CHAPTER ONE - EIEFSI
The city of Kurai Mori was large and surrounded by hills ranging from 300-500 metres in height. The hills were covered with dense trees that blocked all the light from hitting the ground.
It had a royal castle in its centre where the nation's ruler lived with his family. Every other structure was at a distance of 100 metres from the castle. The further one would look from the castle, the poorer the houses would look.
People in the city were joyfully preparing for a festival, but not everyone shared the same excitement.
At the peak of one of the many hills, eleven workers, covered in grime and sweat, were cutting trees.
"Boss! I can't do it anymore."
Suddenly, one of the workers spoke. Nobody had
been making excuses up until now; the words of this worker inspired the others. One by one, everyone began raising their concerns.
"Yeah! Boss… My arms are hurting too!"
"I will not say my arms are hurting, but I can't swing my axe anymore… I don't have any stamina left."
"I have done enough work… I can't do this anymore…"
"Yeah! I can collapse at any moment now…"
Everyone used different words, but they all intended to say the same thing. They were exhausted.
"Boss! We have been working for seven hours straight! I think we deserve a break!"
"Yeah! He is right! We deserve some rest…"
"We can continue this work tomorrow, can't we?"
"That is a better idea!"
Upon hearing their words, the boss who was sitting on top of a nearby boulder, said, "Enough! Even though I am the boss here… I can't give you a break!"
He continued, "I don't want to sound rude, but you people are slaves, bought for this and only this work. We have to complete this by tomorrow before the festival begins!"
"Eh?!" All the workers had the same reaction to the boss's response. His words felt rude, as if they devalued the workers.
Seeing their faces, the boss said, "I am a slave myself… I am only obeying the king's order! If we can't chop down all the trees on top of this hill by tomorrow night, I don't know what will happen to us…"
After listening to the boss, one of the workers replied, "But we can't really do anything right now! Even if we don't take a rest now, we will still not be able to do anything, not by our choice but because we can't force our fatigued bodies."
"I understand…" replied the boss.
"Yeah but… If we get a break… We will surely be able to continue the work with more energy."
"Is that so?" said the boss.
"Yeah!"
"You all are really desperate... Alright, fine…"
"YEAAAAHHHH!" All the workers shouted with excitement, but their celebration was quickly interrupted, "But only for half an hour."
"Eh?!"
"Half an hour should be enough for your bodies to recover."
"But-?!"
"No more words! Pack your items, and let's go downhill to our tents. Y'all need a rest, don't you?"
The workers were left speechless, but that was all they could get. Without waiting any longer, they began collecting their items. It was evident from their expressions that they didn't get what they were expecting.
[Temper your expectations until the process is complete; anticipating less softens the blow of failure.]
After packing their items, the workers had left the place. As they had left, there was no one to keep an eye on the wood, except for two individuals. These two were not part of the workers' group.
They had been gazing at the logs from the beginning. Like hunters, they hid in the bushes, waiting for the right moment.
As soon as the workers left, the two revealed themselves. It was an almost 15 year old boy and an old man over the age of 60. Both of them were wearing ragged clothes and their skin was dusty as well.
Wasting no time, the old man said, "Kiyoshi…This wood is rare and only found here… If we sell this in the underground market… We will get a good amount of money… Good enough that we will be able to spend our winters just fine…"
"Hm…" replied the boy, whose name was revealed to be Kiyoshi.
"Geez… They took too long to leave… I thought he would not be able to convince that guy… Well thanks to his help… We are now all alone here…" said the old man. The old man was referring to the worker who initiated the chain of complaints.
"But for this act… Didn't he ask too much from us?" asked the old man.
"I don't know…" replied Kiyoshi.
The conversation between the two made it clear that they were thieves. Not just them, but the worker who complained first, was a part of their plan as well.
"H-Ha-Choo-" The old man sneezed.
The region was cold, and at worst, the temperature would get lower than -17°C. Only food won't help someone survive the winters; woollen clothes were also a necessity.
But wool was very expensive for the poor in this region, which is why money was the first requirement. This was the situation in nearly every nation in the east.
"These logs are worth more than a thousand Jem each… I bet you can grab two logs at once, considering your strength... Even one log is enough, but it isn't bad to be a little greedy..." said the old man.
[Jem is the name of a currency used in the underground market.]
"Uh- Alright…" Kiyoshi made a dull face but then gestured an agreement. He swiftly walked towards the pile of logs and bent down on his knees to pick one up.
