The Horuichi would always remember the ashes.
Three years had passed, but in his dreams, they were still warm. He was nine again, digging graves with his bare hands, making his first vow into the silence.
—A few years earlier—
In a world filled with magic, there once was a ship that put to se—
My bad, that was the wrong line.
There once was a brave, small group of soldiers. Magical soldiers.
No—they weren't just soldiers… nor only friends.
They were something more like a family.
One of those soldiers called out, "Heeeeey, Takumi! Why are you staring into the void like a scarecrow?"
Takumi didn't move or make a sound.
The same guy shouted, "Takumi!"
Takumi blinked, stirring. "Oh. Hey, my bad. I was just thinking."
"About what?" the soldier grinned. "Thinking of getting a new wife?"
Takumi finally turned, a slow, tired smile on his face. "A wife?" he said, his voice dry. "Yeah. If I had a death wish."
Takumi's wife jumped into the conversation from behind. "Yeah, it's good that you know it would be a death wish."
Takumi then looked around and said, "I was just thinking… is this really happening? Or was the general just blowing smoke?"
The other soldier responded, "Maaan, don't worry. Grab a cup of water and relaaax, relaaaaaaax. If the army attacked the village, we wouldn't even know it."
Takumi stared into the void, whispering, "Wait. Doesn't that mean…"
A man slammed the door open, entering with three kids and cutting off Takumi's thoughts. "UHHHHH, take YOUR KIDS AWAY!" Then, with a lower voice, "Goddamn it, I hate kids."
The soldier responded, "You know that one of those kids is yours."
The man who just entered said madly, "I know, I know!" Then he took a breath. "At least my kid doesn't yap as much as yours, Isamu."
Horuichi's mother threw a geta at the guy standing by the door. He dodged and shouted, "Hey, that would have hurt, woman!"
She responded, "YES, IT WOULD HAVE!"
Takumi's wife jumped back into the conversation. "Can you all stop shouting and let me focus on making food?"
Horuichi and the other kids—Yuuto and Miya—walked closer, with Horuichi in the middle. He bravely raised his hands. "What food are you making, me and Yuuto want to eat some sweets, okay Miss Takumi?, Pleaseeee" Yuuto hid, scared behind him, while Miya stood next to him happily.
Takumi looked deeply at Horuichi, staring at him, admiring his bravery. Then he looked at Isamu. "Your kid's got a brave soul…" He took a breath and said with a smile, "Just like yours, Isamu."
The other man standing by jumped into the conversation. "Naaah, he's just rude."
Takumi looked at the man, then said, "Hey, Aki."
Aki looked at him, nodding. "What? Huh?"
"Shut up," Takumi said. "You are annoying."
Aki shrugged. "At least I'm not boring like you guys."
As soon as Aki finished his sentence, the village bell rang—a harsh, clanging alarm that cut through the air.
They all froze, shocked, confused. The bell rang?
Then, from outside, the men in the village began shouting: "EVERYONE HIDE! IT IS THE ARMY! THEY ARE ATTACKING!"
Takumi raised his head in shock. He rotated slowly toward Isamu and Aki, the casual ease gone from his face.
Isamu shouted, "Aki! Takumi! Let's go—try to stop them, even a little! Everyone else, hide inside!"
They burst outside. People were running everywhere—not drills, not drills—and the few village soldiers they saw had that wide-eyed, pale look. The kind that means we're already losing.
The three soldiers rushed toward the village exit to find a huge army advancing toward them. Aki's mood shifted suddenly into shock and despair. "All of this… just for our small village?"
Takumi responded, his eyes quivering in pain, his voice low. "No… They're wiping out every village today. Everyone who refused to join… will be wiped."
Isamu started running toward the army. "We'll talk to them,"
Aki checked his blade. "We'll die to them. But yeah."
Takumi stood behind them, shouting, "WAIT! IT'S NO HELP! WE SHOULD HELP PEOPLE ESCAPE!"
