Parallel Memory

Hiro, who had been hiding for so long, could not wait any longer. He was worried and scared. He wanted to find out what was happening outside.

So he left his sister sleeping with his jacket and quietly came out of hiding. He heard some kind of explosive sound when he was getting out. Then also he gathered his courage and came to take a look.

Slowly and quietly, he began moving towards the entrance of his house. Actually, almost all the walls and doors had been destroyed, making his house almost unrecognizable but he still knew his way around.

He reached the entrance but what he saw left him stunned.

Both his parents were unconscious and bleeding in front of the devil. Their bodies had become beyond recognition, but little Hiro still knew his parents.

"NOOOOOO!"

Hiro could not help but scream when he saw such a scene. Even if he knows that it will alert the devil, he could not control his emotion.

When the prospect of his parent's death came to his mind, Hiro, who was still young, could not care about the consequences of his action. He didn't care whether his action would alert the Devil.

That day, for the first time he was burning with the emotion of hate. Hate for the devils who harmed his parents. Although he had no power, Hiro wanted to kill the devil that was in front of him.

Even when Hiro screamed, the devil which was near his parents' bodies didn't respond. She stood there without any reaction. She was releasing the mana aura which was affecting Hiro who was trying to come close to the Devil.

The mana aura that was being released by the devil was too much for the young Hiro and he soon passed out. The Devil didn't even need to take action to beat someone like Hiro.

However, instead of capturing Hiro as instructed by Xalvar, the devil girl flew away without caring about Hiro or his parents.

Hiro that day got lucky and survived even after his encounter with Rank-B + Devil! However, this was not the case for his parents.

After a while, the comrades of Hiro's parents came and were stunned by the scene. Only a few pieces of the previous house were left behind after the house was almost blown away. Luckily, that part included the kitchen that Alia and Zen tried to protect.

There were traces of Dark Energy and they surveyed the area for enemies that they could not find. They then immediately went toward Hiro and their family.

Alia and Zen Ernest were injured beyond what they could say alive. Almost all their bones were broken and all the blood that oozed out of their bodies made them assume that they were dead. However, they were glad to find that they were still breathing.

Their healers soon began to heal and stabilize the condition while also quickly taking them to the hospital.

They also brought Hiro. While unconscious, he remains uninjured. They also found Mine in the hidden room that they brought along.

*****

"ARGH…"

Slowly opening his eyes, Hiro woke up. He had a terrible headache, and he couldn't remember how he fell asleep.

"W-Where am I?"

I said as I looked around.

I could not remember when I went to sleep.

But slowly some unpleasant memories entered my memory.

"D-Dad? … Mom?..."

I looked around searching for my parents while also calling out my parents. I wanted to know whether what I saw was just a dream.

The place that I woke up was unknown to me and I didn't know where I was. Unlike my colorful room, the room was white with little to no decoration.

-CREAK!

I heard the sound of the door opening and quickly turned my head in panic. I didn't know where I was and I was afraid that I was captured by the Devils.

"Oh! You are awake!"

Luckily, the one who appeared was not a Devil but a human. A woman carrying food walked toward me while examining my body.

I saw her a couple of times with my parents in the guild and knew that she was a friend of my parents.

"Where are my parents?"

I asked her.

I knew that the person in front of me knew about my parents. Was what I saw real? Or was it just my dream? I needed to get the answer quickly.

I needed an answer as soon as possible or else I wouldn't be able to keep my mind calm.

I don't really know how but I knew that I had to see my parents. I would know everything once I saw my parents.

"Ummm…"

The woman contemplated for a second. She didn't know whether to answer truthfully or say something different. She was worried about whether a young boy like Hiro would be able to bear the truth.

So she tried to change the topic and have Hiro have food first.

"How about I answer you once you eat your meal?"

She asked.

Hiro had been unconscious for more than one day due to the effect of Devil's Energy. She knew that Hiro needed food or else he would collapse.

*NOD!

Hiro, who was just a child, could only accept what she said. And he was also hungry and he would get the answer after eating so he had no problem agreeing.

-CHOMP! -CHOMP!

Hiro started gulping down the food like water and finished a whole meal in under 5 minutes. This was the first time that he had ever eaten such a big meal.

"Can you take me there now?"

Hiro asked again immediately after finishing his meal. He didn't forget his objective. He needed to know about his parent's situation.

"Umm…"

The lady seemed quite reluctant to have Hiro know about his parents but seeing how determined Hiro was, the lady agreed and took Hiro to where his parents were.

-BEEP! -BEEP!

"DAD! MOM!"

Hiro shouted as he ran towards his parents, who were unconscious.

The reason why the lady didn't want to bring Hiro to his parents was that Alia and Zen Ernest were not doing well. It was already a miracle that they were alive but that might not be true anymore.

The doctors and healers didn't really have any way to save them since they were both in a deep coma.

Hiro cried while watching his parents. He knew that all of this was caused by that Devil.

Hiro kept the image of that devil etched into his memory. He could not forgive and vowed to take revenge on his parents.

*****

[ Back to Present ]

"YOU!"

Hiro shouted.

The Devil that appeared from the portal was the same Devil as the one that was near his parents' bodies. He remembered that face well enough for the past 5 years.

The Devil that broke his family had appeared again. She had the same face as she had 5 years ago with no change.

Even Sylvia, Zion, and Lisa were stunned when they saw the devil. It was not that they knew the Devil but because the Devil Girl that appeared was pretty similar to someone that they know.

"Lisa, is that your sister?"

Sylvia whispered to her friend.

She knew that it was not true but she had to ask. The devil girl had black hair, and golden eyes just like Lisa.

However, unlike Lisa, Devil girl had horns, a tail, and wings. She also looked like the mature version of Lisa. But undoubtedly, all other features remained the same as Lisa's.

"..."

Lisa was also quite shocked and was not offended by Sylvia's question. The Devil girl in front of her looked so similar to her that she found it scary.

Anyway, Hiro had totally different thoughts from them. His hatred for Lilith had never dimmed in these past 5 years.

-WHOOSH!

Hiro could not think of anything but revenge when he saw Lilith and immediately jumped and launched his attack.

For this past year, he had suffered a lot because of her. Because of her, his sister became sad. She was the reason why his happy family broke.

He could not forgive her even if she were to die!

[ "StarShatterer Style: Devoted Star: Limit Release" ]

-FUUAAA!

The limit release was similar to his System Double Power but it was weaker than that. But the positive point about this was it didn't need system points and he could use it without fearing he would lose his hard-earned system points.

Anyway, his strength was almost strong enough to surpass Rank-C +.

[ "StarShatterer Style: Starfall Fracture" ]

Hiro swung his sword with his full strength.

""HIRO! ""

Sylvia and Lisa shouted as they tried to stop Hiro. They didn't know the grudge between Hiro and that Devil but they knew that it was dangerous for Hiro to attack the Devil when they didn't know anything about the Devil.

From what they had previously seen, they knew that the Devils were very strong. For Hiro to attack mindlessly was the same as seeking death.

They immediately went to support Hiro.

The Devil girl stood there emotionless as she was 5 years ago.

'HAAA…"

Hiro didn't stop and swung his sword.

-CLANK!