Red Death S1

Ryu opens his eyes after few minutes and just stand up during dawn then walk out of the forest through a path used for wagons.

His steps are steady. Bag over his shoulder.

He walks for hours.

Then—his eyes narrow.

Distant wheels. Iron creaks. Horses neigh.

A caravan rolls down the distant road, flanked by armored riders. Flying above it—

The Empire's Golden banner.

Ryu veers off the road, silently leaping into the tall bush beside the path. He crouches low. Hidden.

From behind a bush, he observes.

Cages.

Wagons of them.

Inside—figures huddled. Some with pointed ears. Others with fur, tails, claws. Elves. Beastmen. Children.

A soldier slaps a cage with his spear, laughing.

Ryu's gaze darkens.

He stands. Walks out of the bush.

The guards at the front stop the caravan.

Imperial Guard 1:

"Halt—who the hell—?"

Ryu keeps walking. Stops in front of the caravan.

Ryu (cold):

"What are you transporting?"

Imperial Guard 1 (scoffs):

"None of your business, peasant."

Ryu says nothing.

Just watches him.

The soldier sneers. Steps closer.

Imperial Guard 1:

"Run along before we put you in a cage too."

Ryu tilts his head slightly.

Then—

CRACK.

A blur. His fist moves once.

The guard's head twists mid-air as his skull explodes sideways, jaw spinning off into the dirt.

The body drops like a puppet cut from its strings.

Silence.

Then screams.

Imperial Guard 2:

"H-he killed him! Kill him!!"

They rush him.

It's a mistake.

Ryu lunges forward—his hand grabs a man by the helmet, crushes it inward. Another swings a blade—Ryu ducks, shoves his palm into the man's stomach so hard it punches through the back armor.

One tries to flee.

Ryu throws a black firefrom his palm—straight into his spine making him catch on dark fire.

Another backs away, crying.

Imperial Guard (desperate):"Wh-what are you—?!"

Ryu (quiet, like a verdict):"The reason your Empire will fall."

He rips the last soldier's throat with a swing of his hand, the sound clean and final.

Silence again.

The horses panic. Some run. The cages rattle.

Ryu walks forward.

He sees them now—dozens of captives. Dirty. Starved. Huddled.

Ryu walks to the caravan. Opens the back.

Loot. Crates of iron. Food. Gold. A few military maps.

He starts rummaging through the boxes—ignoring the prisoners.

They stare in confusion.

Beastman (quietly):

"H-He's not here to help?"

Elf Girl (timid):

"You're freeing us… right?"

Ryu doesn't answer. He lifts a metal box and tosses it over his shoulder, walking away.

Then—

Old Beastman (hoarse):

"They burned our village. Took the children as war trophies."

Elf Girl:

"My mother begged them. They laughed."

Ryu stops.

His eyes twitch.

His hand trembles.

FLASHBACK – YEARS AGO

Flames.

His village burns.

His people scream.

Chains.

A child cries out—a hand reaching for help as soldiers drag her away.

His mother's voice—fading in smoke.

END FLASHBACK

Ryu's eyes widen—then narrow.

He turns.

His hand rises slowly.

The black fire ignites from his palm like oil catching light—soundless, consuming.

He hurls it.

WHOOSH.

It hits the locked cage—melting the lock in seconds. the flames ripple unnaturally.

The captives flinch—but the doors fall open.

More cages follow. Ryu walks by them, casually dragging a trail of fire that burns only locks, not flesh.

The prisoners spill out, confused.

Ryu (calm):"You're free. Go north. Avoid the roads."

The captives stare.

Some are too weak to stand. Others crawl out on trembling limbs.

Whispers rise among them—hope and fear tangled together.

Elf Girl (quietly)"…He's… not Empire?"

Old Beastman (coughing)"No. But he ain't a savior either."

Ryu doesn't look back.

He walks to the dead soldiers, checking their belts, tossing aside a broken sword,

One elf, older, steps forward.

Elf (bitterly):

"…Why fight them?"

"You've doomed them. If they catch us now, they'll execute every last one just to make a point."

(beat)

"The Empire feeds us. Protects us. It's better than running."

"They may chain us… but at least we're alive."

Ryu stops.

Turns to him.

The air stills.

His eyes—inhuman.

Red. Dimly glowing. Piercing.

Then—

CRACK.

In a blink, he's in front of the elf.

His hand strikes once—clean across the face.

The elf's neck breaks sideways. Body hits the ground limp.

Ryu (cold, dead tone):

"Then die with them."

Silence.

The others tremble.

Ryu turns. Begins walking away.

The black fire still dances along shattered metal, its glow low and unnatural—more like smoke dreaming of heat than any living flame.

Cages lie twisted open.Horses are gone.The stench of blood clings to the wind.

Imperial corpses scatter the ground like discarded armor—limbs bent wrong, faces frozen mid-scream, as if they died still trying to understand what hit them.

The freed captives remain motionless.

Dozens of them—elves and beastfolk, children and elders.

Some kneel, touching the earth to make sure it's real.Others stare at the man-shaped ruin left behind.

A young beastman boy, his fur caked with soot, reaches a trembling paw toward the lock that once bound him. It's melted smooth. Like it wept before breaking.

Elf Girl (whispering, barely breathing):"…He saved us…"

Old Beastman (hoarse, heavy):"No."

(beat)

"He freed us. That's not the same."

He leans on a broken spear, not for strength—but to stay grounded.

Beastman Youth (angry):"He never even looked at us. Just walked away. Like we didn't matter."

Elven Woman (quiet awe):"Did you see what he did… with only his hands?"

(beat)

"The fire burned what he hated."

(beat)

"Not a single ember touched us. As if it knew the difference."

They glance at the body of the elf who questioned freedom. His neck twisted, his mouth still parted—caught between a warning and a regret.

Beastman Youth (disbelieving):"Why kill him?"

Old Beastman:"…Because he tried to make chains sound safe."

Silence hangs—thick, sacred. Even the wind is careful not to speak.

A tiny beastling child, no older than five, grips the old man's robe. Wide eyes. Still too innocent for everything they've seen.

Beastling (soft):"Who was he?"

The old beastman doesn't answer at first.

He gazes toward the road—where the stranger vanished into the horizon.

And when he speaks, his voice carries weight.

Old Beastman:"I don't know his name."

(beat)

"But I think he was human…"

Heads turn.

Suspicion flickers.

Elf Girl (soft, hesitant):"…His eyes didn't look human."

Old Beastman (quietly):"No."

(beat)

"They didn't look like us either."

(beat)

"They looked like something born in fire… something that watched too many die… and never forgot a single face."

No one speaks.

Because they felt it too.

The weight in his gaze.The silence before he struck.The way death followed him like a faithful dog.

They don't know if he's a curse, a ghost, or a beast wearing a man's skin.

But he left them alive.

And that's enough.

The captives begin to move.

Some gather food. Others pry weapons from cold hands. One lights the last cage on fire—not in rage, but like a funeral.

Elven Woman (quiet, resolute):"He said go north."

(beat)

"We go north."

They walk slowly—shadows stretching behind them—carrying pain, confusion, and a strange sense of borrowed strength.

In The Same Moment

The wind moves gently through the grass.

At the edge of a cliff, above the road, a shadow stands watching.

The same girl Ryu met near the waterfall.

Barefoot. Cloak fluttering. Her eyes like still water.

She looks down at the ruined caravan, her head slightly tilted.

A ghost of a smile on her lips.

Girl (softly, to no one):"All it takes… is a memory, huh?"

She turns—vanishes into the air like mist.