Emily stood at the entrance of the fortress, shocked by the horrifying scene before her. The shattered remains of soldiers and their severed heads were scattered everywhere, while the courtyard ground was completely destroyed. Among the wounded and terrified soldiers, she could see Ivan, the militia leader, walking between the scattered corpses as he picked up one of the heads and raised it high.
Emily fell to her knees in terror, unable to believe what she was seeing. Despite the blood covering the face of the severed head, she could still recognize it.
It was the mysterious man.
Raising Nidal's head high so that all the soldiers could see it, Ivan shouted at the top of his voice:
"This is the fate of anyone who dares to challenge me… death! This bastard caused the death of my soldiers, and now I have taken revenge for them."
Ivan glanced around at the soldiers who had begun to regain their composure. Cries of victory rose among them. Then he continued speaking:
"I… I am Ivan, the commander of this great unit! I swear that I will make this land submit to our will, you brave soldiers!"
The cries of victory grew louder and louder as some of the soldiers began helping the wounded. A group of Healing Ru users stepped forward and started treating the injured.
Healing Ru was a form of manipulating raw Ru energy. The healer concentrated the energy in their hands and directed it toward the wound, which automatically absorbed the Ru to heal itself. This caused a bright green light to appear between the healer's hands and the injured person.
Emily remained frozen in shock and disbelief, as if time itself had begun to slow down. She had lived through hell in a single day.
She could not comprehend reality anymore.
Beneath a massive olive tree, Nidal opened his eyes and found himself standing in a vast field of roses stretching endlessly toward the horizon. The olive tree stood alone, towering above everything else.
Nidal's body was much smaller and thinner than usual.
He had returned to the age of nine.
Within the endless garden, Nidal walked slowly while observing the harmony of the flower colors—the red blending with blue, the purple with green, and the yellow.
Among the flowers, far in the distance, Nidal noticed the silhouette of a strange woman with purple hair, smiling gently. Her cheerful face brought a sense of comfort and peace.
Although this was the first time he had ever seen her—and she was not his wife—he felt a strange sense of longing toward her.
"It is still too early… for us to become a family."
The mysterious woman whispered softly.
Despite the great distance between them, Nidal somehow managed to hear her voice clearly.
Emily screamed in complete panic:
"You said you would kill them… so how could you lose like this?! Wake up and fight!"
Everyone in the courtyard heard her desperate cry filled with shock. Ivan turned toward Emily with a wide grin after realizing she was the same girl that man had protected from his soldiers.
"Did you see the fate of those who challenge the great Ivan? Did you really think this insect would protect you from my wrath? You dared to challenge the strongest man in this region!"
Ivan extended Nidal's severed head forward as he continued speaking to Emily:
"Look well at this bastard's head. Let it be a lesson to anyone who dares challenge me—"
"Shut your mouth… your barking is annoying."
A voice coming from the severed head interrupted Ivan.
A terrifying smile spread across Nidal's severed face.
Nidal was still alive.
Before Ivan could understand what was happening, green gas began leaking from Nidal's mouth. The gas mixed with the surrounding air and quickly spread throughout the entire courtyard.
"It's time for you to learn who I really am."
Nidal spoke arrogantly, and then—
BOOOOM!
The green gas that had spread everywhere suddenly exploded, causing flames to surge high into the air. Fire spread everywhere, devouring everything in its path.
The flames consumed the massive building the soldiers had used as their headquarters, reducing it entirely to ashes.
Emily watched the scene closely in utter disbelief.
From within the flames and suffocating black smoke, Nidal walked out toward Emily. Dust covered his body, and his clothes were completely torn.
One of Nidal's arms was regenerating.
He was a user of Regeneration Ru, one of the legendary types of Ru. Many people believed it was nothing more than a myth.
It was said that its user could regenerate their body from any fatal injury—even if it meant dying first in some cases.
In other words, a Regeneration Ru user was nearly immortal.
"Who the hell are you?"
Emily asked while staring at Nidal with eyes full of fear and horror.
From within the flames, Ivan emerged, walking with heavy steps as blood sprayed everywhere from his body. He looked at Emily and Nidal with his bloodied eye, a faint smile appearing on the right side of his face.
He already understood his inevitable fate.
Half of his left body was gone.
He looked at them, fully aware that he was already a dead man.
"You're a Regeneration Ru user… I thought you were just a legend, you runaway scout of the Soro Kingdom…"
"The Butcher of Yabok… Nidal."
Ivan collapsed to the ground dead, as the flames spreading across his body began turning him into charred flesh.
Dark clouds gathered overhead, and rain began to fall, slowly extinguishing the raging fire. It only took a few minutes before the rain completely put out the flames.
Nidal stood before the horrifying scene, smelling the scent of burnt corpses as he looked up at the sky, which began to clear after the clouds scattered and the rain stopped.
Then he began hearing the hallucinations again:
"Killer… insect… monster…"
But he ignored them completely.
Memories of his miserable life, buried deep within him, began flooding his mind.
The greatest and most painful among them was:
"The Yabok Massacre."
Emily stood behind Nidal holding a knife she had picked up from the ground. Her hostility, fueled by hatred, was obvious.
Without turning around, Nidal said:
"You don't know me."
"No… I know you very well."
Emily's teeth trembled with rage as she spoke.
"Seven years ago, my entire village was wiped out by a single scout who was no more than eighteen years old. An entire village… everyone was brutally slaughtered."
"That scout was later executed for treason in Yabok, the land of Soro's nobles. But for some reason, the execution failed… and everyone who attended the execution was killed."
"That day became known as The Yabok Massacre."
"The name of my family's killer… the Butcher of Yabok… is still carved into my heart to this day."
"My hatred for him grows stronger every single day."
Emily paused for a moment before finishing her words.
"His name was…"
"Nidal."
[Any comments? I'm here to answer anything.]