Chapter 24 - Strongest Parents Alive

Chapter 24 - Strongest Parents Alive

"M om!"

"Mama!"

"You will not lay a single hand on my children!" My mother's aura flared red as her voice thundered.

The moment her sandals touched forward, the earth beneath us visibly trembled. With each step she made, the ground shook, large fissures appearing in the muddy ground as if the entire forest was retreating in fear of her wrath.

The bandit chief blinked. For an instant, his concentration broke. He glanced down to see the cracked ground below him, his brow creasing in confusion for a moment.

"Barbarian," he scoffed, his voice dripping with scorn. "A pathetic annoyance."

He lifted his eyes to follow her course, but it was already too late. He noticed a shadow beneath him as he looked up to see that my mother was already in the air, raising her axe.

The leader's instincts finally fired as he violently yanked his curved falchion upward to intercept the trajectory of her massive axe.

BANG!

The explosive boom was unbelievable. The tremendous amount of kinetic force generated by the impact knocked the bandit captain directly downward, as if his knees were violently snapped from underneath him, leaving a miniature crater of upturned soil where the mud and broken tree roots under him had been.

"You will not walk away from this alive!" Reyna roared. "YOU HEAR ME?!"

She didn't afford him even a moment's respite to reorient himself before she used every ounce of force she possessed and pummeled him back with all the force of the punch. The so-called Sword King, the same man who had just nonchalantly ripped apart the Sword Saint, was overwhelmed and forcibly thrown back onto the muddy ground in an iron grasp.

W-what was..?! The bandit thought with confusion, but before his thoughts processed more, her push eventually overtook him.

BWOSH!

The wave of air hit me and soaked me with cold water. The agony of pain was piercing my brain in waves, as I trembled violently, succumbing to a bout of vertigo that almost rendered me unconscious. I fought through the mental haze and shambled through the mud on my hands and knees to lie next to my sister on the floor.

"Lyra!" I shouted hoarsely, grabbing her shoulder desperately. "Are you alright? How are you feeling?"

"Be quiet!" she hissed firmly.

She wasn't looking at me, but rather extended her hand and pressed an index finger, stained with dirt, right into my mouth, which made my right eye twitch for a second. Her gold gaze weren't full of fear anymore, but rather wide-open and sparkling with something strange and fanatical.

"Mommy is fighting! Be quiet, Kyro, I want to watch this!"

...

What is going on in her head? The thoughts came racing through my mind, as the sweat started rolling down my temple. She had almost died ten seconds ago, and she is behaving as if this was some sort of gladiator fight she could observe? Is this how normal people act in this world, or am I just missing something?!

Before I could even begin to process the absurdity, a hand wrapped securely around my waist. A parallel hand sloped beneath Lyra's torso.

We looked up simultaneously. Looming above us was Thorskil.

"Dad!"

"Papa!" we both shouted out together.

The flood of relief was overwhelming, coming down on me in one great wave, putting out the flames in my chest. The icy horror which had frozen me into stillness was immediately replaced by the unyielding warmth of his presence.

Thorskil was holding us tightly against his sides.

"We saw a smoke rising from here." his voice said. It was calm, almost disturbingly calm. But his eyes told a completely different story. They swept up and down the entirety of our bodies with a quickness that bordered on frenzy, checking for cuts, broken bones, or blood. "Why are you even out here?"

"Well—um..." Lyra stumbled, her tough image instantly crumbing under the pressure of guilt.

Thorskil sighed heavily, the sound reverberating through his ribcage as he pressed against my side. "We're going to have a lot of talking to do when we get home, alright?"

Lyra and I shot each other a quick look, chastened and ashamed, before we both nodded back to him. Once he was certain we were still standing, the rest of his attention moved past us.

It came to Reyna. And everything about the battle instantly shifted.

BOOM! CLANG!

Reyna punched the bandit, knocking his purple aura around from the attack.

"Ugh!" He groaned, but the second of vulnerability was all that was needed for Reyna to seize the opportunity. She raised her axe in preparation of hitting him in his chest, sending him several feet away, though he was able to land on his feet, but Reyna ran ahead of him, crouching low; one of her strong hands grabbed onto his ankle as she pulled her body up, taking him along with her.

Her teeth gritted together, her muscles flexing as she shouted out each time she threw him down to the ground. With the force of an angry beast she slammed him down hard. Once, twice, three times she slammed him against the ground, sending the dirt flying out in all directions in a spray of mud. The impact noise was followed by the loud screams of Reyna.

