Even in the vacant silence of the thick forest, the sounds felt quite deafening to Samael's ears. All kinds of disdain, condemnation, and loathsome remarks, reverberated inside his chest – a phenomenon that had become far too common, than he would have liked to admit.

He had run away from the fair without a second's thought, wanting to be extricated from all those farces, yet, now having sat down on a fallen log of wood, he could hear it far too clearly inside his mind. The images of villagers standing upright, armed with wooden sticks, their throats screaming with all passion, eyes so red that they felt akin to the cheery red lips of fearsome vampires of the fable stories – flooded his mind, far too easily in the company of silence.

It wasn't as if he had ever harmed anyone in the village or destroyed property like other magic-freak children. All he had wished to do was simply explore a little more, enjoy life a little more, yet that desire for 'more' had always gotten him on wrong foot.

After taking in the witch, he even left that habit to recompense, obliging to all decencies and codes much to his distaste, for sake of his father and the village. But what of it? All in vain- for all his good action, a single act of defiance was enough not only to sustain the general spirit of animosity, but also reach into hearts of his only friend.

He sighed, a veil of boredom already draping his face. It wasn't like him to sit silently or ponder over things, but now that his only two friends had been cut out abruptly, it felt like he was a paintbrush on canvas without purpose, trying to run hither and tither, in hopes of creating a picture all on its own, until the colour eventually runs out.

Indeed, having someone else to fill colour in his life again, would have solved the problem but as it currently stood, neither his overworked father nor his grumpy mother could fill in for that position.

There had been a slight hope in his little heart from the red-haired witch that had been inducted as a new member of their family, but it seemed that was for naught.

How could she stop him when Ziana was the one in wrong? She didn't even understand any of their language, and yet her first choice was to assume his actions in wrong.

Was his aura really so filthy that even an outsider's first instinct was to side with others? Were his actions really so condemnable that he was only worth animosity of others?

Samael's thoughts halted, as he heard a light rustle in the bushes behind him. He stood up, a fierce look forming on his face. The rustling had been only for a moment, but enough to let him know that a presence was there.

His face hardened, as tiny yellowish-red flames, emanated from his fingertips in response. Should he fire the first shot or wait for the attack to commence? If it was a really high-class monster, then it would probably be best to make himself obscure and wait, but if it was a low level monster, then he was probably better off landing a heavy blow first to increase his chances.

He didn't get time to ponder more, as the sound from the bushes returned with greater amplitude and with it, a blunt axe came in sight. A dwarf green-coloured figure, dressed in tattered white cloth, emerged from the bushes, its fists firmly enclosed around the brown axe, which it swung around in the air, as if to cue a battle.

A Goblin!

Even from the distance, Samael could feel the pungent smell, emanating from the various pores on creature's skinny arms and legs. Though goblins were lowest in hierarchy of monsters and required little magic to be fended off, their agility, multiplicity rate and toxins they released while fighting, made them quite a challenge for the novice magicians.

But Samael was no novice, having dabbled in every kind of known magic while trying to pull various pranks. If an expert magician could assess his current mana level and skills, then they would have certainly advised him to back away.

Even he had to admit that Ziana's fire magic would have been far more apt for this situation since goblins had highly flammable bodies but that only made him far more eager to try his skills.

Just like a man dying of thirst, when forced to dig his own well first, learns to gain strength on his own, Samael's way of life over fifteen years, had also led him to develop his own unconventional methods. As to how they would compare to conventional methods, only the time could tell.

"Come." Samael's eyes alighted with excitement, as the goblin snarled in a heavy voice, saliva dripping from his mouth constantly to the ground like wax from burning candles. The goblin, as expected, was fast, and didn't even think twice before lunging towards him with an axe swinging in air.

But Samael had his own plans. Digging his sandals into the ground, he kneaded up the soil into small chunks and raised them into the air with a strong kick. The chunks flew straight towards the goblin, one of them even managing to hit its left eye but except snarling, the creature, continued to advance unaffected and swung its axe forcefully at Samael who ducked in the nick of time, making the axe's blade land onto the nearby tree, causing a sharp dent as it dug into the trunk deeply.

A momentary sigh of relief washed over his eyes.

Phew, one small mistake, and that would have been his head. So even just one jab was enough to end their battle. It was probably good that he discarded the idea of fake-out injury.

The goblin, frustrated by its miss had already started to pull on the axe, shaking tree so violently that the branches had started to tremble in fear. While exerting such terrifying force, it continued to shriek, as if in a state of madness. "Eugh...EGH....yeghhhh..."

