Some hours ago,

In the lively and bustling market, the air was filled with the scent of various herbs and flowers, the sounds of merchants calling out their wares. The colorful stalls lined the streets, showcasing a variety of goods, from vibrant fabrics and intricate jewelry to aromatic food and exotic trinkets.

The crowd cheering for the group of people performing the magic tricks and playing circus. Among the hustle and bustle, a young boy, full of energy and excitement, darted through the crowd, his eyes wide with wonder.

The boy eagerly explored the market, his laughter mingling with the ambient chatter. He eagerly sampled the mouthwatering street food, savoring the flavors that danced on his tongue. His small hands clutched tightly onto a bag of freshly roasted nuts as he weaved through the maze of people, his gaze darting from one intriguing shop to another.

He was Noah Winston, Son of Baron Misha Winston, who ruled over one fourth of the Harendale city. His father managed the very market he played in. Gale market was like his second home. All the shop and stall owners feared his dad and thus no one ever bothered him or his friends. But the naive kid thought that fear was respect and loved his father.

Noah continued to play around with his friends, their laughter echoing through the bustling market square. They played games of tag, chasing each other through the narrow alleyways and ducking beneath the colorful awnings of the shops, their carefree spirits lifted the atmosphere, creating a sense of joy and camaraderie.

As the sun began to set, casting a warm glow over the market, Noah finally felt tired, his boundless energy beginning to wane. He bid farewell to his friends, his steps gradually slowing as he made his way back home, unaware of the watching eyes that followed his every movemove from the very beginning.

_

Noah's life had been simple from his childhood, after his mother's death while giving birth to him, his father married another girl and she gave birth to twins. Though Noah wasn't her son, she had never let him feel that loss and acted as her real mother. His friends too liked him and were very eager to play with him daily.

But despite all this there was one person who never liked him his big sister Kathrine Winston. She blamed him for her mother's death and always called him the bad child. She would always bully him and all this only increased after her awakening ceremony. She had awakened the powerful ice ability and since then her mood had become even more colder. That's why Noah likes to stay away from her.

Today too after seeing her sister who stayed at home to help their father, he secretly went out to play with his friends, just to be away from her.

'I really hope I don't see her today.'

Noah prayed as he made his way towards his house, outside the market.

Unbeknownst to him, hidden within the shadows of the market, someone watched his every move with a calculating gaze. Their eyes gleamed with an unsettling intensity as they observed the his innocent joy, plotting something sinister in the depths of their mind. With each step the child took, this mysterious figure lurked, their presence shrouded in darkness, their intentions unclear.

_

As Esme observed Noah, her heart wavered with conflicting emotions. The worry for her sister's life hung heavy on her shoulders, intertwined with the guilt of the impending act she was about to commit. Watching Noah's carefree laughter and innocent play, a pang of doubt began to creep into her mind.

Though she had killed many before, but killing an innocent child was first for her, she remembered the first time she killed someone, it was during their training in the clan when she was forced to kill some humans and drink their blood to properly awaken her bloodline abilities.

She recalled the words of Rio, the command to end Noah's existence echoed in her ears, along with a chilling reminder of the stakes at hand if she failed. She was sure that if anything happened to Rio, she would never see her sister again, Artemis would simply not allow it.

In her mind's eye, she pictured her sister's face, and Rio's face as the fear and desperation etched into her very being. The thought of losing her, of failing to save him, fueled a flicker of determination within Esme's core. She reminded herself of the desperate circumstances that had brought her to this precipice. She clenched her fists, steeling her heart against the doubts that threatened to consume her.

In that fleeting moment, Esme's resolve hardened, her eyes reflecting the determination that burned within her. Though her heart ached, she steeled herself against the torrent of emotions, drawing strength from the image of her sister's face and the whispered promises of a brighter future.

_

She had been watching Noah daily for the past week looking for a chance, and today was the perfect opportunity for her. She had already wasted enough time doing nothing and roaming around the whole city so no one could find any trace of her.

