Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Walking around with his trident, it looked as if he was taking a simple stroll. But the demon soldiers around him ran around killing anyone that was barely even breathing. The group of chained demons all just stood there in shock at it all. 

"Those explosions... Were they caused by those things in the crates?" 

"What have we done? How can we face our children knowing what we've just committed?"

"They're dead. They're all dead."

Some fell to their knees, unable to handle all of what they witnessed. Any semblance of life here was burnt to ash, destroyed by an explosion strong enough to level cities. It was a horrific scene made worse by the screams of dying men. 

The demon soldiers reveled in it while Hai Zhu acted as if nothing was wrong. He just scanned the area for any survivors anyone that was still alive. Those that still breathed were met with a swift end by his trident. But the Tide King didn't enjoy this one-sided victory at all, he only looked further into the land, towards where Guardian's Keep was. He wasn't going to leave so quickly, he was going to capitalize on this momentum. 

"Finish up here. Then we move further in. I will not be satisfied until we take full control of the lake!"

He shouted, raising his trident high. His men all yelled out in excitement whilst the chained prisoners looked in horror.

"You aren't finished yet? You've won. Everyone here is dead, everything is destroyed. Aren't you satisfied?" 

He turned back to them, giving them all a look with his fish-like eyes. 

"No, I'm not satisfied. I will continue this until every human learns of this incident. Until my name is like a flash of lightning, I want them to quake when my name is mentioned. Even after I am dead, I will get the recognition I deserve. I am not some lowly demon, I am the Tide King and you are useless to me now."

Without hesitation, he pierced the demon in front of him and went on to slaughter every one of his prisoners. 

"No, please! Don't do this!"

"Run! Everyone run! Back to the waters!"

They tried to escape but with their shackles, they could only struggle to the end. Hai Zhu was quick, killing each one of them with a single strike. None of them could fight back, they were scared and shaken. Their minds were weak and their will was frail. Perhaps they could've overpowered him together but none of them were of a sound mind. 

It wasn't long before there was only one left, surrounded by his dead kin. It was the father of those two children, the Varuna clan head, himself. 

And tears were running down his face. 

"Then... our children? What will become of them?"

He asked weakly, a defeated tone in his voice. 

The Tide King looked at him. 

"The same fate as you, death. Or perhaps, I shall raise them as my own personal soldiers. What would you think of that?"

The demon replied not even giving the clan head any time to speak before stabbing him in the chest. 

"Ah-ugh, yo-you monster. Even in death. I will haunt you for the rest of your life. This recognition you crave, I hope that you will never have it."

With his dying breath, the clan head fell to the ground as blood flowed from his wounds. 

Hai Zhu stood over him, over all of the bodies. He wiped the blood from his trident and turned away, leaving this bloody scene. 

The soldiers before him gathered around, eagerly waiting for his next orders. They were grinning from ear to ear, asking to chase. 

"Come on then, let's go hunt them down."

Merely a day passed before Ming Yue's group made it to the site and Shen Varuna hid behind her. Something like this was not for the eyes of a child. 

The young cultivator unsheathed her sword, ready for any attack but there was no one here. 

"What happened here?" she thought. 

The Southern Tower was in ruins. The fires still burned brightly and bodies were strewn about. Blood no longer flowed but they collected into pools. 

"Stay close to me, okay?" 

Ming Yue looked to the little demon, who clung tightly to her armor. She shook her head, taking peaks from time to time. 

Xiao Yin flew up to see the situation from above and Hei Yue sniffed the air. Coming from the north, they moved by the lakeshore, finding the situation worse to look at. It wasn't until they reached the main site that Shen Varuna peaked out once more and noticed the pile of dead bodies. 

"No!"

She cried out before running forward, stopping right in front of it. 

Ming Yue chased after her before stoping as well for she realized who these people were. Mixed within these bodies were those with indigo scars. She was silent, looking at the little girl. 

She just stood there in shock, her body trembled for a few minutes. Then she walked forward, going over the bodies until she stopped at the corpse of her father. 

Falling to her knees, this young girl, not even ten years of age, hugged the cold body and whimpered. 

Ming Yue did nothing, what else could she do?

She looked to Hei Yue, signaling the fox to guard her, while she checked out the rest of the grounds. The further she moved, the heavier her heart became. There was nothing here but death and destruction. 

"We were too late."

She looked around before stopping in front of some tracks, leading towards the east where Guardian's Keep was. Her eyes widened as she realized it.

"They're going to attack the keep as well. Then there's still chance a chance to turn this around."

She turned back and came to where Shen Varuna was. The girl still whimpering while embracing her father. But when she heard Ming Yue's steps, she slowly turned around. Her big eyes still had plenty of tears. She was beyond mere sadness, she was stricken with grief. Filled with emotions a young child should never feel. 

"It's too late," she said, "There's no one here, there is nothing here. You said everything would be okay and now they're dead. My father is dead. All of the children, my brother, are they dead too?"

Ming Yue looked at her with a soft expression. Shen Varuna's face was filled with sadness and despair but the tears stopped. The shock of it all had gone to her head and the tears stopped. 

She looked at that face and then steeled her resolve. 

"No, it's not too late, there is still a chance. I can't bring your father back but I will end it before it continues."

A wind sword formed under her feet and lifted her above the ground. She whistled for Xiao Yin and held her hand out to the little demon. Hei Yue hopped onto the sword and looked towards the demon as well.

"Once this ends, we're going across the lake to your brother. And I will promise you this, even if you're alone, you will have me."

Her voice did not exude confidence but determination and a touch of cold rage. That much gave a tinge of fear within Shen Varuna but she relented, looking her at father one more time. 

"When we come back, I'll bring them back to your home and help bury them. But for now, I will avenge them all", said Ming Yue. 

The little girl wiped away her tears and stepped onto the wind sword, grabbing her hand. 

Lifting up from the ground, they flew above the trees and went east where Guardian's Keep was. It was a day's walk but on this sword, it was an hour at most.. It wouldn't be long before they arrived and death would surely come for the Tide King.