"... Do you know why I was sent to kill you tonight?"
The voice was husky.
It belonged to a man of towering height, clad in darkness and thick, flowing silk. With his body shrouded from top to bottom, only his glassy, obsidian eyes shone through the wavering moonlight.
He looked upon his prey—a teenager who powerlessly sat in a desolate snowy field.
No mercy was present in his gaze.
His left hand resolutely gripped a long, thin blade, while his right hand rubbed the obscured side of his chin.
Without warning, his voice rang in the empty compound once again.
"It’s because you’re an eyesore." His words reeked of condescension, and judgment flashed at the tip of his raised blade. The boy he looked upon, the one he was about to execute, remained silent as a mix of helplessness and anger contorted his dainty countenance.
His white hair danced wildly as the chaotic winds lashed at him from every angle.
With blood-red pupils that had lost their luster and a pale face that nearly matched the frosty ground he knelt on, his effeminate facial features created an image of serenity.
However, this androgynous face could not mask his emotions.
Not entirely.
The boy felt deep resentment as he glared at his executioner.
He would not hesitate to curse whoever sent this ruthless assassin after him, if he could.
After all, none of this was his fault!
Yes, as someone born into one of the six Magus Households of the Theocracy, he had great expectations placed upon him.
But the circumstances of his birth were not for him to control.
He was declared Inept after turning ten years old, cementing his fate in the world.
Unlike his older siblings and the children of the other Magus Households, he would forever be unable to wield Magia and enter the realm of Magecraft.
He, Derek Lewis, would never become a Magus.
"Still..." A strained whisper left his trembling lips. "... I don’t deserve to die for that, do I?"
Derek recalled how he was treated by his own family.
These were unnecessary thoughts, but since his life was flashing before his eyes, he could only bask in the horrid memories of his childhood.
His two sisters, Melanie and Emma, didn’t spare any effort in showing just how much they loathed him. Klein, his older brother, was even worse. Although his speech impediment made his future as a Spellcasting Magus quite limited, he was far better off than Derek.
That meant he would take every chance to flaunt his superiority, even if it meant shoving his own brother towards the abyss.
If they had responsible parents, perhaps none of this would have happened. But his mother died after birthing him, and his father was absent throughout his life. Everyone blamed him for his mother’s death, and since he was a good-for-nothing Inept, they made it extremely clear that his existence was a mistake.
Although they tolerated him at first, everyday life in the Lewis Estate quickly became unbearable after he was declared Inept.
Derek had to live like an outcast for five whole years...
A life of shame.
Pain.
Even then, he never expected that an attempt would be made on his life.
’Which one of them is behind this?’ He found his mind reeling. ’It’s possible that they planned it together. I wouldn’t put it past any of them...’
Painful sensations squirmed in his heart, threatening to tear through his tender chest.
He couldn’t understand.
’Why would my own family treat me like this? Is it just because I am weak?’
Derek could not remember a single moment when he was disrespectful to his siblings. He never claimed to be perfect, but he always tried his best to be kind and considerate, even when they all treated him like garbage.
He was friendly to all the servants, even when they all secretly reproached him.
Never had he stopped doing good deeds.
Yet...
... Here he was...
... About to meet his end at the ripe age of fifteen.
’It’s not fair.’
Derek closed his eyes as the thought flashed through his mind.
He could already feel the winds shift.
The blade of his assassin pierced his chest not too long after, slicing through his internal organs as it ripped into his delicate heart.
It was a painful experience, but it only lasted a few seconds before Derek felt nothing.
No pain.
No sensation whatsoever.
His crimson blood stained the frosty field as he watched the assassin walk off before vanishing into the shadows.
With blurry vision and labored breaths, he already knew the end had come.
So he shut his eyes.
And he stopped breathing.
Then—
"It appears my timing was a little off."
A stranger’s voice tickled his ears, forcing him to pry his tired eyes open.
Right in front of him stood a mysterious woman dressed in a strange attire. It looked like white and black armor, but it had a rare polish and certain wires that made it seem out of place.
Derek could barely concentrate, and his vision quickly turned dark again.
This didn’t prevent him from listening to the words the mysterious woman uttered as she fidgeted with a glowing cube in her palm.
"I came a little too late, and he’s already been fatally wounded. Should I adjust the flow and try again? No... There are other things that require immediate attention, and I don’t have a lot of Aether left."
’What the hell is she saying?’ Derek pondered as his consciousness began to slip.
"Oh well, if the integration is successful, none of that should matter. The Magus Codex can repair this much by merging with his physical structure." Right after she said this, Derek felt a searing pain in his gaping wound, like a hot object was passing through the hole.
His flesh sizzled as he screamed in sheer agony.
Forced to open his eyes again, he cast one final blurry look at the woman who smiled at him.
"W-who are you? Why are you doing this...?"
She shrugged.
Her glossy lips parted before she muttered a few unintelligible sentences. Of everything she said, only four words managed to register in his fractured mind.
"... Peace in our time."
’What does that mean?’ Derek desperately thought. ’Does she want to save me? Am I going to die here? I don’t know!’
The pain finally reached a crescendo, forcing him into a state of unconsciousness.
Once he passed out, the woman stood upright and sighed.
"We’ve invested far too much in this endeavor..." A final whisper left her mouth before she finally vanished in a flash of brilliant light.
"So don’t disappoint us, Derek Lewis."