Chapter 4: Ren's Rampage! We'll Always Be Together!
"Get out of my way!"
Seeing the two black-robed men appear in the distance, Ren let out a furious roar.
In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of them.
They didn't even realize when Ren had closed the distance.
Ren clenched his fist and drove a punch into one of their chests.
A violent blast rang out. The remaining black-robed man turned his head in a daze.
He saw the half-corpse beside him, and terror flooded his face. With a thud, he dropped to his knees.
It was a half-corpse.
Because the black-robed man had taken Ren's punch to the chest, his upper body had been blown apart.
Flesh and blood splattered everywhere.
He kept scrambling backward, but even a casual swipe of his palm across the ground came back smeared with his companion's gore.
"Ahhh!"
A shrill scream tore out of him as he stared at Ren's blood-smeared face in horror.
Bang!
Before he could beg for mercy, Ren kicked him in the head.
His skull burst like a watermelon.
Looking at the gruesome scene, even though it was his first time killing, Ren didn't feel nauseated at all.
Instead, a thrilling rush spread through him from deep inside.
A flash of crimson flickered in Ren's eyes as he sprinted toward Erza's house.
Along the way, he ran into many villagers who tried to drag him along to escape, but Ren refused them all.
Ren scanned the burning houses with a ruthless gaze. From time to time, black-robed members of the black magic cult appeared.
Without exception, every black mage who showed up was killed by Ren in a single strike.
The bloody scenes were so brutal that even those black mages—people who had seen countless horrors within the cult—felt fear.
Soon, Ren reached Erza's front door.
He charged inside and ran straight for Erza's room.
But the door had been smashed.
Killing intent surged through Ren's eyes.
He spun around, rushed out, and began searching the village.
In a narrow alley, Erza was hiding in a corner with a little girl.
The girl trembled all over, clinging tightly behind Erza.
"It's okay, Kagura. I'm here."
Erza was scared too, but she forced herself to hold on, squeezing out a smile to comfort the girl behind her.
Spotting a large basket nearby, Erza carefully guided the girl over.
She pushed the girl inside the basket and whispered, "No matter what, you can't come out, understand? Until I come back for you, you can't come out!"
The girl nodded, fighting back her fear, as Erza covered the basket.
When Erza saw black-robed men searching nearby, she dashed out right in their line of sight.
"There's a brat over there!"
Seeing Erza run, two black-robed men lit up with delight and chased after her.
Even though Erza had been eating better over the past half year, she was still just a child.
She was quickly forced into a dead-end alley.
Staring at the black-robed men closing in step by step, Erza squeezed her eyes shut in terror.
"Try touching her and see what happens!"
Suddenly, a voice packed with rage exploded by Erza's ear.
She opened her eyes.
A figure stood behind the two black-robed men.
"Ren! Run!"
The moment she saw Ren, Erza didn't feel relief—she felt fear that he would be taken too. She shouted at him immediately.
"Hahaha! Another brat delivered to us!"
The black-robed men grinned and walked toward Ren, delighted by the easy catch.
"Erza, are you okay?"
Ren didn't even spare the men a glance. He called out to Erza, curled up in the corner.
"Ren, go! Don't worry about me!"
As one of the black-robed men reached out to grab Ren, Erza shouted desperately.
Ren's blood-stained face showed a faint smile, and his gentle voice reached Erza's ears.
"Erza, close your eyes. It'll be over soon."
For some reason, that calm, gentle tone soothed Erza's fear.
She closed her eyes, praying Ren could escape safely.
The instant Erza shut her eyes, the warmth disappeared from Ren's face, and a crimson glint flashed in his gaze.
The black-robed man's hand was inches from Ren's collar.
Ren swung a punch across with savage force.
Boom!
The man's upper body exploded under Ren's fist.
Ren kicked the half-corpse aside and walked toward the remaining black-robed man with an icy expression.
That man was completely stunned by what he'd just seen. By the time he snapped out of it, Ren was already almost in front of him.
The black-robed man reacted and lunged toward Erza, trying to take her hostage.
"Ahhh!"
The moment his hand was about to grab Erza, his arm stopped.
A shriek of pain followed.
Ren had appeared at his side, one hand gripping his arm, the other grabbing his body.
He tore the arm away from the body by sheer force.
Blood sprayed out, most of it splashing onto Ren.
He stood in front of Erza, blocking every drop of blood from reaching her.
"I told you. Touch her and you die."
The low murmur sounded like a death god's whisper in the black-robed man's ear.
In the next instant, Ren kicked him away.
The man slammed into a distant wall. His neck tilted, and he went still.
Ren wiped the blood off his face and turned toward Erza, who was shaking.
"Okay, Erza. Open your eyes."
Ren kept his body between Erza and the corpses, not letting the young Erza see the gore.
Erza opened her eyes. The moment she saw Ren's tall back, she threw her arms around him.
She didn't care that his clothes were soaked crimson with blood. She pressed her cheek against his back.
"Ren, I'll always be with you!"
Ren reached back and gently patted Erza's head, then took her small, pale hand and led her out of the alley.
"Wait!"
Suddenly, Erza remembered something and pulled Ren toward another alley nearby.
Inside, she opened a basket, revealing a little girl with purple hair.
"Kagura, it's okay now."