The last person is Oriane, a short girl who always wear glasses. She is not just my best friend, she is more like my older sister despite the fact she looks a lot younger than me and being the shortest in the group, one can easily mistake her as a kid. No one knows her background though, more like we are all terrified of her.

She may not look like it but she is one of the most powerful magic user I’ve ever seen in my life. She rarely talks and finds comfort in the world of spell books. She may have the innocent looks but she is capable of devastating entire town just by flicking her fingers.

She taught me a lot about magics and because of her, I am actually capable of wielding magic. Well, although she said I have the greatest aptitude to surpass her in short time, I lacked the skill to use it properly.

  “Naia”

Oriane’s voice chimes in my ears. I looked behind me, at the entrance of my tent, she smiled at me. Her innocent look and short posture make her really adorable to look at as usual.

“Is it time to move out?” I asked

She nodded and then leaves the tent. I close my diary and put it inside my bag. Unlike other members of the group, I don’t bring lots of things with me considering my condition in the past so I only bring the essentials with me.

As I leave the tent, I noticed everyone is rushing to pack their belongings. If I had to guess, it’s probably because a trading convoy was raided somewhere near our location. What a bad luck for us if that’s the case. Even if we are not the culprit of the attack and nothing can link us to the attack, everyone that is not part of our group are going to shoot us anyway.

I sighed for a moment. Damn stupid denizens of this world. I look at Oriane, she pointed her finger at my tent, she mumbles something I don’t understand and my tent began to dismantle itself and packed itself nicely. Typical Oriane, always use magic for the mundane things… although I appreciate that.

You may find it weird but I am always impressed by everything Oriane’s magic could accomplish even if it just merely lifting up a glass on air. I could do such things but I find it rather awkward to do something that simple with magic. I don’t really need to waste my energy on using magic if I can just lift the damn glass with my hands.

“Thanks”

“No problem, just make sure you repay it by re-tell me what I taught you yesterday”

I laughed a bit as I walked and pick up my tent. If I recall correctly, she explained about the magic levels in this rotten world. Apparently there are 10 levels of magic in this world; level 1 to level 10. Most people are only able to use up to level 2 magic, one with good aptitude for magic should be able to use up to level 6 which is extremely rare. Demons who invaded the world in the past have one demon in particular capable of unleashing level 7. Magics level 8 to 10 existed in this world but legends claim that only the Gods and Goddesses can use them.

For me it’s bunch of bullshit, there is no such things as Gods and Goddesses in this rotten world. It just a bunch of insane nutcases who believes in something they can’t see or prove its existence because they need to comfort themselves. If they do exists, then I will personally eradicate every single one of them for abandoning me… Or should I enslave them all instead to give despair to the rest of the world? Nope, I’m certain by the time I have the power to do so, the world would be nothing but a wasteland. There will be nothing but me.

Ah, speaking of magics. I’m not sure if I should trust Oriane’s standard. I am certain she is not lying, heck, she never lie to me before. It’s just Oriane have absurdly high standard and she is so powerful. Even her level 1 magic is able to eradicate the entire battalion and she had to hold back otherwise she risks injuring others.

I walked back to Oriane. Together we joined the rest of the group which at this point are ready to march out. I noticed Oriane looked around her as if she is looking for someone or something for a moment before turning her attention to me.

“Where is that best buddy of yours?”

Aha, she must refer to Krow. I noticed that our group lacked medicines since we got people who can use healing magic in our group but what if they are too exhausted to use magic? I don’t want to put the burden on them so I take the initiative.

“I asked him to get us some herbs. I know these parts of the desert, there should be some medicine herbs that grows somewhere around. I intended to go after Krow but it seems things didn’t go my way” I answered

“Aww, aren’t you such a sweetheart Naia?”

“S-stop it” I quickly turned my face away from Oriane. Damn it, if she keeps showing me that adorable face and call me such a sweetheart… it’ll make me want to pat her head. I don’t want to do that when others are looking. It’ll be… embarrassing.

