Hello, and welcome to my story - and the starting point of the "How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom" series that I've planned.

A little bit of context: I've read the LN up to volume 16 (currently at volume 17), and I've come to the conclusion that the story threw in a number of interesting concepts and a world with a lot of potential, but I also have the feeling that it could need a lot of polishing. For instance, I've noticed that - despite the fact that the authos has based many ideas on historic events - the history of the actual world where the story takes place in hardly seems to matter, except for several decades prior to the start of the story. To put this into perspective, the story takes place in the in-universe 16th century. That means there's (at least) one and a half millennia of almost completely disregarded history!

Long story short, I've decided to fill at least a portion of that gap by writing origin stories for a few of the involved countries. At the centre, there will be Elfrieden, Zem and the Gran Chaos Empire. Along the way, however, many other nations such as Turgis, Amidonia, Nothung or the Lunarian Papal State will get involved, although they won't get the same degree of focus.

Now, as to how this will fit into the canon framework: I will try to keep this prequel canon-compliant as much as reasonably possible, but especially as we'll get closer and closer to the actual start of the story, I'll have to make a few alterations. Among other reasons, I have a continuation of this series planned (basically, it's some sort of AU/alternative version of the main story), and I need to set some things up for that.

At the same time, I'll also avoid anything spoilerish, although there will be a point when some (mild) degree of spoilers will be inevitable.

In general, I intend to write this series in such a way that it can be understood even without knowledge of the original. As a drawback, there might be times when I explain concepts that you're already sufficiently familiar with. I'd like to apologise for that in advance, but it's necessary to establish a baseline before I can expand upon it.

One more thing to get out of the way before we start: I'll use script format for the dialogues, it's a personal preference for long stories with many characters. In case you're not familiar with this format, here are the general rules:

The lines of characters have the form "character label: speech". "Character label" is usually the character's name, but it can also be a role if the character doesn't have a name or isn't introduced yet. There will also be remarks in [ ]. These remarks state the tone or mood of the character while speaking, minor actions or if the character just thinks or whispers the line. I'll omit these remarks if the tone can be deduced from the context.

If anything is unclear, I'll gladly answer any questions about it. Furthermore, I'm aware that this is actually against 's guidelines, so if you have any problem with it... well, I'd have to cope with it. In any case, even if this story gets taken down or discontinued here, I'm also posting it on AO3, so anyone who's interested can find it there, too. That said, this isn't the first story I write in this style, and so far, nobody has seriously complained about it...

So, without (much) further ado, here's the very first chapter of the series. A little warning in advance, it begins incredibly slowly, as this chapter focuses mostly on creating a certain atmosphere before stuff happens towards the end.


It was a sunny, tranquil day in a town in the middle of a peaceful area. Well, the tranquillity was an attribute of the weather rather than the general atmosphere. This town, Parnam, may have not been a buzzing metropolis at the heart of Landia, the continent that made up most of the known world, but it was still a fairly large city for the current era. Consequently, the streets were always bustling with activity, and this day was no exception.

The streets of Parnam formed a web-like grid across the city, and the six main roads, each leading from one of the city gates to the castle in the centre of the town, were the veins of the settlement, and both the number and the variety of people going about their business there proved it.


There were a bunch of children playing tag in the middle of the street. The boy who was currently playing the catcher had already caught two of his playmates, but the third and final one proved to be quite the challenge.

Girl [snickers]: What, can't get me, Sir Lame Duck? If I was it, I would've got you three times over at this point. Oh, I did earlier, didn't I?

As lightheartedly as she taunted her pursuer, the girl sped away from him just as he seemed to be about to catch up. The boy was already reaching for her, only for the girl to take a few quick steps backwards, not even breaking eye-contact in the process.

Girl: Missed again, Sir Lame Duck!

Boy [annoyed]: Shut up! And don't call me that! You're only faster than me because of your light magic!

Magic, the power that could be considered the driving force of Landia, or at least its fuel. Every person in this world was capable of using one of six kinds of magic, each allowing those who wielded them to use powers that would've been otherwise unobtainable.

