On a long road, a twelve-year-old kid was riding a horse, running away from a group of guards chasing after him while shouting.
He did not look back once regardless of what the guards said, stopping here would just mean death. He clenched his fists as he remembered the scene of his mother and sister being killed by the invaders.
A Kingdom that stood tall for hundreds of years fell within days; they could not even fight back under their overwhelming army.
Levi was the son of a Marquis of the Caresta Kingdom, but he was born of a maid who just happened to catch Marquis's eyes. After he was born, his mother's status was elevated, but she also fell victim to criticism and the other woman of Marquis who had influential backgrounds. After two years, she gave birth to a girl, the second child of Marquis from her. But rather than getting support from him, she was kicked out of the main house and sent to live in one of the houses on the outskirts of the fief.
As Levi grew up, he understood his status, and with that was born the desire to become strong to change his destiny. He tried to train in the sword, but he was too young to hold a sword.
It was a typical sunny day as Levi and his family sat in the yard enjoying the flowers when horns could be heard.
Levi's mother knew what those horns meant as she hurriedly held Levi and his sister before she ran towards a room.
Soon a group of soldiers came and started killing everyone living in the house. No one was sparred; before they could even prepare themselves, they were dead. Levi's mother somehow could sneak Levi into a secret closet, but it was too late for her daughter and herself. He could see everything happening outside, but no one could see inside it.
He saw his mother and sister being killed as he stood there powerless and shocked with his own eyes.
He fell to the ground with his hands covering his mouth and tears falling. He stayed there for hours as the smell of blood and flesh entered his nose. Seeing that no one was present, he came out of the secret closet and hugged the corpses of his mother and sister. Tears once again filled his eyes; he slowly and carefully carried them to the backyard of an empty estate before burying them.
Levi always wanted to be strong, but he had a genuine desire for power, the desire for revenge for the first time. He stood in front of the graves, clenching his fists; there were no more tears on his face. Instead, his face was cold and full of determination. He bowed towards the graves before he sneaked out of the house; he could no longer stay here; it was too dangerous. If he wanted even a remote chance at taking his revenge first thing he had to do was survive.
And that is how Levi ran away from the previously known Caresta Kingdom. He travelled south, passed the Griffindor Kingdom and entered the Aetas Kingdom. The Griffindor Kingdom was soon going to be at war with Kraghon Empire, and he was not strong enough to take part in it, so he planned to go to the Aetas Kingdom, which was the Kingdom after the Griffindor Kingdom.
As he reached the border of Griffindor and Aetas Kingdom, something happened.
He was quietly walking towards the city gate, which would lead him to the Aetas Kingdom, but he heard a noise from an ally. He looked at it and found a noble kid trying to force his way onto a young girl.
Levi had decided not to bring any attention to him, but when he saw the look in the girl's eyes as she was dragged into the dark alley, he could no longer stop himself. Those eyes reminded him of his sister, so he decided to help her and then be on his way.
He walked towards the dark alley and saw any guards with the kids, and when he found none, he walked in with a sword in his hand.
"Hehehe, we should enjoy her as much as we can."
"Who could have known there could be someone decent looking among these commoners, hahaha."
As the two kids were laughing between themselves, they heard a voice from behind.
"Leave her alone."
They got a scare and immediately turned around, but when they saw a kid with ragged clothes, they could not help but laugh.
"What are you doing here kid, be on your way unless you want to die. Do you know who we are?"
"I do," said Levi as he walked with a sword in his hand, "You are scums that need to be taught a lesson."
He ran towards and then swung his sword; two arms flew off in the air.
The two kids looked at each other and then their cut of arms. They still could not believe that someone had attacked them. They were sons of the two Barons who watched over this border, and they would do as they pleased with no one that was able to stop them. As the blood dripped down their arms, they finally registered the reality and gave out a scream.
Levi looked at the girl, shocked at the turn of events.
"Run before they catch you again."
She blindly nodded her head and ran away, too afraid to look back.
Once she was gone, Levi looked at the kids on the floor with their bodies missing one arm each.
"I hope this would teach you a lesson," he said before sheathing his sword and walking away, leaving the two kids behind.