As Isamu and Aki got closer, Isamu shouted, "Hey! Wait! We'll fulfill your needs! Don't hurt anyone, please!"
The army leader walked in front of him. "Too late." The army leader looked past them to the village.
"You're already dead. You just haven't stopped moving yet."
Aki jumped between them. "TOO LATE? IT HASN'T BEEN A FULL NIGHT YET! TOO LATE?! AND YOU JUST RUSH TO KILL OTHERS?"
In a sudden blur—a lance pierced Aki's skull.
It killed him in an instant. Not expected by Aki. Not giving him a chance to fight back. Just instant death.
Isamu watched as his friend fell, blood spelling out a horrible end in a mere second.
Isamu was in total shock. The army leader looked at him and said, "It's better to run."
Isamu's eyes quivered, his shock hardening into rage. His spell book glowed, ready to fight.
But it was too late. The lance was already flying toward his skull—but this time, Takumi saved him, moving with impossible speed, yanking him back from the army's line.
The army leader looked at them with no emotion. He raised his hand and shouted, "Spells ready! FIRE!"
Huge spells were thrown at the village, destroying houses, burning everything down.
Takumi shouted at Isamu, "We should try to help the people get out! Taking shelter is no use!"
Isamu stood up, his voice steadying. "You go. I will try to hold them back."
"HOLD THEM BACK? HUH?" Takumi shouted, tears beginning to streak through the soot on his face. "Didn't you see what happened to Aki in just a mere second? What will you do?" His voice broke. "You would have been dead too if I didn't jump in…" He sobbed. "I was too slow… too slow to save Aki."
Isamu responded, his voice firm through the tremor in his hands. "I will try to block the way. YOU JUST GO, TAKUMI!"
He pushed Takumi away, then activated his spell: "Blazing Soul!"
Before the fire consumed his body, he looked at Takumi one last time. "Please tell my wife and Horuichi… that I love them."
Then he turned his face toward the army, a faint, resolved smile touching his lips. "Thank you, brother."
Takumi cried out as a wall of fire erupted, blocking his path to Isamu. Choking on smoke and grief, he turned and ran toward the village, using his speed to try and save anyone he could.
As Isamu blocked the passage toward the village with a wall of fire, he took slow, deliberate steps toward the army. He wasn't like a normal human anymore—he was a creature of fire, enraged. He shouted his spell: "FIRE DRAGON!"
At the same time, the army leader commanded, "ASCEND!" and took steps of his own toward Isamu.
As Isamu's dragon formed, ready to burn them all, every soldier tried to attack it with spells. It was no use.
They turned to attack Isamu directly, but any weak spell that came near him burned to ashes in mere seconds.
The army leader watched, enjoying the view, smirking.
Isamu shouted, "FIRE DRAGON—ATTACK!"
The dragon burned through the front line. Except the leader. He was the only one left standing, unaffected, still smirking.
At the same time, Takumi ran insanely fast, thinking: What should I do? What should I do? If I make the villagers go anywhere, the army will just follow them. The only safe place is the capital.
He tried his best to get people to escape from the village edges, to wait for the army to pass, then head to the capital. But houses were burning, places were falling. Chaos erupted everywhere.
He rushed to the shelter in their home, shouting at his wife and kids—and Isamu and Aki's wives.
But Isamu's wife looked at him and asked, "Where are Aki and Isamu?"
Takumi looked at them in sadness, then responded, "They're fine. JUST GO!"
As they fled into the forest to hide—most of the village now safe and concealed—Takumi thought about it. He decided to help one last time. He would make the empty houses collapse, fall to their doom, so when the army came here, they'd think everyone was already dead.
Isamu fought on, but his mana was running dangerously low. The army leader still hadn't moved—he was just waiting, a predator watching his prey weaken with each spell. He sent more soldiers forward, wave after wave, to grind Isamu down.