In the case of this girl, this individual power was light magic – the ability to manipulate the life force of any living being. The girl used this power on herself to strengthen her muscles well beyond their natural abilities. Body strengthening like this was one of the most common applications of light magic – and it was, just as the boy had claimed, exactly the reason why this girl, who was almost a head smaller than her opponent, could outrun him with ease. The boy was already breathing a bit heavily while the girl was still far from breaking a sweat.

Against the odds, the boy tried another "attack". He lunged forward with his arms stretched out to the each side, and then, he swung them in front of him in an attempt to catch the girl in a pincer movement. It was a fairly pointless effort, considering that the girl could've just dodged like last time… but where would be the fun in that? Thinking that, the girl opted to duck and to dive past the boy, slipping through right below the arms that were supposed to grab her.

Girl: That sounds like something a sore loser would say, given how I don't even need my magic. See? I don't even need to run from you!

Boy: That's only because your magic also makes you nimbler, too!

He was actually right. Light magic could improve the user's reflexes and dexterity just as much as their strength or speed. Now, if only that legitimate complaint would've gotten him anywhere…

Girl: What was that? I'm sorry, but all I can hear a lame duck say is, "Quack!"

Their two friends who'd already dropped out watched from the sidelines, and both of them were more than just a little exasperated by the girl's attitude. They knew all too well that she was essentially unbeatable at this game (or any similar ones)… and that she had the nasty habit of rubbing it in their faces.

Another spectator was a woman around the age of thirty. She was the mother of the two kids who engaged in this "fierce competition" with their pride on the line, and she was looking after them and their two friends while taking care of the laundry. She was using water magic to drive the soapy water in the washtub in front of her through the fibres of a particularly dirty shirt, and most the dust and grease on it came off quite easily. As effective as this method may have been, it also required her to focus, so she could only glance at the ruckus her children were making every now and then. That said, the way her daughter was razzing her brother didn't go by unnoticed.

Mother: That's enough, you two! You either play nice, or not at all! I don't want to see this getting heated like last time, and I definitely don't want to tend to anyone's scrapes and bruises again, you hear?!

The scolding of her mother caught the girl's attention. She slowed down for a moment and glanced uneasily towards her. That was a distraction that the boy welcomed excitedly. He'd long come to the conclusion that he had to fight fire with fire – well, or rather magic with magic: If he wanted to win this game for once, he'd have to utilise his own magic. Thus, while the girl momentarily didn't pay attention, he used his wind magic and summoned a strong gust of wind right beneath his feet. The impulse from the artificially compressed air breaking free again propelled him straight towards his target.

Well, "straight" wasn't quite accurate. In fact, he flew in anything but a straight line. He'd practised for this occasion, but the technique he was using was very advanced, and it would've taken a long time of training to perfect it. The force of the wind blowing from under his right foot was stronger than it was under the left one. The natural result was that the boy unexpectedly flew off to the left, and he missed his sister by a landslide. He was lucky that he even managed to land on his feet.

Mother: Hey, young man, watch what you're doing! You're in the middle of the street, so you better not use wind magic like this!

Unlike his sister, the boy was practically deaf to his mother's words. For now, he knew only one objective, namely to win this game. His move had certainly put the other party on high alert. The smugness of the girl was gone, and she warily took a step back.

Following that, the boy began to circle around the girl. Rather than coming directly at her, he intended to cut her off and to drive her into a corner before trying the same trick as earlier again.

Needless to say, this was the last thing their mother wanted to see. She dropped the clothes in her hands back into the washtub and stood up.

Mother [strictly, upset]: Okay, that's it! If you don't want to listen, I'll have to make you, [very strictly, angrily] and you're not going to like it!

As she was storming towards her still oblivious son, the woman suddenly heard the other two kids shouting something at him. She'd half-expected them to warn their friend – a well-warranted gesture indeed – but what they were yelling frantically was an entirely different call for caution. The woman looked down the street, and upon seeing what the two children were pointing at, she gasped in fear.

Mother: No, stop it, and GET BACK NOW! [desperately] QUICKLY!

It was too late, though. The boy kicked off the ground with his magic, hurling his own body at his sister. The chaser reached out for the chased, seemingly about to finally win after all, even though he'd tackle the girl unceremoniously to the ground in the process. Well, she did land on the floor, but only because she threw herself onto the ground in a last-ditch effort to dodge, barely managing to do so thanks to her magical body enhancement.