I shake my head to get rid of her adorable face out of my imagination. I dared myself to look at her face once more… and I instantly regret that decision. Why are you so adorable Oriane? If I didn’t know you are older than I am, I probably would’ve adopted you as my younger sister.

“Anyway, I’ve always wanted to tell you this; Krow is a smart companion don’t you think? Ever wondered why he is so smart in the first place?”

I raised my eyebrows. That never crosses my mind. Krow is indeed a smart one, and some said crows in general are smart but I think Krow outsmarts every crow in existence. He always managed to pull off feats impossible for a normal crow such as stealing a guard’s key and a knife from the guards which in turn made me earned this freedom to walk wherever I please.

There is no way a normal crow could pull off such stunt without causing the guard to yell at it, right? Not to mention, it is actually capable of understanding my speech since the first time I met him. Oriane actually got a good point there… and that sent chills on my spine.

As if she already read my mind, she laughed a bit while trying to keep her voice as low as possible because her laugh is kind of cute to hear.

“Krow is one of a rare species, presumed to be extinct 80 years ago. His species is smarter than other animals” she said with a smile on her face

“Is that so? That explains it” I feel relieved as now I know why he is so smart

“But, did you know his species are known to be attracted towards anything that have huge magic potential?”

Huh? Wait… what? Huge magic potential? I thought she might be mocking me for my lack of will to study magic but when I look at her, that cute and adorable face she always show to me is replaced with a serious-looking stare.

“I’m always confused why he is so attached to you. I admit, you have the natural aptitude for magic as if you are born to wield it so you can adapt to every magic easily but no matter what kind of spells I use on you, I can’t see if you have such great magic capability in your body and mind”

I couldn’t say anything. No, I’m not offended. She is right. I find it rather easy to use magics from every elements and that is a miracle according to her as one person can only use one or two elements but I lacked the ability to maintain constant use of magic because my body don’t have that much magic reserve, unlike Oriane or other mages.

So with that being said, she is clearly not referring to me. Probably the place where he found me? But I was chained up for 10 fucking years in a goddamn forsaken abandoned shed that is literally falling apart, what the hell is so magical from that shithole?

At this point, I’m not sure if she is trying to tell me to find out the answer on my own by studying magics because I’m a bit lazy on studying magic or she is really confused and clueless at the moment.

I heard a loud scream from our leader to move out. So we did… we began our journey with no destination in head as usual. One clear thing is; we walk where others don’t dare to step their foot. Yes, we are stupid for walking to dangerous areas but we rather brave the dangers of the wild than get chased by bounty hunters or soldiers. For people like us, there is no place we can call home and that is a curse that we carry for our existence itself can be considered as a sin to the rest of this rotten world.

I’m not too worried about Krow, he can always find his way back to me regardless of the situation. Hope he is not angry that I didn’t come after him because that was what I supposed to do earlier.

Hmn? Ah, Giraine who is in front of us slowed his pace to allow both of us to catch up to him. Man, he is really a tall person. I know none of us know his gender but I have decided to think him as a male and he don’t mind at all.

“So what happened Giraine? Why are we moving out?” I asked him

“Kereimo… discovered… a… destroyed… merchant… convoy… ”

Figures… it’s probably bandits or monsters. Although the bandits are more likely the culprit here. If the merchant convoy didn’t make it in time to their destination, whoever that have connections with them WILL send out search party or worse; an army.

Considering how stupid the denizens of this rotten world, they’ll probably accuse us as the culprit even if there are no proof. Yes, the world knows we exists but they didn’t know our exact location.

“Oriane, do you think you can-”

She put her small fingers on my lips and shake her head while smiling at me. Oh crap, don’t tell me she wants me to…

“Call me big sis Oriane please”

“Wha?!”