The Fire Dragon roared and thrashed, pushing them back, but for every one that fell, two more stepped into the ash. Isamu was being overwhelmed, not by strength, but by sheer, relentless numbers.
Gritting his teeth, he poured the last of his mana into one final spell. "HANDS OF FIRE!"
Two colossal, burning hands erupted from the ground, crushing and sweeping through the ranks. He killed nearly half the army in that single, desperate surge. He was on another level—a one-man cataclysm.
"I WISH I COULD KILL YOU, BASTARD!" he roared, his voice raw and cracking. "BUT I HAVE TO PROTECT THE VILLAGE!"
He pushed the remaining soldiers back, but then—it happened. His mana ran out. The fire around him flickered, sputtered, and died. The dragon dissolved into smoke.
The leader finally moved. He raised a hand, and the soldiers stopped. He took slow, deliberate steps toward the fallen warrior, savoring the moment.
Isamu, on his knees, chest heaving with ragged, fire-scorched breaths, looked up at him. "Why…" he whispered, his voice broken. "Why would you do tha—"
The lance took him through the skull.
The leader smiled, twisting the weapon slowly, brutally, until the sound of crushing bone echoed in the sudden silence.
As Takumi cleared the last of the village, he turned and rushed back toward where Isamu had made his stand. Hold on a little longer, brother. I'm coming.
He ran, pushing his speed to the limit. Then, through the smoke, he saw it. He witnessed Isamu's death, just as he had witnessed Aki's.
He was late. Again.
His eyes quivered with a rage that locked his jaw tight. His spell book glowed at his hip, urging him to fight, to make them pay.
But in a sudden, cold moment of clarity, he made another choice.
Run.
The other villagers still needed him. If he stayed to fight, they would be found. They would die too.
He turned and vanished from the spot, leaving only a gust of disturbed air behind.
The army leader walked slowly into the heart of the village. He moved between the burnt houses and the scattered dead. It was too quiet. Too clean.
His eyes narrowed. Then he saw them—faint footprints leading away from the ashes toward the trees.
"How keen these pups are," he whispered.
Without hurry, he turned and began walking toward the forest on the village's eastern side, following the trail of the living.
He walked into the forest just to find the three mothers of the three children and some more villagers hiding between the bushes. But he noticed them.
He looked at them with a kind of sickening pity. 'Oh,' he said, his voice soft and cold. 'Some pups made it.
The children behind him, with Horuichi shouting, "Don't call my family pups, you bastard!" throwing a rock at him.
He looks at them with pity. "Oh, you won't stop barking?"
Then the mothers shout at the kids, "Run! Run! Escape!"
As the leader took steps toward them, the mothers activated spells ready to fight back. They push the kids away. Horuichi asks, "But what about you? What about everyone?"
Aki's wife responded, "Just run, Horuichi. Take Miya and Yuuto and run. RUN, Horuichi."
As the leader watched the kids run, he asks the women, "Are you done?"
One of them says, "Bastard!"
In an instance, the same lance was drilled in her head. No, not just her head. All of them were drilled to death.
Takumi's body went cold. My family's on the other side. He tensed to run—then froze. The understanding hit him like a punch to the gut: It's already too late.
The children ran in despair, their small bodies trembling at every snapped twig, every shadow. They were sobbing too hard to see, their breath coming in ragged, wet hitches. They stumbled into a woman named Seo, who was walking peacefully through the forest, unaware of the horror behind them.
She stopped, her eyes widening at the three tear-streaked, trembling children. "Why are you sobbing like crazy?" she asked, her voice gentle. She knelt and hugged them, trying to understand, but their words were fumbled, shattered—they couldn't deliver a single clear sentence.
She sang to them, her own young daughter by her side, trying to weave a spell of calm with her voice:
Come little children
I'll take thee away
Into a land of enchantment
Come little children
The time's come to play
Here in my garden of shadows
Oooh-oooh
She sang, voice thin: "Come little children… into my garden…"
The leader stepped from the trees. "Cute. Give them to me."
