[RotDE] Chapter 5. Heavenly Tribulation Strikes. (Patreon)

When Terrance came back, they all welcomed him warmly. Terrance smiled and said, "Sorry for arriving late; I had some trouble getting Tatyana's present."

Tatyana jumped in his arms and smiled, "Thank you, dad, I love you!"

Terrance patted her head and lifted an eyebrow, "You still don't know what it is. What if I went to get more work for you to do~?"

Tatyana's smile froze, and then she pouted. "Humph, if you give me something like that, I will never speak to you again!"

This time, it was Terrance's turn to freeze. His dearest princess not speaking to him again? How could he live anymore? He coaxed her instantly, "Don't say things like that, little princess. The thing I bought will surely be to your liking!"

Tatyana chuckled and asked, "What is it? I know big sis is giving me a dress, and mom is going to give me a new tool to write, so don't you dare hide it from me!"

Terrance looked at them speechlessly, "Didn't we agree to make it a surprise?"

Loreia snorted, "Oh yeah? Try resisting her pleas."

Terrance instantly lost confidence. "Well, it is what it is. Who told us to have such a beautiful and cute daughter."

Tatyana smiled with rosy cheeks, somewhat embarrassed, "Hmph, those words won't distract me like last year! Tell me what it is!"

Loreia wanted to chomp on those rosy cheeks very badly. Terrance sighed at his eldest daughter's infatuated expression, 'She is a lost cause.'

"Since you insist so much... Let me give it to you now."

He separated from Tatyana and returned to the cart where he kept the present. When he came back, he was carrying a cloth with something hidden in it. It was long and solid. Tatyana blinked twice, unable to guess what it was. "What is that, dad?"

Terrance smirked and placed the thing on one nearby table. "This is something you have wanted for some years already. I didn't have the time to get one, and you were very small to hold it, but now that you are an adult, I can't delay it anymore."

Tatyana was at first confused, and then her red eyes widened in excitement. Terrance looked on with a smile and unfurled the thing, "That's right. Here is the sword you wanted so much!"

A beautiful and sleek sword hidden in its sheath appeared after Terrance removed the cloth. Tatyana squealed in excitement and grabbed the sword. "Wow! Wow! A real sword!"

Tatyana inspected it and said with a laugh, "So heavy! I will leave it in my room! I want to practice with it later!"

Salia looked at Tatyana running up the stairs and frowned, "Is it okay?"

Terrance smiled, "Don't worry, I will teach her properly. Don't you remember that I was a guard before coming to this town with you?"

Loreia said with a menacing tone, "If you hurt her, see what I do to you!"

Terrance smirked teasingly, "Is your little darling more important than your dad~?"

Loreia blushed and snorted, "She isn't my little darling yet."

Salia and Terrance laughed at her shyness.

After Tatyana came back down, they gathered in the field to celebrate Tatyana's birthday the second midnight arrived.

This hour would mark her adulthood, something they had been waiting for, especially Loreia.

Under  the silvery moonlight, the family of four laughed and chatted happily,  unaware of the unnatural-looking grey clouds gathering on top of them.

Terrance said, "My little princes. I've walked far away, crossed mountains and rivers, and fought gods and dragons to finally catch your favorite meal!"

Tatyana burst into laughter, "Those things don't exist, dad. How could things like dragons or gods exist?"

Terrance sighed, placing the food on top of the table. "Why aren't you cute like when you were little? You always exclaimed in awe to your father's might back then."

Tatyana chuckled and hugged his arm, looking at the food with eager eyes. There was [Mushroom Boar] and [Mountain rabbit] stew, coupled with different vegetables from their own farm.

The family ate cheerfully and savored their meal. The conversation was lively, but the light from the moon was slowly disappearing.

Salia looked at the darkening sky and asked, "Should we go inside? It is about to rain."

Loreia looked up and frowned, "Strange, where did these clouds come from?"

Terrance shrugged and said, "We've finished eating, so we could relax a little bit in the rain. The water should be warm since we are in that season."