“Do it or I’m not listening”

I let out a long sigh. Giraine is laughing his ass off and that attracts the attention of some other members of the group. Oriane, please stop teasing me… It is so embarrassing for me!

Oriane suddenly touched my cheeks and pinch it while smiling like a little kid and laughing cheerfully.

“Naia, you cutie sweetie girl. Look at your adorable face!”

“I’m NOT cute!”

“You are if you are embarrassed!”

Noooo! Nope, nope, and nope! There is no way I am cute! You just love to tease me at every single opportunity Oriane!

“Naia, you have a potential to surpass me easily if you put the effort. So at least, try to put a smile on your face”

Hpmh… well she already said it to me many times. I have the potential to surpass her? Well, if you combine with the fact Krow is with me and he is attracted to huge magic power then it might be true that I might surpass her. Then I guess I just need to train my body and mind so I can increase my magic capability?

Then suddenly, I hear a loud noise. Before I could react, Oriane fell to the ground. Her eyes are wide open. For a moment, I saw a blood pouring out from the side of her head and then… old man Reek’s yelled out as loud as he can.

“INCOMING BARRAGE TO OUR WEST!!!”

As I looked to the left, I noticed a line of soldiers far in the distance. They already pointed their muskets at us. As I hear another gun shots, Giraine quickly shielded me with his gigantic body.

No… this can’t be happening…. No, no, no… This is just a dream right? I looked up to Giraine’s featureless face.

“Run… Naia…”

Without second thoughts, I dashed towards a big rock nearby. I take a moment to look around me. The group scattered randomly but none of them actually even trying to run for cover. What the hell? Do they let their emotions gets the better of them? I understand they must be confused right now.

Oriane… her body lies on the ground motionless in a pool of blood. Giraine is no different. Damn you… damn you all! I take a peek from the corner of the rock as I continue to hear barrage of shots and group members screams.

I noticed a large amount of lines being formed from distance, then I noticed a flag of Arymania Kingdom coat of arms; a red flag with a silver shield on the centre. 2 broadswords crossed precisely at the centre of the shield. Those are no ordinary soldiers! They are the elite of the Arymania kingdom military might. What the hell are they doing here?

How do they find us? Oh… right… Arymanians are known to employ mages with the ability to track people via magic. I remember Oriane’s countermeasure activated earlier and that’s probably the reason why they sent large amount of troops. They must been so lucky to accidentally found us, probably because of the burning merchant convoy our scouts found earlier.

Damn it, to assemble such a huge army… this must be one of the hunting parties they’ve sent to hunt us. My body can’t cast powerful magic without injuring myself or others. Oriane is… gone. So much for our survival chance. Damn it! Curse you Arymanian!

Calm down… I need to figure out something… Fast. I could use some spells Oriane taught me but considering my body and mind lacks the magic capacity, if I cast it, I will fell unconscious for days even so, I’m not sure if I can wipe all of the Arymanian with a single spell. Can I protect my family with magics? No, that is out of the question… I never bothered to practice protection magic at all.

I heard sounds of horses, I take a peek once more, it appears they’ve sent their cavalry in. I looked back at the remaining group members. No good… most of them are already dead, what’s left of us are running away in terror. Old man Reeks too have fallen. Dammit…. Dammit! Why??! WHY??!

Curse you all, you Arymanian! I swear I will murder each and every one of you! I WILL MAKE ALL OF YOU REGRET THIS!

One of the horse riders are on his way to my position but he seems to failed to notice my presence. I pull out my sword and wait until he is closer to me. One he is close enough, I quickly stabbed him through the small cracks in his armor. He lost his balance and fell of from the horse, I quickly run to him, took his spear and stabbed his head. No time to torture him unfortunately.

I made a dash to his horse and ride it. I’m not able to go after other riders but I think I might able to disrupt their firing lines. Despite all of the armour, this horse is quite fast. Bloody warhorses…

I noticed a group of Arymanian musketeers formed up a 2 line formation. They are aiming at me. I’m such an idiot to rush at them like this but at this point, I have no other plan. As they fired a barrage at me, I lowered my head. I heard a couple of bullets whistling through my ears and I felt a stinging sensation on my left arm.

