The Hero's Puppet Master

She tilted her head, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "A hero?" she repeated. "That's always been my dream. To be someone admired by everyone, someone strong enough to protect those who can't protect themselves."

She sighed, crossing her arms. "But I haven't awakened my mana yet. Not like you. How can I become a hero when I am still… ordinary?

"Ordinary?" Ronan said, his grin growing wider. "You're far from ordinary, Aurelia."

She looked at him, her confusion growing. "What are you talking about?"

He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper, almost like he was sharing a secret. "I promise you this, Aurelia: you'll become the most powerful person this world has ever seen. More powerful than me, even."

Her eyes went wide with surprise. "You'd do that? Why?"

Ronan's face softened, his grin becoming something almost sincere—or so it appeared. "Because it's my goal," he said quietly, his voice calm. "To see you become everything you've ever dreamed of. To make sure no one can ever stand in your way."

Aurelia blinked, a small smile spreading across her face. "That's kind of you, Ronan. Thank you.

Ronan's eyes locked onto her for a moment, then away again, his smile twisting into something much darker. His plan was coming together in his mind.

Yes, she'll be the strongest. She'll be everything the world admires. And she'll do it all under my control. I'll make her follow me, my puppet to use however I want.

His fists tightened as his thoughts turned even darker. Through her, I'll destroy the Demon Lord and get my revenge. And through her, I'll become unstoppable.

Aurelia's cheerful voice snapped him out of his scheming. "Well, if you're going to help me, you'd better get strong yourself. No slacking, Ronan!"

She turned around and started walking away. "Let's do it, then. Together."

Ronan watched her through narrowed eyes as she walked ahead, already talking about how they should start training.

Together? he thought, a dark grin spreading across his face. Oh, Aurelia, you have no idea what you've just agreed to.

Five years had passed since that day.

It was the 12th day of spring, in the year 754.

Now, Ronan was 12 years old and much more muscular and toned due to the harsh training that he had been subjected to for years.

His idea was to prepare Aurelia for her awakening of mana. He believed that if she were already strong and fit, her awakening would be smooth and powerful.

For Aurelia, though, the training felt like torture. Day and night, Ronan pushed her through the hardest exercises, and many times she thought about giving up.

But Aurelia had one bad habit—once she made a promise, she couldn't break it. So, no matter how painful it was, she kept going and grew stronger every day.

In the morning Ronan stood before the orphanage, ready for the start of the day. Straps of the makeshift carriage were adjusted against his back, and the axe slung over the shoulder he rested against himself.

"Why must we into the forest this early in the day?" Aurelia asked, tucking into her boots her lean strong figure showing her the full results of her training.

Ronan looked at her, a sly grin on his face. "You've been complaining for years that you missed my fight with Usra Malice. Well, today, I'm going to show you something even better."

She was not convinced by that. "Better? Or is it more dangerous?"

"Maybe both," he said lightly, walking into the forest with a hint of mischief in his tone.

She trailed behind, her suspicion growing. "If Mama finds out we went this deep into the woods, we're both dead."

Ronan smirked. "I'll just tell her you made me do it."

Aurelia rolled her eyes. "You're impossible."

Ronan laughed, adjusting the axe on his shoulder. "Keep up, Aurelia. You'll thank me for this later.

They seemed to went deeper into the forest where every little noise was amplified; even the creaking of leaves and scurry of a squirrel sounded loudly, but Aurelia's mind continued to rant, "If this is another one of your wild ideas, I swear."

"Relax," he said with growing amusement. "You're gonna love this. Trust me."

As they went far beyond what anyone at the orphanage had ever ventured farthest, Aurelia grew even more restless.

"Ronan," she whispered, looking around nervously. "I don't like this. It's too quiet… What if something's watching us?" 

Ronan smirked and turned around over his shoulder. "If something is, it's probably afraid of me." He snickered, continuing with, "Not like you, Aurelia. What happened to wanting to be a hero?"

"I am!" she hissed back at him, snapping at him. "Heroes don't just walk into danger without a plan."

"Plans are for people who don't know what they're doing," Ronan said with a sarcastic tone. "Don't worry. I've got this."

Eventually, they reached a clearing, and Ronan suddenly froze. He held up a hand to signal her to be quiet and motioned for her to crouch behind some thick bushes with him.

"What is it?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

He didn't answered her. His sharp eyes were fixed on a camp at a distance. In the clearing, men with a hard look in their faces moved around; some were sharpening their weapons, others laughed loudly around the fire.

"Who are they?" Aurelia asked in a hushed voice that trembled.

Ronan's face became serious. "Those are the Black Vulture Bandits. The most dangerous group in the area."

Her eyes widened with fear. "Bandits? Here?"

"They've been attacking villages for years," Ronan said coldly. "The leader is an A-ranked fighter. He's killed knights and adventurers who tried to stop him. No one's been able to defeat them."

Aurelia caught her breath as she spotted something near the edges of the camp: women and children bound, their faces as pale as parchment and wracked with fear.

"They attacked an village," Ronan said ominously. "Must have been yesterday. Those people-they will be sold into slavery."

Aurelia was horrified. "We must return," she said, pulling him. "We can alert the knights. They'll catch them!"

He threw her off and straightened up. His eyes burned with an inner anger. "By the time the knights come, the robbers will burn our village."

"What are you doing?" She whispered in horror as he picked up his small axe in one hand and the heavy axe in the other.

"Fixing the problem," he said simply, walking out of the bushes toward the camp like it was nothing.

"Ronan, no!" Aurelia hissed, trying to stop him, but he didn't listen. Her heart was racing as she watched him march straight into danger with his axes shining in the sunlight.

This was pure madness. But Ronan didn't look back.