When he got up, Matthew saw the figure outside the house and squinted suspiciously, Viktor took a step back, both hearing the rain intensify, fogging the window, allowing only a glimpse of the hooded figure outside.

"The eyes..."

Viktor narrowed his eyes, focusing his energy, trying to gauge the person's energy standing there, but a chill ran down his spine. He widened his eyes as the figure disappeared into the rain.

Suddenly, Viktor felt something terrifying behind him, swiftly turning and executing a quick neck-level cut, leaving a yellow trace. Thunder illuminated the scene, showing the cut hood flying while the other part fell. Viktor, eyes wide and glowing yellow, saw the hood land on a girl with fair skin and white hair, staring ahead despite almost being cut.

Her short hair and youthful appearance made Viktor think she was his age, but her captivating aquamarine eyes held his gaze as she remained motionless.

Viktor landed and jumped back, distancing himself from the white-haired girl, who slowly turned to face him, still surprised.

"My sword cut something, but not her?"

It was his last thought before feeling another chill, signaling impending danger.

The girl raised her hand, flames emerging, gradually forming a small sphere that quickly filled the room. Viktor, still wide-eyed and unable to react, saw something violently grab his shirt. Turning, he saw his father with glowing red eyes and a dense aura.

Even without focus, he could clearly see the overwhelming energy, as if his body was ablaze.

In an instant, he was thrown, crashing through the window, the glass offering a final glimpse of his home before a massive fireball exploded, engulfing the house, blurring Viktor's vision and muffling his scream.

"Dad!"

The last flash lightly struck his body before everything turned pitch black, and he lost consciousness.

...

...

Unaware of how much time had passed, Viktor felt like he was floating, pondering.

"What happened?"

"Who was that girl?"

"That appearance..."

"ALMA!"

Viktor woke abruptly, eyes wide, hand extended toward the heavily overcast sky, rain pouring down, drenching him.

A sense of discomfort gripped him. He turned, vomiting water that hindered his breath, coughing violently as his senses slowly returned, sensations coursing through his body while the heavy rain drowned out his hearing, followed by a skin-piercing cold.

"Where am I?" Viktor, after vomiting, turned, seeing the source of the noise was the river, swiftly flowing due to the rain. He concluded, "I was dragged here."

Viktor surveyed the surroundings, realizing he was on the riverbank, the heavy rain still soaking him, prompting him to hug himself for warmth.

"This river..."

Flashes of memory came to him, recalling being thrown by his father before the explosion. Gritting his teeth, Viktor stood up.

His eyes glowed, and his body was quickly enveloped by a yellow aura. Without hesitation, Viktor advanced, running against the current through the grass.

The landscape whizzed by as he sprinted, forcing himself not to dwell on the worst possibilities.

After long minutes of running, panting heavily, Viktor spotted a silhouette on the horizon, hastening his pace as he glimpsed a clear image of a village.

As he approached, his serious and focused expression gradually shifted.

His brow furrowed, eyes widened, and his breath became heavier upon reaching the village, but what he found made his legs tremble.

He knew it was his village, but the previously familiar scene had transformed completely.

Most houses had collapsed, wooden and stone parts charred. Thanks to the rain, there was no fire or smoke, but he could see bodies strewn along the village's stone path, unable to recognize their faces.

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His breathing grew heavier with panic, and despite his entire body screaming in pain, Viktor ran, following the stone path toward where his house used to be.

More bodies appeared as he ran, but he continued without looking back, spotting the bridge leading to his house, now completely shattered with wooden debris falling into the river.

Frustrated, Viktor squinted but widened his eyes as a yellow glow enveloped his eyes. Quickly adjusting his stance, he ran faster.

Upon reaching the edge, he jumped and crossed the bridge in a single leap. As he landed and looked back, it was as if his heart stopped, his breath catching in his throat.

He saw where his home should be, but there was not even a foundation, just a sunken floor with scattered wood and stones. A small puddle marked the spot where the house once stood.

While witnessing the devastation, Viktor still stared wide-eyed, filled with disbelief.

Every path he had traversed showed clear signs of destruction, but his house seemed to have borne the brunt. Remembering the explosion, Viktor fell to his knees, looking at the ground.

"Why did this happen?"

His breathing grew heavier.

"Was it that woman?"

A piercing pain struck his heart.

"Where did my father go?"

Various thoughts raced through his mind as his panting grew louder than the rain, his body starting to tremble, imagining all that could have happened.

He felt panic about to consume him until his eyes started to well up.

However, for a brief moment, the rain seemed to lessen its sound, enabling him to hear.

