The Untold Story of A Warrior

"Mother…? Father…?"

A little girl in a pretty dress sat on the cold, blood-soaked floor of their newly moved-in house. A birthday cake sat on the table. The candles were out. She had just turned nine that day.

Her dead parents lay beside each other, holding hands, terror frozen on their faces. They had been murdered in cold blood, their throats cut open.

The night consumed the house in darkness. Only the moonlight filtered through the blood-stained window.

Blood stained the little girl's face. There were no tears on her cheeks, yet her eyes revealed the depth of her fear. She was scared of the Kingdom of Demons.

One year before the incident, on the exact same day, in the Elven Kingdom—

The sun shone brightly overhead. Houses were carved into massive trees, all connected by hanging bridges.

A little girl played hide-and-seek with her elf friends in the tall grass.

"Elina! Lunch is ready, come and eat!" her mother called from the front of the house. She had silver hair, her face delicate as a flower.

"Coming!"

After arriving home, Elina sat at the dining table and started eating.

"Take your time and chew your food properly," her mother reminded gently.

After finishing lunch, she grabbed a wooden sword and ran outside.

"Hyah! Hyah!" She swung her sword repeatedly, over and over again, until evening.

"Mother, why does Father only come home on my birthday?" she asked, sitting on a small chair, sweating in the summer heat.

"Your father is a busy man, Elina. He has a lot of work to do," her mother said while wiping her sweat with a towel.

"What does he do?"

"He's a demon general in the Demon Kingdom."

"Is he strong?"

"Super strong!"

"Can I be strong like him someday?"

"If you train hard, you might even become stronger than him."

"Then I'll train even harder starting tomorrow!" Elina jumped off the small chair and flexed her arms, showing off her "muscles."

Her mother laughed softly at the cute expression.

"Now eat dinner and go to sleep. Father will be a little late today."

"Then wake me up as soon as he comes, okay?"

Elina's mother nodded.

That night—

Elina was soundly asleep in her bedroom.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen—

"Why are you so late?"

"Sorry, I left the Kingdom a little late due to some extra work," said the man with two red horns.

"Elina fell asleep waiting for you. Go and wake her up."

"Wait, I have some good news!"

"What good news?"

"I earned the king's permission to take you and Elina to the Demon Kingdom next year. I also bought a house. I'll come one week before Elina's next birthday to bring you both there. Don't tell her yet—it'll be a surprise."

"Are you sure it's safe? If you're planning to take her with us, then—"

"Don't worry, our King himself seemed happy about it."

"If you say so…"

Elina opened the wooden door, half-asleep, rubbing her eyes. The noise had woken her up.

"Father? Why didn't you wake me up…?"

"I was just about to, my dear. Look, I brought a cake with me."

"A cake?! Yayyy!" Elina was overjoyed. It was her first time cutting a cake on her birthday.

The family was enjoying their lives, unaware of the tragedy yet to come.

The night was warm and peaceful. The moonlight shone on the tall green grass. The crickets sang their quiet song.

One week before the incident, in the Elven Kingdom—

The afternoon breeze rustled the leaves as Elina trained with her wooden sword. Her mother sat in a chair, embroidering a delicate pattern onto a silk cloth.

"Elina," her mother spoke without looking up, "Today, your father is coming."

"Why?" Elina stopped her training. "My birthday is still a week away."

"We'll be leaving for the Demon Kingdom tomorrow."

"Really?" She ran to her mother and hugged her in excitement. "Then I can train with Father and become stronger than him!"

"Yes, you surely can."

Her mother chuckled softly, reaching out to smooth Elina's silver hair. "You really are his daughter."

The next day—

"All done!" Elina packed her bags and rushed toward the exit of the town.

"Elina, hold my hand."

Elina looked up, confused. "Why?"

"Just hold it, or you'll get lost."

She obeyed, squeezing her mother's fingers as a tall figure emerged from the forest—her father, clad in obsidian armor, his two red horns barely visible against the dim sky.

"Elina!" He grinned, kneeling down to pat her head. "Are you ready for our new adventure?"

She nodded excitedly.

Elina's father reached for his wife's hand. "Let's go."

As they walked, Elina couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

She wasn't sure if it was the way her mother kept glancing back at their village as if seeing it for the last time, or the way her father's grip tightened every time a bird cried out in the distance.

Something wasn't right.

The day of the incident, morning—

Their new house in the Demon Kingdom was nothing like their home in the Elven Kingdom.

The towering trees were replaced by jagged stone formations. The air smelled of ash and fire.

Elina was fascinated.

Everything felt foreign yet exciting—until she noticed how the demons stared at her and her mother with cold, calculating eyes.

Her father told her not to worry.

But the feeling in her chest—the same one she had when they left town—never faded.

The Night of the Incident

Elina's father brought her a cake to celebrate her ninth birthday.

He patted her head gently. "Happy Birthday, my dear."

Elina's eyes sparkled with happiness. She was about to cut the cake when—

BANG!

The wooden front door slammed open. Footsteps echoed through the house, growing louder with each passing second.

"Elina, go to your room and hide in the closet," her father ordered, his voice sharper than she had ever heard before.

"But—"

"Now." Her mother's voice trembled, and that was what scared her the most.

Without another word, she turned and ran toward her room, clutching her dress as she shut the door behind her. She opened the closet and climbed inside, pressing herself against the back wall.

Then, she heard the voices.

"You thought you could get away with bringing an elf and her half-breed child into our land?" A stranger's voice rang through the house, filled with disdain.

"I had the king's permission," her father responded firmly.

"The king never gave such permission. I spoke with him today."

"What? But—"

"Bring me the child. We'll execute her along with her mother."

"You will not lay a single hand on them." Her father's voice was a deadly warning.

A laugh followed—mocking, cruel.

"You're outnumbered, General. You stand no chance."

The sharp ring of steel being drawn filled Elina's ears.

Then, chaos—

Her mother's scream.

Her father's roar of fury.

Elina couldn't breathe. Her entire body felt paralyzed by terror. The sounds of struggle lasted for what felt like an eternity.

Then—silence.

Nothing but silence.

Trembling, she stepped out of the closet and onto the cold floor. Leaving her room, she saw them—her parents lying motionless on the ground, their hands still intertwined. Their throats were slit, their faces frozen in horror.

Her father, the strongest person she knew, defeated.

Her mother, the kindest person in her world, gone.

She sat beside their bodies, but no tears came.

She was scared.

Scared of the Demon Kingdom.

Her voice trembled. "Mother…? Father…?"

The assassins were still there. She could feel their presence behind her. She knew she had to run, yet her legs refused to move. All she could do was stare at her parents' lifeless bodies.

"Elina!" A familiar voice rang in her ears.

"Elina!" The voice called again.

She turned just in time to see the assassins—who had been waiting for her to turn around—suddenly sent flying into the walls.

A familiar figure grabbed her and ran out of the house without hesitation.

"Elina! Snap out of it!"

Elina blinked in confusion, her vision finally clearing. She recognized the face of her rescuer—her aunt. One of the most powerful elven warriors.

"Elina, I'll leave you far from here. Then you must run as fast as you can and don't look back. Got it?"

Elina didn't understand, but she nodded.

Her aunt turned back, leaving her at the Demon Kingdom's border.

"Now, run!"

Elina, finding her resolve, ran as fast as she could. She didn't look back. Not once.

Finally, the tears came. She couldn't hold them back anymore.

She ran and ran.

Until she was hungry, thirsty, and completely worn out.

She collapsed in front of a man wearing a white robe.

A human…