Chapter 07 The Thing that Crawled out of the Scorching Abyss of the Demon Plains

 The screams were closer now. The smell of burning wood and blood clung to the air, choking him as he passed shattered carts and crumpled bodies—some of them monsters, some not.

Something skittered in the alley ahead. He didn’t even blink.

“Fire Bolt!”

The fireball tore from his hand, a concentrated bolt of heat that slammed into the crouching goblin. It shrieked, bursting into flame before it could call out a warning.

Rein didn’t stop to look. Another dashed from the shadows. It lunged.

Steel met flesh. The weight of his swing cut clean, sending the creature tumbling in two messy halves. 

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He broke into the village square—what was left of it. Homes were half-collapsed, charred. Fires licked through rooftops. And in the center, ringed by broken barrels and hastily placed barricades, was the last stand.

A worn-out circle of guards, a handful of villagers still able to fight… and in the center of them, Elenora and Cael.

His mother stood tall despite the blood on her temple, her wand raised high, weaving a protective barrier around the wounded. His father was at the front, sword arm slick with blood, blade swiping as another monster fell at his feet.

“Dad! What's going on?! I come to help!” 

Cael’s eyes snapped to him.

“Rein?! No—go back! It’s not safe here!”

Rein charged forward instead, slicing down a wild hound that came too close. His mother caught sight of him and gasped.

“Rein, sweetheart—run! We can't hold them down! It's too many of them! Go! To the shelter!”

“Mom, Dad! I’m not leaving you! I can help! I can fight!” 

Another roar cut through the air. From the alley behind Rein, a larger beast emerged—Its body was long and sleek, like a panther—except armored in black chitin. Eight eyes burned across its skull, glowing dull violet. Smoke poured from vents between its plated ribs, and its long tail ended in a stinger that still dripped with black venom. Creature born from miasma-soaked mana pits in the deepest demon lands. Fast. Lethal. Intelligent.

Elenora shouted, “Rein! Watch out! It's Chimera wraith!”

But he didn’t move.

He thrust both hands forward, mana ripping from his core.

“Pyros Vectra!”

A firebolt launched from his palms—but midway through the air, it fractured, splitting into a dozen burning shards. Then they split again, making impossible for the creature to dodge the attack. Dozens of fire bolts rained from the sky like a small meteor storm, bombarding the monster.

When the dust cleared, the Chimera wraith was a smoking pile of shattered armor and charred flesh, split open and motionless.

Rein’s arms dropped to his sides, breathing heavy.

Elenora stared, one hand still clutching her wand.

“…you practiced that spell?”

“Y-yeah… managed to pull off Just this week. Lucky, huh?”

But there was no time to be impressed, another wave was coming. Creatures screeching down the road, claws clattering on the stone.

Rein stepped forward.

“Mom, I can fight.”

“No—”

He turned toward the approaching monsters. Mana surged in his chest, burning through his arms.

He thrust his palm out again. 

"Ignis Lance!"

A spear of fire rocketed forward, exploding in the center of the horde. Bodies flew, the road lit up like day. The shockwave forced the front line to falter—and for a moment, just a moment, there was stillness.

Elenora stared at him, lips parted.

“You’ve… grown so strong,” she whispered.

He didn’t smile. Couldn’t. It took more mana out of him that he thought.

Cael rushed back into the circle, blood on his brow, breathing hard. He clapped a hand on Rein’s shoulder, pride and pain in his eyes.

“You’ve got your mother’s fire, my boy! And my recklessness.”

Another roar shook the air—deeper this time.

From behind the scattered survivors of Rein’s spell, something massive approached. It made the others seem like insects. The flames seemed to part for it as it lumbered forward.

A towering colossus, reptilian in shape, with obsidian-black scales that looked carved from volcanic glass. Between each armored plate, glowing veins of magma pulsed like blood. Smoke curled from its nostrils. Its arms were thick and long, with claws that looked like they could split stone. Two backward-curving horns framed its skeletal head like a crown.

It stopped. Looked at them. And let out a roar that rattled the sky.

The force of it sent cinders flying and knocked Rein to one knee. Cael’s sword arm lowered slowly. His face had gone pale.

“Oh, by the gods… It’s… Maulgor Colossus.”

“Dad! What the hell is that thing!?”

“That’s not just some monster… That thing crawled out of the Scorching Abyss of the demon plains! Even high-ranking knights wouldn’t face it without an elite force. It wiped out a city once. One of the old ones.”

Elenora’s grip on her wand tightened, but her eyes flickered toward her son.

 “Cael! We have to get Rein out of here. There is no time, before that thing attacks!”

Elenora turned to Rein, panic rising behind her eyes.

 “You have to go. Rein—listen to me. We’ll cover your retreat. You can’t fight that. It’ll—”

“No.” 

He turned to face them, fists clenched tight at his sides, his magic still simmering from the last attack. 

“If I run, this place dies. It won’t stop with us. It’ll burn the entire village, the forests, the people hiding inside their homes.”

Elenora stepped toward him, “Rein—”

“I know what you want. I get it. But you raised me better than that. I won’t stand by. I won’t leave you or anyone else to die while I run off with a coward’s conscience.”

“That's my boy!” Cael said, stepping forward, “You damn right we don’t run. Not while the others are still trapped behind us.”

“Cael! Not you too—!”

“I’m not saying I’ll be reckless, Mom. But I’m not five anymore. You’ve seen what I can do. You trained me. Let me fight—for real.”

“Damn it, boy. You sound just like me when I was your age.”