Follow sweet children
I'll show thee the way
Through all the pain and the sorrows
Weep not poor children
For life is this way
Murdering beauty and passions
Oooh-oooh
Hush now dear children, it must be this way
Too weary of life and deceptions
Rest now my children
For soon we'll away
Into the calm and the quiet
Oooh-oooh
She led them a little away, between the bushes, and continued her haunting lullaby as their sobs began to quiet.
Just as Miya tried to explain what happened, the leader was already there.
He looked at Seo and said, "Your cloth… you are from the capital. Right?"
Seo responded, guarded, "Yeah. What do you want?"
He responded firmly, "The kids. Give them back."
She felt the kids hiding behind her back, shaking.
Seo asked, "What do you have to do with them?"
The leader countered, "What does it mean for you to know that?"
Seo stood her ground. "I ain't giving you kids."
The leader grabbed her daughter. "I guess this thing is yours."
Seo's daughter started to cry and shout.
Seo screamed, "Leave her!"
The leader responded, "Come take her from the capital… as a slave." He threw the girl to one of his soldiers, telling him to head back to the capital with her.
Then he turned. "And you, little three pups… get ready to die."
Takumi steps in protecting the kids.
Takumi shouts, "…I won't let you get away!" Takumi shouts, "THUNDER SPEED ACTIVATE!"
He rushes toward the leader with insane speed, trying to penetrate his body with the spear, attacking from various angles. But everything got blocked by the leader. He was beyond their level. Everything was blocked, every attack.
He waited. He noticed that an insane speed like that will take a strong mana amount from Takumi. He waited, then suddenly penetrated his chest with the lance, drilling him, dropping him on the ground, letting him die a painful death.
The leader said, "Now for the kids. Get ready." As he was aiming for Horuichi's head, the fallen Takumi whispered, "Thunder… thunder bolt," throwing a thunder bolt penetrating the leader's skull.
As the leader was breathing his last breath, Takumi said, "As I see… you are good at detecting attacks because you use metal magic of some kind. You are not good at detecting mana itself."
The leader looked at him while dying in total shock, falling to the ground. Both of them falling to their death.
"Don't… be soldiers…" Takumi coughed blood. "Be… better… Pro… protect… others."
Those were Takumi's last words to the three children.
All that was left were three kids, a woman, and two dead men on the ground.
One of the leader's right-hand men stepped forward, eager to take his place. He was going to murder the woman and children.
But suddenly, another soldier stopped him—a man named Oshita. He placed a hand on the man's shoulder, and in one sudden motion, cut his head off.
"No more people need to die today," Oshita said, his voice low but clear.
He decided to take command. He ordered the army to pull back, to destroy only what remained of the village, and to let the survivors escape unnoticed.
He was the only man from the capital who showed them mercy that day. And though the village was gone, those who lived would remember it—and him.
—Years later—
A woman entered the scene—Seo.
"The food is ready! Go and eat, then continue that training," she shouted, hands on her hips.
Oshita looked at her with a faint smile, then turned to the kids—only to find all three already staring at him, wooden swords drooping at their sides.
They asked in unison, "Can we go?"
Oshita responded, "Y—"
In an instant, Yuuto was already running inside to eat.
Then Horuichi looked after him and yelled, "HEY! Don't finish the food!" and ran to catch up.
Miya looked at Oshita, then at the two of them, and said, "You jerks!" before running to catch up as well.
As the children went inside to eat, Oshita looked at Seo and asked quietly, "Are you… going to the capital?"
Seo looked down, her face shadowed with a sadness she usually kept hidden. She sighed. "Soon," she said. "I am going soon." Then she continued, her voice barely above a whisper, "I… just want to… get her back."
Oshita said calmly, trying to cheer her up, "You will… one day."
