It's been five years since what happened. The family lives peacefully, though with a secret, but that hasn't stopped them from enjoying happiness.
Greg has been training with his father in the art of the sword and also taking magic lessons with Mr. Winston in a secluded corner of the village, where not many people go, to keep him safe.
"Where could that boy be?" — Roxy said as she headed to her magic lesson.
"Mom, look at this!"
Roxy turned just in time to see Greg, who was shirtless because of the heat that afternoon. He was focused. His hands were trembling and sweating, but suddenly, a small fireball emerged from his right palm, which vanished almost instantly.
"Did you see that, Mom?" — Greg exclaimed, jumping with excitement for having cast fire magic.
"That was amazing. It's great that you've learned to use fire magic." — Roxy replied, proud of her son.
"Now put on a shirt, or you'll burn yourself under this sun."
Greg went to find his clothes while Roxy continued to be impressed by his achievement.
"Hey, Roxy, finally found you, I've been looking for you everywhere."
"Oh, Celi, uh... how are you?" — Roxy replied, a little surprised, trying to prevent Celi from seeing Greg without a shirt.
"We need your help. We're organizing a banquet... wait, is that your son?"
"Hello, Greg." — Celi said loudly so that Greg would go greet her.
Although Greg was still without a shirt, he hesitated, knowing that they shouldn't be seen like this because of the mark on his shoulder. However, the pressure got to him, and he went to greet Celi.
"Hey, little one, did you burn yourself on your shoulder or what's that? Come here, let me see what you have."
Roxy, quickly trying to divert attention from Greg, said:
"GREGORY! I told you to put on a shirt, you'll burn yourself under this sun." — she said, angry.
"Okay, Mom!" — Greg replied, quickly walking away from the scene.
"Oops, sorry, Celi, you know how kids are, they always do what they want."
"I understand, Roxy. My little Tabata is always getting into trouble, but she always gets out unscathed, ha-ha-ha."
Roxy sighed in relief, as she managed to divert attention from Greg and avoid suspicion.
"So, Celi, who is this big banquet for?"
"Oh, sure, it's for my parents. They lived here before you moved in, and they're coming to visit us." — Celi replied, very excited.
"I'd be happy to help, count on me."
Celi's parents arrived, and the Breyrat family got ready to leave.
"Hey, Greg, behave. I don't want you to get careless like your mom said."
"Yeah, Dad, you can count on it."
"Alright, let's go. Aron, we can't be late."
"Yeah, wait, I forgot something." — said Aron, as he remembered something essential for him...
"Aron..." — Roxy gave him a piercing look.
"What's wrong?"
"Either you leave that or you don't go. We want to make a good impression."
Apparently, Aron was carrying his sword with him.
"But darling, anything could happen on the way, and I need it."
"Or you can show off as the husband of a great swordsman." — Aron said, winking at her.
Roxy sighed deeply and looked at him as if she were going to kill him.
"I-I better leave it. Shall we go?" — Aron said, slightly trembling, but with a comedic touch.
As they headed to the banquet, Greg looked at the sky. It was beautiful, as if he were watching an explosion of stars. The sky was full of little lights. He looked at his father and asked:
"Dad, how did you meet Mom?"
Roxy smiled slightly at Aron...
"Well, Greg, your mom was very beautiful when I met her. I'm not saying she isn't now, but that night... she was as beautiful as a star shining in the darkest night." — Aron replied with a nostalgic voice.
Suddenly, Greg asked a question that surprised everyone:
"Is it true that Mom was a witch?"
"WHAT? WHERE DID YOU HEAR THAT, GREG?" — said Roxy, shocked.
"Mr. Winston told me that, since I have a talent for magic, one of my parents must have been a mage." — Greg said, somewhat scared.
"Well, yes, I was a witch, but only for a short time, when I was young. My parents didn't know, and one day I told them. They judged me, so I left magic." — Roxy explained.
After that conversation, the family spent a nice time together, sharing stories, until they reached the banquet, where people were already waiting.
"We've arrived."
"Oh, hello, Mrs. Roxy."
"Mr. Winston, haven't Celi's parents arrived yet?"
"No, not yet. I hope they don't take much longer; they should have arrived a couple of hours ago."
