Massacre, and only Massacre Remains in the Night.
Blood and fire devoured the village—mutilated corpses, broken limbs, crumbling ruins.
Amidst the wreckage, Alan Green's consciousness faded. Blood poured from his eyes and mouth, staining the earth beneath him.
Today was supposed to be his wedding day. His wedding with the beautiful Catherine.
Alan was captivated by her innocence and beauty, but to Catherine, he was nothing more than a speck of dust.
A farmer’s son was unworthy of her. A farmer’s son would always be a farmer. No matter how wealthy the Green family became, they were still just farmers.
A stable life, food on the table, and a roof overhead—nothing more.
To become a mere rich countryside wife was far less appealing than exchanging the Green family's secret of wealth for an opportunity to climb the ladder of status and power.
Eager to win Catherine’s heart, Alan, against his parents' wishes, revealed to her the greatest secret of their land—the existence of a Mana Spring beneath their fields.
The Mana Spring nourished their lands, making them exceptionally fertile and fast-growing. During the war a decade ago, this advantage had amassed great wealth for the Green family.
What Alan didn’t know was that Mana Springs were exceedingly rare. Their true value lay in their ability to refine magical energy—purified mana that any sorcerer would kill to possess.
A man without sin is doomed when he holds a treasure others desire.
Stolen story; please report.
To Douglas Enzo, Catherine was nothing but a plaything for his second son, Oliver—just a village woman with some beauty. If Oliver insisted on marrying her into the House of Enzo, Douglas wouldn’t mind borrowing her for some fun first to shatter his son’s foolish infatuation.
As one of the Noble Six of Kingdom Auffre, Enzo of Leviathan was infamous for its greed and cunning. Profit was their creed. Anything that did not bring them profit was a waste of time—including marriage.
Love? Happiness? Mere trivialities.
Pleasure was always within reach. Only the benefits a marriage could bring held true worth.
A lowly village woman would never be allowed to set foot on their golden stairway to power—not even as a concubine.
Until Catherine brought them news of the Mana Spring.
Perhaps this village woman was more valuable—more intelligent—than his own disappointing son, Douglas mused.
A single Mana Spring was enough to be her ticket into Enzo of Leviathan.
And so, the insatiable Leviathan extended its olive branch. Guided by Catherine, it opened its greedy maw once more—this time, its sights set on the Green family.
On the day of the wedding, Oliver Enzo arrived with his mage guards. Coldly, he announced the marriage was canceled.
Catherine stood by his side, looking down at Alan with indifferent eyes.
Alan fought back in fury, but he could only watch as his parents were executed before his eyes, his village engulfed in flames.
He struggled with all his might, trying to rise, but was brutally shoved into the mud, completely helpless.
"Ants should stay where they belong," Oliver said arrogantly, gazing at Alan writhing in the dirt.
"If I wish, your woman, your home, even your life—everything could be mine."
"But I have no interest in taking your head back as a drinking cup. You’re not worth it."
Alan's eyes burned with hatred.
With his final breath, he uttered a curse filled with despair:
"You will pay for this..."
Blood soaked the land.
Alan's eyes slowly closed as he died on the very soil that once held his hopes and happiness.
Oliver left, carrying with him the secret of the Mana Spring.
Alan’s body lay quietly among the ruins—cold, rigid, lifeless.
Years later, when Oliver laid eyes upon this very "corpse" again, he would regret deeply.
Regret that he had not taken Alan’s head that day.
Regret that he had not mounted it upon his wall like a trophy, never to be forgotten.