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Rise of Redemption

Tezukumo
14
chs / week
The average realized release rate over the past 30 days is 14 chs / week.
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Synopsis
"In exactly one year, everyone you love and will come to love will be destroyed forever. Will you be able to save them all, I wonder?" In a world where magic is the norm in a world of fantasy, 17 year-old Daizen Shizaki is the only exception with a fractured 'Soul Realm', making it impossible for him to use his Affinity of Wind magic to his full output. He was rendered useless and unable to use magic by many in his village, and he began to isolate himself from the outside world due to constant bullying. However, things would soon change for him. When a terrifying turn of events befall his hometown, it is Daizen Shizaki's sole responsibility to prepare for the judgement day of slaughter, as he receives a haunting vision of the future. Will he be able to gather reinforcements and train hard in time for 'Armageddon', while attempting to defeat an evil cult that threatens his safety? "I want to become strong...so that I can protect both myself and the ones I care about without worry." With his resolve strengthened, a new life of adventure, danger, friendship, romance, hardships and bloodshed awaits....and it is up to him to redeem his past life of uselessness, and save the lives of many. Time is ticking, future hero. *** TRIGGER WARNING: Profanity, Blood, Some amounts of Gore. *** UPLOAD SCHEDULE: Twice a day, times may vary for now. *** COVER ART UPDATES: New book cover art will be uploaded at the start of every new story arc. If everything goes well (the book is successful), there will be ten book covers in total. *** Rise of Redemption is a dark-fantasy web novel series and a Webnovel Spirity Awards 2025 Participant written by me, Tezukumo. As I am a newbie author, any kind but honest suggestions and feedback are deeply appreciated. Please look forward to Daizen Shizaki's downward spiral into madness! Thank you for your support!
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Chapter 1 - February 4th, Prologue

".....This is bad. This is seriously bad."

The hairs on the young man's skin stiffened, and a chilling sensation overwhelmed his body as his legs lost strength, causing him to fall to his knees.

Wherever he looked, there were lifeless bodies everywhere, as far as his eyes could see.

Fleshly husks were what remained of once-energetic human souls, strewn across the snow-filled earth.

"What...is.… happeni-hk...urk!"

With the sudden sight of blood that soaked the snow with a red hue, and mangled flesh all around him in piles and heaps, a surging feeling of wanting to throw up the gastric contents within made him quickly cover his mouth. Trying his best to keep the liquids inside, he tightly held onto his mouth with both of his bare hands.

Everything had occurred so suddenly. There was hardly time to think.....and much less time to act.

This has to be a dream. It has to be. It has to be.

It has to be.....right?

***

(Nearly Two Hours Before...)

-- The fourth of February. Winter.

It was a season which many people in the country of Aldranza were merely content with, but in the case of seventeen year-old Daizen Shizaki, he had always seemingly embraced the rare cold with joy. He always loved seeing his town, Sekoto Village, beautifully covered in snow while he usually stayed inside.

However, on a day in which no snow or a cold sensation was present, today was a drastic change from what he was usually accustomed to, and it was a day in which he would never forget.

***

How the hell did I manage to get myself into this horrible situation!?

Agitated, he took a step backwards as he pondered, but a loud shout quickly made him shift his focus back to the situation at hand.

"I'm so glad that we caught you at a perfect time, Shizaki, you useless piece of shit!"

"-hk."

A tingling sense of fear overwhelmed his body as he tried to maintain a brave front. However, his body trembled involuntarily as the people in front of him slowly started closing in.

With his back facing a dead-end of a dark alley, and the trio of troublemakers blocking off his only escape, he was in a dire situation.

...I shouldn't have agreed to come out of the house today to hang out with Gariah and Alexandriya. What was I thinking?

It was then that one of the three boys took an extra step ahead of the group, and stared at Daizen Shizaki as his frown slowly turned into a malicious smile.

"This fucking guy, heh. You decided to play bold and finally show your face, huh?!"

With the other two boys beside him roaring with laughter, Shizaki moved backwards. His breath started to become shallow, and now, even his hands trembled slightly .

"W-Wait, please...Nadeko, don't....hurt me."

"Huh? Sorry? I couldn't quite catch what you said there!"

