Ariel felt the shift in the air and immediately stopped running, turning around as he shouted,
"Father! Mother! Are you okay?!" His voice was filled with concern.
Uriel lifted her head from behind him to look at their parents, not fully understanding why Ariel was so agitated, her mind still clouded from the earlier chaos.
"W… we're okay! Let's run faster!" Huston grabbed his wife's hand and sprinted forward. Adrenaline surged through him, boosting his speed.
Wind brushed past their bodies as they ran through the woods, weaving between trees and dodging thick branches.
It wasn't long before they heard shouts behind them. When they glanced back, their hearts skipped a beat. A swarm of dark elves and goblins was chasing them and at the forefront was Sie.
Seeing Sie, Eyla's heart leapt with fear.
Distracted, she didn't notice a thick twig ahead and kicked it, stumbling violently.
"AAAHHH!!"
Eyla screamed as she fell, dragging Huston down with her since he was holding her hand. But he immediately got back on his feet without brushing the dirt off and helped her up.
"Eyla, we have to hurry!" he urged.
"The general overseer!" Eyla exclaimed in panic.
"Don't worry about her. We have to escape first!" Huston replied with urgency.
Now was no time for gentleness as he dragged his wife along, focused solely on survival.
Meanwhile, Sie's excitement grew as she finally spotted the tracks of the family winding through the forest. She yelped loudly in joy, stunning her squad, but she kept running, determined to catch them.
"Run!! Don't let them escape!!" Sie shouted, trying to sound righteous.
"HAAAA!"
The dark elves and goblins behind her shouted as they sprinted. Archers stepped forward, drawing their bows while running, releasing arrows that, though shaken, still slowed the family down.
"Damnit!" Ariel cursed under his breath.
He knew that they will soon be found through magical means, but he had hoped they would have cleared the forest before being spotted.
The arrows reduced the distance between them and their pursuers quickly.
'Damn! Is there nothing we can do?!' Ariel thought.
Then he saw it, the forest edge. A breeze washed over his face, carrying the scent of the sea.
"Father! Mother! We're almost at the edge of the forest!" Ariel shouted, gripping Uriel tightly on his back as he continued running forward.
The couple increased their speed, but the pursuers were closing in fast.
Huston glanced back and saw Sie, her face twisted with anger and glee.
"Damn you, Huston! How dare you betray us after all the benefits we gave you, even as a slave?!" Sie screamed.
'Benefits? What benefits?!' Huston thought.
But he didn't stop. He continued running alongside his wife, keeping his focus on escape.
Soon, the family broke through the trees, emerging onto a wide beach before an endless sea.
Any other time, Ariel might have marveled at the scenery, but not now. They were being hunted.
He turned to see several small ships at the shoreline and ran toward them with his family.
Sie and her squads emerged from the forest shortly after and froze. They hadn't expected ships here. They didn't belong to them or any of their force.
It was either intruders or secret smuggling vessels.
Sie's anger spiked.
'After this problem is dealt with, I'll find out the origin of these ships,' she thought.
"Archers! Fire at them! They mustn't reach the ships!" Sie shouted.
Now out in the open, with no trees to block their aim, the archers took positions. They nocked arrows, drew their bows, and released.
Though not countless, the arrows were deadly, raining down toward the family.
Ariel and his family dodged desperately, avoiding the deadly hail.
Ariel was the first to reach a ship. The deck was high for someone his size, but it wasn't a problem. He crouched and leapt with Uriel on his back, and landed on the deck.
He ran straight to the cabin, open the door and gently setting Uriel down. He was about to go back for his parents when Uriel grabbed his hand.
Ariel turned to see her tearful, worried face. He smiled reassuringly.
"Don't worry," he said, patting her head gently. "Everything will be okay."
Then he dashed back out of the cabin and lock the door. On the deck, there were some arrows that has hit it, Ariel immediately ran to the edge and saw how his father and mother was still running about desperately.
He leapt down, avoiding more arrows.
"Ariel! Come help your mother up!" Huston shouted.
Ariel ran to Eyla and grabbed her hands.
"No, let's go together!" she said, panic in her voice.
"Listen, right now we're being chased. I need to buy time, hold them back, and let Ariel start the ship. As soon as it moves, I'll join you," Huston explained, holding his silver staff tightly, confidence underlying his urgency.
"Now, please go," Huston pleaded.
Eyla understood, but the thought of leaving him alone made her hesitate. Ariel intervened.
"Mother, let's go first. I'll return to help father," he urged.
Only then did Eyla nod, turning to her husband with worry in her eyes.
"Please be careful," she whispered.
Huston smiled faintly and gave a reassuring nod. Ariel lifted his mother with his strength and ran back to the ship and leapt onto the deck.
Huston's face hardened as he watched their pursuers approach. He held a secret, something he had never revealed, not even to his family.
He gripped his long silver staff and took a stance.
Sie sneered viciously, her anger boiling over.
"Pierce that bastard like a hedgehog!" she commanded.
The archers readied their bows and shot.
Arrows whistled through the air, bending toward Huston.
Just as they were about to strike, Huston smiled faintly, and then…
BOOOOMM!
An orange aura exploded from him, obliterating the arrows mid-flight.
"!!!!!!!!!"
"What?!! You damnable bastard! So you've awakened your bloodline?!" Sie shrieked, rage twisting her features like a failed witch's spell.
Huston didn't answer. He dashed forward toward the dark elves and goblins, swinging his silver staff with lethal precision.
"Kill him! Kill him! Rip him apart!" Sie screamed, charging with her squads.
For years, Huston had appeared ordinary, punished without protest, abused and used, but now all that anguish and vengeance erupted.
He fought to free himself, his family, and finally grasp the freedom he had longed for, a chance that had always seemed just out of reach.