Chapter 4: Sanguine

"Noah! Snap out of it! Run! Let's go!"

It was Eileen and behind her was Crowa. They all witnessed what happened. The most logical thing to do was to run.

Noah: "Eileen! Crowa!"

Eileen: "Let's get out of here before we get ourselves killed. We cannot defeat these monsters, not in in this lifetime."

Just when they were about to run, Killer saw them and shouted.

Killer: "Where do you think you're going?! Huh? Nobody leaves here alive!"

Killer swung his Chain Sickle and threw it to Noah, he evaded it. He saw what Killer's weapon can do, so he anticipated the right moment when the sickle would change direction, he sidestepped to the opposite direction to throw off Killer's momentum. Then he slid on the ground. The sickle barely hit him. This maneuver would not be possible if Noah was not customed to combat. After all, he was an ex-hunter.

Killer: "Ohhh nice moves! This dude has skills."

Bison: "You waste too much time Killer! Remember why we're here, Ivy and I will find this elder and be done with this.

Elder? Is he talking about the Chief? Noah thought to himself. He has to find the Chief before they do.

Noah: "Eileen! Take Crowa and go to the forest, I'll meet you at the clearing. The Chief is in danger, I need to find him first."

Eileen: "Please be careful. I'll be waiting for you."

Eileen and Crowa proceeded to run towards the forest.

Crowa: "Mother, is father going to be alright? I'm worried about him. We saw what those intruders can do."

Eileen: "Don't worry, he can handle himself. Us on the other hand, we cannot fight like your father. All we can do is wait for him."

"So, all this time you were just hiding here? Eileen?"

A dark shadowy abyss suddenly appeared on the ground in front of Eileen and Crowa. Gradually the shadow disappears and a man with a white hair and green eyes came out of what looks like a portal or tunnel. The three assassins immediately rushed and jumped behind the man. Kneeling down on one knee and bowing their heads. All of them shouted in unison:

"Master Aethern!"

Aethern: "While you were all busy playing with some toys and showing off, I already extracted information about the whereabouts of the alpha. That elder was a stubborn old man."

Bison: "Master, forgive us. Our-"

Aethern: "Silence. We're done here. But before that..."

Aethern turns around and looks at Eileen. She was terrified and trembling with fear. She froze to where she stood and did not talk. Crowa was confused as to what this organization of assassins have to do with her mother. This is all a sudden turn of events. Yesterday morning he was just fishing with his father and now this.

Aethern: "Eileen, good to see you. How is village life fairing you? Hope it didn't dull your memories, especially what you did to the clan."

Eileen: "...Aethern."

Aethern flashes behind Eileen with blinding speed and with one hit on the back of her head, she was unconscious. Crowa can only watch as her mother fainted. Aethern grabbed her by the shoulder.

Aethern: "Now, let us go home."

Noah: "What do you think you're doing?! Stop right now! You all come here and destroy our village, kill our chief and now you're just going to destroy my family? I won't let you do this!"

Aethern: "Family? Hahaha! Oh... Eileen you've been busy all these years."

Noah ran towards Aethern and readies his sword; he's getting ready to stab him. The moment Noah swung his sword, Aethern disappears. Noah was shocked. Just as he was about to turn around, a katana struck him from behind. causing a massive wound on his back.

Noah: "URGGH! ACKK"

Crowa: "Father! No!"

Aethern: "Too slow."

Noah fell down on his knees. He was bleeding a lot and coughing up blood. Behind him is Aethern. Crowa is in front of him and too terrified to move. He does not know what to do, will he fight and throw away his life? Run for his life to see another day? Right now, one thing is for sure. He is filled with grief and immeasurable sadness, confusion and fear.

Noah: "Crowa... I'm sorry. *cough* I couldn't save your mother. *cough* Run... save yourself, son."

Crowa is lost for words. Why is this happening? It's already morning, I just want to go home and eat breakfast with father and mother. Go hunting and gather some herbs and mushrooms. Then go home and get some good sleep. He thought to himself.

Crowa: "Father, I - "

Before Crowa could finish his sentence, Aethern stabbed Noah with his katana. For Crowa it was all surreal. From here on out, he will remember this day for the rest of his life. His father's expression. The smirk on Aethern's face. The sound of the katana as Aethern pulled it out from Noah's chest. If Eileen saw this, she would let out a harrowing scream. His father fell face down on the ground. The grass around him turned red with blood.

Crowa: "No... no... no... no..."

Aethern: "Take a good look boy, your pathetic excuse of a father, bleeding on the ground. He didn't even scratch me. A weakling that can't protect his family."

Bison: "Master Aethern, allow us to go to the location of the alpha monster and extract its core. We will go back to the hideout once we have it."

Aethern: "Good idea. The alpha is in a cave near here surrounded by blue flowers. Go scout the area."

Bison: "At once!"

The three assassins quickly scattered and made their move to find the cave. Meanwhile, Crowa is not thinking straight. He grabbed his father's sword and rushed towards Aethern.

Crowa: "YAAAHHHH AHHHH!!"

Aethern: "Fool."

With one swoop Aethern instantly cut off Crowa's right arm. At first Crowa didn't feel it. He was angry and confused at the same time all he wants is to kill Aethern. But then a surge of pain filled Crowa. He screamed in agony; he did not feel pain like this ever. He grabbed his right shoulder and rolled on the floor.

Crowa: "AHHHHH!! My- My arm! ARGGGHH!"

Aethern: "Crowa is your name, right? I'll let you live, boy. Live so you can suffer more. That is if you don't bleed to death." Aethern looked at Crowa who was writhing in pain.

Aethern carried Eileen on his shoulder and waved his arm slowly in front of him. Then a dark portal gradually appeared. He walked through it along with Eileen.

Crowa: "No!! Mother!! Nnggghh!"

Crowa can only watch as his vision gets blurry. He crawls closer to the portal but there was nothing he could do. The portal closes and the last thing he saw was Aethern's smirking face. He lied on his back looking at the sky. He feels dizzy and groggy.

Crowa: "I'm - I'm gonna die. Father, I'll see you soon. Wait for me."

Crowa slowly closes his eyes as the rays of the sun slowly filled his face. He tilted his head and looked on the side, he saw a silhouette of a man walking towards him. It was blurry and Crowa could not recognize who it was or if it was a stranger. The man spoke:

"No. Not yet."