The logs were smaller than any others found in this world, yet they still weighed over 250 pounds each.
Kiyoshi grabbed one and began to pull it up to hold it on his shoulder. But he quickly realised something strange.
"Old man… I can barely hold one at a time."
"Heh-?! Is that so?"
Being able to hold two logs at once with his strength was merely a bluff to motivate him. But it was still an impressive feat to be able to hold even one at his age.
Kiyoshi had now held the log on his right shoulder. He turned around and looked at the old man with a faint smile. His legs and arms were shaking a little bit, but he was still able to move properly.
"Slowly turn around and come here! Then we shall leave this place as soon as possible!" said the old man.
He started moving toward the old man, but suddenly, something unexpected happened.
Something that shocked not just them but every single person who was present in the city of Kurai Mori at that moment.
A huge blast took place in the middle of the city, right where the king's castle stood.
Not a single thing was visible except for the smoke caused by the blast. But from the sound alone, one could tell that the castle was no longer in its original state.
Since there were no residential buildings near the king's castle, it didn't cause much casualties except for those who were present in the castle but regardless, it was a disaster.
Kiyoshi and the old man were the first to see it and were left stunned. However, it was not just them who were caught off guard by this shocking event. Two soldiers who were inspecting the forest as per their daily protocol experienced it as well.
But unlike them, the soldiers who only heard the sound had no idea of what it actually was.
"What the hell was that?" said the soldier whose badge read 0734
"An attack?!" said the other soldier whose badge read 0735
"An attack of such level?! That is impossible!"
"I can understand that, but what could that be?!"
"Well… They stored many firecrackers for tomorrow's festival… Maybe, accidentally-"
"Yes, that could be a possibility… An attack is impossible considering our capital's location..."
"Yeah… We should still check it though... What do you think?"
"I don't mind… I just want to see the reaction of everybody…"
Meanwhile, atop the hill, Kiyoshi and the old man were still standing, shocked by the sudden incident.
Kiyoshi, while looking at the disastrous scene, thought "wha- how could this have happened?!"
"What?! How?!" The old man had the same sort of reaction.
Both of them were shocked and stood still in fear. They were afraid of the disaster and the one behind it.
Something of this scale could not have been a mistake, it being an attack by somebody else was the most possible scenario.
This was also the worst-case scenario for the two, because it would alert everyone, making Kiyoshi and the old man's escape impossible.
Being caught like that could lead to their deaths. They were currently on a potential battlefield.
They did nothing but stare at the blast, as the smoke cleared, it revealed that the king's castle was completely destroyed.
"They took out the king with that for sure… I don't see this city lasting any longer… Not with a dead king…" said the old man.
After some time, for once did the old man look somewhere else and instantly noticed the two soldiers who were approaching them.
Although the soldiers were trying to reach the top of the hill to investigate the noise, they would inevitably find the old man and Kiyoshi.
Kiyoshi was still looking at the site of the blast. The black smoke turned the white clouds in the sky grey. The fire spread on the ground and burnt the nearby structures and the debris hit the ground one by one.
Kiyoshi, already in shock, was about to be startled again, as the old man quickly pushed him into the bushes.
"Agh- Wha-" Before Kiyoshi could speak, the old man shut him up by putting his hand on his mouth. "Shushhhhhh-"
He realised the situation quickly and didn't move a muscle. "Two soldiers… outside… arrived just now… if they see us, we die…" said the old man.
The old man did not know to which side the soldiers belonged to and this did not matter to him either.
If they were the attackers, they may see them as civilians and kill them in an instant. If they were from the city, they may identify them to be the intruders and kill them as well.
The soldiers had now reached the top of the hill. "I told you it's the firecrackers!" 0734 spoke in an excited way.
"Alright, but did you see this log falling on the ground?"
"I didn't! Stop trying to scare me with these silly jokes. After all, my prediction was correct. You might be jealous of my skills. They call me the detective prodigy in the neighbouring nation!"
"Whatever you say…"
But as they walked towards the cliff, the scenery became clearer and they quickly realised the situation they were in.
"Isn't this too much for firecrackers?" 0735 spoke in a sarcastic manner.
"Y-Yeah, you were correct, I guess…" 0734 took a pause and continued, "The city is under attack…"
"Not only this, but it was the king's castle… How did they manage to do this?"
"Maybe they hid some bombs in the castle?"
"A secret spy?"
"Someone like that definitely snuck into the city…"
"Yeah… Otherwise it would be impossible for such an attack to take place…"
"Hm… Well… What do you think? We should go there?" 0734 asked 0735 while turning his head towards him.
