I was running.

Running with all my might to make it in time.

From the information I gathered, it seemed like he was in this town.

The town was small and poor, with a few less buildings, I'd call it a big village.

I saw people standing on the streets. But... just as I thought, it was already too late for them.

People stood, and just stood. They didn't talk, didn't move. They didn't look around, just stared straight ahead.

Some were sitting on chairs, at the café, but they didn't talk or move either.

If I didn't know the reason, I'd think time had stopped, and I was the only one able to move.

But I knew exactly what it meant.

The person responsible for this should still be in the town. After all, not much time had passed, and people were still here.

I ran, scanning for any sign of movement.

Finally, I reached the main square. There, I saw him.

In the center stood one man who could move.

He noticed my arrival and turned towards me.

That boy, or perhaps man? No. I don't want to call him that. I don't even want to call him human. After what he did, he's just a monster. He's something that doesn't belong to the human race.

His hair was white, his eyes blue. He wore a long, light brown coat. Underneath, he had a white shirt, and he also wore black pants. A fairly large bag hung from his shoulder.

He didn't look much older than me.

I'm 15, and he looked maybe 18.

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"You got here fast. Were you nearby? I could be wrong, but you probably met someone from this town today, and that someone suddenly stopped talking and moving. You found me, because of that, right?"

I felt like he wasn't taking me seriously. Like he was talking to a lost child.

It's weird... I don't sense any bad intentions from him, but I'm sure. I'm more than sure that he's bad. That he's someone who needs to be gotten rid of for the good of others. And that's because,

"You took my family. A year ago... you took them!"

I was furious. For a year, I've been searching and searching. Searching for this man so I could kill him, so I could get revenge.

Finding him now is just luck.

The cities he chooses to attack don't follow any pattern. It's like he picks them blindly. That's why no one has been able to find him and set traps for him. Some have been lucky enough to confront him, but they either died or were turned into his puppet army.

If someone asks me if I'm sure I'll win, I'll answer without hesitation, "Yes." I'm strong. I've had a talent for the sword since I was young. I'm not famous yet because I come from an ordinary, slightly impoverished family, but I'm sure I'll achieve great things.

Over the past year, I've trained much more and harder. To make sure I'll kill him.

"I'll take your answer as confirmation of my theory. You only managed to meet me because you were lucky."

He completely ignored what I said. He doesn't care that he took my family. Does he think of me as some kind of bug? Someone not worth paying attention to?

I'm furious.

I would understand if he seemed strong. I'm strong myself, and that's why I know he's weak. And even being so weak, he looks down on me. It's irritating. That confidence of his will be what kills him.

"Come here."

He said, but not to me. He pointed at a little boy. The child was 10, maybe 11 years old.

Obediently, the boy approached that person.

Like everyone else, the boy didn't say anything and had no expression on his face, like a puppet.

The man grabbed the boy by the shoulder and turned him towards me, then handed him a knife.

"Hold it near your neck."

He ordered, and the boy obeyed. The child stood facing me, holding the knife to his neck.

The sight was so strange that I didn't know how to react. I felt that something was wrong, but my brain refused to cooperate. It couldn't think clearly, all I could feel, and all I could think about was hatred. Hatred towards that monster.

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And then, after his next words, I was sure again. He's not normal.

"If you see this man" He pointed at me "Move from his spot, then kill yourself. The order lasts an hour, after that time come back to me."

He said calmly to the child.

Right at that moment, without any hesitation, he threatened that if I moved, the child would die.

He's a monster.

Right after saying those words, he turned and started to walk away.

I saw his back. He wasn't afraid of me. He thought he had already won. He didn't even bother being cautious around me.

That's his mistake.

His mistake is underestimating me.

If I move, the boy dies, but if I manage to kill this monster, I'll save thousands of others. One death to save thousands. There's no need to think much about it, the choice is obvious.

In an instant, I leaped up drawing my sword from its sheath. At the same moment, the child slit his own throat and fell to the stone ground, bleeding out immediately.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but your sacrifice is necessary. I said to myself silently. I know I'm doing the right thing.

The man must have heard the child's fall because he turned around, but it was too late. I was inches from him, and my sword was close to his neck.

He was slow. Just as I noticed before, he was weak. His fate is already sealed, and my vengeance will soon be fulfilled.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach.

My body twisted, and I somersaulted backward, landing on the hard ground.

Before I could react, I clutched my stomach.

It hurt. It hurt so much that I could barely move any other part of my body.

Even during training, even in fights with others, it was the first time I felt such pain.

After a few seconds, I finally managed to look ahead. I had to see what had happened. What caused such pain?

