Chapter 2: The Wolf in the Woods

"BOW DOWN TO ME, ALL OF YOU!" The possessed figure of Zachariah commanded through a rather hellish voice. 

Without question, the knights of the Holy Order, fearing the repercussions should they disobey the order, dropped their swords and hastily prostrate themselves in respect to what seemed to be the god of gods.

"Ahh... mankind.." the entity says, lowering his hands and moving closer towards the multitude. "After a thousand years, it still seems like you need to be taught how to kneel when in the presence of your lord." 

"Please don't kill us!" one of the knights cried out, to which the unholy entity responded with great anger. 

"You dare raise your voice against me?!" the entity exclaims, with the foolish knight suddenly gagging as though something were grabbing his throat, attempting to strangle him. "Know your place!"

The knight, being unable to breathe, dies in a mere few seconds. This startles the rest of them, with a few attempting to stand up and run for the door. Those who did though, died the moment they raised their knees. 

"For a long time, you of the Holy Order have mercilessly slaughtered the people of my vessel, Zachariah. For this, you are to be punished severely!" The entity tells them. "However! As scum like you only followed the orders of your superiors, I, your lord Azrael, will grant you the mercy of a painless death."

"Wait!" One of the knights crawled upon his feet, with his head still facing the ground. "Lord Azrael...no...my god! All of us... no... EVEN I AM ENOUGH! Spare me, and I will do everything you so desire!"

"Didn't you hear what I said?" Azrael kicks the knight on the face. The blow was so powerful, it sent him crashing through the rest of the men who were with him. "You humans should be thankful that a greater being such as I consider you worthy of dying by my hands."

Seeing that their safety wasn't assured, the remaining knights of the order panicked and scrambled. Half of them through the door, and half of them towards Azrael. All of this was for naught, as Azrael need only snap his fingers for every single one of them to die instantly. Such was the power of the dark lord. 

Seth, a man who thought he would never let himself be forced to do anything, remained on the ground during the entirety of the massacre, kneeling despite of his injuries. 

Azrael, despite being a powerful entity, found himself panting, as if he had used up a few years worth of energy. 

"It seems like my power is bound to the limits of this body... damn it." Azrael whispers to himself before looking at the cowering Seth. "You there!" 

Seth flinches at the sound of his voice, but dared not to look up. 

"You may stand." Azrael permits him as he makes his way to the tomb that imprisoned his former body. Opening it, Azrael wasn't surprised as he saw nothing but dust and dirt inside it. As it still reeked horribly, Azrael closes the lid and decides to sit down.

He looks at Seth, who was just standing up. "You look hurt, my servant. Come here." 

Having no other choice, Seth slowly walks toward Azrael, still lacking the courage to face him. Upon reaching him, Azrael touches his arm and began to reposition it back to how it was supposed to be. Despite hurting like hell, Seth prevented himself from screaming as Azrael finally heals his arm. 

"Thank you, my lord.." Seth kneels in front of him. 

Azrael takes his hand and leads him up. "You are a part of Zachariah's people. Submit to me, and no harm shall befall upon you and your family." 

Seth nods, still afraid of the man who had just eliminated an entire platoon of soldiers as if it was nothing. The body was still Zachariahs... but no doubt this was the dark lord of legend whom the cult believed in. His voice screamed authority, and all around the figure was a powerful, emanating aura that, despite being unseen, knew no limit.

"W-what has happened to my friend, Zachariah?" Seth asked. "I would be forever grateful if my lord finds it fit to answer his servant's question.."

"No need to fret, son of Constantin." Azrael answers as he walks past him. "Zachariah's spirit is alive and well. He and I harbor the same body." 

Seth looks at Benjamin, who was still breathing despite his condition. "What about Benjamin?"

"My undead summons will tend to his wounds. We'll come back for him later." Azrael reassures him. "For now, let us take a walk."

Seth follows Azrael as he makes the undead that filled the next room make way for him to pass. These weren't ordinary undead minions as well. These were creatures that have learned to wield nearby weapons, making a group of them a force to be reckoned with.

"This is a being capable of controlling even death itself.." Seth thoughts. "Being able to summon type-2 undead... I stand no chance against him." 

"I am quite surprised myself... that a man was able to contain my spirit." Azrael comments as the two of them traverse through the rooms leading towards the tomb's exit. "Zachariah wasn't the only one who managed to invoke the words which freed me."

"W-what happened to the rest?"

"They perished." Azrael smiles, visibly counting with his fingers. "I believe that the last person to have done it did so 200 years ago." 

