The landscape was littered with the remains of shattered carts and burnt wagons. Broken wooden frames fragmented across the muddy path.
Smoke hung in the air. Mixed with the stench of blood that lingered throughout the town.
Men and women. The elderly and children. All lay motionless on the ground. Some were already dead. Others lay there still struggling to breathe. Hoping and wishing for someone to end their suffering.
The cries and wails of the survivors echoed throughout the ruined streets.
Amidst it all, a scar-faced woman knelt on the ground. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she let out a desperate cry.
She looked up at the sky. Her face filled with waves of misery.
"Why us?" Her voice cracked. "Why does it always have to be us?"
"Sniff... sniff... hic..."
Her trembling lips quivered as she struggled to hold back her sobs.
But in the end, she couldn't stop it.
Suddenly, the sound of boots and the clanking of metal echoed through the streets. Silver-armoured paladins marched through the piles of bodies. A few people were still breathing beneath the rubble. Desperately clinging to life.
But the knights showed no mercy. They kicked the bodies aside like discarded debris. Raising clouds of dust as they cleared a path through the wreckage.
Soon, they surrounded the scar-faced woman. They raised their swords. Pointing their blades straight at her face. As if she were some wanted fugitive.
The woman stared at them. Then let out a bitter laugh. Tears still rolling down her cheeks.
"Hahahaha... hic... hic..."
"Why? Why did you do this? What did those innocent people ever do to you?"
She swallowed hard.
Her voice trembled as she struggled to speak through her sobs.
"All they wanted was to live their lives in this wretched land!"
She took a shaky breath before continuing.
"They never asked for peace. Yet they still dreamed of it. They never asked for someone else's land. They only struggled to survive in this foreign place."
They didn't harm anyone. Not even a speck of a soul.
Her voice broke.
"But... but you slaughtered them without a second thought!"
"Why...?"
She glared at the knights. Her eyes filled with hatred.
"What made you do this?"
She bit her lips so hard that blood trickled down her chin. But the pain meant nothing to her anymore.
Her jaw trembled as she stared at the knights.
"What makes you any different from those wretches and bandits who kill for their own pleasure? Tell me!"
The knights stood silently. Their faces hidden beneath their silver masks. Looking at them, she couldn't even tell whether there was a human side beneath that armour.
"Thuh..."
She spat on the ground before them. There was nothing left for her to do but curse them with the few words she had left.
"I curse you, maggots! May you fall into the abyss of sin and rot in Hell!"
Her voice grew louder. Carrying across the wrecked town. The survivors watched her with pity.
Some trembled as they listened to her curses. Wishing they had the courage to speak the same words as she spoke. But they knew better. The woman's fate had already been sealed the moment she raised her voice.
Filled with rage and wrath, she shouted.
"I pray to the Devil of Darkness and the God of Evil that your bloodline falls into misery! May your king..."
Before she could finish, a silver blade flashed through the air.
Her head was severed in an instant.
---
Leo jolted awake. His body drenched in sweat. He stared ahead. Breathing heavily as the horrifying scene from his dream lingered in his mind.
"Huff... huff..."
He wiped the sweat from his face and let out a shaky breath.
"Damn it... What kind of dream was that? And who was that woman?"
"You've got to be kidding me."
"It had already been the fourth time. The fourth time dame it"
He had experienced something like this repeatedly for heaven sake.
And each time, he had been forced to experience that heart-wrenching pain.
Leo couldn't make sense of any of it. All he could feel was helplessness.
Honestly, that was how he had been feeling ever since he arrived in this damned world.
He slowly sat up on the bed. Still trying to calm his breathing. But frustration soon welled up inside him and reached his brain. And he punched the bed he was sitting on as a depressed maniac.
How much longer could he endure this fate?
He had been through a lot lately like way lot.
And to be honest, he felt like he could punch someone just to let out his frustration.
But considering his current situation, he knew the only person who would end up in a miserable state if he picked a fight with someone was himself.
"Huh..."
He sighed heavily before looking down at the poor bed he had just punched.
Haa... If this bed could talk, I'm sure it gonna curse me out.
