Kenta charged forward, then swung his wooden stick downward at full speed, using the momentum to carry the force of his swing.
Seeing that, the man's lips twisted into a smirk before swinging his long sword horizontally. The two respective weapons clashed.
Kenta's body was blown backwards by the force of the man's swing.
"Argh!" He let out a painful groan as he crashed into the wall behind him.
"Haha… do you see that kid, that is what we grownups call experience." The man said, looking down on Kenta, whose face twisted in pain.
"Hah. I'm not done yet." Kenta uttered weakly with unsteady eyes. He once again picks up his stick and makes a stance.
"Humph, I have to give you credit, even though you're in such a one-sided position, you still have the guts to continue fighting." The man moved at a speed that Kenta couldn't follow, then thrust the pommel of his sword towards Kenta's chest.
"Guh." Kenta knelt as all the oxygen was forcefully pushed out of his lungs. He fell to the ground while holding his chest, coughing violently as he tried to catch his breath.
The two men looked at him with cold eyes.
"Now do you understand the difference between us?" The man said, before stabbing at Kenta's back with his sword. Kenta's eyes were wide open as he felt the sharp, stinging pain in his chest.
The sensation of his chest being stabbed ran through him, his blood trickling down the length of the sword.
His hands tremble as he is made fully aware of the reality. Before long, his body lost its strength and fell to the ground with a thud.
"Damn it." He muttered weakly. The man then pulled out his long sword from his back before losing interest in Kenta.
"Hmm. Was that really necessary? I mean, he was only a small boy." The man still standing outside the room said.
The bulky-looking man sneered.
"Hmph… you've killed plenty of children yourself, so you have no right to say that to me, you know." The man said annoyedly.
"Haha… I can't retort to that." He said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Let's check the other rooms." They both then made their way to the upper level of the mansion.
Meanwhile, Kenta wasn't dead yet; he could still hear everything they were saying. But even so, he knew that he was only seconds from dying.
'I don't want to die.' Was the only thought that occupied his mind right now.
'How do I survive?' He had already lost the sensation of his body and could no longer move his body anymore.
Images of his parents were flashing through his mind. The happy moment to the moment where it all ended, like a dream he was reliving.
"That's right, I have to live, grow strong, and make those bastards pay. Can't go dying yet." With his resolve now heightened, Kenta tried to regain strength in his body. Starting with his hands, then his legs.
"Damn it! I… I can't die. I refuse to fall here. I will not die!!" He shouted.
At that moment, as though responding to him. something deep within his soul stirred intensely.
….
Inside a cave devoid of light, a lone skeleton sat on a throne. Although the seemingly ordinary-looking skeleton did not have a single ounce of life, the pressure it oozes could shake the soul.
At the side, two statues were standing before the throne, as though they were its guardians.
Beside the throne, a single sword floated beside it, hovering with an intensity as though it was alive. However, as though sensing something, the sword disappeared from its position.
…
The light in Kenta's eyes grew dimmer as his blood oozed out, creating small puddles. However, he continues to cling to whatever hope he had, desperately biting his lips to prevent himself from falling unconscious.
He knew instinctively that if he fainted, he would never open his eyes again.
However, at that moment, whether it was a coincidence or perhaps fate, a magic circle then appeared beneath him.
At that moment, a flash of light shone faintly before him, and he felt a familiar warmth engulf him. Suddenly, a rejuvenating feeling flooded his weary mind.
Kenta's body was clad in a warm light, and before his eyes.
"That's?" A long greatsword appeared, hovering in the space; it gave off a divine glow.
The blade of the sword was obsidian-black, as though it drank in the light around it.
Faint crimson veins pulsed across its surface, as if alive, while its hilt was wrapped in worn, blood-stained leather.
A single, faintly glowing gem rested at the centre of the guard, resembling an unblinking eye.
The sword radiated an ominous aura, and whispers seemed to echo faintly from its edge.
Its hilt is dyed red with white polka dots going across vertically.
Slowly, he reaches out his hand weakly. Once his hand finally made contact. The sword succumbed to the weight of gravity and fell to the ground.
Kenta looked at the sword curiously for a moment before finally getting up; his injuries hadn't healed, but the pain he felt mere moments ago no longer persisted. Kenta then made his way towards the upper levels of the mansion.
…
Inside one of the rooms, Charlotte, Nessa and Rick stayed silently. While gazing fearfully at the barricaded door.
"What do those guys want?" Rick asked with an angry voice.
"They're here to rob us, obviously," Nessa said, slightly exasperated by his obvious question.
Nessa was probably the calmest person in the room, though her body was trembling.
Due to fright, she was scared, of course, anyone would be.
She kept her gaze turned towards the door as she embraced Charlotte, who was the most terrified person in the room.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A loud banging sounded from the other side of the wooden door.
'What can I do?' Nessa wondered internally; it wouldn't be long before the door was broken down.
'Before that, we need to leave the room,' she thought while looking around the room. When her eyes landed on the glass window, she immediately got up and ran towards it.
Rick and Charlotte also follow her lead.
Nessa opened the window and gulped when she saw the distance between herself and the ground.
It was more than a hundred meters; there's no way they would be able to survive that kind of fall unscathed.
Rick looks at Nessa as though to say, "Have you lost your mind?" Charlotte's face instantly turned pale when she saw the height of their fall.
"We don't have any other option, do we?" Nessa said annoyedly.
…
Meanwhile, Kenta had already made his way to the upper level of the mansion. What greeted him there was a mountain of corpses; among them were a lot of children he had either interacted with or had no interest in. Seeing that, he slowly clenched his fist tightly.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you." He muttered sadly, biting his lips. The same feelings of helplessness he felt when his parents were killed surged up again.
When opening the door of one of the rooms, the body of Suzette fell to the ground, painting it red. Kenta's eyes showed complicated emotions.
However, he shook his head slowly before moving onward.
He promptly moved towards the loud banging sound he heard coming from further down the hallway.