Cyberknight: One Path

⁕ Athena (part 2)

As Caesar, God-Emperor of Northern China, rode through the streets on a cart carried on the back of slaves, the people inside the city of Shenyang were forced to watch and cheer for their ruler. Before the fracture of the Empire, Caesar was nothing more than a regular knight of the order, yet now he stood proudly like a God above the people. Anyone who dared to look at him wrong would receive his wrath, and there was nothing the common people could do about it.

As the massive crowd welcomed his presence, a little girl accidentally dropped her plush onto the street. As oblivious as she was, the girl squeezed through the barrier holding the civilians back like cattle and stepped onto the street to fetch her toy. Unfortunately, she stepped onto the streets at the exact moment the throne of Caesar passed before her. As one of the slaves saw her, he stepped aside to avoid trampling her, which caused the throne to veer off course briefly.

However, this was enough to piss off Caesar as he abruptly jumped off his throne and saw the frightened girl. As Caesar stepped toward the toddler, the girl's parents immediately jumped in to take their daughter in their arms.

[Caesar] - "How dare you disrupt your God? "

Said Caesar with a grimace of anger on his face.

[mother] - "No, my lord, we were not! We promise that we meant you no disrespect. "

Said the mother in Chinese.

[Caesar] - "English, mother fucker! I don't understand a bit of your stupid savage language! "

Cursed Caesar while saliva flew out of his mouth in big droplets.

[father] - "Please, lord, my family don't speak the language. Please, spare us! "

Said the father in Chinese as he shielded his family.

[Caesar] - "Are you insulting me in your uncivilized tongue, creature? "

Yelled Caesar as he produced a whip from his sleeve.

The parents yelled in terror before the tyrant slashed them across the face with his weapon. However, instead of a groan of pain, there was only silence as the crowd held their breath in fear. Suddenly, the girl felt a warm liquid above her head before trails of red leaked down her face. As she didn't dare turn around, she could only feel the warm embrace of her parent slowly leaving her before the distinct sound of bodies hitting the ground echoed inside her mind.

Driven by pure, primal fear, one of the crowd members began applauding for tyrant before the rest of the people followed his example. One might be led to believe they feared Caesar for his power to kill people with a single whip, yet that would be too simple to induce such fear. Behind the dead parents' corpses, a large gap remained in the road, so smooth and deep that one might be led to believe Caesar surgically tore through the crust of the Earth with that strike. It was not the fear of a single man which drove the people to cheer for his barbaric act; it was the terror of witnessing the wrath of a malevolent God.

[Caesar] - "Cheer, people, cheer for your God! "

Said Caesar as he opened his arms to welcome the praise from the crowd.

As the traumatized girl looked, she gradually noticed the man's armour in its finer details. However, just as her eyes were about to catch the shine emanating from his cyberknight rune, a roar of thunder shook the crowd. Strangely, just a moment ago, the sky was clear.

[Caesar] - "You morons, go get me an umbrella. "

Ordered Caesar as he struck one of his servants.

However, as people began to expect rainfall, what descended from the heavens was what no one could expect. In a flash, the sight of Caesar was replaced by the shine of an angel clad in her golden armour. As the girl slowly uncovered her eyes, she noticed the cyberknight runes shining on Athena's armour like beacons of hope. There was a scent of burnt flesh in the air as only pieces of Caesar's charred armour remained on the ground.