Bab 1: Prologue
"If there would be a chance given to me, I would rather co-exist with them than kill!"
A voice resonated around a dark area. It was quiet.
It is picturing a certain scene that would change the flow of time and events. Rather than embracing the inevitable outcome, the boy decided to shatter that will and come to terms with the creatures.
"Even if the world hates you?" The creature asked.
"It doesn't matter. Everyone here is fighting for their own survival. We're the same as you." The boy answered with dignity.
Rahel, a hero from the book of Adventures changed the flow of events. It was a story of how a certain man saved the whole world and co-existed with the monsters in order to regain peace.
The monsters from the story were not as evil as what the people have come to know for a very long time. Almost all of them were living the same life as humans. Hunting for food, looking for shelter, earning money, doing jobs for their society, and raising generations.
However, the humans were not able to accept the fact that the monsters have laid upon their world. Wars have erupted around the edge of the border where they connect and the apocalypse started.
Rahel knew that the humans would continue to issue a war until all monsters are exterminated from their land.
But he didn't let that will happen.
Seeing that all creatures, even humans should live in peace. He saw the life of the monsters outside the border. They were also struggling with survival. They have an emotion, they can speak, and they can negotiate and work.
Rahel believed that everyone should co-exist.
With his overwhelming power, he ultimately ended the war between humans and monsters and formed a treaty. With his charisma, he voiced out his thoughts for humanity in which they have opposed but in the end, all of them agreed after seeing the similarity between them and the otherworldly creatures.
Since then, the world became peaceful.
This is a story of a boy who defied the will of the god of destruction.
--
Within the vicinity, a small cabin can be found lying on the front side of the village.
It was a clear sunny day and everyone has been proceeding with their work. The locals are selling food and beverages while the hunters are out to the forest to find wildlife to hunt.
Among the chit-chats of the residents, numerous kids can be found playing around the area with their kites and homemade toys. Some of them are playing tag. It was a peaceful day for the Moriville Village.
Among those children was a boy named Aran Crossford. A gloomy child but is also very diligent.
Unlike the other kids, Aran spends most of his time reading plenty of books on a particular topic that talks about human life and other species. He is very engrossed in learning a lot of things that make the world distinctive. He is different from a normal child who's only limited at playing with others.
The sun rose upward and the sound of the breezing wind resonated throughout the area, giving such force for the leaves of the trees to fall directly onto the ground. The chirping of the birds can be also heard and the crowded noise of the people going outside is getting rowdy.
Beneath the tall large oak tree, Aran was sitting on it while reading a book.
His crimson-red hair swayed as the wind blew hard. The look on his face tells that he is learning more interesting stuff again by reading the book because of his seemingly exaggerated grin.
While he was focused on reading, a rustling sound can be heard coming from one of the bushes behind him.
Aran didn't pay any heed whatsoever and continued to read. The rustling grew until a particular female child suddenly showed up giving Aran a scare.
"HEY! ARAN!" A loud call from her.
Aran toppled from his sitting position because of the sudden reflexes caused by the surprise and the book that he was reading fell to the ground. He dragged his body up while rubbing his head because of the pain.
"Ow..." And then, he saw a beautiful blonde girl who is the same age as him.
"Come on Lisa, you literally surprised me. Do not do that again, please?" Aran's frustration took over his expression yet his tone and words are pretty polite and it doesn't have any sign of venomous intention.
"Hahaha! I'm sorry Aran, it's just— Once you started reading that old book, you won't be able to notice your surroundings, so the only way for me to wake you up is by scaring you." She apologized as she jumped from the bushes and landed on the oak tree.
She gave Aran a hand so he can stand up.
"Are you alone again?" Lisa asked. Aran didn't glance at her as he lie down his back on the oak tree.
"Well, what do you think?" He returned back the question to Lisa.
"Hmm... Well, I think not. Because I'm here!" Lisa chuckled as she spun around, swaying her dress momentarily. Aran was displeased by her answer and gave her a bad facial reaction.
"Anyway, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be playing with the other kids? You won't find anything fun here, it will just be boring." Aran spoke as he picked up the book from the grass. He rubbed the cover with his hand and patted it a couple of times to remove the dust covering it.
