Chapter 52: Blood Then

Sonia and her cohort stood in the heart of the apocalypse, surrounded from all sides by hostility an unbound bloodlust.

Each of the knights draped in coats of special synthetic fibers beared their swords and weapons, forming a circle around their encirclement of their 'host'. Each of their gazes were sharp with cold animosity, a single second notice and they wouldn't hesitate to draw blood.

As the two parties continued to glare down each other, the tension in the air thickened. The black patches of fuming clouds above rumbled and the stale wind blew a rotten draft through the broken Earth.

Sonia's pristine white cape fluttered gently in the wind as she stood, unmoving and unperturbed. Amongst the hostile gazes and bloodlust, there was stark wariness when directed at her.

As a black spot in her radiance upon the world, next to her was the long faced James draped in all black from head to toe. Just like Sonia, and unlike the rest of the cohort, James had yet to pull out the single long sleek black blade that hung from the side of his waist.

His slicked back dark black hair that reached his pale neck and deep black eyes made for a deep contrast with his pale creamish white skin tone. Coupled with his thin, long face gave him a deeply unsettling visage that demanded wariness.

The cohort from Allan Fort, after a journey of a couple of days, finally had arrived at the territory of their long time closest neighbor.

Actually...they had crossed the invisible border, almost two days before. But only now did they reach deep into the territory of the Ntuli Tribe, and the Natives of the Apocalypse.

"Wall devils..." As the silence seemed to persist long, a deep heavy voice that demanded only attention bellowed through the desolation above ground.

Some of the cohort members turned their heads, while others dared not take their gazes away from the group surrounding them.

Before them, a large hulking figure of bulging muscles, and mane like black hair stepped forward. Barak's figure was huge and immense in comparison to every single soul that stood there before him.

They all had to look up and crane their necks to meet his gaze, yet still, not many would dare to look the Chief guard in the eyes.

Even many of those from Sonia's groups inadvertently found themselves gulping reflexively. For as soon as Barak arrived, it was a like a tidal Wave of bloodlust, bloodlust, and only bloodlust.

Those of them who dared to turn their heads and looked at him we're overcome by the strange urge to either suddenly attack the beast in human skin, or choose to abandon everything and run away.

Yet still no one dared to do any of that all the same. There was no path — no life in any of the choices.

Hence, they swallowed down the instinctive human reactions and forcefully stopped their trembling arms.

Barak snorted in disappointment when he realized this. His deep azure gaze swept through the cohort with disdain and eventually fell on the two that was at the front before him.

'This woman... ' Barak's azure eyes deepened as his gaze fell on Sonia who's doll like fae was as cold, aloof as motionless as ever. She was surrounded by a chilling Aura, but still exuded a radiance that was a dark contrast to the bleak world.

Barak raised his chin slightly as he scrutinized her succinctly.

'She's strong. ' the Chief Warrior of the Ntuli Tribe silently acknowledged.

Then he shifted his gaze to the ma in black next to her.

Tha one...gave him a repulsive feeling. And I'm this context, for someone like Barak, that didn't mean James wasn't strong, but he felt like the kind of person to hide behind schemes and have others — pawns do the dirty work for him.

Barak's warriors intuition spoke volumes about it and made his gut churn.

With disdain he pried his eyes away from the gloomy looking, allegedly sky James.

"Turn around." His voice bellowed again and the ground seemed to quake.

"Unless it is blood you desire."

Silence followed. The tension thickened and bloodlust remained dominant.

James adjusted his frames and stepped forward.

"Why? Yet you let us come this far."

They had already crossed the invisible border into the Ntuli territory almost two days ago, and it wasn't like their presence went entirely unnoticed until now.

As a matter of fact, ever since the beginning, the group from Allan Fort had been persistently tailed and followed all this while by a group of scout teams from the Ntuli Tribe, trying to distinguish their purpose.

Since their arrival they hand already been in constant watch.

But of course they knew that. Sonia in particular actually silently welcomed it.

Barak seemingly shruged his wide and large shoulders then responded in a low voice m, and a seemingly nonchalant attitude.

"Then this is as far as you go." His voice held finality, as if signaling the end of of exchange of words from that point.

But at the moment when the situation appeared to begin to escalate, Sonia interjected in a monotonous voice, and all eyes inadvertently drew for the stunning young lady in full body armor, and hair like cascading pixy dust.

"We have no real intentions to cause a bloodbath here. We have simply followed the traces along our way, you see. And we have reasons to believe you might be aware of what we are looking for."

In the end, all of the ruinous trails up from the place the red rift descended till this point, led up to here. They had identified signs of struggles along the way.

It was especially hard not to notice a particular area where the topography had literally been mutated and changed with mountains that pierced the skies and valleys that spread far.

Something... something catastrophic clearly happened!

Barak lingered silently for a few oppressive seconds, his thoughts a mystery, hidden behind his rugged and fearsome mask. His demean was solid and unshakeable, but also exuded an air of authority and power.

Sonia and the others could immediately understand that the large man with a mane was someone of a considerable high standing. And someone powerful.

Eventually, Barak responded in a solemn, deep voice.

"Even if what you say is true, wht reason do I have to believe you? And what reason more for me to even listen to you? Turn around and leave before it is too late. There is nothing which you seek here. Be gone, you wall devils." Leaving this words, Barak exuded a part of his pressure and the faces of the cohort crumpled.

Then one of the brave ones...or stupid one...marched forward and ran his mouth.

"How dare you speak to us that way, you barbarians! Do you have any idea who she is, who we are? You should bend the knee and lower your head when you speak! All of you are just the waste and dregs of the Earth, how dare you think highly of yourself only because we have come to you, huh! As expected of Outsiders, barbarous in nature...!" He cursed.

A deathly still silence followed aft that.

Nobody moved, neither did a voice speak. The boiling tension that already existed became denser than steel as the stale wind howled hauntingly as a back drop.

Barak remained unperturbed. His eyes were steady and calm, his expression was a solemn mask. None of his actions betrayed his thoughts, whatever in the grey heavens they were.

In the end, Barak was still the Warrior Chief, and when the situation demanded, he had considerable experience with maintaining composure and the right temperament at the needed time.

But the short moment of silence was overbearing.

The Ntuli members that surrounded the cohort all raged internally and grit their teeth.

How dare an insignificant Wall devil speak to their Chief that way? How dare one even look him in the eye.

How impudent.

Before James or Sonia could speak up to remedy whatever they could of the situation, Barak calmly spoke.

His voice was low and deep, filled with somber clarity and indifference.

"I see..." He said.

He grabbed the man off the ground and snaped his neck.

"Blood then."

-CRACK!