[A hundred years after The Unification War]
It was a frightful, dark night; no stars and no moon in the sky. Only darkness.
Slowly but silently, a thin-looking man made his way into a tent. It was big and spacious inside and a single throne-like chair was placed in the middle. A red carpet was laid down on the floor leading to the throne on which the man walked.
He walked majestically and gave an aura befitting a potent leader.
Beside him, nine beings and some 30 soldiers were lined up kneeling down with their head lowered with respect. For them, it was an honor to be serving what could only be said a fantastic leader.
The man sat down on his throne and looked at his subordinates. With a subtle nod from their master, they rose up with humility.
'What is the news?'
The man asked. He did not care for pleasantries nor flattery.
Startled, a giant man came forward among the nine. He was a half-giant towering over 8 feet, named Amos. He was assigned the position of the Chief and Number One Jewel among the Nine Jewels of Baba Yega.
In front of him sat the infamous Baba Yega, translated as Boogeyman, their beloved leader.
``Leader, we bring good news, the capture of the Queen of Eljimor was successful. She is as beautiful as it was told to us, her beauty indeed rivals the Absolute Ruler Malici,' Amos happily reported.
Hearing the news, the Leader's face lit up. The Kingdom of Eljimor had been a troublesome stone in his path. He wanted it to be under his banner, under his rule, as a vassal state but the King declined his merciful proposal and refused to negotiate further.
This was an insult to him, a great Leader of the Mighty Yega Foundation. A mere King of a small land dared to defy him. So, he sent an army of 250,000 soldiers under General Hast - one of the most powerful warrior in his military and a shrewd tactician's - command.
He was sure of his victory and slept peacefully knowing that Hast will unleash his wrath upon the Kingdom of Eljimor. A week later, the news that he received bewildered him. It was a complete defeat! All 250,000 soldiers were annihilated! And the strangest part was their bodies were nowhere to be found!
Eljimor possessed a technology that could attain such an impossible feat. And that took him by surprise. He had heavily underestimated his enemy, perhaps his pride was getting in his way. He received another blow when he read a report by his Spy Network. The Kingdom of Eljimor's military strength far succeeded the Yega Foundation and what's more they had already learned to harness the power of superior technology. All these facts led him to follow an underhanded tactic such as to kidnap the Queen. Now, he had two motives to seize Eljimor - one, revenge and two, technology.
However, it was a difficult task to capture the Queen. She was almost always surrounded by 15 to 20 bodyguards as he was informed. He had to wait and plan for almost a year for this opportunity. Therefore, he was excited to meet the famed Queen of Eljimor whose beauty was said to rival that of The Absolute Ruler Malici.
'Bring her in,'
He ordered.
'Yes Leader,'
Amos ordered a soldier standing by to fetch the captured.
After a few minutes, the curtains of the tent rose and a tall beautiful lady in her early twenties entered. She was astonishingly beautiful, like an angel. Her platinum silky hair fell down her shoulder, she was wearing a majestic white gown. With a body so slim and curvy, almost perfect, her skin; as white as porcelain and her eyes marble like dark and sparkling and sultry lips.
But her hands were tightly tied with a rope. She was made to wear a collar - an attempt to demean- that was locked by a small golden lock and a long chain was attached to it like a leash. The soldier roughly yanked on the leash, that faltered her movements; restrained by shackles of chains wrapped around her feet, she almost fell down, amusing the hungry onlookers who sniggered but she pursued her captor without complaint. Still trying her best to walk boldly and proudly, to declare her position as the Queen through her demeanour.
When they reached in front of the Leader's throne, the Leader maliciously stared at her. He had been with a fair share of women but never had he seen such a beauty in his life. It was sad that he could not actually enjoy her. But it did not mean that he would not insult her.
'Why is a prisoner, standing shoulder to shoulder with the head of my Nine Jewels?'
The Leader sneered.
'You heard our Leader, kneel down,'
Amos ordered, he too, receiving the cue, was giving a cruel smile.
'Kneel down, in front of a coward?'
The Queen sarcastically replied.
'Insolence!'
'Bitch!'
'Whore!'
The other Eight Jewels shouted insults after insults towards her when they heard their Leader being insulted. But her demeanour stayed the same, bold and proud.
Amos, too got angry but he knew better than to show his anger in the presence of his master. As for his Leader, he was startled, never had a lady spoken disrespectfully to him before. The Queen was clearly looking down on him - that outraged him.
'If you don't I will make you do so,'
He threatened the Queen, his eyes glaring at her.
'Make me? I would like to see you try,'
The Queen proudly said.
The Leader's heart raged with anger at this comment. Any girl would be scared to death if she was to find herself in the Queen's position but she was neither frightened nor tense. Instead, she was standing proudly.
