Chapter 138: - The Flames of Reason, The Fires of Destruction [pt.3]
Blood spilled and filled the streets like a flowing river was running through the town. The large wolf had his own maw filled with the red and crimson liquid that stuck to his yellow and white teeth. He wanted more though.
His claws dug deep into the wood, pulling apart the shingles, the thatch, the wood and stone from the home, ready to feast upon the flesh of the small family inside. They cowered and huddled together in a corner - all the easier to bite into them and kill them!
Their fear was written across their face and the wolf was driven to a maddening hunger every time the children screamed and cried. It was prey against predator.
But the wolf did not know of the monster hiding within the shadows behind him. A monster with eyes red, burning with a raging flame fueled by their anger, they charged forward towards his open and exposed flesh.
The wolf never even knew they were there until a sharp piercing pain shot through his body as Lia ripped the sword from his bloody fur. Repositioning herself underneath the beast as it roared in pain, its scream reaching the heavens far above, the monster began to spin around away from the family, too focused now on its new attacker than he was on stuffing his mouth full.
The beast's large and mighty legs crashed down all around her as she dogged between them, swiping her sword across each of them as they came, splattering blood across the street in specks of red.
Lia was far too focused on her own anger, wishing to vent it out now rather than choose to calm down. All she could think of was killing these creatures. They would pay, and pay with their very lives.
A torn ligament here and a few bits of flesh that Lia was able to nimbly cut off, one of the wolf's legs gave out and the beast came crashing down on his side, smashing through an empty building. Its blood was on every corner of the street, its howls of pain still echoing even to the farthest reaches of the plains.
The monster towered over Lia like a house would an ant. The wolf was injured, yes, but it was still dangerous, a fact Lia learned well enough for as she approached the still and unmoving beast, its head shot out from the fallen rubble of the house, clamping its jaws on the empty air where Lia once stood.
She reacted quickly though, bringing her sword upwards across the monster's jaw as it bit down hard against the stone street, her body dancing around the wolf's head.
The monster was nearly fed up with this bobbing and weaving, now enraged with pain lacing its mind with fury, the monster slammed its foot now on the streets, nearly missing Lia by a hair as its claws left scars across the stone. But the beast was not alone.
Lia turned in a 180 degree angle, using her momentum to swipe the word steadily through the air, cleaving the beast's paw off its leg as howls of pain echoed in her ears.
She covered her head as she made her way past the squirming wolf, its body slamming into different bits of rubble and buildings, until her eyes found something in the distance. Something she would need. Something she could use.
A bell tower.
"Over hear you lousy sack of fur!"
Lia waved her arms above her head, attracting the wolf's red and bloodshot gaze, his world now filled with blood, fire, rage and fury as he stared daggers into the woman who had caused this. The family from before was forgotten, having long since used this chance they fled into the allies in hopes of escaping.
The wolf didn't bother to refuse such an obvious sense of a trap and instead charged forward, his back paws pushing off the ground giving him momentum as he leapt towards her. But he was still a fool, nonetheless as Lia was prepared.
She held fast the long rope in her hands, the same rope that would be used in the morning to ring the bell. Only, the bell tower she feared would never be used again, its wooden frame and structure black like charcoal with hits of red embers inside.
It was ready to fall, and all she needed to do was wait for the moment to let it. And then she got it.
The wolf as it had leapt forward, forgot that he was missing one of his paws, his leg now covered in slick blood. His rage had kept him going until now, but as his leg touched the ground with his full weight behind it, did he finally feel the pain that shot through him like a lightning bolt.
First his leg, then his other leg, then his face as it slammed on the ground, sliding against the smooth stone streets and the dust filled air, barreling towards Lia at full speed.
She pulled hard on the rope, slashing the support beams around her with her weapon before the wolf's head smashed against them, coming to a rest directly below the large bell tower.
It was her chance.
After activated [Drifting winds], Lia blew her way out from under the tower just in time for the wolf to regain himself in some bits of his mind.
Rearing his head up to watch her escape, unaware of the large and heavy iron bell falling above him until it smashed again his head, crushing his skull as blood splattered everywhere.
She won the battle, but the war was not over yet. There were still many to kill.
'Where are they?'
Lia passed her eyes over the town burning in hell's flames, unable to see either Arnold or her friends anymore. But she could see a long street that stretched through the town and its center, lined with dozens of small, medium and large monsters that tore into the surrounding buildings.
She could hear the screams, the roars of fury, the sounds of anguish and pain.
It fueled her rage and her eyes glowed just like Cain's, her chest filling with the same fearlessness that he excluded everywhere he walked.
Confidence.
Lia drew her sword, anger filling her chest, eyes filled with blood lusting for death.
She would run these streets rampant with blood.