With one last growl she threw her torso into action, launching his entire body into the air.

His body flew through the sky upside down like a broken rag doll, spinning uncontrollably as his trajectory started to dip downwards. My mother planted the heels of her sandals deeply into the soil, raising the battle-axe over her right shoulder. She stood strong and stable, looking just like a greek sculpture. Well no… that wasn’t the case for me. I corrected myself with my modern perspective immediately. She looked just like she was ready to take a baseball swing at him.

The resounding impact was like thunder clapping.

With her swift axe swing, she hit the bandit right across the chest and sent him flying into the swamp. Trees crashed down as a result of his violent impact with each one of them. The first one, the second, the third, the fourth, and then finally, the fifth tree shattered into pieces like brittle glass. His body came crashing against the sixth tree, leaving a crack on its bark.

Exactly at that very moment, his Aura shattered. It did not just fade away; rather, it shattered into tiny shards, producing the clear and loud sound of glass hitting stones with dark purple bits of energy dissolving in the gray mist.

"Argh!" He gushed out large amount of saliva and blood from his mouth in disbelief.

Slowly, my mother righted her posture, letting out a puff of heated breath into the moist air. With a nonchalance that spoke of her disdain for the physical exertion of work, she ran the back of her thumb across her nose with a small derisive snort, her green eyes blazing with unyielding defiance.

I stared in disbelief, with my mouth open in shock. To my side, Lyra's eyes were literally shining with reverence.

"My Mother… She's so strong…" Lyra whispered, awestruck.

Thorskil chuckled in his throat, a sound rich with pride. "Yeah, she is."

From where he lay, the broken man began to move. Very slowly, painfully slowly, he pulled himself up into an upright position, his curved falchion trembling violently in his hands. His bare chest rose and fell in an irregular rhythm. His Aura had completely drained from him, and his physical movements were sluggish and uncoordinated. But it was the look on his battered face that gave away his mental state.

It was not fear that he felt, but rather It was confusion.

"Argh... my speed... why can't I...?" He spoke in a low tone, looking at his sword arm as if it no longer belonged to him. "I feel so heavy... I could not get my reflexes in time to dodge that monster's attacks..."

He frowned, his thoughts going haywire. I defeated and neutralized tiered barbarians without even breaking a sweat... why do I suddenly feel so sluggish and slow? Why won't my..?

Next, he quickly moved his gaze from my mother, scanning the perimeter until he found the man standing completely still in the distance, cradling two children firmly under his arms.

T-Thorskil..?!

Thorskil didn't even have a weapon in hand. His plain iron broadsword still hung untouched and sheathed at his side, not even having been touched by his fingers.

However, the moment that the second he was actually seen, when he was fully acknowledged in his presence, all of it clicked into place for the clearing. The bandit leader's jaws clenched together tightly. He had fought champions, imperial lords of war, knights blessed by ancient gods. And yet, in all his lifetime, nothing had ever sent such primal, absolute fear through his veins.

The world around the bandit spun before his eyes, tilting like the earth underfoot as he struggled to look away from that monstrous presence before him. The presence of my father weighed heavily upon him, like a gravity well, making each breath he took seem heavier and more difficult than the last.

The gaze of Reyna fixed upon the bandit again. She rotated her shoulders carefully, as if shaking out tension in a hunter’s body. Tightening her hand around the handle of her axe, her fingers gripped it firmly. The ground beneath her feet was muddy as she moved forward, emanating anger.

Stumbling back, the eyes of the bandit were flicking between Thorskil and the approaching figure.

"Thorskil…?" he gasped, the words hardly forming in his mouth as he paled to deathly white, realization washing over him. "The… the Sword God is here…!?"

His voice broke, cracked in sheer disbelief.

"That absolute scum... he sent us straight to our deaths...!"

He made no time for further hesitation. The bandit’s gaze snapped over towards the thick foliage to his left. He spun around on his heel, forgetting all about his dignity and took off running, sprinting out of the enclosure. However, before he managed even to reach three meters away, the Sword God’s Authority roared forward like a massive, invisible crushing force. The knees of the Bandit’s Leader instantly locked up and his field of vision swayed violently, as a wave of total vertigo crashed down into his brain, sending his body tumbling face-first into the swirling mud.

“Rghhh—!”

Sword God’s Authority

The Sword God's Authority varied in terms of blessings. A total of Thirty Divine Blessings.

