Inside the shelter, the herbalist finished treating everyone, including Selera, and was getting ready to relax,when one of the village men spoke up.
"How can we men relax while Lord Devon is fighting? We are the men of this village. And a kid just ran off into battle… we have to go and help."
Another voice cut through, tired and hopeless.
> "There's nothing we can do. We're farmers, not soldiers. Devon's men were trained for this. We'll only die if we go… Gray can heal himself, but us?"
> "Then are we going to sit here and wait?" a third man snapped. "Gray is still a child. We should assist Devon.
He has done so much for us; this is the time we repay him."
"I've made up my mind. I'm going to help. This is our village; we are not going to let an intruder destroy it. If you agree with me, follow me.
" His voice trembled with resolve. Other men followed, but they never knew what was about to befall them.
Footsteps echoed at the entrance.
A man stepped from the shadow, cloaked in dark clothing, twin shining daggers stained with the blood of victims at his hips. Another followed, smiling coldly, his blade already dripping as he took the head of the man who was at the front.
"So this is where the underground shelter is," the cloaked man said, voice flat as a grave.
Terror ran through the room; the aura he gave was intense.
Screams erupted. Mothers pulled their children close. Panic drowned the air.
> "You… Aeron! You betrayed us!" one of the villagers shouted, trembling.
"After everything Devon did for you!"
Aeron smirked.
> "Betray you? Don't make me laugh. I was never one of you."
"I was only here to gather information on this Veyrun village. Everything I did was according to His plan."
"Enough talk, Aeron. Can I kill them now?" the shadowed man asked.
"Hold on, Nior. Don't be hasty… there is someone Lord Revan would not want you to kill."
"Are they among these men?" Nior asked.
"No. You can kill them all…" Aeron answered.
*Swush.*
Nior moved to strike, but hands grabbed his wrists.
"Don't you dare touch my people," Selera said, voice shaking with held fury.
"So it was you who tampered with my vision. No wonder I couldn't see what Lysera saw…
Aeron, you betrayed us, and now you bring this beast."
"I see… so you taught Lysera the Art to get information," Aeron thought to himself.
"As expected of Veyrun to be able to hold Nior's hand," Aeron sneered.
"Hey, Aeron, should I kill this one?" Nior asked.
"No, Nior. She is the one Lord Revan wants. Make her unconscious. I don't want her to be a pest.
And don't kill the girl who looks like her; leave her she is her daughter."
"You are not getting away with this," Selera spat, blood and rage sharpening her words.
Selera clenched her teeth.
Her eyes flared brighter; she activated the Aetherion Eyes, glimpsing a pattern exposing Nior's weakness.
Even if she could no longer see the future, she could see the essence flow inside him....
but before she could move, both her hands were severed so quickly it was beyond sight, even beyond the Aetherion's reach.
"Do you think I don't know about the Eyes of Veyrun?" Nior sneered.
"I only said to make her unconscious, not to cut off her arms. This is why I don't like working with you," Aeron sighed. "I should have just done this myself."
"She was about to do something dangerous I acted on instinct," Nior muttered.
"Well… she won't be able to do anything now," Aeron said, voice calm and cruel.
"Kill everyone while I take her and that little girl to Lord Revan. And be fast. We don't want other Divinities, especially the Sword Demon, to get involved."
"Can I have fun with the women?" Nior asked, grin twisting.
"Do whatever you like, but be quick," Aeron said coldly.
Aeron grabbed Selera and Lysera and left, dragging them toward Revan and Devon.
◆◇◆
Devon and Revan were still fighting. The ground around them had been flattened; the air was shredded by the force of their blows. Revan let a blade graze Devon's chest, and Devon managed to land a blow, cutting off Revan's left hand.
"You know, brother, fighting you is fun. Dragging this fight was the right decision. I want to see your face when your family dies in front of you," Revan taunted, each syllable a sharpened stone.
"Stop talking and fight," Devon spat, blood trailing from his mouth.
"I must find a way for them to escape," Devon thought, every breath ragged. "If that costs me everything, it doesn't matter as long as they live. Selera, be safe…"
The thought hit him like a prayer he could not finish.
The pressure of wind coiled around him; the heat of Revan's flames made the air shimmer. Gray arrived at the scene, breath ragged, eyes burning.
The man he admired was being pushed back and for the first time, Gray felt the edge of true fear.
Revan shaped flame into an arrow and loosed it toward Devon. Gray's mind snapped.
"I must distract him… create an opening for Father."
He threw one of the swords he still held up at Revan.
Revan, distracted, turned his face to the boy standing below him.
"Huh?"
A gust of wind struck Revan's wings; he stumbled and fell. Devon seized the moment and slammed a barrage of attacks until Revan faltered and barely moved.
"Gray… what are you doing here? You should be with Lysera and your mother, protecting them," Devon said, voice shaking.
"They're safe in the shelter. The herbalist is tending to them," Gray answered, though relief was thin in his chest.
"No, no, no—they are not safe! One of his men is heading for the shelter now. They are in danger!"
Devon screamed, eyes wide.
Gray's confusion turned to horror when he saw Aeron, with Selera and Lysera.
"Sir Aeron? What are you doing with Mother and Lysera?" Gray demanded.
Aeron smirked. "And I was wondering where this little brat was. To think you came to the battlefield… I always liked your confidence, but that will be your end, kid."
"Mother! Sir Aeron, did you do this?" Gray cried, dropping to his knees as he saw Selera unconscious, both hands gone. "If only I had stayed… this couldn't have happened."
Devon saw the sight of his wife and daughter on the ground and erupted. Wind coalesced into a spiral so violent it ripped at the earth and air alike.
"How dare you, Aeron!" Devon roared, fury a living thing.
"To think you still had this much energy after fighting Lord Revan, I'm impressed," Aeron said, cold amusement in his voice.
"Aeron, you bastard! I will kill you!" Devon thundered.
Revan smirked, watching. "Oh, so that kid was Gray, huh? The one with that healing ability? To think I let my guard down."
Revan rose and used flames as chains, coiling them around Devon's legs and dragging him to the ground.
"Now it's time, Devon. This is the moment I've been waiting for," Revan said, voice a soft blade.
He unleashed a special flame slow, ravenous, made to torture.
Devon's legs and hands burned; his screams carved the night.
Revan walked to Gray and stabbed him, pushing the boy aside.
"Well done, Aeron… the villagers?" Revan asked.
"Nior will handle them now," Aeron replied.
Gray's wounds knitted closed
immediately the healing ability working even as he was held down, the light of regeneration crawling like silver across his skin.
"So it's true," Revan said, eyes cold. "A child with such an ability exists."
"Don't you dare touch them," Gray warned, struggling, unsheathing his remaining sword.
"Gray....run," Devon tried to shout, but his voice was drowned by pain.
"Aeron, hold that kid down. I don't want any child interfering," Revan ordered.
Revan's hands glowed with a different flame now darker, colder. This flame ate slowly, savoring agony.
"No… please, leave them out of this," Devon begged, broken on the ground.
Revan unleashed that torturous flame on Selera. She screamed a sound that tore Gray's chest open. The pain consumed her; ash began to take her at the feet, crawling up like winter.
Devon wailed, tears carving tracks through soot. Gray strained against his bonds, forced to watch as his mother crumbled.
Selera whispered something as her body fell apart into dust.
Devon could not hear her words distance and the roar of flame swallowed them but
Gray did.He saw Selera's final expression, heard the last fragile phrase she breathed.
"Mother!" Gray screamed at the top of his lungs.
And then something cracked.
◆◇◆
To be continued…