I kept charging at them and hold the spear I took earlier firm in my grasp. That must’ve been the warning shot. I’m aware that they are not so accurate long range. As I get closer, they released another barrage of shots. This time I got shot in the right leg. The horse actually loses its balance and fell off but I jumped away before it fell on the ground. As I landed on the ground, I used a spell that will boost my leg’s strength for a moment, it is the only spell I could cast before they release another barrage of shots at me and if they did, I’ll be dead.

I REFUSE TO DIE WITHOUT THINNING THEIR NUMBERS!

I can feel the magic strength on my feet. I jumped and the jump I make this time sent me straight at the Arymanian Musketeers which are busy reloading their muskets. I smiled as I get closer to them at tremendous speed.

I stabbed one of the soldiers with my spear and quickly pulls it out. Before the soldiers right next to me could pull out their blades, I quickly throw my spear at their officer. Typical Arymanian, their top brasses always show off on the field and that’s make it easier to find them. Naturally, there is a rule that everyone agree to follow in a battle; never shoot the officer in a firing lane battle… heh, morons. This is not a battle, this is a SLAUGHTER and do they really expect people like me to actually obey the rules of combat? Pssch, pathetic.

Combat is a dirty work… where the young are sent to die but the old who did nothing at all and sit behind their desk earns all of the credits. Disgusting…

As this firing group’s officer is killed, the rest of the soldiers in the group seems to be panicking. That’s right! It doesn’t matter if you are elite or not, all of you are nothing more but puppets who only follows the book. All I have to do is to make sure the situation is not by their book.

I pulled out my sword once more and began to kill the nearest soldiers as I watch them sporadically break their formation. There are couple of firing groups nearby and they shift their attention to me but they did not fire as I am right in the middle of their friends.

I can’t help but laugh… aaah… the smell of fresh blood in the air really motivates me. Unfortunately I don’t have enough time to torturing them. Ah well, just hearing their screams are more than enough for me.

One of the soldiers tried to attack me from behind while screaming. Fool, you never scream “I’ll kill you” while attacking your opponent from behind. I quickly turn around and stabbed him. I make a hole big enough for my hand to go through and pull out his heart.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

I can’t hold it anymore! I laughed hysterically as I feel such warm blood of my victim flows on my hand. I took a moment to smell at the heart I just took out and chew on it. Ahahahahaha, it tastes good. Even lowlifes like them can be quite good if eaten raw. I wonder how tasty it would be once I cook it.

I turned my attention to the second firing group. I can sense fear on their expression as they look at me.

“Bloody hell! That chick is fookin’ insane!”

Is that so? AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Because the soldier of the first firing group are already panicking, I used the opportunity to cast the same spell to allow me to jump straight to the second firing group.

It’s not so different from the first firing group. I target their officers first and then slaughter as many as I could, all while laughing out of enjoyment. I continue to repeat the process to other firing groups I could find nearby.

“The hell is wrong with her?!”

“RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!”

“Goddess of Stars! Give me a moment longer!”

Aaaah, those panicking screams… and the fresh smell of blood. This is probably be the last time I could enjoy myself. I slaughtered the retreating soldiers one by one as their reserve and cavalry lined up.

I only laughed and charge at the reservists as they open fire at me, ignoring their friends that are still around me. I felt stinging sensation all over the place. Heh… it hurts like hell… but it doesn’t matter anymore.

I forced myself to stand up once more. They released another barrage of shots at me. This time, I feel… cold. My body feel so stiff and I fell backwards. Heheh… that hurts. Aaaaah…. Too bad I can’t kill all of them.

…

Oriane, Giraine, Reeks, everyone… forgive me. I am not strong enough to protect all of you… I’m not strong enough to avenge your deaths.