And among those blessings was Suppression . The force of power that doesn’t radiate outwardly, but crushes inwardly, as if a whole mountain is being laid down on top of the spirit.

It had the same effect on the aura of the bandit flaring up, affecting Kyro in a similar manner. But it’s just a weak, smaller aura than the one Thorskil has, because when the aura of the bandit flares up, you can resist the pressure, if you have a strong enough willpower. But Thorskil's is different. Instead of his aura flaring up, the pressure just hits you.

The subduing of power by the title of Sword God. Whether Thorskil remains stationary or wanders doesn't matter; if any person who sees him as a threat, as someone he must be stopped during battle, will find themselves cursed by his power. They will gradually lose energy within their body, as well as all coordination, becoming slow and weak. Even their balance while fighting might become unsteady.

Thorskil has the ability to control this skill at will, turning it on or off, and now has it being used for Reyna to carry out his work, as he himself attends to the children.

For Reyna, this subduing has become her own empowerment.

"T-this can't be happening!" the bandit screamed, clawing at the mud as he was trying to stand. His limbs trembled under their own weight, his strength leaking out of him like blood from a wound.

Then, a massive shadow fell completely over his form. Slowly, agonizingly, he tilted his head upward. Reyna stood directly above him, her massive battle-axe raised high toward the canopy.

"W-wait, wait, wait!" The bandit moved backwards, reaching an opened palm at Reyna. "I-I was tricked! Forgive me for attacking your children, I- I didn't know they were Thorskil's!"

Reyna's teeth gritted, "SHUT UP!"

A faint trail of hot air rose slowly from her strong arms as well as her red aura flared for a moment. Her green eyes, sharp and completely devoid of warmth, looked down upon him like a lifetime sentence to hell. There was no hesitation in the way she moved. No dramatic speech lines and no condescending pity. She only held the raging anger of a mother forever dealing with a threat to her children.

The bandit opened his mouth to yell something, anything, but the axe was already falling.

The blade cut down like retribution from the heavens itself, slicing cleanly through flesh and bone. The sound rent through the clearing, not of metal meeting metal but of thunder cracking wetly.

"ARGHH—"

The yell was brief; the thing that came after that was silence. Blood sprayed into the water and onto Reyna’s apron. The body fell, torn in half.

I physically jerked right when it happened.

My physical body, which was held tightly in my father's firm grip, underwent a rush of adrenaline that made my heart jump up into my throat. I clamped my eyes shut, completely shut, right at the moment when the axe reached the bottom of its swing, trying to protect my mind from what was going on by blinding myself.

But the sounds got through to me nonetheless. That sound of flesh being ripped apart with a human’s blood. It sank deeply into my ears and into my head.

My hands started trembling.

This isn't like the movies back home, my mind screamed, a rising wave of panic threatening to capsize my logic. This isn't a video game. It's not a fiction with a dramatic orchestral score, a heroic sacrifice, and a clean fade to black.

It was a very messy one. It was extremely violent, possessing an intensity of such brutal reality that brutality is an understatement.

There was an internal twisting in my gut, a cold sensation forcing its way up through my stomach and into my throat. Though I did not vomit, the reaction was so strong that it made my throat burn. My breathing became very quick and shallow. Involuntarily, my hands grabbed hold of the material of my father’s dirt-splattered shirt, as if that was the only thing anchoring me to reality.

She just killed him. My mother, the woman who was literally kneading dough when I left… just cut a man in half.

I forced my eyes open slowly; everything was blurry in front of me.

Reyna was standing in the middle of the clearing. Her huge axe lay relaxed in her hand; droplets of dark blood were running slowly off its sharp blade as if they were melted black candles. The red aura shone on her only for a second before disappearing.

Thorskil did not move. He watched the dead body lying in front of him in a state of perfect tranquility. There was no trace of any feelings on his face.

Lyra, being held beside Thorskil, eyes wide, but not in horror. In admiration.

"She actually got him!" she exclaimed, a breathless laugh escaping her lips. Acting like everything was normal.

I gulped because this is something I alone am doing. I come from a world where murder is something that rocked the very roots of society, where death is cold and far away, never visceral and just a breath away. Where a man being torn in two would make front-page news, not a sigh of relief and admiration.

"D-damn." I stuttered.

Can you really blame me for reacting like this..?

This is my world now, and I am one among many who cannot bear to watch it be done. God... I am lucky not to have been close enough to witness the gore, or otherwise I would definitely puke.

