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Chapter 101: Haymaker
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While looking at Akhenaton's back, something in Siva's vision appeared... it was a pop up window.
But instead of feeling confused by the contents of this window, it felt more like a 'why'.
Why did he only see this today?
As if to answer his own doubt in this question, Siva's brows knitted into a frown.
"...it's because I haven't an idea before. Akhenaton is a prisoner and this warship is his prison. His sin was eternal damnation but he was given a single chance of relief and this will only appear if the person who commanded the ship is aware of this eternal sentence."
Siva tried to ponder to the 'how' and the 'why' of him knowing about this but the situation does not allow him to think further and could only pin it down to think about later.
Alexandria... Baron... is in trouble... he had to be fast on dispatching this problem.
He had to do it as soon as possible. Thus, he had to discard anything else that has nothing to do with saving the city.
Siva read the contents of the panel window then he looked at Akhenaton with a mighty stance.
"Emperor Akhenaton; former ruler of the Dessert Empire and former leader of the mighty Ahepton Tribe... you have been punished by the Celestial Tribunal for the crime of blasphemy to The Creator, The Preserver, and to The Warden... as your jail-keeper, I give you the right to express your regret in exchange for service and the freedom of your thoughts. Comply with my demand and you shall be granted thus; Deny and you shall never have your freedom ever again..."
Siva's voice sounded robotic, yet it still felt natural, like an Emperor commanding his vassal, or like the Judge... passing a sentence to the judged!
Just how it felt to Thorn and the rest, back in the cellar dungeons, his voice contained within an undeniable authority as well as a holiness that can turn anything he said akin to the words of a pope.
In reaction to his statement, the kneeling golden-skinned Akhenaton down below stood up, the long scepter in his hand morphing into a spear that he proudly stomped on the forest ground and created a tremor that could even be felt even to the people standing on the castle wall.
"I shall comply." his booming deep voice rung.
Shocked, Coralline and the rest of them gasped to this message. Deb and Ren exchanged dejected looks. They knew more than anyone else that this is the biggest secret Warship Akhenaton had.
But now, Siva had just unleashed this secret.
What more, he gained the full and exclusive rights to use Akhenaton's full power with that reply.
They could only become envious to this. Siva beat them first on Akhenaton and now, Akhenaton had sworn allegiance to him. There was nothing they could now but to retire on their plan to negotiate with Siva over the warship.
Siva was more shocked to this than anyone else and yet, he can't help asking himself... why am I still calm as if it was expected?
—no.
—why does this sound like me lifting something I have put myself?
But Siva had no time to ponder but the next set of words that came from his lips still sounded more comically familiar than it is commanding to the rest of the crowd on the castle wall.
"I command you," he said, "Destroy the enemy in front of me."
"As His Majesty commands."
When the booming voice rung, Akhenaton began to take a step. It was slow, but wide, at first, but it was getting faster and faster... his steps growing into him moving like a Spartan going for war.
Far away, the running black skinned knight golem-turned-Colossi was already running but as if it had felt the presence of Akhenaton, he sped up and its left arm healed as black muscle strands formed and became it lost left arm.
But in exchange, the large tumor on its left shoulder decreased in size at that moment.
Then, the Colossi stretched his right hand out as it grabbed a large black heavy sword almost its same size that materialized with a flash of black-purple light beside it.
The Colossi roared, dragging the sword with two hands, speeding up to meet Akhenaton in a clash.
As the Colossi held its large sword, Akhenaton used his spear, twirling it like an expert and placed it on his back as he too dashed faster than before.
One was 1.3km in size while the other was 1km tall. Although there was a 300m disparity in their sizes, none could say that Akhenaton looked weak with that master-pose he had.
Back on the castle wall, Siva looked at his hand and clenched a fist.
"Why am I relaxed right now?"
"Rex..." a call from behind disturbed his thoughts.
Scion's beautiful face had a worried look on them as she held her chest with her left hand.
Siva turned around, his clothes fluttering in the wind... although his skin was black, his eyes still expressed that calmness that could both bewilder and entrance anyone who looked at them.
In fact, despite the horrifying look on his face, his eyes that came peeking out from his freely waving hair carried an emotion that couldn't deny a certain kind of charm on them.
