From within the darkness laying beyond my sight. Beyond the wooden walls of the comfort of me and my grandmother's home, there was someone lying in wait. A deadly viper ready to prance upon me, taking me down. Is was there that I questioned their motives. And their numbers.
My [Detection] skill was too low level and low tier. It worked, but how accurate was the result?
How many are there?
What do they want from me?
What do they seek from the house?
Doubting the current circumstance, I locked the doors, shut down the windows before briefly sitting on a wooden stool. Looking around the house, there wasn't really much of a choice when it came to weapons. All I was able to scavenge was a dull little knife. Honestly, it certainly was not the best but at least it could be used.
Aside from the dull knife only good for stabbing, I only had some tough strings and a wooden puppet in my pockets. Scanning the room for anything use-able and my attention had gotten fixated on a fireplace that had no fire burning.
Ash… I can use this.
Another trip the kitchen netted me some spices and salt. Sure… I guess this could work.
"How annoying..."
I clicked my tongue.
I'm so weak. And the items around only amounted to this much.
This is too troublesome.
Things are developing in a way far from my wanted peaceful life. At the moment, I was too vulnerable. A three-year-old toddler would have no way to defend themselves. Unless that toddler was me.
I may not have the strength or muscles at this point but I am able to think fluidly. Yet despite that, I am at a huge disadvantage. A child desiring victory against an unknown possibly hostile entity. I am not sure whether or not the soon to be assailant is a human or a beast.
The windows reflected bright orange lights. Those hues… I took a peek at those faint figures emerging from the trees surrounding our little home. They were humanoid. Dressed in pure black cloaks, faces hidden from view thanks to dark hoods. Chills ran down my spine at the sight of them. A strange brutal menacing air wrapped around their visage.
Humans... Killers. Not just one but a few.
Things took a turn for the worse.
If it was a beast or a monster, it would be easier to deal with since monsters around these parts were pretty weak and non-intelligent. Solely driven by instinct and hunger. But humans are cunning assholes. The ones going after me look like they had killed people before too.
A sigh escaped my lips. It was now or never. A do or die situation. The only thing good for me that I was calm. This was not the first time people wanted to kill me. Not just in this life, but in the past life, I had a lot of haters that wanted me dead too.
Nothing new. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Alright!
Yes… Let's do our best tonight. I shall not accept any other compromise aside from winning or surviving.
----------
"Hey barks! Isn't this too much of an overkill? All of us ganging up on a wee little kid like that."
"Our target may be a child. But this amount of numbers and men for the job are of the bare minimum requirement. Now shut up. Make it quick, if the grandmother comes back we are all dead meat." Barks cared not about their target. As hired thugs, all that they had to think of was on doing the job. Questions were nothing to be asked. Because in the end, silvers and coppers made any bad deed a good deed for them.
"Man... Whatever... Oh! A coin!"
Rolling his eyes, Barks companion who questioned him whistled and the two other men laughed heartily. Within the darkness, something shined upon reflecting the faintest of lights of a lantern burning just outside a window of the old hag's house.
Kackack! Ignoring his distracted subordinates, Barks shifted the doorknob and the door opened easily.
'It's just a measly little child. It would be easy as pie.' With a smug grin, the leader of the three thugs advanced through a door frame. The interior of the house greeted him. It was dark, dark and grim. Not only that but eerie silence made him overconfident.
'The child is sleeping.'
Or so he thought.
Terrifying killing intent as cold as ice made Barks feel threatened. He swiftly looked up at the source to see a small toddler falling from the ceiling. Eyes shrinking back into dots at the sudden surprise, the adult man failed to notice the puffed up cheeks of Dominic.
Pu! Dominic blew a strong gust of wind and ash from his mouth towards his target's eyes. Copious amounts of ash assaulted and irritated his potential killer as he mounted his shoulders, Dominic locked his legs onto the man's neck as his hands drew an arc upwards. Blinded, barks gritted his teeth, his mind thrown into disarray at a sudden set of unforeseen developments.
'Why is the child up the-' Unfortunately for the man, he wasn't able to finish his thoughts as a dull dagger descended upon his right eye.
A dagger may be dull. Yet given enough force and angle, it can stab deep into anything soft.
Pwish!
"Grargh!" Barks screamed. Dominic took this chance to push the startled man groaning in pain with all the might he could muster. Resulting in the grown man falling to the ground on his back, writhing in pain.
"Boss!" Alerted, the other goons finally saw a child standing at the door. Holding it with an expressionless face.
BANG! The door slammed shut after Dominic pushed it and charged at it with his small body. He swiftly locked it and immediately ran towards the downed Barks.
"ah.. Ah. YOU!" Everything was too quick. Anger started setting as he started to get his bearings straight and stood up, looming over the vermin whom managed to nearly kill him in one swoop. It was too fast and too surprising and too unexpected. Children weren't supposed to be like this!
There were supposed to be cute and vulnerable! If only Barks knew that Dominic was no child and that he was stronger due to whatever his grandmother had been feeding him.
Clicking his tongue, Dominic jumped and sent a fist flying straight at any man's weak point.
"Gahg!" Struck straight in his nuts, Barks collapsed again, pain flared through his nerves, distracting him once more. Not letting go of his successful strike, Dominic pursued with momentum, Grabbed as small nearby wooden stool, slammed it square onto his assailant's chest.