But soon, he remembered yesterday's incident.
At least today he had to thank God for sparing him from the heart-wrenching pain he'd experienced before.
He shivered a little.
"God, I know you're probably going to put me through that pain again. But could you at least make it come monthly?"
He paused for a moment before muttering to himself.
"Honestly, I don't think I have the caliber to deal with it every week and days."
Still trembling, he wrapped his arms around his upper waist. As if trying to protect himself from the pain he feared would return.
He had been thinking about a lot of things lately. He knew this world was dangerous.
Like, far more dangerous than he had initially imagined. And that was exactly why he wanted to get stronger.
But he couldn't due to his limitations.
To be honest, at this point, Leo didn't care about anything else. All he wanted was to figure out how to become stronger. But he had no idea where to begin.
And right now, the only person he could ask was Silvia.
As the situation feels desperate he stared at the ceiling, soon he suddenly remembered how he had first woken up in this very same unfamiliar room.
Feeling utterly helpless. Even now, nothing had changed really. He was still stuck in the same desperate messed up situation. Unable to do much about his his current circumstances.
Feeling helpless, Leo's eyes nearly welled up with tears. He could barely hold back his emotions when a tiny droplet formed in the corner of his eye.
Suddenly, a transparent, blurry screen floated in front of him. Positioned directly within his line of sight.
Startled by its sudden appearance, Leo panicked. He moved his head to the right and then to the left. But the screen followed his gaze.
Growing increasingly agitated, he waved his hand through it. Only for his hand to pass straight through the transparent screen.
"Damn! What is this now? Am I getting some eye condition now? Wait, don't tell me I'm going blind."
God, why are you playing with me like this?... at least leave my eyes behind. I don't want to go blind.
He couldn't make out what the blurry thing was supposed to be.
He tried everything on it was too blurry figure out what it is.
Is this some kind of advanced floater?
"Holy mother of God do we have any eye specialist here in this world."
Atleast he could find a way to save his eye.
But soon he tried to calm and braced up himself while cursing a little.
Shit. Anyway, it's not the first time I'm dealing with something strange.
Leo soon closed his eyes. Placed his hand against his forehead. And shook his head in frustration.
He kept his eyes closed for a minute. Hoping the floating screen would disappear. Slowly, he opened them again.
Only to find that the transparent screen was still there. However, this time, it looked much clearer and defined.
Almost like a holographic screen floating right in front of him.
Unlike before, Leo didn't panic. Instead, he remained calm. Tried to make sense of what he was seeing.
"Wait, is this some kind of AI or gaming panel?"
He could see his name displayed on the hologram. Along with some basic information that seemed to belong to his current world.
Without panicking, he tried to understand the floating panel.
╔══════════ STATUS ══════════╗
Name: Leonal Graythorn
Persona: Harbinger of the Devil
Core: Dormant
Doctrine: Unawakened
Authority: None
╚════════════════════════════╝
Out of everything displayed on the screen, the word Status caught his attention first. He tried to get a basic understanding of the information by comparing it to the games he used to play back on Earth. It was almost like a character status screen. Except the information seemed to belong to his current world.
His eyes settled on the word Persona. Followed by the title Harbinger of the Devil.
Wait, does that mean I'm actually the Devil's servant? Did the previous owner of this body really make some kind of pact with the Devil?
No, wait.
But then again, that wasn't the important part.
How do I even have a Persona?
How is that even possible? Isn't the book said he could awaken only after the ritual? But how is it showing he got a Persona?
But again..His gaze shifted to the next line.
Core: Dormant.
Leo began to think.
Does that mean I'll be able to awaken?
His eyes widened as excitement surged through him. After being desperate for the past three weeks, how could he not feel overjoyed at the possibility?
For the first time since arriving in this world, he finally had a clue that might lead him towards the path of actual survival.
But his excitement soon faded as another question came to mind.
How am I supposed to awaken?
The panel clearly stated that he had a Persona. But what about his Doctrine? It still said Unawakened.
Leo tried to organise his thoughts. Searched through his memories for anything that might help him understand the situation but unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find any useful information.