Blood flies through the air in a heavy stream along with every thud and every smash. For the past few minutes a heavy brawl had suddenly broken out in the middle of Wakeford Village. It was a three versus one, and it was plain to see that the fight overall was in favor of the three.

 

“Should’ve just shut your fucking mouth Devil.”

 

The heavy crackling of a voice was accompanied by a heavy punch towards the young man the three Knights were in the middle of beating up. With every strike blood flowed and a groan of pain would accompany it soon after. It was a fight spectated by numerous villagers, a fight between three veteran Knights and a single young man attempting to hold on for dear life.

 

The umber hair of the young man was matted in the dust and dirt as he laid down on the ground. His chest heaved up and down as he accepted all of the curses the Knights threw at him. As demeaning as their words were their heavy kicks towards his stomach and legs as he laid there. However, what was the most demeaning was the blood covered spit that the boy felt on top of his chest, the owner of which was a big nosed Knight standing tall over him.

 

“Heh, this always happens Devil. Guess you’re really nothing without your daddy~” The big nosed Knight guffawed as he placed his foot directly onto Viran’s kneecap. “Your Pa is already loose at the seams now, boy. I’m sure that he wouldn’t even care if I made you a cripple, hehe.”

 

The disgusting laughter was nothing in Viran’s ears, even the talk about his own Father caused little stirring in the boy. The villagers watched on in anticipation as they watched. 

 

The big nosed Knight received no response despite his obvious provocations- and he took that personally. The Knight’s eyes practically glowed red in anger as he lifted his leg high above Viran’s knee cap as he attempted to get a stir out of the boy one more time.

“Though your Father wouldn’t have much of a choice! Craynor’s practically the new Lord now!”

 

Still, the earnest insults and demeaning behavior doesn’t shake Viran as he laid there. The Knight’s big nose winces in anger as he lifts his leg even higher than before. Just as he is a single second away from completely immobilizing Viran, a large crunch shocks the world.

 

The big nosed Knight falls to his knees as he shrieks. His hands frantically covered his lower parts as the audience surrounding them shuddered in terror of the barbaric act. In a complete reversal Viran now stood tall over the big nosed Knight. As the Knight’s tears flowed like streams down his face his eyes become clouded by Viran’s knee and soon enough his nose retracts into his face like a crushed can. In a short amount of time the Knight had suffered from a heavy kick to his lower parts only to be met with an even heavier kick to the nose.

 

Viran stood tall over the teetering Knight. The boy’s knee was now dyed crimson from the blood that flowed from the disfigured nose, yet no satisfaction was seen on the eerie face of the boy. His once childish looks were now completely overtaken by the savage and suave countenance he received from his Father. His own body had changed dramatically as well, being a few inches taller and heavier is muscle than the average boy his age. The boy’s brown eyes merely stared at the obliterated nose of the Knight beneath him. A haze had overtaken his eyes long ago, and would stay there for days to come.

 

It was safe to say that Viran had won the one on one with the Knight, but that still left two Knights remaining. In short order Viran was dealt with and the villagers could only sigh in disappointment as Viran’s collapsed body lay there motionless.

 

In less than two years, the once Noble Viran was a thing of the past.

A strange noise urged Viran to open his eyes yet no matter how hard the young man tried, they remained motionless and stuck. His own body felt weightless as Viran attempted repeatedly to spur his own mana, however the repeated attempts proved fruitless.

 

Though Viran was very interested in what the strange noise was, that was not the only thing that urged him to repeatedly attempt to spur his mana. Just as many things change with age some things stay the same.

 

“You really should pick up some sort of martial art. Don’t get me wrong though! I’m really not disappointed! I predicted this would happen after all.”

 

The spirit that inhabited his own head was still with him throughout the years, though Viran had many mixed feelings concerning that. Whether it be the upcoming deadline on their contract or the incessant insults Ry loved to use Viran could say confidently he was done with it all.

 

“Yep.” Viran said simply to Ry. 

 

Over the past two years, throughout the regrets and failures that followed Viran, Ry had made sure to tag along with his own wonderful advice and guidance. In response to this guidance Viran had attempted, and failed, to find a strategy to somehow make Ry shut up. Insulting never worked, pandering only made way for more insults, and begging for constructive criticism was only met with curses against his Mother. Viran was now onto using half-assed responses for the Spirit, yet even that had no effect.

 

“That was a really good kick you had there though! But maybe you should actually fight back better when they’re insulting you? It’s very demeaning for my prestigious self to have a host that is some simple push over.”

 

After some time, amidst the constant ramblings of Ry, Viran was finally able to spur his mana. As the warm feeling was spread throughout his entire body Viran’s eyelids fluttered open as he glanced across the entirety of the room he was in.

