Bab 11: Familial love
The concept of space was a tricky subject to touch upon. All things existed in space. Whether it be any of the foundational elements like fire, water, earth or air, none were an exception to this rule. Even elements like light and darkness could not exist without occupying space. However, this did not mean space was all powerful and unequivocally unchallenged.
As such, spatial mages were tricky individuals and often more troublesome to deal with than other mages. This well-known conception in and of itself was enough to deter most mages to steer clear of said individuals.
However, if said spatial mage were the aggressor, then steering clear was nigh impossible.
One could only count themselves unlucky if such a crisis were to befall them.
Unfortunately, Marcus and his family were having such a predicament befall them at this very moment.
"AHHHHHH!"
Belladonna grabbed her son with her right arm and pulled him close to herself. While she did this she reached her left hand forward to reach towards the blast as to lessen the aftershock it would bring. Immediately after this, they were both thrown back by the odd-sounding spatial explosion that occurred behind her son's head.
It sounded like all the air in the surrounding space was being sucked into a central point and once enough air was filled and compressed within said space, a teeth-rattling blast was heard.
*SHHWWWAAAKK* *BBOOOOOOMMM*
"Tsk."
The voice that was heard earlier before the explosion, clicked his tongue from a location that sounded about a hundred meters away from Marcus and his family.
Liam, who was the only one capable of hearing the voice at the moment, reacted swiftly. After securing Alicia and placing her outside of said attackers range he rushed to intercept before the individual could do more harm to his family. Earlier, he had seen what his wife had done, and he was livid. Not only could he not react as swiftly as his wife had, but had it not been for her timely intervention, he'd have lost his son without ever knowing how.
It had to be remembered that whatever it was that he and his son had done during 'training' took a heavy toll on him. To Marcus, it had looked like his father instantly recovered from his exhaustion but this was far from the truth.
Marcus didn't know this, but what his father had done for him was a privilege that few would ever get the chance to partake upon during their lifetime.
What Liam had done was create a domain within which he and his son were the exclusive parties inside.
Now this fact is important but not for the matter at hand. For now, the only crucial detail were that Liam had kept this domain going for several hours. This feat was ridiculous because domains of Liam's level should not have been open for more than an hour. However, due to certain factors, he was able to prolong said domain long enough for his son to inherit the system known as Terra. This was indeed immensely crucial to his son's future, but this left him drained and as such not in peak condition for the current fight.
Belladonna, who had suffered the most from the surprise attack, moved her son and herself beside where Liam had placed Alicia.
Marcus was still dazed from the spatial explosion and experienced early symptoms of a concussion. His head throbbed continuously and left him in a less than optimal state but it would have to do for now.
"Mars sweety...ugh...you need to get up," exclaimed Belladonna through heavy breaths.
Marcus didn't couldn't react to his mother's voice and remained in a dazed state.
"Marcus! Marcus!"
Alicia was trembling and was in tears when she saw the state of her mother and brother. She was the one who had screamed earlier when the explosion went off.
Her mother was missing her entire left hand and coughing up blood all over her armor. She was holding onto Marcus with her right arm and only able to prop herself up because she was leaning against a tree they had hidden behind.
Liam on the other hand, was in much better shape, at least on the outside. On the inside however, he was in tatters. His brain collided with his skull numerous times due to the aftershock of the explosion and being thrown back with his mother. He also seemed to be struggling to breath due to the air being knocked out of his lungs and the light headedness he experienced from the suction force of the spatial explosion. Not to mention, his ears were constantly ringing, making it hard for him to hear much of anything.
It was a miracle in and of itself that he was still breathing.
Alicia didn't know what to do and as such was panicking.
Sure, she loved to tease and annoy her brother but she never actually harmed him and would much rather herself be the one in pain than her brother. 'Kind' was an understatement when used to describe the dear girl.
Whenever it was that Marcus returned home from his training, it was always Alicia and her mother who helped nurse Marcus to health. It provided as good training for her but it benefitted her even more because she couldn't stand to see him hurt. She teased him about watching him at training but the truth that Marcus didn't realize was that she was responsible for healing every bruise, every scratch and every broken bone Marcus ever experienced.
He was left none the wiser either because Alicia kept this from him. She also asked her parents to do the same because she was jealous of Marcus.