The two make it outside. Everything was calm and still, save for the few horses and the tents that the knights had hastily left behind. It seemed as though the soldiers who remained outside the tomb discovered the reason of the commotion inside and decided to make a run for it. 

"It seems like a few managed to get away." Azrael points out that fact, looking at Seth. "Do you happen to know where they might've run off to?" 

Seth nods and points at at a direction on the south. "If they wanted to report to their superiors faster, they would take the nearest shortcut... through the forest of Mokon." 

Azrael grins. "Let's go and give them a welcome to remember."

Taking Seth by the hand, Azrael casts a 5th tier magic that allows him to go practically anywhere in the kingdom. "Teleportation!"

And just like that, they vanished from the tomb.

...

The group of soldiers who had retreated from the tomb stop in the innermost section of the woods for a short breather.

A few hours ago, they were entrusted by Lord Gilford to keep watch at the entrance should there be any cultist that just so happened to be arriving late. After the dead of midnight, the shouting stops and the guards assumed the end of the battle of the tomb.

Little did they know that the victory was not theirs to take.

It had only been mere minutes after the battle concluded that the soldiers guarding the entrance decided to send people to see what was taking Lord Gilford so long.

The scouts who went inside had the shock of their lives when instead of their fellow comrades greeting them, they were confronted by several undead raised by the dark lord Azrael. Being unprepared for such an encounter, only two of the scouts managed to get out alive from the tomb and inform the rest of those at the entrance about the 'dead soldiers' murdering their friends.

Panic seized their minds and, thinking that it was all a trap set by the cultists, they ran for their lives in order to inform the higher ups about the entire ordeal.

"Why are we stopping?!" One of the soldiers said. "You want us to get killed?"

"Listen up, idiot!" says the one acting as their captain as he slaps the soldier in the face. "The higher ups would condemn us for abandoning Lord Gilford!" 

"Desertion, even." another soldier added.

"We'll be hanged for getting one of the heroes killed!" 

Getting off his horse, the captain assembled the soldiers that were in his command, as well as the unarmed cultists that they have taken as prisoners during the hour-long siege. 

"Team 1 and 2, you are on guard duty." The captain points at a group of soldiers. "I don't think that the cultists would pursue us this far as they would be busy looting the dead bodies of our comrades like the savages they are... but it is best that we be wary."

"Yes sir!" 

"The rest of you.. try to relax yourselves." The captain orders. "There is no need to be panicked. I will try to come up with a reasonable excuse for our superiors."

The soldiers nodded. There was no need to be afraid. After all, they were already a few kilometres away from the tomb of Azrael, where the cultists were supposed to be regrouping. They were wondering if the rest of the members of the triangle had already arrived to aid them in their efforts.

"Say, what happened to the cultist leader?" a soldier asked as a group of them set up a campfire. 

"Anthony- something?" The other replied.

"Anton Geraldt, yeah." The soldier said. 

"Was he the leader? I don't know." He answered. "I hope he's dead, that cunning bastard." 

"Say, how did he escape our men in the city?" 

"Friends in high places, I assume." Was the reply. "Probably got him out before they set up checkpoints along the roads. Or a noble's caravan that hadn't been checked." 

"Either way." A rather buff looking soldier, who seemed rather drunk, says while looking across the caged up wagon that contained the cult members that they have held captive. Among them were few of the finest women that he had ever seen. "I'm going to relieve myself of the stress this night has given me." 

He walks across the line of soldiers, stopping in front of a guard posted in front of the wagon. He wanted to get past, but it seemed like this stubborn individual wasn't letting him. 

The guard looks at him. "Is there a problem?" 

Being bigger and seemingly stronger than the guardsman, the soldier put a hand on his shoulder while smiling. "Move." 

"No. Captain's orders." The guard told him off, removing the hand from his shoulder in the process.. "You reek of alcohol. Why don't you go back to your station before I report you, pig." 

This angered the man, who swiftly sucker punches the guard straight in the face. A quick knock out that rendered the guard unconscious. 

"Anyone else?!" the man looked around at the other guards who were posted near the wagon. 

"By the gods.." They looked at their comrade who was still on the ground. "H-he knocked Shen out..."

They were unable to do anything though... and as such the man raises his shoulders. "Just as I thought."

He takes the keys from the knocked out individual and proceeds to open the cage-like wagon. Taking the nearest woman, he tried to force himself upon her. 

"No!" The woman shouts, desperately trying to release his grip. The soldier, being stronger, ignores this and made her kiss him. 

