novelraw Chapter 56 – First Scar
Chapter 56 – First Scar
Flames devoured the village, casting long, writhing shadows across the bloodstained streets. The acrid stench of burning wood mixed with the iron tang of fresh corpses.
I could hear the crackling of collapsing houses, the anguished screams of those who hadn’t escaped in time, and the ruthless laughter of the bandits who had orchestrated this massacre.
But none of that mattered.
【... They will lose.】
My parents fought desperately against twenty bandits. Their movements were sluggish, their exhaustion evident. Cuts and bruises marred their bodies. Their breaths were ragged, their stance unsteady.
<“...This plan better work.”>
I didn’t have any weapon nor magic that could harm the bandits.
Just a horse.
My only choice was to escape with my parents.
But—
【The probability is 5℅.】
<“Dammit.”>
In a novel, a protagonist might defy even the slimmest odds of 0.001%, but this was no fiction.
I am not a protagonist.
Even a 50% success rate would give me pause, but this, at 5%?
But there was no other choice.
If I did nothing, my parents would die.
Their safety would depend on my courage and determination, regardless of the unsettling odds.
I took a deep breath, steadied my grip on the reins, and kicked the horse’s sides.
*Stomp* *Stomp* *Stomp*
The ground trembled beneath the horse’s thundering gallop.
The wind whipped against my face as I surged forward, the orange glow of fire casting flickering patterns over my parents' shocked expressions.
The nearest bandit turned, his eyes widening.
“H-Huh? Hey! Stop!”
*Neighhhh*
With a mighty cry, the horse reared up.
Its steel-hard hooves crashed down, striking the man square in the chest.
*WHACK!*
A sickening crack echoed through the air as his ribs shattered, his body launching backward into the raging inferno of my burning home.
“Aaarrrggghhh! Hot! Hot! Help!”
The screams of his flesh melting into the flames were brief.
Taking a life for the first time never crossed my mind at this moment.
My sole focus was rescuing my parents.
Another bandit rushed forward, raising his sword.
"Little brat, I'll—”
*WHACK!*
I yanked the reins hard to the side.
The horse pivoted sharply, and with a violent kick, its hoof connected with the man's jaw.
His head snapped back at an unnatural angle, his body crumpling to the ground in a lifeless heap.
A third lunged at me with a dagger.
【Move left!】
I pulled left without hesitation.
The blade missed my side by inches, the bandit's momentum carrying him past me.
“Shit—”
*CRACK!*
Before he could recover, my horse trampled over him, his agonized scream cut short as his skull met the unforgiving earth.
A fourth tried to strike from the rear. I felt the shift in the air, the blade slicing toward my back.
【Lean forward!】
I obeyed.
*Swoosh!*
The sword missed by a hair, but before he could try again, my horse kicked out wildly.
*WHACK!*
The hoof struck his stomach with enough force to cave it in. Blood burst from his mouth as he collapsed, his insides likely pulverized.
“F-Freed!”
“What are you doing here!?”
Mom's and Dad’s voice cut through the carnage. I spared them a glance—their crimson and ocean eyes were wide with shock.
"Save the scolding for later! Get on!”
Before they regained their composure, another bandit attempted to stop me, but I twisted the reins.
The horse turned sharply and slammed into him with full force.
*WHACK!*
His body was sent flying, landing with a sickening thud against the stone wall of a burning house.
“Aaarrrggghhh!”
Five bandits down. The rest hesitated, their previous arrogance replaced with unease.
But they were all now scattered.
As I wondered the next action—
“Freed, over here!”
Dad reached out, and I maneuvered to his side.
I guided the horse forward, kicking another bandit aside like discarded trash.
"Aaaaaa—!”
They screamed.
But I didn’t care.
“Don’t stop!”
Before I could stop the horse, dad suddenly carried mom in his arms and leaped towards me.
She settled behind me, her grip tightening around my waist while her staff pointed outward.
Dad’s arm secured her while the other held his sword at the ready.
I turned the horse, its muscles tensing beneath me.
But the seventh bandit leaped from the side and raised his sword.
“Die—”!
As he tried to swing down his sword, a red line mark appeared on his neck.
*Psshh!*
Blood spurted out as Dad severed his head first.
“Go, Freed!”
We had made it this far.
Now we had to escape.
I kicked the horse’s sides once more.
We took off beneath the sun.
The hooves pounded against the dirt as we raced through the burning village, but thirteen bandits were not far behind.
“Where do you think you can go!?”
Mom raised her staff, a shimmering red barrier forming just in time.
*BOOM!*
*Neeiigghhh*
A burst of aura shot past us, and the horse reared in panic. The explosion dissipated, but the impact rattled us.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
More blasts followed, shaking the ground behind us.
“Ugh…”
Mom gritted her teeth, her hands trembling as she kept summoning barriers.
Dad held onto her, transferring what little mana he had left.
"Freed, the forest—!"
Dad pointed ahead.
The treeline loomed just beyond the outskirts of the village.
Just a little more—
*BOOM!*
A final attack shattered Mom’s barrier completely.
Without delay, another aura blade launched.
*Slash!*
*Neighhhh*
The horse shrieked. Its front leg buckled as blood poured from the wound.