But what he saw stunned him. The moment he turned his gaze towards 0735, he saw his head being smashed by a log, splattering blood everywhere.
"what the hell?! the log did move! he was correct! but it can't move by itself, damn it!" 0734 turned his head around to see who was behind this heinous act. He saw a boy who was none other than Kiyoshi.
According to the old man, because the city was under attack, the soldiers would be on alert, which would make their escape impossible.
They needed to escape quickly before the attackers started scattering in the city, because both sides were dangerous for them.
Now, due to the two soldiers being on top of the hill, their only way to escape was by eliminating them as quickly as possible.
The attack on 0735 was fatal, not only because of the impact but because he was standing near the cliff. He fell down and met his demise.
Naturally, 0734 pulled out his sword in an instant and attacked Kiyoshi. However, Kiyoshi managed to block it with the log in time. 0734 instantly responded by kicking the log, pushing Kiyoshi towards the cliff.
To avoid falling down the hill, Kiyoshi dropped the log to decrease the weight on him. He rushed towards 0734 but the soldier responded with another attack with his sharp blade.
Kiyoshi barely managed to dodge it by sliding underneath the sharp edge of the sword. 0734 turned around for a second attack but Kiyoshi picked up another log from the ground and used it to protect himself. (the log he initially picked up to steal, not the one he attacked 0735 with)
"damn, how is this kid able to do what he is doing?!" 0734's thoughts were of an impressed person; he was impressed by Kiyoshi's strength and skills.
Kiyoshi swiftly tilted the log and smashed it under 0734's chin. The impact caused the soldier to bite off his own tongue.
"Rrrahh- Augh- You bastard…" He was bleeding from his mouth and coughed a lot of blood.
Kiyoshi had now already proclaimed his victory and naturally let his guard down after landing the blow.
However, the soldier noticed it and caught the confident boy off guard. He instantly kicked Kiyoshi, who was already holding over 200 pounds, unbalancing him. Having an advantage, he tried to cut the boy down.
"Dieeee!!!" The soldier held his sword with both hands to strike Kiyoshi at full force.
But right before the sword could strike Kiyoshi, it stopped. The soldier was stunned and fell down on the ground like that. The old man had come out to help Kiyoshi and hit the soldier in the head with a big rock. He threw the rock away and approached the boy.
"Are you alright?!" asked the old man while giving him support to get back up.
"Here… Get up…" The old man pulled the boy by holding his hand.
"Huh…" Kiyoshi managed to stand up but then moved away from the old man and maintained a good distance.
After some long and odd silence, he spoke while not looking at the old man, "I am never doing this again…"
"Eh? Why are you mad at me now? I saved you…" replied the old man while making an unpleasant face.
"Look… My whole life… I have obeyed you… It's just… For this one time… I don't want to do any of this ever again…" said Kiyoshi.
He took a pause and then continued, "I am not going to risk my life for something like this ever again… You are old and may die soon… But… I have a long life remaining…"
His speech was that of a person who was hesitating due to the lack of confidence. It was clear why, because it was the first time Kiyoshi had ever argued with the old man.
He thought, "this surely sounds out of place right now but… i had to say this… in future if not now… he can't keep using me like a tool… but…"
After taking another pause mid thinking, he continued, "but… it sounds really unpleasant… i should not be saying this now… we have to escape as quickly as possible… that should be the first thing i must be thinking about…"
Kiyoshi stood still waiting for a response but his patience ended quickly.
"Are you even listening? O-" As soon as he turned around, he was left absolutely shocked. The old man was bleeding heavily from his back and slowly fell down on the ground right in front of his eyes.
Though this happened in an instant, for Kiyoshi it happened really slowly. At that moment, his eyes were unable to perceive anything properly.
The old man was struck from behind by the injured soldier who managed to get up without making any sound. He sliced his back, giving him a deep wound.
"You old bastard! You thought you could kill me with an attack like that?! I swear I will chop your body into pieces after I deal with this boy!" The soldier threatened the injured old man while staring at Kiyoshi with an intimidating bloodlust.
Kiyoshi was terrified by this sudden turn of events. His eyes were wide open in fear as he looked at his wounded partner. He was unable to think properly under this pressure, "w-what should i do-?!"