"I'm tired. I actually wanted to check on you." Lisa answered. She abruptly stop her spinning and laid down to the oak tree beside Aran.
"Hey Aran, why don't you just try playing with the other kids? I mean, you're always right here reading your book, don't you find that boring?" Lisa asked. Aran moved his head downwards to the right, identifying Lisa's question.
"I'm not interested in playing, Lisa. I'm more excited about reading and learning. I mean, I want to learn more about this world. Sure, I don't understand that much but I am willing to learn." Aran answered her question in a calm manner.
"I have a dream. That one day, I will be able to leave this village and explore the outside world. I want to discover a lot of things and be strong." He continued.
"Are you serious? Isn't it dangerous out there? Like they said there were a lot of monsters lurking outside of this kingdom." Lisa immediately scooped in beside Aran adding more closeness to each other.
"I-I know that but, maybe those creatures are living the same way as humans do? Like maybe they have a life as well and we just don't know how they proceed. I wanted to know if they are really bad enemies that should be killed, or should be friends with." Aran's mindset caught Lisa off guard and she was struck by his delusional words. She smiled and laughed so hard about what he said.
"What? I know it is funny but I want to do it anyway..." Aran replied in a meek voice, seemingly embarrassed by his answer.
"I'm sorry! Hahaha! I just can't help but laugh. Though, I'm not considering it as something like a joke. If that's what you want, then I can only support you." Lisa brought her body closer to his side. She smiled at him confirming that she would actually support him even if his dreams are unachievable and ridiculous.
"Lisa..." Aran looked at her eyes with a flabbergasted face.
200 years ago, the world entered an apocalypse state.
Humanity, on the verge of extinction, was saved by a Hero who sacrificed himself by self-destructing. Because of this, the continents diverged from each other and they were able to survive by building seven towers made out of Stygian metal to prevent monsters from entering the country. Each of these towers is connected to the other. It is surrounded by large walls and there are cities inside them.
Years have passed, the human side continent was able to build kingdoms and was later formed different countries. That being said, there are also cities outside the kingdoms that are not protected by the Seven Towers.
The Moriville village is one of them.
The construction of the walls takes a very long time. Reaching the other unaffected villages would require some years. The cities that reside inside those walls are called "Weshun" while the cities outside the walls are called "Ziduec".
Just like how most nobles treat the lower hierarchy people, those who lived in the Ziduec are treated as commoners or peasants while the families inside the Weshun are royalties and nobles.
It is reasonable that those who are important to the kingdom and have a high status would be able to live safely inside the walls while the commoners are cast aside to the Ziduec in order to keep the frontlines heated.
But that doesn't generally mean that Ziduec people are not allowed inside the capital. They can still enter the city but they need to pay a price for it. Many merchants are permitted to stay but an individual without any business should pay for the entrance. That's how the process of living works in the current generation.
Still, even if they are on the safe advantage, there are still monsters who can invade Ziduec. It is inevitable since they are near the border of where the monsters are residing. Apart from the lack of defense and insurance from the knights, almost all people here don't know how to defend themselves.
"What are you reading anyway?" Lisa asked. Aran opened it to the page where he left off.
"It's about the adventure of Rahel." He answered with a smile.
"Rahel? I think I have heard of that. Is that the story about the man who built the kingdom?"
"Nope, Rahel is the Hero who saved both monsters and humans. He is the reason why human beings and monsters as of now are living and surviving together. Based on the book, he didn't obey the god's will and he destroyed the divine future." Aran explained the main overview of the book to Lisa.
"Hou, that was interesting. It almost looks like the story in there is kinda similar to our situation." Lisa replied.
"Yes, that's exactly what I think. We're in a similar position to him. That's the reason why I wanted to know if the monsters from our world are also friendly or not." He said.
"Oh, I see." Lisa gazed downward as she felt the exact feeling of emptiness. But it didn't take long until she finally regained her bubbly attitude and started motivating Aran.
"Hey Aran! Why don't we play tag by ourselves?" Lisa proposed, her words shattered Aran's overthinking.
"Huh?"
"Come on! Let's get you up there. Let's play tag and have you exercise your small body." She said as she pulled his arm to get him up.
