"Luciennnnn!!!"
"RUNNNNNNN!!!!"
Lucien's mother screamed directly into his mind through telepathy.
Lucien's body froze. He glanced at his mother again. The loving, always-beaming mother he knew was scared, not because she was about to die... but because she was afraid her son would die because of her.
Lucien ran toward the stage.
It was foolish, but he was only an eight-year-old child who had just seen his mother in a state he had never wanted her to be in.
The knights guarding the stage noticed a child in a brown robe running toward them. Lucien's mother realized that her child was running toward the stage and screamed again through telepathy.
"NOOOOOO, LUCIENNNNNN! RUNNNN AWAYYYY!"
Lucien heard her.
But he didn't back off.
He continued running.
He crossed the knights guarding the stage.
Then—
He was caught.
The knight grabbed him.
"Civilians can't cross beyond this point."
Lucien looked at the knight. The moment their gazes met, the knight felt shivers run down his spine.
How?
How can a kid's gaze be this strong? Why is his gaze giving me shivers?
The knight grabbed Lucien by the shoulder and pulled off his hood.
His horns were revealed.
"Wh-what?!"
The knight's expression changed.
"Sirrrrr! We found a demon among the crowd!!!!"
The priest looked at Lucien, then glanced at the frightened woman who was about to be executed.
A grin appeared on his face.
"Heh..."
"So this is your offspring?"
He looked directly at Lucien's mother.
"Now... what if he sees you die?"
His words pierced Lucien's mother like a blade. She struggled against her chains, desperately trying to reach her frightened child, but she couldn't.
The crowd erupted.
"Kill the child and mother!"
"Don't spare the seed of sinners!"
"Kill them!"
And many more.
The hatred toward demons was beyond repair. Everyone despised them. They believed a world without demons would be Paradise.
Lucien struggled desperately against the knight's grip. He twisted his body and tried to free himself, but the knight's grip was too strong.
Then—
THUD!
A rock hit Lucien's mother.
She flinched.
And then another rock was thrown.
THUD!
Then another.
THUD!
A series of rocks began raining down upon her.
"NOOOO!"
"SOB—MAMA!"
Lucien screamed at the top of his lungs.
Yet the rocks didn't stop.
THUD!
THUD!
THUD!
The priest stepped forward onto the stage.
"DEVOTEES!"
"You are angry and furious at these sinners. But we shouldn't take this matter into our own hands."
He spread his arms.
"The Goddess has just given us a revelation. We should make an example out of this cursed mother and her son, so that no demon shall ever dare revolt again."
He turned toward the knight.
"Knight, bring that child to the stage!"
The knight obeyed.
He brought Lucien onto the stage.
The moment Lucien was released, he dashed toward his world.
His mother.
He hugged her tightly while crying. His tears soaked her blood-covered clothes.
Lucien's mother looked at him.
"WHY?! WHY DIDN'T YOU RUN AWAY?!!!!"
Lucien answered without hesitation.
"Where would I run, Mama?"
"You are my world..."
He continued crying.
The knight grabbed Lucien by the neck, lifted him into the air, and carried him toward the priest.
The priest looked at him.
Then—
Pfft!
He spat directly into Lucien's eye.
"Your eyes are filthy."
He turned toward one of the knights.
"Remove one of his eyes."
The knight stepped forward, carrying a hot iron rod.
Lucien's eyes widened.
The rod was placed against his left eye.
Sizzle!
"AHHHHHHHH!"
"UGHHHHHGHHA!"
"MAAAAAAAAAAMAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Lucien's scream echoed throughout the entire town.
Yet there wasn't even an ounce of pity or guilt in anyone's eyes. Some people simply looked away, while parents covered their children's eyes so they wouldn't have to witness the cruelty.
Lucien's mother tried desperately to reach her child, but she could do nothing. She could only listen to the screams of her son.
Her own cries joined his.
Her broken screams and Lucien's painful cries filled the town.
Then the priest looked at Lucien.
A beaming smile appeared on his face.
"Heh..."
"Do you want to free your mother?"
Lucien was still in pain. Tears flowed from his right eye while blood poured from his damaged left eye.
Yet...
Lucien nodded.
He was merely a child. He didn't understand the wordplay of the cunning priest.
