Zathan, Azren Nation. Year: 910 CD (Continental Drift)
An army in black armor had gathered outside the city. Leading them was a towering, menacing figure.
He looked up at the walls and grinned.
"So, these are the great walls of Zathan, believed to be impenetrable?"
On the other side of that wall were the enemies of the Great Vesperian Empire, which had conquered more than half the Continent. It was the absolute power of the Western Continent; most nations were forced to become vassal states. This included Azren.
However, when the previous King of Azren passed, his successor declared independence from the Empire. Thus marked the beginning of the war between Azren and Vesperia.
The man couldn't wait to let loose. He gripped the massive, shark-shaped sword strapped to his back and raised it high. Its crimson blade was almost as large as he was.
A faint red energy gathered around him, almost as if his body were on fire. But instead of burning him, the flames infused him with immense strength.
"Ares Azazel... The bane of the Great Vesperian Empire. Today, you and every soul stupid enough to call themselves your subjects will meet your demise for your crimes against the Empire. And I, Rhoger, the Empire's Red Wolf, will sever your head in the name of the Sovereign Supreme!"
The flames intensified, twisting like a wild tornado before wrapping tightly around the blade of his sword.
"Crimson Soul Sword Arts..."
He tightened his grip with both hands, raising the sword over his head.
"Howling Wake!"
The sword cut downwards, sending a massive arc of burning energy toward the wall. The attack's height did not pale in comparison to the wall's. An ear-shattering rupture shook the ground as the arc crashed against the stone with a mighty boom.
The dust settled to reveal the wall fully intact.
"What?"
Rhoger's eyes widened with disbelief. He was one of the few Master-level Aura Users on the Continent, and the wall had taken zero damage.
"Again."
This time, he swung his sword twice, but the result was the same. A vein popped on his forehead. What followed was an impatient flurry of attacks. Yet, no matter what Rhoger did, the walls stood tall.
"This is the might of Zathan's walls, said to have been forged with materials not of this world."
He could no longer underestimate the strength of these walls that had stood for centuries. But his resolve did not waver. If anything, it burned even hotter.
Rhoger closed his eyes, taking a series of deep breaths.
"What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?"
He kicked the ground, charging at the wall, the tip of his sword leading, enveloped in a massive concentration of energy.
"The immovable object breaks… Crimson Soul Sword Arts: Mountain Thrust!"
Surely enough, a crack appeared on the surface of this supposedly immovable object.
"3… 2… 1…"
Boom.
The area around the crack began breaking apart. In an instant, the great wall, said to have been created with the hardest substance in the world, crumbled, leaving a huge hole in its wake.
"Hahaha, let the hunt begin."
The Vesperian army stormed through the opening. On the other side were the confused Zathan city guards.
"T… There's a hole in the wall!"
"We are under attack, ready yourselves!"
The sound of weapons clashing filled the air as the two sides collided. The guards were quickly overwhelmed by the enemy forces, and in a few moments, they fell.
With no one left to defend against the invading army, the people of Zathan were at the mercy of the Empire's forces.
Buildings burned, smoke covered the skies, and the stench of death accompanied the cries of panic and agony that riddled the air.
It was absolute carnage.
Civilians scurried all over the place. Friends, lovers, and family trampled each other without a second thought. It was everybody for themselves.
Arrival of the King
"Death to the Hollow King!"
"Death to Azren!"
The Vesperian army roared the chants as they slaughtered their prey like livestock, leaving a path stained with blood wherever they passed. Rhoger danced through the chaos, humming a melody of death. With every swing of his sword, heads and limbs flew.
But as the massacre went on and nearly all the "livestock" were accounted for, Rhoger frowned, his impatience turning to disappointment.
'Where is the Hollow King? Why won't he come out and rescue his people? My sword hungers for the taste of his blood,' he thought.
His frustration grew as he watched his army corner the surviving civilians. The people quivered, helpless, with no escape route. Their impending doom approached slowly in the form of the invaders.
