The sky got drained of all color as his surroundings turned dark, and as he looked at the bloody sword, the image of an Asura from hell standing on the battlefield manifested in front of him.

Mountains of corpses manifested around the creature as it stood there, its head was decorated with two sharp horns and its eight eyes stared down at Ray as it brandishes its eight weapons, each one held in a separate hand.

It emitted a strong and murderous bloody aura, that made Ray tremble in fear, and he grunted in pain every time he inhaled. The Asura opened its mouth and let out a primal scream, its two sets of razor-sharp teeth glowing slightly under the moonlight.

Ray lost the grip on his sword as it fell, letting out a muffled thud sound as it hit the ground, his pupils trembled as he took a step backward.

Kai and Elena saw the same thing as him, fear gripped their hearts as Elena fell to the ground, unable to maintain her spell anymore, and Kai was kneeling on the floor as he stared at the sky with widened eyes.

The sword tip stopped falling, and once again its tip was diagonal with the ground as its color was restored to its original purple, and it seemed to not have moved at all from its original position.

The moment it made contact with the ground, a huge, crimson-red sword phantom split the sky in two as the clouds churned about.

Crimson rain suddenly poured down as Ray was sent flying toward his house, and the ear-shattering sound of breaking the sound barrier echoed on the battlefield.

“Dad!” Kai woke up from his daze as he saw Ray shoot toward him, and he quickly attenuated his fall as he kneeled next to him. His father lay motionlessly on the ground, his chest struggling to raise, and a deep and long cut ran across his entire body, slowly eating away at whatever vitality he had left.

“Dad, open your eyes! Dad!” Kai placed his father’s head on his knees as he pleaded, he pulled out a potion from his spatial ring which he shoved down Ray’s throat, however, that was of no help.

Tears dripped down his cheeks onto his father’s gradually paler face, contrasting the red rain descending upon them.

He gently lay Ray’s head on the ground, placed his arms upon his father’s chest bloody chest, and started doing chest compressions as his arms turned crimson.

Come on Dad, wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Kai cried inwardly, his heart ripping apart as he did his best to bring his father back to life.

As Kai applied his body weight to Ray’s heart, a small faint light spread out from his chest, slightly healing him.

His blood-soaked hands persisted as his mind slowly fell into despair, and he continued clinging to that thread of hope until…

“Argh!” Ray groaned in pain as he opened his eyes, coughing lightly as his unfocused gaze turned to Kai, whose face lit up briefly.

He inspected his father’s body and saw that the wound wasn’t closing up any faster, and instead, the blood that dripped down formed a large pool that surrounded them.

A tender, apologetic look manifested on Ray’s face, and he struggled to smile as his hand twitched before stopping. He felt the very last bit of strength leave his body, and he gazed into his son’s eyes.

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“Kai, I’m sorry… the talisman… break it…” his weakened voice barely left his body.

He looked at his father, his tears still flowing out like a river in the intense rain, which, along with his shock and pleads, silenced Ray’s last words, which only entered his ears as an incoherent mess.

I’m so useless! So useless! His despairing gaze fixated on his father, who slowly closed his eyes and gave his last breath.

“No!” Kai let out a light cry, which quickly faded as his voice cracked. His legs felt limp, and his heart raced as his gaze fell on his bloody, shivering hands. He gently ran his hand across the large wound as goosebumps spread all over his body.

*Booom*

He snapped his head toward a violent explosion, his hazy vision caused by his tears and thick cloud of dust made him unable to see exactly what was happening, but he could see two figures still fighting within.

Elena fought against Haniard with all her power, but she also had a small but deep cut down to the bone, running across her arm.

Wounds covered her body, deep, black cuts, and holes littered her abdomen and legs, and her face had been slashed several times. Blood covered her body, which only got worse and worse each time she swung her sword.

She let out light grunts of pain as she slashed at Haniard, who barely managed to dodge by a hair’s breadth each time. A wave of anxiety washed over her body as she glanced behind her, unsure of the state of her husband and fearing for her child’s life.

Tightening her grip around the sword’s handle, and let out a soft sigh as it morphed back into a wand. A gut-wrenching cry of unwillingness emitted from it, and Elena’s face twisted in pain as the sound rang in her ears.

I’m sorry…

She threw her hand at Haniard instantly, pulling out a dagger decorated with two golden dragons from her spatial ring at the same time.

“Explode!”

Elena yelled the moment the wand arrived near Haniard’s head, and she lunged at him with her dagger, aiming straight at his throat.

*Boom*

The wind howled as a bigger, more violent explosion rang in the battlefield once again, creating a small shockwave accompanied by a blinding light, and a small sea of fire.

Kai quickly cast a small mana shield close to his body, but even with this added layer of protection, he shot backward like a kite with its string cut.

He struggled to open his eyes as the light faded away, and he gulped nervously as he focused his gaze on the battlefield. He wanted to see his mother succeed, to win, to kill Haniard. Please…!

The dust settled quickly, and his eyes widened as his heart skipped a beat. He saw his mother, not running toward him, not smiling or laughing… he saw Haniard.

His face was half scorched, his flesh sizzled, his body covered in burn marks, and his skin melted off his bones in some places. His long metallic left arm pointed upward, and what hung on its tip made Kai gasp in shock. His left hand had pierced Elena’s chest, and he was holding her up like a piece of meat on a skewer.

Her chest moved slightly as she struggled to hold on, her scorched black arms hung around her body in the air. She slowly turned her head toward Kai, her crimson eyes had lost most of their luster, and her beautiful silver hair swayed in the wind as her lips parted.

No sound escaped her mouth, and even breathing sent huge amounts of pain throughout her entire body. She could only mouth her words as her eyes locked with Kai’s.

“My son, please… live…”

Her mouth closed into a slight, melancholic smile as she closed her eyes. Haniard held her tightly with his right hand, which has been nearly maimed by the explosion, and a morbid flesh-tearing sound rang in the battlefield as he pulled his metallic hand back.

A rhythmic beating sound echoed in Kai’s mind as he watched his mother’s body drop to the ground with a muffled thud, a gaping hole decorating her bloody chest.

His gaze switched from Elena to Haniard’s hand, which held a still-beating heart quickly draining of blood. It was immediately apparent the heart wasn’t read, but instead, it was transparent like a crystal, which sparkled brightly under the twilight sun.

Kai’s pupils widened as goosebumps spread all over his body, tears ran down his face as he looked at his parent’s corpses, lying in a pool of their own blood - dead.