The priest handed him a knife.
"If you cut this rope..."
"Your mother will be free."
Lucien looked toward his mother.
She was no longer bound by chains. Instead, she had been placed inside a wooden structure, with her head and both hands locked into position.
A guillotine.
A large blade hung directly above her.
Lucien reached toward the rope.
He hesitated.
His hand trembled.
Then he heard his mother's voice directly inside his mind.
"Lucien..."
"You once asked me what my dream was, right?"
"My dream is a world where no one is judged based on their race."
"A world where children of different races can play together."
"A world where you, my little Lucien, are free from the shackles of race and religion."
"That is my dream, Lucien."
"I want you to live in a world without discrimination."
Lucien instinctively looked at his mother.
Blood was still flowing endlessly from her eyes.
Yet...
She was smiling.
As if she were happy.
She turned her face toward Lucien and smiled.
"Make that world for me, Lucien."
"Be happy."
"That is my dream."
Lucien's hesitation disappeared.
He was ready to 'free' his mother.
He cut the rope.
SNAP!
The giant blade dropped.
Everyone looked away.
Everyone...
Except Lucien.
SPLATTT!
THUD.
Lucien's...
Mother...
Was beheaded.
His mother's head rolled down.
Lucien dashed toward it and grabbed it. He hugged his mother's severed head against his chest, crying his lungs out.
"YOU TOLD ME MY MOTHER WOULD BE FREED, BUTTT YOUUUUU MADE ME KILLLLL HERRRRR!!!!!"
The priest scoffed.
"So what? At least she died at the hands of someone she loves."
The priest approached the crying boy.
Lucien's remaining eye was as furious as a starving lion's. When the priest saw it, he flinched.
But in the end, Lucien was just a cub, not a lion.
The priest took Lucien's mother's head and placed it on top of his spear. He then planted the spear in the middle of the stage.
"This will serve as an example for those who think they can run away from their fate."
He then simply turned away.
Lucien ran toward the spear, but the knights blocked him.
The priest was about to leave, but then he gave a command to one of the knights.
"Capture him. I want to break it."
The knight simply nodded.
After the priest left, the knight let Lucien go.
Lucien rushed toward the spear and grabbed it, crying as he tried to reach his mother.
His mother was no longer there.
He waited for her to scold him, love him, pat him, tickle him...
But it was nothing but a dream now.
The crowd slowly disappeared, as if they had never been there.
As time passed, there were only two people left in the square.
Lucien...
And the knight who had been ordered to capture him.
The knight watched Lucien cry. He saw his grief.
He saw himself in Lucien.
Lucien's sadness slowly took the form of anger.
Anger at being weak.
Anger at not being able to save his world.
The knight finally spoke.
"Run away, kid."
"Or else you'll die too."
Lucien glared at the knight with furious eyes. The empty square was filled with bloodlust.
The knight sighed.
"I am letting you go because I know how you feel. My whole family was massacred by a crazy demon."
"I see myself in you. Don't you want to complete your mother's last wish?"
The bloodlust disappeared.
Lucien stood up and turned around, still crying.
He started running.
He ran and ran. He became tired, then stopped for a moment to catch his breath before running again.
The knight watched him disappear into the distance.
The knight knew he had just let go of a future disaster...
But he couldn't bring himself to kill an innocent child.
After running for a while, Lucien finally reached their hut—a wooden hut filled with memories and happiness.
He went inside and saw his mother's little horn lying on the floor.
He picked it up, placed it in his pocket, and started running deep into the forest.
"Mommy wants a world without discrimination. I'll make the world that Mommy longed for. I'll make it!!!"
Thinking about this, he ran...
And ran.
As if nature itself was crying, heavy rain started pouring down.
Lucien ran even deeper into the forest until he found a cave.
He went inside and lay on the floor.
Hours passed.
Days passed.
Two days.
Three days.
Four days.
Lucien didn't move an inch. He lay there as if he had been molded into the ground, unable to move. He stared at the cave's ceiling while holding his mother's horn in his hand, pressing it against his chest.
He cried so much that his eyes dried out.
Then...
He heard a voice.
"Oiii, kid... if you're going to die, might as well give me that body of yours!"