Reborn, Its Time To Save My Family And.. My Enemy!
Chapter 244: Burn Them!

Chapter 244: Burn Them!

The witch laughed sarcastically as she looked at Ristel as if he was a fool. Her voice was twisted with fury and pleasure.

"Oh, you poor, arrogant thing," she said, stepping forward through the circle of fire. "You speak of freedom and safety as if you could take them from me. You speak of killing my coven as if you even have the means."

Rhistel didn’t flinch, he held his sword steady, even as the ground trembled faintly beneath their feet.

"You do not have the power to stand against us," she said, her voice rising, her hands lifting as if drawing energy from the very flames around her. "Much less harm to us."

In the blink of an eye, she swept her hand in an arc, and the flames followed, whipping through the air like serpents of fire. They surged toward Rhistel, who barely managed to dive aside. The wave of heat singed his cloak and curled the edges of the grass beneath him to ash.

Behind him, his knights charged in with swords in their hands. They shout battle cries. But they never reached her.

The second witch raised her hand, with a single gesture, the wind howled and twisted into a sharp gale. It lifted the men off their feet and sent them crashing against the burning remains of a house. Their armor clanged like broken bells as they fell in twisted heaps.

"No swords, no steel, no oaths will save you today," the first witch said, advancing toward Rhistel. "This is our war now."

A third witch murmured something in a tongue no man should have spoken, and the ground cracked. Black vines, thorned and smoking, burst from the earth and wrapped around the legs of the remaining villagers who had come running, with tools of agriculture and pitches and forks anything to save their homes.

They screamed as the thorns pierced flesh, dragged them down, and held them against the burning earth.

Rhistel got to his feet, panting, rage boiling in his chest. "Stop this!" he roared, charging again. His blade caught one of the fire streams this time and split it, sending embers spinning into the air. For a moment, just a moment, the witch looked almost impressed.

But she only smiled. "You are brave, Rhistel. But you can not save all of them by yourself."

Her eyes glowed with flames dancing in them. She whispered something into her palm and blew it toward him like ash. The air around Rhistel twisted and shimmered and then slammed into him with the force of a battering ram. He was hurled backward, crashing into a trough that shattered on impact. Pain split through his back. He gasped for air.

The witch moved to stand over him, the fire dancing in her eyes.

"You think this is about Damon. About Olivia. About your manor," she said, almost gently. "It was never about them. It was about the balance you all broke. The old ways you shattered. You have taken our homes from us and burnt us for a long time. Now, we want you to feel the same pain of losing your house and young lives. I want all of you to feel helpless."

Her fingers flexed and fire coiled in her palm again.

"We will raze this land, and in its ashes, something older will rise. We are dones with the negotiation. We are here to end this."

More knights came riding with force, mounted on their horses and holding arrows and bows. They wanted to attack the witches from a distance. Rhistel wanted to warn them. He knew they could not fight witches with the help of a witch. Now he understands when Lilliana warned her. Last night he was lucky to have her by his side. Today, he was not.

The fourth witch extended her hand.

The ground between her and the new riders exploded, a great plume of earth and flame rising like a volcano. Horses screamed, men flew from their saddles, and when the smoke cleared, nothing remained but scorched earth.

Rhistel’s throat burned as he struggled to rise, fury and grief choking him. The witch crouched beside him.

"You wanted war," she whispered. "Now, drown in it. It will continue until you bring our legacy back to us!"

And with that, she vanished into flame, her sisters following, leaving the village behind them, not in ruin, but in torment, still burning, still falling, one home at a time. Rhistel slowly stood up and shouted for help.

"Bring more people we need to get rid of this fire first!" he commanded. The fallen knights slowly stood up and went for his help. But as if the fire had been called by the witches too.

The moment they left, the fire started to extinguish without the need of water. But it was already too late. Nothing was left there that could be called a home. The village had burnt completely except the ashes had remained. The land had turned into a clearing.

The knights looked horrified. They all had severe injuries. Half of the villagers had been burnt into the fire. What remained were too afraid to come out.

"We have told you, witches would kill us!" the rageful voice echoed in the dark. Rishel and the knights were finding the survivors and bringing them out from what was left of their houses. He stared at Evelyn who was standing in the center.

"I knew they would come and I have warned you to give the witches to us. But you did not listen." and then she looked at the villagers, "and you did not have the courage to stand against us. Now look at what your cowardice has done. Your false loyalty toward your lord had killed your family and burnt your time. This is the time... either you stand against Rhistel and his family or bear the wrath of the witches and see everything burning in front of your eyes." The villagers who had lost their land, their family and their house were full of rage burning in their chest.

They looked at Rhistel as if he was their enemy.

"Bring your wife and those witches, my lord or we will burn them with you."