"Huh? I don't want to..." Aran got annoyed but he was powerless against Lisa's profound persuasion. Lisa dragged him outside the bushes.
"Okay, I'll have a head start and you need to catch me. You need to touch me before the time runs out and if you can't, then you'll have to do some consequences. Is that good?" Lisa explained the rules of the game with a simple explanation.
"Yeah yeah, alright." He lazily replied.
"I'll have you know, I am really fast at running, Aran. You shouldn't be able to catch me." Lisa provoked him.
"Oh yeah? That's tough talk, Lisa. I'll definitely catch you." Aran replied as he stretches his legs and arms in an attempt to get ready for the chase.
"Ok ready... Go!" Lisa started running first as she delves into the forest. Her golden hair swayed upward and her dress fluttered through the wind.
"Hmm, now then, what should I do? I know this forest very well and I think I might have an advantage since Lisa won't be going anywhere." Aran started walking as if he is taking the game easy and calmly. He started running as soon as the head start went off.
A couple of hours later, Aran failed to catch her. He went through a lot of routes inside the forest but Lisa was yet to be found.
"Damn that Lisa, it's been like 3 hours, where the hell is she?" Aran laid down for a bit to rest. He is sweating tremendously due to excessive running.
The sun was about to set but he still cannot find her.
"Lisa! Lisa!" He called her name a bunch of times but there was no sign of answers.
"Is she back in the village? I should definitely go home now, it is pretty dangerous out here." Aran didn't have any choice but to go back to Moriville Village.
As he walked back, he noticed something on the ground.
"Hmm, what is this? A footprint?" He asked himself.
He found a medium-sized footprint that doesn't resemble a human foot. It has a bigger mass on the ground, there is 3 circular shape embedded on the top and scratches can be found on the trees.
Upon reaching the front side of the forest, the volume of the footprints increases.
"Why is there a lot of weird footprints here?" As soon as he reached the gate of the village, a massive flame erupted from the area.
He immediately snapped out of his thinking while looking at the place where the fire started.
"T-The village—"
"Run!" Suddenly, an outburst of a middle-aged man was heard.
He went back to reality as he discovered that the village was attacked by lycanthropes. A lot of people are evacuating outside the village and are running through the forest.
"Dad!" Aran didn't leave but instead, he ran across the village trying to locate his parents.
Along his way, he saw a lot of wolves who are seemingly similar to a human killing a bunch of people and some of them are already eating their flesh.
He continued to run until he passed the river. The whole village was on fire and the onslaught of these wolves continued to progress.
Reaching his home, he saw his father.
"Dad!" Aran cried out. His father looked at him as he resisted the werewolf that was attacking him.
"Aran! Run! Do not go in here!" He instructed Aran to run but the boy didn't move from his position.
"N-No!"
"Aran, no!" With his negligence to resist, Aran's father was stabbed behind his back by one of the lycanthropes and the fire immediately broke out, causing the view to get deserted with the orange flame and black smoke.
"Dad!" Aran screamed loudly. He was panicking and doesn't know what to do. He started running away from the fire but was cornered by medium-sized lycanthropes.
These werewolves are not in their animal form but instead, they are in the state of a human body. They are wearing red robes and most of them are not covered.
"Well, ain't this child looking tasty?" One of the werewolves started talking.
"He is, but I dare you to touch him. He is my prey!" They started fighting over Aran's body while the outbreak extended in his parameter.
He started running to get away from the human-like wolves but they caught up to him.
Aran fell down and as soon as they landed on him, a glint of light flashed and a silver sword went through the wolf's head. The blood burst out from the neck staining Aran's cheeks. When he looked upward, he saw a white long-haired man wearing silver armor.
Flames around the area grew larger. The black smoke continued to dress the whole sky. Without any clean air to breathe in, Aran lost his ability to move.
The long-haired man carried him as he jumped out of the fire. Several knights were deployed into the village, killing all of the lycanthropes who ambushed it. The locals were able to evacuate but the village wasn't saved.
Aran's view was becoming blurry as the knight took him away. And finally, after escaping the hellish place, he finally lost his consciousness.
Hadiah
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