 

The low hanging roof, the woolen covers and pillow, and the presence of only a single small window immediately made Viran know where he was. The entire house reeked of the impoverished nature of the commoners that inhabited Wakeford. It was only in the two years after the deaths of Renault and Leonard that Viran truly understood the conditions a random village in the Empire had to go through. Although the boy was used to living in conditions unbefitting of a real high-ranked Noble even that paled in comparison to the commoners that made up most of the Empire. It only made him regret being exiled even more.

 

“You’re awake?”

 

Viran turns towards the sweet melody and sees a young miss only a few years older than him. Though Viran could say with confidence that her looks weren’t anything much compared to the Nobles he had seen at Verita in the past, it would be a lie to say that the puberty-stricken Viran wasn’t interested in her at all.

 

“Yeah.” Viran muttered harshly as he looked away fast.

 

The village girl sits on a chair next to the bedside as she looks at the bandages wrapped around Viran. The indifference Viran showed to the girl as she checked over his healing wounds wasn’t due to shyness, but rather a sense of shame.

 

“You’re lucky the physician doesn’t have any ill-thoughts about you, considering how often you get in fights with those Knights.” The girl softly says with a grim look clouding her eyes.

 

“That’s because they don’t know their place… They’re rotten to the core.”

 

The village girl shakes her head weakly at the anger that surfaced on Viran’s face, despite how true his words were.

 

“Pardon me, but you’re not a Noble anymore kid.”

 

Viran’s face immediately flushed in anger upon hearing those words. An old man leaned lazily against the door as he spoke harshly to Viran, yet despite how harsh his words were his eyes still shone in a deference for the young man laying in front of him.

 

“That’s-!” Viran tried to argue back but the words were stuck in his throat. The old man in front of him wasn’t wrong at all, but Viran still despised having to even think about it. 

 

“Though I do agree, they are rotten to the core.” The old man said in a hushed tone. “If only they were sent South back then…”

 

The Knights that still inhabited the estate overlooking Wakeford Village had gotten bored relatively quickly. The rat infestation hadn’t taken too long after Lord Idicium’s departure and with no job they quickly looked to other things to spend their time. First they simply acted tough around the villagers and lightly bullied Viran. Now they would harass the villagers and beat Viran like a dog whenever they felt like it. The Knight’s cruelty had gone unchecked due to the subjugation of the Mountain Lords towards the East and the massacre towards the Southern Frontier, and with that cruelty the Knights have already taken the life of a young maiden stolen of her dignity. Viran was thankful that had only happened once, but the fact remained that a life had still been taken unjustly. 

 

“We’re thankful that you’ve done so much but-”

 

“I never asked for your help.” Viran muttered harshly as he cut off the old man’s next words. “I can handle this myself.”

 

As Viran rolls his arm away from the village girl she jolts in shock. The anger had still not faded from Viran’s face yet no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t understand why he would act this way.

 

“You’re right, you never asked. This is just compassion on our part, that’s all.” The old man walked in an unsteady gait towards Viran’s bed. “From how we see it, leaving you out there to die would make us even worse than those Knights.”

 

The old man’s callused hands reached towards Viran’s arm and pulls it back towards his daughter. The sudden motion causes Viran to yelp in pain as he stares back at the clear eyes of the old man. His grizzled and aged voice speaks a second later.

 

“Now accept our hospitality, that anger of yours needs some compassion along with it. At least until morning.”

 

Within the largest room of the mansion there sat Sava. This room had originally belonged to Viran but was now in the sole possession of the most senior Knights there, Sava. He sat motionless as his eyes flickered repeatedly, his own hands were clenched tight.

 

Sava’s face was rigid as he constantly re-read the letter in his hands. His eyes flicker open and closed in order to make sure he wasn’t reading it wrong at all. His hands twist towards the back of the letter to reveal the presence of a crimson-red stamp, it was clear to the aged Knight that what the letter read was the real deal. A direct order from the Lord himself, an order to be commenced the very next day.

 

Sava looked out towards the dark moon that sat high above the mortals below, the window behind him was more than big enough to allow him a clear view of the moon. He didn’t feel all too well with the contents of the letter, but he was sure he could find plenty of people within the Knights present that would be willing to do the job.

 

“A direct order from Lord Idicium, means a direct order from my God Craynor.”

 

Sava’s knees popped as he finally stood straight up. He turned his neck slightly and with a crack his eyes became straight and confident.

 

“Time to kill a Devil, it seems.”

 

The dark words of Sava were followed swiftly by the soft snickering of the Knight. It was clear he was taking some form of entertainment by his own words.