The Leader hated that smug expression on her face. Previously he only wanted to capture and beat the information out of her but now looking at the smirk on her face, he wanted to do much more- much, much more worse.
'Bitch, you dare to test my temper, I will make you kneel and lick my shoes,'
The Leader shouted.
.
Then turning to the soldier who was holding the leash, he ordered him to make her kneel.
The soldier yanked the chain down and stepped on it. The Queen felt a forceful tug on her neck and in an instant, she was kneeling down on the ground on all fours, like a dog. The forceful pull tightened the collar on her neck choking her. She coughed and gasped for air once she was down and the grip around her neck loosened. She tried raising her head but the leash was trapped by the soldier's foot, making it impossible.
'Ah, a position fitting for a bitch,'
Amos mocked. And with him, every other man present inside, laughed. All of them were perversely staring at her. They had a hungry look on their faces, like wild coyotes on a prowl.
The Queen glared at Amos, disgust and hatred clearly seen in her eyes. It was indeed a humiliating position for the Queen of Eljimor to be in - bend down as if in submission - like a slave.
'Enjoy the moment while you can. How cowardly of you to tie me up and humiliate me. Loosen my hands if you dare,'
She said.
'Why should we, so that you can scratch us with your long nails?'
One of the Nine Jewels named Bale sneered and others laughed.
'A bitch should learn to keep quiet when her master tells her to,'
Another Nine Jewel named Kaal mocked.
The Leader, too, was enjoying the moment. He had been humiliated and stumped by the King of Eljimor so many times that he needed something to vent out his anger. And what better than the Queen being his play thing. He thought of some horrible ways to torture the fine lady and once the negotiations were done and he had got hold of Eljimor, he planned to execute the King only after making him watch his wife get raped publicly by his soldiers and then killed in a horrifying way.
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His terrible intent showed in his eyes.
'Tear down her clothes,'
He ordered.
Amos got excited. He was waiting for this precise order and now that his master gave it, he wouldn't miss the fun for the world.
He stepped forward as he took out a dagger from its sheath lustfully looking at the beauty in front of him. For normal humans the dagger would seem like a short sword but for Amos who was a half-giant, it was a small dagger.
The Queen did not falter, instead she looked at the Leader with hatred and disgust.
'You there, you and you, hold her tight,'
Amos ordered the soldiers who were gladly enjoying the show.
The soldiers hurriedly went over to the kneeling Queen. The soldier who was holding her leash pulled her up to stand and the other soldier opened her hands. The Queen tried to hit him but he was strong; she was caught midway and both her hands were locked by two soldiers. Her ankles ached from the restraint. It looked impossible to escape, she could do nothing; all her movements were locked.
Amos, a towering giant came in front of her. For him, she looked like a doll; he could easily crush her neck with a finger, if he willed. However, it was his first time seeing such a beauty about to be naked by his own hands.
He brought the dagger nearer and nearer, till it was an inch away from her bosom.
Even then the Queen did not flinch, she directly looked into his eyes and then, suddenly her eyes gleamed of triumph and she gave a wicked smile.
'You cowards are dead meat,'
Bang!
Ahhhhh!
Kiiiiii!
Right after she spoke, they heard hoards of screams and loud banging sounds outside the tent. And just in a minute, an eerie silence followed.
All of the people present inside the tent were startled and confused.
'Check what happened outside?'
The Leader hurriedly ordered two soldiers to go out.
The soldiers obediently stepped outside the tent but as soon as they got out-
Slash!
Two heads came inside rolling on the ground, their last expression was that of surprise.
Seeing the soldiers killed in front of their eyes, everyone got terrified.
Cold sweat dripped down the Leader's forehead, his heartbeat started to accelerate, he turned to face the Queen; she was calm as before and her face carried a triumphant smile. Amos had backed out and his dagger was dangling in his hands. The soldiers were still grabbing her tightly.
'Y-you who have you called?'
The Leader panicked.
Why wouldn't he be, an entire 300,000 soldiers were standing guard outside the tent and in just a few seconds there was silence, no one was walking, no one was talking, no clanking sound of metal crashing against each other, no clashing sound of the swords, nothing, complete silence?
'Didn't I warn you, you can't handle my King, even if you bring a million soldiers it won't be enough to kill him? He will slaughter everyone within a blink of an eye,'
The Queen proudly said.
'Oh, I forgot to tell you those 250,000 soldiers that you sent to capture Eljimor were killed by him, single-handedly,'
Listening to the Queen, his heart started to murmur. 250,000 men, killed by a single person! Is he a devil? Or a monter!? Such an invincible man, does he really exist?
'W-who the hell is this King?'
The Leader screamed in terror and disbelief.
