Lord of the realm

The first fiend reached the bottom of the stairs and looked right at them. Its iron-grey skin gleamed in the dim light, and its teeth were like broken glass. It made that horrible laughing sound that all the creatures seemed to enjoy.

Baren stepped forward, placing himself between the monster and others.

"Stay away," he said, though his voice was barely a whisper.

One of its claws smashed his chest, sending him crashing against the wall. Baren felt a searing pain shoot through his body as he struggled to stay conscious.

That fiend walked towards Ryanna, who was shaking in fear.

Baren got up and staggered towards the fiend; he couldn't let the fiend harm his wife. The fiend again smashed him; this time it hit on his hip, making him slam to the ground.

Baren groaned.

Taeryn was holding his mother, and Rena was present beside him; the other fiend was coming at them, making a sound like it was laughing.

Ryanna screamed as the fiend's claw struck her hand.

Baren, who heard the scream, got up again, and this time, he stood there, "Hey, you ugly fucking bastard!!" Blood trickled from his mouth; he closed his eyes.

Fiend turned towards Baren and saw him coming.

The fiend reached out with one of its claws, ready to tear him apart.

But then something amazing happened.

He opened his eyes.

Baren's eyes changed.

The brown color drained away, replaced by thin slits like a snake's. His hands began to grow scales that gleamed like green metal. From his back, a long tail pushed through his torn shirt, thick and powerful.

"What—" Ryanna gasped, but Baren was already moving.

He leaped at the fiend with speed that no human should have. His scaled hands grabbed the creature's throat, and his new strength crushed its windpipe. The fiend tried to fight back, but Baren's tail whipped around and broke its neck with a wet crack.

The change was drastic; his expression was distant and seemed dazed.

The second fiend attacked while Baren was busy with the first.

It went straight for Taeryn and Rena, its four extra arms reaching out to grab them both. Taeryn had already placed his mother behind him. In that desperate moment, something snapped inside him too. He didn't register Baren's transformation, nor did Rena.

Taeryn pushed Rena behind him and grabbed a long wooden pole that had been leaning against the wall. He had never been a fighter, but something inside him woke up in that moment. Some deep instinct told him what to do.

A blue light flickered around him, soft at first, then growing brighter. The wooden pole in his hands began to glow with the same blue light. He felt power flowing through him, power over the very air itself.

Rena, who was pressed close beside him, felt it too.

The Origin power called to something deep inside her, something she had never known was there. Without thinking, she placed her hands on Taeryn's shoulders.

The blue light grew stronger.

The air around them began to move, swirling in circles like a small tornado. Taeryn thrust the glowing pole forward, and the wind followed his command.

The fiend was lifted off its feet and slammed against the stone wall. Before it could get up, Taeryn struck again. This time, the pole went right through the creature's chest. Black blood sprayed across the cellar walls.

The fiend died with a gurgling cry, and the blue light faded away. Taeryn and Rena stared at each other in shock.

One more fiend entered the cellar, and Baren killed it easily, overpowering the fiend.

Neither of them understood what had just happened.

Baren's scales were already fading, his eyes returning to their normal brown color. His tail shrank back into his body, leaving only a torn shirt as proof of what he had become.

He stared back at Taeryn and Rena, who looked completely puzzled, just like him.