Krow, I’m sorry… It seems I’ll have to leave you… My best friend. Please, take care of yourself. My vision is getting darker and darker until there is nothing but darkness all around me as my entire body feel numb.

*************

I opened my eyes. The skies are dark and covered with clouds. I smell strong scents of blood and some odd scents I’m not really familiar with. I took a deep breath, I could smell something is burning.

My body slowly feels like… recovering itself. My other senses are slowly coming back to me as I start to hear sounds of fiery flames and my vision is getting more clear. I woke up… huh? I’m still at the same location, surrounded by dead bodies of Arymanian Soldiers.

I heard a familiar voice on my left. I quickly look to my left, Krow is staring at me, his beak is holding a bag. His tail is wiggling wildly as a sign of happiness. I looked down to inspect my body…

What the?

I am naked and full of wounds but the wounds are closed by bunch of herbs. Wait a minute, did Krow just managed to pull of my clothing away?! I quickly look back at Krow. Since we are close enough, I’m sure he can read my mind already. He shake his head wildly as a sign that he didn’t pull my clothing away.

Krow began to make voice, he is talking to me and I listen to him intently. Aaah, I see how it is… I pat Krow on the head and smiled at him.

“Thank you Krow. So I cheated death but barely make it huh?”

Krow nodded at me. Hmph, I see. Apparently Krow just returned when the attack on my group just began but due to the chaotic situation, he couldn’t really do anything and just watch me from the skies the entire time.

Not just that, he keep an eye out on the battlefield until I regain my consciousness. I looked around me and noticed my clothes are not too far away. I grabbed it and put it right next to me. Krow took a knife out from a dead body and gave it to me.

I take the knife and began to pull out bullets in my body. Thankfully they didn’t penetrate me that deep.

“Krow, tell me what happened while I’m out”

Krow nodded and then he make a lot of noise. That is just his way of talking, no one else could understand his language. I listen to him while pulling out the bullets off my body and fix the herbs on my wounds as Krow is not really capable of tidying up a mess.

I quickly grabbed my clothes and wear it as it starts to get cold despite all of the flame around me.

“Oh, so there are bandits who came shortly after the battle to loot huh?”

Krow nodded. No wonder why there are couple of dead bodies which don’t belongs to my group or the Arymanians. I also noted that most of the soldiers expensive equipments are gone.

Sadly though… Krow told me that I am the only survivor of my group… and those filthy bandits raped me. Krow remember exactly what he looks like and followed him for a bit before return to keep an eye on me.

Why? WHY ALWAYS ME?! Why this world always treats me like a monster?! Why this world always took everything that I love away from me?! Just when I just start to find a place to call home… just when I was feel comfortable with my family… Why?! Just… why?

Krow flies towards my shoulders. He leans on me and wipe my tears from my face with his head. I pat him on the head and stopped crying.

Crying will get me nowhere. Even though my entire body still hurts like hell, at least I am alive and Krow is here with me.

This world…. Is so utterly fucking disgusting. This rotten world should’ve just completely destroyed! Yes, yes, yes… that would be a nice idea. If this world insists on treating me like a monster… then I WILL BECOME ONE!

I will never forgive them…. I will never forgive this rotten world! Never forgive, never forgive, never forgive, never forgive, never forgive! I hate it… I HATE IT SO MUCH THAT I WISHED I COULD DESTROY THE WORLD RIGHT NOW!!!

Curse you Arymania Kingdom! Curse you pathetic bandits! Curse you disgusting denizens of stupid Yorkville! Curse you! CURSE YOU ALL!

I WILL kill everyone! I WILL destroy everything! That’s right… if this world destroys everything that I have, then I will destroy everything in this world! I will make everyone suffer, I will torture them...

Oooh just imagining I stand on the top of a broken bodies in middle of a burning world turns me on. Aaaah, such massacre…. I will make it a reality.

