The rose garden in front of the snow-draped mountain was strewn with corpses.
Arnard had assigned many knights and mages to his only son after he was kidnapped when he was four years old, and he quadrupled that number and increased the quality of Damien's guards after he was almost eaten by a Crimson Mage.
They were responsible for Damien's safety.
They tried to protect him from the demons and devils of the Alliance of Evil that came after him when neither their ma'am nor lord were with him, but they were out-skilled and outnumbered.
They died in the hands of the barbaric rebels, murderous chaotic beings, and the violent crimson mages without putting up much of a fight.
Damien looked at their corpses and felt helpless and hurt.
They had spent a few years together.
One would develop affected for even a dog after such a long time, and they were humans.
Over the years, he had gotten to know about them a little.
For example, the strongest of his guard, Luke, was a rank-4 mage. He had a sweet wife and a healthy young boy.
Tomorrow was supposed to be his son's birthday.
He didn't know what children liked, so he expressed his worry to his master.
Damien, being the generous young lord he was, took him out yesterday to buy a present for his son.
That present and Luke's head were crushed under the feet of the rebel.
One of the guards Damien had gotten closer to had Sisi's childlike innocence and curiosity.
Her name was Darelene Grummer.
She had found the love of her life several years ago, and they had been officially together for seven years, living in the same rented house.
They were orphans who had grown up together and were always there for each other and were saving money to buy a house and get married.
It wasn't easy to settle down in this world, and one needed to work for years to chase after their happiness.
She was supposed to get married to him by the end of the month.
But now, here she was, lying with her eyes closed.
A crimson mage opened his mouth and chomped her head off of her body.
"Tasty."
The crimson mage closed his eyes in pleasure as his knife-like teeth crushed her head, causing her tasty and warm blood to fill his mouth.
The guard who had helped him the most in recent years was his teacher. Eldwin Leiger was his full name, and he was a counselor in the army and also one of Arnard's friends.
Damien was taught combat and magic by his parents, while Eldwin helped him reign in his anger and excess negativity and directed him toward a better goal.
He was the biggest reason why Damien sobered up after he had fallen into despair by finding out Sisi's fate.
The rose garden was strewn with several dozen corpses, and one of them belonged to Eldwin.
"I will buy time for you. Hurry up and run."
These were his last words, and he had said that to Damien.
He didn't have a wife or child of his own, but he treated Damien as his own son.
He dedicated his life to him after he heard what he had been through and realized his potential, and he even died for him.
Their death caused him endless grief. Damien blinked, and clear crystal drops fell down his eyes like an endless stream. He found it hard to breathe.
There was a stabbing pain in his heart, killing him slowly and telling him that he was the reason why they died and why their family would be saddened.
He wanted to scream and kill, but he was powerless.
He had the strength to defeat a knight or two, but he was far from overcoming thousands of members of the evil alliance with his puny strength.
They could kill aura masters with just a few moves.
What was he in front of them?
Hearing his teacher's words, he picked up the silly yellow dog and ran away like a coward without looking back. Eldwin's roar and dying laughter rang in his ears, but he didn't stop even then. The thorn of the roses pierced into his skin and bloodied his feet and tender flesh, but that did nothing to kill his will to live.
He wanted to live!
Only then would he get to take revenge.
Going through the field of roses, he made his way to Sis's tombstone. Behind it was a tree. It was rumored to be a soul-guiding tree. It was said to have the ability to bring the soul of the dead back to the living realm if it was planted next to their grave. He had planted it next to her grave, hoping for the best.
He, along with his dog, hid in between them.
He prayed for the worst to pass.
But this world was long forsaken by Gods.
There was no God to hear his prayers.
There were only devils, and they were moving about in search of him.
"There he is."
Marty, the vice leader of the rebels and the runaway prince of the Sumerian Kingdom, searched the area and found the person he was looking for in the center of the garden, crouching between a tombstone and a tree.
It was hard for the naked eye to see Damien. But to his misfortune, Marty had X-ray vision, and he could see through things, so he easily found him.
Intense fear struck Damien's heart when he noticed that he had been discovered, and he gulped.
Marty signaled his followers to creep towards him as he himself moved towards Damien cautiously.
...
Marty was one of the many mistakes of the King of Sumeria. He was his bastard son, born out of wedlock. The Sumerian King didn't have an affair with his mother. His mother was a palace maid, and she was in love with a man from her village. She wanted to be his but fate played a cruel joke on her.
