Chapter 79: Hero From The Ashes

 Like a mighty moving fortress, they were sent to destroy a kingdoms enemy, and that day A-Sun had been summoned, not the strongest of the heroes but certainly one of the most brutal in his methods. Ferocious, deadly. Unyielding, these words defined those that reached the rank, hero. To a nation, Heroes were worshiped like gods and admired like kings and queens, to their enemies, they were feared and even the mention of their name was spoken in hushed tones for fear that the devil had ears and that their

  voice would reach him. With a smile, A-sun would taunt his enemies and with a smile, he would kill his foes' brothers in arms and with a smile he would break them until nothing remained, so that their will would be forever destroyed.

  During this time, the non-combatants of the kingdom rested deep beneath the city, it was to be their haven. There they hid in relative darkness and waited for the battle above to end; many fidgeted and talked in hushed tones while others tried to sleep with their children and hope that when they wake, all would be well.

  Although the people of the kingdom were now allies, there were still lingering resentments among them and it wasn't more evident than in the confines of that massive cave. Several goblins tribes segregated themselves into their own tribes with the occasionally allied tribe resting closeby further away were the kobolds who segregated themselves from the goblins but also amongst their own little tribes.

  There was one last group among them, those referred to only as The Repugnant, it was comprised mostly of prisoners and those who were free but had committed crimes against their own people. What marked them was their repugnant stench the permanently wafted from them no matter how much they tried to conceal it. it was their punishment for their crimes. Strangely it was only there that there was a mix of races that lived alongside each other. The freed trying to convince the prisoners of the errors they had committed in their lives. Some were responsive but many others stuck to their ways whether they be sadistic or repulsive. Among these people was Valentine who many of the others respected as he had not only been with the kingdom the longest but had even spoken with Scitus himself which, unknown to Scitus, brought with it a lot of prestige. There was a secondary reason too, that was Valentines Lover, Juliet who was not like them, she was not a corrupted like they were and yet she found love with Valentine and those close to him admired him, he achieved what no other could, he found love with a pure, a name the corrupted monsters called ordinary monsters.

  They listened to his orders and listened to his teachings as he had learned from Scitus and Juliet. He taught them that they had not been forsaken and that Scitus had spoken of a possibility of being freed from the corrupted Curse, a way to absolve themselves of their past sins, even those who were uninterested in changing themselves found these stories interesting and filled them with a hope that had long since vanished from their hearts. The most cynical of them, of course, chalked it up to the musings of a bored god but Valentine truly believed Scitus, because unlike them, he had met him in a more intimate setting. How could they believe that a god dared to fight for his citizens, not through the use of pawns but with his own life on the line. Although he didn't understand it then, he had come to understand that Scitus was weak during that time and could have very well been killed by goblins as absurd as that would have sounded to any sane person.

  From time to time, an even more revered and even feared goblin approached them, Seresa. She would constantly travel from tribe to tribe, group to group to speak with the leaders and explain what to do instead of idling about. She would sometimes have to change to the old tongue as many children and many adults had yet to learn English, it was a hassle and it strained her especially with her slothful personality but she preserved, Scitus had recently promised her a break from her jobs and she intended to hold him to his word but for the time being she had to work.

  "Hello, Valentine." Seresa said as she looked through some papers in her hands given to her by Maxwell to distribute among the populace. In bold print at the top of the paper read, "Laws". Maxwell had fully developed Dark-vison and had used his time efficiently and had continued to write several papers alongside Rey who was always the first to read them through. The laws would not take effect immediately and they would be implemented a bit slowly as to not cause mass dishevel but nonetheless, everyone had already been informed that they would have to follow new rules, the rules in Seresa's hand would take effect that following week.

  "Take this and this, Please read it thoroughly and explain its contents to the others." Seresa said with a tired expression. The many goblins there, even the lustful refrained from cooing as they understood Seresa was an important figure in the kingdom. They had seen her stand beside Scitus and Sia, the most revered people in the kingdom, therefore it followed that she too was equally important. The prisoners feared her and the freed revered her, she was like an angel sent to the depths of hell that they called home, simply to reinvigorate them. She almost appeared human as well so to the goblins who were accustomed to more rugged appearances found it refreshing to see such a charming goblin stand in front of them.

