Ever since I was a child, all I wanted was to be a hero.

I read every book I could find about the heroes and their deeds.

More than anything, I admired their strength and bravery.

Even if my father was a simple farmer, I would sneak away from the fields just to watch the knights train.

Father had an older brother, my uncle, Marat Lemuri, a man I admired more than any other.

He, unlike my father manifested a blessing from the Primary god of Thunder and Lightning, Naiza, making a career as a warrior possible.

Those without blessing could become warriors, but usually they would be lagging behind those who had blessings that allowed them to advance forward quicker.

My uncle did not stop at the level of a knight, within a span of few years; he managed to reach the rank of a hero, earning him the name of Knight of Thunder.

He was our hometown hero, and the pride and joy of our family.

One day, I wanted to follow in his footsteps and become a hero worthy of fighting alongside him.

But fate had other plans.

Battles between demon kind and human kind were not uncommon, causing immense destruction everywhere in their wake.

This time, demons chose to attack our village.

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My uncle may have been strong, but he was but a single man. He was the only hero in our village; everyone else was barely at the level of knights.

Father hid me and instructed me to not make a sound.

From a hole in a wood, I could see all the carnage that occurred.

I could only watch in complete silence as the villagers were massacred one after another by a swarm of oncoming demons.

My uncle fought bravely, slaying countless demons with his mighty blade.

But then, a demon unlike the others stepped forward.

The aura he exuded was different, almost peaceful, yet I felt my instincts screaming ‘Danger! Run!’ and I felt my body shiver uncontrollably.

I later learned that these kinds of demons were called Demon Lords, upper class demons that were said to be equivalent to humanity’s heroes.

My uncle was already exhausted after battling against the Demon Lord’s minions, but he chose to face against the Demon Lord regardless.

Their fight seemed to go on for hours, though in reality it was only a few minutes.

Demon Lord was seemingly dancing even while my uncle was trying to desperately land a blow upon him.

But then, the Demon Lord made a single decisive strike.

My eyes opened wide in horror as I witnessed the Demon Lord shove his hand through my uncle’s chest and rip out his heart through the back.

“Brave effort, young hero. But a foolish one”

My uncle’s body plummeted down to the ground like a stone.

I felt like screaming, but the sound did not come from me.

It was my father.

As soon as he saw his brother fall, he screamed louder than I have ever heard him do, and charged at the Demon Lord with a pickaxe.

But his effort was the same as a mouse challenging a lion.

Demon Lord pulverized my father’s head with a single strike.

Tears streamed down my face.

I prayed to gods, desperately wishing that I was dreaming.

My reality was beginning to shatter, all in one fell swoop.

I did not even notice how I lost consciousness.

When I woke up, the demons were already gone, and I was left alone inside of a destroyed village.

Not a single soul in sight.

Everything around me was nothing but corpses of my family, loved ones, and friends….

That was the day I lost everything.

But I made a vow.

“Uncle…Father…everyone….I, Larat Lemuri will avenge you!”