He was terrified and his wit was giving upon him. He could not imagine anyone so monstrously terrifying that they could annihilate an entire army. Watching the Leader tremble in fear, the Queen felt satisfied. But it was not enough. She wanted to punish him more. Then, as a final blow, she dropped a bombshell - The King of Eljimor's true identity.
'Perhaps you might have heard of him, he is called the God of Wrath, Black Ryder'
'G-god o-of W-wrath!!'
Of course, he has heard of him, the most despicable man that ever lived. He single-handedly destroyed a Royal Family and played a big role in the unification of Vendor and Canaan. But after the Unification, he had disappeared without a trace. No one knew where he was or even if he was alive. Some believed that he died while some believed that he was still alive somewhere.
The mysterious fact was that no one had ever seen his face or heard his actual name. He was called Black Ryder. The name came to be since he always wore a black leather jacket and pants and covered his face with a hood and a white faceless mask. And he rode a unique mechanical horse - that he called, 'A Motorbike'.
The Leader's head began to feel dizzy and heavy. Seeing their master getting frightened out of his mind, Amos and the other eight Jewels were confused.
They all had heard the story of the Unification of Vendor and they all knew the name Black Ryder but that was an event of the past. It happened about a hundred years ago, how could the Black Ryder still be alive, even if he was alive he would be too old and too weak.
Besides, the Queen seems to be in her twenties and her beauty was out of the world, did she really marry an old man?
'Leader-'
Amos was about to voice his confusion when they heard someone approaching the tent. The speed of the footsteps was slow and calm, whoever it was, they were not in a rush.
Sensing danger, Amos along with the other Eight Jewels and twenty-eight soldiers all assumed a defensive stance. About 15 soldiers surrounded the Queen and among them, one soldier grabbed her by her hair and placed a knife on her bare neck.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The footsteps were getting closer and closer and along with the footsteps, they could hear a squishy sound like leather brushing up against each other.
Then a silhouette of a well-built man appeared at the entrance of the tent. He was indeed wearing a hood.
All of their hearts were beating fast except for the Queen; she had a calm demeanour even if there was a knife hanging in her throat.
The tent opened slowly and they all saw it, a tall figure of approximately 180cm, well-built body and above all white faceless mask.
It was the famous Black Ryder!
The soldiers' feet trembled in his presence and he had not even uttered a word. Amos felt a powerful, overwhelming aura coming from the Black Ryder and too lost his will to fight.
The Leader's eyes grew wide and his face lost all its color, it was now white and pale as if he had seen a ghost
.
Ryder turned his head towards his beloved wife and saw that her feet and hands were tied and she was on a leash with a knife on her neck. His eyes lit up in a rage, no one dared to touch his wife, much less tie her up, humiliate her and hurt her.
At this time he had made up his mind. The fate of the Yega Foundation was sealed. He vowed to utterly destroy the Foundation. The last time he swore on something, the result was the War of Unification and the downfall of the Royal Family.
The Black Ryder made his move, with a single step.
The Leader's eyes grew wider at what he had just witnessed. In a blink of an eye, Ryder had vanished and in another second the 29 soldiers' heads fell down like apples falling from a tree. The Queen was free and beside her stood the Ryder. His speed was impeccable. His movements were so fast that the naked eye simply could not perceive.
Amos almost peed in his pants but his fellow Jewels were not as fortunate as he was. The smell of urine reeked the place and they were not even embarrassed, they only cared for their lives and prayed for a slight chance of mercy from the Black Ryder. Even Amos could not believe that just a few minutes ago he was looking forward to raping the Queen.
'Hm, so who wanted to tear my clothes off, let's hear their voice,'
The Queen coldly said. She had not a shred of mercy for these cowards.
'You, you were calling me bitch right, and I forgot what was my proper position again, can you refresh my memory?'
She pointed at Amos, whose legs trembled.
'Did you call her bitch?'
The Ryder asked rage could be felt in his voice.
'Y-yes,'
Amos squeaked like a child.
Slash!
He suddenly felt light as if something heavy just got off his shoulders. He looked down and what he saw horrified him out of his wits.
His two huge arms were cut off from his shoulder in just a fraction of a second and behind him, the Ryder was standing holding his blue thin sword. He was smaller than Amos but he had managed to sever his arms without much effort.
Slash!
With another slash, the shocked head of Amos fell down on the floor and his bulky body slowly fell down with a loud crash.
The other Eight Jewels felt the powerful emotion of despair and fear, they knelt down in front of Ryder. They knew that not even the Leader was a match for him and the only hope for them was to sincerely beg for their lives.
The Leader was speechless, Amos was among the strongest of his army, his number one Jewel and it took only mere 7 seconds to kill him. His mind was blown apart; then he saw the other eight Jewels kneel down before the Queen and the Ryder, begging for their lives, seeing an opportunity he joined them.
