Chereads / Rising from Ashes: Resilience / Chapter 25 - Chapter 25: Death and Destruction

Chapter 25 - Chapter 25: Death and Destruction

"Who do you work for? And why did you attack my wife?" Verrin asks, his eyes glowing a dark crimson.

"PLEASE, IT WAS A JOB." The dark elf replies, his voice laced with fear.

"I asked you a question," Verrin says, his voice a low growl.

"I, I, I DON'T KNOW," The dark elf replies, struggling to breathe. Verrin throws him towards a tree. The dark elf hits the tree, breaking several bones.

Verrin walks up to him. "You have 30 seconds to give me the answer I want, or else you die," Verrin growls, his eyes glowing a deep red.

The assassin starts to laugh, "HAHAHAHA, YOU ARE SO PATHETIC." The dark elf spits out blood, standing up.

Verrin was confused, "What do you mean?"

"We are just pawns, a distraction. Our job was to lead you away from that Fenrir bitch and her children. The real assassins are much more dangerous, and they are going to kill all of them." The dark elf laughs, spitting out more blood. He grits his teeth and takes a deep breath, "WE, THE DARKFANGS, SHALL MEET OUR END IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD, WITH HONOR STAINING OUR BLADES AND FEAR ETCHED INTO THE HEARTS OF OUR ENEMIES. WE SHALL SEE YOU BURN." The dark elf screams, his voice echoing through the forest. He bites on a small vial and swallows it. His body begins to convulse, and start to foam in the mouth, this lifeless body falls to the ground.

"Aya and the children." Verrin's eyes widen in realization, he begins to panic. Verrin sprints back towards the manor creating a shock wave, the sounds of battle becoming louder and louder. He arrives at the sight of his friends fighting.

Verrin dashes after the intruders. Aya looks over the edge of the balcony. "VERRIN!" She yells, trying to catch a glimpse of him as he rushes after the assassins.

Aya looks around and grabs her clothes, putting them on in a rush. She looks for her sword but is interrupted knife that is thrown towards her. Aya ducks and a dark elf assassin jumps onto her. The dark elf goes for her neck with her daggers. Aya transforms, her white fur shining, bloodlust fills the room, and her sharp, jagged teeth and claws bring shivers down the assassin's spines. Aya grabs the assassin by the neck rips his neck with her other hand and throws his body towards the other assassins. One of the assassins can find a way through rushes at her with a dagger but it is useless as the dagger is unable to cut her thick fur. She bites the dark elf's arm and throws her across the room. Aya roars, her eyes glowing bright gold.

Another assassin tries to stab her, but she grabs him mid-air, throwing him into a wall, the sound of bones cracking fills the room. She hears another one, behind her. Aya quickly turns her crimson eyes finding her target grabs him and slams his head on the floor, a small crater is filled with blood.

She finds a chance to run out of the room and search for her children, her ears perk up and she hears the screams of the maids and the children. Aya runs towards the source of the noise and sees the maids being attacked by the dark elves as they protect the kids.

Aya sees the assassin about to stab Selena. She rushes in, her fangs bared. "SELENA, TRANSFORM!" Aya shouts, leaping into the air, and knocking the assassin down nearest to her.

Selena, hearing Aya's voice, obeys. She transforms into a white wolf-like being with black markings, and small sparks of magical energy come out of her fur, She attacks and slashes the assassin's hand. The assassin's come clean off as he screams in pain. 

Aya taking advantage of the situation, kills the remaining assassins. Blood splattered everywhere as well as her whole body. 

The children see Aya as she walks over towards them. She gently strokes their heads. "I am not going to put this nicely." She begins, her tone firm yet filled with motherly love. "We are being attacked and I want you guys to stay together, do not separate." She orders.

The kids nod. "Now like we have been practicing, be decisive and quick with your thinking." Aya instructs, "This is life and death, remember your training. Right now I am not your mother, I am your commander, and you will listen to me, do I make myself clear."

