The boy lives in a nation beset by a long, drawn-out war. Not a day goes by without the sound of gunfire, and his fellow countrymen live in fear. This makes the boy too afraid to sleep, so every night his parents attempt to cheer him up.

This night begins like any other until there is a sound at the door, at which point the boy's parents turn pale. They hide the boy in the closet while they go to investigate, and in the dark he hears the sounds of an altercation, his parents' screams, and the footsteps of people rushing throughout the house.

Once the footsteps fade, the boy crawls out from the closet. When he finds his parents' corpses skewered by a single sword, he breaks down in tears, cursing his own cowardice and powerlessness.

Years pass. The boy becomes a soldier. He does so for one reason: to find the man who ruined his life and kill him. His only clue is the emblem engraved on the sword he found in his parents' corpses.

With his old, cowardly self abandoned, the boy throws himself into battle. But trouble follows wherever he goes; he is unsociable, grumpy, and hard to get along with. The boy's captain makes sure that trouble never escalates, but the boy never thanks him for it—indeed, when he looks at the weak and nervous captain he becomes enraged, for it is like looking directly at his past self. The boy decided long ago to ignore the captain's orders and advice, instead using him only to find out what his next mission will be.

One day, the boy is given briefing material on an upcoming operation, and the emblem on the page causes his blood to boil. His sworn enemy is close now — so very close—but the boy's name is not on the list of soldiers who will be going on the mission. When the captain refuses to include him no matter how much he asks, the enraged boy draws his weapon and threatens him. But though his captain quakes in fear, he does not rescind his previous order. The boy then hurls abuse at his superior as he storms out of the room.

That night, while everyone is sleeping, the boy quietly heads off to the enemy camp alone. He does so not to achieve valor or win a war, but because exacting revenge on his enemy is his sole reason for living.

The boy infiltrates the enemy camp just before daybreak, but cannot find the man he seeks. And though lights soon begin to come on in the nearby tents, the boy will not back down. Finally, a group of enemies approach and he sees the man he has been pursuing all these years among them. With a cry, the boys leaps into battle and cuts them all down, permitting the curtain to finally fall on his revenge.

Though his sworn enemy lies dying, he manages to reveal the truth about the boy's life: He was not an innocent child, but instead the victim of an infant kidnapping scheme carried out by the home country of his supposed parents. His true parent — his father — is the man who now lies cold and still before him. The boy's entire life has been a lie.