Ancient City (6) (Long Chapter)

In the air, a knight covered in armor produced the sound of multiple cracks. Before a sigh of relief seemed to escape from his helmet.

"Number Six! What's wrong?"

The knight turned around, he did nothing to cover his clear-cut ruby eyes.

"Nothing, my lord. I was just processing how I let a vile creature get so close! Apologies."

The knight returned to his lord's side and watched the battle beside the fountain.

"Remind me again, lord? Why won't they dare attack us?"

The young lord frowned. "Six, I always feared your mind wasn't sharp, but even this...tsk. It's because of Father, he's the brother of our King. Everyone here knows we're here to watch; no one will dare touch us. So just enjoy the show."

The Knight nodded in enlightenment. 

"Ah yes, lord. However, following that thought, will we really allow the enemy to get the core? I mean, it's obvious that it's less than useless. All it did was devolve a race into these ugly fish monsters, but is it enough to fight over?"

The young lord turned to him in shock, his mouth so wide it could fit a loaf of bread.

"Six? Seems you still have some intellect in that skull of yours...surprising. Anyway, yes, you are right. That bauble is worthless unless you want to devolve into the king of fishes. I suppose a gatherer could use it, but they would be subpar...perhaps we could use it to create a new servant."

"Uh, lord? Then why are we sending troops and fighting for the fountain?" The ruby-eyed knight asked.

"Simple, for the land, more land and different environments make a more diverse Kingdom, of which Uncle can gain more favor from the world!"

"From the world?"

"Yes, you don't know but I'll tell you since you've been with me since I was a child. When Uncle uses his favor, the world gifts him boons like the White Gems of Vis. But Uncle can only get it when he gets more land or from ruling diligently." The Lord explained. 

"I see... thank you, lord. I now understand"

"Good, now enough questions, and watch the show!"

The knight shifted his eyes below as they seemed to swirl in thought.

'Well, that answers those questions. Since he's useless now, I suppose it's time to kill him; if only I had my damn daggers! That bastard just had to die! I swear if they're damaged!'

Cain cautiously began to close the gap between himself and his 'Lord,' taking painstaking minutes to position himself strategically behind him.

He reached for a staff strapped to his side, its slender shaft adorned with an intricate crystal that glistened like a miniature snow globe, refracting shards of light in all directions

'Seriously? No sword? And what's with this relic being a winter wonderland?'

Nevertheless, it would do. Cain took the pointed end of the staff and ran it through the back of the young lord, piercing his armor and wounding him greatly.

But Cain didn't stop there as his mist invaded the wound, all while he cackled.

"Six?! You....dare?"

The young lord was losing breath but soon had enough energy to scream in agony as his whole body exploded in a haze of sanguine death.

It was then the others realized what was going on.

"LORD! NO!"

The knights seemed broken by the Young Lord's death, but Cain still wasn't done. Through his armor, a thick bloody smell escaped as a light red vapor seeped out. It then rapidly converged on each of the guards. Twisting into a more physical form, they broke through their armor like lances and killed them just as fast as their leader.

Removing his armor, Cain revealed himself to the world.

By now, many of the higher-ups and even soldiers fighting noticed what happened. Additionally, the Deep Ones knew him from his stench, many retreating to the edges of the battle.

"Ah! How it is so good to be back!"

A torrent of crimson swirled around Cain at the wave of his fingertips, creating a typhoon of bright red.

"Now I can finally show the power you have been wasting, my dear other self. Watch!"

Mist seeped down like ropes, latching onto the deadly battlefield below. They seeped into the ground and absorbed the nutrients from the dead. From there, Cain expanded his mist, preparing to commence a massacre.

Surprisingly, an annoying voice entered his ears, it came from below.

"Cain! What have you done?! Never mind, just grab the core! That's an order!"

Looking down, Cain saw the young and ambitious Meiers yelling at him, he seemed to have made his way to the front.

"Hah, never mind, forget the fun; I'll just act serious." His mood was ruined. 

Below, Meiers was looking in confusion as to why Cain wasn't responding.

"What? Hey, listen to me! You signed the..."

In a split second, the entire battlefield froze, as if time itself had come to a standstill. They all looked above and found the source.

Above them all, like an all-seeing god, Cain hovered as his demeanor rapidly changed; he still held his form as a human, yet his aura inconceivably changed in an instant.

