, throwing the tomato he just picked into the forest – the same forest that Heian passed through to reach the outside world.
Hikaru is unable to finish his sentence because his senses explode. The distinct smell of smoke fills his nostrils; Rory’s barking pounds away at his eardrums; and the stampede of livestock heading into the forest distract his vision. He whips around to find a pillar of smoke and fire rising from the farmhouse.
“Oh no…” he mutters, and sprints back to the house.
Maneuvering his way through the dancing flames, he kicks down the front door to find only devastation and ruin. He starts walking into the house, shouting out the names of his siblings to see if anyone is there. As he walks forward, his foot hits some sort of heavy object. The sight that meets Hikaru when he looks down to see what he stumbled upon is one that will be forever burned in his mind.
The dead bodies of his brothers and sisters littered the floor with blood splattered everywhere. And the body he stumbled upon belonged to Kovio. Kovio’s eyes stared blankly into space and his chest was replaced by a gaping crimson hole. This was the first time Hikaru was introduced to the gruesome phenomenon of death. He could not fathom the situation; he could not understand whether he was experiencing reality. He screamed at the top of his lungs, tears flowing from his eyes like torrential rain.
Muttering to himself that this must be a dream, Hikaru examines body after body. “No, no please, please,” he mumbles to himself repeatedly, his eyes bulging and body sweating.
When he gets to Hana, he can no longer control himself. He wails uncontrollably at the top of his lungs and squeezes her petite body in his arms. She felt limp and wobbly, as her bones had been completely crushed.
Suddenly, Hikaru hears groaning coming from the kitchen. Gently setting down Hana, he dashes to the room to find Obasan trapped in a pile of debris. Hikaru rushes to her aid and tries to help remove the debris.
“Hikaru…” she says weakly.
“Don’t worry. I’m here, Obasan. I’m gonna get you out!” he exclaims hurriedly.
As Hikaru struggles to remove the debris, a terrifying and monstrous creature almost seven feet in height appears in the entrance of the kitchen. It fixes its paralyzing gaze on Hikaru, Rory, and Obasan. Hikaru notices its sharp blue pupils, which stand in contrast to its red sclera. Horns protrude from its head and fangs jut out of its mouth. Its shaggy brown hair almost reaches its knees.
As the monster makes its way towards them, Rory leaps in its path, growling confrontationally.
“No, Rory!” yells Hikaru fearing for Rory’s life.
Rory attacks the monster and bites its leg, causing it to release a ground-shattering roar.
Meanwhile, Hikaru is still struggling to lift the debris off of Obasan. He is close but the weight of the debris becomes increasingly more difficult to handle.
The monster flings Rory into the wall, grabs him, and rips him into two. After throwing Rory’s remains aside, the monster starts to well up its chest, charging up for something – something bad.
Seeing Rory so violently butchered, Hikaru uses his anger and fear to channel the last bit of energy into fully removing the debris from Obasan, releasing a fierce cry while doing it. However, Obasan remains unconscious and immobile.
“Obasan, wake up!” he yells, shaking her lightly. As he turns towards the demon, his vision is filled with a blast of flame rocketing towards him. He turns away and closes his eyes for a moment.
Opening his eyes again and looking forward, he finds two feathery white wings embracing him. Hovering over him is a young woman, whose pale skin, pristine white clothes, and soothing aura make her appear as light itself. The woman whips around to face the monster.
“You have done well, Hikaru,” she says, revealing her melodious, sweet voice.
“Who are you?” he asks, eyeing her suspiciously.
“You don’t recognize me, my dear?” she asks turning her head back, her gentle, silvery eyes peering at him.
“O-obasan?!” he asks in disbelief.
The monster does not waste any time; again it leans back, welling up its chest.
“Yes…but my real name is Patrona, Guardian of Light, and I am an angel!” she declares and repels another ball of fire with her wings. The dispersed flames dance around her, giving her a shining and graceful appearance.
“Hikaru, you must go!” she says turning around once more.
Although Hikaru wants to help Patrona, her mention of death fills his mind with images of his lifeless siblings and mutilated pet dog. Terrified by the notion of ending up in a similar state, he obeys his guardian’s command. But before he flees the scene, Patrona hands him a medallion she was wearing around her neck.
But before she can respond, the demon tries to leap onto Hikaru. Patrona intercepts the attack, forming a barrier that sends the demon flying backwards.
Hearing the urgency in her voice, Hikaru doesn’t waste another second. He clutches the medallion tightly in his hand and shouts loudly, “Don’t die, Obasan!!” before sprinting out of the house.
In response to Hikaru’s final message, Patrona says to herself, “Don’t worry, my dear. I’ll be with you ‘till kingdom come.” She then faces off against the demon.
Meanwhile, Hikaru runs like he’s never done before, heading straight for the forest. The desire to survive gives him the everlasting fuel to keep running.
A shadowy figure observes the burning farm from a distance. The darkness and shrubbery of the forest conceal her full appearance.  Her green piercing eyes starkly contrast her gray skin. But the most distinguishing characteristic is the wicked smile she wears as she peers at the farm and chews on the tomato that Hikaru had thrown into the forest earlier.
While sleeping in the forest, Hikaru has a nightmare, in which his siblings all died suddenly right before his eyes with blood flowing from their mouths. He wakes up and realizes that his dream is actually reality and that his family is really all dead. After mustering up his courage, he decides to go back to the farm and look for Obasan. Once at the farm, he realizes that Obasan is dead as well. He cries for being a coward and not being there to help her. He buries all his siblings and his caretaker and starts yelling at God for his suffering. He starts crying over Hana's grave on the bracelet she gave him. He realizes that his tears were causing the flowers to grow anew again, white and pure. Hikaru wonders if this is a message from God and starts looking around. He notices the wooden stump with an axe stuck in it and remembers something Heian said to him before he left. He then realizes that he's not alone; he has the memories of his family and his brother. Hikaru takes the axe, the bracelet, and the medallion and embarks on an adventure to look for Heian.
Warm sunshine juxtaposed with the cool air creates the perfect weather on this autumn day. The leaves of the shrubbery in the forest have lit up in an explosion of orange and red, contrasting the yellowish brown color of the grass and crops in the farmland.
The sun bathing him in its light and the wind lightly biting at his skin, Hikaru glides through the grass with Rory by his side, reveling in this beautiful day. A wide smile illuminates his countenance and a melodious tune resonates from his mouth.
Suddenly, Hikaru stops humming and skipping when an image of several objects lying in the grass pops into his field of vision. Wanting a better view, he scrunches his eyes and walks closer to find all his siblings, except Heian, lying in the grass motionless, eyes closed.
His pleasant expression converting to one of slight bamboozlement, Hikaru wonders what his siblings are doing.
“Oi, what are you guys doing? Taking a nap? I thought that’s supposed to be my job,” he chuckles.
However, after receiving no response, a lump forms in his throat, as he looks down at all of them in worry and fear.
“Guys?!” he asks anxiously, gazing at each of his siblings in apprehension.
But still, he hears no response. He rushes to the blonde-haired boy’s side, kneels down, and shakes him vigorously.
“Oi, what’s wrong? Wake up!” he yells desperately.
Suddenly, the blonde-haired boy flashes his eyes open and sticks out his tongue while grinning slyly. Immediately afterwards, the rest of the children also awaken while laughing and running.
The brown-haired girl approaches the blonde-haired boy and says, “We got him so good, didn’t we?” with a mischievous grin and high fives him.
Hik