While breaking the silence, the soldier said, "Hey boy… I appreciate your talent but… Look at you… In the end, I will be the last one to stand… You should've chosen your opponent very carefully… I am known as the fighting prodigy in the neighbouring natio-"
Suddenly, the soldier's mouth stopped before he could deliver his final word and he vanished in front of Kiyoshi. It was so sudden that it took Kiyoshi several seconds to comprehend it.
The soldier was blown away with great speed. It was as if he was hit by something. The impact was so great that his body exploded and his flesh splattered everywhere.
"wha- what happened?!" questioned Kiyoshi.
Kiyoshi looked to his right and saw the soldier's body. It was destroyed so brutally that one could not even recognise it as a human's corpse.
"Uh- Wh- Who could have done that?!" Kiyoshi was terrified after looking at the splattered corpse of the soldier.
But, it was not long before he sensed something even more terrifying to his left. He turned around, at first sight, he saw a giant monster walking towards him, and each of its footsteps felt like an earthquake.
Though after focusing, he saw a normal man. Before he could even take a proper look at him, the man started speaking.
He said, "He talked too much didn't he?"
His voice was soft like a boy who was yet to hit puberty, his skin was pale white and he had blonde hairs covering his ears in length. His soft features could easily confuse one into thinking that he was a young lady.
Kiyoshi looked at the blonde man in fear. He was now frozen because of the man's terrifying presence.
He was terrified, but the fact that the blonde man had saved their lives gave him a sense of relief. He used all his willpower to ask him a question, "Uh- W-Who are you?"
The blonde man at first ignored him and looked at the old man. He instructed, "Help your partner."
Kiyoshi snapped back to reality, "U-Uh…" He slowly approached the old man, took off his sweater and then his own.
He tied one sweater around the old man's wound to temporarily stop his bleeding and then used the other to keep his body warm
It was visible that Kiyoshi and the old man had a long-standing relationship. The old man was likely his guardian.
The blonde man kept looking at both of them, he waited and then spoke, "Now, the reason I saved you is because you two must participate in EiEfSi Sama's judgement. I couldn't have let a brainwashed sheep like that kill you before you two were judged by EiEfSi Sama."
As the blonde man stopped, the old man who was now conscious, asked, "Who is… EiEfSi Sama?"
——————————
In the centre of the city of Kurai Mori, where once stood the king's beautiful castle, now had merely its debris. Though the beautiful castle was not built so beautifully as it was built by slaves living under harsh conditions.
There were blood stains on the debris which meant that people died being crushed under it, except two.
Atop one piece of debris, stood a man with black hairs which were not too long but still covered his forehead and almost reached his eyes.
The man was staring at someone right below him. It was none other than the king, but he was not in a good condition as one leg of his was crushed under the debris.
The king shouted in despair, "You bastard! Why are you doing this to us?! What have we done to you?! You want money?! Or is it to look powerful???!!! Please leave me!!! Take everything!!! Just leave m-"
He stopped when he realised that the man gazing at him was not paying any attention to his words or he simply did not care. He got no response as the man kept staring at him without any reaction on his face.
"Hey! Respond! You have taken everything from me! My wives! My children! My army! My people! What do you want now?!"
"I can see it…" The man finally responded.
"Y-You can see… What?! What exactly is it that you are seeing right now?!"
"You…"
"Eh-?! W-Wai-"
After saying this, the man slowly moved backwards and gently pushed the giant debris he stood on, on top of the king. The king was all powerful but still could not survive being crushed under a giant boulder, and died right there.
As the man gently walked out of the debris, he stepped in a pool of blood, which was a result of the death of a lot of people. The once peaceful city of Kurai Mori was now just a graveyard of unburied corpses.
On a few corpses, there were crows feeding, while on some there were vultures, on some there were rats and on some there were wild dogs.
The people who were left alive were staring at that man while hiding themselves at the same time. Though the man was aware of their presence, he didn't care about them.
He slowly walked away from the site of the blast. The city, which was preparing for tomorrow's festival all happily, was now completely silent, such that only the man's footsteps could be heard.
The silence was soon broken by someone, as he shouted the man's name, "EiEfSi Sama!"
This man was revealed to be EiEfSi, the supposed master of that blonde man. He turned around to see who it was and saw the blonde man who had brought both Kiyoshi and the old man with him.
Kiyoshi and the old man were terrified as they entered the city, as they could not see anything but corpses everywhere.
"what?! did this man... did he... kill all of these people?!" thought the old man as he looked at EiEfSi.
"Who are they, Alberto?" asked EiEfSi to the blonde man whose name was revealed to be Alberto.