"Yes!" the children yell, transforming into their respective beast forms. Their faces are a bit uneasy but ready. 

As they transformed, they became taller and more muscular. Their fur was a mixture of black and white, except for Rex and Leo, their fur had a mix of silver and golden. They looked and felt much stronger than any Fenrir.

"I want you all to follow me, do not engage unless I tell you to, understood?" Aya's voice was full of authority.

"Yes, Ma'am!" The children salute.

"Aya and the children." Verrin's eyes widen in realization, he begins to sprint back towards the manor creating a shock wave, the sounds of battle becoming louder and louder.

When Verrin arrives at the scene, he sees the guards are overwhelmed by the number of the dark elves. He rushes and takes care of a few but the numbers are starting to pile up, a few dark elves have managed to get in the house, and the sound of screams is heard.

Verrin jumps and smashes through the roof. He lands and sees the bodies of the fallen guards and the dark elves. 5 dark elves notice him and one of them is about to attack, but he rushes in first and stabs his hand through the chest of the first one. Verrin turns his head and faces the other 4, he roars, his voice filled with anger. He charges towards the group of dark elves. The dark elves charge at him, but he ducks under the first one's attack and slashes his neck, killing him instantly.

The second dark elf attacks, but he is too slow and gets stabbed by Verrin's sharp claws. Verrin grabs the third dark elf's neck and snaps it, throwing it at the last one with brutal force. Both bodies collide painting the wall red.

"Lord Verrin!" a voice calls from afar. Verrin turns his head, a guard running up to him, "Thank the gods you are here, we are getting overwhelmed!"

"There is no time to chat, come with me." Verrin starts to run through the hallways, the guard following behind him. "Where is AYA and the children?" Verrin questions, his voice full of urgency.

"I haven't seen them since the attack started," the guard replies, panting. A dark elf sees them talking, but Verrin deals with him, slicing him in half.

"Damn," Verrin growls, he catches a glance outside the window. "Outside." He rushes, breaking through the wall.

Aya and the children continue to advance slowly, taking care of every dark elf that comes their way.

8 dark elves rushing towards them, Aya looks around, "Rex and Kayden, go around and flank them from behind, the rest of you stay close to me in a diamond formation," Aya orders. Rex and Kayden obey, running off into the shadows.

"Aya and the children!" Verrin's eyes widen, noticing a large group of dark elves heading towards them. Verrin jumps out of the manor and lands pushing off running, his speed increasing, he reaches them in no time and deals with 3 dark elves in an instant.

Amid the chaos created by Verrin. Rex and Kayden jump out of the darkness and surprise the dark elves, they kill 3 of the dark elves with their claws and fangs.

Aya and the rest take care of the last 2 dark elves.

"Verrin." Aya pants, rushing towards him. She hugs him. "I am glad you are okay."

"I'm so sorry," Verrin whispers, hugging her back. "I left you all alone and..."

"Stop, it wasn't your fault," Aya says, pulling away, and looking at him.

"Yeah, we are fine too," Kayden says, sarcastically, he and the other laugh.

"I was so worried about all of you," Verrin smiles, walking over to them, and ruffling their hair.

"We are warriors now, Father," Selena says proudly, puffing her chest. "We took out a few dark el-." Selena is interrupted by a huge and many explosion sounds. A shockwave follows after, but most of the damage is blocked by the manor. 

"What was that?" Aya questions, her eyes scanning the area. A bright light as if it is the morning sun is seen behind the manor. The sky has a hue of red and black, and the trees have unrooted due to the shockwave. "Children stay here and don't move. Verrin." Aya orders, looking at him, he nods. 

They jump onto the roof of the manor, the wind blows fiercely. Aya's eyes are in pure shock, Verrin clenches his fists, a mixture of emotions flowing through his body.

"This cannot be happening," Aya mutters, her heart heavy. "Why? How?"

"The duchy," Verrin finishes, his eyes full of rage, his fist shaking. "Those damned dark elves," Verrin growls.