Seo's voice was heavy with memory. "All I wanted was a quiet life with her. In the capital, I was… alone. No family. No friends. Not even a place to call home. But here—here I got all of that. I just… I wish she was here to see it."
Oshita looked at her with quiet sadness, then responded with gentle certainty, "One day, she will stand next to you."
"So, won't you go eat?" Seo asked, breaking the mood.
Oshita said, "Go. I'll follow up after a moment."
Then Oshita started thinking. Thoughts rumbled in his mind.
Those kids… Will I live to see them grow up as knights? Everything changed for me when I left the army. When I left the capital. When I left the old Oshita behind. I'm a whole different person now… But I don't really know—did everything change for the good?
Now I'm surrounded with people I love, training future soldiers to one day change this world. Maybe they will. But what if they don't? Will they just die? Have a similar fate as my fellow teammates? I don't know. I just don't know. Was it even wise to do this? Will the army search for me one day?
He stood in the quiet, the fear settling deeper.
If they find me… do I really think they'll just walk away? Or will they burn this place down, too?
Should I go back to the capital…? I must.
Then Oshita decided to go inside and eat. Maybe I won't see these children again.
A while after they finished eating, Oshita stood up.
"I will have to go. We can train tomorrow."
Horuichi asked curiously, eager to follow his master. "Master, where are you going?"
Oshita responded quietly, "I have to meet someone. At the forest."
"At the forest?" Horuichi's eyes lit up. "I wanna come! I wanna come!"
Miya stood up. "Can we come with you, Master?"
Yuuto asked, his voice tinged with fear, "Fff… forest?"
Horuichi nudged him. "Yes! Don't you want to fight big, scary monsters?"
"Monsters?!" Yuuto stammered. "Wha…at?"
Horuichi pleaded, "Please let us come with you, Master!"
Oshita sighed, rubbing his temple. "Uhhh… fine. You can come."
A while after, the three kids followed their master, walking by the river on the way into the forest.
In a sudden—
Crack.
Yuuto screamed.
Oshita's voice went tight and low. "Yuuto?"
He took one sharp step closer. "What happened?"
"I stepped on a branch."
Oshita sighed, the sound almost lost under the river's noise. "Just… watch your step, kid."
As they walked closer to the place they were heading, Miya let out a tired sigh. "Uhhhhhh, are we there yet? I'm tireeeeeed, Master."
Oshita responded, "Miya, just a little longer."
They walked a bit farther when they heard something from the bushes—Scrunch.
Oshita immediately stepped in front of the kids, pushing them back. "Take cover!"
Four forest beasts surrounded them.
Yuuto screamed, "We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die!"
Miya shouted back, "Shut UP, Yuuto!"
Horuichi stood up. "I'll fight with you, Master!"
Oshita shouted, "STAY BEHIND, HORUICHI!"
As Oshita took a deep breath, his spell book glowed. He whispered, "Water magic, wa—"
A man dropped from the trees, his face covered by a hood. He threw out vortex-like barriers glowing with a faint purple light, destroying all the monsters in seconds.
The kids stared at him, wide-eyed.
Horuichi whispered, "Oh… cooool."
Oshita stood calmly. "Took you long enough."
Horuichi gasped. "OH, MASTER! YOU KNOW THAT COOL GUY?"
Oshita knelt and put a hand on Horuichi's shoulder. "Yes. He's a friend of mine."
The hooded man said, "My home is near. Follow me."
They walked through the forest until they reached a small wooden house, tucked between thick pines.
Horuichi whispered to Miya, "Is that it? We walked all this way for a wooden house?"
The hooded man responded without turning, "Yes, you did, kid."
Oshita told the kids, "Stay here. I need to talk with my friend for a while."
Yuuto and Miya stayed and played nearby, but Horuichi sat alone on a stump, just watching Oshita and the hooded man from a distance.
Miya called out, "Horuichi! Come play with us!"