"Help! Please!"

Upon hearing that voice, Viktor immediately raised his head, recognizing a familiar voice that made him rise, still disoriented, but turning around with wide eyes while searching for the source of the voice.

"Please! Someone!"

Once more, Viktor heard it and dashed towards the voice.

He noted the direction and realized he was heading towards Alma's house, observing signs of destruction but a voice still calling for help.

As he reached the other side of the house, witnessing the wreckage and collapse, in front of him was Alma, desperation in her eyes as he tried to remove a large piece of wood off Nina, who was awake but grunting in pain, buried under debris.

When the footsteps stopped, Alma saw Viktor and widened his eyes, hope gleaming in them despite the despair. He pleaded, "Help me..."

His tone was almost tearful, and Viktor ran to his side, gritting his teeth as both tried to remove the wooden beam from Nina. However, no matter how much effort they exerted, the beam barely budged, rendering their attempts futile.

"Use reinforcement, let's do this."

Alma still desperate, unable to see progress, and Viktor agreed.

In unison, their eyes widened, glowing in their respective colors, and they tried lifting the beam again. It started moving slightly, relieving some pressure off Nina, who managed to breathe and widened his eyes.

But their combined effort wasn't enough to completely lift the beam, and slowly, their strength waned, both struggling to keep the beam from crashing down. Once more, their joint effort seemed in vain. The rain intensified, and the cold pierced their bodies until they heard a weak voice say, "It's okay..."

Both widened their eyes, and the beam gave way, falling again on Nina, who grunted but held on, while Alma quickly crouched and said, "Nina! You'll be okay! Just hold on a little longer, we'll manage to drag you out of this!"

"It's okay, brother..." Alma widened his eyes upon hearing his words. "I don't feel pain where I'm trapped."

They both realized only Nina's left arm and head were spared from being crushed by the debris. Alma squeezed his hand and said, "Don't talk nonsense... we'll..."

Viktor stood up, and Alma, still alarmed, said, "We won't abandon you!!! Right, Viktor?"

Turning his head to the side, Viktor gripped his sword, his eyes glowing yellow. The sword also started emitting a faint glow as Alma watched, eyes still wide, seeing Viktor raise the sword.

"Wait!"

Alma yelled, but before he could react, the sword descended violently, making a loud impact, cutting through parts of the wood. Alma continued staring, surprised, as Viktor raised his sword again and struck one side of the beam, almost splitting it in half.

Nina watched, almost out of strength, as another strike came, nearing the end of the wooden beam.

As Alma surveyed the surroundings, he realized Viktor was trying to lighten the beam by separating some parts. Another strike followed, breaking the beam, which crashed down, splattering mud on both Viktor and Alma as Viktor stood there, his eyes still glowing yellow. He hadn't given up, but as he withdrew his sword, both noticed the blade slightly bent to the side, some parts appearing serrated, as if it had fractured. Alma looked on with regret while Viktor squinted, sheathing his weapon again.

"Shall we?" He climbed onto the other beam for support, gaining a better angle to lift it. "Nina, I'm sorry, but we might only be able to lift this beam a bit... can you crawl out? Do you still have strength?"

Nina lifted her head, glanced at her brother, who was still terrified, and at Viktor, who maintained his intense gaze but was visibly nervous. With what little strength he had, Nina looked ahead and nodded, feeling weak but keeping his head up. Viktor took a deep breath and said, "Alma."

"Yes..."

The archer also nodded, and both grabbed the bottom of the beam, their eyes glowing again. Instantly, they exerted force and slowly lifted the beam, creating space for Nina to breathe as he tried to move with only his left arm.

Although they managed to hold it for a little longer, their strength gradually waned while Nina still struggled. The beam grew heavier as both grunted, attempting to keep it up while rain made it slip through their fingers.

Gradually, the wood slipped from Alma's grip, causing him to grunt, urging, "Quickly!"

Both pushed harder, and Alma tried lifting a bit higher, but it was enough for his fingers to lose grip. Alma widened his eyes as all the weight fell on Viktor's arms, making him slip too. All they heard was the loud noise of wood colliding with the ground, followed by a muffled feminine scream.

In an instant, both widened their eyes and slowly turned to see what had happened. All they saw was Nina lying there, already outside the debris but with her hands on her face, startled by the loud crash.

As Alma realized his brother was safe and narrowly escaped harm, his knee buckled, and he knelt beside Nina, immediately embracing him as he hugged him back.

Viktor sighed in relief, falling into the mud while the rain still bathed him, experiencing a sense of relief but ultimately feeling an enduring emptiness.