Azren Kingdom, Year: 910 D.D.
An army in black armor had gathered outside the city. Leading them was a man with a towering figure.
He looked up at the towering obstacle blocking his army from advancing.
"The great walls of Zathan..."
Badump. Badump.
The large sword strapped around his back pulsated as it begins to exude a faint, barely visible red energy.
The pulls out the sword and gently caresses it's shark shaped blade.
"Oh my baby, Blood Wake. Are you hungry? Is that it girl? Do you want blood? Don't you worry, Daddy Rhoger has prepared a big feast for you- At the other side of those walls is your meal."
His men watched which their jaws hanging as their commander petted his sword as if it was his child.
Rhoger continued.
"Of course this time around, you will have to make do with the poor quality blood of those Azren scum. I know their blood is worse than a rat's own but we have to exterminate the insects that have pestered the Empire for so long now so bear with me okay partner?"
As if the sword- Blood Wake heard him, it stopped beating.
One of his men approached him. He gulped before mustering the courage to interrupt his commander while he was "busy."
"Uhm... Sir."
"What is it? Don't you see that I'm tending to my other half?"
"Forgive me for intruding sir!"
The soldier bowed his head as a sign of apology.
"However, we just received word from the other armies- Three of Azren's Five Cities have fallen leaving Zathan and Thanagos."
Rhoger's gaze hardened. He puts Blood Wake around his back.
"And the Hollow King?"
The man shook his head.
"The reports showed no sightings of him. So, there is a 50-50 chance he could be here. Higher if you consider the fact that Thanagos has the last of the Hollow King's Fiendish Generals."
"Hell yeah!!!"
Rhoger exclaimed excitedly.
"Haha! If we are lucky, this could be the place where The Hollow King is hiding. How wicked would that be? To be the one to squash the most hated man on the continent like the insect he is. I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about the glory that will come with slaying the king of these bugs."
Rhoger smacked his lips. He turned to adress his army.
"Men! let's get this party started! Today, we are hunters, we are exterminators! Today, we will paint the earth with the blood of those Azren pests. Today, we will bring death to the Nation that is Azren and wipe them off from the face of the world!"
The army roared in unison:
"Death to Azren! Death to Azren! Death to Azren!"
Rhoger's lips cracked into a wicked grin.
"First thing's first- to break the f*cking walls down."
He thinks to himself as he reaches for Black Wake raising it high. Its crimson blade was almost as large as he was.
Red energy- this time clear and vibrant gathered around Rhoger and Blood Wake. He looked as if his entire body was set ablaze.
But, this flame did not burn him.
Twisting like a wild tornado, the flame-like energy wrapped
all over the blade.
"Crimson Soul Sword Arts: Howling Wake!"
Blood Wake was swung. A towering arc of red shot forward accompanied by an ear-shattering rupture. The ground shook the arc crashes against the stone walls with a loud boom!
The dust settled to reveal a crack on the surface of the walls.
"3...2...1."
As if on cue, the area around the crack began breaking apart leaving a massive hole.
The Vesperian army stormed through the opening.
----------
The city guards stationed on the Northern side of the walls were playing poker when the explosion happened and the walls shook.
" What the f*uck was that?!"
"That explosion came from the Eastern side of the walls!"
"Invaders! We are under attack!"
"Ready yourselves!"
The guards rushed to the place where the giant hole was. Dozens of their comrades were burried under the rubble as waves of men in black armor swarmed through the hole stepping on their fallen comrades.
The guards raised their weapons to defend their home. But alas, they were quickly overwhelmed by the size of the invading forces which outnumbered them 1 to 6.
"Die. Die, you Azren bugs!"
Rhoger let loose with Blood Wake. Whenever he swung the shark-shaped sword- heads and limbs flew.
In just a few moments the entire city guards fell- slaughtered like livestock. Now, there was no one left to defend the walls.
The invaders advanced into the streets turning their blade to the civilians. From the sick and old to the women and children- nobody was safe from the wrath the carnage.
Buildings burned, smoke covered the skies, and the stench of death accompanied the cries of panic and agony that riddled the air. People scurried all over the place. Friends, lovers, and family trampled each other without a second thought.
