Sorrowful Journey (2)

"Take heed, Mother Earth, and answer my call. Pierce my enemies. Let none of them live."

[Rupture Spike]

After a brief delay, a dozen spikes began shooting up from the ground at the bandit archers. While a few managed to dodge, many of the bandits were impaled, their screams only lasting a couple of moments before dying.

Durden looked recognizably drained from that spell; his jaw clenched as beads of sweat ran down his pale face.

It was at this moment that I noticed my mother had taken out a wand. Her trembling fingers were fumbling with it before she shook her head and stuffed it back into her robe. In the wand's stead, she held onto us tighter.

There was no one from our side injured besides Helen, who had bound the wound on her calf. Fortunately the arrow wasn't lodged in too deep, thanks to Helen's mana reinforcement; by the time she wound it, the bleeding had stopped, but throughout this whole time, my mother had a constant look of paranoia, her face pale with worry. I couldn't help but notice that her hand kept reaching for the wand in her robe until she decided to draw it back at, last minute. Her eyes never stayed fixed to one place, always turning left and right, trying to look out for anything that could harm us.

The battle was coming to its peak. The bandit group had not suspected that every one of our group members would be a capable mage. Because of that calculation error, all of the melee fighters were dead, the only ones alive being the four mages and a couple of scattered archers on the run.

Jasmine was still having trouble with the perverted chain user, but the arrogance on his face was wiped clean by this time, with a couple of nicks and cuts on his body dripping blood.

Adam was engaged with a dual-sworded augmenter. His fighting style reminded me of a snake, with his flexible maneuvers and sudden attacks.

He should be considered one of the rare elemental augmenters with a water-attribute style.

Reinforcing the shaft of his spear to be flexible, his attacks were a mirage of quick thrusts and fluid swipes. The battle looked to be in his favor; the dual wielder had wounds that were profusely bleeding as he desperately tried to parry the onslaught of attacks.

A thundering crash shifted my attention away from Adam's battle. Dad had been knocked down against the debris of what was now left of the [Earth Wall] spell and was struggling to pick himself up as blood dribbled down from the side of his lips.

"Dad!!" "Honey!"

We rushed out of the wind barrier, kneeling in front of dad, mum following immediately behind. I could see the panic written on her face as she nervously contemplated what she could do.

"Cough! Alice, listen to me. Don't worry about me. If you use a healing spell right now, they'll realize what you are and try that much harder to capture you. They'll be willing to sacrifice a lot more if they know!" he stressed, his voice in a low whisper.

After a brief, trembling hesitation, mum took out her wand and began chanting. I would've assumed that she stammered chanting was caused by seeing her husband injured, but for some reason, it felt like she was almost… afraid of using her magic.

Dad turned to Art after giving up trying to persuade mum.

"Art, listen carefully. After the healing spell activates, they're going to try to capture your mother at all costs. After I'm healed enough, I'm going to engage the leader and try to buy more time. I think I can beat him, but not if I have to worry about protecting you guys. Take your mother back down the road and don't stop; Adam will open up a path for you."

"No dad! I'm staying with you. I can fight! You saw me! I can help!" Art really acts like 4-years-old now.

"LISTEN TO ME, ARTHUR LEYWIN!" Dad agonizingly roared. This was the first time hearing his voice like this; the kind of voice that one would only use for desperate measures. "I know you can fight! That's why I'm entrusting your mother to you. Protect her and protect the baby inside her. I'll catch up to you after this is over."

Ahh... I finally remember... Mom is pregnant, how could I forget about that?

Dad turned to me and said, "Alex, you will stay close with me."

I nodded.

Art quickly composed himself after hearing Mom is pregnant.

"Okay, I'll protect Mom." Art said.

"Atta boy. That's my son." Dad said.

Mom finished her chant at this time and both she and dad glowed in bright golden-white light.

"Sonova- One of them's a healer! Don't let her get away!" the leader roared.

Art quickly grabbed Mom's arm with both hands and tugged at her to move while reinforcing himself with mana.

"Alex, use this to protect yourself." Dad gives me a normal dagger.

I stare at my dagger... I see flashing images of my hands drenched in blood, my breath suddenly becomes rapid.

At this time, I realize I'm afraid of killing people. No way! am I afraid?! In my past life, I was a soldier.

It's do or die... DO OR DIE!

I scream in my heart as I swiftly stab the bandit's thigh.

"Aaaaahhhhhhh!!!" The bandit scream in pain.

I glance at dad who's fighting a mage, I can do anything I wanted to.

