Sanders, a small and unremarkable village, was being pillaged by a group of bandits.
The local militia, composed of poorly-armed men and only four Witches, never stood a chance against a band of bandits with Wild Witches on their side.
The bandits would butcher the defenseless villagers without any remorse, and they relish each moment of their murdering spree. The Wild Witches would simply scorch the villagers out of boredom with their vile magic, finding blades and other weapons too primitive and lackluster.
Zack, from his hiding spot at an alley nearby, could only watch in utter horror at seeing the villagers, the people who considered him as family, being killed right before his very eyes.
The villagers were only a few, so Zack had known them all ever since he was a child.
He does not have any parents since they told him that he was left at the doorstep of the church orphanage one night years ago. Thus, the villagers served as his de-facto family and treated him like they were his beloved son.
The youngster, for the first time in his life, never felt so helpless. He wanted to help them, but as a child, there was really not much he could do against a group of bandits and Wild Witches.
Charging right in was practically signing his death warrant.
Yet Zack was worried sick for his best friend, Bianca. Logic dictated that he should just leave her and run off far away from the village when he had the perfect chance.
But his emotion got the better of him. He tried chasing the girl, but Bianca was always quick on her feet, much to his dislike, and amidst the trouble and fire that surrounded him, Zack lost sight of her, much to his utter frustration.
"Damn it, where did she go!?" Grunting madly, the boy nevertheless maneuvered himself quickly and managed to make his presence obsolete among the chaos that was currently occurring.
"Her house, that's where she must be." Zack, without a moment to waste, ran off to the place where Bianca and her family resided. It was a simple house with a small farm surrounding it. The boy would always visit and play witwh Bianca all day, much to her parents' amusement.
He knew the place all too well, and not even two minutes have passed, the boy arrived at his destination.
"No, this… this can't be." A look of despair was seen from Zack's face at the terror that he was now witnessing.
The house was burning and he could also see two corpses hanging right in front, brutally beaten like they were a pile of meat.
Zack knew the bodies the moment he laid eyes on them despite how mangled their bodies now were. It was no other than Bianca's parents, and they too treated him as if they were his own son.
"Uncle, Auntie."
Zack eyed in disbelief as he approached them slowly. This must be nightmare, it has to be. There's no way that a young and innocent boy like him would experience this kind of filthy atrocity committed by evil hands early on.
"Noooo!!!!! Get off me!!!!!!"
Unfortunately, reality can often be harsh and struck him hard on the face. Zack reacted in an instant when he recognized the female voice all too well.
Bianca's desperate cry of pleas came from behind the house and Zack sprinted madly like his life depended on.
What he saw next topped every brutality that he witnessed so far, scarring him for life in an instant.
A naked Bianca was being manhandled by a group of bandits. Her clothes, torn and discarded at the corner as the obscene men held and ravished her together, sparing not even a moment for her to breath. On the side nearby, three Wild Witches watched the ugly scenery with a bored look, just waiting for them until they were done satisfying their urges. One of them even had the gall to yawn, as if this kind of thing was not new to them.
Rotten savages, Bandits truly were the scum of the earth. Zack clenched his fist in fury. To think that these men… full-pledge adults… would even resort to rape a child of all people!!
The boy saw red and without a second thought, charged mindlessly right into the fray. Adrenaline and rage kicking in, he managed to snatched a dagger from a Bandit's sheath and stabbed the same man deeply on the back.
"The brat killed Royce!!!" One of the bandits screamed with fury when he saw his companion falling to the ground.
Unfortunately for Zack, that was only to be his kill when a Bandit yanked him from behind and grabbed his small arms with little effort.
"You monsters!!! What have you done to her?!!!" The boy attempted to resist, but failed to do so. A strength of a mere child stood no chance whatsoever against an adult.
"Hahaha, look what we have here." The Bandit holding him assumed a sadistic smile, "A little brat trying to play hero."
Zack growled in response but the Bandits only laughed and mocked him for his defiance.
They were so engrossed by their sick entertainment that they even forgot their fellow comrade, who was now dead nearby.
Truly such disgusting creatures they really were.
"Now, what to do with you?" Evil eyes bore on Zack, "What say, lads!? Shall we play… Beat up the kid?"
"Easy there, Skjorn, at the very least, don't damage his pretty face." A Wild Witch smirked maliciously like she had some disgusting plans for the boy.
"Heh, going to make him your plaything now, are we? You sure love your boys very young. All right then, Hilda." The Bandit Skjorn chuckled, and some of the Bandits who were finished with Bianca were now surrounding Zack.
In a blink of an eye, Skjorn punched the boy so hard on the stomach, causing Zack to spill saliva and blood from his mouth. It took every ounce of Zack's willpower just for him to remain conscious.
"Whoops, I forgot that kids can be fragile." Wiping his fist on his shirt, Skjorn snickered mockingly, and the rest laughed along with his sick brand of humor.
"Z-zack." Tears fell from her hopeless eyes as Bianca saw her friend now being beaten up nonstop by the group.
"Hey, hey, don't get distracted by your boyfriend now, girlie!!!" The bandit, who was holding her petite body roughly, sneered and thrust her even harder, causing the poor girl to scream in extreme pain.
"It hurts!!! It hurts!!!! Please, stop!!!" Bianca felt agonizing pain in her lower abdomen as her pleas were fallen on deaf ears when the Bandit made no intentions of stopping.
"Bianca!!!!" Zack desperately tried to free himself, but his struggle was all in vain. The men continued to punch and kick him, and every part of his child body except his face was never spared by the cruel assault.
What felt like an eternity for the two children was just but half an hour had passed.
"All right, cease this infantile squabbling of the boy!!!" The Wild Witch Hilda clapped her hands to catch the men's attention. She then smiled sinisterly and said, "I believe that it's our turn to have our fun."
Groans were heard from the bandits, but none of them defied the Witch's orders; hence they got a nasty burn on their face courtesy of magic.
The bandits released Zack, and he was kneeling on the ground, his body battered beyond salvation.
Hilda and her fellow two witches approached the broken boy. She then pressed his face tightly and looked straight at him with a sadistic expression.
"My, what a cute child you are. Oh, we are going to enjoy breaking you further, both body and soul."
"And his hair is so pretty!!!" The other witch crooned and caressed the boy's hair, "Pure black color is so hard to find these days!!!"
"A bastard child of a Saint Raven, perhaps? Left here to rot in this backwash of a pathetic village?" Another wondered while looking at the boy with intrigue, "Meh, it matters not. He won't be surviving tonight after we are done with him."
Hilda then harshly cupped the boy's chin and eyed him with a look of predatory hunger.
"Such a shame. I'm sure you are to grow up into a handsome man with ladies swooning all over you, but alas, you won't live to see the-"
The Witch was not even given the opportunity to finish when she was spat right in the face, courtesy of Zack, with a look of unadulterated rage.
"Disrespectful cur!!!" Blood boiling with humiliation, Hilda slapped the boy's cheek and pulled his hair violently, his frail body now hanging.
"Hehe, calm down, Hilda." Her fellow Witch cackled, "The lad sure still has some fire in him, even when he's beaten to a pulp."
"N,o that won't do at all!! His spirit must be shattered!!! Every fiber of resolve needs to be completely crushed!!!"
"And I believe I have the solution for this predicament." Hilda eyed Zack with a vicious expression. Then, she turned her face, facing the scene of Bianca still being assaulted by the men.