As for the boy, he sailed through the air over her, obviously. He was about to pity himself when he finally took note of the frantic screaming around him. It wasn't even just his friends and his mother at this point. There were warning voices all around him. Even so, he didn't register what they were saying. No, there was something else getting his full attention. He was flying straight towards a horse-drawn cart that he'd completely failed to notice. He'd land directly in front of the horses… and get trampled down beneath hooves.

When he fell nose-first onto the ground, the boy hastily covered his head with his arms in a desperate attempt to shield himself from the stampede, which he, paralysed with fear, expected as something inevitable… only that it never came. He heard the clattering of hooves, the tempestuous neighing of the horses and the screeching of the cart wheels scraping against the floor. However, while these noises had been closing in on him from the front at first, their source turned towards the side, and then, they stopped altogether.

Cautiously and still shaking, the boy lifted his head, and he saw the cart that had come to a halt next to him. It had saved him that the driver could clearly see the rambunctious bunch of children playing up ahead, so he'd slowed down his horses. Thanks to his careful driving, he'd managed to turn the cart in the nick of time.

That said, it goes without saying that he was seething with indignation.

Driver: Hey, if ya have'ta play on the streets, watch where ya goin', kid! By the grace of Mother Dragon, if I hadn't seen it comin'!

By the time the driver had gotten this off his chest, the boy's mother had caught up with him, and she pulled her son to his feet… quite roughly, that is. Despite that, she was visible relieved.

Mother: Thank you, sir! If you hadn't watched out for my boy, [quivers] he… he'd… Anyway, again, thank you very much! I hope we haven't caused you any trouble?

The man looked over his shoulder. His cart was loaded with several boxes, which contained, among other things, various pieces of pottery. However, since he hadn't had to brake too abruptly, nothing broke, so from his perspective, everything was fine.

Driver: Nothin' to break a sweat over, ma'am. Just a lil' bit of advice, kid: [sternly] Ya better be careful with that magic of yers! Jumpin' 'bout like crazy like that on the street is gonna get ya under the wheels sooner or later!

Mother: He's gonna learn his lesson, I'm sure!

Boy [grumbling]: Nothing happened, though! I mean, this guy watched where he was going and got out of the way, so how's this a big deal?

Needless to say, the mother was not at all pleased to hear what her son had to say about all this. She grabbed his right ear and twisted it. The boy cried out in pain, but she didn't relent.

Mother: No big deal?! You little, obstinate rascal! You're lucky that things turned out this way, so you better don't act as if you could've expected it! The spirits help me, what am I ever going to do with you?! And what were you even thinking in the first place, chasing after your sister with magic like this?! In the end, the two of you would've gotten bruised and bloodied, even without anyone around you!

The driver, oddly satisfied with the talking-to the woman in front of him was giving her son, nodded and signalled the horses to move along.

Driver: If ya have a problem with this treatment ya get, boy, ya better take this lesson to heart!

While the mother dragged the boy, still complaining and helplessly struggling against her grip, back to their house, the girl, who'd watched in shock how her brother had almost been run over, recovered somewhat, and she turned towards the bypassing delivery man with a faint smile. Despite the antics of these siblings, the last thing she wanted was for her brother to end up as roadkill. Thus, she walked over to the moderately paced vehicle in order to thank the man as well.


Near that scene, a clerk was setting up his shop for the day. He'd been arranging display shelves outside his shop while all of this had happened. He, too, had held his breath, and released it just as quickly when he saw that nothing bad had happened.

Shopkeeper: These kids! Far too reckless, honestly.

He was a bit irritated… and even more clueless that these words seemed to serve as a spell to summon one of these "reckless kids". A boy around the same age as the one whose antics the shopkeeper had just observed approached him from behind.

Boy: Hello! Is that everything you have for now? Any fresh fruit today?

Surprised by the sudden bold questioning, the clerk turned around and looked down. He recognised this child, who was eagerly peering at the goods he'd lined up, as the son of his next-door neighbours. Upon seeing the familiar face, the tradesman's startled expression relaxed again.

Shopkeeper: Yeah, there are some apples in that basket over there in the far corner. I also have some berries, but I'll have to unbox them first. Your parents sent you shopping? Or your grandmother?