Samael well-aware of the being on short stick of time, positioned his three fingers towards the goblin, at eye level as the flame continued to burn ever so strongly. As the goblin pulled its axe out, a big piece of wood flung along with it, Samael prepared for his first shot, chanting as fast as possible.

No magical spell or attack could be initiated without a proper chant, though the speed of chant varied from slow to fast with person. However, specific magical skills attributable only to individual alone were different case which could be commanded even without chant, at a certain level of power.

However, Samael had long way to go like most people in this world before he could cross that bridge and so his attack wasn't ready just yet. Though for his age, it was certainly an impressive feat that he had already claimed a specific magical skill of his own.

The flames on his fingers, brightened up so much that goblin had to cover its eyes with the axe. A smug smile crept over Samael's face, as he shouted with an expectant victory.

"Mana Grade Lower: Reverse Ignition."

The goblin who was visibly upset over the chant, changed his tactic with ferocious alacrity. Just before the attack could commence, the spell name already having been said, it simply threw the axe towards Samael. The flames flickered down to oblivion, as the blade hits his index finger, before falling off to ground.

"Ahhh...." Samael winced in pain, making him lurch back and withdraw his palm inwards. "You damn...mons..."

But the goblin didn't care to hear his complaints and before Samael could think of retreating or carrying himself away, it gifted a strong punch to his stomach, making him lash out with mouth wide open, in pain. "Agh...Hahhh...ahh...agh."

Samael hadn't expected to ever receive a punch from a goblin, much less to simply throw away its signature weapon. Was this goblin actually smart? No, that couldn't be. Regardless of variations in species and pattern changes, the fundamental base characteristics of a monster couldn't drastically change.

But still, to think that it so easily overpowered him was terrifying!

As the goblin threw another punch in the air, Samael quickly ducked, stepping to side and watched with a momentary satisfaction as the monster fell to ground, face along. But that was precisely when he realized that he had committed the biggest mistake of his life.

The real target of the goblin was to simply take back the axe that had fallen on its ground. With Samael out of the way, there was no longer any hurdle and then as expected, the weapon was enclosed once again with the creature's right hand and his eyes gleamed with pure wickedness. It turned back with a flash of lightning, and leaped towards Samael, who failingly tried to back away, pushing him onto the ground.

"Eh...Eghhhh ...egh....yeee..." The goblin screamed gleefully in an incomprehensible language, if it was even a language, and his yellow-brown eyes, looked eerily at Samael who could do nothing but stare back, awaiting a clean swipe at his neck.

The goblin raised his arm up in the air, the axe shining boastfully under the sun, as the quiet forest looked deader than before. The heavy breathing that had vexed Samael's heart, started to cease, and he gently closed his eyes with tears, starting to form in corner of his eyes.

Were these tears out of regret for realization of unattained glory in his life? Were these tears out of embarrassment for being handed down his execution by a mere goblin? Were these tears due to his realization of his lack of growth?

Had it been that, maybe it would have pained less in Samael's heart but the answer was far simpler than he had expected it to be, now that he laid at brink of death.

He didn't want to die! He didn't want to die! HE DIDN'T WANT TO DIE!

The axe made a screeching sound, as if tearing apart the air itself, as the time slowed down for Samael whose eyes sprang open reflexively, his face stricken with grave horror. Then the axe suddenly vanished, instead a rapid red blur passed over his eyes and he heard a loud crashing sound.

What happened? ...what had just happened?

Unable to process the reality, Samael's gaze drifted sideways, towards the tree where goblin had first struck his axe and his eyes immediately upshot with shock as he saw the green creature lying against trunk with head down to ground and leg up in the air. The missing axe from his hand, was split apart in two pieces: its blade on the tree's feet and handle lying on side.

And then his gaze fell on the familiar figure, whom he had least expected to arrive.

Her red hair shone distinctively in the green forest and the way she was dressed from head to toe in a plain red, with thin black strings connecting her upper cloth, where a small sword hugged her back, only made out stand her more.

Witch Onee-san! That red blur was her.

His eyes went back and forth between the witch and the goblin, who still seemed to be lying with its head towards ground, as if frozen in spot.

"Just by one single kick...." Samael's eyes filled with awe, almost forgetting that just a little while ago, he had been mad at her. His eyes squinted, as he tried to make out the expression on her face but due to tears in his eyes and her looking the other way, it was next to impossible.

But then Inana turned to his side, making him full witness to the worries and vexation that etched her face. Bending down halfway to her knees, while skirting up her dress, she gave a gentle smile, mumbling something he couldn't understand yet again.

But the tone and the feelings needed no language or comprehension. As she slowly caressed his face wiping his tears softly, his eyes drooped to ground with a tinge of guilt, for having regarded her as callous to him like others.

