Science/Magic

"Princess, hurry and run!" A man shouted while he stopped the attacks of a monster and protected the girl behind him.

"No! Uncle Hao, I will not run away alone!" The girl replied with tears in her eyes.

The man gritted his teeth and forced the monster back. He then grabbed the girl by the back of her neck and started to run.

"You must survive, princess! Our sacrifice must not be in vain! You are our only hope! Our hope to bring back the glory of the Liu family!"

"No! Please uncle Hao! Don't abandon me!"

The man put on a sad look and sighed. "I'm sorry, princess. This Hao is unable to continue protecting you… Please live…"

He then filled his arm with mana and threw the girl away.

"No! Uncle Hao!" The girl started to cry. Behind her, her caring uncle smiled one last time and turned around.

To face the horde of monsters that was chasing after them.

Tears filled the girl's eyes. Her parents, her siblings, her friends, and now her uncle. Everybody had left her. Now she was alone in the world, alone inside this nightmare.

Her powerful mana protected her against the impact, but she was unable to avoid being injured. The hot sand cut into her skin mercilessly, drawing drop after drop the blood.

But the girl did not cry. She suppressed her pain, her sadness, and her despair and stood up. Her loved ones sacrificed themselves to save her life, so she was not going to die here.

Her small legs supported her weight and helped her to run. She could hear the cries of battle and the growls of monsters behind her, but she did not turn around. She had to run.

Miraculously, no beast chased after her. The girl's tears started to fall again, knowing that her loved ones' gave up their lives to get her time enough to escape.

So, she continued running.

One day, two days, three days.

Until her body was tired and her throat ached due to the thirst.

Unfortunately, the girl lacked experience finding water and food. Moreover, the exiled lands were a merciless place. Water and food were scarce, and each bit of sustenance had to be fought with the life in the line.

Someone like her was easy prey in a place like this.

Dust and sand were the only things in the girl's sight. The few trees she occasionally found were charred black due to the strong heat. This was a place filled with death and suffering.

When the girl's strength started to leave her, monsters started to appear.

Foxes, hyenas, vultures, and wolves. The hungry beasts started to surround the girl, waiting for the moment to eat her flesh.

They could feel the girl's powerful mana, so the beasts were wary. However, their hunger soon overwhelmed their reason.

*Growl!*

A hyena was finally unable to continue waiting. If it waited longer, even more enemies would come to compete for the girl's flesh and blood.

Kicking the ground, the hyena jumped towards the girl.

The girl's vision was already blurry. Her hunger and thirst made her consciousness fuzzy, but her desire to survive was stronger than ever.

Instinctively, her body reacted to the hyena's attack, and her hand formed a fist.

*Splat!*

The head of the hyena exploded.

The girl's furrowed her brows. She then smelled the blood on her hand and brought it to her mouth.

Timidly, she licked a little bit of blood.

Then, her eyes brightened.

"… I'm hungry." She said.

And everything started.

Crazed by the smell of blood, the beasts in the surroundings charged towards the girl. Their red eyes stared at the girl and the corpse in the ground while saliva fell from their mouths.

*ROAAAARRRR!!!*

A wolf bared its teeth and tried to bite the girl's neck, but the girl spun instinctively and planted a kick on its head.

Another beast tried to bite her arm, but the girl grabbed its jaw and tore it into two.

Vultures dived towards from the skies, but the girl grabbed their wings and crushed their heads.

Nobody would have expected that the girl's small arms hid the strength of a dragon.

The feast of blood attracted more and more predators. Stronger and stronger beasts started to appear. The girl was forced to release her mana, using the gift in her blood to face the wave of beasts coming against her.

The horn in her forehead lit up. The chaotic magic power in the surroundings surged towards her body, provoking a grunt of pain. But the girl did not even flinch.

The life and death situation stimulated the girl's bloodline. For the first time in her life, her aspect awakened. A giant monster of mana materialized on her back, granting her body even more strength than before.

She was the princess of the Liu family, the royal family of the demons. No monster would have a taste of her blood!

The girl fought and fought, until rivers of blood formed around her. The corpses of monsters created a mountain of flesh and gore that would make the most experienced warrior vomit.

But her reckless fight finally attracted the attention of a powerful predator.

A twenty-meters-long serpent lifted its head, looking at the girl with its long vertical irises.

The girl paled. Her instincts screamed that she could not beat this monster. She had to run!

But she had reached her limit.

The serpent hissed and swung its tail. The girl instinctively brought her arms forward to stop the attack, but the strength of a B-Grade monster was not something she could resist.

Her body was helplessly thrown away, crashing against a rock and breaking two of her ribs.

*Cough!*

A mouthful of blood let her mouth.

With her blurry sight, the girl managed to see the serpent slowly slithering towards her.

… Sorry, father, mother, uncle Hao… I failed to live to your expectations… She smiled bitterly to herself.

But when she was about to close her eyes–

*Slash!*

–A flash of light cut through the dim sky.

Time seemed to stop in that instant.

*EEEEEEEEANNNNNHHHHGHHH!!!*

The serpent screamed in pain. Its giant body twisted painfully in the ground, and a river of blood spurt out of its neck.

"Oh? You are still alive? Such a powerful lifeforce." The girl heard the voice of a boy.

The boy was completely calm, as though he was not facing a terror-inducing monster but a little pet. His eyes were observing curiously the monster agonizing in the ground.

Then, he raised his hand.

The next second, the saber light flashed again.

The serpent was unable to resist. In front of the glow of the saber, its struggle was useless.

The saber strike easily beheaded it.

The person responsible for it, a blue-haired boy dressed in strange armor, sheathed its saber back and turned towards the girl.

"… I never thought I would meet another person in a place like this."

When those words entered her ear, the girl's body finally gave out.

The next second, her consciousness faded out.