As if quickly realizing a crucial mistake, Shizaki's stiffened and started to stutter in succession.

"A-Ah, no… I-I..."

I-I forgot. He hates those who don't address him with the proper honorifics.

"Nadeko-kun..."

"So, you remembered! You might be a useless pauper who can't even use magic, but at least ya ain't that braindead!"

As the clear leader of the group named Nadeko teased him, he followed up his statement with a sneer, while the other two boys beside him roared with laughter. 

Shizaki tried to force a small wry smile with a light chuckle, but held his head down.

I feel sick. This is bad. 

The horrifying bullies of Sekoto Village had cornered him.

The boy at Nadeko's right walked up beside him and began to crack his knuckles, grinning with excitement.

"Just say the word, Taisho. I'll beat him up real good."

"Calm down, you damn bull. And you must be the braindead one by the way you just fucking said my name without formalities. Also, I don't remember allowing you to call me by my first name."

"O-Oh, right…..sorry..."

"Tch."

Putting his accomplice in his place, his piercing gaze quickly returned to the person who stood before him, and Shizaki's heart began to quicken.

I….have to say something fast. I gotta…um, plead with him to let me go, or something.

"U-Um, please...just let me go. Why are you doing thi-"

"Why, huh?"

"....Huh?"

Shizaki had now opened his light amethyst eyes on hearing that, and he stared blankly as Nadeko's disgusted expression.

Did I say something wro-

Without warning, Nadeko had leapt towards him in a split second, grabbed his body, and slammed him into the right wall of the alley.

With his back colliding onto the concrete wall with full force, pain surged within Daizen Shizaki, and he opened his mouth to scream, but Nadeko's quick right arm pressed tightly against his neck. 

Feeling his arm squeezing down as if trying to slowly crush it, Shizaki could only feel pain, pain, and more frightening, overwhelming pain as the grip tightened more and more.

I.....can't.....breathe.... 

"Pl.....guhk...urk."

Sputtering and choking with tears forming, Shizaki tried to raise his arms and pry Nadeko's arm away, but the sudden increased force of the latter's arm almost made him see white.

"About time!! [Water Hammer]!"

"[Taze Beam]!"

In a state of excitement, both boys beside Nadeko, as if responding to a signal called out their Magic Affinities. With a large hammer of solidified water forming out of one's left hand and lightning coursing through the other's, they both stepped forward.

However.…

Nadeko stretched out his left arm, signalling a stop, and continued looking at Shizaki dead in the eyes.

Narrowing his eyes, Nadeko finally spoke.

"In case you don't remember, you're the laughingstock of the village, the trash that nobody except your old man wants to be associated with."

His right arm then started to slowly emit smoke, and it was at that moment that Shizaki felt a burning sensation creeping onto his neck.

His....Magic....Affinity....

Nadeko grinned, and his arm then began to slowly glow red.

"You can't even use magic, something that nobody even thought was possible, hah. And despite all that, you dared to run to your pops to talk to the village chief to discipline us because last time, you went to him while wailing like a little baby, isn't that right?"

"-hk...w...ai..."

Ah…I knew that I wasn't going to get away with that scot-free…

The heat had now risen to a higher level, and his grip on Shizaki had not diminished one bit. Feeling his neck burning and sizzling, he tried to scream, but only air escaped that couldn't re-enter.

His hands began to lose strength, unable to pry away at his opponent any longer. It also felt like his neck bone was about to shatter. 

"If you try to rat us out again, we'll kill you. You're just a leaf in the wind anyway. Nobody would care if you died."

Nobody....would care? Ah, he's.....right. Nobody....would...

"Hey, Taisho, it think he's gonna-"

"Yeah, I know, I know, I'll let him go…It's a shame that I actually pity him enough to spare his life….wait, what did you just-!?"

"Eek!"

Suddenly, he released his grip to turn and grab the collar of his companion, while Shizaki dropped and went limp onto the ground, coughing profusely and holding his slightly burnt neck.

"Didn't I tell you not to call me by my-"

"I-I thought that if I didn't say anything that would make you turn around, you might have killed him."

"Don't be fucking stupid. We'd be in serious trouble if the village chief found out…or, if that twerp's old man found out."

