As Zeth was about to carry Steph on his back, he felt an incredible pressure. It was such a pressure that it took his breath away. It felt like an earthquake, as if Zeth had been instantly transported to the depths of the ocean. It was that intense. Zeth let go of Steph's arms. When he looked behind, he saw a demon about 2 meters tall. This demon, unlike other physically deformed and amorphous demons, had a human-like physique. It was very muscular and its muscles were veiny. Its body was pinkish-red, and it had green eyes that resembled an open fortune-telling stone. It was laughing with its sharp teeth. The pressure was coming from him.
While Zeth couldn't move, the other wizards started attacking him. However, the demon was deflecting their spells one by one with its incredible physical strength and floating speed. The demon was choking Mark by his throat and lifting him off the ground. Whichever angle you looked from, the demon's eyes, which seemed to be the creator of fear, were looking into Mark's eyes. Suddenly, the demon snapped Mark's neck with just its fingers and killed him. Kor, overcome with anger, cast a very powerful explosion spell towards the demon. The spell was so powerful that it momentarily nullified the pressure coming from the demon, and Zeth found himself thrown back.
Zeth still couldn't move. Kor was out of breath. It was clear that he had used up all his magical strength. When the dust settled, the demon reappeared. There were black electrical sparks around it, and it seemed to be bending the air around it. The demon, which had suffered only minor wounds, healed itself in a matter of seconds. With fearful eyes, Kor looked at it while the demon killed the other 2 wizards standing next to Kor from a distance. Now, there was only Zeth, frozen in fear, Steph lying motionless on the ground, and Kor, who could barely stand.
Zeth thought that he might be a real demon.
The demon was looking into Kor's eyes. Kor realized that he was going to die. "RUN, ZETH RU-" Kor's scream was cut off by the demon. With incredible speed, the demon teleported in front of Kor and pierced his chest with its hand. The demon's arm came out of Kor's back. Kor looked at Zeth, coughed up blood, and died.
Zeth felt like he was going to go insane with what he had experienced and seen. For the past 10 minutes, he had wanted to scream, but no sound came out. Zeth's eyes trembled as if they were about to pop out of their sockets. He could barely breathe. Right at that moment, the stone around his neck shimmered so brightly that it temporarily blinded him. When he regained his senses, the demon was right in front of him, looking at his stone. There was a 50cm distance between them. "Devorium!" the demon said with a clear and audible voice. Its voice was terrifying, so terrifying that Zeth reflexively threw himself away from the demon.
Zeth turned towards Stephany on the ground. He quickly lifted her up and was about to start running when he was struck hard from the right side. Zeth was thrown away from Stephany, and he tried to get up, but couldn't. He realized that his leg was broken, but he didn't feel any pain. He looked at the demon and saw that it was standing next to Stephany. Zeth began crawling towards the demon. "STAY AWAY FROM HER!" he shouted in a loud voice.
Zeth's face showed anger, sadness, and fear. The demon grabbed Stephany's throat and lifted her up in the air. It positioned its arm just like it did with Kor's attack.
"NO! STOP!"
"STOP, YOU MOTHERFUCKER! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US, YOU BASTARDS!"
Zeth yelled and rebelled, crawling with all his strength, trying to stand up, but each time he fell. In that brief moment, all the days he spent with Stephany flashed before his eyes.
When Zeth was five years old, he asked Stephany, "Are you my mom?" Stephany, with infinite affection in her eyes and boundless love in her heart, answered without hesitation, "Yes." She immediately added, "I didn't give birth to you, but you are my child, Zeth. You and Malerva are everything to me. I love you so much. You are an amazing child." Zeth hugged her with all his strength. Even though he was only five years old, he had hurt Stephany while hugging her.
Stephany always shone in Zeth's memories, like an angel. Her purple hair was long and beautiful, her green eyes were pure and always looked at Zeth with tenderness. Her heart was pure.
Zeth couldn't remember his real mother, nor did he want to try. Stephany was a wonderful mother to him, and he owed everything to her in this life. And now, because of Zeth's weakness, Stephany was dying. The mother who had protected and loved him for so many years was now dying, and Zeth couldn't do anything about it.
"STO-"
..
The demon had made a hole in Stephany's chest too.
The demon laughed. Zeth, at that moment, forgot about the pressure in the air, the red sky, his broken leg, or the other people. He had forgotten. The only thing he focused on was the hole in his angel, his mother's chest. The demon threw Stephany's lifeless body next to Zeth.
Zeth held Stephany in his arms and looked at her.
"Mom?"
"Mom?"
Tears were streaming down Zeth's eyes, but his face didn't look like he was crying. On the contrary, he was laughing. There was a compassionate smile on his face.
"Do you remember the promise I made to you? The promise to take care of Malerva like a brother. I'm sorry, Mom. I fell in love with him."
..
"Okay, I promise I won't run away from home again, Mom. Please wake up!"
"Let's go to the park. I can play with Malerva there. I promise, I will take good care of him, Mom! Huh? No, of course, I won't let him climb the tree. I p-"
Zeth's peaceful face suddenly turned into a frown. He looked at his mother in disbelief. Tears were flowing uncontrollably from his eyes.
Right at that moment, it started to rain.
Blood was raining.