Once Upon a Time, in a Forest Far, Far Away
Once upon a time, a very long time ago, a girl opened her eyes in a forest.
The girl, who had black hair and red eyes, stared blankly up at the sky and thought:
Where is this? And who am I?
The girl had no memories. She had no purpose. She had absolutely nothing to her name.
And so, she spent her days doing nothing, sitting in a daze as time slipped endlessly by.
Then, one day.
While she was sitting idly as usual, she encountered another living being for the very first time.
It was a girl with sleepy-looking, dark purple eyes and hair of the same shade.
Spotting the girl sitting there in a daze, the newcomer tilted her head and asked:
"Hey there~ I feel an energy similar to mine from you~ Who are you~?"
The girl couldn't answer. She didn't know who she was either.
The purple-haired girl asked the silent girl again.
"...You seem to be alive~ Hey, you can understand what I'm saying, right~?"
This time, the girl nodded.
At that, the purple-haired girl stared at her for a moment before murmuring as if realizing something.
"...Hmm, maybe I felt like this at the very beginning too~ Anyway, you look completely empty. This might actually be fun to watch~"
Wearing a mysterious smile, the purple-haired girl spoke to her.
"Tell you what~ Since you have nothing, I'll give you a gift~ Now, repeat after me~ Evangeline."
"...Evangeline?"
"Yes~ Meaning 'good news,' in the hope that you'll become a source of good news to relieve my boredom~ Evangeline. From now on, that is your name~"
"...Me, name, Evangeline."
The girl softly muttered the name she had just received.
The girl who had possessed nothing was now a girl with a name.
And so, the girl became Evangeline.
From the day she received her name, the girl began to change.
The things that had always filled her blank gaze suddenly began to look different.
The clouds drifting in the sky, the towering trees, the flowing streams, and the blooming flowers.
The girl began to wonder if they, too, had names like her.
For if they didn't, she thought, it would be terribly sad.
She had been so incredibly happy when she received her name, and she wanted to share that joy with everything else.
So, the girl asked everything that caught her eye:
"You, name?"
And to all the nameless things that couldn't answer her question—
to the clouds, the trees, the streams, and the flowers—the girl gave names.
Hoping they would be as happy as she was, she gave them simple sounds that even her clumsy tongue could pronounce, naming them things like 'Ah,' 'Eo,' 'I,' and 'U.'
One day, as she was wandering through the forest, bestowing names upon everything she encountered:
"Oh? A human? Deep in a forest like this?"
"You, name?"
"Huh? My name is Liru..."
"Me, name, Evangeline."
For the first time, the girl met someone who answered her question.
"Oh, I see... Your name is Evangeline. Evangeline, where is your family? Where do you live?"
"...?"
"...What? Are you living in the forest all by yourself without a family? No, that can't be... Oh my gosh, did you get into an accident and lose your memory? Ugh, Dad told me to always help people in trouble..."
The young elf named Liru grabbed the girl's arm and said,
"...Hey, Evangeline, do you want to stay at our house?"
If I follow her, will I meet more things with names?
Intrigued by this being named Liru, the girl decided to follow her.
"Evangeline, this is the village where I live."
"...Village."
Following Liru, the girl arrived at a wondrous place she had never seen before, which bore the name 'village.'
"Yeah, and over there is where our house is."
"...House."
In the village, there were many large, square things called 'houses.'
"Liru? Who is this young human? I told you not to bring outsiders into the village so recklessly."
"Ah, Dad. Well, she was wandering around the forest, and she seems to have lost her memory... She looks about my age, and it's too pitiful to leave her all alone... Could we please let her stay with us, just until her memory comes back?"
"...Sigh, alright. I'll have to speak with the village chief."
And inside, there lived other Lirus, both big and small.
"Me, name, Evangeline. You, name?"
"...You really don't have any memories, do you? Yes, Evangeline. I am Arun, Liru's father."
"Father, Arun."
"I am Luna, Liru's mother. Nice to meet you, Evangeline."
"Mother, Luna."
The biggest Liru was Father, Arun. The second biggest was Mother, Luna.
"Wah."
"Name, Wah?"
"No, silly. This is my little brother, Eru."
"...Brother, Eru."
And Liru, and the smallest Liru, her little brother Eru.
The girl came to live in the house where the four Lirus resided.
"Evangeline, from today on, you are a member of our village."
And so, the girl gained a place to belong.
