Doll

Zack had no idea what was happening outside; he only knew that shortly after the party started, a loud bang suddenly erupted in the center of the venue, followed by people's screams as most of the village was engulfed in flames.

The bonfires that should have been placed in the open space fell from the sky like meteorites entering the atmosphere. Huge pieces of burning wood fell like arrows, easily crushing the houses.

One of the giant, blazing logs smashed through the roof above him and plunged into the ground beside him, narrowly missing crushing him into a bloody pulp.

After a brief moment of panic, he quickly regained his composure.

Remembering that Meli was still outside, he decisively grabbed the hunting bow on the wall, pushed open the door, and ran out.

What came into view was a hellish scene.

The night sky was illuminated by flames. Several villagers who were fleeing were unfortunately struck by the giant log, and blood splattered beneath them.

In the distance, in the center of the venue, many people were running towards him.

He shouted loudly, trying to stop someone to ask what was going on, but no one paid any attention to him.

Everyone hurriedly pushed him aside and ran away.

Standing in the crowd, Zack looked like an orphan.

Abandoned by the whole world.

"Go! Go quickly!"

A figure emerged from around the corner of the ruins.

He was holding a half-grown baby in his arms.

A little boy with red, distressed eyes followed behind him.

It was Uncle Jack, the commander of the Garrison Corps stationed here.

Zack remembered that it should be the village chief's child. Could it be...?

Seeing that Uncle Zack was still standing there, looking completely bewildered and at a loss, he seemed a little anxious and quickly called him to run outside together.

"Uncle, what exactly happened?"

Zack jogged after Jack, his face full of eagerness.

Meli should know he was here, but a while has passed since the accident, and his wife still hasn't come looking for him.

Anxiety spread through his heart, as if he were standing on a cracked ice floe of a river, where he could fall in at any moment.

"Demons! Demons attacked the village!"

Uncle Jack gritted his teeth and said, "... Damn it, they didn't even have time to prepare their weapons---"

Because of today's Harvest Festival,

He had even given his Garrison Corps a full day off, never expecting to be attacked at this time; those soldiers, who had just been immersed in the festive atmosphere,

Before they could even react, they were slaughtered like livestock in a slaughterhouse. "Did you see Meli? She should be over there at the meeting!"

His speech became faster and faster, increasingly indistinct, and his eyes were bloodshot and menacing.

It took Jack two repetitions before he could understand what he was saying.

"It seems... no, Meli was looking for you, but she wasn't at the venue... but I haven't seen her since! Hey! Where are you going! Are you crazy?!"

Jack was already in a great hurry, panicked even more when he saw Zack run back without a second thought after hearing what he said.

The boy's father was a close friend of Jack's. After his father died in a hunt a few years ago, Jack took in this orphaned child and raised him ever since, treating him as his own son.

He desperately wanted to pull Zack back immediately, since he had run towards the Demons realm.

But when he looked at the crying baby in his arms and the child clutching his clothes, he remembered the village chief's resentful expression before he died.

He gritted his teeth, steeled his resolve, and led the two children to safety.

"Damn it! You brat, you better not die!"

It was that same feeling of helplessness I had ten years ago when I first went hunting in the mountains with my father and ended up getting lost on my own.

The screams and shouts of the people around him seemed to come from another dimension, gradually fading away from Zack's world.

The fiery inferno before him was replaced by a desolate, dark forest. He felt not the heat emanating from the flames, but a bone-chilling cold.

That feeling of helplessness, the feeling that even if he cried his heart out, no one would respond, once again filled his heart deeply.

He searched desperately for that familiar trace, like a child lost and separated from his family. No, it couldn't be what he thought...

He instinctively reached into his pocket and tightly gripped a crudely made silver ring. He had secretly bought it along with the earrings when Meli wasn't looking. Actually, the two of them did have a pair of rings, but because Meli wanted to make soap, they had to part with one.

Her hands often get wet or covered in other strange things, so she's always been reluctant to take them out to wear.

