Embers of the Holy War

Arrival of the Demon King

Hearing those words being uttered from the maid's lips was akin to a lightning striking him. He swore loudly, eliciting a startled yelp from the maid. That accursed demon king!

Gathering all his strength into his legs, he ran as quickly as possible in the direction of the manor. While he wasn't exactly a devoted believer, this time, he sent his sincere, desperate prayer to Hero Rayler for his family's safety.

Please, Hero, let my family be unharmed.

Yet like an omen of doom, dark, grey clouds had begun to gather over the manor. The closer he got, the darker it became. So dense were the clouds that not even a wink of star was visible. At this point, the street lights should have turned on - why weren't they?

Thankfully, Guang had his own flames that helped light his way. He gritted his teeth, wishing he could run faster or do something more than just running. What would have happened by the time he arrived at the manor? He doesn't want to think about that - he fears thinking about that. All he could do now was pour all of his energy and strength to keep his legs moving, to not even falter a single step.

When he reached a hill near the manor, he stopped for a quick breath, barely holding himself up with the trunk of a tree. From this distance, he tried to find the manor amongst the many buildings littered below him, but the moonless sky was not helping. Every single building looked almost identical in its looming shadow. Hero, why is everything simply not cooperating with him today? What did he ever do to anger Lady Luck?

That was when a bright beacon caught his eyes. He looked over, and sure enough, he had found his manor. Relief filled his veins, but as quickly as it did, fear took over as the oddness of it sinked in. The manor was unusually bright. Not just from the windows or the garden - the entire building seemed to be alight.

"Dammit!" he cursed. Channelling his powers into his legs once more, he continued sprinting towards the manor at 200% output, lest he allowed his fears to catch up to him. He didn't want to think about what it could mean, even if it was very obvious at this point. No, until the truth was shoved in his face, he would not believe it. His family - mother, father, Jin - like a mantra, he repeated in his head, they're safe, they're safe, they're safe.

Except that they weren't.

Wild, raging flames danced into the night, filling the air with their smoky cheers. In contrast, the burning manor collapsed slowly but silently, like a witch at a stake, having already accepted its tragic end.

Even if the despairing sight drove a sword to Guang's heart, even if his legs threatened to yield, Guang refused to collapse. There was still hope. Pushing on towards the burning manor, he screamed at the top of his lungs, "FATHER! MOTHER! JIN!"

Snap.

It was an instant downpour, like the sky has tipped a bucket of water. Within a second, he was soaked down to the bone. His flaming hair returned to its original state, dampened by the rain. Even so, he was grateful for the depressing weather. The rain will prevent the manor from being reduced into smithereens.

"Guang!"

Through the bedazzling miraculous rain, he saw his younger brother Jin running towards him, black hair plastered to his face and glasses fogged up. He seemed relatively unharmed, and that lifted Guang's spirits.

"Jin!"

Yet he realised something was wrong the moment he registered Jin's frightful expression. Jin didn't pause for breath, snatching Guang's wrist and pulling him.

"Hurry! Before the demon king kills father and mother!"

The demon king...he was still here? Hasn't he caused enough damage already? He truly is the incarnation of evil - to go even as far as taking human lives!