Tatyana felt strange looking at those clouds, "Dad, I don't like those clouds."

Terrance patted her head, "Hm? Don't you like rain? I've seen you dancing in the rain from time to time. You even got sick once!"

Tatyana frowned, "Well... You are right. But I feel something wrong."

Loreia approached and placed her hand on her forehead. "Are you okay, little Tatyana? Did you catch a cold?"

Tatyana looked at their worried eyes and pushed down the bad feeling. She smiled and said, not wanting to make them worried, "I'm okay! That feeling only came for a moment."

Salia took Tatyana's pulse, and besides it being slightly faster than normal, it didn't show anything wrong. Salia thought the darkness might be somewhat scaring her, so she said. "I'm going to go take some lamps. Wait for me."

Loreia said, thinking similarly to her mother. "I will accompany you. You won't be able to carry them here alone. Dad, take care of little Tatyana, or I'll beat you up!"

Terrance choked and muttered, "No wonder people call you a tigress. You won't even forgive your own father."

After they left, Tatyana snorted and said, "She isn't a tigress! Big sister is super gentle!"

Terrance looked at Tatyana with a smirk and laughed, "Well, she is definitely gentle when you are around, after all."

They continued speaking for five minutes.

Suddenly, all the light from the moon completely disappeared as the clouds above them hid it. Tatyana and Terrance looked at the sky and saw something flickering in those dark clouds.

*RUMBLE!*

Thunder rumbled in the dark clouds, sounding menacing and powerful. Terrance felt his heart jump and then chuckled, "Why did I get scared?"

However, looking at the single lightning rolling in the cloud with continuous thundering sounds, he frowned. "That doesn't seem natural. Anyway, it appears that it is going to rain very hard. Let's go inside, Tatyana. We will also be able to catch up with Loreia and your Mom before they carry things outside."

However, when he turned to look at Tatyana, she was looking at the sky in a trance.

Terrance frowned, "Is something wrong, Tatyana?"

Tatyana began making strange sounds from her throat while her face transformed slowly to one of dread. Terrance called her again, "Tatyana!"

*RUMBLE!*

The powerful thunder was like a switch, and Tatyana suddenly started crying and shouting without restraint, "AAAHHH!!!"

Terrance's face changed. "What is happening!? Tatyana, answer me!"

Still, Tatyana kept shouting and crying as she looked at the sky. He hastily approached Tatyana and asked with clear worry in his voice. "What is wrong, princess? Are you scared? Don't worry. I'm here."

However, Tatyana's hysterical screams didn't seem to end, as if she was feeling terrible grief over something.

"NOOOO!!!!"

While leaving the house, Salia and Loreia heard Tatyana's loud screams even when they were hundreds of meters away.

Salia's face changed, and she felt a bad premonition, "What is happening?"

Loreia didn't even speak and dropped everything, rushing toward Tatyana. Loreia's  face was murderous as she roared, spreading her voice toward Tatyana's  place, trying to intimidate whatever was making her little sister  scream.

"Whoever you are, I'm going to kill you if you touch a single hair of her!!"

Salia urged, "Fast! We should reach in three minutes if we run fast."

Both mother and daughter sprinted toward Tatyana.

Moments earlier, when Tatyana looked up at the clouds, her vision blurred and shifted. She could suddenly see and hear snippets of an unknown scene.

In that scene, a woman was giving birth. Everything was blurry, and the only thing Tatyana could decipher was the mature woman's red eyes and black hair.

However, in the middle of the woman's delivery, armed with different weapons, a group of people forcefully entered the house. A woman with blonde hair and brown eyes led the group inside with arrogant steps.

Then, the vision was blurry and quick-paced, filled with different voices. Between them, she could decipher some of the sentences.

"Finally, I can kill you, vixen!" The blonde woman screamed at the pregnant one.

"You finally show your ugly face, *** *******! Even  if you are more favored, do you think that Husband will forgive you if  you kill me!?" Answered the woman who was giving birth, biting through  the pain.