The atmosphere began to get tense. Aron felt like something was approaching, and he started looking in several directions.
"Love, I don't like this. I think we should leave."
"What's wrong, love?"
Suddenly, a loud explosion-like noise was heard near the entrance of the village. Shouts for help began to fill the air.
Aron and Winston rushed to see what was happening, very concerned. When they went out, they found a disaster: destroyed houses, fire everywhere, and people running for their lives.
"What happened?" — Winston asked a villager.
"D-demons came."
Everything went silent for Roxy and Greg. Greg had been told that demons were a mortal threat, and that if he saw them, he should flee immediately, because no matter who you were, demons killed mercilessly...
"Oh no... Well, I think it's time. Aron, will you come with me?" — said Winston seriously.
"Of course, sir." — Aron touched his waist and realized he didn't have his sword. He looked at Roxy.
"Sorry." — Roxy said, regretful.
"Mr. Winston, I forgot my sword."
"Here."
Winston conjured a stone sword using magic.
"I hope this works for you."
"Of course, now, Roxy, take Greg to a safe place."
"But Aron, please come back."
"Of course, don't worry. I still have to tell Greg how I met his mom." — said Aron, smiling.
"Take care of your mother, Greg."
Aron and Winston headed towards the demons, wondering what they were looking for in such a peaceful village. Roxy and Greg headed to the training field...
"Hey, demon, what the hell do you want?" — said Aron, in a defiant voice.
In front of them, two demons appeared. Although they didn't seem very strong, they were still demons, making them dangerous.
They were ogre-like creatures, black in color, about three meters tall. One of them, the biggest, spoke with a deep voice:
"Finally, someone who doesn't run. I introduce myself, I'm Demetrius, and this is Roger. We come from the Demonic capital. We were sent to find any clues about this." — Demetrius said, showing a drawing that left Aron worried.
The drawing showed the mark Greg had on his shoulder. Aron gasped and froze...
"We have rewards for anyone who gives us information. Roger, bring them."
Seconds later, two elderly people, beaten and badly wounded, were dragged into the center of the scene.
Apparently, these two were important to someone in this village.
Roxy, with her heart in her throat, looked at Greg. The worry on her face was evident...
... while this was happening, Greg and his mother decided to do something...
"Greg, why are you stopping?" — Roxy shouted at Greg.
"Mom, I want to help Dad, I know magic, I can help in the battle." — Greg said, very excited.
"Let's go back, there are still people in the village. Let's help evacuate."
Roxy, with tears in her eyes, thought about what to do. She remembered Celi, her daughter, and the other villagers who lived there. After a moment of reflection, she made a decision.
"Alright, Greg, let's go back and help evacuate."
When they returned, they saw the demons talking to Aron and Winston. Greg stayed watching what was happening, while the villagers watched in intrigue, waiting to know what was going on.
Back with the demons, Aron and Winston...
"Winston, who are these two?"
"The parents of Celi." — Winston said seriously.
Aron's expression was one of total astonishment, but Celi was even more surprised. Realizing who they were, she ran towards the demons.
"They're my parents! Tell me whatever you want, I'll give you money!" — Celi said, breaking into tears.
"We just want information about this drawing." — Demetrius replied, showing the drawing to Celi.
Upon seeing it, Celi immediately understood: it was Greg's mark. But how could that be? Greg was just a boy, would she betray him to the ogres?
At that moment, Aron felt a chill of fear. He knew Celi knew Greg's mark. She looked at him, and Aron could only respond with a negative gesture, turning his head.
"It's a boy in this village! His name is Greg!" — Celi shouted, no longer able to watch her parents suffer.
"Damn it!"
"Winston, NOW!"
Aron attacked with his sword, moving quickly to confuse the enemy. In a blink of an eye, he positioned himself right behind one of the ogres and dealt a direct blow. Although his weapon was made of stone and broke upon impact, the damage to the enemy was severe.
"That was easy."
"DOWN, ARON!"
An attack was coming at Aron: it was Demetrius. He managed to dodge it by quickly crouching.
"Winston!"
"I SEE HIM!"
Winston, not wasting time, formed a stone spear. It emanated a strong mana mist. He threw it with incredible speed, but the ogre used Aron as a shield. The spear hit Aron's shoulder.