Horuichi, still staring, didn't respond.
Miya shouted, "HORUICHI!"
He snapped back, "Huh? What?"
"What are you staring at?"
Horuichi's eyes stayed on the two men talking quietly by the house. "I'm wondering… wondering if one day we'll be as strong as Master Oshita and that hooded man."
Horuichi continued, his voice low but steady. "One day, I wanna be just like my father. And show the capital what a true warrior is. Be just like him… a great soldier."
"One day," Horuichi whispered, his eyes still fixed on Oshita and the hooded man, "I'll be a great soldier. Just like him."
That "one day" became years.
Summers burned and winters froze. Through it all, they trained—wooden swords splintering, bruises earned and lessons learned. The children who once trembled at forest sounds were growing, but they were not yet warriors.
Years later, training with Oshita, Horuichi would notice his fists clenched the same way—knuckles white, thumbs tucked.
Just like in his last memory of his father: walking toward fire, hands already ready to burn.
Not yet.
"HORUICHI! WAKE UP, HORUICHI!"
"Ugh… what is it, Yuuto?"
Yuuto responded, breathless, "It's that time of the year!"
Horuichi stood up suddenly. "What do you mean, that—?"
Yuuto shouted back, "YES, I DO!"
Horuichi shouted back, "WAIT, DO YOU MEAN THAT—?"
Yuuto shouted again, "YES, I DO!"
"OH, FOR THE LOVE OF—"
Seo's voice tore through the house before she even reached the door. It swung open and there she stood, hair messy from sleep, eyes sharp enough to cut glass.
"DO YOU TWO HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT TIME IT IS? OR DO YOU THINK THE WHOLE VILLAGE WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT THE GLOW UP AT THE ASS-CRACK OF DAWN?"
She took a step into the room, pointing a finger at each of them.
"I'VE BEEN RAISING YOU, CLEANING UP AFTER YOUR MAGICAL MESSES FOR YEARS—YEARS!—AND YOU REPAY ME BY SCREAMING LIKE BANSHEES BEFORE THE SUN'S EVEN UP?"
Horuichi and Yuuto stood frozen, mouths still half-open.
"I SWEAR I'LL BEAT YOU BOTH SENSELESS AND THEN MAKE YOU CLEAN THE ENTIRE HOUSE WITH YOUR TEETH UNTIL YOUR MAGIC FINALLY DECIDES TO SHOW UP AND HELP!"
She took a deep, dramatic breath, then finished in a lower—but no less dangerous—tone:
"Now. Either you both sit down and shut up, or I'm cancelling Glow Up and telling Oshita you've decided to become farmers instead."
Silence.
"Well?" Seo raised an eyebrow.
Horuichi and Yuuto slowly sat back down on their beds.
"Good," Seo said, turning to leave. Then she paused at the door. "And for the record… I'm proud of you both. Now let an old woman get some sleep."
"Okay, so… where's Miya?" Horuichi asked.
"Miya's already out there with Master Oshita," Yuuto said.
"Wait, what are they doing at this time?"
"They're packin' some stuff."
"That early?!"
"Yeah. We should go help them pack… or are you gonna let your love do all the men's work?"
Horuichi's face went hot. "What are you saying?!"
Yuuto grinned. "Hahaha, I heard both of you talking outside a few days ago."
"You bastard—I'm beating your ass when we get outside!" Horuichi paused, lowering his voice. "Did you tell anyone?"
"Nah, don't worry."
Horuichi sighed, relieved. "Thanks g—"
"Just the whole village."
"WHAT?!"
From somewhere deeper in the house, Seo's voice SCREAMED, "HORUICHI!!!!!"
Outside, Oshita and Miya paused, looking back at the house as the walls seemed to shake from the sound.
As they got ready and changed their clothes, the sun finally rose. Horuichi could already hear people talking about him before he even opened the door.
