Chapter 113: Flaming Skull
Ronald looked at his daughter with genuine fear forming in his eyes, a fear that overshadowed the pain of the sword that was now lodged deep into his shoulder.
"I’ll take Grandfather’s sword and head out to fight alongside those guards that you want to leave to die."
He froze when he heard that. "His sword is too dangerous. It can kill you. If you pick up the blade, you’ll never be able to lay it down.
My father held that sword all his life and could never set it down. You know what happened to him in the end. Lia, you cannot use that sword," he tried to sway her mind.
She frowned. "You should have been the one that picked up the sword. You refused to do that because of how much of a coward you are.
We needed you, and you cowardly allowed Mum, who is not of our bloodline, to pick up the sword. You knew what would happen when someone who does not share the blood of the last wielder picked up the blade. She fought off a demon with that blade and won, and then died because you were a coward.
I have waited for this moment all my life, watching and plotting, looking at you while you slowly lost all your power as the coward that you are, and now that chance has come, Father."
He looked into her eyes and realized that she was no longer the daughter that he knew. The memories of her playing with him when she was little filled his mind. He began to wonder where it had all gone wrong.
Suddenly, the memory of his wife standing with the sword in her hands and facing off the demon while he watched filled his mind. He recalled the eyes of Lia as she watched her body collapse to the ground a few seconds after defeating the demon.
"I failed," he muttered.
"Yes, you did, and you’ll pay for it." She grabbed him and pulled him off the wall. Pulling the sword from his shoulder, she shoved him out of the office.
They lived in a relatively small manor, so they got down the stairs fast and to a door that led to the basement, or what many thought would be there. Rather, it led to the large iron door that led to the safe vault where the sword was kept.
The door was large and many layers thick. She grabbed her father and slammed him into the corner of the door. His blood splattered onto the knob, and immediately the door began opening. It was loud and sounded like the grinding of engines.
The smell that came from inside was heavy and musky. She struggled to breathe for the first few seconds. She coughed a few times.
She looked inside the room. It was large and circular, the walls lined with large bricks and the floor made of stone. At the center of the room was a pedestal that held a sword.
She grabbed her father and dragged him into the room, chucking him to the side and then heading inside to see the sword.
She stared at it. A longsword made of black metal with green wisp-like movement happening on it, like something was alive and moving inside the sword. On the handle of the blade was a perfectly carved skull.
The memories of what happened when her mother carried the sword flashed through her mind. She recalled her pained scream when she first got the blade in her hands, the bulging veins, the flames in her eyes, her skin turning pale with every passing moment.
She recalled the pain, but she also recalled how powerful her mum became. She recalled how greatly she had fought that day.
"If I take this sword, I can never place it back. I can never go back to who I used to be," she told herself, making sure she knew that there was no going back ever.
"Mum, Grandfather, this is for you."
She grabbed the handle of the sword. Instantly, green flames lit in the eyes of the skull. Her mind was yanked out of her body as her head swung back and her eyes went black.
When she opened her eyes again, she was standing on a large rock pillar. Around her was a sea of green flames. The heat burned not just her but even her soul. All she could see was flames for as far as her eyes could see.
From the flames, a massive skull began to rise. She was a bug compared to the size of this skull. It had green flames burning in its eyes as it rose.
"Hahahahahahahaha."
He laughed in a deep, reverberating voice while it rose from the flames. The sound caused the pillar to tremble. She did her best to ensure that she did not fall off while keeping her eyes on the skull.
The skull looked at her and, without warning, unleashed a breath of green flames at her. It moved like a sea that she could not escape. She covered herself to try and resist, but the flames took her, and she was gone in an instant.
Her eyes opened back in the vault. The black pupils were no longer blank. A green pupil formed at the center of her black eyes, and her skin had turned ghostly pale.
She looked at the sword in her hand, knowing that the sword had accepted her.
Her father, who was watching, also knew this. He watched in horror.
She turned around from the pedestal. Her entire demeanor had changed into a colder one than the one that she had before.
She walked to the door of the vault and then looked at her father.
"This is where you will stay until the crisis is over. Make sure you prepare for the trial. I will push for the death penalty. You do not deserve to live after allowing Mother to die."
After she said that, she left, and the door shut behind her, only being capable of opening from the outside.