But first…

I stand up as my body feels a bit better and grabbed my sword back. I’m not strong enough to destroy this rotten world or going against the entire Arymania Kingdom. Heck, even with my current ability, I doubt if I can actually kill everyone in Yorkville.

I’m not a fool especially after what just happened… I need to be careful. I need to act as if there is a someone or something out there could kill me. Hmn, what should I do now? What can I accomplish with my current condition?

“Krow, this rotten world… I intend to destroy all of it. Will you be by myside until then?”

Krow nodded at me and wags his tail. He agree with me and it puts a smile on my face. Thank you Krow, you are indeed the only one that understands me. Krow tilted his head shorty and made some noise.

“Oh, you don’t know what to do? Unfortunately, I am on the same boat” I answered

Let’s see… I hate to admit it, but I cannot destroy the world alone. I need an extremely large army… a powerful one and that army has to be loyal to me. Hmm…. I believe there is a elementalist magic branch and necromancy branch that could be used.

Considering my current skills…. I need to train hard to be able to host large amount of undead and elementals. I also need to improve my skills. Haaaaaah, sooo many things to be done. Where should I start hmmm?

Huh? What is this feeling? Krow make small noises as if he is whispering to me. A necromancer huh?

So the smell of death and destruction attracts a necromancer. Ooh good, perfect timing. I could ask him to teach me necromancy although… if he try to resurrect my family, then I will kill him. I don’t care if this necromancer disturbs the dead of other corpses but if he or she dare to experiment with my family corpses, I WILL MURDER AND TORTURE HIM!

My family deserves a quiet rest and I will not tolerate any kind of act to disturb them. I noticed a black pillar of magic began to form up in the air. I have no clue what this necromancer is up to.

I walked towards the black pillar. I noticed an old man wearing a dark robe in the middle of the magic pillar. He stopped and look at me with his eyes. I noticed he is holding the eyepatch that I used to hide my left eye on his hand.

“Aaah, so you are the source of the magical power that I sensed”

Magical power? Oriane said the same thing about me. What’s so magical about me anyway?

“Old man, return that eyepatch to me” I said

He smiled for a moment and points his finger directly at my left eye. Hpmh, he wants my left eye? Why? My left eye can’t see anything. Could it be… my left eye actually contains huge amount of magic?

“Give me your left eye, and I shall return this to you. I am even willing to take you as my apprentice”

Tch…. This old man…. No. I refuse. I’m not letting anyone or anything take what’s left of me. I had enough…. This time, I’ll be the one to take things from this world.

“Krow, go ahead and watch me”

Krow nodded. He flies to the sky and began circling around. I pulled out my sword. The necromancer seems disappointed at my response to his unreasonable offer. He take a step forward.

“Let me offer you once more, young lady; give me that left eye or I will take it by force”

“Heh give me your soul or I’ll take it by force” I replied

He is clearly pissed at me. The crystal at the end of his magic stick began to glow. Dead bodies began to rise and I noticed huge amonts of vengeful souls flies towards me. Tch, the number is quite troublesome.

….

Huh? What is this feeling? I feel my entire body is filled with overflowing power. My left eye… I can see through my left eye?! The moment my left eye can see, I noticed something like shadows of whatever around me move for a moment. One of the most notable one is the shadow of the necromancer swing his magic staff at me and I can see a flash of lighting spell flies towards my position.

I closed my left eye and the shadows instantly disappears. The thing is, everything moves exactly like the shadows I saw with my left eye, including how the necromancer swing his staff and cast a lighting spell at me.

I quickly avoid it and began to cut through the hordes of the undead he summoned. I see… so my left eye can see the future huh? This’ll come in handy.

A couple of spirits stands in my way as I try to make a run towards the necromancer. Without second thought, I used a spell that Oriane taught me; Reality Destroyer… a spell so powerful that weapon imbued with it can literally cut through the fabric of reality itself; this means even creatures immune to physical attacks can be killed.