He soon reached the border gates; before the guards could ask for his documents and identity, he pulled out a bag filled with gold coins and handed it to them. They looked at each other and nodded before giving Levi border crossing papers and letting him walk away.
As soon as he was out of the border, he walked to the stable selling horses. He bought the most healthy-looking one and set off deep into the Aetas Kingdom ran as fast as possible. But it was not long before a group of people came chasing after me, and from the clothes, one could tell that they were guards belonging to a noble family.
"Trouble is here," he said before kicking his horse, making it go faster.
"Stop right now, kid or we will kill you if we catch you."
"We are under Baron's command to bring you back; come peacefully, and you will not get hurt."
As Levi heard their words, he could not help but laugh internally.
'Even a fool would not believe those words.'
He kept pushing the horse to its limit; he just had to wait for some more distance, and the guards would not be able to follow him. The buffer zone between the Kingdoms would end, and the authorities would change. Entering the Aetas Kingdom, armed guards from the Griffindor Kingdom would not be taken lightly.
Levi pushed his horse to its limit with those thoughts in mind, and very soon, he saw the guards slowing down. In some distance, he could see the border city of Aetas Kingdom. He quickly made his way towards the city gates, and soon he was standing in a small line that would lead him to the Aetas Kingdom.
Now that he was here, he needed to figure out what he was going to do, he wanted revenge, but it would be a foolish act with no strength. There was a saying, 'Revenge is best served cold.'
So, he would wait till he had grown in power before going back, but he had to find a place to stay and a job to provide him food or something similar.
"Kid, show me your documents," said a city guard as he stared at Levi.
He quietly handed him the border crossing certificate before they let him in along with his horse, who was slightly out of breath. He quickly sold it back at a stable before walking through the city, earning his money back.
He soon reached a busy restaurant, and he quickly found a place to sit and listen to conversations to gain any information.
"Did you hear the news about that new Baron?" said a man, and suddenly he had the attention of the whole restaurant.
"The one who is twelve years old and recently became a Baron?"
"Who has not heard about him? The whole Kingdom is talking about his actions, where commoners are envious of those who are in his territory, the nobles hate him to bone saying he lost all the dignity of nobles."
"I think he is better than any other noble, I heard his family never oppressed people, and he is very caring about his people too."
"True, you don't see a Lord who cares about his people this much. I heard many people had moved to his territory."
Levi listened to the conversation and could not help but be surprised. He could no longer hold his curiosity as he asked a man sitting near him.
"Good sir, can I ask whom you are talking about?"
The man was about to shout to disturb him, but he quickly changed his tone when he saw that the other party was a kid.
"Here, this is the newspaper that describes the events; you can take a look."
Levi politely took the paper before he checked its front page. He was looking for the news on the front page, written in bold letter.
On the front page was a photo which showed a young man standing in front of a crowd, soon the picture started moving. The crowd made way, and six kids came forward carrying flowers and a crown of similar flowers.
When Levi thought about what all the hype was for, the boy kneeled one leg in front of the kids, making it easier for them to place the flower crown on his head. Levi was surprised by the actions of the person in the newspaper. He could not believe a noble would do something like this.
He had seen many nobles; as much as he tried to deny, he was a noble too. A noble would never kneel to a commoner, much less bow, and here he saw one do those actions. He could tell that the actions and intent behind them were neither false nor forced. The boy had wholeheartedly accepted the gift provided to him by his people.
Then the photo showed the boy holding a sword high, and the people kneeled in front of him.
He read the boy's words written beside the photo, and his blood boiled a little. He knew those words were not said to him, but he still felt the emotions behind them.
He had nowhere to go, and one of the possible things he had decided to do was serve a lord as a knight. He was sure he would awaken, his 'father' was an awakened one, and his mother was an awakened one too, tho weak one. When you had both parents who had awakened their element, it was almost sure that you would awaken with an element.
He would be a Knight to a worthy Lord, but he who had never heard any information about the Aetas Kingdom could not decide which one; hence it was left as the last option by him. However, the more he stared at the person in the newspaper, the more he wanted to meet him and serve him as a Knight.
He looked closely at the person in the newspaper, trying to inscribe that image in his mind. Then his eyes fell on a name written at the newspaper's bottom.
"Damon Acheron," he mumbled softly, "I will see what kind of a person he is myself and then make a decision."