The days the girl spent with Liru were a continuous journey of learning.
Living with Liru, she learned so many things.
She learned that the things she had named 'Ah,' 'Eo,' 'I,' and 'U' actually had names like clouds, trees, streams, and flowers.
She also learned that Liru was not a 'Liru,' but belonged to a race called Elves.
"Evangeline, try this. It's a roasted potato, and it's delicious."
"...Fire, hurts."
"Whoa?! Why did you put your hand in the fire! It must be so hot! Are you okay?!"
"...It hurt, but I'm okay now. Ah... potato, delicious..."
"Whew, thank goodness. You seem fine..."
She learned that fire was hot and painful, but also that potatoes roasted in that hot fire tasted wonderful.
"Liru, are you going out to play with Evangeline again today?"
"Yes! Hehe, we're going to catch fish in the pond today!"
"Alright, just don't go anywhere too dangerous!"
She learned the joy of going out to play with Liru.
"Me, caught lots of fish with Liru. This, a gift for the mister who works hard to protect the village."
"Ahaha, is that so? Thank you. The villagers just picked these apples, would you like one?"
"Delicious apple, thank you. I promise to repay you with even tastier fish later, mister."
She learned the joy of returning kindness with kindness.
And even more than what she learned, the girl gained so much.
"Liru, why do you only play with Evangeline all the time? Evangeline is unfair! Liru used to be my best friend!"
"Me, want to be friends with Failin too. If Liru, me, and Failin play together, it will be more fun."
"...Huh? Eh? Sh-should we?"
She gained new friends.
"Liru, I read in a book that I don't have a mother or a father. Do I... not have a family?"
"...Don't worry about that. No matter what anyone says, Evangeline, you are my family."
"...Family. Liru and me, family."
She had gained an irreplaceable, precious family.
The girl was grateful to the world. Grateful to the world that had given her such precious things.
And so, she was happy.
She truly believed those happy days would last forever.
Time flowed on. The girl learned to speak as fluently as anyone else, and little Eru grew to be about the size Liru had been when they first met. Then, one day.
"Today, we're all going into the forest to get your birthday present. We're going to find an amazing surprise, so you wait at home today, Evangeline. Got it?"
"Eru is going to the forest too, to make a bouquet for Evangeline-unni! Ah, wait, that was supposed to be a secret!"
That day was the girl's birthday. To be precise, it was a day to commemorate the anniversary of her first meeting Liru and coming to the village.
To find her birthday present, all the children her age left her behind and headed into the forest first thing in the morning. On that day,
a massive uproar shook the village.
The children who had gone into the forest in the morning had not returned even as night fell.
It was impossible for an elf to lose their way in the forest, so something terrible had undoubtedly happened.
All the villagers searched frantically through the night, but they found nothing.
The girl couldn't sleep, praying with all her heart for everyone's safe return.
The next morning, the swiftest member of the village militia returned with a devastated expression to deliver the news.
"...We found the children's bodies... No, we found the traces of their deaths."
It was the moment the girl's happiness shattered into pieces.
The girl, Evangeline, had wanted to be close with all the children in the village. They were all her friends.
And because of that, they had all gone into the forest to find a gift to celebrate her birthday.
And they had all died.
The slightly stubborn Failin, the crybaby Nia, the brave Erika, the cowardly Ronan.
Eru, who had always followed her around, and Liru, her most precious friend and family.
All of them.
Death was the saddest thing the girl knew.
When the wisest and kindest village chief had passed away, she had wept.
But now, she couldn't even shed a single tear.
Amidst a grief so profound it felt as though the world was collapsing, she heard the militia member's voice.
The magical beast that seemed to have slaughtered the children was now heading straight for the village.
She had read in books about how powerful the magical beasts controlled by Witches were.
She knew that the village's forces stood absolutely no chance against such a monster.
Yet the villagers, paralyzed by the loss of their children, could do nothing but weep endlessly, ignoring the militia member's desperate pleas to flee.
Just then, from the edge of the village.
A colossal, monstrous shriek reverberated through the air.
The girl realized that at this rate, everyone in the village would die.
An even greater sorrow than the one she was currently experiencing would descend upon them.
So, she stepped forward, blocking the path of the giant monster that had reached the village gates with thunderous footsteps.
And she screamed:
"Don't touch the people! Go back right now!"
The magical beast stared down at the girl for a moment, then turned around and vanished in the opposite direction of the village.