Once again, I saw that monster, but this time he wasn't alone. In front of him stood a girl.

She had long, black, wavy hair, with a strand covering her face. She wore a short black dress and a long white blouse. Her eyes were deep purple, and it seemed to me that there was something strange in her eye, but it was hard to tell from this distance.

But I have to admit one thing. She's beautiful. I've never seen a girl so beautiful before.

She also looked about 18 years old, so roughly the same age as that monster, and unlike him, she looked strong. There was a great strength emanating from her; I doubted I could win.

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Seeing how close she stood to him, it was obvious she was his accomplice.

For a moment, I thought she might be one of his puppets, but I quickly dismissed that thought. She was smiling and making normal movements. So, she must have free will.

"What a shame, one less pair of hands to work."

She glanced at the lifeless boy with a slightly sad expression. But she wasn't sad because he died, only because she wouldn't be able to use him anymore.

"It's just one person, a child at that, not much of a loss," said the man, unmoved by causing the death of an eleven-year-old boy.

"You're a monster, you're a monster!" I yelled, still clutching my stomach.

"You know... you know how many lives you've destroyed, how many people you've turned into puppets!?"

"I'm not sure of the number of casualties who haven't been turned into puppets, but yes, I know how many people I have under my control. It's pretty obvious to know how much I can exploit."

He answered my question. He answered calmly. Again, he looked at me as if I were a bug.

"I'll kill you!"

There's no point in arguing with him. He's evil and must die, that's all there is to it.

"I doubt you'll be able to do that. Not now, not even in a few years. You won't beat me. But most importantly, your life will end now. One of my puppets died because of you, so I need to replace it. I think you already know who will take it place."

He was talking about me. If I don't do something right now, I'll end up as his puppet. That's a fate worse than death. I'll have to follow his orders, I'll never agree to that. I can't let that happen.

But... I can't move. I try to get up even on my knees, but even that proves to be extremely difficult.

"Um... But Akarni... there's a problem," said the girl standing beside the monster. She said "Akarni," is that his name?

"What is it?" He looked at her.

"We're out of powder... we can go back to Ende and get some from there, but it'll take a few hours. Or we take him with us and turn him into a puppet there?"

"We're out? Is that even possible?"

He was skeptical of what she said.

"Well, you see... um... There was this very, very cute little creature. A very colorful lizard. It was blue and pink. And you see... I petted it, but as soon as I did, I felt a burning sensation in my hand and it started to hurt a lot. So I got a little angry and wanted to kill the lizard. The problem is, I didn't adjust my strength properly and the whole well went down with the lizard….."

"Didn't you ever learn that colorful creatures are toxic?"

"Oh! I'm not an idiot, I know that! But some weak poison wouldn't have hurt me anyway, I thought it wouldn't hurt that much."

She looked away slightly embarrassed.

"Eh..."

He sighed, then looked at me. Now, if he doesn't turn me into a puppet, does that mean he'll kill me?

"Luck is on your side. You can go back where you came from and boast that you met me, after all, you're the first one who did and survived."

He turned away again, but before he could take the first step, I called out to him.

"You're not going to kill me!?"

It was a risky question. If he changes his mind, I'm dead.

"No, I'm not planning to. It's all too easy. I don't have any challenge. Maybe you can somehow make me feel fun. So go back, get stronger, and try to stop me."

"Stop? Stop what!? What's your goal, why are you doing this!?"

I didn't know that either. Nobody knew why this man turned others into puppets and nobody knew what he used them for.

He stood still, as if thinking about something. After a moment, he looked at me again, his gaze even colder than before.

"Destroying the world."

I was speechless. Was he serious? Who in their right mind would destroy the world?

But... for some reason, I couldn't speak up. I couldn't question what he said. That's because his eyes were serious. At the moment he uttered those words, he looked deadly serious. And for some reason, I felt chills on my skin.

A moment later, I heard his voice again. This time he wasn't speaking to me, but to everyone around him.

"Inform the rest and head to Ende. There you'll receive further orders."

With that, he left. Him, and the girl with him, vanished from my sight.

The residents, or rather puppets, began moving in the same direction.

They were heading to Ende. The monster's base.

No one has managed to reach there yet. Not even the kingdom's army. That's because puppets make excellent soldiers. They're not afraid of death, making them difficult to fight against. The puppets were ordered to defend the base, and as long as they do, reaching Ende is impossible.

I sprawled on the ground.

I couldn't get my revenge, but that doesn't mean I'll give up. I don't want to accept it, but I'll do as that man said. I'll become stronger and come back in a few years. And then, I'll kill him.