Francesco's demise spread far and wide, carried by Logan and other nobles who escaped death using teleportation.
As the saying goes, history is not the records of past events but what the victors tell us.
Francesco, who everyone accepted as a hero, was now referred to as a fiend who sacrificed a whole country's worth of people for his ritual. To stop him, the King had to mobilize the Flagrare and Flamma army as well as elven and demonic support, which was all for naught, as the fiend was too strong.
The only option left was for the king to sacrifice himself and call upon Sol, their affiliated god, to smite him.
Despite being killed by a god, his evil aura still lingered in the forest, what was left of the great war against the fiend of all races, Francesco.
The forest was thus given the name Forbidden Forest as it was believed to house monsters as well as wandering spirits and evil spirits who would corrupt one's soul.
After the great war, days passed as the hot summer days were replaced by autumn, and the trees began to shed their leaves in preparation for winter which came with a vengeance, creating avalanches. The hard, painful days of winter passed, replaced by spring which brought back the greenery.
The cycle continued for centuries.
The Forbidden Forest grew in depth, its ecosystem changing with time, accommodating life forms of different sizes, forms, shapes, and races from the small-horned rabbit to the mighty shadow dragon. Spirits of various kinds roamed in the forest, born from the people who had died, wrongfully both soldiers and civilians alike.
Littering the forest grounds were the remains of the undead army that had once served Francesco, those lucky enough to survive the assault of Sol, the Sun God.
They lay there unmoving as their mana supply was cut off, with a few of them lucky enough to get in contact with a new supply of mana. Despite this, they still lay there unmoving, as they had no purpose, no goal, no reason to exist. Their reason for existing, their purpose, their goal, was no more.
Among these summons was Ossa, a foot soldier skeleton that served more as cannon fodder than an actual warrior.
On a clearing filled with grass and vines, he lay motionless, his body serving as bedding for flowers that bloom in his sockets and ribs.
He, like most of his comrades, had not encountered any source of mana and thus could not move, seemingly lifeless.
He is already dead, so let's say, I don't know. Truly dead. Yeah, truly dead.
Outside the forbidden area stood a crowd, a mob to be exact, roaring and shouting insults at a young girl who looked no older than ten.
She was bruised, her shabby clothes ripped from the continuous beating and thrashing she had received.
A bulky man stood behind her as she stood in front of the boundary into the forbidden forest.
"Leave you, abomination! You have brought nothing but death and destruction to this village!" He screamed at the young girl, throwing a rock at her.
The rock flew, hitting the young girl on the head, blood dripping from the point of impact.
"You are an abomination."
"Leave, you fiend!"
"Leave before we change our minds and kill you."
"You are not wanted."
"How... What are you..."
"Go to where you belong."
"..."
"..."
"..."
The mob shouted as they threw things at the young girl.
Afraid, she ran into the forest, tears welling in her eyes. Like a dam, the tears poured, dripping down her small face.
She, in turn, tried to use her bruised hands to wipe away her tears as her little legs moved, getting her away from the mob, whose voices became dimmer as she ran.
Tears blocking her vision, she stumbled on a fallen branch, falling face-first. She hit her head on a rock, blacking out from the impact.
"Why was I born... Was I even born... I don't want to wake up... Let me sleep... Yes, I should sleep forever..." The little girl's thoughts rang as she floated in a dark abyss that was her mind's world.
She curled up her body, shutting her ears with her hand, as she tried to block off the world. Her eyes shut tightly, tears twinkling at the sides.
She floated in the abyss for what seemed to be hours, the silence made her feel at ease as she thought she had finally found solace in death but fate had other plans and I wasn't going to let such a little girl lose her life just like that.
She who thought she had finally died felt, something slimy and wet, brushing past her face. The strange sensation made her reflexively wince feeling uncomfortable, she unconsciously moved her hands, trying to thwart away the nuisance.
She continued to do so, but the sensation continued, much more intense than before.
"Hey, stop that." She opened her eyes as she tried once again to push away whatever was disturbing what she wanted to be an eternal slumber.
Her red eyes reflected a wolflike creature who was jumping around, happy that she had finally woken up.
The creature was a shadow wolf, a pup at that. It had wandered out of its den, reaching as far as the outer parts of the forbidden forest. As it moved, fear and anxiety gripped its heart, longing for its family.
Alone and fearful, the shadow wolf pup tried to hide, shivering in fear. In its line of sight, the little girl stumbled on a tree, collapsing as she hit her head.
Though afraid, the pup felt a strong attraction to her and, overcoming its fear, approached the girl. It licked her face and wounds, trying to wake her up.
After finally waking her, it jumped around happily.
"That pitch-black pelt, a shadow wolf," the girl exclaimed, moving back in fear.
The wolf, oblivious to the girl's fears, walked toward her, its eyes glimmering with delight.
The young girl looked at it, noticing there was no hostility towards her.
"It's behaving like a puppy, cute!" She thought as she got up, brushed the dust off her, and moved towards the creature.
"Hey, it seems you saved me..." She immediately realized she had wanted to die, and this creature had spoiled her plans.
She looked at the creature with injustice as tears welled up in her eyes.
"I just wanted to die... What can I live for..." She stopped in her thoughts as the creature approached her, rubbing its body against hers like a cat would.
"Are you lost?" she blurted out, sensing the creature's worries. The pup, who seemed to have understood her, jumped in happiness.
"You are... I guess you need my help... I wanted to die too... Yeah, this could be my purpose after that I would find a place for my end... Maybe your parents could eat me... Yeah, that would do," pitifully she said as she moved further into the forest, trying to find the pup's parents.
As they went deeper, the pup began to recognize some landmarks, now taking the lead to show her the way.
The pup, happy to get home, loped, running ahead of the girl. She ran as she tried to catch up, stumbling and cutting her hands on a torn vine in her way.
"Argh!" She exclaimed as blood dripped down, falling on Ossa, who was the reason she had stumbled.
As the blood made contact with Ossa, a dark green light enveloped him, temporarily blinding the girl.
[System activating]
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First chapter of volume two. What do you think?! Let me know your thoughts.