My cold eyes stare at the bandit who's on his butt, I took out the other dagger that Jasmine gave me and stab his left eye.

"Die, scumbag." I whispered to the bandit.

"Y-You monst-" Before he can finish, I slit his throat with my dagger.

That's right... I am a monster, I'll gladly be a monster if it's meant to protect my family.

I reinforce myself with mana to find my other target.

Two bandits were trying to capture me. I threw my dagger at the bandit's thigh; he fell to the ground. The other bandit who saw what had happened decided to kill me. I didn't let that happen.

He roared as he charge toward me, I see an opening and I meant that his mouth was opening like a stupid person.

I stab his open mouth with my wooden sword but that's not it, I punch the hilt of the dagger making my dagger go through his mouth. Sheesh, painful indeed from the look of it.

I saw my knuckle getting bruised, so I smiled. That's nothing.

Ah... I forget the other one, he's looked at me in fear.

"What? Do you think I'm a demon?" I joked, I feel myself going insane... maybe that's because I haven't killed people for so long.

He didn't answer. I never expected him to answer anyway.

"Now, I'll be taking this back." I take out my dagger from his thigh and his thigh is bleeding profusely.

"Disgusting." I sneered.

I stab his other thigh.

I then take my dagger from the other bandit's mouth and leave both of them to suffer.

3rd person P.O.V.:

"Damien! Forget the plan, don't let them live!" The leader barked out.

Arthur is confused about who the leader commanding but he still running anyways with his mother.

"… respond to my call and wash all to oblivion!" a faint voice finished chanting.

[Water Cannon]

From the mountainside, one of the scattered "archers" had his hands brought together, aimed at Arthur and his mother. They were tricked. He had camouflaged himself during the chaos. He wasn't an archer or even an augmenter. He was a conjurer!

Arthur didn't have much time to react as a huge sphere of pressurized water, at least three meters in diameter, shot towards them, increasing in size as it neared.

His mind raced to try to come up with options.

To Arthur's immediate right was his mother, and to his left were Adam and his opponent not far off; and behind him, of course, was the edge of the mountain. Even if Arthur could dodge this, his mother wouldn't be able to and she'd be forced off the ledge of the mountain.

"Dammit!" Arthur let out a roar unfit for a four-year-old!

Willing all of the remaining mana left in his child's body, he tackled his mother, propelling both of them out of the way.

Arthur quickly realized his forty-pound-body didn't carry enough momentum to push both out of range of the water cannon.

Left with no choice, he channeled mana to his arms and pushed his mother farther down, out of range. At that moment, everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as his mother's eyes slowly widened in panic and disbelief. She might get a pretty bad bruise from the push, but minor bodily injuries were the least of Arthur's problems at that moment. If she didn't want to get hit with another spell Arthur had to get rid of this conjurer.

Unsheathing the dagger Jasmine gave him from his waist, he imbued it with mana. What Arthur was trying to do he had only done with ki in his old world, never with mana.

After willing mana into the dagger, he threw it like a boomerang, aiming it at the conjurer, who was still concentrating on the water cannon. Barely curving around the edge of the giant cannonball of water, Arthur heard the firm thud of the dagger meeting skin.

The mage let out a shrill howl of pain followed by a string of curses indicated that the mage wasn't dead.

Losing concentration, the mage's water cannon lost shape, but unfortunately, there was still a surge of water strong enough to push me off the cliff.

Time for plan B.

Plan B was just in case Arthur's initial throw couldn't kill him. He managed to succeed in the gamble of Plan B, and that was creating a thin string of mana attaching the knife, currently engorged somewhere in the conjurer's body, to his hand.

Arthur tugged back on the mana string just as the spell rammed against Arthur's body like a brick wall, knocking every ounce of air he had in his lungs and most likely breaking his ribs. Like a fish caught on the line, Arthur could hear the mage's scream over the gushing tide of water as he was helplessly dragged down with Arthur by the force of his own spell.

Even as Arthur's vision began darkening, Arthur was able to see the battle coming to an end. Reynolds and Helen had just managed to kill the leader. Angela, providing Jasmine with backup, allowed them to put the whip-user on his last stand. Arthur see his brother, Alexander stared at Arthur with an expressionless face but his eyes betray the expressionless face he had, he was crying. Meanwhile, Arthur spotted Durden as he was desperately conjuring a spell in order to save him, but he knew it was too late; the spell had knocked him too far away.

Arthur's only regret is that he is unable to see his baby sibling.

At this moment, Arthur's destiny was locked.