NEW ERA,168th YEAR

UNKNOWN LOCATION

Cold and fierce winds blew in the frozen landscape, blowing up gusts of snow, whistling through the silence of the destroyed buildings, bringing a strange sense of desolation to the atmosphere.

It was hard to imagine this place used to be bustling with people. With no remnants of its original glory. The structures that once stood among people, that were once the pride of humanity, a reminder of what we could do, were now nothing but ruins of their former state. Decaying and crumbling under the dense verdure of nature, vines and trees wound around randomly regardless of the place, even in the midst of this harsh 'never ending' winter. That's what this continent was known for, "beauty forever frozen in time" that's what the magic masters called it; more precisely the ones who survived and returned, it didn't have a name that meant the land of snow for no reason.

This sight of destruction had survived the passage of time and suffered 200 years of harsh history.

Surprisingly, the clear blue sky here that spread out endlessly in all directions, was very clear, eerily clear, not a single puff of cloud in sight, even far away on the horizon. It brought a sense of inferiority into one's mind when they looked up at this huge blanket of bright blue, which was eerily not a single shade of another. It was a breathtaking sight, but when one looked closely, the trees with their red leaves seemingly frozen in time and place, growing in such harsh winter, and the relics that still stood in the same condition that they were once left in the past, the true strangeness of nature; the warm wind in winter, the sky, the trees.

That's when this beautiful landscape took an ugly turn.

A sense of foreboding surrounded you; that someone or something was watching you; that the land itself was alive. Their introduction in the human chapter was the cause of this, was the turning point in human history, a countdown to ruin began.

Diablos were what humanity called these abnormal living creatures, or were they even alive, for they were far from the scope of living, very far.

***

Distant cries ripped through the silence and solitude of the landscape. It was so powerful, you could feel it in your feet.

Somewhere amid the land, a lone young man was taking a stroll. It seemed he didn't even take into account his whereabouts, as his steps were relaxed, like he had not a care in the world, like taking a leisure stroll.

But it was far from a leisurely stroll, if you took into account what he was stepping on, or, more precisely floating on. Lumps of meat were scattered here and there; in a gruesome sight; nobody could tell what it was a few seconds ago; they were so grotesque, covered in deep green fluids. Strangely, despite the gruesome sight all around him, the boy had not a speck of meat or even dust on his body; the scene itself didn't bother him, in fact, he appeared to be in a good mood, whistling playfully and taking light and elegant steps, his silvery-white swaying with each step.

Soon a distant cry bellowed, followed by the faint, but the constant rumbling of the ground, which was gradually getting closer each second. Anybody could tell, something was coming. A sign of great impending doom, even a normal human would know. Soon, the rumbling was much louder than before, multiple shadows slithered through the tree line, getting closer and closer. And then with a bang, several grotesque abnormalities burst through the tree line, running wildly through the trees, not sparing anything in their path, not even their kind.

Diablos could become so grotesque, that one would not be able to discern their species from one another. The only thing they had in common was their sinister and ugly appearance. These particular species were infamous for their fierce personalities and abnormally long arms that had multiple joints. They had enough strength to blast through a Tier 2 magic barrier and could turn humans into meat paste with a single swing. It truly was a B-ranked Diablo.

Yet at that moment, in the face of such an enemy, the young man didn't seem to be affected at all. Moreover, he looked bored, very bored; after all, they were nothing but cannon fodder for him to warm up a little. In fact, he just stopped and stood there, as if waiting for them to come. In a blink of an eye they were in front of him, just a few meters away from him; and yet he showed no sign of fear; surprisingly his face was masked in disdain. Just as the diablos had leaped to slash at him.

"Stop," he finally said something, his tone chiller than the winds around him.

So, they stopped; they stood still like a statue, and suddenly cracks appeared around the diablos, not on them but around them, literally placed on the air, it looked as if space had been manipulated, no it literally was a happening, a feat unimaginable in this era and time. Space had been warped to create a phenomenon, and as a result, it broke.

BAAAANNNNGGGG...

The space around the diablos was like a rubber band pulled too taut, and as a result, it tore open, blasting out a large shockwave that spread around the area, kicking up vast amounts of snow and ripping out the trees in the surrounding area, yet the boy hadn't moved an inch from his spot, nor were his hair or clothes blowing in the wind, it was a very strange sight.

What was even stranger, was what was in front of the boy; a large circular area where the Diablos were previously standing, was empty; there was not even a speck of blood to denote that something happened here. Yet, the area surrounding this place was the very definition of destruction; trees had been uprooted, with lumps of soil and rock scattered around. More of all the blood that was supposed to be there in the circular clearing were scattered around it, splashed on the trees, not on the circle of silver.

Even so, the vile stench that filled the area was getting stronger, so he pulled out a canteen from his pouch. Throwing a glance at his surroundings, he let loose a sigh as he opened the canteen. Inside was perfectly regular, yet crystal-clear water. He bought his arm up, with his head tilted to the heavens.

In his sights was a beautiful sky. Each white cloud had a different shape. The clouds freely drifting in whatever direction they pleased made him a little envious. Ironically enough, this scenery only existed in the Diablos' world... The Old World. While some had the chance to visit the Old World on missions, where the Fiends ran rampant, those unrelated to this line of work would likely never see this sight.

