Chapter 8: Village of Light
In front of the Gate of the Underworld, a man stood alone.
Black stone towers stretched into the darkness, carved with screaming faces and ancient runes. Cold wind blew from the gate, carrying the smell of death and forgotten souls.
Keal, the Hero of Light, stared up with a crazy smile on his face.
"So this is it… the door to the underworld," he muttered. "You're in there somewhere, right… Azreal?"
His golden eyes burned, and his holy mana shook the gate slightly, as if even the underworld reacted to his presence.
…
Far away, on Earth.
Rael wiped the sweat from his forehead and straightened his back. He had just finished his work on the farm. The land around him was green and full of life. Once, this place was dead soil—now it was the most fertile land in the whole district, all because of the mana slowly leaking out of his body.
He looked up at the sky, his calm eyes narrowing a little.
On his finger, a black ring shined faintly.
"Master," a familiar voice echoed from the ring.
Breseark.
Rael smiled slightly. "So, you sensed it too, Breseark… the presence of the Hero, Keal."
One thousand years ago, when Azreal stabbed the Hero of Light with Breseark, the hero didn't just die. His soul broke into many fragments and scattered across the worlds. While Azreal slept and was reborn as Rael, those fragments slowly started joining together again.
Now, they were complete.
Rael sighed softly. "This is what I expected from a genius like him. Even though my mana leak is very low, he still managed to sense me from the Sixth World."
Breseark's voice carried a hint of doubt. "My lord… you are thinking very highly of the Hero of Light."
Rael chuckled. "My friend, he was just a commoner before he was blessed. But in only two months, he understood the huge knowledge of magic that takes nobles years to touch. That alone is impressive."
His eyes turned a bit distant. "And after that, he gave me one of my toughest battles. For a human… that's nothing less than a miracle."
Suddenly, Rael's expression changed. He felt something.
"…They're here," he muttered.
In the next second, he disappeared from the field.
He appeared at the edge of a cliff, looking down at the place he called home.
This was the Village of Light.
The same village where Keal, the Hero of Light, was born. It was part of the Portinis district, under the kingdom of Barns.
At the village entrance, several knights in shiny armor were standing with their horses, banners waving in the wind. Villagers gathered around them, faces filled with fear.
Rael frowned.
He teleported again, appearing quietly at the back of the crowd in the village square.
At the front, the village chief, an old man named Yamamura, was bowing deeply in front of the knights.
"Sir… please understand," Yamamura said with a shaking voice. "We couldn't pay this year's taxes. There was drought… we couldn't grow enough crops to sell…"
The knight in charge clicked his tongue, looking down at him like he was trash. "I don't care about your excuses, old man."
He raised his hand. "From this day, this village will pay sixty percent tax."
The crowd exploded.
"Sixty percent?!"
"We will die!"
"That's impossible!"
People panicked. Mothers grabbed their children. Farmers clenched their teeth.
Yamamura grabbed the knight's leg desperately. "Please, sir! Have mercy! We really can't—"
The knight's face twisted with disgust as he kicked Yamamura to the ground. "You dirty peasant! How dare you touch a noble like me!?"
He drew his sword, lifting it high. "I'll cut your head off right here!"
The blade started to fall toward Yamamura's neck.
But it stopped.
A hand was holding it.
The knight looked up in shock.
Rael stood there, fingers calmly gripping the edge of the sword like it was nothing. His expression was cold, his presence suddenly turning heavy.
The villagers went silent.
The knight's eyes widened. "Y-You… who do you think you are?"
Rael looked at him with those quiet, king-like eyes.
The chapter ends.