When he stepped outside, all eyes turned to him. Whispers. Muffled laughs. The village blacksmith walked over, a wide grin on his soot-streaked face.
"Heeeeey, Horuichi," he called, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Don't the lovebirds like to get some rings or somethin'? I could try makin' 'em for ya!"
Yuuto, standing beside him, tried to hold it in—but he couldn't. He burst out laughing, then fell to the ground, rolling as he laughed so hard he couldn't breathe, completely breaking the tense, amused silence of the morning.
Horuichi stood there, fuming, and looked down at Yuuto—still rolling on the ground—and screamed, "YOU BASTARD!"
From inside the house, Seo's voice thundered, "HORUICHI!"
A geta flew through the open door like a missile, smacking Horuichi square in the head and knocking him down.
"Oww… that hurts," he muttered, rubbing the new bump on his skull.
Seo shouted back, "YES, IT DOES HURT! YOU WANT MORE?"
"Wait—" Horuichi started, then yelled toward the house, "HOW COULD YOU EVEN HEAR ME?!"
Seo's reply came sharp and clear: "I DIDN'T HEAR YOU—I JUST SENSED IT."
As they walked toward Oshita and Miya, Miya yelled, "TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH!"
Horuichi yelled back, "DON'T YELL AT ME!"
"I WOULDN'T IF YOU SHOWED UP ON TIME JUST ONCE!"
"LOWER YOUR VOICE WHEN YOU TALK TO ME!"
"JUST BE ON TIME NEXT TIME!" Miya shot back.
"BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!" Horuichi shouted.
From inside the house, Seo's voice boomed: "HORUICHI!!"
Two more geta flew through the open door in quick succession, each hitting Horuichi squarely in the head.
"Ouch," Horuichi said, rubbing his head as he stood up. "So what's all this? It's not that far—do we really need a farewell parade?"
Oshita nodded toward the cart. "Just food and some clothes. The journey's going to take a while." Then his expression softened. "I'm going to miss you." He pulled all three of them into a firm, warm hug.
Yuuto's voice trembled. "Wait… you're not coming, Master?"
Oshita let out a fond, rough laugh. "No. I've got somewhere else to be. Don't worry—a cargo man will get you there safely."
Yuuto sighed quietly. "Oh, thank god. We're saved."
Just then, the cargo man called out, "All set back there? We're moving!"
As the cart began to roll, Horuichi glanced back at Oshita, who raised a hand in farewell.
But something felt off.
The cargo man wore a strange, heavy hood pulled low over his face, hiding his features even as he guided the horse. Miya stared at his back, her expression tightening. She leaned forward, ready to ask—
Then, just as they passed beyond the last village houses, he reached up and pulled the hood back. Sunlight caught the side of his face, with a weathered but kind expression.
He glanced over his shoulder, a faint smile on his lips.
"So. Any of you ever heard of the Witch of Enderia?"
Yuuto flinched. "The… what? Isn't that the witch they call the 'Witch of Calamity'?" His voice was small, already afraid.
"Yes, that witch," the cargo man said, his voice dropping into a storyteller's rhythm. He leaned back slightly, a playful glint in his eye as he watched Yuuto's anxious face. "They say she looks like one of those so-called beasts with a human face. And yeah… she's got a cat. A black one. Uhh… without a head."
Yuuto whimpered, shrinking back into the cart. "Oh god, that's so scary…"
The cargo man chuckled. "Ehe he he… Don't worry, kid. I was just joking." He grinned. "The Witch of Enderia… she's a good friend of mine."
Horuichi cut in, brow furrowed. "So why do people in our village call her evil? I've seen elders get scared just hearing her name."
The cargo man's smile faded. "Because…" he sighed, the humor leaving his voice. "She was a healer in the war. The one that burned your village."
Horuichi's hands tightened. "And she lived?"
"She lived," Akito said. "That's her crime."
