In a deserted area, Dahlia gazed at the battle site where her parents had left.
Like other children, she still couldn't accept her parents' departure.
There were so many corpses of monsters and scattered humans.
The stench and horrific sight made her nauseous.
Dahlia tried to gather herself to explore the battle site and try to find her parents' bodies.
After an hour, Dahlia collapsed, feeling happy.
"Mama and Papa's bodies aren't there... That means they're still alive."
With renewed hope, she explored and searched for her parents, unaware of the dangers she would encounter. No matter how intelligent a person is, innocence limits their knowledge.
Dahlia traveled aimlessly. She simply followed her parents' memories and habits, hoping they would lead her somewhere.
With nearly two weeks of hardship under her belt, she did what was necessary. With the food supplies in her bag, she tried to survive. And with her intelligence only slightly superior to that of a 12-year-old, she made every decision.
For several days, she continued walking with great confidence. But that was her limit.
In an abandoned house, she hid from the magis monsters that roamed outside.
When she peeked out the window, she could see the figures of ferocious-looking creatures, crawling on all fours, or looking like drunken, staggering figures.
For half a day, Dahlia remained hidden in the dingy house, waiting for the monsters to leave. But even as the sun was about to set, the monsters were still active and lingering around.
The monsters seemed to have no intention of leaving, or perhaps had no intention of going anywhere else, which meant Dahlia would have to stay there indefinitely.
She couldn't wait that long, so she decided to flee.
The monsters all seemed to be in the other direction, so she figured she would make it through as long as she remained cautious.
But just seconds after she exited the back door, a creeping monster suddenly landed right in front of her.
She had anticipated being spotted, but she never expected it to be so fast.
Panicked, she immediately ran in the other direction.
Unfortunately, the weight of her two bags slowed her down and caught her.
Dahlia felt herself being pulled.
When she looked back, she saw the monster behind her biting her bags and trying to drag her away.
Dahlia screamed in terror and hurriedly tried to untie the bags.
In her panic, she hoped someone would be there in time to help her, but not all hopes were so easy to come by.
Not long after she managed to free herself, another monster appeared, hearing her screams.
The house where Dahlia was hiding was only two stories. Because she was only looking through the window, she couldn't see the monster up high, and she didn't realize that some monsters could also crawl along the walls.
Perhaps if she had been more vigilant and prepared, things wouldn't have been so bad.
Realizing that another monster was approaching, Dahlia looked around and grabbed some nearby objects to throw at the monster's face, hoping it would be enough to distract its vision and give her a chance to escape.
However, as soon as she tried to run again, something heavy struck her hard, sending her flying.
Dahlia was fortunate that the contents of her chest bag had lessened the impact, but even so, things were still not going well.
Dahlia noticed the monster with the large hand that had just arrived.
Seeing the other monster approaching faster than she expected, Dahlia removed her chest bag to lessen her weight and ran as fast as she could.
With the agility of a child, she sprinted, navigating various obstacles, including fences, narrow alleys, and even holes.
For several minutes, Dahlia struggled to escape, but the panic and pain from the previous attack prevented her from holding on for long.
Seeing the monster approaching, Dahlia made a last-ditch effort. She threw the bomb she had kept in her pocket, severely injuring the monster.
Dahlia quickly seized the opportunity to escape, but from behind the smoke of the explosion, another monster, which had been behind her and not affected by the blast, came and attacked her.
It was the same monster that had hit her, and this time the attack was far more impactful, as it was stronger and Dahlia had no defense.
Once again Dahlia was thrown, and this time she was thrown several meters, then fell to the asphalt floor even harder.
Dahlia's body lay on the ground. She curled up in pain, her breath ragged as she tried to endure the pain.
The wounds she had sustained were so severe that it was difficult to get up, let alone fight back.
Watching the approaching monsters, she could only tremble, praying for a miracle to somehow survive.
As if her prayers had been answered, a bright light appeared and slashed the closest monster.
Dahlia began to wake up and noticed the sudden blinding light.
A sword moved, slashing through every monster in front of her. The yellowish-orange flames on the blade spread in all directions, destroying the monsters in front of her.
Watching the battle, Dahlia couldn't help but be captivated.
Every explosion gave off warmth, every slash created flickering sparks, and every movement seemed orderly and without any brutality.
The battle, which had been described as terrifying, actually seemed beautiful to her.
In just a minute, several large monsters around her were destroyed and lying on the ground.
Dahlia looked at the savior standing before her. It was a boy not much older than her.
The boy was standing with his back to her and immediately turned to look at her.
The boy's amber eyes were bright, the yellowish-orange aura of fire around him glittered, and the afternoon sun in the background gave his silhouette a golden glow.
Dahlia was so mesmerized that she forgot her pain. For a moment, she remained seated and stared at the boy.
The boy closed his eyes for a moment and began to approach.
Dahlia's eyes widened as the figure in front of her drew closer. Her breath hitched, but not from fear, but from anticipation.
Then, without a word, the boy suddenly picked her up in his arms and carried her away.
Dahlia was startled, and reflexively clung to the boy's shoulders.
Dahlia watched the boy's face so close to hers. The boy's face looked handsome and quite sweet. His gaze was sharp, yet also gentle.