"Dad!"
"Raphtalia!"
After returning to the village, Raphtalia saw that her father, who had gone to the neighboring town, was already home. She hurried over to him.
"Are you all right? I was worried sick!"
"Yes. I remembered what you told me-'If anything happens, hurry back to the village'-so I came straight back."
"Good girl."
Her father gently stroked Raphtalia's head. Her lips curved into a little smile, and she looked happy.
Then her father went to discuss things with the other adults in the village.
"Everyone, I spoke to the lord. Apparently, a huge number of monsters have poured out from the source of that rift in the sky!"
"Monsters!? Does that mean we need to send the villagers who can fight to deal with them?"
"That's essentially right."
Raphtalia quietly listened to the adults discussing the situation. She faintly heard a terrifying, eerie roar coming from the rift in the sky. A chill shot from her tail straight to her head, and her tail bristled-that sound was truly frightening.
Her father asked with concern, "Are you all right?"
"Yes..."
Just as Raphtalia was about to answer, panicked cries came from other villagers outside-
"This is terrible! Terrible! The town's streets are crawling with monsters! It's turned into a living hell!!" The neighbor who ran into the village was deathly pale.
The adults, who had still been discussing what to do, began to panic too.
"Wh-what!? How could that army of monsters advance so quickly!?"
"The lord said the situation was urgent and told us to flee at once! Apparently, he's already sent someone to the Royal City for help!"
"How is the lord doing now?"
"I don't know... but he seems to be helping evacuate people himself so more of them can escape..."
"Tch..."
The adults in the village discussed the situation urgently, their faces grave.
"At a time like this, Sadeena and the village's other brave fighters are all out fishing. The sea's rough now, too. Who knows if they'll even be able to get back?"
The sky grew more and more ominous.
At last, a strange rattling sound reached their ears, and all the villagers turned toward its source.
"What... is that?" Raphtalia's little face instantly turned white.
She saw a large crowd of unknown things that looked like human skeletons slowly approaching the village, carrying weapons that gleamed faintly.
So scary... they're so scary.
Raphtalia hid behind her father in fear and clung tightly to his leg.
"Aaaaaaaaah-!!"
The neighbor fled with a piercing scream, prompting the other villagers to shriek in panic as well.
Just then, her father stepped forward like a hero.
"Source of all power-I command you: light, annihilate the enemies before me!"
"Swift holy light!"
A burst of light shot into the mass of monsters and erupted in a dazzling explosion, blasting many of the skeletal monsters to pieces.
"Dad's amazing!" Raphtalia exclaimed softly, her eyes shining with admiration.
But her father clearly had no time to respond. "Everyone! Don't panic! Stay calm and listen to me-leave the village at once, avoid fighting these monsters directly, and conserve your strength! However strong we may be, we can't fight an army this large. Our first priority is to avoid casualties!"
Her mother, who cut down a skeleton with a naginata held in one hand, called out in agreement.
"That's right!"
In the distance, countless more skeletal monsters surged toward the village in a vast horde.
"Leave this to us. You go on ahead."
Her father and mother took on the task of drawing the monsters' attention while the others began evacuating as calmly as they could.
They decided to seek refuge in the port city, which was not too far from the village and should still have been safe. Once there, even with the rough seas, they would have a chance to escape by jumping into the water. It was also a considerable distance from the rift in the sky, making it a relatively safe place.
Protected by her parents and the other adults who could fight, Raphtalia and the other villagers withdrew in an orderly fashion.
But things did not go as they had hoped.
"Rooooar-!!!"
A gigantic, three-headed canine monster charged into the village. It moved so fast that neither her father's magic nor her mother's naginata could hit it!
With a savage sweep of its enormous claws, it sent a villager fighting alongside her parents flying. The villager crumpled to the ground, limbs twisted at the joints, and lay motionless, seemingly no longer breathing.
There was a ringing in her ears-
At the sight, something seemed to snap inside Raphtalia's head, leaving her mind utterly blank.
"A-aaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
"Aaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!"
Once the first casualty fell, the villagers could no longer remain calm. Panic took hold, and they began scattering in terror. Ignoring every attempt to stop them, they fled straight toward the sea. Raphtalia was knocked down by the villagers scrambling to escape.
"Are you all right?" Her mother helped Raphtalia up, her expression grim.
The three-headed dog savagely slaughtered the villagers who had failed to escape.
"S-so scary." Fear welled up inside Raphtalia, and she buried her face in her mother's arms.
Her mother stroked Raphtalia's head and said solemnly, "Don't be afraid. We'll make it out alive. You don't have to worry."
"Okay."
Raphtalia nodded obediently. She believed every word her mother said.
With her parents protecting her, Raphtalia soon caught up with the fleeing villagers.
The villagers raced toward the cliff and leaped into the sea, hoping to escape the monsters pursuing them.
But to their horror, the giant dog caught up and jumped into the water as well. It tore into the villagers, who were helpless in the surging waves, and the sea instantly turned scarlet.
"A-aaaaaaaaah!!"
Despair hung over the cliff. Every hope of escape seemed to have been cut off. Even if they jumped into the sea, the monster would follow and kill them. If they retreated, countless other monsters were closing in behind them...
"This couldn't be worse..."
Her father's voice sounded more frightening than usual. To protect everyone, he stood at the cliff's edge, relentlessly attacking the giant dog slaughtering villagers in the sea.
"Rooar-!"
The three-headed dog roared and leaped out of the sea, blocking their path and driving them toward the cliff. Once it forced them to jump into the water, it could easily tear out their throats.
"Grrroar-!"
The giant dog attacked with its claws. Her father hurriedly cast magic to fend it off, but although he knocked its claws back, they still gouged a deep wound in his shoulder, sending a horrifying spray of blood into the air.
"Darling, are you all right?" Her mother's face was full of worry.
Her father's expression remained resolute. "I'm all right. It's just..."
The cliff lay behind them. The villagers had already plunged into the sea below, and there was no telling how many had died in the earlier attacks...
He cast a lingering look at his frightened daughter hiding behind him. Raphtalia was only ten years old.
"If we leave this thing alone, I doubt any of us will survive. It'll follow us for sure," her father said quietly.
"Yes..." Her mother seemed to have realized something too, and her voice was subdued.
"I'm sorry for the trouble."
"What are you talking about? I've been ready for this for a long time. Didn't we promise when we got married? We'd stay together in life and death!" Despite the danger, her mother began bantering affectionately with her father, leaving Raphtalia bewildered.
Then she noticed that both her parents had turned to gaze at her. Something in their eyes filled her young heart with an inexplicable panic.
"Raphtalia."
"Wh-what is it?"
Her mother gently patted Raphtalia's back, as though soothing her. "Keep smiling, and be good friends with everyone in the village."
Her father stroked her head too. "That's right. As long as you keep smiling, you can make everyone else smile too."
"Raphtalia... you may face terrible hardships from now on. But at least for now, I want you to survive. Be strong, my dear daughter. Even if your mother and I aren't by your side, you must have the courage to keep living."
Even as young as Raphtalia was, she had a dreadful feeling then that she might never see her parents again.
"No, no! Dad! Mom!"
She tried to struggle, but her mother firmly lifted her into her arms.
"I'm sorry, Raphtalia. Please forgive us for being selfish..."
Though her eyes were filled with reluctance, her mother let go and threw Raphtalia into the sea below the cliff-jumping into the water was now her only chance of survival.
As her parents, they would hold back the vicious monsters behind them until the other villagers and their child had escaped far enough that the monsters could no longer catch them...
Raphtalia was lucky enough to survive.
Before you continue