Chapter 2
Hundreds of magic tools rained down from the reinforcements.
As time passed, more and more large beads of sweat formed across the forehead of the head of House Valentin.
No matter how powerful a mage was, their mana could never be infinite.
Meanwhile, the wealth of the <Noble Alliance> only continued to grow.
This was clearly a war of attrition.
His first and second sons, who had helped evacuate the household members, moved behind their father.
"Father!"
"We'll protect the rear!"
Because the brothers were connected through [Mind Link], they did not need to speak any further.
CRACK!
The eldest summoned vines that wrapped around the enemies' legs.
SHING!
The second son followed by cutting their throats with blades of wind.
Their teamwork was perfect.
It was the result of trust formed through blood, something an alliance temporarily created for profit could never imitate.
Still...
There were far too many enemies.
Much too many.
BOOM! BOOOOM!
The head of House Valentin shouted as though coughing up blood.
"Liana! Hurry! Take Kaian!"
Behind him, the pale-faced lady of the house, Liana, was casting a physical enhancement spell on her youngest son.
"[Enhance, Full Body.]"
Fwoooosh...
Pure white mana continuously flowed from her body into Kaian.
Liana carefully looked over Kaian's body and face.
This would probably be the last time she could ever look at her child.
She burned the image of his black hair, so similar to her own, and his turquoise eyes deep into her soul.
Tomorrow he'll only be eight years old... He's still just a little child who hasn't even learned a single spell...
Liana felt as though her heart was being torn apart.
But she could not show weakness in front of him.
She tightly embraced Kaian, who was desperately swallowing back his sobs.
Liana's body trembled.
Yet when she spoke, her voice was unbelievably calm and carried a mysterious power.
"[Kaian, listen carefully. You have relatives in the Sylvaris Federation on the Eastern Continent. Once you enter the eastern forest, the spirits will guide you somewhere safe. Until then, do not look back. Do not stop.]"
"No, Mother! Please! I can't run away by myself!"
BOOM! BANG!
Explosions continued outside.
The head of House Valentin shouted again.
"Hurry!"
Kaian felt sick.
The fear that his family would not be coming with him.
The helplessness of knowing he could do nothing.
He felt as though he could empty his entire stomach right there.
But Liana's Word Magic, said to be the most powerful in the Empire, held tightly onto Kaian's soul.
"[Please, my child. Survive until the very end and live beneath the bright sun. Never let them cover your world in darkness. And... remember that we will always be with you.]"
She knew why this noble family had to disappear tonight.
They had committed the crime of standing tall when the rest of the world compromised with lies.
The punishment for that crime was the destruction of their entire family.
Liana did not regret the choices they had made.
But her young son, who had not even awakened his mana, did not need to carry the responsibility for them.
Magic is power meant for those who are weakest.
That was the belief of House Valentin.
Even in the face of death, that belief did not change.
Liana stared directly into her youngest son's eyes.
"[Kaian Belore Valentin. You must survive. So do not look back. Run!]"
Driven by the power of her words, Kaian ran into the secret underground passage beneath the Valentin estate.
Tap tap tap tap!
Liana watched his small back disappear.
A terrifying determination appeared in her eyes.
Every explosion filled her with deeper rage and hatred.
BOOOOM! BANG!
She could feel the lives of her family fading nearby.
Blood vessels appeared across Liana's eyes.
"I will leave a mark on every one of you... a mark you will never, ever forget."
She gathered the last of her mana and began chanting an ancient curse.
A frighteningly pure white mana rose from her body.
Fwoooosh...
She concentrated so she would not miss even one trace of mana belonging to the invaders outside the estate.
"[You who stepped upon the border because of your greed. May the rage of the earth flow through your blood.]"
She could no longer feel the mana of her first and second sons.
"[Those who share your beds shall waste away from sickness until only bones remain. Those who share your cups shall die with their throats filled with ash.]"
Bloody tears rolled down her cheeks.
"[Your lives shall dry away like morning dew.]"
Yet there was not the slightest tremble in Liana's voice.
And finally...
"[And this curse shall never end, generation after generation.]"
No one heard the curse that night.
But one day...
The entire world would know of it.
"Haah... haah..."
The border forest that Kaian reached through the underground passage was completely dark.
Branches scratched his young cheeks.
Sharp stones caught against his ankles.
His young body and mind quickly reached their limits.
Kaian begged himself.
Stop! Go back to your family! Please! Just go back and die there with them...!
But every time he thought that, Liana's Word Magic tightened even harder around his soul.
Kaian could not stop.
His lungs felt ready to tear apart.
Still, he ran.
And ran.
He did not know how far away the eastern forest was.
He simply kept moving wherever his body carried him.
"Haah... haah..."
Kaian could feel just how fragile his life was.
Like a candle flame shaking in the wind.
Without Liana's Word Magic, he would certainly have died already.
And between those weak thoughts, the memory of separating from his family repeatedly returned.
The thick smoke.
Mana flashing in many different colors.
His father's shouting.
His brothers' screams.
The horrifying sound of something being crushed.
And the final moments of his family that he had never been able to see.
No matter how far he ran, those terrible images did not disappear in the wind.
Instead, the farther he went, the clearer they became.
As Kaian forced his way through the darkness, he asked himself one question.
Why? Why did this happen to us?
Only a few hours earlier, everything had been peaceful.
Kaian had begged his mother to read him a story about heroes.
Liana had looked lovingly at her youngest son, who was excited about his eighth birthday the next day.
Their neighbors had been kind.
The wind had been gentle.
The world shining beneath the sunlight had been beautiful.
So why had everything suddenly turned into a disaster?
Kaian asked himself another question.
Was it because I was weak? Would everything have been okay if I had been strong enough to protect everyone? But how could I have done that?
Like dried blood clinging to his entire body, the guilt that his family had sacrificed themselves to save him stuck to his soul with a horrible smell.