'Black Ryder, please forgive our insolence, I promise to never trouble you again; to hell with trouble I will never look back on Eljimor. Please let me go!' The Leader begged.
Ryder listened to his wails.
'You can do anything with the rest but let me go, I possess riches, treasures, gems that you have never seen, those all are yours, I am even willing to hand over my entire Empire, but please let-'
'
'First, you capture my wife, second, you tie her up and humiliate her, third, you were about to rape her, do you still think I will let you live,'
Ryder spoke slowly but the threat was looming with every word.
'Queen, oh benevolent Queen, please help us, we apologize for our behavior, please have mercy!'
The eight Jewels screamed, they were in tears and snot was running down their nose. Their appearance was degrading and disgraceful.
But the Queen gave a cruel smile.
'Dear, how merciless can you be?'
She asked her beloved.
'You tell me,'
He replied.
'Let them experience hell!'
The Queen declared, her eyes raged with fury.
The Leader along with his Eight Jewels were shocked at what they heard. The Queen's cruelty went beyond their beliefs.
A blue magic circle appeared underneath them and illuminated the whole tent. The Leader recognized that the circle was teleportation magic. They were being teleported to somewhere.
His manner and tone changed immediately. He was furious.
'You will pay for this Ryder! My Master will come to avenge me! You just wait and see!'
The Leader cried.
And soon they were engulfed by a blue tunnel. The light inside was so bright that they had to close their eyes. Soon the bright light disappeared and they opened their eyes. The Leader looked around to see where they had arrived. It looked like a cave or a dungeon, he was not sure.
'Leader, where are we?'
Kaal asked worriedly. His pants were still wet from his discharge a few minutes ago. The rest of the Jewels did not bother talking with the Leader, since they found that it was easier for him to sell them out for his survival.
'I don't know, that bitch did say that we will see hell, so my intuition tells me we are in grave danger,'
The Leader honestly voiced his opinion.
His hatred for the Queen increased. If he survived he vowed to mutilate her with his own hands.
'Muhahaha!'
Suddenly they heard a maniacal laugh, echoing the place.
'A bunch of brats thinking about escaping and killing the Platinum Queen,'
The deep voice confounded the Leader, what more, whoever it was, they could read minds.
'W-who are you and what are you about to do to us?'
The Leader asked nervously.
'Oh! Where are my manners, my name is Lucifer and you indeed are in hell! You won't die here but you can never leave,'
The voice said.
The Leader was relieved a little at the very least he won't die but never escape, he wasn't too sure, so he kept his hopes up. He would escape one day, he vowed.
'Oh, a man of determination I see,' Lucifer's voice boomed, he had read his mind again, 'let's see if you can stand up to your words,'
Right after, they heard loud clanking noises of steels and what sounded like rattling of bones. The Leader grew weary and so did the Eight Jewels. They took a defensive stance and possessed a nervous expression on their faces.
'Oh, yes, I forgot to tell, your magic won't work here,'
Lucifer's voice boomed around, utterly destroying every piece of hope that the Leader and his Eight Jewels had mustered. Their eyes now wide with fear and despair, lost its shine, and they began to curse the day they thought of meddling with the Kingdom of Eljimor.
Then a group of thousand skeletons materialised in front of them and dashed onwards, they were equipped with sharp daggers, swords, shields, and knives.
The Leader and his Jewels froze, there was nothing they could do. They were utterly and hopelessly helpless.
The swarm of skeletons were quick and moved fiercely, they dealt strikes after strikes, cutting off their limbs, fingers, nails, hands, and heads but no matter where they were severed they did not die. Lucifer's maniacal laugh echoed as if he was enjoying the horrifying scene.
Blood scattered everywhere as the skeletons dealt blows after blows, some had their throat slowly and painfully sliced, some had their gut pulled out and some had their hearts ripped out. But they did not die. Their body simply regenerated.
Terrified the Jewels tried to run but they were caught and dragged in, while being stabbed about fifty times in their chest. But they did not die. They screamed in pain, they cried in despair, they howled and wailed in agony, they felt fear worse, worse than death but they did not die. Some had their eyes pierced with a knife, some had a hot steel rod slowly being driven into their head and stomach but they did not die.
The Leader's mind broke down; he was nailed down on the ground with his hands and feet pierced by a dagger, holding him in place. The skeletons were slowly peeling off his skin as he wailed in pain. He begged them to stop but they did not. The skeletons kept on slicing off his skin like mindless machines. While some other skeletons were stabbing his chest; still he did not die.
Frankly, death would have been a sweet and better ending for them.
That was Hell and amidst the howling cries of the Leader and his Jewels, Lucifer's booming laugh was heard.