Chapter 8

A light breeze was felt on John’s skin as he awakened from what seemed to him a long sleep. It had been some time since he felt pain on his scale and the last time was during the sun wars at the last battle of the unclaimed people. It occurred to him that he did not know how those people lived on the land in the first place since it had been tainted.

Can’t keep my eyes close even if I wanted to, between the pain and whoever is talking make is impossible

Health less than 5%, due to length of time damage has not been healed -50 percent to all stats and abilities

John gave a faint smile knowing that this was most likely the high point of hid day and would only get worse from here. Opening his eyes he looked around to find himself what he suspected was near 10 stories high and the only buildings like that were the guard towers. Their service was to be manned by long range area attacks to bring down the enemy units that could fly.

Bodies of the men who manned it were missing but the blood where they died and the hole caused by the attackers were visible. All around him he heard the moans of men just like him. He moved his hand around his body to notice that while his major wounds had been healed if they were still felt to this extent it was merely to keep him for dying.

Even flexing his arms reveled his rank X body at level 42 had been reduced to it being doubtful to hold any type of weapon in his hand. Due to his movement a guard who John had not noticed before came over to him slowly. Armor that shone like black crimson, elite troops was the only way they were still alive and holding the tower. The breach that caused most of his pains must have been blocked off or else it would be nearly as quiet outside.

The Black Man seemed worried or cautious as the stood need to John who laid on the ground. He dropped to a knee and whispered to John

“I am sorry, nobody deserves to be alive during this”

Gloom and weariness was on his face. Reaching for his side John noticed he pulled out a knife slowly enough to not make a sound but light reflected off the blade. It was as long as his hand and slightly curved, making its way to John throat. Pulling his arms showed there were loose straps tied to the ground holding him in place. He guessed that even with his reduced strength the straps could still be broken but it was impossible to defeat the Black Man.

When tried went to speak to convince him however unlikely to spare him The Black Man’s free hand went over Johns mouth.

“It may need seem like it but this is better then what will happen”

He tried to reason to John but it only made things worse. He started to pull on the straps, desperate now for any kind of chance. John was not sure who he was trying to convince or if it was just to make himself feel better about killing a defenseless person. The Black Man stiffened his arm in preparation to cut as John looked into his eyes

It can’t end like this, tried down to the group and dying due to what that man believes is mercy killing!

As the blade started to cut through the Black Man was pulled backwards onto the ground. John was not sure how to react to this sudden change of events. He pondered if he should pretend to be asleep and if that would help him. Due to the situation John had been tensing his body for a period long enough to reopen his wounds enough for him to spit blood to the opposite side the two guards were.

Soon after a number of elite guards like the one John had first met entered the room. He started to lose focus of what was happening around him and his eyes started to glaze over the room in the tower he was in. There were almost two dozen bodies and by the smell he had finally been able to notice most were dead. John was no longer in a tower that protected the living but instead now housed the dead.

“Someone heal the dog before he dies, if another one dies whose problem is it? Not yours of course but me”

John was not sure who said that but the voices heard seem to carry throughout the round room. The man sounded like someone who had done this to the point it had gotten annoying to deal with.

Best guess it’s at least the man in charge of one of the number of high level squads that entered the city before the barriers and mana shields were restored. The Captain stood next to the man that had just tried to kill John, he could tell a number of things such as The Captain was both much taller and older than the other men.

No hair could be seen on his head, his armor seemed older but due to it being thicker made him seem like less of a man and more like a wall of steel. John could only imagine the resistances and effects it gave off and how more than ever he needed protection.

“Stand him up” The Captain commanded, flicking his fingers

Two of the Black Men went over from where they were standing and just as quietly as the first came to either side of John. They knelled down and cut the binds that held down his body, after the grabbed his arms and forcefully stood him up.

It hurts this much to stand and I am not even the person standing my body up! To think the thought crossed me to fight them in some way

John gave him and left the two men do the entirety of the work of holding his body up. It was the only good thing he could see from this dim place he was now a part of. The faces of the men holding him told the same story as the first: They felt bad for him due to the things John was soon going to go through.

The Captain seemed to read the mood between the three of them when the original guard was looked upon by the Captain

“Why did you try to kill him?”

He asked in a tone that demanded an answer or else he would be in a similar place that John was in now. The Black Man looked at him with a face that seemed surprised he was even asked that question.

“No one deserves to die like that, it’s inhuman”

He gave his answer in a way that it seemed like he had thought long for that answer and stood by it his answer

What an idiotic man

That was now John’s view of him, while grateful for someone supporting him now the both of them were in dire need of help. The Captain seemed to think only for a moment before responding to the claim.

