Four years passed since Reed began living with the demons. Live was harsh, but Reed had never been happier.

Among the many people in the village, Reed had made plenty of friends his age, and met many adults who helped him get by.

During the early morning, Reed would wake up and immediately start training. He would do not only physical training, but also sword and spear training. He was no master, but he was still one of the best warriors on the village.

In the afternoons, Reed would either guard the village from demonic beasts, or play and help around the village, in his breaks and holydays.

At night, Reed would secretly slip out of bed and go hunting with his wolves. His bond with the wolves was greater than ever, and he had taken to bath them and take care of their fur during those times as well.

Last but not least, Reed had been living on the elder’s house during those four years, so he had become a fatherly figure for him. The elder’s name, Reed came to know, was Adjar. Reed preferred to call him “old man” though.

In these four years, Reed had grown, learned about the world, and learned about bonds. His love for this village and the demon race was high.

But…

It was night, Reed had just gone to bed, and he was preparing himself to go out and meet the wolves, when he heard a sound.

*BOOM!*

It was a thunderous sound, as if something huge had just landed on the village.

Reed, alarmed, rapidly got out of bed and went outside, to see what happened.

Once outsided, he saw…

*ROAR!*

A gigantic red form was there, on the middle of the village. With his gigantic tail and mouth, he wiped out all houses around, biting off roofs and destroying walls.

The red form was, without a doubt, the strongest of demonic beasts, one of the most powerful lifeforms on the world of Muros, with high mana and explosive power:

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A dragon.

*ROAR!*

Reed stood there, shocked. All around him, people started coming out of their houses, screaming when they saw the dragon, running towards the forest, trying to escape, only to have their entire bodies eaten by the dragon.

Reed was still paralyzed, until he realized someone had come out and was standing beside him. It was the old man, Aldjar.

* A dragon!? What is it doing here!? More importantly, why is he so mad!?

* Old man…

For a short while, both Reed and the old man looked on, both of them shocked. Until the old man came to his senses and said:

* I need to fight it.

* What!? You can’t!

* Don’t you understand!? If I don’t do something, everything will be lost! The entire village will be destroyed!

With those words, the old man ran toward the dragon, determined. Reed stood there, agast.

Once the old came to the front of the dragon, he kept still, chanting something towards the dragon. The dragon looked at the old man, ready to eat him alive.

The people around seemed to realize something, as they all started to throw themselves at the dragon, distracting him from the old man.

The dragon kept eating people and destroying houses houses, until the old man shouted something and lifted both his hands high into the air.

A magic circle formed in the sky, and out of it a gigantic rock came out at high speed towards the dragon.

When he saw that, the dragon immediately looked to the old man, and…

Bit his entire upper body off.

* Ah…

Reed’s knees gave out. He continued looking, still too shocked about everything that was happening all at once.

As the old man and the people around died, the gigantic rock continued to fall down, until it hit the dragon’s entire body, crushing him under it, making a huge sound and lifting smoke high into the air.

*Crash*

For a while, all the chaos went to calmness, and everything became silent.

Reed couldn’t see anything beyond the smoke, but he continued staring on the direction the dragon had stood at.

Before his very eyes, all the things he had gotten these past four years had gone away, just like that.

In a single instant, every memory of his life came through his mind. He remembered, and as he did, feelings started to come out in rapid succession.

Emptiness.

Bitterness.

Happiness.

Shock.

Regret.

And finnaly, he came upon a single emotion that filled him.

HATE.

Hate for his father, who destroyed his body and feelings. Hate for the dragon, who took his happiness away from him. And hate for the world, who didn’t let him have peace.

As this feeling consumed him, Reed stood back up.

He continued looking in the direction the dragon had been at, when the smoke started to clear out, revealing rumbles, destruction, and bodies everywhere.

The smoke continued to clear out, and when it finally did, it revealed:

The dragon, standing up.

It had clearly been injured, but it wasn’t enough to kill it.

Reed gritted his teeth, and:

* AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Let out one of the loudest screams of his life.

He looked at the dragon, and his vision went red.

He had found the target for his hate.