"Nowhere left to run, is there?" a Vesperian soldier sneered.
"Why don't you all make this easier on yourselves and just line up your heads?" another called out.
Rumble.
The bright, star-pocked night sky abruptly dimmed, as if a vast, unseen hand had pulled a shade across the heavens. Dark, heavy clouds boiled into existence. The invaders froze, their initial confusion giving way to unease. It wasn't the sudden change in weather that unnerved them; it was the abrupt change in their prey.
"Haha, look at 'em—they're laughing! They've finally lost it," one soldier scoffed.
The cornered civilians all dropped to their knees, bowing their heads in a circle on the pavement.
Rhoger's gaze snapped to the center of the kneeling group. He recognized the man instantly: the deep, piercing violet eyes, the meshed black and ash-colored hair.
His face split into a menacing grin as he muttered the name of the one he had been so eager to see.
"Hollow King..."
The Hollow King addressed his people.
"Raise your heads. You did well to hold on for so long. I am sorry I couldn't come any sooner. Leave the rest to me now. Go somewhere safe while I deal with this."
His words filled them with hope. They picked themselves up, their legs no longer shaking, and with a final bow to their King, they ran right past the stunned Vesperian army.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?"
The Knights who moved to stop the fleeing people were stopped by a blinding purple lightning that sizzled on the ground before them.
"That was a warning shot," Ares warned. "If you move—no, if you so much as breathe in the wrong direction without permission, you will beg me to grant you a quick death."
The Knights were astounded by the immense pressure he exuded, freezing them in their tracks.
Ares scanned the city, or what was left of it. The shattered houses, the streets painted with the blood of his people. The Hollow King's entire being burned with rage and sorrow.
"Why must the Empire go to such an extent?"
There were countless stacks of corpses each mutilated in gruesome manners. He identified some of them; the flower shop lady who always greeted him with a bundle of flowers, the bartender of his favourite bar, and even some of the knights whom he trained and spared with.
"All this death and destruction for abandoning the Empire's one-sided laws which saw the oppression of the weak and poor?"
"I changed my mind."
Ares turned his gaze to the Imperial Knights with lifeless eyes devoid of any emotions.
Dark purple fog seeped out of his body, swirling and expanding like a miasma of death.
"I will hold a funeral for my people… and your screams will be the choir that sings for them. You will crawl, you will bleed, and you will pray for death. But death will turn its face from you. I will tear your souls apart until nothing remains... Not even your ashes."
The Hollow King's Aura erupted like a Volcano swallowing everything within the vicinity. The Knights felt their minds being crushed beneath the monstrous pressure of the Ares' Aura.
"Be devoured by the scorching flames of your sins!"
Ares' voice thundered across the place shaking almost as if it were the decree of a God.
"Ugh! It burns!"
"My head—my head is splitting apart!"
"Please! End it! Just kill us!"
His Aura became a living inferno-flames that slithered like serpents of pure agony, devouring the mind, the soul, the will. The weakest fell instantly, foam bubbling from their mouths as their eyes rolled white. The stronger ones knelt, trembling, blood seeping from their eyes and ears.
A few desperate souls chose the only freedom left to them-death. They slit their own throats, choking on their last breath.
"Who told you, that you could die without my permission?"
He raised his hand.
The heavens roared in answer. Black clouds swirled violently, and a blinding streak of lightning carved through the sky like a dragon. It crashed upon Ares, as he absorbed it all, drinking in the storm's fury.
Finally, he aimed his crackling hand toward the trembling Knights.
"Be devoured by the raging thunder of the burning abyss... Ashen Judgement!"
Red lightning exploded, ripping through the air with a terrible sound. It instantly hit the Knights, chaining from one to the next. The powerful electricity burned them instantly, leaving behind nothing but ash.
"Now..."
Ares's eyes fixed their sights on the final target.
"You're the only one left to burn."