The Mage’s Path of Dreams

Five years later. 

"Are you sure this is the place?"

"Yes, captain. The blood stone is glowing brightly. The last member of the Von Hell family is here."

"Good. We must exterminate those pests and cleanse the world free of their remains." The captain of the infantry, a man with a large build wearing heavy armor, cursed out loud. 

"What are you lot looking around for? Get to searching that rat!" The captain screamed, noticing his troops idling. 

"Yes, captain!" The knights exclaimed and rushed into the woods. 

A few moments later. 

"Aahhhhh!"

"My leg! My leg!"

"Helppppp!" 

Loud screams resonated from the woods and alerted the captain. 

He dashed towards the source with his men and found some of the knights to have been caught in animal traps. 

The traps were quite lethal.

"Hunters in this area? In the Empire's territory!?" The captain exclaimed. 

"It looks like some people just have a death wish!"

"Men, beware of traps and follow the glowing blood stone! Kill anyone you see in your path without a second thought!" The captain issued another order. 

…..

A bit away from the infantry, into the woods, by a wooden house, a young red-haired kid, about ten years old, was making stew in a medium-sized pot under his mother's supervision. 

"Is the salt right, mom?" The boy scooped some stew and gave it to his mother to taste. 

The lady, wearing flowing black robes and a wide-brimmed pointy hat, tasted it and nodded her head. 

"Okay. Then let's have it simmer for a few more minutes. Until then, I'll go check up on the traps I set up."

The lady wasn't against it, and Lorentz left home to do what he had just said. 

Venturing into the woods, Lorentz found dead humans in his animal traps. 

This was a sight he expected. 

"It's grotesque…" Lorentz commented as the pungent smell of mashed corpses lingered in the air. 

He knew the woods like the back of his hand, and swiftly moving about, found more men of the infantry, looking for him. 

One by one, these guys were pushed into traps laid by Lorentz, until finally, only the guy holding the blood stone and the captain remained. 

"Why is it so silent?" The captain felt something amiss. 

He was about to turn around to see what was wrong, but the man beside him shouted, saying, "Captain! Captain! Look!"

The burly man turned to the side and saw the blood stone glowing a right red, a clear indication that the person they were looking for was nearby. 

"Where is he!?!" The captain roared. 

"Behind you." A soft voice echoed in his ears. 

"What?" The man said and turned around, only to have his pupils shrink as he saw a sharp spear charge at him. 

He tried to dodge but the spear struck his shoulder, sending jolts of pain throughout his body. 

"Ahhhhhh!" The captain screamed. 

"Captain!" The man with the blood stone tried to come to the man's rescue, but it was to no avail. 

He fell into a deep pit full of venomous snakes along with the blood stone. He screamed and thrashed about, but there was nobody who came to save him. 

Lorentz walked up to the burly man struck with the spear. While he was still in pain, Lorentz picked up a large rock and struck the man's head, knocking him unconscious and making him bleed. 

The man wasn't dead yet. Even the man in the snake pit wasn't. 

Except for a few, the other men of the infantry were alive, albeit barely, and fighting for the last breath of their life. 

Lorentz had left them alive on purpose. 

They could not die so easily. 

He dragged the captain of the infantry to a nearby clearing and threw him in the middle of it. 

One by one, he tried to bring other men, but seeing how it was difficult to do so with his small body, he turned in the direction of his house and said with an embarrassed smile, "Mom, some help would be much appreciated."

Possessing a neutral expression on her face, the lady gently shrugged, as if saying: "thought you'd never ask", and tapped her staff on the ground. 

All the men caught in the trap flew out and piled up on top of one another in the middle of the clearing. 

Lorentz then poured buckets of dried foliage on top of these men and threw some twigs as well. 

The witch helped her son by placing heavy logs on the man pile.

Lorentz then worked his muscles to ensure he could see the captain's face at the bottom. Once he was done, used a matchstick and lit up the dried foliage.

It crisped and crackled, and was soon engulfed in flames. 

"Ahhhhhhhh!"

"Ahhhhhh! Helppppp! Helppppp!"

"Ahhhhhhh!"

The conscious man screamed on top of their lungs as their bodies were being burnt. 

They couldn't do anything but helplessly thrash about. 

Their cries reflected in Lorentz's blazing red eyes. Not an ounce of pity was in them for these monsters. 

When the heat reached the captain of the infantry, he woke up, only to find himself under a pile of burning corpses. 

He shouted and struggled, but couldn't get away from the fire.

"Help me! You young lad, pull me out! I'll give you anything you want! Fame? Power? Money? I have it all!" The man tried to negotiate with Lorentz. 

Feeling it was too cliche and noisy, Lorentz picked up a half burning log and shoved it into the man's mouth. His final struggle was a sight for him to behold. 

What happened five years ago, Lorentz would never forget, and never forgive the people for what they did. 

Everyone deserved retribution for their karma. If the gods can't bring divine justice, then he sure will. 

Lorentz was only just ten years old, but his intelligence surpassed the average adult. Just a year after living in the woods, he had surveyed the territory and found himself to be a few miles away from the Empire's capital. 

With his mother's help, he learnt how to study, and diligently spent his time gathering the general information of the world around him.

He belonged to a Count family that was about to rise to a Marquis status, but most nobles couldn't digest this fact and overnight, his family was destroyed. 

His parents did their best to save him, but they couldn't save themselves or their little sister. 

The horrors of that night were deeply ingrained in Lorentz's mind. 

He could vividly remember himself gaining consciousness that day, and understanding the world around him. 

This small group that had died just now were minor figures in the grand scheme of things. They were only searching and killing the remaining members of his family. 

The ones responsible for the main event were currently living lavishly in the Empire. 

The ten year-old did not know the consequences, but he knew that none involved deserved to stay alive. 

Whatever they did to him, Lorentz was going to return the favor a thousandfold times. 

It was just a matter of time.