It felt as if some sort of pressure befell the entire battle. Everyone's instincts raged for them to run from the entity before them, the air shifted and a haze of red covered the sky.

All of this, was from the mere aura of Cain, his intent to kill. 

But Cain didn't notice the changes he brought, he was oblivious to his aura.

'Whenever I plan to hunt, they always react like this. I must research this further; at this point, I'm giving my actions away.'

He turned to Meiers, and the pressure increased as his eyes turned darker, like whirlpools that reflected despair.

His voice echoed in the silence as it seemed to boom like thunder.

"Do you know what I hate most?"

Meiers barely mustered the will to respond, "N-No...."

"I hate when people try to control me!"

Space seemed to break as the mist became enraged; it felt like time and space didn't dare act before Cain as he came before Meiers.

His hand raised like an arch as he caught the young master's throat and raised him above the ground.

"To show my hatred, I will do this the old-fashioned way." A smile even a devil would grimace at appeared on the haze's face, mist rotating around him.

From there, blood splattered the rocks beneath their feet. Cain had sunk his teeth into the young company leader. One bite became two, and two became three. It was only after four bites did Cain finally stop.

He changed his mind. "Never mind, this is quite distasteful, I lowered myself doing this more than anything."

The rest of the body was suddenly consumed by the mist, leaving only bone.

As to why Cain was exempt from the contract before he took control, he had one of his ghosts act as a decoy and bound it to the contract. He then killed it, nullifying the contract as the employee died.

It was one of the many things he researched while stuck in the mindscape.

The silence continued, no one dared to act. Cain shifted his body to look at everyone staring at him.

Those closest to him fell to the floor under his pressure. He slowly walked across the battlefield, stopping before a pile of ash.

Shifting through it he found his things, luckily the Tesla weapons didn't destroy the metal.

Unfortunately, they were able to destroy everything else, Cain had found his weapons were without grips and would need some repairs.

'Better than nothing I suppose'

He looked up from the blackened steel in his hand and watched around him.

Every being was staring at him, waiting for his next move.

"I am that scary aren't I? Good!"

"Cain? I-Is that you?" From the crowd, a few people stepped forward, their faces filled with a mix of anxiety and fear. Of course, Cain already knew who they were.

He responded quickly, his hands twitching and itching all at once. "Yes and no... It's difficult to say, hehe."

Before he could continue, the mist seemed to give birth to a ghost, yet it had a green glow to it.

"Connie, guys. Please leave... it is too dangerous. I...am not myself, so go. I will be fine."

Seeing the ghost that resembled the flesh before them, Connie was terrified and confused. So much so that if she had been allowed to finish her sentence it might have even broken the sound barrier. Luckily, she was stopped. 

"Wha-"

"You heard him. GO!" Cain's voice boomed once more like a wolf speaking to a rabbit. His red eyes turned menacing.

Even Connie winced in fear.

The group of pirates watched his expression and, realizing the danger, began to flee the battlefield, heeding his advice. They knew if they stayed he wouldn't spare them.

(You didn't have to act like that.)

'You learned how to communicate privately? Also, you can become a ghost of the mist? How are you doing all this cool stuff?'

(Enough, finish your business and let's leave.)

The green wisp now appeared calmer, maybe he finally understood what Cain was trying to tell him the whole time, or perhaps he was now hollow.

'Fine.'

He was growing bored anyway.

'All I need is some more servants; then I'll grab the core.'

(.....okay.)

Cain smiled as his mist swept into the battlefield. The fog of war descended, and it was time for him to collect more ghosts.

Panic swept through those trapped within, their faces contorted with fear as they scrambled for safety, adding to the chaos and conflict.

Soon, cries could be heard. Elusive and illusionary cries.

Fog-like beings came from the mist into being as they killed the thousands of soldiers present. From one death bore another and so on and so forth, like a hydra's many heads.

Cain laughed as his minions culled the living; it had been too long since he did something such as this.

People tried to run, escape, or fight back. But the result was the same: death.

After Cain had killed more than half the soldiers present, he relented.

'Alright, that should be more than enough. Time for the core.'

Cain flew over to the top of the fountain, but it was then the two sides finally decided to strike.

In a blink, the fog was torn asunder. Tesla cannons unleashed a barrage of rounds, shattering the ethereal mist. Simultaneously, from another direction, a fusion of ice and fire erupted, engulfing Cain in a searing explosion.