"She used to heal people—never liked killing, never wanted blood on her hands. But when the final battle came, everyone fell. Flames, curses, betrayal… she was the only one who survived."
He paused, letting the weight of it hang in the air.
"They called her 'The Witch of Calamity' not because she caused the destruction… but because she lived through it. Survivors carry the weight of the dead. And people? They don't hate evil—they hate what reminds them of their own guilt."
Horuichi's voice was barely a scrape of sound. "Was that… the war my parents died in?"
Akito didn't look at him. "Yes."
The air in the cart went still. Horuichi stared at his hands—the same hands that had held a wooden sword, that had waved goodbye to Oshita—and for a moment, he wasn't in the cart anymore. He was in the ash, digging graves.
"Humans are dumb," he said, almost to himself.
"Clearly, yes," Akito said, a faint smile touching his lips. "But those dumb creatures? They're the ones who make the impossible. Who love, who rebuild, who rise after the fall."
Miya, who had been quiet until now, looked out at the passing trees, her voice soft but clear. "Humans are the ones who make beauty… and the ones who destroy it. But maybe… that's what makes them worth saving."
He paused, his eyes distant.
"She's a hero no one had the courage to thank."
The wind seemed to still. Even Yuuto had stopped trembling.
Miya's expression softened. "So… she's not a monster."
"No," Akito said quietly. "She's a hero no one had the courage to thank."
"Hey! We didn't get to know your name," Miya said, turning to him with a smile.
"My name?" The cargo man's gaze held the road ahead, as if reading memories written in the dust. "Akito. Akito Masaki."
"Akito," Yuuto repeated quietly, testing the sound of it.
"Nice to meet you, Akito!" Miya beamed. "We're Miya, Horuichi, and Yuuto—future magic soldiers!"
Akito chuckled, a warm, rough sound. "Then I'll make sure you arrive in one piece."
"Look," he said, his voice quieter than they'd ever heard it.
Below them, Endria Village glowed under the soft light of twin moons. Houses were carved from living, whispering trees. Streets were lit by floating lanterns that drifted like lazy fireflies. Streams hummed with enchanted water, and the very air tasted of petrichor and possibility. Magic didn't just exist here—it breathed.
Yuuto leaned forward, eyes wide. "Is this the place?"
Miya breathed out, "It looks… like a dream."
But Horuichi didn't move. He stood at the edge of the cliff, the wind pulling at his clothes, his eyes fixed not on the beauty below, but on the space between the stars. The same look he'd had years ago, standing in the ashes.
"Wait," he said, and his voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the night.
Miya and Yuuto turned. Akito watched, saying nothing.
Horuichi looked at them, really looked—at Miya's steady hands, at Yuuto's nervous eyes, at the years they'd carried together.
"Before we go down there… before we unlock whatever magic is waiting," he said, each word deliberate, "promise me something."
Miya stepped closer. "What?"
"Promise that we'll do more than just survive. That we won't just become soldiers—we'll become the kind that change things." His voice tightened. "That we fix this broken world. Together."
"Promise we won't just get strong," Horuichi said, his voice raw. "Promise we'll be strong enough."
Miya didn't hesitate. "To protect what's left."
Yuuto's hands shook. "Even if we're scared?"
"Especially then."
Horuichi held out his hand, palm up. "Then promise. Not just to fight. But to fight for each other. Forever."
Miya placed her hand over his. Yuuto, after a breath, laid his on top.
The wind swept up the cliffside, carrying the scent of magic and moonlight. Somewhere below, the Witch of Endria waited. But here, on the edge of everything, three children made a vow that felt heavier than any spell.
"Always," they said, and it wasn't just a word. It was a seal.
Akito looked at their earnest faces in the moonlight. "Remember this moment," he said quietly. "When you still believed promises were something you make, not something that makes you."
The wind swept their words toward Endria.
The Witch waited below. The magic waited.
But the world they wanted to fix? It wasn't waiting at all.
It was already burning.