  As the many corrupted were admiring her beauty a sudden, yet subtle shift happened. "somethings wrong." Seresa said trying to contain her fright, Valentine didn't notice at first but then as he felt a sudden tremor, he turned to Seresa with knowing eyes. It was only a brief moment but they came to an immediate understanding.

  "EVA!!!" before she could finish her command the ceiling above tore apart as a black vortex appeared and gobbled it up like a small meal. The sun attacked their eyes with a blinding radiance and for a moment it was confusion that overwhelmed their fear but it was only for a moment as a shadowy figure slowly descended from the heavens like a wicked god. A malicious smile adorned his face as he eyed the frightened and cowering people like delicious morsels.

  "what do we have here, monsters in their natural habitat." He said in a mocking tone. Seresa's heart relentlessly palpitated as she felt her blood grow cold. How she wished to be a thousand miles from where she currently stood but she couldn't abandon her senses, she still had a job to do.

  "run that way." She shouted a command which slowly found its way around the startled people. Several minutes passed but the looming man hadn't moved, it was as if the man was waiting for something. Seresa desperately tried to guide people towards a nearby teleportation circle which was a failsafe in case of an attack on the cave itself, but never in a million years did she imagine that a man capable of tearing the earth itself would target them.

  "now. it's so amusing watching your pathetic attempts to escape." Just as the first few goblins were approaching the circle a sudden blast of black energy exploded, destroying the circle and killing several goblins and kobolds. Seresa was near the blast and several sharp stones embedded themselves into her legs and stomach. She wanted to scream, she wanted to run away but she had a job to do. She forcibly stood up, ignoring her broken limbs which begged her to rest, and swallowed the blood attempting to escape her lips. "everybody, calm down." She said to those close to her which mostly consisted of the corrupted monsters and prisoners. Valentine was quick to help her stand but was promptly refused with a wave of a hand. Seresa had to show a strong front, she knew her position in the eyes of others, she couldn't break that illusion, otherwise...

  “Scitus will arrive here shortly, he knows when we become injured.” She reassured the populace. Seresa went up to some of the heavily injured goblins and began feeding them some healing potions given to her by Scitus in case of emergencies. The potions were potent and could heal people near death.

  As this went on, A-sun watched gleefully as the monsters quickly tried to reassemble themselves. Just as they had regained their cool A-sun with a single point of his finger, blew up an area of goblins, in an instant several hundred goblins were dead. A-sun didn't stop there, he continued his massacre by killing a group of kobolds and a few ogres who happened to be nearby. The monsters were panicking and held their children tightly. The maddening chaos couldn't break their hope; many rallied around Seresa who calmly explained their situation. Her legs were quickly growing numb but she never once showed a sign of weakness, she smiled as she spoke as if she had unbreakable confidence.

  A-sun frowned in displeasure, he had hoped to scatter them and kill them as they fled in fear but instead they had grouped up closer together, and even those monsters who were originally enemies held each other close. The adults protected the children regardless of race, those who were once enemies held hands and prayed for a miracle. "what a disgusting hypocrisy " A-sun took the blade that rested on his back and unsheathed it revealing a brilliant golden sword that was adorned with the agonized faces of its supposed victims. Using this devilish Sword A-sun cut down a helpless child who at the time was being shielded by several adults but their protection was like a tissue in a sandstorm. The child's head rolled on the floor before they even knew that their ward had died.

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  The boy's mother was the first to realize and wailed loudly as she held her child's head in her arms, tears fell down her cheeks but her tears lasted only a brief moment before she joined her son in death. the sound her head made as it rolled on the cave floor was like soft flesh being torn as it made a plop sound. those around the two victims felt their hearts sink and their nails dug deep into their flesh as they held their tears in. As if to mock their attempts to protect the pair, A-un spoke in a soft menacing voice, "women and children first." True to his word, A-sun henceforth targeted only women and children with the occasional man dying when they attempted to interfere with the slaughter.