“Kyaaa!!!”
“Uwaaaaa”
A sudden halt and fall of the horse threw the three of us from the saddle.
Even in mid-air, as my vision spun, I saw Dad launched water aura towards the bandit.
*Psshh!*
The blue aura sliced the bandit’s body vertically without mercy, splitted him into two.
Twelve bandits left.
The moment we hit the ground, I knew we were in trouble.
Pain exploded through my body as I tumbled across the dirt, my vision swimming, my ears ringing from the impact. A sharp, searing pain spread from my forehead, warm blood trickling down my face. My left foot throbbed, agony lancing up my leg like fire.
““Ugh…””
Gritting my teeth, I forced myself upright, leaning against a tree
My arms trembled under my weight, but I couldn’t afford to stop.
I turned my gaze forward.
Mom and Dad stood before me.
Their bodies were battered, clothes torn and stained with blood—some theirs, some not. Yet, despite the exhaustion evident in their eyes, they remained unyielding.
They met my gaze and, as if to reassure me, forced small smiles.
But I could see it.
Those smiles were weak.
<“Ah… Did I fail to save them..?”>
My heart pounded.
Even though their bodies screamed for rest, they stood firm against the twelve remaining bandits, weapons clenched tightly in their hands.
Then, a cruel laugh shattered the silence.
"Hehehe… finally stopped running?”
A towering bandit stepped forward, twirling his jagged sword with practiced ease. He was burly, his arms rippling with muscle, his face twisted with amusement.
“Surrender now, and maybe we’ll let the kid live.” His smirk widened, eyes flicking toward Mom. “The woman, though… we might have some fun with her.”
Dad said nothing.
He didn’t need to.
With a single step, he vanished.
The bandit’s smirk barely had time to falter before Dad reappeared in front of him, his blade already in motion.
*Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!*
Steel met steel in a storm of rapid strikes. Dad’s sword became a blur, every swing precise, every movement calculated. The bandit staggered, barely keeping up with the relentless assault.
A second bandit lunged at Dad from the side, blade cutting through the air.
Dad twisted away, narrowly avoiding the strike—but the moment he dodged, a third bandit raised his hand, a surge of crackling energy forming at his fingertips.
*WHAMM!*
A crimson barrier erupted between them, deflecting the attack before it could reach Dad.
Smoke curled from the impact.
From within the haze, something flashed.
A streak of blue—
*Psshhh!*
The bandit’s body stiffened as Dad’s aura-infused blade carved cleanly through his throat.
A moment later, he collapsed, blood pooling around him.
Eleven left.
“You bastard! Haaaah!”
Five bandits rushed Dad in unison, their weapons coming from every direction.
Dad ducked under the first swing, sidestepped the second, and met the third with a bone-rattling parry.
*Clang!*
Sparks flew as their swords clashed.
Without breaking momentum, he twisted his body, thrusting his blade into an enemy’s gut.
*Psshhh!*
The bandit gasped as blood gushed from the wound.
Before the others could react, Dad wrenched his sword free and pivoted, severing another’s throat in a clean horizontal arc.
“AAHHH—!”
The scream was cut short as a third bandit fell, his chest cleaved open.
Nine left.
But then—
*WHACK!*
A powerful kick slammed into Dad’s ribs, sending him hurtling backward. He tumbled across the dirt before coming to a stop near me, coughing up blood.
I barely had time to react before another five bandits swarmed Mom.
She moved like fire itself—fluid, untouchable, deadly.
Her body weaved between their attacks, every step precise, her staff spinning in blinding arcs.
With a flick of her wrist, flames erupted from her staff, shaping into spears of pure fire.
She thrust her hands forward.
*Swoosh!*
The spears shot toward the bandits, cutting through the air like blazing arrows.
Two of them leapt aside just in time—
But three weren’t fast enough.
*Psshh!*
The fiery projectiles impaled them through the forehead, their bodies collapsing as the flames seared through flesh and bone.
Six left.
“Haa… haa…”
Mom and Dad gasped for breath, their bodies trembling from exhaustion. Their weapons remained planted in the dirt, barely holding them up.
I had never seen them like this before.
They had pushed beyond their limits, and now…
They had nothing left to give.
Their aura was gone. Their mana was spent.
But, the bandit’s condition was not different from theirs.
Six enemies remained.
But something felt wrong.
It was supposed to be six—
But I only saw five.
One was missing.
Where—?
““FREED, WATCH OUT!””
Mom and Dad’s voices ripped through the air, raw with desperation.
They were sprinting toward me, their expressions twisted with panic, exhaustion forgotten.
I barely had time to turn—
A shadow moved.
From my left, just outside my field of vision.
A bandit, faster than the others.
His greatsword was already airborne.
The massive blade spun toward me, carving through the air with a haunting whisper.
Too fast.
Too close.
I couldn’t move.
The steel glinted, its deadly edge reflecting my wide, frozen eyes.
*Psshhh!*
A wet, sickening sound.
For a moment, the world stopped.
Something warm splattered across my face.
My breath hitched.
And in that moment—
The first scar of trauma in this world carved itself into my soul.