There hadn't even been enough time to ask these questions before the boy had spotted the mentioned apples, and he'd already rushed into the store. As for the shopkeeper, he could only smile, feeling a strange mix of fondness and exasperation towards this childishly brazen behaviour.

He decided not to dwell on this. It was better to resume his work, so the man picked up the next crate, which just so happened to contain the berries he'd mentioned. However, as soon as he'd begun to wonder where to place them, he heard his own son's yelling from inside the shop.

Shopkeeper Jr.: Hey, where are you g… Pay for that!

Before the older boy had any time to come around the counter, the younger child had already slipped out through the front door. Likewise, the grown man noticed the three apples in the boy's arms only after the one carrying them had rushed past him.

Boy [casually]: Sorry, put them on our tab, okay?

Shopkeeper [in disbelief, upset]: For the love of Lady Lunaria, can you believe this?! [yells] Hey, you runt! Has no one taught you to pay for things at a shop?! Just you wait!

The shopkeeper wanted to chase after this petty little thief to beat some common sense into him, but he quickly noticed that he didn't manage more than a jog with the fairly heavy crate in his hands. By the time he stopped to set it down, the boy he was after had already joined up with two other children around his age, passed each of them one of the apples, and they sped down the street together.

Shopkeeper [sighs in defeat]: It's no use, is it?

To be fair, he probably could've still caught this bunch of children, but he couldn't leave his shop. His first son, the one helping out inside the shop, was merely a young adolescent who had yet to learn the ropes of the family business, so he couldn't be left alone to deal with everything on his own. His younger son was a child even younger than the one the clerk wanted to go after. Well, and his daughter and oldest child had recently married and left the household, and his wife was at work elsewhere.

All things considered, there was nothing he could do. As he resigned himself to that conclusion, he heard someone joining him in reprimanding these "young rascals".

Old Woman: Where are your manners!? That's not what your parents taught you, young man, and neither did I!

The shopkeeper looked up to where he heard that voice from. There was an elderly woman looking out a window at the upper floor of the house next to his. After realising the futility of her efforts as well, she, too, sighed. In the end, all she could do was to turn towards the victim in this affair, the shopkeeper, and give him a sympathetic smile.

Old Woman: I'm sorry for this little troublemaker! I promise I'll come down and pay for whatever he took, so please don't be too harsh on him.

Shopkeeper [slightly disgruntled]: Well, I guess that works for me… [frustratedly] but still, that little rascal! Make sure to teach him a good lesson later, or else the kid will never learn!

Old Woman: Yes, of course. Honestly, I'm not sure what to do with him myself. He's such a handful… Well, he takes after his father in that regard. That insolent little boy also caused me so much trouble back in the day. I can only hope that this generation's troublemaker will also grow up to be an upstanding man like him despite everything.

Shopkeeper [dryly]: Let's hope that he does. It'd be one hell of a pain if he didn't. [slightly curiously] Ah, but now that you mentioned him, how is your son doing? I haven't seen him these past few days. Does that mean he's back at work at the forest?

The expression of the old woman, which, despite her grievances, had remained overall hopeful up until this point, suddenly turned grim.

Old Woman: No, but he's still working at the storehouse, cutting the logs to size together with the other men. That said, I hope that the guards will bring the beastmen under control again soon. If they keep ambushing people in the woods, the woodcutters will never be able to return, and they'll run out of work at the storehouse eventually. I wonder what we're supposed to do if that happens.

This was an issue that, contrary to the everyday atmosphere, hung over this city and the surrounding area. Beastmen… Landia was home to a wide variety of humanoid creatures. Humans were the most numerous, followed by the so-called beastmen. Physically, they combined the traits of humans and various kinds of animals. How exactly that manifested differed significantly between the diverse races of beastmen… but that wasn't really all that important, anyway.

Shopkeeper: Yeah, I can tell a story or two about that as well. When I was talking with my supplier earlier, he mentioned how one of his employees got ambushed when she ventured into those woods to gather herbs, wild berries and mushrooms. Poor girl, these rabid half-animals apparently didn't leave much over. Honestly, what has the world become if a good human soul can't step outside the city walls without fearing for their life?