  Cries of pain, cries of sorrow echoed there, the poor people did not have even a chance to escape but they did once cry in fear, they held the fear down, the suppressed it and through clenched teeth and sorrowful tears, they kept hearing Seresa's voice who soothed their pained hearts.

  "Death is not the end, they can be brought back." She said, half telling the people, half telling herself. She suppressed the pain in her throat and bit her lips to suppress the tears in her eyes. Valentine stood beside her listening closely and watching the flickering figure of A-sun slaughtering one monster to the next. A small fire was burning inside him, he kept guard of Seresa, even if it cost him his eternal soul, he wouldn't let her fall.

  Over three thousand monsters died in only a few seconds but those living didn't falter; they refused to cower for a moment more, instead they knelt and prayed so that their god would arrive sooner, faster, so that he would arrive like a holy king and save them from the hell they had been thrust into. The death toll quickly rose 5,000, 8,000, and then 15,000 monsters died but many monsters had stopped screaming, they only prayed. A-sun was taken aback and angered at such an insult to his power.

  "Fucking Beg Scream, Do something!!!" he shouted at a small praying kobold who held his tears till the very moment of his death. A-sun then stomped on the kobold's corpse until its intestines spilled the area, filling the air with noxious smell of death. "fuck!!" he angrily said. He had purposefully attacked the monster city first to cause a major blow to Scitus's future power but it was primarily for his amusement. He had hoped to see them Scream in terror and although there were screams, they quickly died down. His eyes then turned to a young goblin who appeared nearly human. With a raised brow he traveled the short distance in an impossible amount of time, taking no more than a blink to arrive.

  He stared down the goblin girl who stared back with a fire and anger that he couldn't believe was coming from such a weak an pathetic creature. A-sun, rose his hand and with a thunderous slap so that all monsters heard, he struck Seresa who silently took this attack and proceeded to shout, "Believe in Scitus!!!" she shouted, not in fear but in anger. "Scitus will strike down this Fiend!!!" she said pointing towards a half-amused A-sun. "so you're the reason they are so resilient." A-sun grabbed onto Seresa's finger and snapped it in half. "scream for me." A-sun said but was only met with silence. "Scitus will kill you." Seresa muttered through bloodied teeth. "he will break you." A-suns lip broke into a smile and then into laughter. A-sun then grabbed Seresa by the neck slowly choking the life out of her and with a cold smile he said, "he wouldn't dare kill me if he knows what's good for him." Seresa attempted to release some encouraging words to the people but only pained choking sounds come out. "SCREAM!!!" A-sun shouted as he prepared his fist to end her life. Just as he was about to attack Valentine attacked using only his fists as weapons, Valentine relentlessly attacked A-sun. "COME ON THIS IS OUR CHANCE FOR REDEMPTION!!!" he shouted to his fellow corrupted, he shouted to himself, he shouted to Juliet who was too far away to hear his greatest conviction. If he couldn't live a man worthy of her, he would make sure that he would die one that was.

  Suddenly a mass of goblins and kobolds attacked A-Sun who was completely unfazed from their attacks but slowly, attack after attack, something strange was happening. First, it was like cotton, then it itched and after a moment more, an attack truly began to hurt. It wasn't a maddening pain nor even a suffering pain, it was the pain brought about when one stopped on small rocks with their feet, a bearable pain. His eyes turned to Valentine from where the pain originated, his attacks were growing stronger but not at an alarming rate. Still refusing to release Seresa, he used his left hand to punch Valentine with some of his full might. Valentine flew for several hundred feet until his back and skull met the cave wall, others presumed him dead but as his feet touched the ground, he did not collapse as they expected.

  "I must protect her, I must buy time." he whispered to himself as blood tricked down his body and onto the stone floor. "I'll protect everyone. I'll do it." he whispered to himself as he took several steps forward, and then several steps more the. A-sun raised a brow, and at the moment Valintine stopped moving, his body froze like a statue as a long final breath left Valentine. "did he die standing up." He thought curious as to how a goblin survived even a casual punch of his. His eyes turned to Seresa who clawed A-suns arms to no avail. "Finally panicking I see." But when he turned to face her he saw that her eyes weren't filled with fear but rather fury brought about by the countless deaths at A-suns hands. How Seresa wished she could free herself, how she wished to be strong as that she could dispatch the brute before her, how he wanted to cause him agony. But Seresa also remembered Scitus's words to never blindly seek revenge as it was corrupting force. Nevertheless, she at least wished to live long enough see Scitus Terrify the man choking her, how she wished to see A-sun cower in fear just as he had them do.

