The first salvo was a huge rush of bone spikes that were shot at him. However, instead of all converging towards one point, this time they scattered their shots all around. That way, this made their attack reach an area and make it that much harder for the Spartan to dodge.
He didn’t need to anyway. He merely lifted his shield up and allowed them to slam against his defenses, each of them rebounding off the impact. With those attacks all down on the ground, he rushed on forward to take down each of these soldiers without the usage of his divinity. After all, with that giant waiting for him behind that barrier, he’d need to reserve the usage of his divine powers.
Besides, he doubted any of these soldiers could pose a single threat to him now. None of them were capable of standing against him with these enhanced abilities.
He rushed forward to one of the benches that had two of the soldiers behind it. The two warriors tried to launch their lance arms at him in hopes of dealing some kind of damage, but none of them got the chance to attack. Not when the Spartan slammed the bench forward, sending the wooden furniture back to them. That attack stunned them, long enough for him to strike and slam his spear into their heads.
The two enemies fell, dead for the time being. That meant nothing to the Spartan as he dashed over and ripped apart their legs, destroying any signs of the fleshy protrusions. They fell into dust and bone, but not before the other warriors retrieved their projectiles and opened fire once more.
This time, the Spartan didn’t have the chance to block. He ducked behind one of the wooden benches and let the shots sail over his head, before rushing forward to the next group to make progress. While moving towards them, he made sure to cut all the nearby tendons to delay their shots.
However, what he didn’t anticipate was that these four soldiers were far more prepared to deal with him. Rather than charging or even allowing him to stab them, they maneuvered around to use the stone statues as defenses for his attacks. His first spear launched, stabbing into the nearest statue and shattering the neck into a thousand pieces. However, this attack acted as a means to slow down his movement and, thus, preventing him from being able to defend himself efficiently.
They rushed forward and attacked. The Spartan was forced to lift his shield up in defense, and he was barely able to avoid getting struck. Their strength was far greater than he had anticipated, which knocked him down to the ground. Those warriors got ready to attack once more, but this time the Spartan lashed out and swiped with his spear.
The blade of his weapon swung, going through one of the enemy’s neck, while the other got its chest ripped open. That took care of that one for the time being as it collapsed to its knees, its hands to its throat trying to stop the bleeding, while the other sat down and struggled to cover up its wounds. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop the other two from attacking and rushing him.
At this point, there really was only one way to defend: the use of his divinity. This was humiliating in a sense. After all, he had anticipated taking down all of these warriors with nothing but his own skills and strength. Being shown face first that he was only capable by utilizing his divinity was rather shameful.
But shame was nothing in comparison to survival. Here and now, he had to act to ensure his safety above all. That meant using whatever means were available to him right here and now.
He navigated a path to the legs of those soldiers and struck. In a single second, all four of those enemies dissolved and left him alone with the remainders. With a roar, he extended his divinity to touch all the remaining warriors and struck.
They were all taken down without another fight. The enemies all dissolved into dust and bone as the Spartan chose not to give them a chance to change the tides of battle. This time, he felt a tinge of exhaustion from the usage of his divinity, but nothing debilitating. He could keep on going, and there really was nothing that could halt his movement forwards.
Once again, the soldiers left behind a black shard that seemed to float above the ground amidst all the dust and bone. However, what was quite interesting was the fact that the blue barrier in front of the titan had yet to dissipate. The protection still stayed, remaining and acting as a deterrent for anything that dared to come in. Though, the fact that it was still present meant there had to be a key to breaking this down.
That would have to come later. The Spartan increased his range to search for any incoming enemies and to his relief, he had found none. That meant he was free to go ahead and claim this divinity for his own. While he hadn’t been injured nor did he have any exhaustion, it was only best to get any power-ups before this upcoming battle. His instincts were telling him that such a battle would be dangerous and nearly impossible, and that every advantage would be a necessity in this case.
So, he went ahead and touched the soul shard and allowed his consciousness to fade once more.
However, this time, instead of blacking out, he seemed to stay awake. He found himself in a dark cell of some sorts, surrounded by stone brick walls. The only reason he was not cast into full darkness was due to the torches that were scattered across the room. It was then that he realized that he was not alone in this prison: he was surrounded by multiple men. All of them were half naked and worn down with exhaustion, all of them with dead eyes that were red and puffy. They all seemed to be lifeless and nearly incapable of words.
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Then someone came. They were someone that Spartan recognized immediately: the second-in-command from the previous memories. Before, he wasn’t able to get a good view of the man, but now he was able to get all the information he needed.
