"I don't want to die…"
Sometime that morning, within a forest beside a small unnamed town in the South-Land Kingdom, a single desperate phrase drifted through the air.
Heavy and helpless, the words sounded as though they belonged to a man at the end of his rope.
Instead, they came from a dark-skinned boy no older than ten.
This child, Dominic, or Dom, by his closest companions, already knew the rules of his magical world.
About humans and beasts capable of wielding mana to perform mind-shattering feats now known as magic…
But for the first time in his life...
Dom was witnessing what happens when such power was used without mercy.
His short, curly snow-white hair rustled as a sharp gust of hot wind rammed into his face.
As he lowered his arm, he opened his eyes… his iris small but brimming with blue mana as he sharply turned his gaze to the source of a terrifying sound.
His breath ceased as he spotted a uniformed man, one of the town's guards, wriggling on the ground, screaming in agony as he clutched the blood-soaked stump where his hand should've been.
Then, a blast drew Dom's attention to the left, where he found another guard embedded within the bark of a tree, his eyes lifeless as his chest and torso were caved in.
On another side, his eyes widened to their limit at another gruesome sight, the sight of two boys no older than him, lying in pieces on the floor, their blood already congealed and fused into the dirt around them.
"No… No…" Dom whimpered as he barely suppressed his gag reflex, the world spinning around him as his young mind tried to process everything… his heartbeat thundered so loudly he could barely hear the screams.
Then another wave of wind rammed into his side along with the sharp sensation of mana pouring into the air.
He turned and immediately spotted the origin of this chaos.
"Damn it." A guard cursed, clutching his sword with his one good arm while the other dangled helplessly.
Another guard panted as she raised her hands, conjuring yellow flames from her palms. "This guy… is he a High Mage?" She asked, then winced as the wound on her side demanded attention.
The few other guards adjusted their weapons and spells, bearing similar wounds, praying the same silent prayer.
Despite the dozen fallen guards of all shapes and sizes, a single opponent stood before them.
A tall, lean man, his visage and identity hidden beneath his long, tattered cloak…but under the eerie shadow of his hood lay a smile so menacing that it made their skin crawl.
Driven by desperation, the fire-wielding guard attacked first, unleashing a large torrent of flames hot enough to scorch the earth onto the hooded figure.
But to her surprise, her flames failed to reach her target as the wind howled around his body like a living shield.
"Call in the Knights, now!" She barked as she intensified her flames, hoping to at least singe him. "We can't beat this-"
The mage suddenly swung his arm, green mana swirling along his fingers.
"Wind Magic: Thrust." He said, and the wind instantly responded to his command as a spear of compressed air tore through the flame spell and the mage in the blink of an eye.
The other guards turned as their colleague dropped like a fly, the gaping hole where her face once was leaving both confused and terrified.
A second guard reached for a magical item on his belt only to gasp as the wind suddenly shifted around his body, locking him in place like an invisible snake.
"What the hell?" He grumbled as he tried but failed to break free… until he finally realized that the hooded man was now standing beside him.
"There is no need to involve them in this." He said with a low, almost elegant voice as he causally plucked the item from the guard's hand and placed a palm on his captive's chest.
"Burst."
The moment the hooded man uttered that word, the guard exploded backwards as if struck by an invisible cannon.
His body crashed into a tree, his torso and limbs mangled and broken from the force of the repulsion.
"Damn it!" A third guard screamed as he fired his mana projectiles in rapid succession.
But the mage moved with relentless fluidity, the wind trailing after him as he evaded each bullet with quick swerves until he closed the gap in seconds and delivered a kick powerful enough to break the guard's neck.
A fourth guard growled as he transformed into a beast and pounced, followed by two more mages on either side… but with an elegant gesture, the wind spiraled, slicing the men into shredded ribbons.
Their blood scattered in all directions, with a streak of his blood landing directly on Dom's face.
But the young lad barely registered the warm, sticky sensation as he watched the scene before him.
No matter what spells the guards use… what tricks they knew… all of it was decimated within seconds. Even those who tried to surrender… or run, met the same painful fate.
I don't want to die.
Dom thought, his body trembling as he scrambled upright, nearly tripping in his haste to escape while the wind mage was still occupied… still culling… until a scream echoed through the clearing.
Dom's gaze shifted where he spotted another boy, seated on the ground in the distance, his pants soaked with urine as he screamed, the decapitated head now sitting resting in front of him.
"Devon! Run!" Dom screamed at his friend, hoping his words would prompt him to run while he had the chance.
However, the bone-chilling terror had pinned Devon in place, his mind too rattled to even hear Dom's words… and unfortunately, the mage, who had just killed the last guard, noticed him well.
"Seems like I missed some…" The mage said as he tossed the severed limb of his last victim away before calmly walking towards Devon.
"I have always been curious to know what young mages taste like…" He added as he licked the blood from his hand with a grin terrifying enough to make Devon cry for help.
As the mage slowly closed the gap, Dom found himself faced with two options…
The first was to run and get as far away from this monster as he could… or stay to help his friend even though it would be, he instinctively knew, futile.
Dom hesitatingly took a step back, his body already primed to run, but once Devon's pleading eyes drifted to him, the very concept of the first option vanished from his mind.
With an explosive burst, Dom dashed forward, his glowing blue eyes leaving a streak of light behind him.
The mage stopped some feet away and lazily raised his hand, his smile unaltered as the wind gathered around his fingertips. "I suppose I'll have an appetizer before going to the main course." He chuckled and fired a blade of wind at Devon.
But right before impact, a blur tackled Devon from the side, pulling him out of the spell's path as it carved into the ground with an explosive crash.
The mage flinched, his green eyes widening slightly as his smile faded.
For the first time since the massacre began, he looked genuinely surprised.
The two boys rolled across the dirt before Dom scrambled back to his feet, instinctively placing himself between Devon and the hooded man.
As he tightened his stance, he winced as crimson droplets pattered onto the forest floor from his clothes.
"Dom?" Devon whispered, only now noticing the blood.
"Don't worry..." Dom panted, forcing a shaky thumbs-up without taking his eyes off the hooded man. "I'm fine."
The words sounded far more convincing than the hand that refused to stop trembling.
The killer remained silent.
It had only been a Wind Blade—a common wind spell, but it was still considered so fast that ordinary mages rarely realized they had been struck before they died.
Yet somehow...
This child had intercepted it.
The hooded man's gaze lingered on the blue mana flickering around Dom's trembling body.
His eyes narrowed.
"You..." He murmured, the wind howling around him in response to his growing irritation and… interest…