I swing my sword at it and the spirits lets out a terrifying wail as my sword cuts through the reality itself. Huh? Odd… Usually I will fall unconscious once I use such spell due to my body and mind don’t have enough magic capacity. Could it be that his feeling of overflowing power is…

I took a time to focus my mind and try to track where all of these powers are coming from. It’s… my left eye. Heh, I see. I understand everything now. So my left eye have infinite amount of magic power in it and that’s why Krow was so attracted to me and perhaps that’s why Oriane said I could surpass her easily. I think that is also the reason why I am half blind.

I smiled as the necromancer seems to be surprised. Oh well, this means I could use all of the spells I learned as I please. Heheheheh. I quickly prepared a spell to boost up my speed, actually it forces my body to work harder and faster so I don’t really want to use it but going against necromancer means I have to end this fight as quickly as possible.

As soon as I finished the spell, I move at an amazing speed. Just in a blink of an eye, I am already right at the front of the necromancer. I quickly stabbed him in the chest. He groaned in pain as his eyes are wide open.

“Im-Impossible!” he whispered

“You think you control the death old man? Too bad, for I am the death itself!”

“Such tremendous power… you are the Revealer?”

Huh? Revealer? The hell is that thing? Some sort of a chosen one or some bullshit like that? Oh well, regardless he is about to die anyway. Might as well let him mumbles his last words.

“The old prophecy… was right. When the dawn comes… a faint light of hope shall appear…. A child of a man; Revealer; the chosen, shall be born”

I’m a bit confused by his words so I looked at his eyes which are full of fear right now. Suddenly I am blinded by a sudden bright light, shortly afterwards, it feels like something goes through my head and I feel a bit strange.

I’m so surprised that I unconsciously pulled off my sword and cut his head off out of panic. As his lifeless and headless body falls to the ground, his minions suffered the same fate and all of the vengeful spirits he summoned disappeared, leaving a scream of agony as they are disappear.

I took a moment to take a deep breath. Huh? What is this? I… suddenly know the necromancer’s name? No… not just that… I know everything about him. Including all of the spells he learned and mastered.

Don’t tell me… I shake my head for a moment and look at a corpse of Arymanian soldier right next to me. Hmm… it feels like I know how exactly to raise him as an undead and heck, I even can explain in detail but I don’t feel like explaining right now.

I focused my mind a bit and used the necromancy spell I have in my mind at the moment. It... Actually worked! The corpse moved on his own from the ground and quickly bowed to me.

Ahahah… AHAHAHAHAHA! I laughed out of joy and happiness. I understand! My left eye is also capable of absorbing one’s memories and knowledge huh? Hahahaha! Percfect! This is just perfect!

Although I noticed it seems I can’t really absorb the experience of the necromancer. Oh well, it doesn’t matter. Now I know how to use some necromancy spells and some other new spells as well.

Hm? I can see someone is trying to shoot me from behind. Shortly afterwards, Krow made a noise up in the air, yes… he shouts me a warning of incoming danger behind me. My entire body is filled with power right now! There is nothing I am afraid of!

As I heard a shot, my body quickly reacts and deflects the bullet with my sword. Heh, so this is the extent of my new awakened power huh?

I looked at the source of the shot; a lone soldier, injured and terrified screamed in terror. He turned around and tried to escape. I used my new knowledge of necromancy to summon couple of skeletal arms below him.

The skeletal arms grabbed his leg, causing him to fall to the ground. He screamed as I approach him. He desperately try to shake off the skeletal arms but it’s no use. I am already in front of him, staring at him.

I can smell fear from him. He is sweating heavily, his body is shaking really bad.

  “So apparently there is a lone survivor huh?” I said as I licks my sword

“P-please young lady! Mercy! I have a daughter and she is about to have birthday at the end of the year! I beg of you!”

