03- Loss

"We need to go! We're in danger." Theo hurriedly grabbed her hand and led her out the room.

Theo and Lia ran down stairs with their hands locked together. Cries and pleads for mercy filled the area, so loud that the siblings could hear them from inside the house.

"Big brother, what's going on?" Lia asked in confusion.

Theoden didn't slow down as they ran out the front, he didn't know how to respond to her. She's simply too young to grasp the situation.

"W-we're under attack, Lia. We need to get somewhere sa-fe. We'll be fine...we'll be fine." He had difficulty getting the words out, most likely because he didn't believe the words himself.

'An attack?! We've never experienced something like this before! What do I do?! What do I-' his thoughts were interrupted by something that shook him to his core when he stepped out the door.

Lying lifeless, bloodied and battered on the ground. His dexapita corpse lied on the ground in a pool of blood. Above his body was a tall, cloaked blond man holding a blood soaked longsword.

"Huh? I expected more from a boss. That was underwhelming." He muttered with a disappointed look on his face.

"Fa-father?" Lia whispered as she stared at her father's corpse. Heartbreak, sorrow, anguish hit her all at once.

"You bastard! I'll kill you!" a feminine voice cried out behind him.

Vanessa charged at him with large pieces of rock covering her fists. Tears ran down her face, anger completely consumed her.

Before she even came close to reaching him, an sharp arrow hit her in the back of her neck, completely stopping her charge as she fell on the ground.

"Can we go now, Oliver? We took care of the main targets." A short woman with brown hair tied in a ponytail strolled towards her comrade, a bow at hand.

"Relax, Ella. We still need to take care of the rest." The blond man responded with a playful tone.

Theoden and Lia watched as their mother instantly got killed before their eyes. Lia's eyes started to tear up as she let go of Theo's hand and ran towards her parents.

"Lia, no!" Theo reached out to grab her but struggled to move as an excruciating pain erupted from his chest.

'Shit, I've been moving around too much. Not now! Please not now!' he cursed inward as he clutched his chest with a pained expression.

"Hmm?" the outsider named Oliver glanced at Lia running towards her mother's dead body, blood dripping from the arrow embedded deep in her head.

"Mother! Mother! Please! Mom!" Lia knelt down with tears in her eyes and kept trying to get some reaction from her mother, anything.

"Oh? See, Ella? Still have many beasts to get rid of." Oliver had a dark grin on his face when he spoke these words.

He walked toward Lia's crying form with his longsword at hand.

"Shhh, shhhhhhh. It's okay, little one. You'll see your parents soon." He released a chuckle.

"Daichi ordered us to only take care of adults. Let her go!" Ella reprimanded her comrade.

Oliver stood there in silence for a moment before releasing a sigh. "Fine. I guess we're done with our objective." He turned around and walked towards Ella.

Lia stopped herself from crying anymore and looked up at Oliver, hatred and anger on her face.

"Ahhhhhhh!!!" Lia cries out as she used her ability to manipulate wind to launch herself at Oliver.

Confused at the sudden outburst, Oliver turned around only to find Lia's outstreched hand inches away from his face.

Lia swung her hand in a downward motion, sending a thin blade of wind toward Oliver's face. The attack caught him off guard, the blade of wind slicing his face.

The blade didn't cut deep enough to to kill him, blood spilling out of the cut on his face. "AAAARRRGGGH!" Oliver cried out as he covered the cut with his hand.

"You fucking bitch!" He yelled out as he moved towards her, enraged.

"Liaaaaa!" Theoden yelled out in fear for his little sister.

Oliver raised his sword and brought it down, blinded by rage. The blade connected with her head and swiftly sliced it in half, killing her instantly.

Theoden couldn't do anything but watch as his sister's life ended right in front of him, horrified by what just happened. Time seemed to slow down in that moment, thoughts racing.

'This can't be happening...why is this happening? Why?...WHY?!' Tears began to flow as he processed what just happened.

"Oliver!" Ella yelled out. Shocked by what she just witnessed.

"She attacked me, I had to defend myself. Plus the little bitch gave me a scar." Oliver felt the cut on his face, reached from his forehead all the way to the left side of his mouth.

"You didn't need to-" Ella was about to scold him before she was interrupted by a familiar voice behind her.

"It's fine, it was an act of self defence. The girl would've killed him if she weren't blinded by rage and focused more on her attack." A masculine voice stated in a deadpan tone.Three other cloaked individuals approached the duo, some of them were heavily covered in blood. The one in the middle was the same one who spoke just now.

"Yes, Daichi." Ella responded instantly.

Daichi noticed Theoden watching them with a look that conveyed several emotions. Daichi didn't even change the expressionless look on his face, not a hint of pity or guilt. He focused his attention to his comrades.

"Finish up here." He ordered.