"I need to fight this battle." Siva's voice felt somewhat... distantly calm. For some reason, Scion felt like he was a different person.
This calmness felt like ancient.
Siva's demeanor somehow resembled that of a wizened old man who spends his retired days fishing in a bridge and a kid walked in and asked a "what is life" question then receiving an answer.
Siva's eyes, his aura, gave that kind of feeling. He looked at the far distance, the lights of the city his background to the ones standing in the wall.
For some reason, they could feel that from the moment he had woken up... Siva...
...had gone through a great transformation...
They could only recall that change that happened earlier in the cellar dungeons where both he and Scion was taken over by what they could only tell as unique NPCs.
And yet, contrary to her early remark... even as far as slapping him... Scion nodded and with tears in her eyes accented.
"Save the city. Save Baron."
He lowered his head as a seemingly slightly stronger gust of wind pushed his robe to flutter loudly, the sound of it akin to flapping wings.
With a flash of light underneath his cloak, Siva's figure left the castle wall... or rather...
It was Apus Epirus who was retreating from him.
Ten meters later, Scion couldn't hold it in and she rushed towards the edge of the wall and cried:
"Promise me... promise me you'll never fall. You have to promise me that you will come back to me... please..."
The earlier part was full of strength but her voice trembled and even became begging as it approached the latter part.
Siva remained standing in midair and he looked at her with a soft gaze.
"I've lost enough people... I will never choose to lose anyone ever again."
As his voice echoed in their ears, a sense of deep sadness could be felt from every syllable.
Thorn clenched his fist.
Volt... on the line... clenched his fists.
Coralline held her breath...
Debra, Rentaw, Heller, Niobe... Otus... the rest of them all could tell that perhaps even though Terra from earlier is an NPC, the unforgettable and very confusing contents of their conversation earlier is still connecting vague dots on Siva's mysterious past...
Scion's cry of "seeing his past" as soon as she woke up also brought forth some confusing things on their minds... but...
At this moment, every one of them could tell that whatever, or, whoever it was Siva was trying to save from the city... is a real living person.
In fact, while everything that's happening right now seemed to have lasted for a lot of time... it all in fact happened in only a span of a minute.
Siva faced the city as Apus Epirus quickly retreated towards the south.
With a loud booming sound, a ring of lightly visible expanding air that opened an air tunnel and a strong pushing force shattered the wind wall as Siva sped forth towards the city.
Scion's hands joined into a prayer-form as she sent Siva with her soft and tender gaze while praying for Baron to be okay.
*****
Akhenaton's movement fast but it was controlled.
But the Colossi, as if it was in rage, its speed is utterly and frighteningly fast.... its physical speed alone was leaving slight explosions as it collided with the air barrier.
Aaaaaaaahhh....
It was that metallic cry f the Colossi again.
Akhenaton reached 1km on border of the city, a hill that was 800m high.
When Akhenaton stepped on this hill, he stomped the spear on the ground, waiting. Siva arrived and hovered on its shoulder and watched as 10km away, the silhouette of the Colossi came on his vision, sprinting with all its might while dragging a very heavy-looking sword almost the size of his Akhenaton itself.
It was such an intimidating sight.
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-daaaammm....
Every step the Colossi made left tremors and quakes to the city. The decimated grey-stained aftermath of its attack earlier crumbled and dust clouds were left as it passed along.
The Colossi was running and every step left these heavy footfalls that rattled everyone's ears and skin.
It didn't take long for it to reach 3km away from them and as it did, it waved its large heavy sword left and right then jumped with a monstrous height towards Akhenaton to deal a falling slash.
Siva didn't dally further. "Attack!"
"Shah!"
Akhenaton's voice was different from when he was just a puppet.
There was a substance of an ultra-presence and his voice echoed with every word or expression it said.
Akhenaton twirled his golden spear before holding the end part and jumping to meet the Colossi's falling attack.
Siva looked up and didn't let this sight to actually miss his vision.
Like that first sound of a thunderclap to welcome the downpour of a heavy rain, those vacuum-like sounds just mere moments before their clash gave all that watched this clash a run for their breaths.
The moment seemed to slow down, the Colossi's face screaming with a savage expression while Akhenaton's rigid and stolid expression showed a light of a certain desire.
