"I don't want to die…"
On a certain day, within a forest beside a small unnamed town in the South-Land Kingdom, that single desperate phrase drifted through the air like a tangible phantom.
Incredibly heavy and helpless, those words sounded as though they belonged to a man at the end of his rope... a being beaten down by life so hard that one wonders why he still drew breath.
However, those words didn't come from a man... or even an adult, for that matter.
They came from a dark-skinned boy no older than ten.
This child, named Dominic, or simply Dom by his closest companions, already knew the rules of his magical world.
About humans and beasts capable of wielding mana to perform mind-shattering feats now known as magic…
But for the first time in his life...
Dom witnessed what happens when such power is used without mercy.
His short, curly snow-white hair rustled as a sharp gust of hot wind rammed into his face.
As he lowered his arm, he opened his eyes… his iris small but brimming with blue mana as he sharply turned his gaze to the source of a terrifying sound.
His breath ceased as he spotted a uniformed man, one of the town's guards, writhing on the ground, screaming in agony as he clutched the blood-soaked stump where his hand should've been.
His blood sprayed through the air like a broken pipe, thick and bright red.
Even with the distance between them, Dom could perceive the faint smell of iron in the wind.
Then, a blast drew his attention to the left.
There, he spotted another guard embedded within the bark of a tree; the man's eyes remained open and unmoving, lifeless... but what really drew Dom's gaze was the man's torso, which was completely broken and caved inwards, as if he'd been struck by a cannonball.
On the other side, his eyes widened to their limit at another gruesome sight;
Three boys...
No older than him, lying in pieces on the floor, their blood already congealed and fused into the dirt around them.
"No… No…" Dom whimpered just before he barely suppressed his gag reflex, the world spinning around him as his young mind tried to process everything… his heartbeat thundered so loudly he could barely hear the screams.
How did it get to this? What's happening? I'm scared. Pops...
Countless thoughts ran through his mind as he struggled to keep his breakfast in his stomach.
Then another wave of wind rammed into his side along with the sharp sensation of mana pouring into the air.
He turned and immediately spotted the origin of this chaos.
"Damn it." A guard cursed as he dropped to a knee, clutching his sword with his one good arm. The other arm dangled helplessly from his shoulder, a mangled mess of flesh and blood.
Another guard, some distance away, panted as she raised her hands, conjuring yellow flames from her palms. "This guy… is he a High Tier Mage?" She asked, then winced as the bleeding gash on her side demanded attention.
The few other guards adjusted their weapons and spells, bearing similar wounds, praying the same silent prayer as their focus remained on a single spot.
Despite the dozen fallen guards of all shapes and sizes, a single opponent stood before them.
A tall, lean man, his visage and identity hidden beneath his long, tattered cloak…but under the eerie shadow of his hood lay a smile so menacing that it made their skin crawl.
Driven by desperation, the fire-wielding guard attacked first, unleashing a large torrent of flames hot enough to scorch the earth onto the hooded figure.
But to her surprise, her flames failed to reach her target as the wind howled around his body like a living shield.
"Call in the Knights, now!" She barked as she intensified her flames; the sheer size of the flaming cannon completely consumed the hooded man, all in hopes of at least singeing his skin.
"We can't beat this-"
The mage suddenly swung his arm, green mana swirling along his fingers.
"Wind Magic: Thrust." He said, and the wind instantly responded to his command as a spear of compressed air tore through the flame spell and the mage in the blink of an eye.
The other guards turned as their colleague dropped like a fly, the gaping hole where her face once was leaving them both confused and terrified.
A second guard gritted his teeth as he reached for a magical item on his belt, only to gasp as the wind suddenly shifted around his body, locking him in place like invisible chains.
"What the hell?" He grumbled as he tried to break free, but the wind tightened around him, like a cold, unforgiving hand… that is, until he finally realized that the hooded man was now standing beside him.
"There is no need to involve those barbarians in this." He said with a low, almost elegant voice as he casually plucked the item from the guard's hand and placed a palm on his captive's chest.
"Burst."
The moment the hooded man uttered that word, the guard exploded backwards as if struck by an invisible cannon.
Dom didn't even react as the man's body flew right past him until it crashed into a tree behind him,
He turned and gasped as he saw the state of the guard, his torso and limbs mangled and broken from the force of the repulsion.