Tatyana  felt a strange familiarity with that black-haired woman, and this scene  made her feel hatred for the blonde woman; feel hostility for the first  time in her life.

Then, the broken and blurry scene dissolved and changed.

Tatyana saw pain filling her heart as the woman previously giving birth stood up and picked up a sword. However, she was still in the middle of her delivery, so blood poured down between her legs, and her face distorted with pain.

Her pain-filled expression could even be seen through the blurry scene.

Tatyana heard the blonde ask mockingly. "What can you do!? Giving birth will cripple your cultivation until the child is out! You are not the all-powerful woman you were, ********* hahaha."

"I may not be as strong, but after the child is out, then I can kill all of you!"

"Do you think we will give you the time!?"

The woman answered with a voice that chilled everyone's heart. "I  don't need time." And before the blonde woman answered, the  black-haired woman used the sword to cut open her own belly, taking out  the child with a swift yet gentle motion.

Blood poured in liters as her insides spilled.

Everyone was horrified.

Tatyana  felt her heart as if a claw grabbed it and squeezed it, and even if the  scene was blurry, she could clearly see the determination in that  woman's shining red eyes.

Those eyes were screaming a single sentence!

"Even if I have to die, I will protect my child!"

Then,  the woman cut the umbilical cord cleanly with the sword and clipped it  with her fingers, giving the child to the maid behind her, "Leave. I will cover your escape. Her name is... Tatyana."

Tatyana felt a crushing pain in her heart and body, leading her to cry and scream for that woman. "AHHH!!!"

It was as if she had transformed into that infant.

She didn't want that woman to die!

She didn't want to be carried away!

She didn't want to be separated from her!

However, the maid began running away as she expertly made baby Tatyana vomit the placenta and took care of primary care. However, Tatyana's eyes seemed to be locked on that woman's fragile back. Even if she seemed small and weak, Tatyana felt like a whole mountain was between her and those who wanted to hurt her.

Nonetheless,  no matter how skillful the maid was, it was delicate work taking care  of the fragile newborn, so she was distracted for a second.

A powerful attack zoomed toward her back from a hidden position at that moment. Not even the black-haired woman could react to it.

The  maid felt it and instantly lifted the baby in her bosom as she received  the attack that pierced through her torso, creating a hole where the  baby previously was. The maid's  eyes steeled as she gritted her teeth and lowered the baby, not stopping  her escape for a second, even when she had a hole through her chest.

Then, she took out a strange black-red pill and ingested it. Her  speed instantly multiplied while she protected the child in her embrace  with some kind of energy and disappeared from the scene.

Tatyana continued crying and shouting as she saw the brutal scene and the black-haired woman disappearing from her blurry sight.

On  the other side, when the people were about to follow after the lethally  injured maid, an enormous and powerful energy wave washed everything in  the surroundings, making everyone kneel.

The  black-haired woman, with her insides literally spilling from the front,  declared, her voice imposing like that of an empress! "You all shall die for attacking my daughter! [Self Explosion]!"

*BOOOM!*

Then,  Tatyana could only see a white flash followed by an enormous explosion  that created a mushroom cloud in the place where the woman previously  was.

"NOOOOO!!!!"

After her desperate cry, Tatyana was flooded with powerful feelings of shock, grief, pain, and hatred. The  amalgamation of negative feelings awakened something powerful inside  her heart, and that something hidden deep inside her exploded outward,  covering her body.

It was a blackish aura that killed everything around her.

A male shout of pain seemed to enter Tatyana's ears, but her grief and pain were so deep that she didn't pay attention to it.

The  next thing Tatyana heard was a powerful rumbling sound, followed by  intense pain throughout her whole body and two distant anguish-filled  woman's screams. The loudest  shout, however, was the shout of a male that was near her, but even that  shout didn't last long as it was unnaturally cut.

Then, silence engulfed sixteen-year-old Tatyana's tired mind, and she lost consciousness.