Old Woman: Indeed. I pray to Lady Lunaria that the army will bring them into line again soon.

Shopkeeper: Sounds like a good idea.

With these parting words, the tradesman resumed his work. There were, after all, still many crates left to unbox.


Speaking of beastmen, Parnam also had notable beastmen population. After all, there were plenty of jobs to be done, many of which were generally left to beastfolk for one reason or another. As such, in spite of the ever-growing tension between humans and non-humans, it wasn't that unusual to come across a beastman inside town… and one such encounter was just about to take place at a street corner.

A courier working for a noble who lived in Parnam was visiting several high-class craftsmen around the city in order to make orders on behalf of his master. He'd only cross the main road on his way from one district to another, and he'd do so in a hurry – his master was, after all, a man who valued haste much more highly than patience. In such a state of hurry, the courier came from a side street with his gaze fixed on a similar junction on the other side of the broad road up ahead… which meant that he didn't notice the person coming around the corner and making a turn into this alleyway from the opposite direction – not until the two bumped into each other.

The courier turned towards the other man for a moment. He caught a glimpse of that man fumbling with a fairly large linen sack in his hands. It seemed that he'd almost dropped it, and judging from the way he carefully cradled it in his arms, that would've been a real shame. There had to be something incredibly valuable in that sack.

Courier: Ah, my apologies! Unfortunately, I happen to be in a hurry, so I beg y…

This sentence would remain unfinished. The courier froze when he looked the other person in the eye. Finally, he noticed that man's "strange" features. A long snout, vaguely triangular-shaped ears protruding from the top of the head… and every visible inch of his body was covered in grey fur. He was a beastman – a member of the grey wolf race, to be more precise, although most humans didn't bother to make such a distinction, and the courier was no exception.

Speaking of him, the courier took a step back. The beastman had stopped in his tracks, too, and now, he was eyeing the human in front of him warily. The apprehension in his eyes made the courier even more nervous, and he turned his eyes towards the sack the beastman was carrying again. This time, however, it wasn't a look or worry, but of suspicion.

Courier [thinks]: A beastman… with such a large bag. Where did he get it from?

The courier apprehensively patted the pockets of his overcoat. He could feel the resistance of several small, round, metallic objects wrapped in a single leather container… and let out a small sigh of relief.

With his mind at ease again, the courier turned around and went on his way again, but not before throwing one last look at the beastman – a look of pure disdain. Well, the feeling was mutual. When the human he'd come across turned his back to him, the beastman snarled.

Beastman: Who wants your stinking money?!

Swallowing his frustration, the beastman turned his attention to his bundle again. All things considered, he'd been lucky. He had to bring it somewhere without getting caught, and a beastman only needed to carry a sack of this size to draw a lot of attention, and given what he was carrying, he absolutely couldn't afford an inspection of his baggage. That would've cost him his head… and worse. He'd skilfully avoided the patrols of the city guard, and now he was almost at his destination. It would've been mortifyingly frustrating if this human he'd just run into had wanted to take a look at what he was carrying around.

But it hadn't come to that, and all that was left to do was to take the second turn on the right and leave this sack in a certain back alley. After taking another deep breath to calm himself down completely, the beastman continued on his way.


A mere minute or two later, a scholar left a house just about a hundred metres away. The woman had just finished a report on various herbs from the mountainous region to the north, which she'd been tasked to examine. She wanted to deliver it as quickly as possible.

A look around revealed that the side street outside her house was completely deserted. Given the hour of the day, she'd expected that. Most of the residents, including her own husband, were at work, after all.

It was, however, exactly because of the predominating calm and quiet around her that the scholar was extremely startled when someone suddenly came from a tiny alleyway before she'd even reached the main streets. Even so, that would've been the end of it if she hadn't noticed the tail of a wolf protruding from the back that man had turned towards her.

Frightened upon coming across a beastman with no one else around, the scholar slipped behind the walls of the nearest building. It was common sense, especially among human women, not to stay alone with a beastman. The last thing the scholar wanted was to end like Sister Cirine.

What exactly should she do, though? First of all, the scholar peeked around the corner in order to see what the beastman was doing. Much to her relief, he was headed the other way, although the speed at which this lone beastman made off appeared quite suspicious.

