Once.

A man walks through a gloomy forest.

Once.

Lying on his stomach like a corpse in the thorny grass, he could distinguish the armed bandit groups that walked by him only by his nose and ears. The sound of the sword collided with the steel scale armor.

Bright as a meteorite piercing the sky at midnight.

Witness the brutal murder of a traveling merchant while leaving behind his young son. The men with scars on their faces were not motivated by a sudden flash of pity in their hearts, or a sense of worthless guilt.

It's just to satisfy the perverted pastime after a busy job.

After all, in the dark forest, even the vicious monsters will not appear. This child alone will not be able to escape the attack of hungry wolves.

And the robbers don't even need to waste the strength to swing the hilt. There is no need to carry another young life in front of the gods for this.

-- Although countless merchants, travelers, and lone soldiers have been mutilated and killed.

-- God doesn't seem to be reacting.

――Is such a god worthy of such reverence?

I lurked in a low-lying bush not far away, witnessing this brutal killing feast.

The sadness, anger, and fear that hung on the child's face were in stark contrast to the excitement on the face of a strong man who seemed to be the leader of the bandits.

That is until one of the men used a dagger to cut off one of the arms of the slain traveling merchant. Shook it leisurely in front of the boy's face a few times.

The endless darkness has finally eroded the remaining light.

The boy stared at his father's mutilated body and arms in mid-air, his pupils out of focus.

"What-this guy is completely scared to move, huh?"

"Look. An emaciated man stabbed the boy twice with the tip of his sword.

A pomegranate-like crimson liquid gurgled out at the site of each poke.

"Ah, Lunn, don't hurt him like that. The bloated man leaning on the stone next to him smiled and said, "Look, this little ghost doesn't look bad." You can make a lot of money by pulling it back and selling it to the dealers. ”

With that, he grabbed the boy by the hair. Putting his face on the boy's face and sniffing greedily with his loose nose. It was as if there was a tempting dessert in front of his face.

"Those rich people in Lingdu might like a little creature like you, and when that happens, thank me. "

The man's arm was suddenly bitten coldly by the boy, and blood flowed down like a mark of shame.

"Bang-" Then, turning around, he kicked the boy hard in the chest.

The impact sent him several meters away, and with a muffled thud, he lay down on the ground not far from me.

The boy's head was tilted to the side, and the corners of his mouth were stained with blood that he didn't know if it was a man or himself.

The complicated gaze met mine.

The air was as thick as a stagnant iron curtain.

"Goo....... "I was shocked. Look straight into his eyes.

A finger of his hand could reveal my location. Not far from him, the two thieves were running towards him with swords.

It's sad.

- His father was brutally murdered.

-- The miserable and ethereal life that he is about to face.

Angry, right?

――There are people around who can lend a hand, but choose to witness all this.

This world,

- It sucks.

............。

I pressed my hand to the dagger at my waist. Fingers touched the sharp serrations on the cold blade. It can easily cut the fur of wild beasts or chop off huge chestnut branches. But in the end, it's just a tool for hunting.

Use it to fight seven or eight middle-aged men armed with combat weapons. Suicide is undoubtedly.

............。 But if the boy chooses to expose himself. I can only fight with death.

The two men slowly approached this direction with their swords raised, but the boy remained locked on to me. His dark chestnut hair was stained with mud and blood, and he was already scarred.

As if conveying something, his eyes gradually became very hot.

Soaked in dirty water, the cold air from the climb made his body tremble uncontrollably.

yes -

He didn't have to take on these things.

The distant and towering royal city will not pay attention to these people who will die at any time.

The boy's haggard eyes glistened with tears.

Obviously so hungry, obviously so cold............. But no one ever came to help.

The man who killed his father still lives a life of licking blood for pleasure.

Na......

-- In the deep blue of the distant sky,

-- God-sama

――Does it really exist?

This is not unwarranted questioning.

Adults don't come to the rescue of anyone. The world is full of injustice.

Man needs to be saved.

In addition to the scars, hunger, and sickness, what people need more is spiritual salvation.

The Church came into being and proclaimed to the people

-- If we have a firm faith in our hearts, God will come to our salvation in the end.

So the people who longed for salvation prayed devoutly day and night.

But he did not see any so-called angelic gifts.

That's right, it's such a cruel world.

The boy in front of him, he doesn't need to bear anything for the world.

Now, he just needs to follow his heart.

Two men had already come to his side. Without saying anything, it was another hard blow. Blood gushed out of the boy's mouth with a pop. A strange Gulf Stream was drawn on the ground.

I gently pulled the dagger from my waist and slashed across the soil around me to try not to reflect a single bit of light, and held it in front of me.

Holding his breath, he waited for the boy's voice.

The next second, the boy's mouth moved, and he smiled bitterly at me.

Then he stopped looking at me, but turned to face the two thieves in front of him.

"Smack-" There was another sound of flesh cracking.

The emaciated thief grabbed the boy by the collar and punched him in the face.

"W............" I was shocked to see that the boy's right hand, which had been hiding behind his back, seemed to be holding something.

It was a spherical object.

Smooth casing in ceramic with the inscription "Gransorn" and the eagle logo engraved on it.

A slender fuze specially designed to facilitate rapid detonation.

It was made of guards, and it was able to create a small area of fire for a short period of time.

- Dragon'sbreathria

This guy ....... Do you want to .......

Don't be stupid -

Damn it....... ！

Out of nowhere, the power made me leap to my feet.

The sound of the blade slicing through the air reached my ears.

Even clearer is the crisp sound of the firing pin striking when the fuse is pulled.

At that moment, the boy tilted his head slightly and smiled clearly at me.

His eyes were shaken by the sudden bright light.

Accompanied by the screams of men and the sound of charring trees.

In front of him, a sea of fire appeared that consumed everything.

I don't know if it was calculated or what, but the flames stopped spreading not far in front of him.

Rather, like the heavenly punishment of punishment, it gathers violently in the middle.

........................。

Five or six thieves in the vicinity hurried in. I sadly drove my body nimbly from the bottom end of the flame to the other.

Swing the hunting knife vigorously at the neck of the man in front of you.

Warm liquid splashed on the hands.

- "......Shh There was a smack in his mouth. I slid sideways on the wet ground at breakneck speed. A giant sword slashed hard into the dirt behind him.

Seeing the gap in the attack, I slammed into the sword-wielding man's abdomen.

"Uh-huh-" the man let out a painful voice.

After quickly shifting into a backhand knife, I gritted my teeth and stabbed it horizontally and deeply into the man's bloated face.

- "Where did you come from, ahhh After dodging downward, he slashed at the man in front of him.

The hunting knife was still deep in the face of the man who had been killed in front of him.

The forest was lit up by fire as if it were daylight.

Lost the only weapon that could be used.

Four thieves surrounded me.

"Die—"

A white light flashed in front of his eyes.

There was a sound of sharp weapons penetrating **.

I grabbed the corpse next to me and struck the blow hard.

It's just that after the Kataku's sword slashed heavily at the flesh and blood in front of him, it still didn't stop.

"Goo....... Suddenly there was a sharp pain in his right arm.

The blade of the sword left a hideous wound on it.