"Damn it!" A third guard screamed, drawing Dom's attention again as he fired his mana projectiles in rapid succession, a flurry of green energy blasts that screamed through the air.
But the hooded mage moved with relentless fluidity, the wind trailing after him like an elegant partner as he evaded each bullet with quick swerves until he closed the gap in seconds and delivered a kick powerful enough to break the guard's neck.
A fourth guard growled as he transformed into a beast and pounced, followed by two more mages on either side, each with their own magical abilities… but with an elegant gesture, the wind spiraled, slicing the men into shredded ribbons.
Their blood scattered in all directions, with a streak of his blood landing directly on Dom's face.
But the young lad barely registered the warm, sticky sensation as he watched the scene before him.
No matter what spells the guards used… what tricks they knew… all of it was decimated within seconds. Even those who tried to surrender… or run, met the same painful fate.
I don't want to die.
Dom thought, his body trembling as he scrambled upright, nearly tripping in his haste to escape while the wind mage was still occupied… still culling… until a scream echoed through the clearing.
Dom's gaze shifted when he spotted another boy, seated on the ground in the distance.
The boy's pants were soaked with urine as he screamed at the decapitated head of a guard now sitting on the floor in front of him.
"Devon! Run!" Dom screamed at his friend, hoping his words would prompt him to run while he had the chance.
However, the bone-chilling terror had pinned Devon in place, his mind too rattled to even hear Dom's words… and unfortunately, the mage, who had just killed the last guard with another spell, noticed him well.
"Seems like I missed some…" The mage said as he unceremoniously cast the severed limb of his last victim aside before calmly walking towards Devon.
"I have always been curious to know what young mages taste like…" He added as he licked the blood from his hand with a grin terrifying enough to make Devon cry for help.
As the mage slowly closed the gap, Dom found himself faced with two options…
The first was to run and get as far away from this monster as he could, effectively turning his friend into a distraction… or stay to help his friend.
It was an ugly situation....
Dom watched this man tear through grown-up mages without breaking a sweat. There was no way he could save his friend.
And even though the mage could catch up to him quickly with that speed of his, those few seconds of distraction could give him a sliver of a chance to escape....
Dom had already taken a step back, his body already primed to run, but once Devon's pleading eyes drifted to him, the very concept of the first option vanished from his mind.
With an explosive burst, Dom dashed forward, his glowing blue eyes leaving a streak of light behind him as he rushed towards his friend despite his instincts saying otherwise.
The mage stopped some feet away and lazily raised his hand, his smile unaltered as the wind gathered around his fingertips. "I suppose I'll have an appetizer before going to the main course." He chuckled and fired a blade of wind at Devon.
But right before impact, a blur tackled Devon from the side, pulling him out of the spell's path as it carved into the ground with an explosive crash.
The mage flinched, his green eyes widening slightly as his smile faded.
For the first time since the massacre began, he looked genuinely surprised.
The two boys rolled hard across the dirt before Dom scrambled back to his feet, instinctively placing himself between Devon and the hooded man.
As he tightened his stance, he winced as crimson droplets pattered onto the forest floor from his clothes.
"Dom?" Devon whispered, only now noticing the blood.
Dom panted... he felt it.
Pain...
It was something that went beyond a paper cut or a scraped knee. It was stabbing, breathtaking, almost unbearable...
He gritted his teeth as his torso felt hot and he could already feel his strength fading...
But incredibly, amidst the fear, nausea, and pain, this child already knew that the moment he dropped, it'd be over.
Thus, with a resounding stomp, like his favorite hero, his eyes glowed with blue mana as he spoke, "Don't worry..." He panted, forcing a shaky thumbs-up without taking his eyes off the hooded man. "I'm fine."
Devon's eyes slowly widened at his friend's back.
Though the words sounded confident, he could see Dom's thumb shaking, his legs trembling slightly...
"Dom... you..."
The killer, however, remained silent, processing what just happened.
It had only been a Wind Blade—a common wind spell, but it was still considered so fast that ordinary mages rarely realized they had been struck before they died.
Yet somehow...
This child had intercepted it.
The hooded man's gaze lingered on the blue mana flickering around Dom's trembling body.
His eyes narrowed.
"You..." He murmured, the wind howling around him in response to his growing irritation and… interest…