CHAPTER 20 - FLASHBACK: ATTACK

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He quickly crossed the forest, the thick woods separating him from the town, and arrived frightened and running toward the village, only to witness a tragic scene unfold before him.

«“What the…”» the boy muttered, staring at the scene happening before his eyes. The entire village had been shaken by an unexpected and violent pirate attack, and fear was rampant everywhere. Gaid wasted no time and sprinted toward his home, aware of the urgent need to save his family from the horror that was erupting. Along the village streets, he found himself immersed in a scene of total anarchy.

Brutal and furious pirates were invading the villagers' homes, looting anything they could get their hands on or kidnapping the defenseless, including children. The streets were the stage for fierce clashes, with brave men and women trying to defend their homes and families. The air was filled with the sound of swords whistling through the air and the cries of the victims.

The scene was almost apocalyptic, with black smoke rising from the burning houses and desperate screams echoing in the air. It was a living nightmare, and Gaid knew he had to act quickly to protect those he cared about most. With his heart in his throat, he fought his way through the chaos, determined to reach his family and fight for their safety amid this lawless hell.

In all that chaos, young Agnates sought only the path to his home, avoiding any kind of confrontation with the pirates. In fact, pirates had never posed much of a threat to the island where he lived. The island’s isolated geographic position, located at the edge of the Black Island seas, had made the region of little interest to pirates.

Usually, no pirate stayed in that area for long. Instead, they preferred to venture into the heart of the seas, near places like Amelis Island and Okinara Tropics, where they hid among the intricate waters and remote islands, far from prying eyes.

There were coastal guards in the area, but they essentially lived there for the pay and to provide a sense of security. The rare pirate attacks had always been something that could be easily thwarted without any real problem, effectively reducing the need for a general coastal guard in the place. But this time...

This attack was different. This wasn’t a small crew; it seemed like an entire army, and although they weren’t aiming to conquer, they were still focused on destroying and looting the village. Gaid, constantly sprinting, finally reached the beach, only to encounter something terrible, something he could never have imagined.

The Agnates family hut. Not only was it being looted, no... it was just a few meters away from the exact spot where the pirates' ship had docked. The scene was terrifying. The once peaceful coast was now filled with the corpses of pirates and the coastal guards who were supposed to protect them. The sky darkened, or perhaps it didn’t, but in Gaid’s mind, everything was becoming dark, and he could no longer see clearly.

Pirates were pouring out of the massive pirate ship that had docked on his island, like a parasite sucking the life from its host, behaving just as those pirates did—marching out in a line ready for battle, as if they were endless. But Gaid had one thing to do now—find out what had happened in his home. He had seen too much horror to live peacefully. With agility and carefully calculated movements to avoid being noticed, nearly making him invisible to the various pirates spreading from that ship across the village, he managed to climb up the coast and approach the hut.

The screams in the village subsided. The pirates continued their assault; maybe everyone had fled, but in any case, Gaid wasn’t thinking about that. Instead, he was focused on the state of the hut that, until this morning, he had called home, and was now just ruins, destroyed by the pirates. He quickly approached, first frantically knocking on the door, sweat on his brow, fear in his soul, a lump in his throat. Then, with no answer, he pounded on the door several times, until it broke, allowing him to enter the dwelling.

The walls were marked by deep scratches, evidence of the sharp blades that had vandalized the house. Decorative vases were shattered into countless pieces, and the sparkling porcelain lay fragmented among the wreckage.

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The furniture, once the pride of their modest home, was now completely destroyed. Every corner of the hut bore the scars of the brutal attack, and the devastation was palpable in the air. But that didn’t matter to Gaid. There, lying in the midst of the disaster, was his father. He was the same man Gaid had argued with that day, the man he had shared every day of his life with. Now, his father lay lifeless and still, with a sword embedded in his back and a pool of blood slowly expanding from his body. His face was unrecognizable, obscured by suffering and the brutality of the attack. His clothes were torn and stained with blood, and his eyes were soulless, staring into the infinite. His father’s body had been cruelly mutilated.

