What followed next was absolute carnage.
The Crimson Castle lay in shattered ruins, entire sections reduced to rubble. Bodies were strewn across the grounds, lifeless and broken, their blood soaking into the cracked earth. The thick stench of iron, burnt flesh, and smoldering debris polluted the air, making every breath a struggle.
Both Saints and mortals alike, all invaders to the Crimson household, had been slaughtered like pigs, their bodies strewn around and desecrated.
Beyond the waterfall, the Sacred Grove was devastated—the explosion having ravaged everything. The once-vibrant grasses were scorched black, the towering trees shriveling into charred husks. Smoke rose in dark, suffocating waves, spiraling into the sky like a funeral pyre.
A series of harsh, wheezing coughs broke through the silence. From the wreckage, Lyra stumbled out, her body weak and trembling. Veronica Discover more novels on NovelHub - your gateway to endless stories.
Around them, eight corpses littered the ground, three of them were Fourth Ascendants, the others, Third Ascendants. That Lyra and Veronica were still standing at all was nothing short of miraculous.
Lyra was a Fourth Ascension ascendant, but in her crippled state, it was impossible for her to fight at full strength, without dying.
Suddenly, Luiz burst onto the scene, his breath ragged, his eyes frantic. He was followed by other members of the Crimson family, their faces etched with horror.
The moment Luiz saw them... saw Lyra, battered and barely standing, he rushed forward, gathering both women into his arms.
His body trembled violently.
Fear. Sorrow. Remorse. Anger. Grief.
A tidal wave of emotions crashed over him, threatening to shatter his sanity.
For a fleeting moment, Lyra allowed herself to sink into his embrace, basking in the warmth of his presence. Then, with great effort, she pushed him back slightly, lifting a weak, trembling hand to his chin.
Her tear-filled eyes met his, and she smiled; a soft, heartbreaking smile filled with emotions so deep they felt tangible.
"Where’s Kallen?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper as her eyelids fluttered, threatening to close.
The moment those words left her lips, Luiz froze.
His hands, still gripping her shoulders, began to shake.
"I..." He opened his mouth, but no words came.
Lyra pressed a delicate finger to his lips, silencing him. Her smile didn’t fade, but her eyes brimmed with unshed tears.
"I tried, you tried as well" she whispered, tears pooling down her eyes in unstoppable streams.
Then, her body went limp.
Luiz’s world collapsed.
A howl of pure agony tore from his throat, a cry so raw, and gut-wrenching, that it echoed across the entire Crimson Estate.
Everyone who heard it felt their hearts clench, their souls tremble. Some fell to their knees, their bodies overcome by an unfamiliar, unbearable grief.
Others found their own eyes brimming with tears, even if they didn’t understand why.
Because in that single, haunting cry... They all felt the depth of his pain.
A series of heavy footsteps echoed behind Luiz a few seconds later, his arms tightening around Lyra’s limp body as he held her close. Tears droplets in his eyes threatening to spill over.
Luiz slowly turned, his mismatched eyes locking onto a pair of familiar crimson irises. Only this time, the charismatic smirk that usually adorned its face was nowhere to be found. His expression was grave, and solemn.
Silas, stared back to Luiz’s cold eyes, that now looked like the surface of still water. The tears that had once glistened in them had vanished entirely, as if they had never existed.
But Silas understood... Pain was written all over his face. He understood Luiz’s feelings as a man. A proud man, would never let anyone see his tears.
What he didn’t know, was how Luiz would react to what he was about to say.
As sickening as it sounded, he really wanted to see the look on his face when he delivered the news.
He took a breath, stretching and strengthening the tension in the moment.
Another voice called out as Thaddeus quickly appeared, dropping to one knee and bowing his head without hesitation.
Though he had lowered his gaze swiftly, Luiz had already caught the erratic, frantic flicker in his eyes, and a cold chill gripped his heart.
Silas’ words from earlier echoed in his mind, and his fingers clenched against Lyra’s tattered robes.
"Thaddeus?" His voice was calm, unnervingly so.
"Patriarch..." Thaddeus answered with a strained voice.
He gritted his teeth in hesitation and then, in a voice barely above a whisper, he somehow forced through his breath "...Kallen is gone."
It was the first time he had ever spoken Kallen’s name without an honorific, but at this moment, no one cared.
Luiz froze. He had braced himself for bad news, but this... this was beyond anything he had expected.
"What did you just say?"
His voice was dangerously calm, or perhaps it was simply the shock—so absolute that no emotion could surface at all.
Thaddeus almost trembled on the spot but gritted his teeth and steadied himself.
"The young lord is gone. We couldn’t find any remains of him, no tracces... not even his aura." He spat the words out rapidly, then took a deep breath to calm himself.
"His place completely collapsed and crumbled, but there’s no trace of anyone or anything there. The only indication that he might have been there before it happened is that the water in his pool bath is still filled with lather."
A suffocating silence followed.
Luiz stood motionless for only a second, but it was clear that if not for the unconscious woman in his arms, rivers of blood would already be flowing.
His voice, when he spoke, was like a blade pressed against flesh.
"Lock down the entire Xenith. Make use of the Resonating Echo."
The sheer menace in his tone sent a chill through those nearby.
"Already did that," Silas replied, his expression unreadable. "The only problem is that no airship has been reported leaving the continent yet."
Luiz’s fists clenched.
"Then get to work on finding him," he barked, finally unable to hold back his rage.
"Use whatever means to track his dynamis imprint... deploy the Resonating Echo across the whole continent for all I care!"
Luiz’s gaze took on an absolutely terrifying, demonic shade.
But Silas held his ground.
"Trying to read the past hour across all of Xenith while simultaneously searching the entire continent for him? That’s one; too many resources. And two; we don’t have nearly enough manpower to execute it properly."
Luiz’s piercing glare did not falter.
Instead, the atmosphere only seemed to grow colder, darker, and more sinister.
"Stop acting on emotions and try to be rational..."
A tidal wave of killing intent flooded the area, and Silas’ breath hitched.
Realizing that he might have overstepped, he quickly amended,
"You’re forgetting about the Elders. They’re already on the move. You’re being too emotional. You need to keep a cool head, and..." He gestured to Lyra’s unconscious form,
Luiz stared at him for a long, chilling moment.
Then, without a word, he stood up.
He adjusted Lyra’s limp body into a princess carry, and with a simple exertion of his Will, lifted Veronica as well.
With a stomp of his feet, he was gone, leaving dust in his wake.
Thaddeus hurriedly left after him, no doubt to carry out his commands.
Silas, however, remained where he was, watching Luiz’s retreating figure.
His usual smile slowly, returned to his face.
Then, he turned to leave, his eyes glowing faintly with their own ominous light.
As his steps took him out of the now-ruined Sacred Grove.
His smile curled further.
Although Luiz’s reaction wasn’t quite what he had expected, it was still... entertaining, perhaps even better than what he would have elicited on his own, had Thaddeus not shown up.
He even felt an urge to chuckle.
’What will be, will be. I’m sorry it had to end ...
But this is what needs to be done.’