The Awakened Arcane Legacy

Escaping

“Wake up and leave… The demons are here… Take the chosen one out of here. My sister and I will stall for time…”

Stella immediately sat down on the bed which she was lying. She couldn’t believe that she had finally given birth to her son. She stared at him and tears of joy streamed down her cheeks.

“No time for explanations, leave now. I guess you’re in the A-rank class?”

“How do…” Stella couldn’t complete her statement as they immediately handed her baby to her arms.

“Yes, I am,” she was completely shocked again.

“That means you’re capable of moving. I guess most of your injuries have healed. There is an underground basement, follow there and take the path that leads to the teleportation array. But it’s quite far, keep following that path to get to the array.” One of the other lady explained to her as she went and opened the floorboard that would lead to the basement.

“What about you guys? Aren’t you coming with me?” Stella asked, staring at them with a sad expression.

“Don’t worry about us, we are not that weak. You could say we are S-Class Rankers too.” One of them responsed

Stella was quite surprised in a world where S-Class Rankers were hard to see. Here she is already meeting two in an outskirts town.

“Thank you!” Stella replied, not knowing how to express her gratitude.

Stella didn’t quite understand that people she had just met today would risk their lives for her and the baby.

“Go now, no more wasting time…” the midwife cautioned Stella

Stella left immediately, opening the floorboards with one hand wrapped around her quietly sleeping baby. She used her other hand to open the basement door and went in immediately.

The once calm city was now filled with chaos, as fire raged on the rooftops of some buildings and demons invaded houses, slaughtering lives in their search of the chosen one.

The streets, which were once illuminated with beautiful streetlights that created a warm and cozy night for the dwellers, were now a remnants of their past.

It was a brutal scene; they never expected their peaceful lives to come to such an abrupt and violent end.

“Where has the pregnant woman gone?” the demon growled at a man, who appeared to be in his forties, flinging him to the floor and menacingly extending his hands, shrouded in a dark mist, to threaten the life of his nearby son.

“I didn’t… see any pregnant woman? Please… don’t… kill my son,” the man pleaded, his hands clasped together as he begged for his son’s life.

“Too bad! Your answer was not what I needed to hear…” Immediately after uttering those words, the dark mist swiftly lashed out from the demon’s hands and wiped out the little kid, who was no older than 10 years old.

All that remained of the little kid was a pile of ashes.

“No!... My son… No!” the resident wailed as he collapsed to where the ashes of his son lay. He couldn’t believe it. He never dreamed this would happen.

His wife lay nearby, tears streaming down her cheeks as she stared in horror at the ashes that was once their beloved child.

“That was only a warning… if you don’t talk…” The demon winked at the man’s wife as he twisted his gaze and grinned menacingly towards the man’s wife sending a signal which finished his statement.

The man had a shaky breath, glancing between his sobbing wife and the demon’s icy stare.

“Ple..ase, I saw a pregnant woman staggering towards the midwife’s house. She looked exhausted,” he choked out.

He finally caved and pointed towards the midwife’s house. He initially kept the information to himself, thinking they wouldn’t do anything at first. But after what they just did to his only so told him otherwise.

As the demon left, the man pulled his wife into a tight embrace. But no words of comfort came.

The demon, now in charge as the second in command, owed his position to Aric’s self-destruction technique. The fate of their master, whether alive or dead, remained unknown.

With a mocking laugh, the second in command turned and glanced at the grieving couples shedding tears for their deceased son. He confidently stated as he turned back to stare at them

“Did I ever mention that I’m letting you guys go? No… we demons don’t release hostages…” As he finished speaking, he unleashed a dark mist that engulfed both of them, reducing them to ashes.

“For ruining my mood today,” he added, relishing in their demise.

“Boys! Gather every resident in this town, and make sure that woman is captured at all costs,” he commanded, springing off towards the direction indicated by the deceased man.

The second in command was now close a to the midwifes house.

Now Sensing movement in the midwife’s home, the demon stealthily approached, his hand crackling with dark energy. Suddenly, a blinding flash of light erupted from within, followed by a thunderous boom that shook the ground.

As they were about to enter the door, a surge of golden-like energy blasted the steel door away from its hinges, sending it flying miles away. The radiant golden light illuminated the once-dark surroundings.

The residents stood astonished, realizing that they had formidable individuals among them. In a town filled with F-Rankers, which typically meant everyone was quite powerless, they now sensed the radiant aura emanating from the woman and could discern that she was an S-Ranker.

“Are we going to stand here all day, or are we going to fight?” she bluntly exclaimed, surprising everyone.

“Sister! We won’t let these bastards roam freely. We’ll show them the consequences of messing with our town,” her sister declared.

The two sisters were battle-hardened veterans from the conflict in the beyond. The demons had nearly overrun major cities worldwide, but they reached a stalemate at a specific location known as the beyond. The sisters had participated in the brutal war, making them formidable warriors. However, they had retired, they didn’t any form of the bloodshed, which led them to settle in an F-Class Ranking town.

The demons, who were wreaking havoc, noticed the women preparing to fight. They abandoned their activities and gathered around them. Every demon present was an S-Class Ranker, which would make the battle challenging for the women. While they might be able to hold them off long enough for Aric’s wife to escape, the ultimate outcome would likely result in the annihilation of the entire town.

“Bring it on, bastards…” she trailed off, ready to face the impending battle.

Meanwhile, Aric’s wife, Stella witnessed the once beautiful city now engulfed in flames. Stella traversed through another forest, making her way towards the safe zone with her baby.

“Aric! Why did you have to leave me in this treacherous world… May God rest his soul and the souls of all those who lost their lives,” Stella wept as she closed her eyes. The pursuit of her son’s life had caused countless others to perish.

Her sole remaining hope was to survive for her son. Stella looked down at her baby, his brilliant red eyes staring back at her, wrapped in a white blanket. His small round head, delicate nose resembling his father’s, and pink lips inherited from her.

Stella retrieved a black medallion hanging from her neck. The medallion, adorned with a thick chain, held a large round piece of metal with her name engraved on it: “Stella”

Clutching the medallion tightly, she felt a surge of energy emanating from her hands, accompanied by a glowing light in her eyes. “By the Orders of the Divine Sentinels, I name you… Talon!” she let out the Shants.

As she spoke the words, the glowing energy in her hands and eyes gradually subsided. Talon was the name that Aric and she had always dreamed of giving their baby. Since her husband’s passing, she took it upon herself to name their child. Stella, being a skilled Artificer, had crafted the medallion, now inscribed with the bold name “Talon.”

She fastened the medallion around her baby, ensuring that if she were to fall, someone would see his name.

“Well….Well! We’ve finally found the lost sheep!” a voice echoed from behind, belonging to the assistant demon leader and accompanied by other S- Class Ranking demons.