CHAPTER 336: WHEN BLOOD TURNS AGAINST BLOOD [7]

"FLORENCE!" Brandon’s yell ripped from his throat and time seemed to slow as he surged forward, ether discs flaring beneath his feet to propel him across the distance in a blur.

His arms outstretched, he caught her just as she collapsed, her limp body falling into his embrace with a soft thud.

He cradled her against his chest, one hand pressing desperately over the gaping wound and green light spiraled from his hand in a frantic attempt to staunch the flow of blood.

"No, no, no- stay with me!"

Blood soaked through his fingers, pooling on the ground beneath them.

But no matter how he tried, he couldn’t heal the wound because the skill he copied from Dhayun is self-heal.

Florence’s head lolled against his shoulder, her breaths coming in shallow, ragged gasps.

Her hand weakly grasped at his chest with trembling fingers as she tried to speak, but only a faint gurgle emerged.

Brandon’s eyes darted as he tried to take a healing vial from his storage ring but when he looked at his hand, there was no storage ring because his hand was cut off by Kiera at the start of the fight and what he now has is a regenerated hand.

"No, No.. Florence."

His voice cracked in panic as he patted her cheek gently, trying to rouse her.

"Stay with me, come on!" Her head dangled against his shoulder, her skin growing colder by the second.

He pressed harder against the wound and his silver fire flared from his palm in a futile attempt to seal it, but the blood kept flowing, soaking his hands.

"Florence..." he whispered as he tapped her cheek again.

Tears welled in his eyes, blurring her face.

Her eyes, once so vibrant with warmth and affection, stared blankly upward and her chest stilled, her final breath escaping in a faint, shuddering sigh.

"F-Florence?" Brandon’s voice trembled as he shook her gently.

He clutched her tighter, his hands hugging her firmly to his chest and his heart tightened in unimaginable pain.

His tears spilled over, cutting tracks through the blood and grime on his face.

A faint crunch of footsteps broke through the broken debris, pulling his gaze upward.

Through the swirling smoke and flickering flames, a figure emerged from the rubble.

Henriette stopped a few paces away, her gaze dropping to Florence’s lifeless body in Brandon’s arms "An ungrateful daughter like her is as good as dead."

Brandon’s blood ran cold as he glanced at Henriette in rage "What... did you say?"

Across the courtyard, Kiera staggered to her feet and her eyes widened in horror as she looked at Florence "M-Mother?"

Ignoring her own wounds, cracked ribs, and bloodied limbs, she stumbled forward, rushing to Brandon’s side.

Her breath hitched as she dropped to her knees beside him, her shaking hands hovering over Florence’s still body.

Kiera’s eyes quivered, tears welling as she took in the sight of her Mother who is gone forever.

"G-Grandmother..."

She looked up at Henriette, her eyes burning with questions "Why... why did you do this?"

Her hands clenched into fists, crystalline shards forming and dissolving around them as her emotions warred between grief and rage "She was your blood! My Mother!"

Henriette’s expression didn’t waver, "Blood means nothing when it betrays the family’s purpose."

"Florence was weak, swayed by sentiment and rebellion. She would have dragged us all into ruin with her foolish ideals. Her death is a cleansing... a necessary sacrifice."

Brandon’s vision blurred with tears and fury, his grip tightening on Florence’s body as Henriette’s words seared into him.

"Sacrifice?" he muttered, laying Florence gently against the rubble before slowly standing up.

SWOOSH! Crimson chains burst from the ground, coiling around his arms and the air around him warped with the intensity of his ether.

Kiera, still kneeling beside Florence, trembled with a mix of sorrow and rage.

She reached out, brushing a blood-matted strand of hair from her mother’s face, her fingers lingering on Florence’s cold cheek.

Crystalline ether surged around her and jagged spires rose from the ground like a forest of blades, "You are a... monster who is obsessed with power."

"I put up with you all these years just for my mother and Eira... but no more."

Henriette raised an eyebrow, unfazed by their anger "Monsters survive, child. And I intend to see our legacy endure, no matter the cost."

"You are the rightful heir to my thron-"

THRISSH!

Suddenly the crystalline spires riled up, but with a flick of Henriette’s wrist, the air shimmered, and a wave of violet energy rippled outward, shattering Kiera’s spires into glittering dust.

The force knocked Kiera back, her body skidding across the rubble as she coughed, clutching her side.

"Don’t try to rebel against me, girl... Don’t be your mother."

Brandon charged and the chains lashed out, each one crackling with silver fire.

He gritted his teeth in rage as he looked at Henriette with bloodhot eyes "I will fucking kill you!"

SHING!

The chains sliced through the air, aiming for Henriette’s chest, but she raised her hand, deflecting them with a barrier of violet ether.

With a flick of her wrist, runes appeared beside her that unleashed a torrent of blue ether spears -FEEN! FEEN!- streaking toward Brandon in a deadly spiral.

Brandon reacted instantly and the chains whipped through the air, coiling around the projectiles and crushing them in bursts of silver fire.

BOOM! BOOM!

But one spear slipped through, grazing his shoulder and tearing a bloody gash.

He grunted and charged forward "I will... kill you." as he swung a flaming punch at Henriette’s head.

She sidestepped with eerie grace and her runes flared to redirect his momentum.

The ground beneath him buckled as a rune array materialized, unleashing a blast of violet energy that sent him skidding backward.

THOOM!

Kiera leapt into the fray as her crystalline gauntlets extended into razor-sharp claws.

*sleesh* She slashed at Henriette’s flank but a rune shield appeared into place, deflecting the blow with a spark of blue light.

Henriette countered, slamming her foot into the ground, and a shockwave of violet ether erupted, knocking Kiera off her feet.

She hit the rubble hard and rolled over, coughing blood.

"I will.. kill you..." Brandon recovered and quickly wrapped the chains around Henriette’s hand.

He yanked hard, pulling her off balance, and closed the distance in a blur.

His fist, wreathed in silver fire, crashed into her jaw -CRACK!- and the impact echoed like a thunderclap.

"Grah-" Henriette’s head snapped to the side, blood spraying from her lip, but she retaliated with a point-blank rune blast from her palm *FWOOM!* that slammed into Brandon’s chest, sending him crashing through a collapsed pillar.

BOOOOM! Dust and debris exploded upward, obscuring him momentarily.