This person was built like a warrior. He had all the built power and strength within his body, with the muscular structure of a trained professional. His arms were incredibly large, and they all were covered up with some black leather gauntlets that had bits of metal embedded on top. He had no hair on his head, but he did have a long beard that reached all the way down to his chest.
Though, none of that was important. No, it was the emotion that laid in his eyes: hate. Unadulterated, pure hate that resonated as he scanned over the people in the cell with pure murderous intent. He growled as he looked over everyone, before sniffing and giving them another glare.
“You lot should be grateful for still being alive. The crime of attempting to kill my lord would have seen you all hung or even eviscerated. The only reason you have not been given such fates is simply because the whore that hired you vouched for your protection. But, do not mistake me coming here for mercy, for you will have to pay for every last drop of blood you have spilled that faithful day.”
He began to walk back and forth, never letting his sight off of the denizens of the cell, “For your crimes, you will all be forced to serve my lord till death. No matter how badly you are injured, no matter how bad you are mutilated, you will not be allowed to give up your quest to do what he demands. Understand?”
None spoke. The Spartan raised an eyebrow at the sight, at least until a random voice spoke up at that moment.
“We… We will be spared, yes?”
“Spared?” The man asked, before chuckling lightly. That moment erupted into an outburst of laughter that seemed to continue onwards for quite some time, before slamming a fist against the cell bars. “No. You are not being spared. You are being forced to pay for your sins, you will not be allowed any freedom. Your thoughts, your body, your everything will belong to my lord. Nothing less, nothing more!”
“W-We had no choice…”
“That is none of my concern! If you had any honor, you would have killed yourself when you had been given the order to attack my lord! You would have even done so in this cell, but yet you all cling to life so desperately.”
“Pl-please–”
“Enough. I have no need nor desire to listen to the words of such cowards that refuse to recognize their failings in life. Either agree or face execution. The option is up to you.”
The mass of men groaned and moaned. Then, without much thought, they all rushed to the bars in such a flood that the cell nearly buckled from the amassed weight.
“Free us!”
“Give us mercy!”
“We’ll do anything, don’t let us rot here!”
“I’m sorry! I’ll do anything, mercy!”
The second in command seemed to be even more disgusted with their actions. He couldn’t help himself by spitting at the mass, before raising one of his hands.
“Very well. I might as well.” With that, a strange energy began to spiral around his body, before that power began to fill the cell. All the men seemed to be nearly ecstatic with the event, at least for a little while.
Then that joy turned to screams of pain and misery. They all came down to the ground as their bodies started to bubble and twist and turn. There was no way for them to escape the moment where their body were changing and warping. The only thing they could do was scream in pain and suffer.
“Save us! Help us! Spare us, please!”
“Foolish little insects.” The man spat once more, “You all desired life so much that you were willing to kill for it, no? What I am doing now is nothing more than divine justice, a necessity. Be grateful for that, you will have the life you desire above all. You will obtain the immortality you seek, albeit one with caveats. Do you understand? You are given a second chance in life. Do not squander it, else I will make your life an even worse misery than this.”
Whatever response these miserable men had died the moment the energy got stronger. The screams got even louder as their bones burst out of their bodies and began to harden into some type of metal. Their skin started to grow, and their faces began to bulge out, at least until something broke through in an explosion of blood.
That mask. The metal mask all those soldiers wore. To think that such a thing was a result of magical intent made the Spartan’s stomach churn. Even he could not imagine such a thing was how these beings came to life, how they were turned into such a thing.
The second in command paused while he kept on pushing, before shaking his head.
“Tsk. To think I’d have to expend a bit of the gifts given to me by my lord on you pathetic lot. However, such a thing is a necessity. After all, your names, your body, your everything will no longer exist. No, you are legion now, the hammer that will strike down my lord’s enemies. You all are nothing more than walking soldiers that have one goal. Understand?”
There was no response for a while. Then, all at once, the men all stood up, having fully transformed into the soldiers that the Spartan had seen throughout the town. They all turned to the second in command and raised their heads.
“We understand. We are yours to command.”
“Good.” He grinned maliciously, before opening the door. “Then come. We have much to do.”
They all started to stream out the cell and then, without further ado, the vision ended. The Spartan was back in that giant hallway, staring at the titan. The blue force field from earlier had dissipated at some point, and the giant was beginning to stir.
He didn’t have any time to go over what he had learned. Not with this battle coming forward. The only thing he could do at this time was raised his spear and shield in a defensive position and hope the extra divinity was more than enough to deal with this threat.