Now this may seem hard to understand at first, but if one looked a little more closely it would become clearer. Alicia knew she had an advantage over her brother in terms of receiving 'Terra' first and being able to practice magic. She also knew her brother was extremely fond of mage arts ever since he'd seen Alicia using them.
Alicia had convinced her brother to train with magic against their parents wishes at one time and her brother was the one punished. Alicia was scared to admit she was the one who got her brother to do such a thing because Marcus rarely disobeyed his parents and the same went for her. She was obedient by nature to her parents and as such required little to no discipling because she enjoyed making her parents happy by listening to them. Marcus on the other hand, required a slightly different approach. Whether it was because of the 'torture sessions' Marcus's father put him through or the 'death glare' his mother gave him, he remained obedient for the most part. In that regard he faintly shared his sister's behavior.
However against their wishes, Marcus chose to do the opposite and listen to his sister for a change. When their parents came to question Marcus on why he did it, he lied for his sister and said he forced her to teach him.
Alicia was terrible at hiding her surprise but luckily her parents didn't notice the little girls reaction to what Marcus said. They must have been so focused on their son that they didn't realize Alicia was in the room.
As a result of this, Marcus was harshly punished by both parents for a month and forced into slightly harsher trainings, as well as completing every chore around the house. During this time Marcus had never uttered a word of complaint and never blamed Alicia.
This only made Alicia's guilt grow though and this guilt ended up developing into stronger feelings of kindness towards her brother. Subsequently, this led to her aiding her mom in healing Marcus's injuries whenever he came home from training.
Since then, she only ever argued with Marcus because he didn't know what she was doing for him or why she did it. And she refused to tell him. Since this was the case, It became Alicia's pride and resolve to always have her brother's back.
Belladonna looked on at the state of her children as she lie against the tree.
Her daughter sat there on her knees crying and trying to shake her brother awake to no avail. Her son on the other hand, lay beside her unconscious with a small trickle of blood flowing down the side of his head.
Belladonna was dejected. What kind of mother was she if she couldn't protect her children from harm. Sure, she'd saved her son from near death but it was due to pure luck. Had she not looked at Marcus when she did, she may have never noticed the odd mana signature around him and lost him forever.
Belladonna breathed out a heavy sigh.
'Enough.'
Belladonna stopped her pointless thoughts. What was done was done and she'd saved her son. Now she needed to get them as far away from the battle as possible and help her husband.
Belladonna struggled to stand up but eventually managed to get to her feet. She looked towards her daughter who hadn't stopped crying and spoke her next words with a heavy heart.
"Alicia, take your brother and head west. If you continue west for about a week you should arrive at a town. The people there will help you if you mention your father and I's name to them."
Alicia looked up at her mother with tears in her eyes. When she saw her mother's resolute face she started shaking.
"H-huh? But what about you and daddy. I-I can't-"
"Alicia."
Belladonna crouched down and patted her daughter and son's head. A white glow surrounded the three of them and the blood atop Marcus's head vanished. Alicia's tears also dried up and any scratches and bruises she got from the explosion were now gone.
Belladonna wrapped her daughter in a hug and spoke as softly as she could.
"Be strong Alicia. Protect your brother for me, and stay safe."
With those parting words, Belladonna pulled a similar ring from her pocket and put it on her daughters finger. Afterwards, she grabbed Alicia and Marcus's hands and channeled mana into their perspective rings. Right after that, the two were instantly teleported away from where they had originally been.
Alicia eyes were as wide as saucers as she let out a gasp.
All Alicia could remember was her mother's beautiful and warm smile as she watched them disappear. She was astonished at what her mother had done and almost couldn't believe what had happened. Before she could assess her situation though, an explosion was heard not too far away.
In the distance she could still clearly here the sounds of metal colliding and explosion from what she could only assume was where her father was fighting the masked man who attacked them. She so badly wanted to go back to her parents, but she noticed her brother lying next to her with his eyes closed and sleeping soundly. Alicia knew she couldn't leave him here, so she made the only choice her mother gave her.
She spoke a single word to invoke an incantation that made small orbs of white mana orbit around her entire body. Then she moved to her brother and picked him up in a princess carry and ran west.
As she ran through the woods with sounds of explosions and clashing blades behind her as a backdrop, she began crying. She knew she couldn't look back because if she did, she'd betray all the trust her mother had put into her. So, Alicia continued to run away from the only place she'd called home for her entire life.
Hadiah
-- Hadiah diterima Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone