Chapter Three: The Disaster
In his bed, Kyle was still asleep, but noises from outside woke him up.
"What's that? What are those sounds?" he said, yawning.
Suddenly, a strong tremor shook the house. Kyle shivered and stood up, trying to understand what was happening.
"Is that... an earthquake?"
Moments later, the door burst open, and Iran rushed in, shouting,
"We have to escape now! Grab your things, let's go!"
"Dad, what's going on?!"
"I don't know... but we're under attack. I think it's Rakhal's soldiers!"
After his father's words, Kyle's face went pale. He quickly gathered his belongings and rushed out of his room to find his mother preparing supplies and his father retrieving a sword from an old chest.
Suddenly, a loud crashing sound made them all freeze.
"Hiding here, are you? You little rats. It's time to die!"
"Damn you!" Iran shouted, charging at the knight with his sword.
The knight drew his own blade and blocked the strike, pushing Iran back.
"Oh... looks like one of you has a bit of skill. But too bad for you—I'm a peak Spark Initiate. You're nothing but an insect to me."
Kyle's mother hugged him tightly, stopping him from running forward, while his father kept attacking with all he had.
With a powerful kick, the knight sent Iran crashing into the wall. He coughed and writhed in pain.
"This is getting boring... I should kill you all. I've still got a lot to do."
The knight began forming a fireball in his hand—it grew larger with each passing second.
"Well then... goodbye, fool."
At that moment, Iran knew it was the end. He wasn't afraid. He had always known he was weak, that he'd die one day—but he would not allow his family to perish.
"Elena! Take Kyle and run!"
Elena stared at her husband helplessly.
"Go, Elena! I won't let both of you die!"
She wiped her tears and grabbed Kyle, trying to pull him away. But Kyle resisted.
"No!! I can't! I won't leave you, Dad!"
"Kyle, we have to go now!"
With no choice left, Elena reinforced her body with mana, enveloped herself in a glowing aura, and carried Kyle outside.
"No, Mom! Please! Dad's going to die!!" Kyle screamed, crying. Elena wept as well—she knew she couldn't save her husband, so she had to protect their son no matter what.
"I left them alive so I could hunt them down... this will be fun," the knight chuckled.
Iran smiled. "But I won't let you leave."
"Hehehe... what will you do?"
"As you know, I can't kill you. I lost my powers in the war. But there's a technique we soldiers are trained to use in situations like this."
The knight felt danger. As a warrior who'd fought against the army of Iltha, he knew about the Self-Detonation Technique. He quickly launched the fireball toward Iran.
Iran smiled. "Goodbye... you bastard."
A blinding light burst from Iran's body. The knight tried to run, but it was too late. A massive explosion erupted from Iran, consuming everything nearby.
From afar, Kyle was still crying for his father. Suddenly, the explosion rocked the entire village.
"DAD!!!" he screamed.
He knew his father was gone. Grief overwhelmed him—his village attacked, his father dead, and now they had to escape.
His mother said with sorrow in her voice,
"Kyle, please... be strong for a bit longer. We have to escape unnoticed."
Kyle pulled himself together.
"Okay, Mom."
After walking for a while, they reached the village square—only to find a scene no human could commit. Spears had heads mounted on them, bodies were burned, severed, unrecognizable.
Among the heads, Kyle spotted Sofia's. At first, he didn't even recognize her—her face too mangled. He collapsed, vomiting from the horror: first his father, now his friend, and the rest of the villagers who'd felt like family.
When he stood up, he saw his mother like never before—broken, sorrowful, afraid, and shocked.
She said with difficulty,
"Kyle... we have to move."
"Okay, Mom."
As they neared the village gate, they saw a group of soldiers. One man stood out—strong and commanding. Kyle knew he was the leader.
"We can't leave through the gate. If we go around, there are monsters. What do we do?" Elena asked.
Kyle thought,
"What if we sneak behind the soldiers and slip away?"
"That seems to be the only way," she agreed.
They moved behind the soldiers and the camp.
"This village was the easiest. No strong fighters."
"Yeah... and it has enough food for months."
Kyle overheard this and boiled with rage. They didn't care about lives—only supplies and conquest. He remembered his father's words about the cruelty of the world, but this was beyond anything he imagined.
"I want to kill them all... but I can't. These pigs aren't even human."
They continued moving, almost out of the nightmare—when one guard noticed them and shouted:
"You idiots! Get up! Behind you! They're trying to escape!"
Kyle heard the shout and felt a dreadful chill. He thought his end had come. The world spun, like this was truly the end. Elena wrapped herself in mana, creating a glowing green aura, picked Kyle up, and sprinted with all her strength.
"Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT!!"
Kyle cursed his cursed fate.
"Don't worry, my son. As long as I'm with you, I won't let you die!"
A sharp whistling sound sliced through the air. Elena jumped and twisted to avoid a mana-infused arrow.
"Hit the boy! If he falls, she'll stop!"
Kyle trembled with fear. They were targeting him to stop his mother. Suddenly, a sharp arrow pierced Kyle's side—it was too fast to see. He screamed in agony and fell. Elena stopped immediately.
"Kyle! Please, my son, don't die!"
Kyle couldn't speak—the pain was unbearable. He could see his insides.
"Good shot, commander!"
"As expected of the captain—he's the best."
"Well... finish them off and come back."
Through tears, Elena said:
"Kyle... my son, I know this is the end—for me, not you. I can't let you die. Your father gave his life for us. I won't let that sacrifice go to waste. I'll use my final ability, with my life force, to save you."
Mana surged from within her, the air grew heavy, a glowing green light filled the area.
"Damn it! Back away! She's activating a skill! Run!"
With a trembling voice, she whispered:
"And never forget—we love you more than ourselves."
Despite the pain, Kyle felt a weight in his chest, a lump in his throat.
'Please... no, Mom... please...'
With a warm, gentle smile, accepting her end, she said:
"Goodbye... my son."
'Nooo! MOM!! NOOO!!'
The glow intensified, bursting from her body—and then, an explosion.
After that, all Kyle saw... was darkness.
"These crazy women... what did she do? Where is she?! There's no trace of her!"
"And the boy too... he vanished with her."
Elsewhere, Kyle lay unconscious... body fully healed, without a single wound.