***
The night air was filled with the sounds of crickets chirping, the sounds of the grass blowing in the wind. The sound of water dropping to the ground, forming puddles in the earth and sand.
Only this night filled with an empty silence had no rain fall from the sky, only the red that stained the ground in its murky and crimson color drenched the land with water. Blood.
One man dressed in dark and heavy clothes stood out among the shimmering reeds of grass that blew in the wind, reflecting the pale moonlight like mirrors in the sand. His clothes were drenched in blood, staining his skin and the cloth that clung to his skin, highlighting the sharp and toned muscles in his skin.
Though, to say he was drenched would be an understatement. He was soaked in blood, hardly any of his skin color seen under the blanket of red. His breath was calm and steady, but labored and deep like his throat was burning.
'That…that was a lot more than I thought would be here.'
His red eyes passed over the large and expansive plains of land and grass now turned to marsh from the pouring blood of the monster's flesh. Dozens of bodies laid on the ground around him, all torn to pieces and bits.
His face was turned to the sky and the large and beautiful expansive world of stars that dotted the sky like a painting of black and white. It was mesmerizing.
He took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he reached into the depths of his memories for a thought, an image, a time where life was easier for him.
A feeling.
His mind turned to the roaring hills of his home, the tall mountains peaked with snow and sheets of ice, large and thunderous winds that blew through the forests, the rivers that ran golden with fish and teeming with life. The waters of the lake that crystallized in the sunlight, glowing like diamonds against the red and orange sunset.
He could see himself standing on the forest edge, his hand against a thick pine tree watching the glistening waters filled with beauty.
And a woman beside him, her arms wrapped around his as her head began to lean on his shoulder and then…
"Sir?"
The memory was gone.
His eyes slowly opened with a calm and soothing gaze of peace and tranquility as he turned his eyes to the owner of the voice. The voice that had interrupted his resounding peace.
"Kal."
A man dressed in long and dark clothes similar to his own stood in the midst of the tall grass, his figure looking more and more imposing by the second. This was his home - the darkness of the night.
"Why are you here?"
Kal was silent , his eyes passing over Cain's face with curiosity.
"You're meant to be with Lia in case she needs you."
"If she calls I shall be there. But she hasn't."
Cain took in a deep breath, his long and empty sigh blowing the log strands of grass as they leaned back as if afraid.
"She's doing things on her own again, isn't she?"
Kal only nodded his head, confirming that Lia was indeed fighting by herself, refusing to call on the help of summons like him or Florence.
'She's headstrong and steady. I have no doubt in her ability but her stubbornness will come to get the better of her one day.'
His eyes drifted from the battle around him, the scared and dead flesh of the monsters that had caught him outside of the farm had traveled far to avoid the imposing death. But, in the end, they had not succeeded in escaping him.
It was then that his eyes found something in the distance, something that lit the ground around it for miles in a bright red and orange light, shadows dancing across the ground.
Fire.
"It appears that my battle has led me all the way back here, to Kokono."
His eyes swept over the distant flames while his ears turned to catch the distant and echoing sounds of screams filled with pain and death.
'Blood is running through these plains tonight. Sadly, it seems more is of humans that it is of monster.'
The flames reached so high in the sky that even Cain from this distance found his face painted in the fire light, and he couldn't help but feel the tenseness that Kal had the moment it did.
"What's the matter Kal?"
He turned to face him, his eyes passing over the tense and wide eyed man before him who looked like a wave of fear had just passed over him, something that Cain was not used to seeing.
"You see something….?"
The fire danced in the distance casting more light over Cain's face, or what could have been called that. The darkness had kept it hidden from his friend, yet now it was exposed for the world to see.
Half his face was gone, an arm was hanging from his shoulder by strands of flesh and nerves, holes in his torso poured with blood. He looked more like honeycomb than he did like a man.
"Sir…your face."
Cain reached up to his face realizing that he was touching bits of his skull and brain when his fingers came back drenched in blood.
"Ah, yes well, no matter."
The moment he said that the dust from the air compacted and combined, shooting towards his exposed bones as they attached to the ends, growing and growing and growing until Cain could see his arm and fingers filling with flesh and skin again. His head was fixing and mending itself, hair growing from his barren head and his vision returned.
In the matter of only a few seconds, he was healed.
"...I don't mean to be disrespectful sir, but have you been-"
"That's enough Kal."
Before Kal could speak, Cain raised a hand to interrupt him, shaking dust and torn bits of clothing from his shoulder.
"You should be helping LI right now, not worrying about…"
He turned his head sharply towards the distant city, the fire burning bright in the night's darkly lit sky. He wasn't the only one though as Kal turned his head towards Kokono as well, looks of alert plastered across their faces.
"Sir…?"
"I feel it."
Silence passed between them, the sounds of fire raging beyond them like a storm. Cain could feel the heat from here, but it was the power he felt in the distance that compelled such a look to form on his face.
