ALL NOVEL Chapter 49 - Bloodstained Christmas - 01
◇ Reina’s Past
“Merry Christmas! Reina!”
“Wow! Thanks, Papa!”
A kind-looking man wearing glasses and a green sweater handed a beautifully wrapped present to the girl. The man with blue eyes and the girl with blue eyes hugged each other with broad smiles.
A warm fireplace and a warm room. A beautifully decorated Christmas tree, and a roasted chicken placed on the table. Tonight is the holy night, Christmas.
It is also someone’s birthday, but more importantly, it is a special day to spend with loved ones. Such an ordinary happy family was having fun, playing together. Outside, snow was falling.
“Hey! Can I open it? Can I open it?”
“After dinner, Reina.”
“Ehh!!”
A beautiful woman with long black hair stopped the girl, who was about to tear open the bag. This woman, who looked like the ideal Japanese beauty, had crossed the sea from Japan to marry this man. And born from them was Reina, a girl with blue eyes inherited from her father and blonde hair.
The father could speak Japanese, and the mother was Japanese. Naturally, conversations at home were in Japanese.
“Oh, come on, Mama.”
“Yeah! Yeah! Mama!”
“Oh? Are you both against Mama? Mama’s sad…”
The mother pretended to cry. The girl then walked over to her mother and grabbed her hem.
“Reina is on Mama’s side!”
“Hey! Papa sided with Reina, and now you’re betraying me?”
“Hmm, Mama wins just a little bit more!”
“Ehh!”
“Hehe, you’ll protect Mama, right? Thank you, Reina.”
“Yeah!”
A happy family. Today is the Christmas of their five-year-old daughter.
It’s been almost ten years since the dungeons appeared. Equipment had spread worldwide and became commonplace in the market.
As a result, parents began giving equipment to their children early on, making it common to know their profession. It became a custom to give such gifts on the fifth Christmas when the child had some sense and self-awareness.
“Ahh, I’m full!”
“Alright! Reina, want to open your present?”
This event was not only enjoyable for the children but also for the parents, curious about what profession their child might have. Reina’s father was no exception, eagerly believing his daughter had special powers.
“Can I open it? Mama, is it okay?”
“Yes, you can.”
“Yay!”
Reina, jumping for joy, hugged her present. Seeing her radiant smile made her parents feel happy too. And then…
Rip, rip, rip.
“Oh, Reina. We wrapped it so nicely…”
Unable to wait any longer, Reina tore open the bag and took out what was inside.
“Wow! A teddy bear and… what’s this?”
Reina picked up the gauntlet. Inside was a teddy bear and a soldier’s gauntlet attached to the bear’s hand. It was the weakest equipment, but it was sufficient to gain status and profession.
“That’s something you put on your hand, like this.”
Her father showed her how to wear the soldier’s gauntlet.
“Cool!!”
Reina jumped up and down, asking to try it. But her father hushed her with a finger to her lips.
“I’ll give this to you, but there’s a condition!”
“Ehh!!”
Reina pouted, and her mother smiled. Then, her father began to explain the promise.
“First, when you wear this, Reina will become strong.”
“Strong?”
“Yes! But you must not use this power recklessly.”
“Okay. I don’t really get it, but…”
“Only in one case, when you need to protect yourself or someone important, you may use it.”
“Permission?”
Reina repeated the difficult word her father used.
“Uh, it means you can do anything to protect Mama and Papa.”
“Anything, Papa…”
Her father, giving up on explaining, gave a rough explanation. The mother sighed, and the daughter understood.
“Okay! I promise!”
And then the gauntlet was handed to Reina. At that moment…
Crash!
The sound of the door being broken was heard.
“W-What?”
“Papa…”
The mother hugged Reina close. The father went to check what had happened.
“Who are you?!”
The father understood the situation. Seeing a man who broke the glass, reached in, and unlocked the door. The man was dressed in black from head to toe, wearing a black mask and gloves, and holding a steel sword.
Realizing the situation, the father shouted.
“Mama! Take Reina and run!!”
And then…
“Ugh…”
The sword pierced the father’s stomach, and he fell.
“Run… Mama, Reina.”
The man took a step closer to the room where Reina and her mother were.
“Papa!! No! Who are you!?”
The man mumbled. He blamed the company, society, and hated happy families. He approached the mother holding her daughter, muttering curses against the world.
“I have to kill, I have to kill.”
His expression was like someone possessed by a demon. He seemed incapable of making rational decisions. His eyes were hollow, like those of a puppet being controlled.
The mother, holding her daughter, tried to escape desperately but couldn’t move well. Faced with the knife, she couldn’t get her feet to work properly.
And then…
“Aaah!”
Mother is pierced through.
She unintentionally throws away the daughter she was holding.
Reina doesn’t understand what is happening, but the only thing she knows is that her mother and father are being attacked by this person.
“Run away, Reina…”
Even as she collapses, her mother squeezes out her voice towards Reina.
Even with her stomach pierced, her mother tries to make Reina escape with a trembling voice.
And the man slowly walks towards the fallen mother.
To deliver the final blow.
“No, no! Mama!”