Chapter 17
Some of the demons doubted him.
To them, he looked like nothing more than a child putting on airs. An arrogant brat pretending to be something he was not.
Their claws twitched. Muscles coiled. They were ready to move forward and tear him apart.
Jarren kept walking.
Calm. Unhurried.
When he spoke, his voice carried a trace of sorrow.
"I really don't want to go through the hassle of showcasing my power here. Not in a place like this."
He raised his head and looked straight at them.
"But I might have to."
The confidence in his words made the demons hesitate.
What if he wasn't boasting?
Jarren raised a finger toward the sky.
Nothing happened.
The demons grinned, ready to pounce.
Then the sky cracked.
Lightning tore through the air, violent and deafening. Explosive shockwaves rippled outward, rattling bodies and shaking the ground beneath them.
More lightning followed, tearing the clouds apart as if the heavens themselves were being split open.
The demons staggered back, startled.
The doubt vanished.
If he could rip apart the clouds and summon lightning like that, then he was no ordinary child.
Fear replaced hunger.
Jarren spoke again, his voice cold as ice.
"You still dare stand before me. Aren't you afraid of death at all?"
Their faces drained of color.
Their instinct to kill screamed within them, but their instinct to survive screamed louder.
One by one, they dropped to their knees.
Jarren towered over them.
Or rather, his shadow did.
Gazel stared in disbelief.
Did his brother really just force over fifty demons to kneel?
It was insane.
Jarren walked forward, steps graceful, head held high. He motioned for Gazel to follow.
The demons parted, forming a path.
No resistance. No hesitation.
They reached the city gate.
Gazel's mind raced.
Does Jarren have powers like the rest of us?
If he does… why doesn't he use them?
Just before they opened the gate, Jarren heard whispers behind them.
He paused.
Two kneeling demons spoke in hushed tones. One had a single eye. The other had two mouths.
"I pity the rest," one whispered. "They won't know this young man's might before attacking him. They'll die instantly."
Jarren's face twitched.
He turned back to them, his expression still composed.
"What do you mean the others?" he asked calmly. "Aren't all of you already here in the city?"
The two mouthed demon looked at him strangely, then spoke with a reverent edge.
"Of course not. This is not all of us. There are many more. Some far higher ranked. They're hiding in the forest beyond. Any human who leaves the city will be killed immediately."
Jarren's face went pale.
He tried to remain calm, but the ghostly color draining from his skin was unmistakable.
"You're saying there are more demons waiting for us outside," he asked, his voice lower now.
The demon nodded, eyes shining.
"Yes. But once you wipe out a few with your mighty power, the rest will hide. They won't bother you."
Jarren stood frozen.
Then he turned.
Not toward the gate.
Back toward the city.
The demons stared, confused.
Jarren spoke, his voice steady.
"If there are more demons, then I don't have time to retrieve my ultimate weapon."
The demons stiffened.
Ultimate weapon.
Jarren and Gazel began walking away.
Several meters later, Jarren finally let out the breath he had been holding, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
"What now?" Gazel asked.
Jarren glanced at him and gave a strange look.
"What else?"
He turned.
"Run."
With that said, before Gazel could even register his brother's words, Jarren was already gone.
He shot forward with insane speed.
Gazel's face twitched, then he rushed after him. Catching up was easy. He had always been faster than his brother.
He leaned in as they ran, voice low.
"You really fooled me back there. But if you truly don't wield mystical power like the others, then how did you summon lightning with just your fingers?"
Jarren didn't slow down. His voice came out slightly muffled by the wind.
"Simple. Calculation."
Gazel blinked.
Most eyes had already shifted away. Everyone was focused on the battle raging at the heart of the city. The clash between their father and the devil kept tearing the sky apart. Lightning flashed, vanished, then returned again and again.
Jarren had already calculated it.
He predicted when the next lightning would strike and timed his act perfectly. He never summoned anything. He just guessed right.
Every single time.
Gazel nodded, stunned.
His brother's brain had just saved their lives.
But for how long?
Their father, their mother, their sister planned to get them out of the city so they would be safe.
They were wrong.
Dead wrong.
The city might have been safer than what waited outside. According to the demon, powerful ones were hiding in the forest beyond the gates.
Gazel exhaled slowly.
He glanced at little Trent, still asleep in his arms. He didn't know if the boy was sleeping normally or if their mother had forced him into it.
Either way, it was a good thing.
Trent didn't see the carnage.
Gazel's mind was already cracking under what he had witnessed. He didn't want to imagine what they would do to a child.
As Gazel and Jarren ran, searching for somewhere safe, Gazel's thoughts drifted.
Dad. Mom. Karen.
Please be okay.
Please survive.
Because he knew one thing with terrifying clarity.
If any of them died, he wouldn't be able to live normally ever again.
No.
None of them could die.
None of them must die.
Meanwhile, far away at the center of the city, a scream ripped through the air.
Filled with rage.
Filled with pain.
"NOOOOOOO!"
The clouds parted.
Sorial stood there, holding his wife.
Blood poured endlessly from her chest.
One of the devil's daggers was embedded deep within her. Not just in her body, but in her soul. It shattered it completely.
"No no no no no," Sorial choked. "Don't leave. Don't give up. I'll save you. I promise. I'll find a remedy."
That attack was meant for him.
He reacted too late.
His wife stepped in front of it.
This was the result.
He was losing her.
She was dying fast.
Olivia smiled.
A bitter, broken smile.
"Don't worry about me, Sor," she whispered. "You can't save me. It's too late."
Her body jerked violently.
The pain of having one's soul destroyed was thousands of times worse than flesh.
Yet even through that agony, she smiled warmly.
"It's my fault," Sorial sobbed. "All my fault. If you hadn't been with me. If our paths never crossed, this wouldn't have happened."
Helesy shook her head weakly.
"No. Don't blame yourself. You're a good man, Sor. The best man I've ever met."
Her breath grew shallow.
"Don't feel guilt."
Her trembling hand gripped his sleeve.
"But protect them. All of them. Our children. Protect them all. Please."
With those final words, life slipped from her face.
Her eyes went lifeless.
The world froze.
The dagger embedded in her chest ripped itself free.
It flew back into the air, spinning calmly, returning to orbit the devil alongside the other two.
The devil's hands were still calmly tucked into his pockets.
His face showed no emotion. No irritation. No anger. He looked untouched, as if none of this truly mattered to him.
When he spoke, his voice carried quiet authority.
"You should have seen it already. Accept it. You cannot win. Surrender now, and you might not lose any more loved ones."
Sorial did not move.
He did not speak.
He did not even breathe.
He stood there like stone, his eyes locked onto his wife's lifeless gaze.
Then he stirred.
Gently, he closed her eyes.
Carefully, reverently, he laid her body on the ground.
He stood up.
The world answered.
The clouds began to gather, responding to his presence. The sky fractured, stormborn tornadoes rising, growing larger, drawing closer. Wind howled violently, whipping Sorial's hair like blades through the air.
His gaze was empty.
Utterly devoid of emotion.
When he finally spoke, his voice was flat. Trembling. Not like words at all.
It sounded like judgment.
Absolute.
Unavoidable.
"I… will kill you."
The storm clouds burst apart.
Countless bolts of lightning crashed down around the center of the city. Rain poured from the heavens, each drop falling with the weight of a boulder, smashing into the ruined ground.
For the first time, the devil's expression shifted.
He looked at Sorial, eyes widening slightly.
He couldn't have.
Sorial's cold, dead gaze locked onto him.
He raised his white odachi.
Lightning crawled across its surface, screaming with power.
"I said I will kill you."
TO BE CONTINUED.