"NOOOOO!" — Greg screamed.
Greg broke free from his mother and rushed to help his father.
The ogre threw Aron into some trees. Greg reached him quickly.
"Dad, Dad, wake up! Please, wake up!" — Greg cried, as he saw his father gravely injured.
"Greg... cough cough... I'm fine. What are you doing here? Go with your mom." — said Aron weakly.
"I have to help Mr. Winston."
"If you think it's necessary, go. Help him, just... please don't die."
Winston was now fighting alone. The ogre was very strong, but Winston was a great mage. He started using complex spells.
"DIVINE SPEAR!"
Winston began to create a very powerful spell, but he was doing it too slowly because it was complicated. The ogre moved quickly, dodging the attack.
"I'm not going to make it..." — Winston thought, already resigned to death.
At that moment, an aura of divine and evil energy began to surround Greg. The mark on his arm started to burn through his shirt, expanding to cover his entire arm.
The ogre saw the mark and moved towards Greg, but before...
"Ha! Distracted, well done, Greg." — said Winston, launching the divine spear towards Demetrius.
However, Roger, the other ogre, didn't die quickly. He intervened between the spear and Demetrius, and the spear went through his body, changing direction. Now Demetrius was charging towards Greg.
Greg, without saying a word, looked at Demetrius with hatred. He began to form a fire disc with colors: first red, then blue, then green, and finally white. He threw the disc at Demetrius, splitting him in two and ending him. But that wasn't all. The attack was so powerful that it didn't stop there; it continued to devastate everything in its path, destroying the village and getting closer to the group of people.
Roxy could only watch as her own son's attack headed towards her...
"GREG, STOP THE SPELL!"
Greg was out of control, unable to handle so much power. The attack kept going, destroying everything.
Winston, with the last bit of energy he had left, stood in front of the attack, creating a shield of protection, to contain both Greg's attack and his own.
Everything happened quickly. In the end, Winston didn't survive the impact. He knew he was going to die, but he sacrificed himself for his village, doing what was necessary to protect others.
The whole place was silent. Everyone watched in terror as little Greg, too weak to even stand, collapsed.
The next day, the villagers were rebuilding the village with great effort. That same night was Mr. Winston's funeral, though Greg still couldn't believe what had happened. He had killed two demons. It was terrifying, but he knew it was necessary.
Greg couldn't sleep, wondering what else he could do. He thought about the future and how this would change everything. He felt powerful but scared. He didn't want to hurt anyone, but he had done it.
Despite the grief and uncertainty, his adventure had just begun
At night.....
"Mom, what have I done?" — Greg asked as they had dinner together as a family.
The question made Roxy and Aron look at each other intently. Aron, though injured, was still alive.
"Greg, you've only done what anyone would have done. You just wanted to help us," — Roxy said sincerely, a small smile on her face.
"Are we moving?" — Greg asked.
"When your father recovers, we'll go to the Lanclet kingdom."
"B-but mom, they'll keep looking for me because of this damn mark!" — Greg said, his eyes filled with tears.
"Greg, calm down. Everything will be fine. We'll leave here soon."
Greg, desperate, knew he had to make a decision for the sake of his family. Throughout the night, the thought settled in his mind like an unbearable weight. He knew his presence endangered those he loved, but the pain of leaving them behind was almost too much to bear.
While everyone slept, Greg got up quietly. Each step he took towards the door felt like a betrayal. Before leaving, he went into his parents' room. For a moment, he stood next to the bed, watching them sleep. A tear rolled down his cheek as he whispered, "Forgive me, Mom, Dad. I'm doing this for you."
With trembling hands, he left a letter on the table. Then, he gathered some things: clothes, money, and items necessary to survive. He put on a dark cloak, covering his head with a hood to remain unnoticed anywhere. When he crossed the door, he felt his heart breaking into pieces.
The letter said:
"Mom, Dad,
I've made a decision that breaks my heart. I'm leaving because I've realized that my presence causes problems for you. Not only for you but also for the people around me, like the villagers of Dragron. I don't want them to suffer because of me anymore.
I will seek to discover what this mark means and learn to control it. I won't rest until I find answers. When I succeed, I'll return to you. Please, don't doubt that. I will always carry you in my heart.
With all my love, your son Greg."