Six Years Later…
The spring breeze carried the scent of fresh flowers across the village.
At six years old, Yozaro had grown taller and stronger.
His jet-black hair reached his neck, and his crimson eyes had become calmer than those of most adults.
Every morning began the same way.
“Again!”
Gareth swung a wooden sword.
Bang!
Yozaro blocked it with both hands.
“No.”
Gareth smiled.
“You relied on strength.”
“Watch my shoulders before my sword.”
Again.
Again.
Again.
For hours they trained.
Nearby, Fenrir, now the size of a large dog, watched lazily under a tree.
That evening was Yozaro’s sixth birthday.
His mother, Elena, placed a small wooden box on the table.
“Open it.”
Inside lay a short black dagger.
Its handle was wrapped in dark leather.
Gareth smiled.
“I forged it myself.”
“It isn’t meant for battle.”
“It’s meant to remind you.”
Yozaro looked up.
“Of what?”
Gareth rested a hand on his shoulder.
“A weapon protects.”
“It should never become the reason someone dies.”
Yozaro gripped the dagger tightly.
“I’ll remember.”
That night…
Lyra suddenly appeared outside the house.
Her ears were flattened.
Her breathing was heavy.
“Yozaro.”
“Something is wrong.”
“I smell blood.”
Before anyone could respond—
BOOOOOOM!!
An explosion echoed through the village.
Flames rose into the night sky.
People screamed.
“Bandits!”
“They’re attacking!”
Dozens of mounted bandits stormed through the streets.
Their armor bore the symbol of a crimson wolf.
Children cried.
Homes burned.
The village guards were overwhelmed.
The bandits weren’t ordinary thieves.
They were trained killers.
One laughed as he swung his axe.
“Take everything!”
“Kill anyone who resists!”
Gareth grabbed his war hammer.
He looked at Elena.
“Take Yozaro.”
“Hide.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“We stay together.”
Gareth smiled sadly.
“If something happens…”
“Raise him into a good man.”
He kissed his wife once.
Then rushed outside.
Yozaro stood frozen.
He was terrified.
Every instinct screamed at him to run.
But then…
He heard a child crying.
A little girl was trapped beneath a burning cart.
A bandit slowly approached her.
He raised his sword.
Yozaro clenched his fists.
“No…”
Without thinking…
He sprinted forward.
Fenrir raced beside him.
The bandit laughed.
“A child?”
He swung his sword casually.
Yozaro ducked beneath it.
His father’s lessons echoed inside his mind.
Watch the shoulders.
Stay calm.
One strike.
The black dagger flashed.
Slash!
The blade cut across the bandit’s leg.
He stumbled.
Before he could recover—
Fenrir leapt.
His fangs sank into the man’s arm.
Yozaro drove the dagger into the bandit’s chest.
Silence.
The man collapsed.
Yozaro stared at his trembling hands.
“…I…”
He had taken a life.
For the first time.
His stomach twisted.
He wanted to cry.
Instead…
He pulled the little girl free.
“It’s okay.”
“You’re safe.”
Across the village…
Gareth fought like a man possessed.
His hammer crushed shields.
His fists broke swords.
Three bandits fell.
Then five.
Then seven.
The bandit leader finally stepped forward.
A scarred giant nearly two and a half meters tall.
“Not bad…”
“For a blacksmith.”
Dark mana covered his axe.
The clash shook the ground.
BOOM!!
Gareth was thrown backward.
Blood dripped from his forehead.
Still…
He stood again.
Yozaro arrived just in time.
“Father!”
Gareth smiled weakly.
“You protected someone…”
“…didn’t you?”
Yozaro nodded through tears.
“I… I killed someone.”
His father gently placed a bloody hand on his head.
“You didn’t kill…”
The bandit leader roared.
His axe descended.
Gareth shoved Yozaro away.
CRASH!!
The axe pierced Gareth’s chest.
Time stopped.
“…Father?”
Blood stained the ground.
Gareth smiled one last time.
“Become…”
“…strong enough…”
“…to protect everyone…”
His hand slowly fell.
Something inside Yozaro shattered.
Not his heart.
His restraint.
The dreams.
The cave.
The books.
The mysterious voice.
Everything returned at once.
A crimson aura burst from his body.
His mana exploded outward.
The surrounding air trembled.
Even the bandit leader stepped back.
“What…”
“What is this child?”
Yozaro slowly picked up his father’s hammer.
His crimson eyes had become completely emotionless.
“You…”
“…will never touch my family again.”
He charged.
Despite being only six years old, his movements were impossibly fast.
The bandit swung.
Yozaro slipped beneath the attack.
The hammer struck the giant’s ribs.
BOOM!!
Bones shattered.
Before the man could scream—
Fenrir lunged at his throat.
The leader fell.
The remaining bandits panicked.
“Run!”
“He’s a monster!”
Within moments…
The survivors fled into the darkness.
The village was silent.
Smoke drifted through the night.
Many homes had burned.
Many lives had been lost.
Yozaro knelt beside Gareth.
Elena hugged both of them, unable to stop crying.
Elder Rowan quietly approached.
He looked at Yozaro.
Then at the crimson aura that still lingered around the boy.
He whispered to himself…
“It has begun.”
Far Away
Inside a forgotten temple…
One of the seven ancient books slowly opened by itself.
This time…
It wasn’t Greed.
It was…
Wrath.
A deep voice echoed through the darkness.
“The Second Desire has awakened.”
A shadow sitting upon one of the seven thrones smiled.
“The heir has finally tasted loss.”
“And now…”
“His true journey begins.”