"I found them on top of that hill, it seems like they are not from this city."
EiEfSi smirked and said, "Oh... That doesn't mean that they should not be judged, right?"
Alberto matched his expression and said, "Yes."
"are these two not in their right mind? are they smiling?! after doing this!" thought the old man.
As EiEfSi looked away, his smirk faded away as well. He asked Kiyoshi, "You two look terrified… What happened to you two?"
"Uh-" Kiyoshi was too scared to reply. He was sweating and his heart was beating really fast. But he got back in his senses as he heard an order from the old man.
"Reply, Kiyoshi..." said the old man.
After telling Kiyoshi to reply, the old man said to himself, "there is no doubt that this man would kill us too if we do not cooperate with him... we must answer every question of his and do whatever he says..."
"Uh- — — — — —" Kiyoshi hesitated to speak but then slowly told him everything one by one from the start which EiEfSi listened to without any problem; he seemed to be interested in everything Kiyoshi said.
——————————
After listening to Kiyoshi, EiEfSi smiled and said nonchalantly, "Is that so? Don't worry, you are a strong kid…"
Kiyoshi was shocked upon hearing that, "Uh- Really?!"
EiEfSi smiled at Kiyoshi which completely changed the atmosphere. Even though they were surrounded by corpses, this one move from EiEfSi made Kiyoshi forget about everything else.
Meanwhile, the old man was trembling not only because of his wound, but because he could tell that the atrocity here was committed by the man in front of him.
The old man said to himself, "is this the judgement he told us about… at first i thought he must be a person with a kind heart who is against the autocratic rule… but looking at what he did, he might be just…
— — — — —
i am afraid that we may not leave this place alive... this man cannot be trusted... he has killed so many people... he won't hesitate to kill two more...
— — — — —
i don't know what you are thinking right now, kiyoshi… but do not think that this man is good in any way…"
[Autocratic rule here is a system of rule where power is centralised in the hand of one individual.]
The old man was looking down the whole time and when he finally looked upwards, he saw EiEfSi firmly approaching Kiyoshi.
This shocked the old man, "uh- no-" he was afraid that EiEfSi might harm Kiyoshi next.
"what should i do?!" being terrified, he questioned himself.
EiEfSi slowly approached Kiyoshi but against all thoughts, he patted his head which shocked the old man.
Kiyoshi in response to this lovely gesture showed a hint of a smile but EiEfSi quickly lifted his hand up from his head. Kiyosi tried to look up at EiEfSi but could not see his face due to the sky blinding him.
He walked past Kiyoshi and continued forward towards the old man. As soon as he got near the old man, he slit open his throat in an instant.
"Eh-?! Nmnhghhh-" The old man groaned in pain, he tried to speak but couldn't. It happened so instantly that he could not react to it properly.
"Huh?!" Kiyoshi turned around with his eyes wide open. He was not able to believe what happened just now because of its unpredictability and suddenness. Meanwhile, EiEfSi walked past the old man who was bleeding heavily without any care.
"was that all an act?!" Kiyoshi questioned EiEfSi's good gestures as he turned around and rushed forward while breathing heavily but instead of attacking EiEfSi in response, he stopped right before him. He stopped to look at the old man who could not even deliver his final words.
EiEfSi didn't even turn around as if he knew everything without looking at it. He kept walking, then looked at Alberto and said, "Everything is done here, right?" to which Alberto replied, "Yes, I have checked the whole city and have done what I was supposed to."
Downhill, in the surrounding forest where the eleven workers had gone to take a rest, the scene looked horrifying from above. As one could only see a ruined camp with blood splattered everywhere.
EiEfSi and Alberto, both left the city of Kurai Mori after completing their so-called judgement. They left a few survivors, like Kiyoshi, who was sitting alone in a pool of blood, surrounded by many corpses.
Kiyoshi was not crying but he was clenching his fists as he was in pain. He felt empty, and his chest was hurting despite having no visible wound. The sudden incident left him no time to grieve.
The sun began to set, resulting in a decrease in the city's temperature. The temperature dropped below 0°C, reaching -3°C. Overwhelmed with stress, Kiyoshi struggled to breath.
"uh- i can't breathe…" He felt short of air and soon his eyes closed. He slowly fell down on the ground and collapsed at the same time the sun set itself behind the hills.
But before Kiyoshi could hit the ground, he was caught by somebody. It was a man with grey hair, however, this man was not alone, there was another individual behind him, who was looking down at the boy.
END OF CHAPTER ONE - EIEFSI