I stood at the entrance of the village.
And then—
I saw everything.
Blood.
Bodies.
Broken homes.
And them.
The fallen soul masters.
They were laughing.
Not just killing—
But playing.
One dragged a man across the ground by his leg, smiling as the man screamed.
Another held a woman by the throat, slowly tightening his grip just to watch her struggle.
I didn't understand.
"…Why?"
The question came softly.
But no one answered.
Something inside me began to move.
Slowly at first.
Then—
All at once.
It burned.
A feeling rose from deep within my chest—
Hot.
Sharp.
Endless.
"…This…"
I recognized it.
Not from myself.
From her.
From my mom—
the Angel God.
"…Rage."
But it wasn't like anger.
Not wild.
Not uncontrolled.
It was…
Cold.
Clear.
Absolute.
My body moved forward.
One step.
And the world changed.
A pressure spread from me.
Invisible—
But overwhelming.
Holy.
Sacred.
Unforgiving.
It covered the entire village in an instant
.
The fallen soul masters froze.
Then—
They dropped.
One by one—
They fell to their knees.
Their bodies trembled violently.
Some tried to raise their heads—
But couldn't.
It was as if something above them had declared:
You are not allowed to stand.
I didn't stop walking.
My footsteps echoed softly against the broken ground.
No one dared move.
I didn't look at them at first.
Instead—
I spread my senses.
Everything became clear.
"…Twenty-three."
That was all.
Twenty-three lives still remained in the entire village.
Thirteen boys.
Ten girls.
All of them—
Children.
All under six years old.
I blinked slowly.
"…Only children?"
From what I knew…
A village this size should have had more than two hundred people.
"…Then where are the others?"
I already knew the answer.
I looked at the bodies again.
"…Dead."
Then—
Another question appeared.
"…Why leave them alive?"
The children hadn't awakened their martial spirits yet.
They were weak.
Useless.
So why?
I walked forward.
Closer.
Closer.
Toward the strongest one.
A man kneeling at the center.
His aura was the heaviest among them.
Level 75.
A Soul Sage.
His spirit rings hovered faintly around him:
White. Yellow. Yellow. Purple. Purple. Black. Black.
"…Poor."
That was the word that came to my mind.
Even without understanding fully—
I knew it.
Weak foundation.
Impure growth.
His martial spirit—
A blood-sucking sword.
Even now, he held it in his hand.
Not to attack—
But just to endure.
To survive my pressure.
I stopped in front of him.
My shadow fell over his body.
He trembled.
Then—
He forced himself to look up.
His face was pale.
Eyes filled with fear.
But…
Not desperation.
He spoke.
"Y-Your Highness…"
His voice shook.
"Please… spare my life…"
"I can give you everything—treasures… information… anything…"
"…Something useful to you…"
I tilted my head slightly.
"…Strange."
From my memories—
Fallen soul masters usually begged.
Cried.
Broke down.
But this one—
Was negotiating.
Trying to trade his life.
I didn't understand it completely.
But I didn't need to.
"…I don't want those things."
My voice was quiet.
Flat.
He froze.
Then I asked:
"Why did you kill them?"
A pause.
"And why did you leave the children?"
His body stiffened.
He understood.
He was going to die.
Even so—
He answered.
"Y-Your Highness…"
"These children…"
"They belong to a single clan…"
"About sixty people… they escaped when we attacked…"
"They have… ice-type martial spirits…"
"An Ice Luan Bird…"
His voice trembled more.
"If we absorb their essence before they awaken…"
"It helps suppress… our corruption…"
"And stabilizes our power…"
"…They are… valuable."
Silence.
For a moment—
Everything stopped.
Then—
Something inside me broke again.
Not loudly.
Quietly.
My aura changed.
The pressure increased.
The ground beneath them cracked.
Several fallen soul masters screamed as their bodies were forced lower.
"…Valuable?"
The word came out slowly.
I didn't understand it.
But I didn't like it.
Behind me—
A sound.
Soft at first.
Then louder.
Crying.
I turned slightly.
The children were there.
Watching.
Shaking.
Their eyes—
Filled with something I didn't recognize.
Pain.
Fear.
Hatred.
One of them stepped forward.
A girl.
Small.
Thin.
Her hair was light blue.
She looked at the kneeling man.
Her body was trembling.
But she didn't stop.
She picked up a stone.
And walked toward him.
No one stopped her.
Not even me.
She raised the stone—
And struck.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
Again.
Her arms were weak.
Her strikes were uneven.
But she didn't stop.
Soon—
Other children followed.
Even the smallest ones.
Two years old.
Three years old.
They picked up whatever they could.
Stones.
Wood.
Broken tools.
And they attacked.
Not strong.
Not skilled.
But desperate.
Raw.
I watched.
Silently.
I didn't stop them.
I didn't help them.
I just…
Watched.
After a long time—
It ended.
The strongest fallen soul master stopped moving.
Then the others.
All of them—
Dead.
The children stood there.
Breathing heavily.
Some were crying.
Some were silent.
The blue-haired girl turned toward me.
Slowly—
She walked closer.
Then stopped.
She bowed her head slightly
.
"Thank you… Master…"
Her voice trembled.
But she continued.
"Please… take us with you…"
"We are from a soul master family…"
"When we grow up…"
"We can be useful…"
I looked at her.
Her hands were shaking.
Her face was trying to stay calm
.
She was pretending.
Trying to make herself valuable.
So I wouldn't leave her.
"…I see."
I thought for a moment.
People.
For work.
For building something.
For helping…
Mom.
Mother.
"…A force."
Something like hers.
Something strong.
"…Then I need people."
I looked at them again.
Small.
Weak.
Broken.
But alive.
"…Okay."
My voice was quiet.
"From now on…"
"You are mine."
Silence.
Then—
Their eyes lit up.
Relief.
Hope.
The blue-haired girl smiled.
A small, fragile smile.
I looked at her.
"What is your name?"
She answered immediately.
"…Shui Yin."
I nodded.
"Good."
Then I turned slightly.
"Take care of them."
"Your siblings."
A pause.
"…We'll find somewhere to rest."
I looked at the ruined village one last time.
Then back at her.
"…Yin."
The wind moved again.
But this time—
It didn't feel empty.