The Girl With The Crimson Eyes

32: A Demon's Fate

Ronner

A rain of glowing rocks and embers turned the sky into hell, spreading chaos throughout the night. The earth still shook under Ronner's knees. He held Brisa tightly between his arms while burning debris hit his back. His shirt had vanished under the intense heat, and red marks spread across his skin.

Ronner whipped the ground with a powerful lightning strike, opening a path among the flames, and carried Brisa away from the hell surrounding them. He eased her over a soft pile of dirt and debris and scanned her body in search of wounds. "Brisa, are you hurt?" he asked, caressing her cheek and removing ashes from her skin.

Brisa squinted at him, fear and fires flickering in her eyes. "I am okay . . . what happened?" she murmured, clearly stunned, and leaned both hands on her abdomen.

"Don't worry about it," Ronner replied as he whirled to face the source of such chaos. The front of the mansion was gone. It had crumbled like a sandcastle, leaving flaming ruins behind. Fires devoured every corner, and half of his men were dead, crushed by rocks and burning trees.

One of Balrok's men lay lifeless on the ground while the younger one crawled away. Ronner lifted his hand and shot a lightning bolt at the kid's head, blowing up his brain.

"Sir!" Belo called, running toward him. His clothes were ragged, but he seemed to be in good shape. "Are you okay?"

"Don't ask stupid shit! Who is behind all this?" Ronner roared, standing up, pushing Brisa behind him to shield her.

"We couldn't locate the source yet, but it must be nearby." Belo swallowed, sweat rolling down his forehead. "That attack, though . . . It had to be a Deflagrating Missile."

"Fucking cowards!" Ronner glared at the torn facade of the mansion bitterly. Scanning the disaster, he noticed Sagan hiding behind a mountain of debris. Ronner felt slightly relieved to see his valuable pet alive.

Belo opened his mouth to ask something, but a loud explosion forced him to turn his head. The mansion's gates glowed in intense orange before exploding into a thousand pieces of molten iron. On the other side, a large group of armed soldiers awaited to break in. Belo grabbed his only weapon from his waist, a plasma pistol.

"Don't," Ronner said, grabbing his arm. "I'll take care of this myself." His eyes overflowed with hatred and bloodlust while a smirk drew across his face. "You take my girl to safety now. Protect her with your life until I get back to you. Understood?"

Belo nodded and darted to Brisa's side. "What's going on, Ronner? Tell me!" Brisa shouted, her voice trembling, but Ronner never looked back at her. Without a single word, Belo rushed to pick her up and sprinted toward the back of the mansion. Sagan staggered out of his hiding spot and followed them.

"Guys!" Ronner yelled at his remaining men, who formed a barrier between him and the intruders. They all raised their weapons. "I don't need you here! Go with Belo and assist him with everything he needs. Leave the rest to me. Go!"

"Yes, sir!" His men shouted in unison and did as he ordered. They all abandoned the battlefield while a furious horde of soldiers stomped into the mansion's territory, yelling and cursing, with their weapons aimed at every living thing in sight.

Silence.

The first gunshot rumbled, and the first soldier fell to the ground, both eyes cooked and a hole in the head. His plasma bullets exploded before reaching their target into a scarlet fireball.

A flash of lightning blinded the front lines as Ronner jumped over them, propelled by his own energy. They aimed their weapons at him, but Ronner was faster; multiple bolts of lightning shot from his fingers, hissing as they searched for their victims.