There once existed a powerful nation known as the Tezcaoni Empire, led by a powerful ruler, one of the most powerful men in all of history.
He led a race, to which he too belongs, known as the Purple Oni, a ferocious people with an incessant desire for war and carnage, widely known for their warmongering nature.
Nation after nation fell at their feet, all races without discrimination, were burnt to the ground at the wake of Tezcaonian Emperor and his vast armies.
But it would not be long until the other nations began banding together, putting aside their differences and joining forces to strike down the Purple Oni with one goal in mind:
Wiping them off the face of the earth and effectively driving them into extinction.
Against the might of almost the entire world, even a nation as powerful as the Tezcaoni Empire fell.
First their Emperor, slayed by the combined efforts of the champions of the world, followed by his people, slaughtered mercilessly without any remorse, be it women, the elderly or even children.
They had no intention of leaving even a single one of them alive.
It seemed as though the end had drawn near for the Purple Oni as only a couple hundred of their kind remained, the once proud race was now merely an endangered species.
But...
The Holy State Republic stepped in and pleaded for their lives, begging the world to show them mercy, promising that they would take responsibility for them, and nurture their children, teach them peace instead of war.
The world's Kings and rulers naturally protested, alas, against the might of the Holy State Republic...
... Even the entire world had no other choice but to give way.
And so, thirty years passed since the destruction of the Purple Oni, and they now inhabit the far outskirts of the Holy State Republic, in a somewhat desolate land under their watchful eye.
//
Ta! Ta! Ta!
"Huff... Huff..."
A young boy with pale skin, tattered clothing, and a pair of black horns protruding on either side of his temple, breathed heavily as he darted through the narrow, muddy alleyways in-between buildings.
His forearms were riddled with bruises, and his lips dry as though he had not eaten a single thing since he had risen in the morning.
Ta! Ta! Ta!
"Catch him!"
"Hey, stop running!!"
"Didn't you say you wanted to play with us?!"
Behind him ran a group of three scrawny boys who also wore tattered clothing, but oddly enough, theirs seemed to be more desirable, or rather, theirs were in a much better condition.
They each carried a stick, their skin a bright purple under the sunlight, to such an extent that even a starved wild beats would hesitate hunting them, fearing toxicity due to the vibrant color they boasted.
They too had pairs of juvenile horns protruding from the sides of their temples, and their eyes were a light shade of red, just like pale boy.
"Huff... Huff..."
"Leave me alone!"
The boy pleaded, his pale skin drenched in sweat, his burning lungs greedily inhaling the foul stench of decay filling the streets of the densely populated village.
Despite its relatively small size, this village had a population of nearly a thousand, barely enough to fit them all, and so, they built tall building to accommodate the populous.
Due to restrictions placed by the Holy State Republic, they were not allowed to expand beyond the current plot of land, surrounded by fragile wooden walls.
[Why are they doing this to me?]
[I just wanted to play with them!]
The boy wept silently as he tumbled through the muddy streets, which was a result of the Purple Oni discarding their waste there.
Thud!
His body finally conceded to his fatigue and he crashed againts the corner of a building, failing to make a sharp turn.
"Urgh!"
He tripped and fell on the sticky, damp earth, and as he raised his gaze, he saw a few men sitting on crates againts the wall of a building opposite where he fell.
"Help me..."
He stretched out his hand, but they all looked down at him with disdain, as though he were a maggot attempting to climb up their legs.
"Here he is!!"
One of the boys finally caught up to him and immediately lept in the air with his stick in his grasp.
Thud!
He aimed for the pale boy's temple, but he had already raised his guard, protecting himself with his fractured forearms.
"Beat him! He's a curse!"
Thud!
"Mom says he's the reason why we live like this!"
Thud!
"Ew! Why's your skin like that, you're disgusting! You look like one of those filthy Humans!"
Thud! Thud!
The three boys beat him like a dog, but what hurt more than their sticks was their words, leaving lacerations on his juvenile heart.
[No... I'm also a Purple Oni, just like you all!]
He cried inwardly, but he knew that even the name of his race, "Purple Oni," contradicted his appearance.
"Oi, shouldn't we stop them? They'll kill him at this rate..."
Spoke one of the men sitting leisurely on a crate across them, a smoke pipe in-between his grimy, purple fingers.
"... Why bother, maybe that boy's the reason we're trapped in cesspool after all."
Another replied, his brows furrowing deeper with disdain.
"Sigh... I feel the same way but, I fought alongside his father, this is least I could do."
The first man prepared to stand and lend a helping hand, but...
Ta! Ta! Ta!
Another boy entered the scene, his speed like that of Silverfanged Wolf chasing its prey, he moved so fast that, to the untrained eye, he was but a blur of purple.
Fwosh! Pow!
[!!]
He launched fist and struck one of the three boys in the nose.
"H-hey wait!"
A second boy pleaded, but was too late, the knee of the boy who had just entered the scene was already tearing through the air below his chin.
Crack!
"Urgh!"
The boy who had been struck crashed into a building before rolling on the muck.
"Y-you bastard!"
The third boy didn't bother with pleading and instead, charged at their attacker...
... But it was futile, the attacker's leg was already a few millimeters away from his neck.
Thwack!
The boy spun in the air and landed on his back, right beside his two friends.
"Y-you're gonna regret this Achan!!"
The boys exclaimed, whimpering and scurrying away with their wounds throbbing.
"..."
The attacker turned his purple scalp and glanced down at the pale boy lying in the ground behind him.
"Eldest brother... Hehe, thanks."
The pale boy winced and forced himself to stand.
"Arcadius..."
Achan muttered the name of his little brother under his breath.
"Urgh... My arms..."
Arcadius winced, balancing himself against the wall.
"Sigh... How many times does this have to happen, third youngest?"
"You're so troublesome, here, get on my back."
Achan grumbled and offered his back to his little brother.
"Hehe... Thanks."
Arcadius smiled brightly as though he wasn't getting beaten just a moment ago and jumped on his brother's back.
...
"..."
[That boy, he would've had a bright future in the army had our Empire still existed, what a shame...]
[... I guess it's only natural that a tiger would sire a tiger.]
"Fwooh..."
The man watched Achan's back and reminisced about the past, their glory days.
But as those memories dissipated like smoke in the wind, reality set in and an indescribable feeling of helplessness began eating at him.
//
"... And you know you have low stamina, why did you run?!"
"How many times has father told you?!"
Achan shouted, scolding his little brother.
[Ugh... My ears hurt.]
Arcadius smiled bitterly as his brother carried him back home.
"You should just fight back! I know you can take them if you wanted to!"
Achan shouted, his voice echoing throughout the clustered buildings.
"But... If I hit them, then they'll never be my friends."
Arcadius sulked.
"Huh?! Are you crazy?! So you're just gonna let them kill you?!"
Thwack!
Achan tilted his neck and struck Arcadius's forehead with the back of his skull.
"Ouch!"
"That hurt you know!"
Arcadius exclaimed.
"Shut up! Do you know how upset dad would be if you died?!"
Achan continued scolding his little brother, and this went on for nearly ten minutes, he was so focused on it that he barely saw focused on the street.
And as a result...
Neigh!! Snort!
He suddenly found himself in front of a golden carriage, the two large horses pulling it snorting and rising their front legs to come to a halt.
[!!],[!!]
"Ack!"
The two boys were startled and fell to their rears.
Step... Step...
"Have you two inhumans lost your mind?"
"Do you not see that this is a carriage of the Holy State Republic?!"
A man adorned by a white and golden set of armour disembarked the carriage and slowly unsheathed his sword, his bloodshot eyes glaring down at the two boys trembling at his feet.