In fact, what was a single, empty-handed (which he was, as the scholar could confirm before he disappeared around a corner) beastman doing in that alleyway? It was a cul-de-sac – there was nothing there but the entrances to several houses, and the scholar was sure that there were no beastmen living in this neighbourhood.

Now that the coast was clear, the scholar came out of hiding and took a look. To her surprise, she found the alley to be… well, exactly as she had expected: absolutely empty. There was nothing of note. The only detail that (literally) stuck out was a single stone tile. The pathway was cobbled with these rectangular stone plates, but one of them visible protruded from the ground. It looked as if someone had removed it, only to put it back in an outrageously sloppy manner. That said, aside from the risk of someone tripping over it, there was no sign of anything dangerous or nefarious going on.

Truly, what could this beastman have wanted here?

It was a conundrum, but not one the scholar had any time for. She'd let her little son in the care of her daughter, who'd stayed behind, engrossed in her studies. Despite this curious encounter, the scholar wanted to finish her errand as soon as possible so that she could return home. Therefore, she left the deserted alley behind and went to the main road.

On the way there, she could feel a strange thump beneath her feet. It wasn't strong, but also inexplicable. Normally, nobody would've dwelled on it, but this had happened repeatedly over the course of the last few days. Sporadically, there'd be such small tremors, which seemed to come from underground. They were centred across the main road, but nobody had any idea what they could mean. Many of the locals were becoming more and more unnerved by this. Well, a royal magistrate had recently declared that it was probably a titan worm, a giant creature that dug tunnels slightly below the surface, and that a task force had been formed to deal with this issue. Hopefully, peace would return soon.

As for the scholar, she proceeded to the main road, where she'd stop briefly to take in the scenery. It was an ordinary, but pleasant sight: People going shopping or running other errands; children playing here and there; one little girl was standing out as she talked to the driver of a cart; a shopowner took a break from setting up his storefront, which he spent chatting with an old woman at a window of the neighbouring house.

All things considered, it was a perfectly mundane scene… a perfect, mundane scene. Well, if it hadn't been for these tremors. There was another one, followed by the next one shortly thereafter. That was strange, though. These past few days, those thumps had been only sporadic, but now, there was one after another.

Then, they suddenly stopped, at least for the moment. Everyone in the vicinity had held their breath, which they now let out again… only to find out that they'd cheered to soon. This time, there was a chain of these tremors happening at intervals of split seconds. They were bangs rather than thumps. It felt as if they were racing beneath the street, zigzagging across a distance of more than a hundred metres.

And before that was even over, the earth began to rumble. Instead of trembling centred around one spot or another, the ground around the entire area seemed to be shaking. The cobblestones were heaved up here and sunk into the ground there.

The scholar instinctively backed away – in fact, several people tried to run, but those at the centre of this unnatural calamity couldn't really get anywhere. Not before the floor gave in, at least. A hole opened up, and from there, the street split. A deep, wide fissure formed, spreading to each side as if the zipper of a handbag was opened, only that this one turned the lively road into a chasm that swallowed everyone and everything on it.

There was no escape. Even a little girl, who was so quick on her feet that she could outrun a boy twice her size as if it was nothing, could do nothing without solid ground beneath her feet – nothing but to watch the cart that had been in front of her falling towards her until she hit the ground… and so did said cart less than a second later, squishing her tiny body like a hammer.

And she wasn't the only one. Countless people were buried under rubble or broke every bone in their body at the bottom of this abyss. A certain shopkeeper had the misfortune of having several crates that he'd been unloading all smash into him.

The scholar had, fortunately, stepped back far enough to not share such a fate. Just about, though. She was standing at the very edge of the chasm, staring down into it. Well, an enormous dust cloud obscured her view, and for that, she could only thank Lady Lunaria. Just imagining what it might look like down there was already horrifying enough for her.


There were victims who had some semblance of luck. For instance, a boy who'd been playing with two of his friends had survived the fall – thanks to whatever divine protection he'd apparently had. He was covered in dirt, his sleeves were torn, and he could feel two large gashes on his right cheek scraping across the floor when he groggily raised his head. What's more, when he tried to get up, a sharp pain informed him that he'd broken his left ankle. However, he'd undoubtedly survived.