Much to his dismay, the Inana's fingers halted, and pulled him upright. Samael realized her actions at once, for the goblin had started to move again.

Well! There was nothing much for him to do. After all, the witch could easily get rid......

At that very moment, he received a light whack on his head, as if his thoughts had been transparent as water. He looked up to meet the expectant eyes of witch who cued towards the goblin, before she pointed at his hand.

She knew! She knew he had planned something to tackle the goblin. Does that mean she was watching the whole time, hoping for him to succeed? And then when he failed, she decided to intervene. And even now, she wanted him to take the final shot out of consideration.

Samael looked at Inana once again with new-found respect and adoration. "Witch onee-san, I won't disappoint you." He declared, a smile forming on his lips as he positioned his fingers in the air once again. It hurt terribly but now that the living embodiment of destruction and power stood on his side, his worries seemed to have wiped away like they were never there.

The goblin had started to crawl, trying to make itself stand up by the support of tree while Samael began his chant with resolve.

Meanwhile, Inana was utterly clueless as she observed it all. She had wandered for long within dense forest, her hopes of finding Samael getting meagre with each passing second until she heard a nasty cry making her rush towards the place just in time to see an ugly creature leaping towards Samael.

She quickly jumped into the scene, simply hoping to take the axe away but upon seeing the creature's face fully close, she felt like retching so bad that her legs instinctively moved forward with alacrity.

But damn! She hadn't expected to land a clean blow and moreover due to goblin trying to wring its axe away at last moment, it completely broke into pieces.

Well, that was that. She couldn't do much about it now.

"Hey, let's go back to village..." Inana spoke calmly, as she wiped away Samael's tears, wishing to be as far away as possible. After all, every second in presence of such filthy creature disgusted her. But it seems Samael had gotten the wrong idea and leaned towards goblin instead, making her whack him on his head.

How the heck could he do that, even with that finger injury? Sheesh...Kids were so reckless.

Inana face palmed herself in exasperation, as she saw her warning go unheeded once again for Samael had raised his fingers in the air for some reason.

What was he planning to do now? He sure was talking to himself for quite long. Should she make a break for it? I mean, as they say try once and don't try again....ah! That wasn't right. It was something about giving up. Right, Never Give Up.

But seriously, this wasn't the situation to apply that quote, kid.

Inana covered her nostrils to avoid the terrible stench from goblin's body. She would definitely have to take a bath again. Her thoughts halted midway as her eyes were met with a strong gleam in her vicinity.

The yellowish-red flames sprang up on Samael's fingers brighter than ever, as the goblin snarled angrily, as if reminded of an enemy it had long done away with. Its eyes hungrily searched for a weapon, to quell the fires once again but this time, all the preparations had been done.

The goblin decided to leap once again, finding itself at loss of options as Samael called upon his spell in clear voice. "Mana Grade Lower: Reverse Ignition."

The flames on his fingers went out and for a moment, there was such silence that it felt like nothing had happened and attack failed. A smug smile crept the goblin but the very next moment, the goblin grabbed his throat swiftly, falling to ground with a loud thud.

Its arms and legs shook violently but no scream came out of his mouth as the green in his throat turned to patch purple, with its chest rising up and down rapidly. Its eyes enlarged as if ready to come out of its socket, but then the madness ceased and the creature's movement stopped, its throat turned charred black before it laid still.

Samael sank to his knees, the injury in his fingers still throbbing painfully as he let out a sigh of relief. Inana's mouth was wide open, stunned by the course of events.

Just what the hell was that? Seriously, was that magic? But what kind of attack? Seriously, such a little kid can do it...

Inana didn't know at the time, but on her face was etched a proud smile, that was the source of greatest comfort for Samael than the victory before his eyes.

"Let's go, Onee-chan." Samael spoke satisfied, as he slipped his hands into hers.

It was okay. Though today had been a strong reminder of his powerlessness, it had also reminded him of something new that he had longed to confirm, since the witch had entered his house.

So it seems, our relation isn't one-sided after all...!

And in that realization, the old threads of friendship that he had counted upon as of only value though one-sided, were no longer necessary. For now, this would be enough to keep living on, even in the village, where living was sin and the obedience was virtue.

.........................

As Inana and Samael finally closed in on to the village, the groves of trees fading away into distance like a green blur, a sharp sound greeted their ears. Before Inana could register what was happening, she felt the cold blade kissing her neck so closely that with slight passion, her head could roll off.

"Say your prayers to whichever dark lord you please, witch. " A man with sweeping black hair, and crystal blue eyes warned in a language incomprehensible to her. "But none are going to save you from death."

But Inana didn't need translator....her guts and heart both knew damn well, that she was screwed when the man swiped his neck as gesture.