At the fall of a woman's shrill cry, the ground lit up in a circle as lines upon lines of intricately drawn mystifying patterns appeared within the formation, emitting a striking glow red like blood as it orbited in a lively manner with the old house as its center.
Rumble~
The ground shook and hummed out loud as heaps of flying small rocks and debris crashed into each other mid-air, generating a thick layer of dust to roll over the entire area within the array before slowly dispersing into its surroundings.
"Creak... creak..."
Following the harmonious hums of consonance that turned louder and louder with the passing of each second, cracks after cracks formed across the surface of the beaming array as streaks of bloody red rays shot out of each and every tiny opening of the earth and into the sky, lighting up the blank canvas that seemed to have grown darker than before.
Even without the orders of their leader, the group of men hiding nearby quickly rode their horses and scurried away from the glowing cottage, running for their lives in desperation with their backs soaked with cold sweats. It was not until the picture of the dreaded house turned into a dot in their eyes that their breaths started to regulate and relief washed over their strained body.
"Mr Winters, what are we going to do with Lord Taylor?"
A young man with brown hair worriedly questioned the man leading in front of the group, fear evident in his shaking pupils. If they were to be caught leaving behind the young lord to his death, not only him but also his whole family will be implicated with the death sentence awaiting for them.
The young man bit his lips as he threw the older man a pleading look. At the very least, they need to bring home the young lord's body whether he's dead or half-dead to serve as a piece of evidence that they had truly done their best.
"Are you hinting us to risk our lives to return and retrieve that reckless brat's body?"
Alexander Winters tightened his fist as he glowered over the young man's pitifully small stature with an intimidating look.
"Benny, do you wish to seek death? Or, are you planning to pull us down with you and honor yourself with the loss of our lives?
Have you forgotten the heavy force pressing on our shoulders and the feeling of dread shivering through our nerves? Let me tell you! That woman is dangerous! Neither you nor I will be able to come out intact if we were to step into the range of its power!"
At his words, the pale young man Benny uncontrollably shook. He lowered his head in despair, hiding his struggling expression from the man's view. It was not his intention to let his family suffer because of him. His useless self could die in any way he want but even if he was to die in the most gruesome way, he didn't want to be a deadweight to his family.
The man sighed as he gave Benny a pat on his shoulder, consoling him to stay strong before he turned to face the rest of his group.
"Everyone! Let's all pray for the higher-ups to be lenient with our punishments. After all, no one had hoped for this tragedy to happen. If the worst comes to worst, we'll bring our family out of the town and start over somewhere else together, okay?"
His powerful voice reverberated in the air, suppressing the whispers and murmurs of doubt and distress eating at his men into a silent stance of respect. It was evident to their eyes that the glistening sweat on his skin and the paleness of his lips was not a bit less than theirs; however, his dark steady eyes and broad shoulders mystically brought them a sense of security.
That's right. He was their leader, a man who had never failed them and betrayed their trust.
"Yes, Sir!"
The positive vibe emitting from the man's aura and the harmonious shouts the group of men responded out loud in return soon brought a merry atmosphere to the air. Young and inexperienced Benny looked at the strange yet also somewhat familiar faces around him, his heart warming up at his comrade's fiery and passionate spirits.
'Lord Taylor, please be safe.'
He prayed in his heart. As long as the esteemed young noble could safely return, nothing will befall upon them, mere commoners. That way, they could still have a long road ahead of them, and probably, they could still be together for a very very long time.
***
Within the circular lines of magical runes that shone brighter than luminous pearls from the legends, a youth with striking blonde hair and crystal blue eyes was seen sprawled over the beaming floor, his cheek kissing the ground.
Blood trickled down his ears and the right corner of his mouth as his fingers were forcefully pressed onto the dusty dirt-covered terrain, moving his heavy body little by little. As a result of his unwavering grit, he had managed to move his heavy body half a meter away from the house, which was of course, forever not enough.
Tak!
Another nail shot off his coarse fingers riddled with wounds, earning a painful grunt from the youth. Taylor cursed at his useless self.
It had only been a month ago when he was still the prideful son of a count, standing above all ordinariness. How could someone prestigious like him end up in this state? Dying in such a disgraceful way?
His body furiously shook at all the injustice the world had cruelly imposed to him. Just one night! It took just one night for him to be stripped of his noble prestige and dragged down to become the laughingstock of the whole kingdom. All because he failed to awaken and was declared incapable of wielding magic in this world where magic meant supremacy.
Since then, it was as if the count's prideful son had turned into a completely different person. He was no longer proud and indifferent, forever hiding within the high walls of his mansion. Instead, he started to leave the numerous guards assigned to protect him and travel around the continent like a headless fly.
People thought that the fallen heir must have lost his mind but only Taylor himself knew that it was not for anything but to seek out witches! To seek for his other path of living!
Hunted and dubbed as demon spawns, witches were mysterious entities that were said to have gained tremendous magical powers through making pacts with demons.
They were the absolute symbol of fear and dread till this day for they were dishonest, treacherous, and meant only disaster to humanity!
However, as villainous as they were known to be, Taylor didn't care a cent as he was left with no choice. He would rather pledge himself to a demon or even die than to live the rest of his life as a useless invalid, forever a burden and a shame to his family.
It was unfortunate that this was the end. Looks like, he would have to disappoint his father's great expectations of him.
Would that father of his grieve upon hearing his death?
What a joke!
His father should have rejoiced instead, for the only stain in the glamorous count family's name was finally wiped out.
'So this is the end, huh?'
No!
He had endured too much, struggled too long that he was unwilling to leave the world just like that.
Gathering his strength, his eyes reddened in determination as he reached out to bring himself further away from the accursed house.
If half an hour wasn't enough, then what about 2 hours, 6 hours, or even, the entire day? As long as he could still move, he would not stop till he was free from these shackles of gravity weighing down on his body!
"That's enough"
'No, it's not!'
The beastly eyes of the youth shot to the direction of the airy voice, indignance filling his heart. A petite woman with a wide pointy hat sitting on the crown of her long golden-brown curls soon entered his view.
At the startling sight, Taylor widened his eyes in surprise, and also, in disbelief.
'Is it possible for excessive loss of blood to cause such hallucinations?'
He could feel his head spinning and his sight darkening. Although the sky was pitch black and there were close to no stars to light up the surrounding area, he could still see fairly well with the help of those blinding red pillars shooting out of the ground below.
His eyes couldn't possibly be mistaken. That woman... she's hovering in the air!