If he was lucky was, on the other hand, debatable. Mere moments ago, he'd merrily enjoyed an apple, which was nowhere to be seen now, although that was the least of his worries at the moment. He was considerably more concerned about the fact that the two kids he'd been eating it with had also disappeared. All he could do was to crawl across the floor, attempting to find them. He kept calling for them, but there was no reaction.

Then, there was finally some movement in his peripheral vision. The boy noticed someone standing atop a pile of rubble to his left, and he excitedly turned his head towards them in hopes of finding one of the people he'd been looking for. What he saw, however, only made his blood freeze.

There was not just one person, but three, all of whom were clad in black. They seemed to be completely fine – despite the catastrophe that had just taken place around them. That alone would've warranted suspicion from any reasonably cautious person, but there was more: The boy could clearly see that all three of them had long, thin tails, and at least two also had animal-like ears. The one on the right had easily discernable cat ears, and the one in the middle, who was a bit smaller and slimmer than the two figures flanking them, also had small ears protruding from under their disguise. Theirs were a bit more difficult to identify, but they looked like the ears of a lion or a bear. As for the person on the left, even with that black cloth disguising their head, its shape was definitely not human, and the boy could vaguely make out yellowish fur with black spots around the person's uncovered eyes.

Boy: B-beastmen? But why… [afraid] N-no way, could it be… them?

Recently, there had been a series of murders – or maybe the term "massacres" would be more fitting – in Parnam. At night, humans who made the mistake of walking around town on their lonesome would be ambushed and brutally slaughtered. Supposedly, an extremely lucky survivor had described their assailants as a small group of disguised beastmen. Rumours spread quickly, and this group had become known even beyond Parnam as the "Black Cats" since they were all feline beastmen of one kind or another.

They'd also become the favourite topic of parents telling their children scary stories about feral beastmen who were hunting little kids at night. The obvious goal was to keep their little troublemakers from going out during the night… and as to be expected of anything that's supposed to make children do something, it often had the exact opposite effect. Ironically, this boy had been discussing plans to sneak out at night to search for the Black Cats with his friends when the road had collapsed. Now that he had the real deal right in front of him, however, he'd lost any desire to see them.

They definitely saw him – at least the one in the middle did. For a moment, they beheld the boy coldly – he, on the other hand, was frozen in fear. Then, the beastman on the left whispered something to their comrades, and whatever it was, the others seemed to agree, given that they nodded. Just like that, they turned around and left.

With the immediate danger gone, the boy returned to his senses. He still had to find his friends… or at least someone who could help him. Thinking about the latter option, the boy opted to "go" to his house. Thankfully, it wasn't far… but maybe he wasn't so lucky that it was.

When he reached his home, he was shocked to see what was left of it. A part of the foundation had caved in, and the wall above that section had collapsed. That wasn't all: The boy's eyes slowly wandered from the gaping hole in his house down the slope to the bottom of this chasm. Along the way, he noticed some red stains on several protruding pieces of stone, albeit only at the back of his mind, given that he didn't have the capacity to actively think about it. For now, he cared only about one thing: Where had his grandmother gone?

Well, the answer was right there in front of him. A few metres ahead, he spotted an elderly woman lying on the ground. He scurried over to her as fast as he could with his broken ankle.

Boy: Grandma! There you are, Grandma! I need your help, so please, get up!

The boy began to shake his unmoving grandmother frantically. The only "reaction" he got was that her neck bent right in the middle at a sharp angle of roughly sixty degrees.

Boy: Grandma, open your eyes already! [sobs] Please… I'm hurt, a-nd I… need… [sniffs] Why are you still… lying here? Why?

The boy slowly sunk against his grandmother's body. It felt as warm and comforting as he remembered. Well, although there was one clear difference: When he wrapped his hands around her shoulders, they'd never felt as wet and torn as now.

Boy: Why? ...Why? Why…? Why… did this happen?


So, that's it for the start. The aftermath of this incident comes next time.

Speaking of which, I'll have to juggle with two series (as well as, you know, life), so I warn you in advance: Updates on this series will likely be mostly slow. That said, I'll try to at least get the intro chapters out fairly quickly, so I'll see you for the second part probably before the end of the year.