***

Mother carried her massive battle-axe over one shoulder, the blade still darkened by dried blood. She walked in long, confident strides, her expression unreadable beneath the fading sunlight.

She carried me, and I couldn't sleep due to the pain in my lungs, interrupting my attempts at sleep.

I would cough from time to time, and breathing just hurts.

"K-kyro..? Are you okay..?"

I looked up to my mother, giving her reassuring smile. "I-I am fine, Mom.. Just.. my chest just hurts. I feel like I broke something."

"Oh, my poor baby boy..."

Father followed behind her, Saul slung unconscious across his back, one arm bandaged and limp.

Lyra followed behind Dad, her boots soft against the dirt path. She kept close, hands beside her, gaze drifting occasionally toward Saul. Her eyes were distant, lips pressed together in a flat line.

The other village guards came last, five in total, each dragging or carrying an unconscious bandit. Their bodies would be healed enough to talk, just not enough to run. They'd be interrogated before the sun rose again.

"Lyra?" Mom turned to her.

"Y-yes, Mama?"

"Are you tired? If you are, you can climb on my shoulder."

"No, I'm... I'm fine." she declined, her voice low. "I'm almost an adult, remember?"

Reyna gave her a soft smile, but she herself was furious about the fact that Lyra and I went in to the woods, but seeing her children bruised up and hurt, she couldn't bring herself to yell at us.

By the time we reached the village fences,

the sun had dipped low enough that shadows stretched long across the fields. Torches flickered to life along the fences. People stepped out from homes, murmuring, whispering as they saw Saul's body and the tied-up bandits.

Father gave orders calmy and the guards followed without hesitation. Then, Captain Jyroh stepped forward, and they had a conversation.

It surprised me how easily he stepped into command. He wasn't wearing anything regal, no fancy armor or cape. Just a dirt-streaked tunic and leather boots. Yet the way people responded to him... it was like he had always been a leader.

Father stayed behind to organize the guardhouse, report to the captain, and secure the prisoners.

Mother, Lyra, and I made our way back to the house. As the gates creaked opened, I opened my mouth while Reyna was carrying me.

"M-mom.. you can put me down now."

"Are you sure, honey?" Mom paused, "But- but you're hurt. Come on, now. I'll treat your wounds."

"M-maybe so... Just.." I turned to Lyra, who was already making her way to the door. "I just wanna talk to Lyra first.. Okay?"

Reyna's gaze turned to Lyra for a brief moment, and back to me. She sighed. "Fine.." she gave me a kiss on the forehead as she gently put me down.

I walked towards Lyra as fast as I could as I entered the house. The moment I stepped inside, everything caught up to me.. The adrenaline was gone. Replaced by exhaustion, aching ribs that made my breathing like hell, and a heavy fog in my head. My shoulders slumped, and my knees felt like they might give out at any moment.

Mom followed behind, immediately putting the axe towards the entrance as she made her way to the kitchen to wash herself. She was saying something. Maybe telling Lyra to wash up. Maybe reminding her about tomorrow's chores. I didn't hear it. My thoughts were spinning too fast, too loud.

For a brief moment, I could see her turning on the lanterns within the house, sparking fire within as she moved to the next until the house was filled with light.

But I stood there, and all I could think about was what had happened.

We almost died. I let out a shaky breath. Saul lost an arm.. Because of me. Because I couldn't keep my temper in check. Because I let my pride get in the way. I should've known better. I should've stopped myself. I should've-..

I stared at the floor, barely hearing the creak of the door closing behind us.

Then, a hand rested on my shoulder. I turned my head. Lyra stood beside me and she was smiling.

"What? Are you sad?" she asked, tilting her head a little.

I didn't answer right away.

How could she smile after everything that happened? After Saul nearly died? After Mom cut a man in half? That wasn't something you were supposed to smile after.

"I... well... I just..." The words stumbled. Nothing came out right. My mouth moved, but my thoughts were a mess. Eventually, I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. My shoulders sank, heavy with everything I had kept locked in since the moment we ran.

"I'm sorry, Lyra. I caused all of this."

She didn't stop smiling. No twitch in her brow. Her eyes stayed steady, quietly watching me like she could already hear the rest before I even said it.

"What?" she asked, her voice light.

"It's my fault," I murmured. My fists tightened at my sides. "It all started because I called you an idiot. I shouldn't have said that. I was mad and... I let it out. I should've kept it in. I'm sorry I—"

"You think that was your fault?" she cut in, although her voice was a bit lower.

I froze. Her voice wasn't angry, but it still stopped me cold. I looked up to meet her gaze. She let her hand fall from my shoulder and gave a half-shrug, her face unreadable.

"Kyro, we were attacked by bandits. Bad people. Do you really think one argument between siblings had anything to do with that?"

I wanted to speak. I really did. I wanted to say Yes . I wanted to say, If I hadn't said that, you wouldn't have run off. I wanted to believe there was a way it could've all been avoided. That if I had just stayed quiet, maybe none of this would've happened.

But she beat me to it. She rolled her eyes and gave a soft snort.

"You're not that important. No offense."

The words hit harder than any slap. But they weren't cruel, but they were grounding in a way. Like being pulled out of a dream you didn't realize you were stuck in. I stood there, the weight of those words sinking in.

"W-what do you mean?!" I stammered, my voice rising slightly. "Saul nearly—"

"I was already planning to go to the forest," she said, walking past me.

She walked past me and dropped onto the wooden bench near the entrance as the lamp's fire lit next to her left side. Her arms draped across her knees, her posture slouched. For once, she wasn't trying to act bigger than she was. She just looked tired.

"Even before I went to you and asked you to teach me magic," she said, her eyes locking on the cobblestone floor. "My mind was completely made up. I wanted to test out those new sword moves Saul had demonstrated to me last week. I wanted to prove something to myself. I was incredibly excited, and I was angry. It was a bad mix."

Her voice lowered, and something bitter curled at the edges.

"I wasn't thinking at the time.. that was my choice, not yours. I walked into that forest because I wanted to, not because of something you said."

She clenched her jaw tightly, turning her head away from me.

"It cost Saul his arm, and that's on me."

A small, humorless scoff escaped her lips.

"You were right, by the way. I am an idiot. So I'll take the blame. All of it."

A deep silence crept into the kitchen, broken only by the faint sound of burning cloth in the lantern. The soft orange glow danced across her profile, softening the rigid tension in her young features. I stayed rooted by the front door, the remaining remnants of guilt still clinging to my chest like a heavy, wet blanket. It didn't feel completely gone, but the nature of it had... definitely shifted.

I stared at her back for a long moment before asking, my voice barely louder than a breath, "Then... how can you still manage to smile after all of that?"

She turned her head. That same faint smile returned. A little lopsided this time, a little tired. But it was there.

"Because my little brother isn't acting like a wuss anymore."

I blinked. The words surprised me, honestly. Not because they were mean, no, they weren't. They were... proud.

Her golden eyes met mine. Sharp as usual, but without an ounce of teasing left within them. Only admiration. She turned away once more, her gaze turning back to the flickering fires of the hearth.

"It is not that I'm not sad; of course, I am sad. I hate what happened to me. But when I think of that moment, when you came into the forest for me, I felt pride. Happiness even, among all the fear."

Frankly, I did not know how to answer her.

She leaned back against the bench and stared into the far wall as her voice softened again.

"Saul is going to live. He's incredibly tough; he always has been. I don't know how I'm going to make it up to him yet, but I promise you I will. I want to build something for him. An apology, at the very least."

I listened to every single syllable she uttered. Her tone, her deliberate pauses, her raw honesty. She looked at me one final time, the flickering firelight shimmering faintly against the moisture in her eyes.

"I am sorry, Kyro. It's not your fault. But your big sister? This time... the failure was fully hers."

I didn't respond, while my eyes stayed wide.

Ah. So that's how she sees it.

My eyes traced the lines of her face. Wow.. just.. I mean, I-... wow.

She leaned back, stretching her arms above her head with a groan. Then, suddenly, she turned toward the back room and shouted.

"Mom! What's for dinner?"

Mother's voice boomed from the kitchen.

"Change your clothes first! You're tracking in mud!"

Lyra let out a loud sigh and dragged herself off the bench. I stayed where I was, near the front door. My eyes wandered across the room. The walls. The fading sunlight filtering through the window. The lanterns flickering.

I let out a breath.

Gosh... It's too much.

Although I felt relieved by Lyra's words, I was just... too tired. Completely, utterly tired . I took a step forward, but the world shifted beneath me as my vision tilted.

Huh...?

My vision blurred, colors melting together as the sounds dimmed.

Bam.

I hit the cobblestone floor, and everything went dark.

Damnit... I'm all out.

Despite the pain in my chest, my body just shuts down on its own.

[VOLUME 1 ENDING!]