"Sir-"
"Go."
Kal didn't wait for a second opinion as the moment Cain's words left his voice, Kal was already speeding off into the distance, dirt and dust kicking up in the air behind him. The power is what they feared. Power resting deep within the walls of Kokono.
Power to kill.
'This can't be good.'
***
Lia was honestly getting sick of the color red, as well as the smell of iron and blood that filled the air and streets, making them slick and suffocating to anyone who wanted to travel down the streets. Its scent lingered in the air and its musty smell filled her lungs like the water of a river did when you drowned.
"Ha…ha…Damn it!"
A monster lept towards her, its pale gray eyes chasing away the fire that burned around them as Lia ducked just in time to dig her sword into the monster's side, pulling apart its flesh as blood slurped out onto the street.
Her sword hilt was slick with blood and it was getting harder now to hold onto it. Her steel's edge was getting dull, her mind was pounding against her skull with a headache, while her own breath was raspy and thin. She was exhausted.
"F*ck it."
But nonetheless she had to fight.
Another two monsters charged her from the city square, their claws sending sparks dancing along the stony street, their mouths open wide to reveal rows of razor sharp teeth that could cut Lia to shreds. But so could she.
Pulling her sword from the ground where it was embedded, Lia rushed the two approaching monsters, ducking underneath their claws as they cut through the air. She pulled her sword around in a circle, slicing through the two monsters in the same stroke as her blade made a 180 degree turn around, cutting them both in half.
The moment he came to a stop she dug her sword into the ground and leaned her weight onto it, exhaustion rippling through her as she struggled to stand. But she knew she had to.
The dust began to set around her, the iron lingering in the air as the subtle sounds of claws scraped against ground before Lia felt the air behind her tensed up and shifted. A monster had snuck up on her and now it had flung itself upon her, its claws ranking against her back as she was knocked to the ground by the beast's body weight.
It was small, just barely able to fit on top of Lia's back, but nonetheless it scared her with its claws, its large open mouth that stretched from one side of its face to the other biting beside her face as she made attempt after attempt after attempt to fling it off.
Finally she was able to reach back and grab its leg, pulling it off her back as its claws raked across her skin, blood spilling from her skin. She took in a thin breath filled with pain as she reached to her belt, pulled a dagger from its sheath and stabbed the monster over and over and over again until its blood had pooled at her feet.
Her anger was controlling her now, she could hardly think, hardly move without giving it her all one every attack. She was being consumed by her rage and she couldn't stop herself. She looked around the square for any signs of ore monsters, but the sight of one figure standing in the distance froze her in place.
"...Arnold?"
The man stood there with his spear held behind his back, his eyes watching her with careful and meticulous eyes.
She didn't care to pay much attention to the look he was giving her, standing straight on her wobbly legs, casting her own look towards Arnold from the other side of the square, a fountain separating them by only a few long steps.
"Arnold, we need to get these people out of here. They're dying!"
She held an urgency to her tone, gesturing to raging fires around her, screams that filled the air and the torn and half eaten corpses that Lia could not find the courage to cast her own eye on. It was hell, everywhere was hell and Lia did not need much description for Arnold to know what she spoke of.
But still, he shook his head.
"The city is lost. What survivors there were have already fled -"
"Can you not hear the screams?! Can you not hear the people who are trapped here dying just around the corner?!"
Again, Arnold shook his head, gesturing around with his spear, his arm wrapped around its long and sturdy pole.
"The fires are burning all around us, monsters are tearing through the city. Those who are not dead will soon die."
Lia could hardly comprehend what she was hearing, if her anger was already raging then these words only served to add kindling to the flame, her mind now racing beyond the situation around them.
"You…How could you say that?! People are dying - children are dying!"
Arnold eyed her with an odd stare, his fist gripping harder and harder on his spear, sending wood dust falling to the ground.
"What right do you have -"
"Who is the archer?"
Arnold's voice echoed across the square, silencing any sound that had been blasting in Lia's ears, now suffocating her in a deathly silence. But it was his words that scared her the most.
"...what?"
"The dice. I saw them before we ran out into the city. 7 to 4."
"What the hell does that have to do with…with any of this?!"
Lia threw her hands into the air, unable to comprehend what Arnold was getting at, trying desperately to avoid his question, but he was not so easily fooled.
"I won. My question."
Her heart was racing, her hand gripping tighter on her sword, ready for anything. It was then that Lia could finally understand the look in his eyes.
His fierce gaze bore deep into her's, the fire raging around them casting shadows and bright lights against their faces.
There was no assumption, there was no suspicion. Where there was once the unknown, there was the 'knowing.'
And his mouth opened and the words came pouring out despite Lia's pleas.
"Who is the archer?"
Accusation.
Judgment.
…Death.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone