Enzo growled, slashing his sword violently at the bushes blocking his path.
Leaves and branches scattered with every swing. "How the hell is he still alive after the poison and those cacodemons attacked him?"
Enzo hated Claude—his bastard son—from the very moment the child was born. He had always known the boy wasn't his.
The resemblance to another man was undeniable, and yet, because of his unshakable love for Dalia, he couldn't bring himself to leave her.
Divorce wasn't an option, not when his feelings for her burned so fiercely.
So all his hatred, his resentment, and his humiliation funneled into the boy.
And as much as Enzo wanted revenge, Theo—Claude's actual father—was untouchable.
Though merely a carpenter, Theo was stronger, more capable than Enzo dared to challenge. He remembers the humiliation he got when that man defeated him in a duel.
Enzo roared, his anger spilling over, fists clenching as his voice echoed through the empty forest.
Claude became the living embodiment of Enzo's misery, a constant reminder of Dalia's betrayal.
And Enzo wanted him gone.
Enzo even let the Chaos Hound loose free even when the Everbright Church was doing the best they could to catch the cacodemon alive.
"Because of him, I'm stuck in this damned punishment, combing the entire forest for those cursed cacodemons as a punishment!"
He spat on the ground, his grip on the sword tightening as he hacked at another set of vines.
"Tch, is that bastard even human? Could he be a cacodemon himself?" he muttered, his voice tinged with unease.
Enzo's thoughts wandered, drawn to the whispers he'd overheard in the church—the grim tales of why witchcraft was outlawed, why women with mana were forbidden from using their power.
The stories all traced back to a prophecy:
The King of Calamity would be born from a witch.
A cold chill crept up his spine as the possibility struck him. "What if that kid is actually…"
His musings were abruptly interrupted by a rustling sound from the bushes ahead. Enzo froze, his sword raised, muscles taut and ready to strike.
"Who's there?!" he bellowed, his voice echoing in the stillness.
"Come out of those bushes!"
Night had fallen, the forest now cloaked in an oppressive darkness. Shadows danced between the trees, and the air grew heavy with an unnatural chill.
A low growl rumbled from behind him. Then another, from ahead. Enzo's blood ran cold as the growls multiplied, surrounding him.
The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He could feel it now—a dark, suffocating presence closing in from all sides. His legs tensed, ready to bolt.
"Damn it," he hissed, sweat dripping down his temple.
Shapes emerged from the shadows. Massive forms with glowing eyes and fur that shimmered like living darkness stepped into view.
Enzo's jaw dropped. His body refused to move.
The creatures were wolves—no, not wolves.
They were as big as the houses in town, their hulking forms circling him like predators toying with prey.
"C-cacodemons," Enzo stammered, his voice barely a whisper. His sword trembled in his grip.
"How… how are they this big?"
The last time he saw them, they were just as big as an adult!
"Fighting them now is impossible…" Enzo murmured.
He might be a holy knight, but he was usually tasked with guarding and rarely in a combat side.
The hounds moved closer, their growls growing louder, more menacing. Sparks of electricity crackled in their maws, illuminating their sharp, glinting teeth.
Enzo's knees buckled. He fell to the ground, his sword clattering beside him.
"Stay back! Don't come near me!" he screamed, flailing his sword wildly in a pitiful attempt to ward them off.
His voice cracked with panic, his movements desperate and uncoordinated.
The hounds barked, their deep, thunderous voices shaking the ground. A bolt of lightning struck mere inches from Enzo, freezing him in place.
His entire body locked up, and a warm, humiliating sensation spread through his legs. He'd lost control of his bladder.
High above, hidden in the darkened sky, Claude sat astride Sun, watching the chaos unfold below.
His laughter echoed in the night, uncontrollable and sharp, tears streaming down his face as he clutched his stomach.
"Hahaha! That damned Enzo!" Claude cackled, struggling to catch his breath. "He's only brave when he's bullying a kid!"
Still laughing, he wiped his eyes and smirked. "No wonder Mother's cheating on him."
His gaze turned sharper as a dark thought slithered into his mind. "Maybe I should scar that handsome face of his. Take away the only good thing about him."
But before his twisted musings could take root, his cacodemons suddenly turned, their focus snapping away from Enzo.
The wolves dissolved into the shadows, disappearing as if they'd become one with the night itself.
Even Sun, steady and reliable, grew restless beneath him. The fur along its back bristled, and it let out a low growl.
Claude asked, his voice uncertain as he scanned the area below.
His eyes fell on Enzo, now fainted and sprawled on the ground. But that wasn't what made the hairs on Claude's neck stand up.
Someone else was there, standing in the shadows, watching him.
Claude's breath hitched as his gaze locked with a pair of piercing eyes. His blood ran cold.
"Sun, let's get out of here," Claude muttered, patting the cacodemon's thick, shadowy fur.
The massive hounds gave a low growl in acknowledgment before leaping into motion.
The wind rushed past Claude as Sun's powerful strides turned into bounding shadows, weaving through the darkened forest.
Within moments, they arrived in front of Claude's small window, perched high in his modest home.
He climbed through the window into his room. The moment his feet touched the floor, Sun dissolved into the darkness, retreating into its usual hiding place.
Claude sighed heavily, closing the window behind him. "Finally," he whispered, rubbing the back of his neck.
He stripped off his coat, tossing it onto the chair by his desk, and threw himself onto the bed.
The events of the night replayed in his mind, but one memory lingered above all else:
Theo's piercing gaze.
Claude turned onto his side, pulling the blanket over himself in an attempt to shut out the thoughts. But it didn't work.
The man's image burned into his mind, his unwavering stare making Claude's chest tighten.
"That bastard…" Claude muttered under his breath, pressing the heels of his hands against his closed eyes.
Memories began to surface—ones he had tried to bury.
He remembered being a baby, barely able to comprehend the world. Theo had sneaked into his room with a group of shadowy figures.
They weren't just there to scare him—they were there to kidnap him.
"What the hell does that man want from me?"
Claude growled, his hands clutching the blanket tightly.
And now, as if to confirm his suspicions, even his cacodemons—his powerful, feral beasts—were terrified of Theo.
The wolves had retreated the moment Theo appeared.
Claude sat up abruptly, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "He's not just some carpenter," he murmured.
"No normal man can make cacodemons cower like that except… maybe he has a strong holy power."
In many webnovel he read, the darkness usually lose against the holy power.
His thoughts spiraled further, his mind racing with half-formed ideas. "Wait… wasn't Jesus a carpenter too?"
The absurdity of the thought made him pause, but then he narrowed his eyes, his paranoia only growing.
He even forgot that he was Theo's son and impossible for that man to have a holy power when he could contract a cacodemon.
"Could Theo actually be Jesus in this world?"
Claude cursed, jolting upright in his bed. His heart raced, and sleep now seemed like an impossible dream.
"Idiot Theo!" he growled, dragging his hands down his face.
"Now I've been caught with the cacodemons! What the hell am I supposed to do now?"
He swallowed hard, the memory of the last dark mage who had been discovered in town flashing through his mind.
The cardinal of the Everbright Church had made an example of the man, burning him alive in the town square.
Claude could still recall the crackling flames and the screams. He had watched the event with a fascination, it was the first time he saw someone burned alive anyway.
Who didn't think it was interesting?
His fists clenched, and his jaw tightened. "No way. I'm not letting that happen to me."
"I'm still ten years old, damn it!"
Pacing the room, he raked his fingers through his already messy hair. "I need to do something," he muttered to himself.
"Something to make sure Theo keeps his mouth shut."