Parasitic Heart: I Accidentally Picked The Rune Of Calamity

14

The giant Raptor raised its claw, ready to deliver another terrifying attack. A strong scent of blood was lingering around its body. 

Vritra was completely helpless in this situation. Yet he was still calm, as he looked at the terrifying creature.

' After all according to the visions, this shouldn't be where I die. I remember seeing myself walking inside this inheritance in one of those visions. '

GROWL

In the next instant, the deadly hand descended upon the two boys, threatening to tear their bodies to shreds. 

...

Sana, who was completely overtaken by dread, had started to run after seeing Linda die such a gruesome death. 

Only after she had travelled over a dozen meters did she come back to her senses. She was sweating all over, her eyes filled with tears which made it a little difficult for her to see. 

She looked around and couldn't see Vritra. Her heart was beating like war drums and her breathing burned her throat. 

Slowing down a little, she glanced back towards the fire and her body froze as she saw the horrifying Raptor raising its hand to kill Vritra. 

" N- No V- Vritraaa sob Noooooooo " she screamed, her heart feeling a strange pain that even made her forget about the danger of the beast for a moment. 

She turned around and ran towards him, but was just too far away. The realisation that she wouldn't be able to save him hurt her while she was left with the regret of leaving him behind in danger. 

As the Slug Winged Raptor's hand descended, she couldn't watch the boy she loved die a death as gruesome as that little girl. While screaming, she instinctively closed her eyes. 

BOOM

The explosive sound made her knees weak as she fell to the ground, unable to hold back her tears. She felt like it was her chest that had been pierced. 

While sobbing, she opened her eyes and looked towards the beast, her gaze filled with anger, sadness, despair, helplessness, panic, and denial.

...

Vritra watched the beast's attack coming closer to him, but aside from watching his death approach, he couldn't do anything. 

Just as the hand had travelled halfway down, he felt a pulling force from behind. 

BOOM

The claws of the giant beast struck the place where Vritra and Jackal were present a moment before, breaking the stone into pieces. 

The two of them had escaped death by mere inches. 

" Come to your senses, r-run." Azhar screamed his lungs out after pulling the two boys from their collars. 

He was trembling himself, but if he hadn't acted, then they would have already died.

Vritra's body jerked, and he finally came back to his senses; he was once again in control of his body. 

The beast wasn't enraged after its attack had missed; instead, the cold grin on its face widened, loving the useless struggle they were putting up. 

Azhar threw the unconscious Jackal onto his shoulder and was ready to run with all his might when a low voice pulled their attention. 

" Behemith Radix Rune "

Several explosive sounds resounded in the forest as a massive root burst forth from the ground and moved towards the raptor at an incredible speed. 

It looked like a large living serpent. 

The root moved in a zig-zag pattern, erratically darting in and out of the earth. 

It tore through the soil with ease, leaving behind a trail of battered ground and broken rocks. 

The air was filled with the sound of scraping, grinding, and explosions. 

Instantly, it appeared in front of the shocked beast and without giving it any time to react, the large root struck the beast's chest, creating a big hole. 

The slug-winged raptor's lower body remained standing while its belly and chest were both destroyed by the gigantic greenish-brown root, which extended for several hundred meters in an instant. 

THUD

The upper part, consisting of the neck and head of the raptor, fell down, along with both its arms. 

The beast had died in just a matter of seconds; it didn't even had the time to react; a terrified and regretful look was all that remained on its bloodied face. 

Everyone stared at the giant root with wide eyes. It was so thick that even two people would be barely able to wrap their arms around it. 

Finally, it came to a stop. 

The scattered group of teenagers collectively looked towards the other side. 

Dax, the leader of the group of rune masters, stood there with his right arm raised. 

Certain green lines on his arms released a faint glow, making the tattoos look magical. 

Then the tattoos returned to normal, and he brought his hand down. Dax looked towards the beast with an apathetic gaze. It was just too weak for him. 

The rest of the members were still busy chatting and eating. They didn't pay it any attention. 

" Is everyone alright? " Dax asked, gazing over the nine people. His gaze lingered on Linda's corpse only for a moment. He didn't feel anything from it. 

All the attendants were filled with countless emotions. The fear was still making their bodies shiver. After seeing the giant root, they couldn't look straight at Dax.

" W-We are fine, thank you, " Azhar placed Jackal's body down and bowed towards Dax.

Without saying anything, Dax walked away. He wouldn't care if any of them died since he just needed at least one of them to be alive.

Otherwise the Monethian Sanctum would use the useless lives of these attendants as an excuse to pressure them. 

That's also one of the reason why Sanctum sent these weak bunch.

Even though he felt angry towards these rune masters, Linda could have survived if they had acted a little sooner, but Azhar couldn't say anything. 

Now that the beast had died, the bodies of all the teenagers gave out as they all fell to their knees, panting heavily and crying. 

Azhar walked closer to Vritra, extending his hand. He asked, " Are you okay? "

Taking in a deep breath, Vritra tried to calm his wildly beating heart. Then he took Azhar's hand and stood up. 

" Thank you, " Vritra spoke, and only then realised it was exactly the scene he had seen in that vision. While the darkness was because the fire had gone out due to the giant root. 

" L- Linda died... ause of me, sob sob s- she died because of me. I- I was sob sob sitting there and w- we changed seats sob sob it's all my fault. " 

Sana's sobbing voice rang out. She was on her knees and crying loudly. 

Frowns appeared on the faces of the rest as they remembered Linda. That little girl was killed so brutally by that beast. None of them could even look at her body as few of them even began to vomit.

Their hearts ached as they remembered the face of the little girl who had made them all laugh during the long journey. It was her sweet smile that always kept the mood light. 

' So those tattoos are related to runes. I wonder what meaning each line and curve holds. ' Vritra was deep in thought as he looked towards the group of the rune masters. 

" Go, console her. " Azhar patted Vritra's shoulder and pointed towards Sana. 

"..." Vritra looked at him for a moment. The others had also noticed how Sana always gazed at him so everyone was already aware of her feelings, though Vritra's heart was as calm as it could be.

Sana kept crying. Her beautiful face was filled with tears and her eyes were red. 

Her heart was breaking as she recalled the cruel scene. She would never be able to forget the look on Linda's face before life had disappeared from her eyes. 

Vritra looked towards the rune masters and saw that they looked annoyed by the constant sound of her cries. It might attract more beasts, so he walked towards her.

All the members had started walking back towards the centre, while maintaining some distance from Linda's and Raptor's corpses.

" It was not your fault, so don't blame yourself. We are all just too weak. " Vritra spoke, as his steps halted in front of Sana. 

She recognised his voice and looked up at his face, but couldn't stop herself from crying. 

" It wouldn't be good if another beast arrives here. You need to calm down. " Vritra extended his arms. He had experience with women and knew how to act in different situations.

"..." After staring at his hand for a few seconds, Sana finally took a hold of his palm. Then he pulled her up. 

" You are not responsible for her death, " Vritra spoke again, glancing at the large root that had grown out of nowhere.

This kind of power, he could only imagine the incredible wonders that awaited him in this new life. 

Sana heard his words; they felt warm and soothing. 

As if losing the strength in her legs, she stumbled forward and leaned against Vritra, who was brought out of his thoughts as he felt her weight. 

She clenched his clothes and buried her face into his chest, then began to cry her heart out.