Kreeeeek
It had been more than three years since Tessa last held a bow and arrow.
And now, she had to aim at a being hovering two hundred feet above the ground.
She clicked her tongue in frustration. This wasn’t about whether she wanted to do it.
It was about survival—hers and her family’s. She had no choice.
"I’m going to raise the shield, but it won’t hold for long. Do it quickly," William said, preparing to protect her from the acid rain.
"Do it right. I don’t want a scar on my face," the lady warned. The rain was lting tal easily, her skin was like butter, it would hiss and lt instantly.
She then turned towards Ruby who knelt there, tuning a few arrows for her. It didn’t take her more than a few seconds before she got up.
"All set," Ruby said with a nod. "We just need to disrupt him."
"I understand," the lady nodded, gripping the bow.
"Go for it!" Reid shouted, his voice echoing through the house.
From every corner of the manor, the servants sprang into action, smashing smoke bombs onto the ground.
BOOOOOM!
Black smoke erupted instantly, spreading around the house like a dark cloud fallen from the sky, covering everything in shadow.
"Hmm?" The Acolyte, hovering high above, frowned as darkness swallowed the house.
"What...what is this—ah!" His gasp was cut short as sothing shot through the thick smoke, aid straight at him.
"Nice shot!" William patted his sister’s back softly. Tessa growled in response, her nerves on edge.
Thanks to her elental affinity, Ruby’s eyes had adapted to see through the dark. She could track the arrow’s path with perfect clarity.
It was heading straight for the Acolyte.
The speed-enhancing rune gave him no ti to dodge. Every heartbeat felt stretched, every second heavy with tension.
But—
CLANG!
The arrow bounced off an invisible barrier surrounding him.
"Gyahahahahah!" The Acolyte’s laughter cut through the smoke. "Foolish weaklings! Did you think I’d co unprotected?"
Ruby’s teeth clenched. Her father’s question echoed in her mind: It failed?
"Yes...he has a barrier."
"Nooo! Are we dood?!" Tessa’s husband shouted, panic making the children flinch. Fear began to crawl through the room like a living thing.
Ruby’s mind raced. A plan ford.
"Uncle Will!" she called. William stepped forward, alert and ready.
She whispered the plan, and his and Tessa’s eyes widened as the latter asked. "Are you insane?"
Ruby only grinned. "No...just furious."
She didn’t wait for anyone else’s approval. Trusting in her uncle’s strength, she stepped outside.
"Big sis!" Damien called, his voice carrying both fear and hope.
As Ruby turned, a sheathed dagger flew toward her. She caught it with ease, gave a firm nod, and prepared herself.
This had to work.
....
The Acolyte crossed his arms, yet his spell never faltered.
Burning the house was his duty. The soldiers were already dealt with, and if he could take down a few core mbers of the family, his promotion was all but guaranteed.
Then, through the swirling black smoke, he noticed sothing moving—a round, comparatively slower object pushing its way toward him.
"Hmm?" he muttered, sensing sothing off. But before he could react, another projectile shot upward into the sky.
This ti, he wasn’t the target.
The arrow struck the orb mid-air.
BOOOOOOM!
The explosion tore through the smoke, spreading darkness like molten lava.
"Ah!" The Acolyte flailed as vision and sense were swallowed by blackness.
"What...what are they trying to do?!" His poison would protect him from any toxins in the smoke, yet unease crawled through him.
He was far too confident. The smoke, the orb—they weren’t the real attack. They were a distraction.
"Hello, there."
The voice made him flinch. Sothing landed on his shoulder.
"Wha—shit!" A blade sliced through his barrier, aiming straight for his neck.
In a mont of panic, he grabbed for the intruder, wrapping his hand around the woman’s wrist.
And in that desperate, clumsy grab...he made his fatal mistake.
Ruby grinned as the Acolyte’s hand closed around her wrist.
Her dagger never actually pierced the barrier—it was an illusion, a trick.
Then ca the mont of truth.
SQUELCH
She yanked free and drove the blade straight through his hand.
"Gyaaaahhhh!" The Acolyte’s scream tore across the skies, raw and unrestrained. Pain ripped through him like fire.
In that instant, his concentration shattered. The spells he had so ticulously maintained spiraled out of control. The acid rain faltered and died mid-air. His protective barrier crumbled.
Ruby licked her lips, eyes glinting with fury.
"Ah...now we’re getting sowhere. You think pain can be asured with tears? No, you’ll bleed for every life you’ve taken."
STAB
This ti she drove the blade into his collarbone, twisting with rciless precision. The scream that tore from him was sothing inhuman—raw agony, bone-deep terror.
The sound echoed through the manor. Every Vermillion family mber could hear it. Every fiber of their eldest daughter’s brutality was laid bare, and it was worse than anyone could have imagined.
The children were locked safely in the inner room, but the screams seeped through every crack, chilling their hearts. Damien held his mother tightly, trembling but trying to keep her steady.
anwhile, Reid’s grin stretched ear to ear, pride flashing in his eyes.
From the sky, sothing plumted toward the ground.
"WILL!" Reid shouted. The blond man stepped forward, swirling his staff in a wide arc.
A small whirlwind ford, slowing the fall just enough.
THUD
Despite the effort, the two figures hit the ground with a heavy, dull thud.
Reid and William rushed forward. There, sitting atop one lifeless body, was Ruby—blood soaked her clothes, and not a drop of it hers.
Wiping her face with the back of her hand, she said casually, "Now that we’ve taken care of him, let’s move on to the main course."
Reid’s gaze hardened as he looked past Ruby. Through the crumbling barrier, several figures erged.
Acolytes, clad in red shrouds—but it wasn’t them that made Reid tense. It was what they were dragging behind them.
They looked human, at first glance. But their bodies betrayed them: red veins snaking across pale, taut skin, muscles twitching unnaturally. If not for the heavy chains restraining them, they would have lunged at anyone nearby, tearing and biting with raw, animalistic fury.
The one in the center grinned, a horrifying sight.
"Patriarch Vermillion," he hissed, voice dripping venom, "you have tornted us for far too long."
With a dramatic flourish, he released the chains.
"Now...it’s ti to pay for your sins!"
°°°°°°°°°
A/N:- Thanks for reading. Ruby is like having her protagonist monts.
Please leave a comnt since it motivates .
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