He was a damn soul... his punishment was slavery or eternal damnation and so in order for him to at least be free to see the light of day again, he had chosen to be the [sword] of the keeper of his jail.
BBBBAAAAANNNNNNGGGG!!!
The heavy had the advantage of its fall while the golden spear had the momentum created by the giant golden man and unleashed at the right time and right moment.
A continuous ringing sound spread from the point of impact of their weapons and the force of their attacks rendered the two abnormally large beings parting with incapability to immediately gain their balances.
The spreading residual force created a visible sphere and everything that sphere touched was reduced to ashes... including the southern edges of the city walls and the issuing forest below.
Siva... was luckily just a few hundred meters away from the edge of that sphere but he didn't escape the influence of turbulent winds that followed.
His clothes whipped and fluttered, he then wore a black-red edged mask... as a blue-bladed sword flashed to materialize on his left hand.
Right at this moment, he was The Destroyer.
"Lure it out." Siva commanded and just as his words were spoken, he swung his sword with full force to a person from behind.
CLANG!
Sparks flew as his blue-bladed sword collided with a black rapier.
A demon... no, a woman whose entire left side was black and left eye was red... came out of nowhere to attack him.
"So you're the medium!" Siva yelled and unleashed a right fist.
"Raaa!" a savage cry came from the woman and she also unleashed a left handed punch.
BANG!
Fist against fist, they parted and retreated. Siva was now able to see the woman clearly.
Her entire left side was corrupted by the dark element, as it was the knight golem that now regained it balance just outside the wall. (remember my note regarding Black Element and Dark Elements. Black = Physical// Dark = Soul// this is where it all starts to be mentioned)
Akhenaton also fell with a hard thud on the forest just outside the city, skidding off a few hundred meters before using his spear to stabilize himself and stop in place.
It was a stand-off... two versus two.
Siva stood there, his expression hidden by both the black-smoke skin curse and his trademark of a mask.
"I guess you're unaware of yourself, huh?" Siva said but as soon as his words came out, even he himself was unaware of 'why' he seemed to know what was happening to the girl right now.
But whether it understood him or not, her rage was also the Colossi's rage as both of them were the first ones to move before Siva and Akhenaton.
Siva didn't meet her as he stepped back, seemingly gliding but was actually dashing backwards while still facing her.
Akhenaton also did the same but as big as their large sizes were, the Colossi reached Akhenaton first while Siva was still a few tens of meters away from the berserk swordswoman.
A descending large sword almost got Akhenaton but the latter used the body of his spear to parry and guide the large sword towards his left side.
Akhenaton could've attack but did not as he took that opportunity to quickly gain distance from the possessed rock knight-giant.
When it saw that Akhenaton dodged that easily, it seemed to feel rage as it roared to the heavens, bending its chest outwards, then grabbed its giant sword and took a swift and powerful dash.
The Colossi's very movement itself shattered 1/9 of the wind barrier and left turbulent winds that wreaked havoc to the forest.
In but an instant, it came close to Akhenaton.
His golden spear moved and blocked a sweeping blow but the momentum and Akhenaton's pose is unbalanced that he was sent flying with that slash.
"Aaaaaaaaaaahhh...."
BOOM!
Another one step dash, then another, then a third, then a fourth... the Colossi reached Akhenaton and with a uniquely placed and perfectly executed left foot step-in, the Colossi swung his large sword downwards, intending to crush Akhenaton down to the ground.
But Akhenaton... was an Emperor! He didn't get his title and his fame, and ruled an empire through inheritance. He ruled a tribe and established that empire himself!
"Shah–!!"
Righting himself in midair, Akhenaton met the attack and blocked the sword close to its hilt where the force was the weakest.
BAAAANG!!!!
His feet firmly planted on the ground, creating endless quakes and tremors that shattered and destroyed anything as it spread in the forest area.
A crater formed and he was planted in the center, the Colossi's attack losing its momentum while Akhenaton gained a foothold and guided that heavy sword to the side and delivered his blow.
BENG!!!
A loud metallic-sounding collision echoes as an almighty haymaker connected on the Colossi's left temple, sending it stumbling five steps back!
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