31 An unforgettable tragedy

Jeremy was one of the knights of the Order of the Red Rose, a middle-aged man that faced a lot of adversities to reach his current position. He was born in a small village somewhere in the south of Grenmar Empire, a commoner that had to work hard in the fields to support his sick mother as well as his younger sister. When he became an adult, he decided to enlist in the Imperial Army to gain more money for his family. The Grenmar Empire was in war back then against the Latheon Kingdom and Jeremy had to fight for many years on the front lines. Nonetheless, he still fell in love with his Captain in the previous Order he had been assigned to before he was knighted and married her. He felt content with his life until the day he was informed of his wife's death by a subordinate of hers. She was raped and killed by a Berserker...

He was desperate and tried to die many times as he volunteered in the most dangerous missions but always managed to survive under the most hopeless situations, gaining one merit after another. His mother and sister were killed by some bandits, he witnessed the deaths of his friends on the battlefield and only he remained alive, fighting one battle after another. In the end, not only he didn't die in the war, he was even knighted by the Emperor himself...

*******

Jeremy was looking at the fog that had started to disperse. He wasn't the only one as many other knights were doing the same thing. The Forest of the Lost Memories was considered a cursed place by the people of the Empire and he wasn't an exception. For the first time though, he would have the chance to witness the lift of this curse with his own eyes. The white veil started to vanish, revealing the terrifying existence that was hidden inside...

*******

Jeremy was looking at his surroundings searching for any survivor. Corpses, blood, fire, everything around him seemed so familiar to him. For a moment, he thought that he had returned in the past. In that cruel war that took everything from him. He raised his head to stare at the monster that had massacred his comrades with a small smile on his face as well as tears in his eyes. He grabbed tightly his sword, gritted his teeth and shouted for the last time the same thing that he had been shouting every time before a battle.

"For the glory of the Empire!!!"

Jeremy de Leon was a man that managed to become a noble despite his poor background. Neither sword nor magic managed to take his life. Until the very end, he fought as a knight of the Empire...

*******

Father Jonas was standing motionless in the place that not long ago was filled with life. No matter where he looked, there were no signs of life anywhere. He fell on his knees and slowly closed his eyes. He had lived for many years but he had never felt so exhausted like this before.

"Oh, Goddess Maria, who watches us from up high, I pray in this time of loss"

"Let perpetual light shine upon them"

"May the souls of your brave children"

"Rest in peace in your embrace"

The old priest couldn't hold back his tears anymore. A cry of pain from his deepest past of his soul escaped from this mouth...

********

Edward de Thundergod had seen many things in his life. Nobody knew what kind of hardships he had to face in order to end the war in the past. He had fought countless battles, he betrayed his motherland and even beheaded his king. He had never seen though something like that before. An existence so powerful that one can only feel despair before its presence. He thought that he would never lose his loved ones again but today he realized that nothing changed from the past. He was too weak...

"You maybe think that you are invisible and that we are like ants in your eyes but I'll come for you one day, I swear it in the name that was given to me by Frank" the middle-aged knight muttered and fainted.

He was gravely injured but the monster didn't finish him off. He would make sure to make the dragon regrets its actions. These had been his last thoughts before he lost his consciousnesses...

********

"Sophie! Sophie, wake up! I beg you!"

The young woman opened her eyes with difficulty to see who was yelling maniacally only to see the miserable appearance of her best friend, Adriana. Her clothes were tattered, her face was pale and her whole body was covered with blood.

'What happened?' the female knight thought as she tried to move but the sharp pain that followed made her change her mind immediately.

"Don't move. You are in a grave situation...Idiot, why did you try to protect me?" the princess tearfully complained.

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Sophie gathered her strength and asked hoarsely.

"We survived?"

"We did... But we paid the price for this" Adriana replied as she looked around. She knew that the regrets would hunt her from now on forever. She was a Commander who lost all her men because of a reckless decision of her. If the Order had taken a detour instead of crossing the forest, everyone would have returned alive to the capital.

"I know that you blame yourself but you couldn't know that a dragon resided in the forest. Nobody could know."

"I didn't need to take any unnecessary risks but I still did. I will never be able to forgive myself. Their deaths are my fault. I can only carry this sin inside of me and move forward..."

"Is my sister okay? Did you find her?" Sophie asked with some hope in her voice.

"I don't know... I don't know..."

******

"I don't know if I'll ever forgive you" the silver-haired youth muttered while he was sitting on the ground. The dragon had already emptied the cave with magic and had flown away.

"You don't have to. What I did is evil. It wasn't even something that I was planning on doing." John replied while he was sitting beside him...

"But you still did it. Why?"

John looked at the sky for a moment and then he sighed.

"I have my reasons that I can't tell you yet. I am like you Vladimir. I am also a person created by the hatred that exists in the world. I also want revenge but I can't do it in a straightforward way like you want.I can only do it by hiding in the darkness. I am this kind of person."

"I have never asked you about your past but what if someday you kill people that I consider them friends for reasons that I don't even know? What you expect me to do? I don't want to hate you, John... You are my brother!" the silver-haired youth shouted.

"One day I'll tell you everything about me. Until then, I can only ask for your forgiveness."

Vladimir wanted to talk again but the sudden noise from inside the cave stopped him. He turned his head behind and saw that the unconscious until now Maria was starting to wake up.

"Let's talk again later..." John said as he stood up and entered the cave.