As the distance between them narrowed, Esme's grip tightened around the knife she held, her fingers tracing the cold metal with a mix of anticipation and trepidation.

She first created a barrier around the empty street so no one could see what was happening inside, and then with a swift motion she lunged at Noah, her knife ready to pierce his heart and end his suffering in one attack, but sadly for her, fate had given Noah a helping hand as the body armor he wore just to be safe from his big sister's beating shone in golden light and stopped the attack, but the force behind that was still enough to send Noah crashing into a wall.

Esme was surprised as she saw no armor like this in the past week when she used different methods to examine Noah, but instead of feeling flustered she tried to attack him again. She moved like a wind as she appeared in front of Noah and tried to slash his neck, but the armor stopped it too. She saw the necklace around his neck glowing in red and knew it was probably some kind of warning sign that she triggered, which meant soon more people would come here.

Despite looking at the terrified look on Noah's face, Esme didn't stop herself and continue attacking at the same place.

Though Noah was afraid he remembered his father's words, and tried to act strong.

"You little thief, how dare you attack me."

" I'm your young master Noah Winston."

"My family would kill you."

Ignoring the idiots rambling Esme continued with her attacks, each attack of her was lightning fast and precise, so much so that Noah's chest was caved in now, though his armor stopped all attacks but the force behind it still pushed half of Noah's body into the wall.

Esme's attack speed increased as she felt some people coming towards her way. She remembered Rio's words about how she would only get one chance to kill him, and if she failed what would be the conciquences. With a renewed vigor she used half of her mana as she coated her knife and plunged it into the armor, with a cracking sound the armor started to shatter around Noah heart.

Along with that armor, the naivety of Noah's young mind that he'll be fine shattered in pieces too, giving way to an overwhelming sense of vulnerability and despair. Tears streamed down his face, mingling with the traces of snot as his cries for help echoed through the desolate place.

"Wh_ who are you?

"Please don't kill me?

"Someone Father please😭

" Mommy save me.

'''Poonhh 💨 💩 He shit himself as he begged his attacker for mercy-- "Please don't kill me, I'm just a kid."

With each sob that escaped his trembling lips, Noah's heartache and desperation became painfully evident. When Esme grabbed his collar and pulled him out of the wall, Noah desperately scanned the surroundings with his tear filled eyes, hoping to see some righteous hero who came to save him like in those stories, but he couldn't see anything.

As he saw Esme pulling out another knife from her storage ring and coating it in mana, he begged her for one last time -"Please, I'm _ ."

His cries were ignored as Esme plunged the knife deep into his chest, the pain that Noah felt was too much for his little brain to handle, that he couldn't even scream properly.

He missed his family, his parents, he missed his bullying sister - but no one came to save him. He cursed his luck, his fate and his family for not protecting him.

He stared at his attacker's face covered in a black mask that only showed his big red eyes.

'Devil' Noah didn't know why, but that word came to his mind as he looked into those eyes. He could see his death in them and lost all hope.

But fate had other plans for him, It was then that he felt a sudden surge of energy entering his body. His wounds started to close itself slowly and he could feel somewhat better than before.

When he opened his eyes a little bit he could see his attacker fighting with someone, his body had gone numb from the pain but in his heart a hope rekindled that maybe he could survive if held on to his life.

But that hope was soon lost too as he felt his body floating in the air, and blood leaking out from his chest again. Noah watched as his blood started moving in air towards his attacker.

He could feel his body shriveling up as he looked at his attacker who had black wings coming out of his back now.

"De_ _ _ vil" He could only mutter this as he looked into the shining red eyes of his attacker, before he closed his eyes for forever.

##

[If anyone's wondering why Esme who was an A rank couldn't even kill an 8 year old easily. so for that there are certain reasons - first she wanted to give Noah a quick & painless death. --she wanted to avoid the use of mana, as then there might be some traces left behind which could be used to track her, with some artifacts. --- physical attacks were stopped by the armor. ---- She wanted to avoid using her bloodline abilities which are her main attacks.

----- Plus I hate a guy named Noah & wanted to murder him badly.]

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