The entire place laid bare in ruins. Smoke from the all burnt out building was slowly making its way up the sky. The ground was covered in dirt and there was debris scattered all over.
There were bodies of servants and few guards lying around as blood flowed from their bodies.
Suddenly, the gates burst open. It was surprising how it was still in shape despite what had happened within.
A young man led a group of warriors inside, his hand strategically placed like he was about to launch a spell.
He was an SSS-ranked warrior.
As he entered, he scanned the area then turned around and shouted.
"Safe!"
And then, a man walked in. His face distorted from his frown wearing a long flowing robe and heavy neck beads. His silver-black striped hair was packed into a bun above his head and his long beards were framed by his equally long moustache.
"What happened here?" The man muttered.
"Father, I think everyone is dead." The young man said.
"Dead? What about Anne and her sons?" The man asked.
He was Kanji San. The head of the family and this was his wife's home.
Hearing the words from the young man made his eyes glance around wildly. If one could take a closer look, they could have noticed that he was trembling. His heart was beating really fast and he could feel the blood boiling in his ears.
The young man glanced at his men nonchalantly and then signalled with his hands.
"Fan out and check for survivors or bodies." He said.
Suddenly, there was a loud scream accompanied by a maniac sort of laughter.
Instantly, the men stood their guard as they listened. The SSS-ranked warrior stood protectively in front of his father, with one hand serving as a shield.
"That seems to be coming from the yard." One of the men said as they all listened.
"Careful-" The SSS-ranked warrior was saying when the older man pushed him out of the way.
"That sounded like Yamato." He said, his eyes lighting up with hope.
The SSS-ranked warrior held him by the arm.
"Father, we cannot jump into conclusions. Someone might be playing a fast one on-" He was still speaking when the older man pushed away from him, cutting him short.
"Yagami, I know what I heard." He said and started walking away briskly in the direction of the sounds.
"Quick! What are you all waiting for? Protect your lord!" Yagami yelled, his disapproval barely hidden away.
Clearly, he had been banking on everyone being dead already.
The men created a form of protective barrier around the old man as they all thronged to the country yard where the sounds were coming from.
Soon, they came around the ruins of the big hall and everyone froze at what they saw.
A young man in blood stained clothes sat on the ground, his hands covered in blood as he kept laughing maniacally.
Before him were two bodies. A middle aged woman with a deep gash on her neck and a much younger man who had a deep slash across his chest.
From their dressing, one could tell that they were aristocrats.
"Anne-" The older man said and ran over to their bodies, falling to his knees as he reached for the bodies.
There was silence spread among every other person save for the laughing young man.
Suddenly, the older man looked up at him, his eyes reddened with anger.
"You devil!" He yelled as he slowly rose up.
It seemed like his movements struck a cord of the sorts as the laughing devil increased in his actions.
His laughter was becoming even more annoying.
The older man suddenly grabbed him by the collar as he lifted his up and now, for the first time, everyone could see the face of the young man.
He had been yanked in a way his head tilted up revealing his face. His eyes - oh his eyes - they looked really crazy, red with tiny red veins streaking around the white parts, almost bulging from their sockets and his pupils dilated in such a way one would assume they were tiny dots.
But these were not the highlights of what was in his eyes.
It was the tears.
He was crying and laughing crazily yet instead of the transparent liquid that should be flowing, his eyes were dropped red liquid.
BLOOD
His was crying blood!
"Stop laughing, will you? you devil!!!" The old man yelled as he shook him violently.
"Dad, the darkness has taken them." He said, his thin trembling index finger pointing towards the bodies.
And he started laughing.
This made the older man really vexed so much that he balled his free hand into fists as he punched him across the face really hard.
This sent the young man falling again to the ground, yet he would not cease laughing. At this point, there was blood at the side of his mouth from the punch he had received.
"Make him stop!" The older man yelled.
Yagami stepped forward, his eyes barely hiding the smile that caused wrinkles by the corner as he started moving his hand diagonally. Flashes started off and then there was something pulsating.
An energy current at the tip of his fingers.
"Yamato, I am warning you, shut your mouth or I would deal with you." He said.
Instantly, Yamato fell forward. He was on all fours, his hands supporting his weight as he glared at Yagami crazily.
"Your mother finally would move from concubine, right? You! You know what you did!!" Yamato yelled.
"Stop talking crazy!" Yagami yelled then on second thoughts added, "Brother."
"I'm not your brother, murderer! You and your-" Yamato started speaking.
"Why are you hesitating? Do it already. I'm tired of hearing his crazy talks!" The older man yelled.
Suddenly, Yagami flicked his wrists, his hands crackling with electricity as he summoned a bolt of lightning, striking Yamato with a burst of energy that sent him crashing face down to the ground.
The latter fell flat as he shook violently in pain. Then he ceased moving.
Now, there was silence as no one dared to make a sound.
"Check him." The older man yelled at a soldier standing nearby.
The man rushed over as he turned Yamato around, his eyes were tight shut and there was a smoking wound from his chest. Fearing the worst, the man brought his hands close to his nose and then touched the side of his neck.
Suddenly, Yamato's eyes opened causing the man to stagger and fall on his butt.
"He's- he's alive, my lord." The man said.
The older man walked closer as he stood over the young man, gazing at him with pure distaste. Suddenly, he spat to the side.
"You evil creature. I should have known that you would do nothing but embarrass me forever!" He stated.
"Sister!" A woman suddenly ran from around the side they had come from and instantly, Yagami went and held her.
"They're dead, mother." He said as he held her.
"Oh no! But we were supposed to light the lanterns together tomorrow for the festival!" She cried while Yagami held her.
"Get a grip, woman!" The older man yelled.
"I'm sorry, my lord. I'm just so sad about-" she noticed his glare and went mute.
"Everyone, listen. From today, my first son is Yagami. As for this demon, take him away, treat him and place him on the next batch to Kataguri." He declared.
There were gasps.
The woman peeled away from her son.
"But, my lord, isn't Kataguri a place for outcasts, scoundrels and the likes? It's really dangerous!" She protested.
"I know. Look at him, he deserves it. All his life, he could not even manage to become an F-class warrior while his younger brother has made us all proud and become an SSS-ranked warrior!" The man yelled.
"I know he deserves even worse, my dear. But don't you think he should die than to suffer such fate?" She asked, bathing her eyelashes suggestively.
The woman was clearly a sly serpent.
An epitome of rotten evil.
"Death is too kind a fate for him, Lira. I need him to spend the rest of his days wishing he had died instead." The man declared and then nodded.
"You heard my father, take him away." Yagami said.
Instantly, two men went over and grabbed Yamato as they half dragged him away.
Noticing her husband was not looking, Lira decided to act quickly.
"Wait, let me bid him good bye. He was a son to me too." She said.
The men halted as she went over to him. She lent in close as she whispered into his ears.
"You should do well to die out there." She said, her whisper almost intimate but her words were laced with a subtle warning that only she and Yamato might understand.
Suddenly, she pushed the poison-coated needle into his chest right where his heart was.
The tiny prick caused barely a flicker of response from the already battered young man.
She stood straight and then nodded as the men dragged Yamato away.
Yagami walked over to his mother and then whispered. "What was that?"
"Tying loose ends. Now, he will never return." She said.
"Why do you say so?" He whispered.
"Because, without being able to channel his energy, he would be lost out there to even the tiniest monster."