Knocked down onto his back again, Barks found the next moments horrendous and they became the last things he could remember.
A child had mounted his chest, pulled out the dagger embedded onto his eye and kept on stabbing. His other eye became the first target. And soon, Dominic stabbed his throat.
BANG! BANG! BANG! The door was being bashed by the other thugs. Dominic paid it no heed.
The only thing that existed at the moment was his dagger and a head needed to be shredded.
Barks screams of pain struck a sense of fear onto his companions. Making their attempts at breaking the door stop.
"Damn it... What the hell is going on?"
"Fuck... How did a kid get the jump on Barks so easily?"
The group of three remaining persons went into further discord. Shocked by what just happened. Upon the ceasing of bark's unmanly screams, they knew what had transpired. Their leader had just been killed. By a mere little toddler. Predator became prey. And prey became the predator.
Situation had suddenly reversed.
What lies before them was a deadly spider's web. A web that was easy to get stuck in and become vulnerable. Losing all their defenses.
Creak~ The door opened. A small toddler holding a bloody knife with his gray clothes stained in the same shade of red smiled at the three of them.
The spider was staring at them.
"What a bunch of pathetic little boys. You call yourselves real men? With this shoddy performance? You can't even kill me." Dominic's lifeless, hollow gray eyes stared at the men. He wasn't afraid of them. They did still pose a threat to him but that wasn't bothering him anymore. Everything was in his control.
"You little demon... No wonder the village hates you." One of the remaining three men cursed under his breath. They finally understood now why the village head wanted this child dead. If it wasn't for that old lady then that kid would've been hanged on a rope despite being a baby!
"Demon? I'm no demon. I'm just a man. A man that has more balls than any of you three. In fact, my dick may even be larger than all of yours combined. Maybe after this I should give your wives a visit? They'll definitely love me more than they love you. You pathetic sack of shits." Dominic started laughing, his dull eyes became clear and bright. A perverted grin spread out from his lips as he started speaking his thoughts out loud. Some drool even dripped from his mouth.
"I'll kill you!" One of the three fell for it. He rushed at the child only for Dominic to slam the door shut again. Dominic fled deeper into the house.
"Damn it. he's just a kid! He just got lucky! Let's kill him!" Blinded by rage, one urged the others and a mob mentality had taken form.
"Right... I'm a grown man. If only Barks and we weren't distracted then he wouldn't have been able to do anything!" Reassuring themselves. They knocked down the door as they pursued their little target.
The night went silent.
Sonorous screams of anguish drowned out the chirping of crickets.
-------
Antionette's heart was heavy. Just the words of her little grandson Dominic hurt her so much. It was a reality that she desired not to face. She had grown old over the course of her years. She was old and ruthless. But that didn't mean she was unafraid.
She was afraid of Dominic being harmed. And at the same time, she was afraid to give the child power by teaching him her vicious craft. The art of manipulating strings and puppets. A deadly art that if given to the right person, would spawn countless possibilities. Antionette knew her grandson well.
Dominic in her eyes was a genius that would only be born every one thousand years. Only three years old but already able to understand the world around him fully. Only three years old yet instead of playing around he focused on learning and asking how to get stronger. Dominic at this age was strong as a physically fit twelve year old child. How much stronger would he be once he reaches adulthood?
Antionette was happy that her grandson was blessed. Yet she also hated the heavens for giving him a curse.
"That child is no child. He's a magnet for ruin!" She could still remember a certain woman's words.
"Oh my sweet little potato... Will you be like her?" Power given to anyone could change and corrupt them. She doesn't want a repeat of her mistake and failure as a parent.
UREEEEEEEEE
SQUEEEEE
SQUEEEE
WRYYYYYYYYYYYY
From a distance away, the old woman heard the cries of Milons filling the forest. It was deafening. And it was enough to kill any grown person who had no protection for their ears. The image of Dominic immediately filled her head. She broke into a mad sprint.
The old woman's steps cracked the ground. Her figure cut through the wind as if a blade taking human form.
The monster could wait. She has to protect her little grandson first.
Upon arriving at their humble abode, Antionette jumped over the roof, landing at the garden. Surprised, she saw Milons digging back into the earth and becoming silent again.
Sitting at the roof of the well was a happily smiling Dominic swaying his legs. And littering the cobble stone paths were three men violently shaking, frothing at the mouth while blood dripped from their ears.
"Grandma..."
Antionette was silent.
Dominic smiled brighter. His dull grey eyes became bright and sharp as well as full of life.
"Grandma... Did I do well?" The current Dominic seemed to shine in pure innocence. Antionette relaxed her guard. Her lips trembled. She walked up to the well and scooped up her grandson into her warm embrace.
"Yes my little Grandson. You did well... Grandma is proud of you." Antionette tightened her embrace. Stunned, Dominic spaced out, his eyes becoming hollow once more as he stared into the air. He couldn't understand what was going on.
Wasn't he supposed to be scolded?
The grandmother sighed. Her little grandson already had the means to attain power on his own. And it was foolish of her to refrain from teaching such a genius her methods. She was the child's grandmother. The sole remaining family member of his.
It was up to her to make sure he wouldn't grow crooked like the last one.