Prologue: The Village of Red Eyes (Part 13)

Some time later.

The mysterious aura had faded.

Leaving behind only the bitter cold.

And fear.

Deep fear.

Several heavily armed soldiers stood nervously before the outer gate of the North Wall.

No one spoke.

Even the usually drunken captain seemed completely sober now.

Magnus stood silently before them.

His black coat stirred gently in the freezing wind.

His red eyes remained fixed on the forest.

Then he calmly spoke.

"Three squads."

The guards immediately tensed.

"You will investigate the forest."

A brief silence followed.

"And if something out there is still alive..."

His gaze turned colder.

"...run."

Several soldiers exchanged uneasy glances.

None of them had ever heard Magnus speak like that before.

Yun Yun immediately stepped forward.

"I'm coming too."

Magnus didn't even acknowledge her.

But suddenly, Lyra grabbed Yun Yun's arm again.

Firmly.

Yun Yun immediately turned toward her.

"Not again."

Lyra calmly met her gaze.

"No."

"Kaien could be hurt!"

"Of course he is."

Yun Yun froze.

Lyra continued.

Calmly.

Almost too calmly.

"But if that creature was truly out there..."

She briefly looked toward the forest.

"...then you won't be able to help him."

"...Not yet."

Yun Yun clenched her teeth.

"Then at least let me search for him!"

Lyra remained silent for several seconds.

Then she quietly said,

"And what if, instead..."

She paused.

"...you find what's left of him?"

No one spoke.

Yun Yun's face immediately turned pale.

She couldn't answer.

The gigantic outer gate slowly opened.

BOOOOOOM.

The soldiers cautiously disappeared into the snowy forest.

The mist swallowed them almost immediately.

The wind howled through the black trees.

No one spoke.

Not Yun Yun.

Not Lyra.

Not even Magnus.

One hour passed.

Then another.

The tension became unbearable.

Yun Yun was pacing back and forth by now.

Again and again, she looked toward the forest.

Again and again.

Then...

...a shout suddenly echoed from the forest.

"THEY'RE COMING BACK!"

Everyone immediately turned toward the outer gate.

Several soldiers staggered out of the mist.

Pale.

Completely shaken.

Behind them...

...two guards carried an unconscious boy.

Kaien.

Yun Yun's eyes widened in shock.

"KAIEN!"

She immediately tried to run toward him.

Several guards caught her before she could.

"LET ME GO!"

Nobody listened.

Because directly behind Kaien...

...several large sacks were dragged through the snow.

Dark blood dripped from them.

One sack tore open.

The severed head of a demon wolf rolled partly into the snow.

Several villagers screamed in horror.

Even the soldiers looked deeply disturbed.

The young guard stepped toward Magnus, trembling.

"W-We found him deep in the forest..."

His voice cracked.

"Surrounded by the corpses."

Magnus said nothing.

The guard swallowed nervously.

"The entire pack had been wiped out."

No one spoke.

Several soldiers glanced uneasily at Kaien.

Finally, one of them quietly said,

"There's no way a child could have done this..."

Another guard immediately nodded.

"Not alone."

Even the captain stared down at Kaien in shock.

"...What the hell are you...?"

Yun Yun felt her heart racing wildly.

She only wanted to get to Kaien.

But suddenly, something about the atmosphere felt wrong.

Not relief.

Not happiness.

Fear.

The people were afraid of him.

Magnus slowly stepped closer.

His gaze rested on Kaien's unconscious face for a long moment.

Then he quietly said,

"I knew it."

Several guards immediately turned toward him.

Magnus slowly turned around.

His coat stirred gently in the wind.

"We must kill this monster."

No one spoke.

At first, Yun Yun didn't even process the words.

Then she exploded.

"WHAT!?"

Magnus pointed directly at Kaien.

"A normal boy should have died out there."

"YOU SENT HIM OUT THERE ON PURPOSE!"

Magnus ignored her completely.

His voice grew louder.

"Instead, he returns alive."

He pointed toward the wolf remains.

"Alongside an annihilated pack."

Several villagers nervously backed away.

One of them began whispering,

"A demon child..."

Magnus slowly nodded.

"Exactly what I feared."

Yun Yun immediately wanted to scream at him again.

But this time, Lyra stepped forward.

Slowly.

Calmly.

Her red eyes met Magnus's.

"That makes no sense."

Magnus remained silent.

Lyra calmly pointed toward the wolf heads.

"You sent him out to kill these creatures."

Then she pointed at Kaien.

"And because he survived, you suddenly call him a monster."

No one spoke.

Several guards exchanged uncertain glances before looking back at Magnus.

Because even they were beginning to notice the contradiction.

Yun Yun immediately stepped beside Lyra.

"HE SURVIVED BECAUSE YOU WANTED HIM TO DIE OUT THERE!"

Magnus's face remained expressionless.

But his eyes...

...suddenly seemed more restless.

"That is exactly why he is dangerous."

"YOU ARE SICK."

Once again, Magnus ignored her.

Then he slowly raised his hand.

"Chain him."

Several guards froze.

The young guard immediately stepped forward.

"E-Elder Magnus..."

"Now."

His voice echoed across the North Wall.

Silently, several soldiers stepped forward.

Heavy iron chains were fastened around Kaien's arms.

Yun Yun immediately broke free again.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!"

Two guards instantly restrained her once more.

Lyra remained silent.

But her eyes had grown noticeably colder.

Meanwhile, Magnus turned toward the village.

"Gather everyone."

The wind swept icily across the wall.

"A public assembly will be held today."

No one spoke.

Then he uttered the words that filled Yun Yun with genuine fear.

"Asterveil must decide what shall be done with this boy."

Several villagers immediately began murmuring.

"Monster..."

"Demon..."

"Cursed..."

Panic rose in Yun Yun's chest.

Not because of the demons.

Because of the people.

At the same time...

...far below in the village.

Mireya Vale suddenly dropped a plate.

CLANG.

Eren looked up from the table in annoyance.

"Now what?"

Mireya stared toward the window.

Fear filled her eyes.

Outside, the bells were already ringing.

Disturbed voices.

Shouting.

Quietly, Mireya whispered,

"...Kaien."

A few minutes later...

...more and more villagers gathered beneath the North Wall.

The Vesperis family also left their estate.

Eryndor looked unusually serious.

Meanwhile, Selene seemed visibly worried.

"What happened up there...?"

Lyra and Yun Yun still stood near the wall.

Between them...

...Kaien lay unconscious in the snow.

Bound in heavy chains.