It was everybody for themselves.
Rhoger watched arms folded as his army chased and slaughtered the "livestock."
"My men are almost out of game to hunt... So where the blazing f*ck is he?"
He thought to himself with a frown.
"My baby hungers for high-grade blood."
His frustration grew as he watched his men tormenting the civilians. They trap the remaining of their game in a circle. The civilians quivered, helpless, with no escape route. Their impending doom approached slowly in the form of the invaders.
"Nowhere left to run, is there?"
A soldier sneered.
"Why don't you all make this easier on yourselves and just line up your heads?"
The men walked slowly relishing in the hopelessness of their victims. All they could do was piss their pants as they await their fate.
Rumble.
All of a sudden, the sky rumbled. Dark clouds formed at an alarming rate until the evening sun was blocked off completely.
The invaders ignored the whether and resumed their advancement. However, the people of Zathan no longer quivered in fear, rather they laughed, clapped their hands and jumped around in celebration.
Their oppressors guessed that they had finally gone mad from the traumatic experience.
They were wrong.
The cornered civilians all dropped to their knees, bowing their heads in the same direction- A cicle on the pavement.
All eyes were on the man that stood there, each with different reactions: The oppressors froze in their place, while the people bowed their heads.
Rhoger on the other hand laughed uncontrollably.
He recognised the man instantly: the long meshy black hair, deep piercing violet eyes, and a giant scythe in hand.
"Aedrick Azazel..."
His face split into a menacing grin as he muttered the name of the one he had been so eager to see.
----------
Aedrick addressed his people.
"Raise your heads. Go, get to safety. I'll take it from here."
His words filled them with hope. They picked themselves up, their legs no longer shaking- there was no reason for them to be afraid anymore. They didn't hesitate to run past enemy.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?"
"Get back here!"
Just as they moved to block them- A bolt of purple lightning struck the ground before them.
"That was a warning shot."
Aedrick warned.
"If you pee brains move an inch- No, if you so much as breathe in the wrong direction without my permission, I will see to it you f*ckers end up begging for a quick death."
The Knights stayed put, as the civilians rushed passed them all.
Aedrick muttered.
"Flight."
His body defied gravity as he rises into the air. He takes a good look at the city- or what was left of it. His stomach chunned from the sight of the countless stacks of corpses each mutilated in gruesome manners. He identified some of them; the flower shop lady who would always greet him with a bundle of flowers, the bartender of his favourite bar, the city guards whom he trained and spared with.
But the most gut wrenching sight was that of the children.
Looking down at the Empire's forces, he asked in a voice devoid of emotions:
"Why the children too? I understand we are at war but must you go through such extremes?!"
Black fog began to form around him slowly expanding and surrounding his body until only his glowing irises could be seen.
The Hollow King declared:
"I will hold a funeral for my people… Your agonising cries will become the choir for their requiem. Suffer as I tear your souls apart until nothing remains... Not even your ashes."
Like a volcano, the Black fog erupted swallowing everything in sight.
The Knights clasped their heads as they bellowed in pain.
"Ack. So this is the Hollow King's Aura?"
"It burns! It burns! Make it stop."
"Mercy. Mercy."
"Mercy? You lot are as shameless as a naked prostitute. There is no mercy for you bastards. Now, you will feel the full brunt of my scorching will!"
Ares' voice thundered across the place. Half of the Knights passed out with the survivors dropping to their knees.
"My head is splitting apart!"
"Please... Just kill us!"
They begged- trembling with blood seeping from their eyes and ears.
A few desperate souls chose the only freedom left to them-death. They slit their own throats, choking on their last breath.
"Who told you, that you could die without my permission?"
He raised his hand.
The heavens roared in answer. Black clouds swirled violently.
"Be devoured by the raging thunder of the burning abyss... Ashen Judgement!"
Red lightning exploded, ripping through the air with a terrible sound. It instantly hit the Knights, chaining from one to the next. The blast burned them in an instant leaving nothing behind but ash.
"Now..."
Ares's eyes fixed their sights on the final target- the towering figure who watched as his men got roasted.
Rhoger smiled.
"Is it my turn now? Well it's about time."