Gaid was horrified by the sight. A mix of pain, anger, and despair overwhelmed him as he knelt beside his father, unable to hold back the tears in the face of such devastation.

He approached the body, having cried earlier but not as much as he was crying now. Tears blurred his vision, and perhaps the worst part was the fact that there was no trace of his mother. Who knew what had happened to her?

He moved closer to his father’s corpse, shaking him, hitting him, even screaming at him to get up. But no matter what he did, it had no effect. No matter what he tried, his father did not rise, and this only confirmed the fact that he was truly gone. Suddenly, another event caught Gaid by surprise—heavy footsteps entered the hut, and a few seconds later, poor Agnates found himself surrounded by a small group of pirates.

«“What are you doing, kid? Not running away?”» The three pirates had already understood the situation, mocking and taunting him. Gaid stood up.

Of all the humiliations he had endured that dreadful day, this was the last straw. Gaid clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his skin, but he didn’t utter a single word. His jaw was clenched, his teeth grinding in suppressed rage. He had one thought burning in his mind, a fiery resolve that consumed his soul: he would exact justice on these cursed pirate scum.

His mind was filled with determination. He pictured himself taking on those damned pirates one by one, tearing each limb from their bodies. He imagined fighting with an unstoppable fury, determined to defeat them all, to avenge the wounds inflicted on his village, his father, his mother, and himself.

But before he could launch an attack, another peculiar event colored the situation. A woman appeared among the three pirates, and they all looked at her in a strange way—almost with fear or respect—it wasn’t clear.

The woman was unusual. She was young, with a slender, tall body, not particularly attractive. She had wavy white hair and deep blue eyes. She had long legs, and one of her hands bore a hook, a typical mark of respect among pirates. But the woman’s identity was soon revealed when one of the pirates spoke her name:

«“Captain Roynel!”»

«“What are you doing? Didn’t I tell you to go into the village?! We don’t have much time. The coastal guards have already called for reinforcements. We can’t waste any time.”»

«“W-we’re sorry, Captain. We had visited this hut and found this kid—"» a punch to the stomach silenced the pirate and scared the others. «“Go do your job immediately, and we’ll discuss this on the ship.”»

«“Y-yes ma’am!”» they said in unison, heading out of the hut, leaving only the supposed captain and young Agnates behind. «“And you... brat, what are you doing?”»

«“Y-you... Y-you…”» The young boy stammered, his words choking in his throat, constricted by fury. He was so overwhelmed with emotion, with anger and frustration for what they had just done to him and his family, that he couldn’t express his thoughts clearly. His body trembled with suppressed rage as he stared at the scene before him. The sight of his gravely injured father and his beloved home reduced to ruins had shaken him to his core.

After a few seconds, when he realized he couldn’t express his feelings and understood that the captain wasn’t leaving and was ready to listen to him, he lunged at her. Ready to throw a punch, he was immediately stopped, and with quick moves, he was thrown to the ground, pinned by the woman.

«“How pathetic, trying to attack me.”» Desperate, Gaid began trying to kick the captain, who was holding his head and body down.

«”You're not hurting me, you know that, right? Maybe if you didn't have such a blunt horn, you might actually manage something. And to think I believed there were warriors on this island, that no one ever attacks.'"»

Gaid lay beneath the woman, humiliated, stripped of the most precious things he had. He could do nothing but cry, grit his teeth, and squirm in a desperate attempt to break free and hurt those pirates, those pirates who had destroyed his village.

«"'I suppose I’ll have to take you with me. Everything is a resource, even people, right? You’re such a nuisance, you’re truly pathetic.'"»

With a sharp, violent strike, she stomped on his head, stopping him for a moment as he tried to recover from the blow.

«"'I…"» he muttered, the floor around him now soaked with tears, «”I… I’m going to kill you!"»