The Apex [Graphic Violence]

The four gods could not believe what they had just saw. While they were discussing how to divide this mortal up in four fleshy parts, this kobold had the gall to just smile at them. The mirth and ridicule in those yellow orbs rankled the four gods. Halatrax snarled as he readied his blade, Sandril prepared to support. Both Tyrix and Damak stood easily, each playing 'the gentleman' by insisting the other go first. Still Xing Lei shook his head, Halatrax was obviously the main threat but the latter two were wild cards.

Sighing inside he expanded his senses feeling the heavens around him and nearly choked as the energy of this place rushed into his body like an ocean. The world had untapped potential but this place was like a font of crystal clear spring water. The rush of energy almost made his eyes explode in his head, the sheer purity of the amount barged into his body like a thrashing wild stallion kicking everything it came into contact with!

Xing Lei gasped in pain as he felt the raw untapped energy barreling through his meridians. His very veins felt like a scorching flame was rushing through them scorching his body from the inside out. Gritting his teeth he stepped forward slowly, advancing on the four with a determined look. Only Tyrix seemed to take note of the kobold's new unwavering advance, the rest sneered and ridiculed Xing Lei but the demonic god edged backwards with each step the kobold advanced.

He'd watched the kobold long enough to know Xing Lei had planned something and their little troop was not going to enjoy it. Wether this plan could turn around this near hopeless situation was immaterial. To Tyrix, suffering the suicidal attack of the being with nothing to lose was too dangerous, sure they couldn't die person but he'd taught more than one lesser diety that had risen up to challenge him, there were worse endings than death.

Such was the look in Xing Lei's eyes. To Tyrix it looked like the kobold knew he had zero chance of killing them, but was gearing up to make them suffer. Gritting his teeth and being as careful as he could he backpedaled as the kobold advanced, ever ready to sprout his bat like wings and take to the skies, better these three serve as Xing Lei's foil than risk himself on some unknown method swirling behind those glowing yellow eyes.

Wait.... glowing?

Tyrix stared into Xing Lei's eyes and noted those yellow orbs were indeed glowing, hell those eyes looked ready to explode in the kobold's very skull they seemed so charged with energy. Gritting his teeth, dark wings erupted from his back and flapped hard shooting the demonic god into the sky, the other three turned to regard the red skinned giant of a man with curiosity. Smiling shamelessly Tyrix coughed, "You'll have to excuse me brothers I hear my wife calling... coming dear!"

"No need to rush off Tyrix, in fact you have an even better view up there."

Those simple words had four sets of eyes turning to regard the kobold who spoke, no longer standing, Xing Lei had knelt upon the sands, the godly spear laid flat before him. A smile upon his reptilian muzzle made the angry gods cock their heads, had this mortal lost it? Tyrix didn't think so. His demonic red skin was itching like mad, whatever energy was in Xing Lei was bleeding into the air and was making his skin crawl. Turning to fly away his dark eyes opened wide, gone was the clear skies above, even the battlers in the stands looked up in awe as roiling storm clouds stretched for miles.

Storm clouds? In this their heavenly domain? When had the days not been shining warm in the last millenia?

Lightning crawled across those dark clouds, like millions of spiders it swarmed across the darkened skies filling the air with an energy that made every god stop and watch. Zee tried to find her voice, to warn those of her pantheon but it was far too late for that. Xing Lei looked at the storm, his muzzle opening wide as his voice struck the air like an explosion.

"Blind hateful heavens.... I, Xing Lei, challenge you!!!"

A whimper escaped Tyrix's lips just before a bolt of lightning arced down from those clouds like some vicious cobra, the bolt ignored Tyrix, cutting the demonic god in twain as it sliced down at Xing Lei like a sword the size of a mountain. Tyrix did not see the result, but Halatrax, Sandril and Damak standing at ground zero surely did! The bolt struck the kobold like it was a living serpent, biting at the demeaning mortal and exploding outward.

The shockwave blasted the three flying. Halatrax went soaring head over heels, his great bastard sword stabbing through a lesser god as the war god himself slammed into the rail edge, nearly being torn in half as his torso wanted to continue going but his legs were dug into the wall! Sandril fared no better. The fat halfling sailed like a squash ball and slammed into the wall to Halatrax's right, but he did not bounce. The halfling ruptured like a water balloon sending a grisly mass of red across the pristine wall, his glittering jewelry shredding his limbs as they embedded themselves inside the wall.

Xing Lei knelt calmly as the energy racked his small body with pain. This was but the first bolt. Had the others realized this maybe things would have been different, but ignorance forgives none. Nearby, the two halves of Tyrix was stitching together while Halatrax tried to move his spine back down out of where it had lodged bunched up in his throat. Sandril whimpered as all that gore started to regather in a paler, less rotund balloon. But where was Damak?

Damak was at the edge of the arena, kneeling and sobbing to himself. The blast, strangely enough, did little to the pervy old bastards body. Much like Halatrax he had been sent flying but why he was bawling was because the tough as nails old bastard was currently naked. Nothing could move that dirty old man to tears but when that first bolt incinerated his treasured, feet stomped robe he could do nothing but cry! His tortured wails made the other three stare death at him. They had been torn apart but he lost his dirty robe and HE'S crying? What about them?!