This sight was probably something that people instinctively yearned for. Longing for the 'real world' that humans once lived in. It was just like people to realize the value of something only once it was gone. With his sight fixed on the never-ending sky, the young man raised his arm above his head and poured water over himself.

As there wasn't much water in the canteen, the flow soon stopped. He shook the water off his face and turned to the skies once more. At some point, this had become his tradition. Looking up at the beautiful sky after refreshing himself with a quick shower gave him a different impression. Doing this might have shown how much his heart ached for it. The young man regretfully left the scene, before more Diablos were attracted by the scent of the body fluids.

***

The boy was now a few miles away from his previous position, on a hill that was just barely above the surrounding tree line, giving an unobstructed view of the land of red trees and white grass, glistening under the early morning sun. The scene didn't look like the ruined and apocalyptic world the place suggested it was, instead, it was more like discovering a new land filled with its new dangers and beauty; it was a bloody battlefield where magic masters gave up their lives to protect humanity's domain and reclaim what was once lost. But it felt unnatural, like an abstract painting a painter would paint if asked about a bloody battlefield on frozen land, well this place didn't disappoint the notion.

Just behind the young man, stood an immensely large mountain that pierced the sky, dwarfing any other natural or unnatural creation in the entire world with its size; Mt Babel. Not even the Tower of Light situated in the center of the human realm could match it in size. It was one of the greatest mysteries of this world, along with the Seven books of Fogel and The Lost Origin Records. It was just too large to be created naturally, in fact, it was so large and tall that it literally went beyond the reaches of the sky, reaching space itself, and from predictions, it could fit up to 10 Towers of Light stacked on top of each other, it was just that huge.

But, when it was first discovered 50 years ago, magic analysts didn't find anything interesting or abnormal to suggest, how it was created, though the magic at that time wasn't much developed to do a proper analysis of the mountain; even after all those years only a bit more information has been gathered from the latest machines; all of the other data gained wasn't that different from back then.

Right now, with the sun at his back and lighting up this abnormal creation of nature, even he, a being incomparable in this world, a being that stood at the epitome of everything, couldn't help but marvel at this creation. Even he couldn't understand it entirely. It was one of the questions he would leave behind: unfinished, unsolved, it would remain a mystery for his entire life. His emotions twitched a bit for the first time; after a very long time, it seemed he wasn't as cold to emotions as he had thought, leaving this place felt.....sad.

Speaking about leaving,

" It seems it's time to say goodbye," cold words filled with regret and loneliness flowed out of his mouth; his presence and his voice didn't seem like his age; it felt more like an old man saying goodbye, than a young man. He still remembered that day, the day he woke up to something entirely new, something that led to him reaching where he was right now. That day was the beginning of a legend. He chuckled a bit, as he remembered those days, even if most of them were filled with blood, heartache, war, despair.

But, now, looking at where he had reached and accomplished, he couldn't help but call them nostalgic and lively; he had met so many people, lost some of them, but even between those, he had gained good memories. Memories, a thought echoed in his mind, would he even remember these memories after leaving.....

To the sides were unstained white walls. On the floor was a crimson carpet, boasting elasticity. Between the balcony and the throne was a long, connecting passage. Before the young boy that walked there, a single adolescent appeared, as if to intercept him.

"...are you really going back?"

The boy nodded, towards the adolescent after a moment of hesitation.

"...yup. I'm a little reluctant, but I've gotta go back."

To use such a manner of speech with the adolescent– this country's king, from meeting till parting, this boy was the only one. If others were to talk to the king in such a manner, they would surely receive capital punishment on the grounds of blasphemy. Or, at the very least, they would undoubtedly receive a similar charge. However, the king did not fault the young boy.

"I thought that you would want to stay here forever...you are this country's hero, after all. I was even prepared to bestow upon you appropriate status. From here on, this country will most likely head towards an era of peace and stability. There is no reason for us to fall into ruin...even so, are you going back?"

"In that case, it would be better for me to leave. This country needs to focus on internal affairs, right? Then from here on, it is no longer the era of military officers like me. Talented Civil servants will become a necessity. It's better if things not needed were quickly thrown out."

The boy shrugged his shoulders as he declined.

"No matter what, huh?"

"Yup..."

He was the one who followed a country that was on the brink of destruction to its end. He was a comrade-in-arms, a close friend, and family. It was precisely, because of this that they were very familiar with each other's personalities. No matter what happened, it was unlikely to change. Realizing this, the king faintly shook his head from side-to-side and,

"Then take this with you."

What the king had casually thrown was a plain metal box, no larger than the pinkie finger.

Towards the boy, who gazed at the gift with a dubious expression, the king spoke.

"If you say you don't want it, you can just leave it here."

"Haha-...I'll take it graciously, but what is it? I've never seen this before..."

"You'll find out one day. as long as things go like expected,I don't think you will be needing it there, well it now all depends up to fate and you, "

Finishing his spiel, the king's back turned before he departed.

"This is farewell. You already know that I dislike depressing things, right? I won't be seeing you off. Take care."

"Sure. You too. Goodbye...it was fun."

"Yeah...too fun."

It was there that the story of the hero met its end–.