《Garden of Thorns *Lit RPG*》Chapter 88: War
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Joshua took to the skies with the Nightwing, they were being carried with ease. The small size of the War Wings gave an advantage. The Seraphs were hidden from the naked eye as they moved closely with Joshua.
"So the entire world has viewed you as nothing short but a demon. What'll you do after this?"
"I'll think about it when I cross that bridge." Joshua answered Last Judgement's question. Kael was elsewhere, moving about at his own pace with Ice Reaper. For now, Joshua's only thoughts was about destroying Spataro's Bases. The one in Aloris was at the Aloris's Sky Tower. A skyscraper that cut through the heavens itself. 1.5 kilometers tall and it was their base of operations.
Joshua didn't bother hiding at the alleys. Heaeding over to the Sky Tower where he found the entire Venerator Union standing against him. Chairman Maya along with the other Guild members.
"Joshua! Stand down!" Joshua looked at them, even Noir Dancer was present but she was shaking in her boots. Joshua lit a cigarette and he looked at his status.
Status window is broken. Sorry.
You ate so many things from the trees you've planted I can't even keep up.
War of the Children has been completely closed off.
Various other Worlds are changing altogether.
"Kneel." In that moment the entire Union fell to their knees. Tapping the cigarette as he threw it at the sky tower. Where the cigarette exploded into a flurry of rose petals that touched the building. A loud screech was heard, as the glass from the entire sky tower shattered. Klaudia was on her knees, she could barely stand up.
"Tear this building apart, oh my vines." Vines appeared from the ground, ripping the building piece by piece.
"Why... Why are you doing this?!" Klaudia asked.
"Spataro. Their leader's a God. A malevolent one that wants to bring this world into a constant state of Chaos. Every Union is bound by them in a way of policy or even direct intervention. I'd rather rip it out as much as I can before the roots set in." Joshua answered as a Spataro Venerator leaped at him from behind. Only to see Joshua tap the Venerator's nose, as vines of thorns blanketed them entirely. Followed by a seedling that bloomed out where Joshua grabbed the newly bloomed rose. Eating it.
"Being a monster in the eyes of the world. Doesn't sound too bad to me." Joshua said as more of the Spataro Venerators leaped out, only to be cut down by Azure Resound. Following another group to be torn apart by White Waltz with her sabers and Black Waltz with the shotgun. They fell only to be turned into plants for Joshua. Where the three Ensemble members took the flowers to offer it to Joshua as an offering.
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Eating the flowers as their screams continued.
"Just sit here and be nourishment. It's the least that you deserve." Joshua said as he glanced over at what remains of Aloris Tower. The ones unaffiliated with Spataro were brought down safely, but the others? Not so much as they were blanketed by the thorns that turned them into plants. Just eating them was nourishment of sorts but also giving him memories of Spataro. Whatever that this figure looked like, it was different. So it was a shapeshifter of sorts. One that was far dangerous than Joshua has ever seen.
"Thanks.Hmm... I've got so much work ahead of me. Familiars." The Familiars appeared behind Joshua.
"Sovereigns, Seraphs take the Familiars you want and go on an onslaught. We'll be liberating this place of Spataro influence. It seems that I'll have to go kill a number of government officials too. Including the President." Joshua said as the Sovereigns and Seraphs nodded.
"Here are your orders. Hunt down every Spataro. They've tried weaponizing children. So don't bother about being merciful. Be it man, woman, child or elderly. If they are connected. Kill them."
"Yes, Lord." They all vanished, leaving only Fitz by his side.
"Quite a mess. So what about these Venerators? What do you want to do with them?"
"They're good people. So I'd rather leave them be. Besides. We've got some company ourselves." Joshua said as they see helicopters and tanks rolling in. Joshua put on the Ensemble Gloves that he received, drawing out Ace's Reaver Rifle. This time in its completed form, where he could see the thorns changing its appearance. Now becoming a weapon to suit him.
Fitz readied his gunblade as the helicopters fired off their rockets. Only for ice barriers to stop them dead in their tracks.
