Fatal Trouble

Third-person POV:

As the residents of Serenity went about their daily routines, no one noticed that something terrible was happening in one of the dark alleys in the city.

Darien was currently facing the boys who always bullied him, trapped against the dirty wall to ensure he couldn't escape.

Although other kids bullied him too, this particular gang always sought him out because of his brother. Their leader simply disliked Eirian, and they knew the blond boy's weakness was Darien.

'Darn it, I must get out of here quickly before Eirian comes,' Darien thought, his anxiety rising as he darted his eyes around, searching for an opportunity to escape. He had to find a hiding place or ask someone for help

"I wish that blond kid were here, but... I guess this kid is enough, right, Kiito?", one of the leader's minions asked, smirking at their leader, whose name was Kiito. He still had a sinister smile on his face, glaring at Darien.

The hazelnut-haired boy felt a chill down his neck. It truly gave him goosebumps. Darien was genuinely panicking now; even though he maintained his blank expression outwardly, inside, chaos was erupting.

'He really hates Eirin, huh?'

"Oi, have you gone mute now too?" Kiito asked, starting to look annoyed because Darien remained silent, maintaining that blank expression. He was merely busy thinking of how to escape. He didn't realize he was so worried about Eirian.

'But I'm going to get hurt too. I just don't want to get hurt and cause Eirian trouble. I don't like it.'

"Tch! Didn't you hear Kiito-sama ask you, brat?!"

"!!!"

Brak!

Darien immediately slumped against the wall, a pained expression on his face. He hadn't seen it coming; the minion had pushed him so hard that his back slammed into the stone wall. He thought his heart almost jumped out due to the impact.

'...Damn it... That hurts... And my chest hurts too. This body really is weak, huh?'

Darien looked up, his crimson eyes, slightly clouded with tears, hardening into a glare of pure anger at Kiito.

"... Since when did he become so quiet? Usually, he'd already be crying and calling for his brother or begging for mercy," another boy, who had been silent until now, asked.

"Hmph! Must be because his brother always protects him, so he's gotten brave now," another replied, sounding irritated.

"... hmm, maybe if we hit him harder, he'll definitely cry and call his brother. I'm still not satisfied with that blond kid yet," Kiito said with a sinister smile and laugh.

Darien's face lost all color as he realized more and more that this useless kid was willing to kill him just to satisfy himself by seeing Darien hurt and Eirian suffer.

This Kiito kid is more terrifying than any monster or demon in this world. Darien felt goosebumps again, and an alarm blared in his head, urging him to escape quickly. Danger. Danger.

'I know I created this character, but why is this kid so crazy? I know humans are more terrifying than ghosts or monsters, but this? This is on another level! I must get out of here quickly; Eirian and I won't be safe. I don't care if I have to change the original plot, as long as I'm not tortured by this useless kid.'

His eyes scanned his surroundings once more, searching for anything to get out of this situation. As the two Kiito's minions closed in, Darien saw an opportunity. There was a small gap between the two minions.

'Bingo!'

The two minions immediately tried to grab him, thinking he wouldn't be able to dodge if they attacked simultaneously. Unfortunately, Darien wasn't a kid from this world. He was from another world.

Brakk!

Darien immediately sped away, having successfully made the two minions bash their heads against the stone wall after he ducked and sprinted off, leaving Kiito dumbstruck by what had just happened.

'If I weren't in this situation, I'd be laughing because his stupid expression was so funny. He must not have expected this weak kid to manage to fool them? Darien is a smart kid, okay. He just has a weak physical body. Ah, I must quickly find a hiding place or ask for help. I can't let them catch me,' Darien thought as a small smile formed on his face.

"Damn it! Chase him!"

Skip...

The peaceful and lively atmosphere of Serenity's city was disturbed as four children ran through the busy street, nearly colliding with several people, some of whom looked annoyed by the disruption.

Darien mumbled apologies as he continued to run to save himself. And three bigger boys chased the smaller child from behind with furious expressions.

Darien knew that if they caught him, he would be in grave trouble. Because he had changed the original plot, he had a strong feeling that a bigger and more terrifying problem would befall him, especially Eirian.

"Oi! Stop, you brat!"

Darien wouldn't. Even though his body urged him to stop and his chest ached so much it was hard to breathe, the intent to save himself and Eirian was stronger. He was more afraid to think about what they would do to him and his brother later.

His crimson-red eyes scanned his surroundings as he ran from the start, filled with tears that gathered from fear and pleading to anyone to help him or stop the three boys.

But the people there immediately averted their gazes, not wanting to make eye contact with him. Some whispered, some looked down at the ground as if it were more interesting than helping the terrified little boy, and worse, some pretended not to notice and continued with their business.

His stomach clenched, and his brain was like getting hit hard as he suddenly realized one more thing, the truth about this world. No one would look at or help orphans or those without any magic powers. Unless you were from a noble or high-ranking family.

'... Ah, how could I forget about this?' he thought, starting to lose hope, and without realizing it, he stumbled. Now, he was on the ground, dirtying his clothes and putting himself in more trouble. Darien could feel the pain in his knees, and he couldn't get up to run away anymore.

"Huff...huff... huff..." His breath came in gasps, and his heart pounded rapidly, but his chest ached more from the fall. It hurt so much more than the pain on his knees.

The three boys stopped behind him, catching their breath and wiping the sweat gathered on their foreheads from running. Kitto looked annoyed because they had to chase the little boy all the way to the plaza under this scorching sun.

He'll surely give this little brat a 'lesson'.

"...Damn it, you run quite fast for a weak body like yours," Kiito commented with a snicker, even though he put on a pitiful face, but that was just a mask.

'... I'm doomed. He looks so angry. What should I do? Damn it... I can't get up, but I'm still a little relieved that Eirian-'

"Darien!?"

'... I spoke too soon...'