“Not all of them die” he responded with a disinterested tone

With the hole that man was digging for himself it actually impressed John that he was feeling slightly sorry for the Black Man that was going to him a ‘mercy’ killing. And yet John watched him continue to press his point to the Captain

“No not all, the ones who live through Uakron the Mad’s experiments get turned into creatures that their own parents would not know them” he spoke now defiantly

It seemed The Captain had reached the end of whatever line to put up with his subordinates outburst of defiance with his expression becoming annoyed. He answered back of the Black Man coldly.

“I hope the both of you enjoy finding out if what he said is really true, you go on ahead and inform Uakron’s man about the extra body”

The man nearest to the staircase leading down the tower left in an instant leaving the place John was in was as bad as when he opened his eyes. Another two guards made their way to the Defiant Black Man grabbing him as they did John and went on to drag him to the staircase the earlier Black Man went down.

“No, I can’t go through that!”

The defiant Black Man screamed as tears ran down his face. John did not want to know the things he did about what lay in his future. He struggled so much that the men holding him lost there hold and he crashed into John.

“I will not!”

The defiant Black Man grabbed one of John guard’s daggers and dragged the knife through his own neck. Instantly he fell next to John, the blood quickly forming a pool that touch almost the length of his left side.

The Captain cursed flicking his and once again while ordering his men to get rid of the body. The other guards picked up the body and threw it out the new opening in the tower. John had started to think maybe he was the lucky one dying already rather than what came next.

When John look up at The Captain his face was pale when he saw the man standing at the top of the stairway with two huge men with armor seemly heavier than The Captains. The man was picking at the skin of his fingers causing them to continuously bleed to the stone floor.

“Sir… I did not know you were coming” The Captain stammered

“My my Captain Pell you know my rule”

Uakron stated, speaking his words spoken softly causing Pell to tremble and fall onto his knees.

“Please have mercy on me” Pell begged Uakron

“I told you this before in such a way that you would remember: Anything that happens to the guards I gave you will happen you in return”

So that’s the reason why Pell waited so long to punish that defiant guard

John had given up on living through this and just watched to see how it would end. In horror he watched as the old man’s guards started to kill everyone in the room moving at speeds shocking for their size and displayed strength John had never seen before. If he had not been afraid for his life once again he would have been impressed for what was happening in front of him. In less than three minutes fourteen elite men were killed off.

It became just the two monsters of men cleaning their swords. They all turned to face Uakron who was still picking at his fingers at his now even bloodier fingers. The towering guards knelt in unison as Uakron raised his hand.

“Burn them all in a glorious blaze, I send this offering to you gods of the Abyss Wall” he chanted

The guards stood up and went around the small room holding their hands out, flames coming out in a wide ark. John could now see on both on their chest a broken quarter moon split three ways.

“That will know we are here” Spoke one of them to Uakron

Uakron did not answer, his whole focus intent on the flames as they crept closer to him and John. The guard repeated himself in the exact same way as before, he suspected the man was use to needing to repeat himself. The second time Uakron answered

“I need to watch them burn, to know how long a person can level while being burned alive”

Uakron quickly added more as if his complete thought just occurred to him

“I need you to bring a few of them alive, the experiments are not yet completed”

The guards quickly went through the men laying helpless, seemly John was not the only one left alive but the others had yet to awaken. The fire had spread to a point that there were few options to pick from. Soon he and five other half dead men were being dragged down the stairway.

Uakron rambled to himself about the Abyss gate and the fire dedicated to them as they went the winding staircase. At the floor right above the bottom they stopped and the guards opened there map menu to find out where they should go next. Uakron overlaid the country map on the group next to him. As he walked over it he started dropping gold coins on towns that where next to a major river that ran through both their countries.

Whispers started to become louder and louder from Uakron until he darted down a separate staircase leaving his town guards behind.

“Asol go after him, we cannot allow Uakron The Dark to fall in this city”

The man named Asol quickly bowed and ran after Uakron. John watched the direction in which he last saw Asol until he suddenly saw Algen with his squad from before. Screaming as they came in up from the stairway nearest to John and attacked the other guard.

Those in the first attack were almost instantly cut down but a flood of men were now coming. Archers now came up and fired enchanted arrows into him finally causing some sort of damage with the combined efforts of twenty men at once. A bloody Algen ran over to where John and the other men were laying down.

“John you look horrible” stated Algen frankly

“Thanks for reminding me, for a moment I almost forgot, how did you know I was here”

John questioned as the bed was brought down to the ground level while the battle intensified above.

“How hard do you think it is to notice a huge tower with the top of it on fire, a stone tower on fire?”

Algen chucked loud enough to make sure John could hear. They escaped out the broken front gates to see the main street filled with wounded men and elite squads getting ready to search the rest of the city for more squads like the one that he was freed from.

“John it’s been 2 days since I last saw you, once your better I will tell you what has happened since”