Tyrix groaned standing up, dusting the sand off his chest looking to Xing Lei a smug smile on his lips, "Gotta give you credit but as you can see, its a pain in the ass but you can't kill us."

Xing Lei smiled back serenely, looking to Tyrix he lifted his chin, looking skyward. The demonic god lifted his gaze and nearly wet himself. The storm clouds were darker than ever, rather than one bolt of lightning crawling through the storm there was now THREE bolts snaking through the sky. Tyrix dropped his gaze to Xing Lei and almost cursed, "Well fu..." Before he could finish those three bolts snapped down, bathing the kobold in energy.

Like a bomb going off all the flesh was ripped from Tyrix's front, his organs, muscles and blood all vaporized in the rolling wave of energy that swept out from the ground zero of Xing Lei. That godly skeletons jaws were opened in a soundless scream. The cauterized meat fell from the skeletons back. Sandril tried to block the wave but once again became a smear on the red splotched wall behind him. Halatrax finally was liberated from his legs, his torso tossed back into the stands as his skeletal legs were cooked in the wall. As for Damak? Again, uninjured... if you didn't count that he was now hairless, the flash fire of the wave coloring his wrinkly old flesh a nice sunburn red and blasting him hairless.

The three victimized gods came back to their senses slowly. Tyrix stumbled, falling to all fours. That. Had. HURT. The demonic god was use to hellish planes of existence but having his front vaporized, his skeleton cooked and his ass fall off was an entirely new, and very unpleasant, feeling. Sandril regathered himself, kneeling on the sands gasping for breath. Twice now he experienced being turned into something akin to paint, much like Tyrix it was something completely new to feel and he didn't like it, in fact, just recalling it made the halfling wet himself.

Halatrax slowly reappeared, his torso regrouping from his refreshed legs, falling forward onto the sand with a groan. "Can one of you bastards tell me what the fuck is going on?!"

Tyrix fell back on his ass and sighed. "Its Xing Lei."

Halatrax looked over to the still kneeling kobold, "Him?! Where the hell is power like that coming from?"

Tyrix sighed and pointed up. He no longer had the guts to look himself, considering Xing Lei was still knelt near by it was a given the clouds were still up there. Better someone else verify his new growing fear. He felt it was the right choice when his brother looked up and all the blood drained from the war god's face. Halatrax screamed, "There's NINE?!"

Tyrix closed his eyes and laid back. Nine. Fuck me sideways with Sandril. Just laying there he felt his bladder release itself, right before the overwhelming explosion ruptured his ear drums and he felt his body being incinerated from the soles of his feet to the top of his skull. The blast scattered his tough skeleton across the sand turned glass. Perhaps this time his reconstitution would be slower and mercifully spare him any further blasts. Unfortunately as he opened his eyes, the sight of thirty six lightning snakes crawling across the sky welcomed him back.

This time it was his bowels that relaxed. Being blasted to pieces at least cleaned up the mess, so Tyrix had at least that comfort knowing he wouldn't revive in a river of his own excrement.

Sandril was half way comatose each time he revived. The fat halfling resurrected thinner each time those lightning snakes struck the kobold and turned him into yet further wall covering. He'd tried to escape after the first three but before he made it far his blasted body coated the wall a grisly shade of red. Unlike Halatrax and Tyrix his body was soft, living a godhood of excess and comfort so even the early blasts treated him like a bug on a windshield. Each blast reduced his body to fluid, painting the arena wall a deep disturbing red from its pristine white marble.

Damak had finally died during the fourth wave. The scrawny old man had run out of tears for the loss of his treasure. He tried to fight back but much like the others the next blasts threw him like an ant in a tornado. His tough old bones still remained intact but each blast cooked those bones til the marrow boiled out from the inside. Much like Tyrix, realizing he could not flee nor fight the god of truth accepted a new truth, until Xing Lei finished whatever he was doing he was doomed to suffer for his misdeeds. This blazing inferno was a cleansing baptism, he would turn over a new leaf in future, truly embrace being a god of truth... BOOM... If that fucking kobold would ever stop blasting his boney ass to ash!

Halatrax leaned against the shattered wall. Like Damak he was now naked and hairless. His shining mail had melted under the fifth barrage. No longer was it lightning snakes but rather an entire armory of lightning weapons fell like rain from those cursed clouds. Oddly enough, the stands were spared the destruction that was being forced upon the kobold and the four gods that had sought its life. All the war god wanted was to retreat, hell he tried raising a white flag after the sixth when an army of lightning soldiers marched down from on high, the blast had dug into the arena floor, lowering the ground by several feet. How Xing Lei knelt unmoved he did not know, what he did know was the ordeal was not over.

His eyes looked into the sky that was more lightning than cloud. The seventh wave had taken the shape of an army outfitted for war. Calvary, siege machines, heavy troops and archers. The God of war gave a muffled whimper and bit down preparing for the pain...