"Once upon a time, the world was in grave danger. Horrible monsters began to appear, seemingly out of nowhere, plunging the world into chaos and destruction.
But just when everyone thought that all hope was lost…
The Hero emerged alongside the Seven Saints to push back the evil monsters!
The power of Hero and the Saints was so strong that normal people couldn't even begin to compare.
After all… All of them inherited the powers of a deity.
The Seven Saints received the grace of the Seven Worldly Gods, while the Hero… Well, the Hero was even more special!
The Hero received his power straight from the Supreme Deity themself!
Armed with his legendary blade and the Seven Blessed Saints by his side, the Hero bravely fought back the evil monsters and sealed them away, once again bringing peace and prosperity back to the world.
After returning home following their long and eventful journey, the Hero and the Seven Saints lived together happily ever after.
…And if the world were to ever fall into the clutches of evil, the Hero and his Seven Blessed Saints will once again return to stop them!"
Closing a children's picture book, a beautiful woman with luscious golden hair looked down at a young boy with auburn-coloured hair lying down next to her.
The woman was sitting on the bedside of a brightly coloured white, blue, and gold bed, with the boy resting his head comfortably on her lap.
Poking his head up, the boy looked at the woman with a mixture of awe and wonder.
"Mom, did the hero and the saints really exist?"
Giving the boy a bright smile, she softly tussled his hair.
"Yes, dear, although they existed hundreds of thousands of years ago."
The boy's eyes lit up at the woman's affirmation.
"Wow! If they're powerful enough to beat scary monsters like that, were they stronger than you and Dad?"
The woman gave the boy an amused smirk.
"Your mom and dad are quite strong, but the Hero and the Seven Blessed Saints were far stronger."
"Is that because they had the power of the gods?"
The woman gently nodded her head.
"Humans like your dad and I are quite strong, but that's only if you compare us to normal humans. The strength of the gods was on an entirely different level. They were so strong that they could supposedly beat 3-Star humans without breaking a sweat!"
The boy felt shocked at his mother's words.
He couldn't even imagine how strong a 3-Star human was, much less how strong someone needed to be to beat them so effortlessly.
"I… I want to be strong when I grow up. Just like the Hero and the Saints!"
The woman looked at the boy with a hint of mirth.
"I thought you wanted to be strong like your mom and dad? Did you outgrow us already? Your mom feels hurt…"
Instead of feeling embarrassed by his mother's teasing, the boy pulled himself off his mother's lap and stood facing her on the bed.
Despite his mother sitting at the bedside, the boy had already grown tall enough to reach her eyes.
The boy looked up at his mother and smiled.
"If I want to protect you and Dad, the royal family, and the rest of the kingdom, I need to grow big and strong! Uncle Randolph said so! If I'm as strong as the Hero, I'll definitely be strong enough!"
The woman smiled lovingly before giving her son a tight hug.
"You're so small yet already looking to protect your dear mother. You're definitely a Lionheart, alright."
"Mom… I'm not small! I'm already big enough to start learning how to use a sword!"
The woman kissed her son's forehead.
"No matter how old you get, you'll always be my little boy. And that will never change."
Enjoying his mother's warmth, the boy subconsciously hugged her tightly as if afraid that she would suddenly disappear.
Feeling a sudden pain in his heart, the boy whimpered.
"But mom… I…I…"
Tears began to form in the boy's eyes as he desperately clung to her.
"You what, dear? Do you have something to say to me?"
Given that his head was burrowed in his mother's chest, the boy could no longer see his mother's face.
But even then, the boy felt a chill go down his spine.
"Are you really going to tell me that you will protect me, son? Now, after all this time? Don't you think that… It's already far too late?"
Slowly lifting his head, the boy looked at the face of the person he was desperately hugging, with tears still flowing from his eyes.
However, instead of his mother's soft and beautiful face, the boy was greeted by a grey, bony corpse.
The corpse's flesh and organs had already rotted away, leaving two hollow holes for eyes that peered down at the boy emotionlessly.
"Take a good look, son…" The woman's once melodious voice was replaced by a raspy screech that closely resembled the sound of nails scratching a chalkboard, "This is what will happen to each and every person that you so desperately want to protect. They'll soon become… Just… Like… Me…"
The boy's face paled in terror as he desperately tried to break himself free, but just as he was tightly hugging his mother moments prior, he was now being held in an iron vice himself.
There was no escape…
(BANG)
(BANG)
(BANG)
Waking up with a start, a boy with auburn-coloured hair, much older now, looked around in alarm.
Instead of the opulent white, blue, and gold room, the boy was now in a considerably less extravagant room.
Feeling drops of cold sweat roll down his skin, the boy let out a short sigh.
(BANG)
(BANG)
(BANG)
Once again, hearing the noise that roused him from his not-so-blissful sleep, the boy turned to face a brown wooden door.
"Sir Blaine? Are you awake, sir?"
Hearing a muffled voice from the other side of the door, Blaine pulled himself out of bed, walked to the door, and opened it.
When he opened the door, Blaine was greeted by a black-haired youth dressed in a white combat suit.
Before the black-haired youth could lay his eyes on Blaine, all traces of fear and panic were erased from the latter's face, replaced by a perfect poker face.
Given his expression, which didn't betray even a hint of emotion, it was apparent that Blaine was quite used to wearing this mask.
Whether Blaine was an expert at hiding his inner turmoil or simply had nothing to show, the black-haired boy couldn't tell.
Feeling Blaine's gaze on him, the black-haired boy quickly gave a standard salute.
"I apologize for waking you up, sir, but there's been an emergency. Please get changed and head to General Whitaker's office for debriefing."
Blaine nodded his head before turning around and closing the door behind him.
It was time to get to work.