From the smoke created, they thought they had won. But then they heard the chilling laughter of a madman. but the laughter brought rage. 

"Hahaha." Cain's voice became soft, "....You dare?"

His aura boiled, it became even more menacing and terrifying. 

Cain exploded in anger, in disgust. How dare an ant bite him, how dare it!

His voice boomed, his power overflowing, "I am a God! Lower your heads! Prostrate yourselves! This is my realm! This is your despair!"

The remaining mist Cain had stuck to the ground again, and all the deaths became Cain's unlimited fuel to burn.

As quickly as it was destroyed, the mist was regained.

He had calmed himself and In a low, apathetic voice, he gave his ghosts a command.

"Kill them. All of them."

Exiting from his shadow, thousands of banshee cries escaped along with their bodies. An army of dead men charged towards the interruptions. All while Cain finally got his hands on the Core.

'At best, this will give me a few more years, and maybe support my body's abilities. Can't say it was all too worth it'

Somewhat happy with this trip, Cain prepared to make his exit before both sides came together again.

However, before he could, a voice as loud as his own erupted, even damaging his eardrums.

"Who! Who did this to my boy?! Who killed my son!"

An older man was holding the corpse of the young lord Cain killed.

'Annoying.' Cain internally sighed.

The man saw everyone stare at one person, Cain.

Finding his target, the man prepared to attack, but he also saw the carnage Cain had done and was currently doing. Ghosts culling his men and all.

So instead, he took out some sort of trinket and held it up high.

"Brother, help me! He has killed my son! Your nephew has been murdered!"

'He's calling in his brother....the ruler right? Nice, I can finally fight one!'

Cain tossed the core up and down as his internal thoughts churned in excitement. Coincidentally, the weather started to turn bad. Thunder erupted as dark clouds gathered above him, only slightly visible through the hole in the ceiling.

The effect of Cain's aura had gone up like a ball of smoke, gone. It was suppressed by something far worse. 

Cain thought it was just luck the weather changed, but soon his whole body froze as a blue window popped up in front of him.

[ERROR! ERROR! A RULER IS INVADING THIS TERRITORY! UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY! PREPARING TO EJECT WEAK SOULS]

'Weak souls? Is it calling me weak?'

[SCANNING! SCANNING! SYSTEM FOUND TARGET IS TOO WEAK! CREATING PROFILE FOR EJECTION]

Cain was bewildered but below he saw a bunch of other people talking with concern.

'They can see it too? What the hell is going on?'

[PROFILE MADE]

[NAME: CAIN]

[STATUS: ?ℝℝ?ℝ?]

[BIRTHPLACE: FRAGMENT WORLD OF MANUS]

[...]

[...]

'WHAT! Birthplace! It knows where I'm from?!'

Cain had no time to be surprised. He suddenly felt as if his spine was shaking under his skin.

A colossal black portal materialized on the battlefield, unleashing an ominous energy that sent a shiver through even Cain, like a relentless tidal wave.

[RULER INVADING! EJECTION BEGINNING!]

Cain's eyes remained fixed on the portal as if they might pop out of their sockets. Beside him, the screen counted down.

His heart was pounding with a mix of fear and curiosity. He couldn't help but wonder what was happening, even though he had little time to care.

From the portal, it was first the ominous feeling but now something physical was coming through.

A giant leg strapped in black armor slowly slipped through, almost like passing through jello. Cain was first curious, but that was before it fully passed through the portal.

[2...1]

The ejection process commenced, and just as the leg fully materialized, Cain sensed impending doom.

Everything, everything was screaming. It was so loud he began to lose consciousness, yet at the last second, as his surroundings turned white, the black leg instantly pressed against the ground as if it wasn't bound by time, because it truly wasn't, unlike Cain which only appeared to be. 

No, this was a power beyond Cain's means, this was something he hadn't seen before. 

From the foot's impact....destruction. The last moment he saw...Cain found to see only fire and destruction, everything was gone and engulfed by fiery black flames.

Black shadows swept the battlefield, chained souls hunting for their master. It made Cain feel like he was trying to imitate this great being that he could never hope to face.

'Just what the-'

It was then he finally lost consciousness and was ejected from the Territory of the Deep Ones.