The girl let out a sigh of relief. With this, at least, the remaining villagers would survive.
Just then, a villager who had witnessed the scene muttered:
"Evangeline... she commanded the beast..."
And then, someone whispered the word, "Witch."
The whisper began to spread among the villagers.
"Witch. Witch. Witch. She's a Witch!"
The whispers quickly escalated into screams.
In the eyes of the villagers, the girl saw an emotion other than grief overflowing.
The villagers, who had once been so warm, were now glaring at her with murderous intent.
"That wench was the Witch! Our children died because of her!"
"Evangeline ordered the beast to kill our children!"
"We treated you so well, so why did you do this?!"
"No, I didn't..." the girl tried to speak, but her voice was instantly drowned out by their roaring accusations.
Rough, violent hands seized her.
She screamed that it wasn't her, but the villagers refused to listen.
"Revenge! Burn the wicked Witch to death!"
"Make her suffer even more than our children did!"
"Witch hunt! It's a witch hunt!"
The girl was dragged by the villagers and bound to a wooden stake.
Firewood was piled high at her feet.
Oil was poured over her body.
"Burn her!"
"Light the fire!"
"Burn her to ashes!"
She screamed of her innocence, but they paid her no heed.
Flames erupted.
The fire climbed up, spreading across her body.
The flames were far hotter and more painful than anything she had ever known.
Yet, what hurt far more than the fire was the villagers' betrayal.
They were her precious people.
The dead children were her own beloved friends and family.
She, too, had grieved their deaths, and she had only wanted to prevent any more sorrow.
So why were they treating someone who shared their grief, someone just like them, with such unspeakable cruelty?
Why? she asked, but no one answered.
They only screamed for her to burn.
How could you? she asked, but no one answered.
They only bellowed for revenge.
The girl finally understood.
They were so overwhelmed by grief that they had turned to rage.
They were simply looking for a scapegoat to blame.
That realization filled her with profound sadness.
And because she was a human no different from them, her sadness soon transformed into wrath.
That emotion, bearing the name of Wrath—of fire—burned as hot and painfully as the flames consuming her.
Crimson tears, matching the color of her boiling rage, spilled from her eyes.
Her hair was dyed a brilliant red, mirroring the fury in her heart.
For the first time, she hated the world that had subjected her to such agonizing heat and pain.
She wanted to exact vengeance upon the world, to return this burning agony tenfold.
She wanted to burn everything to the ground.
The people screamed of Witches and revenge.
And so, the girl became a Witch.
And so, she enacted her revenge.
In the wake of the raging inferno, nothing remained.
By all rights, nothing should have remained within the girl either.
Yet she looked around at the world she had once been so grateful for.
As she burned, she wept, and she laughed.
For there was still so much left for her to burn.
Just then, the girl with dark purple hair appeared before her, riding atop a colossal magical beast.
"Hehe~ Poor Evangeline. They did such a horrible thing to you~"
The one who had given her the name Evangeline.
The girl realized that she, too, was a Witch.
"Actually, it was all my fault~ Those bad people, they had no idea~"
She was the wicked Witch who had stripped away everything she loved.
"Hehe~ What a massive fire~ Playing with fire is so much fun~ You want to burn me, don't you~? Then let's play hide-and-seek. All the way to that giant tree over there. Okay~?"
The girl made her decision.
The Witch who was the root of all her suffering, the world that had inflicted this agony upon her—
she would burn them all to ashes, and in the end, she would burn herself as well.
When I came to, my head felt like it was splitting open.
I wanted to smack myself in the head as part of my usual routine, but my body wouldn't move the way I wanted it to.
Was I experiencing sleep paralysis?
Frowning at the thought, I forced my eyes open, only to realize my entire body was securely restrained.
Don't tell me I've been kidnapped again? Just as the thought crossed my mind, the bed-like contraption I was strapped to tilted upright, revealing a large crowd gathered before me.
They looked familiar. The high-ranking officials of the city, who had stood on the stage during Yoon Siwoo's Hero investiture ceremony, were staring at me with cold, rigid eyes.
I also spotted some familiar faces: Eve-sensei, Sylvia, Yoon Siwoo, and Martina.
What on earth is going on? Is this a dream? As I tilted my head in confusion,
"It seems you are awake. Then let us begin immediately."
One of them spoke up.
"Answer truthfully, Scarlet Evande. Are you an enemy of humanity?"