The girl had a dream.
In the dream, she was happily eating dinner with her parents, but at that moment, a man suddenly appeared out of thin air before them.
Before the girl could react to what was happening, her father—the kind and gentle father who was always so warm in daily life—summoned two swords and lunged at the man. In the blink of an eye, however, he was killed by his opponent. Her mother also raised her hands and summoned flames, trying to fight, but soon she, too, was engulfed in fire and reduced to a charred corpse.
After that, the girl no longer remembered what had happened...
"Ugh..."
When the girl opened her eyes, she saw an unfamiliar ceiling.
"Ah, you're awake."
At the same time, a familiar voice reached her ears. The girl turned her head and saw a very familiar white-haired girl sitting beside her, watching her with a smile.
"You're... Maria..."
The girl remembered that the other person was her cousin, Naruse Maria. She murmured to herself, then raised her head again. Not far away, a hulking figure was sitting in a chair—if she remembered correctly, he was the neighbor who lived next door.
"Mister..."
"Don't call me 'mister.' I'm not that old yet."
Duanmu Huai rolled his eyes helplessly.
"Are you all right?"
"Ugh... Why am I here? I remember eating dinner at home with Mom and Dad..."
The girl sat up, then lowered her head and looked at the bloodstains on her Sailor Uniform. At that moment, her originally hazy memories suddenly became clear.
"Wait, where are Mom and Dad?!"
"You'd better not go look..."
Duanmu Huai reached out and pressed down on the girl's shoulder. She struggled for a moment, then dejectedly sat back down on the sofa.
"What happened? Why... This