"Hey, it's over, kid. You alright?"
"Y-Yeah... thank you."
"Ah, don't mention it. Just happened to be passing through. Call it fate or something."
Though he felt a twinge of guilt for exposing the boy to such a gruesome scene, the blue-clad man saw that the boy seemed okay and allowed a smile to touch his lips, tapping his shoulder with the spear.
"Right then. It's safe for now, but there might be reinforcements... First, let's see to your mom. Show me her wounds."
As the blue-clad man approached, perhaps finally letting the tension drain away, the boy slumped to the ground as if collapsing.
The multitude of variously shaped spears that had sprouted around them vanished, leaving only a single spear radiating an immense aura.
After a brief glance at that spear, the blue-clad man crouched beside the boy and checked the condition of the fallen woman.
"I-Is my mom going to be okay...?"
"Sure is. Her condition was critical, but good thing I was here, kid. Patched her up a bit with some runes, so she's stabilized. She'll need a proper check-up somewhere with the right equipment..."
"I was gonna say that, but 'in for a penny, in for a pound,' as they say. I'll take you to a safe place. It would leave a bad taste in my mouth if she died after I went to the trouble of saving her."
Answering the boy's question, the blue-clad man picked up the boy's mother, said "Let's go," and started walking.
The boy noticed he was no longer in the blue combat outfit but back in his yellow shirt and black pants.
Then, on the way to the hospital, they were met by the boy's father and what seemed to be his companions. The man handed over the mother and was about to promptly leave the scene, but—
"Wait! Please wait!"
Hearing the boy's desperate call as he came running up, breathless, the man scratched the back of his head with his right hand, sighed, and stopped.
"Hey, what's up, kid? Shouldn't you be by your mom's side?"
"Hah, hah... I-It's okay right now, my dad and the others are with her... And I have something I need to tell you..."
"Oh? What is it?"
"W-Well, I didn't get to say it earlier, but... first of all, thank you for saving my mom!"
Feeling oddly embarrassed by the gratitude delivered to his back, the young man waved a hand dismissively in response.
"Yeah, yeah, it's fine. Told you, I just happened to be passing by. I just swung my spear because I didn't like what I saw. Basically did it for myself. —Well, and maybe because I liked your spirit. No need to thank me."
"But because of that, my mom and I were saved... So really, thank you very much."
Even after being told not to worry about it, the boy bowed his head deeply. In response, the young man gave a wry smile, shrugged as if to say 'not that I dislike it,' and turned to face the boy.
"Pretty damn earnest for a kid... Nah, well, I don't hate that type... In that case, I guess 'you're welcome' for now. Glad your mom's okay, kid."
"—Yes."
The boy nodded, his eyes shining with something like respect and admiration for the young man with his manly smile. The young man scratched his head as if exasperated and urged him to continue.
"So, you had something else, right?"
"H-How did you know...?"
Seeing the boy's surprised expression, the young man nodded as if it were obvious.
"Course. You wouldn't have said 'first of all' otherwise. So, the main point... no, the other main point is what?"
Sensing that the matter concerning his mother was also genuinely important to the boy, the young man prompted him.
"W-Well... It's a rude request, but please—teach me how to use a spear! I'm begging you!"
Saying this, the boy bowed his head.
"Huh? A spear?"
The request was half unexpected and half anticipated. The young man furrowed his brows.
He had thought the request might be for him to become a bodyguard, but he hadn't really expected a request for training. It was quite surprising, as he didn't think the concept of 'training' in this way existed within the boy's racial values.
"Why?"
He had a pretty good idea of the reason, but the young man asked anyway. He couldn't afford to misunderstand this point.
"...I'm a hybrid devil, and my mom is human. But my dad is a high-class devil... So I think I'll be targeted by the upper echelons of the Underworld from now on, too. To deal with that, I need power...!"
"...Power, huh."
The young man narrowed his eyes at the boy's earnest expression and tone.
The reason was as expected. As the assailants had said, the boy was a hybrid devil.
—Yes, a devil.
In this world—behind the scenes of Earth—beings recorded in the Bible, such as Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels, truly exist, along with numerous myths, mysteries, and legends.
Many of them, to a greater or lesser extent, involve themselves with the human world, both openly and secretly, though not always for benevolent reasons.
For example, Devils. Due to the impact of the previous Great War, their population as a species is in decline. To counter this, they created items called 'Evil Pieces' to transform other races into Devils.
As a result, various races, including humans, if they possess rare or powerful abilities or strikingly beautiful features, often find themselves targeted and propositioned to become familiars.
And if that were all, one could simply refuse. But some were forcibly reincarnated and taken away to the territories of the devils in the Underworld.
To make matters worse, while their treatment varied depending on their master, most were treated as slaves, servants, or mere fashion accessories. Furthermore, if they tried to escape, they were branded as Stray Devils, with warrants issued for their capture and pursuers sent after them. In terms of sheer maliciousness, they were arguably the worst among the major factions.
Additionally, while the Fallen Angels lacked the technology to reincarnate others into their own kind, they were dangerous entities who would eliminate or abduct those who possessed powerful Sacred Gears, the gifts left behind by the God of the Bible.
The Angels, for their part, largely left matters to their human affiliates in the Church, so even if problems arose, they either didn't know or couldn't notice, effectively turning a blind eye.
These three great factions could be considered exceedingly dangerous races for humans or those with human blood.
Why was human blood involved? It was because of the existence of Sacred Gears.
Sacred Gears are mysteries created by the God of the Bible, and they dwell only in those with human blood flowing through them. Their abilities vary widely, ranging from things merely useful for daily life to actual weapons.
Some even existed that could cause massive destruction. The truly nasty part was that these Gears manifested completely randomly.
Of course, sometimes they never awakened. But if they did awaken or manifested imperfectly, it could have negative effects on the user or those around them.