Henry and I run back to the Vilge pza, only to find the vilgers and human citizens fighting against uniformed soldiers.

  They wore red gambesons under their metal chest ptes, an insignia of an eagle on their shoulders. The emblem of the Alemanian Empire.

  "Papa!! Mama!!"

  "Luxanna! Stay back!" I heard Father shout. I follow his voice and see him skillfully swinging his sword, cutting down enemy soldiers who got near him.

  "Go get your mother and run! You, too Henry!"

  For a moment I hesitated.

  I'm a soldier. I should stay and fight.

  But that's not who I am anymore. I’m still a child, I have a Father and Mother who care for me. The best thing to ease my Father's mind as he fights is if I listen to him.

  "Go, Henry! Get your mom and gather our friends, then get to the next city over! Stroy or Asington!"

  "Asington?! What about Themescara?!"

  "Themescara will be sieged tonight! That's not running away, that's getting captured or killed with no way out! Get to the next city, deeper into Valtovian territory!"

  After informing him, I ran to the st known location where Mother was, the kitchens.

  I open the tent and see my mother behind a box, holding a butcher knife.

  "Mama!"

  "Luxa, sweetie!"

  I embrace my Mother, but I can't just stand here any longer. "Come on! Papa told us to run!"

  Mother looked like she wanted to get to my Father's side but squeezed her eyes shut tight. Tears trailed down her cheeks.

  "Very well. Let's make haste, Luxa!"

  Mother leads us through the forest. We run as fast as we can, dodging trees and rocks and thick undergrowth.

  "Listen, Mama…! We have to go to the next city! We can't go to Themescara because it'll be sieged soon!"

  "What?! Tch…! That does make sense… did you tell the others that?!"

  "I only had time to tell Henry! I told him to take his family and the other kids and do the same!"

  "…That's good…"

  As we ran, the forest thinned out, signaling that we made it through the thinner part of the forest and to the other side.

  "Luxa, we don't stop running until the sun is up, understand?!"

  "Yes!"

  Just as we jumped out of the treeline and into a small clearing, I felt the air slightly change, and a sharp sound whizzed above me.

  "Ah!!"

  An arrow seemed to have sprouted from my Mother's thigh. She colpsed to the ground.

  "Mama!!"

  Mother pulled my hand and pced the grip of the knife in my hand. "Run, Luxa! Head for the trees again and don't stop running for any reason!"

  "But, Mama—!!"

  "No buts! Listen to your mother one st time, please! Run away! Live!"

  My heart beating heavily in my chest. It was so loud, drowning out all the other sounds around me.

  All I could see was my beautiful Mother, looking at me with all the love in the world, her hand gently touching my wet cheek.

  Her lips muttered the words, 'I love you.'

  Her gentle hands then pushed me away. In the split second I took to look back at her one st time, it seemed like the world was slowed to a crawl.

  Her deep blue eyes, her thin eyebrows. Her long white hair that would tickle my eyes whenever she kissed my nose.

  Her lovely voice, calling me from the kitchen to eat dinner.

  My brain seared her every detail into my mind.

  And I turned, running away.

  Despite my years of training, I run.

  Despite my incredible amounts of mana, I run.

  Because despite all my hard work, I know I'm not strong enough.

  So, I ran. And ran… and ran.

  Then, a sudden weight hit me.

  Papa…?

  "I got you now, you beast!"

  It was a soldier.

  He tackled me to the ground and let out a gross ugh when he looked at me.

  "Ooh, I hit the jackpot! It'll be a grand prize if you're still a virgin!"

  The soldier… no, the monster who straddled on top of me must die.

  Before he could lift my shirt, I bit his hand hard, feeling the crunch of his bones between my teeth.

  "Gyaaaahk!!!"

  He howled in panic but I didn't stop there. I gripped the butcher knife in my hand, hard enough to break the handle, and swung across his exposed neck.

  His blood showered my face, but I didn't care.

  I grabbed his sword and took a step back, towards Mother.

  But her face fshed in my mind. Her lips muttering her love for me. I want to save her. She wasn't killed or hurt enough to bleed out.

  If the soldier I just killed thought to take my chastity by force, then Mother…

  I want to run back. I want to kill them.

  'I love you, Luxanna. Now, go!' Her voice echoed in my mind.

  I can't.

  If I go back, I'd just be surrounded. Outnumbered.

  They'd capture me and I'd watch them ravage my Mother, and she'd watch them ravage me.

  I can't take that chance and let her see me like that. Her daughter being taken right in front of her eyes.

  …And I don't think I'll be able to handle seeing my Mother suffering, either.

  The sword in my hand drops to the ground and I turn away.

  I run.

  With tears blinding my sight.

  I run.

  With my legs threatening to give out.

  I run.

  With the soles of my feet bloody and blistered.

  I run.

  I do what Mother told me to do.

  Run.

  Run and stop for nothing until sunrise.

  And so, I did.

  The light of the new day blinded me momentarily. I stop, falling to my knees.

  I can no longer run.

  But I must continue. To the next city.

  So that Mother won't have to worry about me. So Father doesn't have to worry about me. So I can see my friends again.

  So I can grow up and become a powerful Adventurer.

  So I can kill.

  Kill them all.

  The Empire.

  Alemania…

  "I'll kill… All of them… every st one…"