บท 22: 22 Wrath

-Skill Scanning...-

Donis screamed as suddenly the very clothes he used to fend off the chilly air began melting on to his skin. Trying frantically to rip his clothes off, he ended up getting severe burns before he even got his pants off.

Lying on the floor naked, Donis was sobbing from both pain and intense fear. The man in front of him walking slowly, akin to a predator that relishes the moments before they kill their wounded target. Soft steps, a devilishly confident smile, and an air of relief. Raul was relishing the moment.

"I don't know how you healed yourself, I know I beat you to within an inch of your life you dumb child. I guess there's some tricks up your sleeve since that man wants you. Whatever. I won't kill you, but I don't think you need all of your limbs," said Raul, dragging out his words slowly.

Donis's spine shivered, his eyed shot open and the pain in his body no longer mattered. He was crawling away, trying his best to create distance even now. His charred skin lightly scraped the ground but it didn't even reach Donis's mind right now. Adrenaline pumping fiercely through his veins.

"Let me tell you something I've learned over the years, young boy. Oh you're so prim and proper aren't you, hahaha? Listen to me, I'm not," said Raul, crossing the distance between them quicker than Donis could blink.

Leaning in close to Donis's face, "If you sear the wound deep enough, then healing magic can't bring back the lost limbs."

Donis broke.

He screamed and screamed, reaching out for any sort of help, anything to take him out of this misery, anything to save him. He clawed at Raul, but latter just stepped back. Donis tried to scramble to his legs, trying to use his voice to make words but the only thing that came out were incoherent half shouts.

Raul only laughed.

Then Donis got kicked, punched and beaten again. Raul used a healing potion on Donis to bring him back up, force feeding it to him. Donis would lose consciousness, be forcefully brought back and beaten until he went under again.

After having his fun, Raul decided to take Donis's right arm. He summoned a rusty looking curved sword, covered in dark red stains, a black hilt. It radiated a vile energy, but Donis was in no state to understand what the energy was, nor could he even formulate enough of a thought to inspect it.

Yet the swing never came. The mind bending chop never came crashing down like the fists that beat him senseless just moments ago.

Donis opened his bruised eyes, barely able to understand what was going on.

'Am I dead? Is what I'm seeing the afterlife showing me what I want most to happen?' thought Donis.

-Skill Scanning...-

In front of him, Raul had a gaping hole in his chest. There was no sound, no large spurt of blood, it was as if the hole had always been there.

Raul turned around and saw but one man. Corvig Deladare.

Corvigs aura was set aflame with a rage even the earth bowed to. His each step shook the trees and swayed the grass. The world that was silent was now turned into a world of horrifying screeches by banshees unseen.

Donis fell on the floor, finally free from the grip of the devil, yet he felt no thud. His eyes and mind are focused only on the sole thing in front of him.

The angel in black.

The air gathered around the trio, Corvig at the epicentre. The wind ripped into existence, shattering Rauls right shoulder, tearing his arm clean off.

"Take his right arm will you? Who fucking dares touch my student," bellowed Corvig.

"You think you know horror, oh captain of these petty fucking child slavers. Let me tell you about horror. Your entire body now is unable to move, you cannot take your own life here, and let me tell you. You will want to end it soon."

Through visions of distorted light, Donis saw Rauls arm heal, shatter and reform. The hole in his chest grew slowly but spurted no blood. Raul could not scream, but his whole body was being ripped and torn by the wind, pulled and eaten by the ever so translucent banshees that only howled when they tasted this devils flesh.

The horrifying creatures that resembled demonic women had a blue hue to them, only blemished by the blood of the devil. Their screams pierced the minds, but their teeth ripped flesh.

Corvigs aura had grown black.

If the night was dark, then he was the devourer of light.

The air grew still, time froze, the moment felt like a break in reality. Corvigs arms touched his chest so quickly that they looked like they were always there. A single phrase was uttered in the omnipresent silence.

"To ashes"

The wind ignited, the banshees turned black, and everything converged into a singularity. No explosion, no sound. The only thing left to show that any of this happened was the wrath of the mage had seeped into the ground itself, forever holding the memory.

With a smile, Donis fell unconscious.

***

A month later.

Donis opens his bleary eyes. He's greeted by a room he recognizes after a few moments. It was his room. He was home.

'I'm.. I'm alive. I'm home. Oh my god..' thought Donis as he wept.

Hearing the weeping, Morissa ran into the room, nearly tackling the boy, tears immediately running down her face. She screamed for everyone else, and quickly they all followed.

Everyone was crying, no one wanted to let go of Donis, and he didn't want to be let go of.

The family stayed like this for hours, the only words being spoken of were a blubbered mess, incoherent rambles that made sense only to those who were there at the moment.

Eventually they separated, only to let Etheria out of her mental prison. Even Etheria was crying. She had been chirping non-stop the entire time Donis was in a coma. The family was finally back. Everyone is alive and safe.

They had fallen asleep together like that.

The next day Donis finally told them all the horrors that he had to face. None of the family had a dry cheek. No one had let go of him since he woke up. The family shared their fears, shared the moments when Corvig and Norris came to the house when the carriage didn't arrive.

They explained to him how Norris had tracked down where he went. Donis figured it was because Norris probably had maxed out [Inspect] and could see what no one else could.

He wanted to thank both of them, but especially Corvig, who had shown him a side that he could have never imagined. He wanted to profusely thank them for saving him. He knew no matter what he did, the debt in his heart could never be repaid. The fear and sorrow he felt in those moments were now deeply etched, but a greater respect and admiration had taken root in Donis's heart.

'I want to become strong enough to protect this family. They never left my side. I want to be able to protect Corvig, and Norris, so that I can repay them. I want to become strong so I never feel this fucking worthless again,' thought Donis.

'No,'

'I'm going to become stronger. I will protect them all."