"Fracture." Fracture appeared from the sky, firing off the rifle towards the helicopters. Vaporizing them from existence as he landed behind Joshua.
"Chairwoman. After this is over. I'll be retiring. Maybe I'll leave this world. This world already has a Noir Dancer, it doesn't need a Lord of Thorns. The Spires will be easier when I'm done." Joshua said as he leaped into battle, gripping the rifle by the stock as his mask and coat formed. The soldiers fired their guns and the tanks blasted their cannons. Only to see Joshua standing unfazed, the mask began to grin as Joshua cut them in half.
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"Drop your guns and disarm yourselves and you live. I don't like killing people who aren't connected to the threat."
"We're soldiers! You're going to destroy the country aren't you!?"
"I just want to stop Spataro. Final Judgement, can you broadcast the entire world what we've seen from Spataro?"
"Of course."Every phone, every billboard and every website began to show what Joshua had seen from the Spataro facilities. The children who were slowly being turned into Venerators. The forced experiments of infusing body parts of other creatures and organs into them. Turning them into living weapons that could not speak or think.
The view soon turned to Joshua's face.
"I'm going to kill Spataro. That's it. That's all I want. Nothing more than that but there's a lot of names being involved. So here's a list. So if the Venerators who want to join the hunt for them. Go right ahead. If you can trust me a person who's been classified as a Black Spire. Point your weapon at me, you die. You join my side. You might die. You do nothing, people die. Whatever the outcome is people die. From police to the entire government bodies that bind the Venerators to their stupid policies. Policy this, policy that. In reality the Spires are a good way to generate income. So do you want to break the chains? Or are the Venerators going to stay still like we always have been? I'm not talking about a world that rules over the strong or anything like that. But you got power that people dream of. So why hesitate?" The question that Joshua posed had some of the Venerators pondering.
"It's because we became complacent we allowed things like this to happen. So my solution is to just kill everything related to Spataro so that nobody will dare to pull the same trick again. Also Spataro. Just so you know, I'm not shy about killing those weaponized children of yours. Because a few that I've rescued are still broken in their minds beyond reason. I think putting them to rest is a much easier solution. Want to avoid death? Turn yourselves in at the Venerator Unions. The Venerators will make the judgement, my Familiars will be bringing the relatives of the children for them to see what kind of monsters you are. And another thing, Good luck in trying to run from us." Joshua said as his phone started to show notifications.
'#LordOfThorns' Looking over at social media as people began to speak up. Some began to talk about how Spataro had caused harm to their families, some began to talk about how they had to quit being Venerators because Spataro had stopped them from advancing up the ranks. Even a few who had been silenced due to gruesome murders.
Venerators all over the world began to run amok. Joining Joshua's familiars and Sovereigns. The soldiers in front of him lowered their guns, they granted him passage. Bowing to Joshua and Fitz that walked onwards. While Joshua saw some notification on Kale.
'Masked man sneezed at a building. Building has now been changed into a sculpture of the Lord of Thorns.' Joshua paused. He was trying to read that headline properly, then looking at the article. Catching a snippet of Kael standing in front of the building, then waving at the camera. Then he sneezed. the building began to shift into a sculpture as Kael was complaining about the cold.
Then grabbing a cigarette, lifting his mask a little bit as he lit it up.
"AH IT'S SO DAMN COLD!" Kael complained as he went on his way.
The path paved for Joshua as he continued on. the Venerators that were originally stopping him joined his side. Walking behind Joshua as he made his way to the President's Building. Seeing a car of people being thrown around.
"Bayran, Barakas, Cinder and Asim. Help the people. Heal their wounds. Asim, just go ahead and fight."
"As you command, Lord of Thorns." The car that was thrown past Joshua was stopped by Bayran's ice magic, lowering it as Barakas appeared to heal them with her butterflies. The Venerator that opposed Joshua glanced at him.
"I will destroy you with my pe-" Joshua fired a shot to the head and one to the heart with a pistol.
"I don't have the time for monologues. Just attack already." Joshua grumbled.
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