  The goblins and kobolds suddenly stopped attacking as an odd silence prevailed. "is that god finally here." Thought A-sun as he turned around to see something far stranger than a god. It was Valentine, the dust and stones around him slowly levitated as a strange powered enveloped his body, slowly his bone structure was being rearranged under the noses of everyone present, slowly his bones grew thicker and stronger, slowly his skin grew more yellow and his ears shrunk down some and his eyes glowed a bright gold. "what the hell?" thought A-sun, even the monsters were confused as they had never seen such a phenomenon and truly no one had seen such of phenomenon for over 10,000 years. for the first time since the Great Goblin Era, a goblin was going under true metamorphosis. After a few more seconds Valentine looked more goblin than he did before, he lost his more human appearance but in place of that was a presence that shook the hearts of everyone present, it was like he was a mighty warrior who through countless battles learned to release an aura that suppressed those of lesser will.

  Valentine dashed forward using, A-suns momentary confusion to free Seresa from her binds. Valintine understood that he was weaker than A-sun, several thousand times weaker but he now had the strength to at least free Seresa and that was all he could ever ask for. The stunned Corrupted were the first to be freed from the trance, they quickly picked Seresa up and stole her away, running as far away as possible even if it only bought them a millisecond more, they wouldn't allow Seresa to die.

  "you are strange." A-sun muttered as he readied his sword. "our god will smite you." he responded, A-sun frowned, "is he truly that amazing, he a pathetic god who chose you creatures as his subjects. Compared to my god, yours is an insignificant ant." A-sun shouted for all to hear. "you are all insignificant in my eyes and just because you've learned how to speak, doesn't make you my or equal nor can you compare yourself to those of the Mortal races, all of you will forever be stupid monsters. And I'll prove it by cutting down that goblins head." A-sun said as he pointed his blade at Seresa. "you can't afford to kill her, you can't afford to hurt her." Valentine said. "she is one of the first to follow Scitus she, unlike many of us, she was the first to understand his plans for us. If you want to hurt her, you'll have to kill everyone else first." A-sun smiled, "with pleasure." A-sun swung his blade towards Valentine but the blade never hit its target. with a powerful sonic boom, A-sun vanished from everyone's vision.

  The time had come, Scitus had arrived and with a single fist, he had punched A-sun with a contempt that shook the earth itself. There was silence but there was also hope that there fallen kin could be revived.

  Scitus looked down on them all with kind warm eyes. they saw as Scitus suppressed his tears as he looked at them with compassion and pity, an act that no one in the world had ever done before. Their god, cried for them, their god truly cried for them, could any other person say that? could those of the mortal races truly say that their god cried for them?

  "I'll kill you." Scitus muttered as his gaze turned to a severely inured Seresa. His blood boiled with wrath he didn't think possible. Seresa was a carefree girl and he had forced her to work so hard for so long and now he let her become injured, he couldn't forgive himself for that but more importantly, he couldn't forgive the criminal.

  A-sun slowly removed himself from the cave wall that he had found himself embedded into. His entire body was filled with pain but he didn't falter. "do you know what you're doing. You're breaking the rules of war here." A-sun said with bloodied lips.

  "does it look like I care." Scitus coldly said as he shielded his people with a powerful spell. "the other gods haven't shown me the respect I deserve, do you think I don't know who I'm fighting with. Do you think I don't know who Mern has as a fighting force."

  "I know more about his army than he does, I know every single leader, every general, I know the corrupted officials, I know the ones that want to rebel!!!" A-sun's eyes widened at this revelation, was it truly possible that Scitus knew that much about his enemy, A-sun's thoughts were interrupted by a chilling statement.

  "But I sure as fuck don't know who you are. So tell me, what the rules of war are again so I can engrave it upon your corpse."