Lucifer was running, his lungs burning, his wound in the side pulsing with every stride. The blood was already soaking the fabric he had tightened around his waist, and the pain was a blade he drove deeper with each step.

But it was not the physical pain that made him stumble.

It was the scream of his mother. He had heard it. That heart-wrenching scream that had pierced the night, followed by the laughter of the Sidest. And then the silence.

Lucifer stopped dead, his hands pressed against a tree trunk. His breathing was ragged, and his tears flowed without him being able to control them.

" What am I doing ? " he murmured, his voice broken. " What am I doing, mother ? "

He closed his eyes. He saw her face. He heard her caress his cheek. " You are my light-bearer. "

But a light-bearer did not let his mother be slaughtered by rabid dogs.

" I cannot ", he said, his fists clenching on the wood of the sword. " I cannot leave her. I cannot. "

He got back up, staggering. Every movement tore a groan from him. But there was no longer room for pain and even less for fear.

" I am a coward. " He clenched his teeth. "I am a coward for having fled. She sacrificed herself for me, and here I am, running through the forest like a piece of shit... "

He raised his eyes to the sky.

" You will not help me, huh ? " he spat, his voice rising in intensity. " You will never help me. You have never helped anyone. My mother prayed all her life, she offered you half her food, she built altars for you, and you let her die ! "

Silence was his only answer.

" Then I will take matters into my own hands. " His voice became a whisper. " If you do not want to help me, I do not need you. If the angels do not descend to save us, then I will descend myself into hell. Even if I have to sell my soul to your enemies...."

He gripped the sword.

" I am going to kill them. All of them. "

He turned around.

Every movement pulled on his wound, and he felt the blood running down his leg. But he continued. He stopped for a moment to pick up a piece of wood that had fallen from a tree, broke it in two to make a splint that he fixed as best he could around his torso to maintain pressure on the wound.

" I can do it ", he repeated. " I can do it. "

The pain was such that he had trouble seeing clearly. But he could see enough to follow the glow of the flames, enough to hear the laughter of the people from the Sidest village.

He approached the village in flames. The scene was a nightmare... The huts were nothing but charred carcasses. The bodies of his neighbors lay in the mud, some still burning. The Sidest were gathered around a large fire they had lit in the center of the village. They were dancing, they were singing, they were drinking.

And Lucifer saw his mother.

She was on her knees in the middle of them. Her clothes were torn, and there was blood on her face. Her black hair, which she wore so carefully cut, was disheveled, stuck by sweat and tears. A Sidest held her by the hair, lifting her head, and the others laughed.

Lucifer felt an explosion in his chest. It was not pain but rather rage.

" No.... " He clenched his teeth so hard that his gums bled. " No! No ! No ! "

He no longer heard anything. He no longer felt anything. The pain had disappeared, replaced by a burning in his blood, a force that pushed him forward. The Sidest, all of them, had to die.

He roared.

A cry that came from the depths of his being, a beast he did not know he had in him. He leaped from the shadow, sword raised, and the first Sidest he encountered did not have time to turn around. The blade came down on his neck, a clumsy but powerful blow, and the man collapsed, a gurgling in his throat.

" WHAT THE... " shouted another Sidest, turning toward him.

Lucifer was already on him. He was no longer thinking. He saw only targets, silhouettes to cut down. The pain, the fear, the grief, all of it had transformed into a single thing: hatred.

" You will pay ! " Lucifer howled as he struck again.

His sword sank into the guy’s shoulder, who screamed and retreated. But Lucifer followed him, striking him again, again, until the man collapsed.

Behind him, the others had begun to react.

" Grab this brat ! "

" He killed Bart ! "

" Let’s kill him ! "

Lucifer turned around, his sword trembling in his hand. Five of them were approaching, spears pointed at him. He got into a defensive position, his breath short, his heart pounding.

" Come on, then ! " he shouted. " Come on, you filthy dogs ! "

The first one charged at him, spear forward. Lucifer dodged it, but just barely, the tip tearing his arm. He counterattacked, striking the Sidest in the leg, forcing him to collapse. Then he plunged his sword into the man’s chest.

A second one came from the left. Lucifer did not see him fast enough. The spear sank into his shoulder, and he screamed in pain, retreating, the weapon still stuck in his flesh. He seized it with one hand, tore it out, and threw it in the face of his attacker. The man raised his arms to protect himself, and Lucifer took the opportunity to strike him in the head with the pommel of his sword.

" He is wounded ! " shouted another Sidest. " He will not last long ! "

But Lucifer held on. He held on because he had no choice. He held on because every time he wanted to collapse, he saw his mother, on her knees, her head lifted by the hair, tears flowing down her cheeks.

" You will not touch her ! " he roared.

He threw himself into the fray, his sword spinning like a windmill. He struck one in the head, another in the stomach. He felt the blade sink into the flesh, the shock of bone against metal. He heard the screams, the dull sound of bodies falling.

But he was struck in turn. A spear in the back, another in the leg. He collapsed, his knees in the mud, blood flowing from everywhere.

" He is down ! " shouted a Sidest.

" Finish him ! "

Lucifer raised his head....

" No ", he murmured. " No. "

He got back up.

How could he get back up? He did not know. Every muscle in his body screamed with pain. But he got back up.

" I am not going to stop ", he said, his voice barely audible. " I am not going to stop as long as you are all dead. "

The Sidest who was approaching took a step back, surprised. " What the... "

Lucifer leaped, a final surge of rage. He plunged his sword into the man’s chest, forced him to retreat, to collapse. He turned toward the next one, and struck him. And the next. And the next.

He had lost count. Five, ten, maybe more. He did not know. He no longer knew where he was, what he was doing. He was no longer anything but a body that moved, a weapon that struck.

And then, he fell.

He collapsed on the ground, his sword slipping from his hands. His fingers scratched the mud, trying to get back up, but his legs no longer responded. He had lost too much blood. He had given too much.