Therefore, when Zack saw the silver ring today, he had the idea of using it as a substitute. He wanted to surprise her at the party, which is why he had been carrying it with him.

But now he wears this ring, yet he doesn't know where its owner is.

"Zack!"

A burned wooden beam crashed down and hit the ground. He instinctively raised his arm to shield himself from the dust kicked up from the ruins.

When he lowered his arm and regained his vision, a disheveled girl with a face covered in dust was standing in the ruins.

The two looked at each other almost simultaneously, and in that instant, Zack truly felt as if he had returned to this world.

It's her! She's still alive!

Thank goodness Meli is alright...

A smile unconsciously crept onto his face, as if celebrating a reunion amidst the chaos, or like a lost child finding his way home.

An indescribable joy welled up within me.

He stretched out his hand, trembling, revealing a silver ring in his palm. "Fool, run! What are you standing there for!"

The moment she saw the silver ring in Zack's hand, she understood his thoughts. Her complex expression kept changing, sometimes joyful, sometimes helpless, and finally turning into a wry smile. She was a little overwhelmed by this rare romance, but she quickly recovered and urged him to run away with her.

"Now is not the time for sentimentality, you blockhead!" Before she could finish speaking, as if sensing something, a look of confusion and helplessness flashed in her eyes. Then, a flower of blood burst from Meli's chest, her heart pierced by a strange black hand.

A trickle of blood flowed from the corner of Meli's mouth, and the tenderness in her eyes as she looked at Zack still lingered.

But soon, her pupils also lost their luster and became completely dark.

The bloodstains on the ground resembled her favorite Butterfly Orchids, but she would never have the chance to inhale their delicate fragrance again...

In just a few seconds, Zack's heart pounded wildly until it reached rock bottom. He stood there stunned, and the silver ring in his hand fell to the ground.

The assailant tossed aside the girl's corpse, the movement as rough as if he were throwing away trash.

The owner of this hand emerged from behind the ruins.

The Demons that Uncle Jack mentioned could be easily identified simply by looking at the pair of horns on its head.

He was dressed in a black overcoat, and his emotionless eyes were chilling, but Zack felt nothing. He felt he was dead, dead in the previous moment from which he could never return.

The Demons observed the pale expression on his face with great interest.

But only a few seconds later, he grew tired of the puppet-like, motionless man. The black hand that had emerged from behind him lashed out again, heading straight for Zack.

Clang!

The Silver Sword sliced through the air, solidly blocking the attack. The black hand, like a living creature, briefly retreated after colliding with the Silver Sword, like a cunning snake flicking its tongue, carefully considering the danger level of this newly appeared prey.

A powerful hand pulled Zack back from the brink of collapse. It was Uncle Jack. After getting the two children to safety, he immediately rushed back with a sword in hand.

Seeing that Zack was about to be killed, he unleashed almost all his strength and arrived at the last second, blocking the attack for him.

Jack was panting heavily.

When the police arrived at the ruins, they felt a pang of anxiety at the sight of the girl's body, which was beginning to grow cold, and understood why Zack had become like this.

But he quickly realized the reality—he absolutely could not beat his opponent.

So he immediately grabbed Zack by the collar and pulled him outside.

Zack, like a lost doll, let Jack drag him a long way, his bewildered and lost eyes lingering in the ruins, as if he had lost something he cherished.

Jack held his sword, remaining highly vigilant, worried that the enemy might attack again.

But the Demons didn't seem to have any intention of pursuing them. In the end, he was tired of this cat-and-mouse game, and killing one more or one less person made no difference to him.

Moreover, the old man with the sword was an experienced warrior. Although I would definitely win if a fight broke out, he wasn't there to fight; he was simply there to slaughter and satisfy his own desires.

He glanced indifferently at the old man who had abandoned his counterattack stance and quickly led Zack away, then snorted coldly before turning and disappearing into the ruins.

It seems they want to return to the venue of the party to properly admire their masterpiece of the evening.