I didn't stay on the beach any longer. What the old man told me was starting to bother me, so to calm myself, I decided to go to the central area to get some snacks.
On my way there, I passed a family laughing at some joke and thought about my own family. Could they be laughing together like this if I weren't there?
Despite my ignorance, I was fully aware of how wrong I was and how much of a burden I was for everyone, not just my family. In a way, I knew the old man was right. I was completely worthless.
But still, I was too lazy and ignorant to wish to change.
Before I realized it, I was already in the central area, called Branho. An odd name in my opinion, but it was the only area of the town that had a name.
I have been to other towns only on certain occasions, such as my aunt's birthday. Except on her birthday, I have never interacted with her, so when I found out she died, I wasn't necessarily sad.
I thought about it for a while, then realized I had ended up in an area I hadn't explored before.
I was excited, as this was a pretty rare thing, so I completely forgot about the old man and my aunt. I started exploring. It was a kind of alley that people didn't really use. After around 10 minutes, I felt a cold hand on my shoulder.
I backed away from the hand and looked in the direction it was coming from. There were two guys, definitely older than me. One of them had short black hair and a round face, and the other one had long blond hair and was pale.
I figured they were up to no good, so I started running. That wasn't a good idea. Since they were much taller than me, they caught up easily, and the blond guy pinned me against a wall. There was no one around.
"Hello," I told them, trying to remain calm.
"Where yer' trying to run?" the guy asked, taking a few steps backward.
This is pretty usual, and talking doesn't work most of the time, I thought.
Before I could say something, the blond guy raised his fist and punched. I was barely able to get out of the way of his punch, and by the cracks it left in the wall, I could tell he had used magic.
"Wait, Aron, do you sense this guy's mana? I surely don't," the guy with black hair said.
"Actually…" he smirked, "I don't even think he can feel it, let alone use it or something!"
I silently agreed with him, but a part of me wanted to prove him wrong.
While they were making fun of me, I gathered mana in my fist and punched Aron. He was so surprised, he didn't react. However, my punch was still very weak. His expression shifted into a laugh.
"Yo, check this out! He supposedly can control mana, but I didn't even need to shield myself!"
They started laughing. Then Aron punched me in the gut. I fell to my knees, the pain was something I'd never felt before, and I could feel blood spilling from my mouth. I had never taken a mana-imbued punch like this.
Then the guy with black hair kicked me in the face, which, luckily, wasn't enhanced.
"Such filth should not be allowed to exist," Aron said as they left.
After around half an hour, I managed to get up. It was starting to get dark again, and I still had to face my parents.
This experience determined me to find Grandpa's diary, so maybe I could find clues that would lead me to fully understanding magic and mana.
As I got home, I noticed that, again, only the lights from the first floor were lit up.
As I got closer, I heard whispers.
"Are you sure we should've let the Sakakos go?" a deep voice asked.
"They aren't our target, and it's not our business if they tell someone," an older voice replied, almost casually. "Let's just find the diary and get out of here," the older voice continued.
My blood froze. Had they come for Grandpa's diary? Was it that valuable? Where did Mr. and Mrs. Sakako go? I had lots of questions, but I kept listening.
"I can't believe your plan actually worked, and they all thought that he died from a heart attack," the deep voice said.
He didn't get a reply.
I was just standing there, unable to move. I wondered if my parents were safe. I wasn't willing to admit it, but I was really worried. Then the door opened.
"You were right! He really came by himself!" said the deep voice.
The other man sighed.
They were dressed in black and had masks on their faces with only their eyes visible. They grabbed me by my arms and started to drag me. I was still in shock, so I didn't resist.
When I finally recovered from the shock, I was tied to the table in the kitchen. I looked up and saw my mom, dad, and Lili tied in front of me, all unconscious. I panicked. A man took off his mask. It was the older man. He was balding and had sunken cheeks.
"Listen, kid. I don't wanna kill your family, but you gotta tell me where that diary is," he said calmly.
"I... I swear I... I don't know," I said, frightened.
"Fine, let's try again," the older man said, giving me a menacing look. "Where is the diary?" he asked again.
"I swear I don't know!" I started panicking. Then I saw the younger man raise his finger and shoot a condensed mana bullet toward my dad, which simply blew him from the inside. I was absolutely horrified.
Tears started rolling down my face as I finally understood why my parents suffered so much from my grandpa's death. The mental pain was unimaginable.
The older man kneeled in front of me with a look of pity.
"For your good, where is the diary?" he whispered.
I didn't reply. I saw the other man shoot the mana bullet at my mom. I couldn't look. It was as if my heart was slowly being torn apart.
"We will take the girl," said the older man, pointing at Lili.
The younger man nodded and took Lili.
"Wait!... P…lea…" I couldn't finish.
The older man untied me. "He is in shock. Let him be, and let's burn the house."
The two men left.
Shortly after, I saw the walls starting to burn, and I could feel the heat from the fire reaching me like a sharp claw.
I couldn't fully process what had happened.