Clicking his tongue, Nadeko faced Shizaki again and glared at the sniffling, trembling, blue-haired boy.

A white nothingness had dispersed, and the world had returned to Daizen Shizaki. Yet, he remained motionless, trying to take deep breaths.

Smiling cynically as if nothing happened, Nadeko stooped down and grabbed his hair, yanking his head upwards with it.

"Heh, you wouldn't go and cry to your pops about this, would you?"

"Hic.....hic..."

"Because, if you do, push will to come to shove."

He then stood up, and then sent a powerful kick into his abdomen, sending Shizaki flying back.

"Guchkk!!"

"See you around, Daizen Shizaki. If you are bold enough to show your face in the village again, that is."

With those words, he then led the other two boys away from the scene quietly, and Shizaki slumped onto the cold, hard ground.

***

How much time had it been since they had decided to leave?

Shizaki couldn't tell anymore. He had lost track of time as he now sat down, with his back against the wall and with no one beside him.

Only a helpless figure of himself remained, laid down on the concrete.

He desperately tried not to blink as his eyes watered, lifting his head up to the sky where the clouds drifted by. 

Throughout the entire confrontation, he had been unable to defend himself.

Weakling. Stupid. Useless. As usual, that's just who you are, Daizen Shizaki. Dammit.

He felt sick. Weak. Alone.

"Then again, there's nothing I can do to change that. I guess I really am just on the unlucky side of the world."

He had always tried to force himself to be strong in moments like these, but he had already lost all hope in himself on a general scale.

A boy who can't even use magic, Nadeko-kun said…well, he's wrong in a sense, but he's not entirely false either…

Due to his Soul Realm which was a mana vessel within his body being fractured, he could not use his magic to its full output, otherwise there could be a chance that it continued to crack until it completely shattered, completely destroying the possibility of him using magic ever again with no vessel. Therefore, he had almost refrained from using it altogether, but only--

He stretched out his right arm, and narrowed his eyes.

Immediately, a small burst of condensed, pressurized wind blew out from his palm, and hit the wall before dispersing.

--only small amounts, no, a fraction of his true power could be made without his Soul Realm being shattered even more. And even then, the limited use of his Affinity of Wind was only strong enough to push a person back a few meters.

…Ugh. I reaaaally hate this disability that came up outta nowhere.

If he stayed outside in the village, he would be constantly around people who pitied him and laughed at him for being a boy who 'couldn't use magic'.

Magic is everything, so for others who were told that he had an unknown disability that prevented usage of magic was…the start of something horrible.

I wish I were stronger, and I wish I didn't have this stupid disability. Wait, what am I even doing, brooding over my uselessness? I need to get to Sekoto Forest, where my two friends are waiting for me.

Slowly hoisting himself up by holding onto the wall with his left arm, Daizen Shizaki then heard--

BOOOOM!!!!

--The sound of a giant explosion that rocketed through the atmosphere.

"What the-!?"

In an instant, everyone on the street adjacent to the dark alley were taken aback, and screams were heard in the distance.

Seized by fear, and not knowing just what had happened, Daizen Shizaki watched a large crowd of people rushing back along the street in one direction, while some passers-by sprinted to the opposite.

Then…as he ran out into the street, the cries of the people were finally tuning into his ears as he focused on what they were saying.

"What is happening!?"

"A fire! A large-scale fire!!"

"Sekoto Forest!! It's on fire!!"

…Huh?

"A huge explosion has set the forest on fire!! Someone call the Royal Knights and the village chief!!"

Sekoto Forest…no. That can't be right.

He looked straight ahead, down of the crowded road.

And there, in the distance, where the descending slope trailed into the bustling main city, was the outline of Sekoto Forest's foliage, trees, bushes, grass and more, on fire.

Flames engulfed most of the greenery, with black smoke rising above.

An explosion of the highest flammable destruction had just occurred, seemingly in the forest where…. 

Where…

As many ran away from the disaster, and few towards it, the boy remained frozen in shock.

Only a whisper left his lips, as he finally reached the dreaded realization.

" .....Where Gariah and Alexandriya, my two friends are at."

***

There is about one hour left until the Vision of Armageddon.

-----------------------------------------

(Chapter 1: February 4th, Prologue.)