Tch… I feel disgusted by his words. Do you lowlifes even show my family some mercy back there? No! Instead of mercy, I can see joy as you people mercilessly slaughter everyone that I loved. You are just like the rest of this rotten and disgusting world…

You see me and my family as nothing but bunch of monsters to get rid of mercilessly and now you expect me to spare you?! There is a limit to how much you can piss me off you insect!

He quickly pulls out a picture and showed it to me. Aaaw look at that. I can see him standing and smiling at the camera and the beautiful lady next to him are carrying a baby on her arms. How cute and heartwarming… and I HATE IT!

“I-I will tell you everything that I know! I swear! Just please, don’t kill me!”

Hmm… no matter how much he beg at me, it won’t change the fact that I’m going to kill him. Although… I do need to confirm my left eye ability. Might as well use him as a lab rat.

“Very well, then look at my eyes” I said

“Y-yes milady!”

He do as I asked and look at me at the eyes. I felt the same sensation just like the moment when I look at the necromancer; bright flash followed by strange feeling of something going through my head.

I smiled, I called his name, his family name and his commander’s name. I got it all right and I noticed he is extremely surprised but confused and terrified at the same time. Hmh, it seems he didn’t feel anything or even notice if I have just see through his memories and skills.

“So… will you spare me?” he asked

“Of course, now run along”

I ordered the skeletal arms to let him go. He quickly turns around and run as fast as his legs could carry him. I point my finger at him, I can feel an overwhelming power flows through my body.

“Lighting” I whispered

As I whispered the word, an extremely huge lighting storm burst out from my finger and strike the soldier, shortly followed by a strong gust of wind. Damn! That was just a mere level 1 spell I cast right there and I wasn’t even using my full power because I wanted to paralyze him and torture him to his death. How the heck it ended up with such destructive power?! That destruction power was equal to at least level 6!

Oh well… It doesn’t matter. I’ll sent his daughter and his wife along later on so he wouldn’t get lonely. I laughed out of my amusement of what I accidentally achieved. So even all of my spells are amplified huh? With this power… I could avenge those who wronged me… I can avenge everyone’s death. Yes! I CAN DESTROY THE WORLD!

HAHAHAHAHA!

Krow landed on my shoulder and wags his tail. He is extremely happy and amused. I pat his head.

“Krow, remember Yorkville? That rotten village?” I asked

Krow nodded as a response and then tilted his head slightly as he asks me why.

“Say, what do you think if we pay a visit? I think it’s time for both of us to paint the entire village with their blood and decorates their houses with dismembered parts of their families bodies”

Krow jumps in excitement. Aww you adorable cutie. I smiled, now… I have the power but I still lacks the ability and the experience. Let’s use the Yorkville as test subjects for my experiments.

I turned around and use my newfound knowledge to raise the dead and summoned the spirits who roamed the desert. I ordered them to help me bury the dead bodies of my group. I’ve decided to not disturb them as they are the only people I can call family besides Krow and I want them to rest in peace. Don’t worry, I swear I will destroy everything and everyone who wronged us.

My first target should be Yorkville, I’ll use them as my test subjects to my powers and then I’m going to hunt down the bandits who raped me and after that, I will destroy Arymania Kingdom and then… the rest of the world!

Do not think you can ever get away once you anger me… I will never forget and never forgive. I take my eyepatch and use it to hide my left eye. I looked back at my undead hordes, standing behind me and awaits my order.

It’s time for this rotten world to hear my scream and experience all of the pain I’ve been gone through.

***********

To be continued

  Next episode, 
  “When the dawn comes, a faint light of hope shall appear. A child of a man; Revealer; the chosen, shall be born. Drastic changes shall come, however whether the changes shall bring prosperity or destruction remains a mystery. Will the chosen be the herald of destruction or a saviour?

The world’s destruction and salvation rests on the shoulders of the chosen. When the fires covers the dawn, the world’s fate is at stake"