Disgusted, the woman bit his tongue, which causes him to push her away. "You little cunt!" 

The man punches the woman with such strength that her face swelled upon impact. "That'll teach you to be more obedient, you whore!

Crying, the woman couldn't do anything else other than watch as her attacker removes his pants, walking ever closer to her. 

What happened next was so sudden that even the guards all around them didn't have time to react.

The soldier, feeling a sharp pinch on his back, inspects the source with his hand, only to realize that somebody had stabbed him. "Who dares?!" 

The man turned around and facing him was the guard he swore that he had put to sleep a few minutes ago. 

Another soldier tried to stop the fight before it got serious, pushing the guard back. "Shen, you don't have to do this."

'Shen' pushes the soldier aside, unsheathing his blade... 

"What's going on?"

"The bastard pissed off Shen Wolffe." Murmurs among the soldiers were unavoidable. "This is going to be bloody." 

Not realizing who he was fighting, the man puts his pants back on but removes the shirt that he was wearing. Everyone was looking at the body of what seemed to be a man expert in the ways of battle, as was shown through the multiple sword-inflicted scars on his torso. 

"I'll crush you, you little insect." The man cracks his knuckles as he prepares to attack Shen. As if his muscular build wasn't enough, the man casts a few buffs unto himself. "Scales of the Dragon. Foresight. Strength enhancer level 3." 

"He's a magic caster?!" A few soldiers couldn't help but stare in awe.

Shen seemed unfazed by this though, as he is seen showing his standard fighting stance. The man makes the first move, running towards Shen at unbelievable speed before throwing a punch that was sure to demolish anyone that got in its way. Shen manages to dodge this, but the punch was so strong that it sent shock waves across the camp, alerting the captain of the fight. 

Shen appears from behind and stabs him, piercing through his skin as if it were made of paper. 

"How?!" He shouts in disbelief as he tries to punch Shen again, to no avail. "Scales of the Dragon is supposed to make my flesh impenetrable." 

Shen appears right in front of him and stabs his chest. The goliath of a man raises both his arms and simultaneously throws them down, smashing the ground beneath them. Still, Shen remains unharmed. 

"When did you... " The man can't help but wonder as he sees Shen on top of the nearest tree. Shen remains silent as he disappears again, this time appearing behind him. Annoyed by this, the man finally lands a 'punch' on Shen's arm. Although it barely touched him, the slight nudge was enough to bruise the lightning-fast individual. Shen manages to hold his ground, the man grinning at his first successful throw. 

"Enough playing around." Shen tells the man, who was preparing to land another punch. "10-fold strike." 

As if traversing faster than the speed of light, Shen manages to land 10 successful sword strikes against the soldier in under a second, which cancels the punch that he was about to throw.

Sending him straight into the ground, Shen then finishes him off by knocking the man out using the hilt of his blade.

"Shen! What are you doing?!" The Captain shouts, alerting Shen and the others to his presence. They all stand at attention, save for the man that Shen just knocked out.

"Sir, he-"

"No excuses!" The Captain tells him, slapping the young man across the face. "You have just recently disgraced yourself... and yet here you are.. entertaining fights!"

The Captain turns around in disgust. "Why don't you take a walk before you make yourself more than just an embarrassment."

Shen begrudgingly gives a salute, before taking a few steps away from the scene. He stops to look at the woman who he had just saved, before finally walking away from the camp. The woman was then escorted back to her cage by the other guardsmen. 

This event had added to the stress that they all dealt with that night. So much so that the Captain, unable to hold back his tears, asked a soldier for a cloth with which he can wipe his face with. 

The soldier nods before turning away to fulfill his duty. Once he does though, he freezes.

The Captain, looking at the guard, was surprised. "What are you waiting for, soldier?"

The soldier points out at the distance. The captain follows the soldier's hand towards the gate, to which a group of soldiers had already gathered with swords at the ready.

"Is that Shen?" The Captain tries to look at the distance, but because of the vast amount of soldiers gathering, he couldn't see who the person standing at the gate was. Assuming it was Shen disobeying his command, he stood firm. "I distinctly remember ordering you to get out of here!"

"Is that so?"

The question was delivered so loudly that even the Captain himself heard it. It wasn't Shen's voice.

With a snap of his finger, Azrael wipes out half the soldiers present in the camp, to the captain's surprise.

"You have made me wait at the end of this forest for far too long." Azrael says with two fireballs appearing on his hands, with Seth standing behind his master's back.

"I hope it was worth it." Was his final words to the doomed soldiers, as he releases the full amount of his anger upon all of them.